Wednesday 13 August: The Government’s plans for older drivers smack of London-centrism

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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558 thoughts on “Wednesday 13 August: The Government’s plans for older drivers smack of London-centrism”

  1. Morning, Geoff and chums. A Bogey on Wordle today.

    Wordle 1,516 5/6

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    1. Morning Elsie
      Not an obvious wordle today!
      Wordle 1,516 5/6

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  2. Morning, Geoff and chums. A Bogey on Wordle today.

    Wordle 1,516 5/6

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  3. Morning, Geoff and chums. A Bogey on Wordle today.

    Wordle 1,516 5/6

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  6. The Government’s plans for older drivers smack of London-centrism

    Lets just face it, older drivers are going to be the first to be driven off the road by medical red tape

  7. Good morning all! Hot and sunny here! The twins start school today, so we’re off to see them and take some photos!
    Don’t know where the time goes!

  8. Morning, all Y'all.
    Overcast, 12C. Can we get some warming, please – I'm tired of wearing a jumper in mid summer.

    2. Why not? Be safer in their hands than our so called elites, and our borders would be more secure.

  11. Good morning all.
    A warm, bright sunny morning with a tad over 16°C, a clear sky and a waning gibbous moon still high in the sky.
    Sat with mug of tea at the ready and a load of washing in the machine.

    Will shortly be away to drop Van off for it's MOT and then bus to Kelstedge for a walk to Ashover Show.
    It's going to be a scorcher!

  13. I see that the old, You Will All Own Nothing And Be Happy globalist agenda is moving a step closer with the proposed government plan to steal everything you leave to your children when you die.
    While spending it all on an inheritance for our new top tier newcomers.
    While the far Left here love it all because it looks like world communism.
    Have you noticed how the Left never criticises the billionaire globalists like the Gates's, the Soros's or the Klaus's, weird that isn't it, they just go for the people that oppose their agendas.

    1. It's probably the reason why cash is being removed from our lives, so we can't leave some behind for our grandchildren.

  14. EXC: FCDO Hands Feminist Group More Than £20 Million to ‘Abolish Hetero-Patriarchal Capitalist World Order’

    https://order-order.com/2025/08/12/exc-fcdo-hands-feminist-group-more-than-20-million-to-abolish-hetero-patriarchal-capitalist-world-order/#comments
    The FCDO has handed £20 million to an organisation which wants to abolish “racial hierarchies within the hetero-patriarchal and capitalist world order.” Nice to see where our remaining development spending is going…

    Guido’s FoI unit has established that since January 2023 the FCDO has handed £20,788,284 to the Equality Fund, an organisation which says it is “ushering in an era of abundance for women, girls, and trans people leading the charge on solutions to our most urgent social and political challenges.” The fund supports “human rights and women’s rights movements via our grantmaking across the Global South” – handing out UK taxpayer cash. The Tories initially committed the funding – Labour has continued it to the tune of £9,123,952 since it came to power…

    The organisation, which features UK development fund branding on its website, says it “can disrupt the colonial and patriarchal practices” and “centre the voices of those living at the edges of change, shifting power and disrupting colonial north-south patterns.” It deploys grants and makes investments. On the latter point the Fund boasts that “our private market investments help to maximize our goals of shifting power by investing in women-led and women-focused funds, products, businesses, and services (inclusive of girl-led and trans-led actors)”…

    The organisation spends a lot of time ruminating on “decolonisation” as a “political project” which includes:

    “Abolishing racial hierarchies within the hetero-patriarchal and capitalist world order;
    Dismantling the geopolitics of knowledge production; and
    Rehumanizing our relationships with others and nature (including the repatriation of Indigenous lands).”
    The FCDO sent the Equality Fund an extra £149,000 in March on top of the £1 million it got in February and £3.7 million it got in January. Nice for some…

    August 12 2025 @ 17:13

    Beebsplaining
    13h
    Riddle me this……

    Interfere with other countries by giving them a legal system, health care, democracy, railways = colonial and bad🤔

    Interfere with other countries by deconstruction of hetero-patriarchal structures and their culture also make them poor by removing capitalism = not colonial and good🤔

    Mike Fish
    12h
    This is all part of the charity-political complex that needs ended by Reform. Billions given to charities and NGOs that directly support Marxist theology and pro-migration organisations, as well as pay the wages of those who would destroy the country. It all needs to go.

    Beebsplaining
    13h
    They can start here then🤔 and see how they get on with this hetero-patriarchal structure https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8cb6c9bad5d0e47a4e878b33af23a898b8616867a84db4a392d2ed297b868b8b.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a27d1bb35f8dc4a80791ef7db7086983f065db751e7ff21a836a1ed02b69793c.png

    1. It's like a Poundshop version of USAID, taxpayers funding Leftwaffe lunacy in foreign climes whilstmour own infrastructure crumbles around us.

    3. There will be 'concessions' for politicians and Snivel Serpents who have time-served the country,

    1. That photo of the yellow lines looks as if it was shot with a fairly long, 300mm or even more, lens. Similar long lens shots of railways always makes the track look worse than it actually is.

      1. Maybe it was; however, that foreshortening doesn't account for the lines touching each other or getting wider as paint was spilt or applied carelessly.

    2. In my childhood, the family used to take summer vacation in Hunstanton for a week or so, on annual leave from Nigeria. I have fond memories of the funfair, Brancaster beach, and the cold wind that blew in off the North Sea.
      Sigh…

      1. I was there last September, Paul, and there are three of the country's most highly-rated fish-and-chip shops in and just outside the town. Eric's, in particular, had cod and haddock fried in beef tallow that were simply divine.

  20. I see from the Telegaffe that some dopy Plod has said that "It's the public's job to tackle shoplifters"!! Leaving aside the fact that anyone tackling a dindu shoplifter may be hurt, and in any event will probably be the one arrested, it does beg the question – if it's our job, why are we paying for a police force at all??

    Update – It's not exactly a plod – he's the Tory Police & Crime Commissioner for the area!

    1. What? I thought we were always told that it was our duty to lie down and be murdered rather than defend ourselves or our property?

    2. The awful thing is he’s not even a plod! He’s the district Crime Commissioner, whatever that is!

      5. Another politician on an inflated salary adding yet another layer of bureaucracy to the system.

    3. Did he know the guys who sorted out the pants dropper on the underground train were arrested for assaulting the POS that did it……

    4. When I last looked, in about 9 hours (overnight hours at that), the BTL comment were approaching 5,000.
      To say the DT readership was unimpressed is a stonking example of litotes.

        1. My English teacher is beaming down at me from heaven.
          She never did on earth; it's amazing what sitting on a nice fluffy cloud can do to the mind.

  21. The comedy that writes itself..

    In addition to the goodies The Home Offoce lavished on the 1.56 million irregular citizens in the past five years
    Rotherham, of course, is offering discounted days out on a dinghy.

  22. Good morning. Is there any actual evidence that drivers over 70 cause more accidents due to poor eyesight?

      1. Just more paperwork to annoy us, a give those lazy stay, sorry, work at home snivel serpents something to do. Medical reports, hah, been to a surgery recently, the same with getting eyesight tested, always a wait.
        Labour are pushing us into the ground faster with all the frustration they hoist upon us.

      2. And People who are using their phones.
        Less likely to be elderly because they can't remember where they left them 😆😁😅

      3. Younger drivers should have a patience test. Hold their phones out of reach, then text them so that the phone beeps and monitor their physical reaction. If it includes sweating, twitching or involuntary grabbing for the phone, take their licences away!

    5. Oldies will then be more reliant on taxis; many taxi drivers are of a certain "heritage".
      Or Labour block voters as they're also known.

  23. Yo and Good Moaning to you all, from a warm and sunny (at the moment) C d S

    My reply fromthe Starministas to the petition

    Dear One Last Try

    The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Call an immediate general election”.

    Government responded:

    This Government was elected on a mandate of change at the July 2024 general election. Our full focus is on fixing the foundations, rebuilding Britain, and restoring public confidence in government.

    HahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaHahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaaHahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaaHahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaaHahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaahahahahahahhahhahahhahahahahhhaa x a million

      1. That was my reaction too. I would prefix the word 'arrogance' with 'contemptuous' towards the electorate.

    4. So, "yah boo, sucks to you! We've got another four years to keep shafting and gaslighting you."

      1. That is exactly what it is saying. We have started how we mean to carry on and F*ck the lot of you pathetic little plebs.

  25. Connor Tomlinson. imho the best journo/commentator out there.. says..

    One of these two groups within The Reform Party are going to be bitterly disappointed when the rug is pulled out from under them on mass deportations & clearing out of Islam in govt.

    One group are the 99% of the subscribers.. the other are Muslim donors.

  26. SIR – It’s not the vision of older drivers that’s the real problem – it’s the lack of indicator use, especially approaching roundabouts.

    Tina Ramsden
    Bramhall, Cheshire

    Think yourself lucky you don't live on mainland Europe, Tina.

    Here in Sweden, in particular, ¾ of drivers never use an indicator in any situation; while the other ¼ brake sharply at the approach to a hazard then put on their indicator after they have commenced the manoeuvre!

    Keeping within their lane while driving is another matter entirely!

    1. Same in Norway, Grizz. My abilities to read the other driver's mind has improved immensely after moving here. Can often tell what they are going to do before they even know it themselves.
      Morning!

      1. The best one so far was a bloke who slowed to a crawl and then turned – not brake light, no indicator.

        It's comedic.

          1. Yes, MB and I have often experienced the same doubts about drivers.
            I think it must be body language.

    2. Here in Sweden

      However, they do meticulously obey the 30 km/h speed limit outside schools.. in the dead of night.. during holidays.. then resume the Stig Blomqvist maneuvers for the rest of the journey.

    3. I was taught to signal only when leaving the roundabout. Its still the most obvious and least confusing thing to do.
      My driving instructor was German.

      1. Quite, Eddy. My (English) instructor never went near a roundabout. Had to read up on which lane to be in, seems to confuse some drivers.

        2. I was diverted through Houghton Regis – that is one roundabout after another! I've never seen so many in so short a space. To add to the joy they have a 20mph limit.

          1. Good grief. They slow things down, my experience. Do you think fewer accidents with more roundabouts…?

    4. I was very lucky to get a free hour's instruction after going on a Safe Driving course and after asking the instructors where all the surplus cash we paid went; the answer was to pay for visits by the Police to schoolchildren, and to Seniors for extra training. This "extra training" has really improved my driving and parking skills and I wish that such extra training had been available earlier.

  27. It’s not the vision of older drivers that’s the real problem – it’s the lack of indicator use, especially approaching roundabouts

    and corners

    and overtaking

    and pulling over to park/stop

    and lane changing

    The fault lies with car manufactures, who only allow 100 uses of the indicators when the car is inititially sold, after that an electronic card has to be topped up every 100 uses.

    They should make this known

    3. Quite often on roundabouts signaling makes not the slightest difference especially when a tailgating delivery driver sees a gap they have been hoping for.

    4. My bugbear is drivers who stop dead at a roundabout even though it is plain that there is no other vehicle on the roundabout.

      1. In France I've had them stop while on the roundabout to try to reverse because they missed their exit and I've also met some coming the other way. They just went the shortest route to the turn they wanted. Fortunately such experiences are very seldom experienced now.

        When they went through that spell of placing roundabouts everywhere, even very minor junctions, lots of French drivers hadn't a clue.

    5. Vis roundabouts – the problem is people entering them knowing they cannot exist, thus blocking the roundabout up for all traffic.

      The problem with soton is that if you don't do that, you never get anywhere.

  28. That's the 1st load of washing hung up, 2nd load on now, milk brought in and the DT's Weetabix & tea taken up to her.
    Nearly finished mug of tea, so time to get dressed, get the Van down to the garage and off to Ashover.

    Not got time to read the referenced article, but a BTL Comment:-

    In other news:-
    Families face fresh inheritance tax grab
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/08/12/reeves-to-hit-families-with-fresh-inheritance-tax-grab/
    Without forcing a digital currency changeover, how will they prevent people building up off the record savings in cash or other valuable items, eg sovereigns or jewellery to be handed on without being counted?
    A further incentive to keep cash.

    1. They've thought of that – an asset register that if you don't complete it, the state can take what it likes.

      It does that anyway.

      1. Our greengage tree has had a bumper crop this year – I'm having some for breakfast at the moment. I've stuffed the bottom of the freezer with them too.

    6. Buckthorn? berries bright orange in autumn (if you're sufficiently fortunate to still be there then).

  30. Morning All 🙂😊
    Hazy sunshine 18c slight cooling breeze.
    The government has made yet another decision without proper consultation. It's not actually older drivers that are the problem, it's people who when they get behind the wheel of a car seem to be under the impression that they are more important than anything else on the planet. Of course older drivers are the real problem they are easier to trace because they have all the correct documents and legal registration to be driving. Same old story……he's me bus…🛺

  31. And that's me dressed and logging off.
    Might be back on line later, depending on when I get home and what state I'm in!!
    TTFN

  32. Good morning Nottlers, currently 19°C (forecast to rise to 25°C), with clearing skies and a light breeze. So I've deployed the shorts for my weekly shop at Tesco Irvine. I'll be looking cool regardless, as yesterday I popped up to Glasgow to part exchange my 16 going on 17 year old (there's a song in there 🤔) VW Passat for an 8 year old Mini Cooper with only 34K on the clock. I had the Alec Issigonis model of Mini Cooper 30 years ago, for my daily commute of 65 miles each way to RAF Marham, which was great fun to drive. The newer BMW model is much larger but still fun!

    Which reminds me of a story a young lady from Kilmarnock once told me. Apparently some chap had asked her out on a date and would swing by in his 'Mercedes' to take her out. Not being so gallant, he pulled up outside her door and tooted his horn. She opened the door to see him sitting in a Smart Car, shook her head and promptly closed the door. 😄

      1. They have developed a serious case of bloat.
        Very different from the fun cars that presented a challenge to see how many could be crammed inside.
        (Just realised I've used the haram word "fun")

    2. My athletics coach in the late 60's bought John Sprinzel's wife's Mini Cooper S.
      He drove it like a lunatic but the acceleration and road holding were extraordinary.

      1. I met John in a pub near Chester in 1961, I had an ordinary Mini. We got chatting and he asked me if I'd thought of upgrading the engine. To cut a long story short he had a cylinder head in his car which had been 'altered' which I bought off him and it was changed in the pub car park as he had all the tools and gaskets with him. He took my old head to be modified.

        1. The car in question must have had all sorts of modifications, presumably done by him.

          Was the "S" of the Mini Cooper put there because it was his design modifications or did it merely stand for "sport"?

          1. My car? No just the head was changed. I was very polished as I remember. The head I got from him wasn't on his car it was in his boot

          2. I was referring to the athletics coach's ex Sprinzel car in my initial post replying to Feargal the cat's at the top of the thread, not yours.
            Apologies for lack of clarity.

      2. My first car was a 1968 Mini Traveller (woody estate). In white and rust… called it George (as one does when 18 years old), and love it even now.
        Swapped the 850 engine for an 1100cc, and made sure the brakes were good. Used to hurtle round London in it – acceleration was magic, as I kept the 850 final drive gearing, but top speed was unexciting – still, not important in London.
        Enchanting little car. Taught me a lot about mechanicking, repairs, welding, rust, leaks…

        1. When we lived at Allan Towers, a neighbour's son had a Mini Traveller.
          I remember it spent lot of time on the driveway being fiddled with.

          1. It was the wood trim that was the killer. It was screwed and glued on to the outside of the body, not as in the Morris Minor Traveller, being part of the framework. The Mini version seemed to be there just to trap water and promote rust…

        3. My first car was Hillman Hunter purchased off the branch porter for £70. Great car the best all round vision of any car I have driven.

        4. I had a '63 Mini. Push button solenoid on the floor and sliding windows with a pull cord to open the door. Ah, those were the days!

          1. My Traveller was as you describe, but as a Deluxe, started with a twist of a key, no floor-mounted buttons-
            Loved that little car!

    3. In 1969 a friend took me for a short spin in a Mini Cooper S. Came away pale and trembling – never been in a car with such acceleration!

      He told me afterwards he'd only insured it as a Mini Cooper, as the 'S' variant would have been beyond his means. To try to fool any casual observer he'd prised off the 'S' part of the name badge. Wouldn't, of course, get away with that these days, given the exactness of records. Last saw him (and the car) in 1973, so it seems he got away with it, at least until then.

  33. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/news-features/badly-behaved-dog-embarrassing/

    While I find mine infuriating – the concept of 'Stay' doesn't flicker in any of their minds – they are reasonably well behaved. I'd like them to do as I tell them, but they simply won't. They don't, however, chase after other dogs unless playing and given consent. They don't chase other animals. Oscar picked a fight with a Goose once and is terrified of them.

    The only command baked in is stop. Usually bellowed. I've seen Mongo in full pelt almost roll to a dead stop on hearing that. His entire expression changes from gormless idiot to alert and laser focussed. I don't use it often because it's a safety thing but we reinforce it every so often.

  34. https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/wet-wipe-island-thames-environment-wasteful-b1242445.html
    Our wasteful culture has led us to Wet Wipe Island – it needs to change
    I was utterly shocked when last back in England, at the colossal amount of rubbish in countryside hedgerows alongside the main roads – cans, paper, crisp packets, all kinds of stuff. Couldn't believe my eyes. I never remember the poor old place being such a shitheap when I used to live there.

    1. Agreed.
      It's getting worse here, but nothing like the scale of selfishness to be seen in England nowadays.

        2. From my observations, that's a good point.
          And removing bins because the IRA used them as bomb receptacles started the problem.

          1. The bin lorry is so large it can’t use many country lanes…so now a smaller lorry has to go round those, in addition to the large one.

          2. We have a very small one that comes down our hill. Separate collections for recycling and bag rubbish. We don't put much in the food waste bin.

          3. Similar, except just one bag for all. Friends Recycling Centre say it all goes to landfill or gets burnt. Can we possibly be being gaslit.

          4. Probably. But they collect on alternate weeks – one week for the recycling and the other for the bag. Not usually much in ours. Wine bottles, a few other bits.

      2. How difficult is it to take the stuff to the nearest bin, as you pass it? Hedgerows filled with dead crisp packets – keep them in the car until you arrive, FGS.

        1. I agree with you but if you can find a bin in a lay by it is often full. Yes, they should take it home.

        1. I don't know. I was outside the camper when a young lad came round the back. "Oh!" he said when he saw me and retreated. Next I saw of him was that he was walking on the footpath, not through somebody else's pitch. They aren't chavs next door, just the kids are self centred (it's all they know).

    2. It is appalling.
      Round the Spartie walking area, a small number of us try to keep the litter down (August is a wonderful month because schools are closed).
      I'm afraid it reflects the self-centred culture that has been encouraged over the past 20+ years with a top dressing of scrotes from backward parts of the world that have never seen a green spot they'd not like to trash.

      1. Similar here, anne. People chuck litter out of their vehicles, as they drive along. Also, until complaints grew in number, LA stopped cutting grass verges – bit dangerous coming out of a side lane.

        1. They only need to trim back near the sight lines, not everywhere.
          I remember back in the 70s – there was a fad for using Jeyes fluid on the verges – it was years before the wild flowers recovered.

          2. I enjoy the drive to Cirencester during the summer – there are large banks of Rosebay willowherb, mixed with cranesbill – very colourful. As the flowers on the willowherb creep up to the tops of the sticks, you can see summer slipping away. It's nearly all finished now.

          3. Yes, have a lot of it here, Ndovu…summer as you say slipping away. Not much if any leaf fall, hope they hang on for glorious autumn but weather forecast has some rain.

          4. We certainly need some rain……. it ‘s grey and muggy here today but I’d rather it was raining.

          6. I've noticed that the leaves on my fig tree are starting to yellow and fall. No cheap jokes about fig leaves falling off if you don't mind!

          7. Not from me, Conway 🙂 I guess the tree protecting what fruit it may have, or even itself…this weather quite murderous..do you usually get fruit, what’s it like plse?

          8. Last year was the first time it fruited. I had masses, but they never seemed to ripen, just fell off.

        2. The problem grew enormously round where we live when everyone started ordering things from the internet. Delivery drivers – stressed, underpaid, delivering to people who look through them as though they are furniture and live in houses they will never achieve by working, with no lavatories or litter bins provided by the wealthy communities of people who order everything from the internet….it was pretty predictable that the drivers would start using the countryside both as litter bin and lavatory.

          1. Been happening for years, when I walk my dog/s always take poo bags with me – one for dogs and at least one other for general litter.

    3. Look at the type of litter as well. It's all the same sort of demographic food. You never see a decent bottle of Malbec or Charlie Bigham shepherd's pie out there. Then there's the constant graffiti. It's all Labour's children. The welfare underclass not caring about the country because they're given everything so have no respect for anything. They litter because they're vile, lazy savages.

      It's simple: stop paying people to breed. Cut off the chav classes money and suddenly the revolting graffiti, the litter will, over a few years stop.

      1. Those same chavs, scrounging everything going – nagging schools to feed their children because they're too bloody lazy/stupid/disorganised to do it themselves. Kiddiwinks seem to have enough spare cash to constantly chow down on crisps, inflated potato starch crap, pseudo chocolate rubbish, drinks full of lethal chemicals and fancy bottles of water.
        The parents spend the time saved on cooking lying about getting tattoos and metal piercings.

        1. I see the point of buying bottled water – UK mains water tastes like swimming pools. That's why I only ever drink beer or cider when over there.
          Firstborn's water comes from a borehole on his farm, and tastes wonderful! Annual test for bacteria comes up with zilch, so what's not to like?

          1. It's mainly stored in plastic bottles. Heaven knows for how long or in what conditions.

          3. M&S do a good range of mineral waters in glass bottles, as do Selfridges, though theirs is even more pricey. The plastic bottles are light and cheap. Scottish, Tuscan and Icelandic are the best. Low in fluoride and high PH levels.

          4. I make do with water from the tap – can't remember when I last bought water in a bottle. Probably at an airport after going through security.

    5. What i don't understand is how the wet wipes which could be classed as a solid got into the Thames in the first place.

    6. I strongly doubt that any of us has been responsible for a wetwipe ending up in the Thames, but yet again, no doubt we will all be punished for the crimes of those who have.

    7. This is what happens when we have nothing but left or far left governments since Mrs Thatcher.

  35. OT – for those of you keen on classical music, the Beeboids repeated a programme about Alfred Brendel on Sunday. We watched it last night;

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00783dd

    It was made – amazingly – 25 years ago – eight years before Mr Brendel retired. It was interesting that he retained his Austrian accent – both when speaking English and German!

    One of my top five fave pianists.

    1. Have I told my Alfred Brendel story? He taught Paul Lewis and one time when I went to hear Lewis at the Wigmore Hall, there was someone in the seat immediately behind me who was fidgeting noisily and worse, singing along. You can guess what's coming. I turned round to ask him to please stop and found myself face to face with Alfred Brendel. Of course I said nothing!

        1. I like it! And you can bet that if I'd coughed or clapped between movements while he fidgeted and hummed, he'd have been the first to complain. But one forgives the master. I once heard him accompany Matthias Goerne in a performance of Shubert's Winterreise at the Wigmore and it was sublime.

  36. Does anyone here have solar AND batteries and previously just had solar?

    It's a long shot, but I'd be interested in what the real world savings are.

    1. No, but we want to install solar with batteries. There are a lot of videos on youtube from Americans who've gone off grid showing their setups. It's not just about savings, but also about resiliance.

      1. You might save in the short term but I doubt if you'll save enough to get your money back unlike your solar panels which pay for themselves in 10 years

        1. The market is skewed by subsidies of course.
          I wouldn’t go with the extra complication of batteries if not for the resiliance that they provide.

        2. That's the thing. If we had, say, 10kw of battery we would have had free electricity all night. We'd only just be running out of solar, and be using the 7p economy rate about now.

          If the sun came out, it'd top up the batteries again. But, the batteries are £3K, installation probably another £1000 and that's a big sum. Even considering 70% savings (up from the 30% we do now) that's still 89 a month which is a 4-5 year return.

          1. Can you let us know please who it is that provides economy electricity at 7p? Mine is about twice that rate.

          2. Clearly I'm not reading things properly. Maybe my hope was it was 7p. You're right, ours is 14p as well. Which rather makes calling it 'economy' a joke.

          5. Provided the sun shines to top up your battery and you are not using electricity whilst charging the battery

    2. We have solar panels and a Tesla battery, installed under the FIT scheme. Tesla guys came here to check out the installation in a black Tesla EV, very smart car and smart individuals. We still get all our hot water from the panels, and bills are quite low.

  37. Re the plant in the Scilly Isles. I did some searching on Bill’s wife’s suggestion but now have come up with this as an idea: a native from New Zealamd.

    Pittosporum crassifolium
    Kara
    A native of New Zealand, planted widely across the Isles of Scilly to provide shelter for potato and flower crop fields because of its ability to withstand high winds and salt air. Its thick evergreen leaves can do the job throughout the year, unlike the elm hedges that preceded it before the 1830s. Hedges grow to anything from 2 to 6 metres high, and of course it has spread invasively as well, so it seen almost everywhere, by itself or mixed in with other plants.

    https://oldfern.co.uk/wood/Trees/ScillyHedge.php#:~:text=The%20most%20successful%20were%20evergreens,up%20to%206%20metres%20high.

    1. I didn't realise the Pittosporum (which is everywhere in the Scillies) had fruits like those.

  38. Just in from fruit patrol. Very little on the brambles is ripe, but My God! the wet in the grass! It needs mowed, and I'll do it as soon as it's dried out rather more.

    2. I went to Korky the Kat's garden this morning at his invitation and spent a happy hour collecting a big carrier bag full of bullace (small type of damson) and luscious blackberries. Would that my own garden produced such wonderful fruit.

      1. Korky probably thought you were just coming round for tea and a bun but too embarrassed to stop you scrumping.

        1. I see did see an invitation from Korky to Elsie a day or two ago. He said to bring a bag…….

          1. Which I did, Ndovu. I had hoped to spend some time with him indoors for a chat and a catch-up over a coffee. Alas, he has a very painful back-ache, so I simply did some fruit picking into the plastic bag I had brought with me. Hopefully his back-ache will either right itself quickly or he will be able to get some medical help soon.

          3. I had the same problem last Wednesday, very painful left side of my back that stopped me getting comfortable and therefore no sleep. Then, after 24+ hours the pain disappeared completely. I must admit to doing rather too much work in the garden on the days before the pain set in. Strained muscle(s) is my diagnosis but I'm going to see my GP tomorrow. He'll probably tell me to behave myself and remember that I'm 76 and not 26!

          4. Hopefully the pain will disappear again – but your body is telling you to go a bit more careful.

    1. ZHani and his ilk are given the generic term “Jasper” – denoting trust fund/nepo-baby.

      Now, does this sound familiar? Amongst our Labour politicians and in particular the Union leader who died a few years ago but was “proud” of the fact he occupied a council house even though he was earning over £150k.

      “…The Jaspers are always letting others pick up the check. They are always finding the loophole, the tax write-off, the way around the rules, that does not apply to the boring, hardworking rest of us. And their hypocrisy in doing so, even while presenting themselves as champions of the downtrodden, is never, ever evident to them.…”

  40. A gentle reminder to Reform subscribers.. will Nigel deal with the inherent conflict of interest that faces any Muzzie in power?

    A Christian woman who fled Islamic persecution to seek asylum in the UK has won the legal right to remain in the country despite resistance from Islamic elements in the Home Office and evidence of ‘tampering’ with her application.

    2. There's the problem. The Home Office should be staffed with "proper" Brits, as it's their job to keep the masses out.

    3. There's the problem. The Home Office should be staffed with "proper" Brits, as it's their job to keep the masses out.

  41. Jack Kessler writes some utter garbage, but he's exceeded even his usual levels.

    But ultimately, Clinton had what all leaders crave: charisma.
    It is not a quality reserved for one wing of politics. Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni have it, but so too do Angela Rayner, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Emmanuel Macron. In this age of short-form content cynicism and climate nihilism, it shouldn’t work. Yet many of us still yearn to be swept off our feet by political entrepreneurs.

    1. The Ginger Growler, AOC and Micron – really?? He needs to go back on the tablets.

    2. Sorry, sos…none of them appeal to me, especially Clinton ('I did not have sexual relations with that woman'). Exception possibly Meloni although she seems to have backtracked on immigration. AO-C is a numptie did you see her silk dress with Tax The Rich in red paint – she's now one herself.

      1. I regard Clinton and his wife as probably the most revolting political couple on the planet.
        Corrupt to the core, in the old sense of the word corrupt. They disgust me.

      2. Not that rich, despite the rumours. Maybe $50k tops. Since she get $170k/year plus expenses, no surprise there.

  43. Police told they can reveal suspects' ethnicity in high-profile cases
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ypgg28nvpo

    The report includes a quote from ex-Met Chief Supt Dal Babu (look him up!). It doesn't include all of what he said on Radio 4 news this morning:
    "Because of the way social media operates, fake news and misinformation operates, the danger is that there'll be an expectation on the police to release information on every single occasion and if information isn't released, as happened with the alleged attack in Liverpool, the speculation would be from the far-right that this a black, or Asian or an asylum seeker so it does present some huge difficulties."

    1. 'Police told', as if this has now been permitted by the political class rather than considered a default.

  44. Police told they can reveal suspects' ethnicity in high-profile cases
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ypgg28nvpo

    The report includes a quote from ex-Met Chief Supt Dal Babu (look him up!). It doesn't include all of what he said on Radio 4 news this morning:
    "Because of the way social media operates, fake news and misinformation operates, the danger is that there'll be an expectation on the police to release information on every single occasion and if information isn't released, as happened with the alleged attack in Liverpool, the speculation would be from the far-right that this a black, or Asian or an asylum seeker so it does present some huge difficulties."

    2. Labour aren't doing anything to the economy that wasn't already being done before them, i.e. printing money like there's no tomorrow to keep the whole corrupt edifice from crashing down.
      They can't do anything, it's too late. Tomorrow is about to arrive.

        1. I don’t think it’s made a lot of difference tbh. The Bank of England is in the driving seat as Liz Truss found out. Reeves is the scapegoat and is a bit of a twit.

      2. 411287+ up ticks,

        Morning BB2,

        In my book it has been a forty year
        relay, pass the treachery baton via the lab/lib/con coalition party.
        With full support all the way, of the tribal electorate.

      1. 'Accountability and inclusion?' What is that nonsense? Why are we wasting British taxz payers money on this waste? 'Feminist funding in Iraq'. Dear freakin' life.

        There's waste everywhere.

          1. Why, when we've so many problems here at home are we faffing about spewing borrowed money to foreigners?

      2. Just listening to the recent Winston Marshall Show podcast with Charlotte Gill.

    4. If we assume Starmer is thick, his advisors are thick and that the 100,000 people in the OBR and Treasury bang plastic bricks together all day sat on the floor drooling and laughing at how clever they are then I would excuse such malignant behaviour as incompetence.

      As it is, they're not. Therefore the spiteful destruction of our economy is intentional and deliberate.

  46. The demonisation of white working-class boys is the real 'national disgrace'

    Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is part of the problem, not the solution

    Toby Young
    12 August 2025 8:15am BST

    I was a little surprised to read Bridget Phillipson's description of the underperformance of white working-class children at A-level as a "national disgrace".

    Is this the same Education Secretary who pulled the plug on a joint project by Eton and Star Academies to open a chain of free school sixth forms in some of our most deprived Northern cities to address precisely this issue?

    I'm afraid it is. To be fair to Phillipson, this is a problem she inherited, even if she has frustrated efforts to solve it. The Institute of Fiscal Studies drew attention to it 10 years ago, pointing out that white British pupils in the lowest socio-economic quintile were less likely to go to university than any other ethnic group.

    According to the Department for Education's latest figures, a lower percentage of white British pupils eligible for free school meals passed English and Maths GCSE at grade 4 or above than any other demographic group, save for "Gypsy/Roma" and "Irish traveller".

    The causes of this are complex, but poverty isn't the whole of the story. After all, the IFS also found that Chinese pupils in the lowest socio-economic quintile are, on average, more than 10 per cent more likely to go to university than White British pupils in the highest socio-economic quintile.

    Another factor, as Miriam Cates has pointed out, is that the vast majority of white British children in the bottom socio-economic quintile are being brought up in single-parent households, with only 12 per cent of their parents married and nine per cent cohabiting.

    But that, too, is an incomplete explanation. According to the Office for National Statistics, a higher percentage of African-Caribbean households in England and Wales are made up of lone parents with dependent children than white British households. Yet black Caribbean children eligible for free school meals outperform their white British counterparts.

    Perhaps the reason poor white students are struggling is because schools don't celebrate their identity, unlike almost every other ethnic group. Schools plaster the walls with pictures of high-achieving black Britons during Black History Month and bend over backwards to recognise the religious festivals of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. But most schools don't do anything to mark St George's Day.

    Indeed, when a school in Warwickshire invited pupils to wear "traditional cultural dress" to celebrate the "rich diversity of our community", it was so appalled when a 12-year-old white girl turned up in a Union Jack dress it sent her home.

    Insofar as schools do acknowledge the ethnicity of white British children, it's to lecture them about "privilege" and the shameful role their ancestors played in the transatlantic slave trade.

    The stark figures about the under-achievement of white children in the bottom socio-economic quintile obscure an even bleaker story about the gap between male and female students in this demographic.

    In England, 40 per cent of white British girls eligible for free school meals got grade 4 or above in maths and English last year, compared to 38 per cent of boys. When it comes to university, just 14.5 per cent of poor white boys started higher education in 2021-22, compared to 24.4 per cent of poor white girls.

    No doubt that's partly due to the demonisation of white working-class boys in schools, with the Netflix series Adolescence being the latest salvo in this constant assault on "toxic masculinity". But Bridget Phillipson is part of the problem, not the solution. Last month, the Education Secretary unveiled new Relationship, Sex and Health Education guidance designed to counter "the scourge of misogyny".

    "Before I was elected to Parliament, I managed a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, so I have seen first-hand the devastating impact when we don't foster healthy attitudes from the youngest age," she said. For "healthy attitudes" read finger-wagging condemnation of white working-class male culture, from football fandom to boxing.

    So, what's the solution? It isn't the introduction of bursaries for poor white boys. When a former pupil of Winchester and Dulwich College offered them a million pounds to fund scholarships for this demographic, both said no. Apparently, it's perfectly acceptable for Stormzy to set up a bursary for black students to attend Cambridge, but the equivalent for white boys is "racist".

    Perhaps the answer is to de-wokify our schools and – to paraphrase Martin Luther King – judge all children by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin or the nature of their genitalia. Looking at the data, it's hard not to conclude that white working-class boys are victims of the racial and sexual politics that have infected our entire education sector. Its capture by radical progressive ideology is the real "national disgrace", but don't expect this Government to do anything about that.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/12/demonisation-of-white-working-class-boys-is-real-disgrace

    Actually, Mr Young, the disgrace is the demonisation of all white people (except the chosen ones, of course).

    1. Spot on. People living in their own country have the right to expect protection in their own culture in the same way people expect the protection of their families in their own home.

    2. IQ when measured properly is a gauge of an innate capacity for reasoning and problem solving and not acquired skills. The problem is if it were used instead of the exercise of power which masquerades as egalitarianism, it would reveal that Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average scores and Negroid people have the lowest average, with everyone else ranged in-between. That is the already proven natural order. Yes, every group has it's exceptions at both ends of the scale. There are brilliant Africans and stupid Jews but not in high numbers. It isn't accidental that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew.

      1. The Warqueen's aptitude was tested at her works and she came out somewhere around 160. She is truly astonishingly capable.

        I'm delightfully dim being a crowd pleasing 136.

        1. Even in my prime I could only manage 120. There's a point at which my brain hits fog. I don't kid myself otherwise.

          1. I make no pretence to be especially clever. I am not. I am good at pattern recognition and visualisation.

            She, however.. abstract concepts, intuitive leaps, logic problems – never, ever play Cluedo with her.

          2. "She, however.. abstract concepts, intuitive leaps, logic problems – never, ever play Cluedo with her."

            Joining the dots…

      3. Don't forget that orientals also tend to score high. I think the comparison work done by the psychologist Hans Eysencck and parallel studies by the US military do suggest racial differences, but point out that within group variations are wider than group to group variations.

    3. At university there are groups who meet to 'bridge the attainment gap'. These groups are there to set out different marking schemes and pointing are consistent across departments to allow the diversity – who are inferior – to appear comparable with 'other' students.

      The same happens at school as money is poured into thick diversity for special tutors and lessons, with bodged marking schemes.

      Then the diversity hit the world of work and their managers find they are next to useless.

      1. There seems to be a standard career for women in the US:

        Succeed in feminised school.
        Study STEM subject at university, come out with high marks.
        Either stay on at university to teach OR get a job as an engineer.
        After one year, become a Project Manager, a Business Manager, Technical Visionary, Tech Ambassador or any other fancy sounding title where you don't have to do actual engineering.
        Bore the pants of everyone else forever by claiming to be an engineer.

          1. Those clothes look as if they have been a appropriated. In the case of the thing on the right…they were.

            Found stealing women's suitcases from airport luggage carousels on more than one occasion.

          4. The one on the left is that dodgy ‘Admiral’ and I haven’t a clue who the other one is.

        3. Having worked for years in US tech, I would not agree. Most women grads want to get their MBA's so they never do any real engineering. Some, a relative few, stick to the "techie" roles, and can be every bit as competent as men. Had a couple of same working for me in the years just before I retired. Both with STEM degrees and both very analytical. And I could happily leave either of them in charge when I went on vacation or on a long business trip.

          1. Approximately 1 in 10 engineers has been a woman throughout my career. I am not casting nasturtiums at them – I am one of them. However, a recent phenomenon is annoying girlies lecturing you from on high whilst claiming to be engineers when their actual coal-face experience is close to zilch.

    4. Unmentioned is that when most of us here were young, there were plenty of jobs in manufacturing, etc., for the non-academic schoool leavers. I remember 1960's Birmingham where the Post and the Mail would have pages of Sits Vac., both for men and women. Jill commented one day that she could put in her notice one Friday, have multiple interviews the next week and start a new job the next Monday. And on one occasion she proved it.

      The men's jobs bit the dust when BL collapsed taking its suppliers with it. Huge numbers of lost decently paying jobs. I always remember that in my first year or so as a Development Engineer, I was getting paid less than the people working on the assembly lines so they were well paying jobs.

    1. When you look at the 'rights' so bestowed they are about limiting them. The very act of government prescribing what you are permitted is, in itself a curtailment of freedom.

      The entire 'legal' framework of the rights industry is about ensuring those who shouldn't have them are pandered to and those who are owed complete freedom by default have none.

      This is how the Left wing mind works.

      1. It all stems from the code napoleon (EU law). Everything is forbidden unless the government passes a law to let you do it. Compare and contrast with (English) Common Law where everything is allowed unless there's a law to forbid it.

    2. Special Kaye
      3h
      This is because what is billed as "Human Rights" isn't human rights at all, but a cover for Communism, which of course has no human rights…

        1. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times and more, is enemy action. (Mr Bond)

    1. Mr Demos gets it. Marcus Chown represents bewildered normies who will carry on scratching their heads as the prison gates slam shut behind them.

      1. Some reason can’t get the link to work, but if you go to You Tube and search for ‘Hitler Rants Parodies’ you’ll find several, eg a recent one with Kamala (one is pretty much the same as the rest).

          1. I've enjoyed all the various Hitler Rants over the years, Annie, but just a couple of weeks ago I ordered a DVD copy of DOWNFALL and was reminded that it really is a superb film.

          2. It is. Bruno Ganz showed how Hitler could be charming and human. If he were as persistently awful as most make out, he would not have seduced so many followers.
            An acting tour de force.

        2. Thanks for your help, KJ200. It was wonderful watching AH rant about Joe Biden, Camala Harris, Donald Trump and the difficulty of getting a decent cheeseburger from Burger King. Lol.

      1. I love the way a dog can let one go, then sniff around looking confusedly for who or whatever did it.

      2. I love the way a dog can let one go, then sniff around looking confusedly for who or whatever did it.

    1. many of her friends stopped talking to her when she announced she was joining Nigel Farage’s Reform.

  55. Hello everyone ,

    Yesterday was so warm , and of course the veterans lunch I host was held in the local RBL.

    My veterans list is diminishing , why because those who served in the various skirmishes in Egypt and Palestine are now well into their nineties , the last of the call up , National Service chaps , those who had fought in Korea , Suez , Malaya and Cyprus and latterly Aden .

    For me , when I started gathering bods together for our county , it has been a very sad long goodbye .. I was in my very early fifties and the guys were in late sixties and seventies , for over 23 years I have greeted and hugged som good people , listened to their stories .. and how I wish that cretinous Rachel Reeves and previous chancellors could listen to the stories of hardship poor support our older servicemen have received , many went onto having their own businesses , bought or lived in rented accommodation, had families , successfully brought up their children , loyal to Queen and country , and now look what is happening …

    This new government has piled on more pain and anxiety than any other previous government .. many of my bods travel over here , sharing a lift in a car from the Poole and Bournemouth area ..

    All that they have known, shopping , green bowling , tennis , the theatre , strolling in Bournemouth parks , meeting their children , travelling on the roads , bus rides to town , train rides .. etc etc and shopping , paying bills , keeping warm , and still being taxed to smithereens .. ageing here in Britain is a nightmare for many .. the elderly are victims of a rapacious CRUEL government , and their freedom has been curtailed by the insecurity on the streets in the familiar places they live in..

    How in Gods name can our own adult , aging ex servicemen who missed bullets , pipe bombs , spat at and with sand storms and searing heat .. doing all this for the Queens shilling , now be faced with the dark skins of that culture they were paid poorly to confront .. how and why are these wretches allowed into Britain .. it is an insult to our veterans , some of who are still badly scarred and injured HOW and WHY has this been allowed to happen .

    Sorry to be so vituperative .. I feel so angry .. and tearful ..

    1. You should be. They gave something for others to be free.

      Starmer profits from removing our freedoms and undoing everything they died for.

      I hate him, and every other Labour vermin.

      1. Lived in safety and didn't need to be afraid to walk in the street or leave our doors unlocked. I remember it well.

    1. Last Saturday on Southend beach! It was the 2025 Sierra Leone Outing 🇸🇱 which is said to be “the biggest and longest-running Sierra Leonean

    2. It's an invasion, simple genocide.

      The country is simply infested. Also note that all the blacks are there during the day – because none of the vermin work.

    3. I thought it looked okay. As long as there is no violence i don't see the problem. I expect the food was good too.

  60. The fragrant Dame Diana Johnson is the policing minister.

    "But Dame Diana said: “I would not advise people to tackle an individual who was stealing. I came across someone stealing in a store in Hull.

    “I went straight to the assistant to tell them what was happening. I felt that was the best thing to do."

    Too right, Missus. Let a teenager on the minumum wage get shanked instead of you.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/08/13/dont-put-expensive-items-front-of-shops-labour-shopkeepers/

    3. I didn't want our Parish Council to have one (after all, we didn't have one of HMQEII), but I was outvoted.

  62. So who would trust our government with the power over the new mobile facial recognition systems that are to be deployed on our streets?
    Their purpose they say is to catch violent criminals and rapists etc.
    With the dreaded words, they will help to keep us safe, that always spells disaster for our freedoms.
    But there again close circuit tv was supposed to do that but by all accounts when criminals are caught on camera the police rarely made use of them.
    I think these are just a trial run for something far more sinister when we are all on social credit apps and ID to control our movement.

    1. Of course it is, and no. The state has no interest in criminality. It's sole intent is to suppress and control others. The state will use on train CCTV not to arest and control the black rapist flasher, but to destroy those who opposed him.

      Countless knew about the pakistani muslim paedophile rapists. They did nothing. Plod even encouraged and endorsed it. The state tried, at every turn to suppress knowledge of it, locking the one person talking about it up, repeatedly to get their own way.

      This is simple oppression.

      1. When they get their values from a book that tells them that the "age of consent" is 9, and also tells them that is OK to lie to and kill unbelievers, what do you expect?

    2. Groundwork for fifteen minute cities at a guess. You are out of your zone, your bank card won't work any more.

      1. Our bank cards won't work any more in our local Suffolk town – all our local bank branches have closed. The town has now become a centre for training PCSOs.

          1. I was in the bank as it was finally closing down. Two PCSOs in training said that were responding to an incident at the bank. No one was aware of any problem so I took the opportunity of complaning about the criminality of the bank closing.

    1. In Woke UK, Big Sister (or Brother who has declared itself female) is watching YOU

    1. And put "Britons" returning from holidays/business/family reunions in those countries near the top of that list, looking at the second group.

    2. On the way down here I saw Motorway bridges adorned with union flags and St George's crosses – oh and a slogan "Stop CBDCS!.

        2. I went into one t'other day Elsie, even though it was against my principles (antisemitic bastards, I say). Even though I needed to shop, there was nada – zilch – that i wanted to buy. Drove a few more miles to a Farm Shop selling very expensive local produce. Lots I wanted to buy, but couldn't afford, though did overspend on lovely food.

  65. IS this where missing dogs end up?

    Vietnamese restaurant is forced to shut down after DOG MEAT was discovered in the freezer by hygiene inspectors
    By TOM COTTERILL, SENIOR REPORTER

    Published: 12:14, 13 August 2025 | Updated: 12:26, 13 August 2025.

    A Vietnamese restaurant in London has shut down after inspectors allegedly found dog meat in the freezer.

    It was labelled 'goat wrapped in leaves' but when they sent it for analysis it came back as dog meat, a court heard.

    They also reported mice droppings and live and dead cockroaches at Pho Na restaurant in Old Kent Road, Southwark.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14996047/Vietnamese-restaurant-forced-shut-DOG-MEAT-discovered-freezer-hygiene-inspectors.html

          4. Yes but with the huge increase in migrants, they are eating our swans , geese . wild birds ( glue traps ) probably our cats and the huge amount of trusting dogs that have been kidnapped and eaten ..

          5. Well. Remembering the adage “socialism begins with kumbaya and the brotherhood of man, and wnds with you eating your dog”.

            Never say never.

    2. Many years ago there was an "upmarket" Chinese restaurant in the centre of Birmingham. Everybody liked it. Then cat pelts were found behind the restaurant…

      But it was soon forgotten and they continued to do well.

      The other curiosity of the time was the disproportionately high sales of KitEKat in certain areas of the city. Along with paraffin for heating and cooking.

      2. I won't eat out or indulge in food cooked by other tribes I know nothing about .

        Why, because I / husband and I have had some bad experiences .. eating out is a lottery .and I have to bee really certain that the food I eat is to be trusted!

        1. The big surprise about that place was that it was upmarket and far from cheap, which means they could easily have afforded to buy the chicken they were substituting. It had had a celebrity opening and was there for many years.

          I remember one time when one of my friends in college who was Hong King Chinese, was visited by his mother and sister. Mother invited me and another pal, who our HK friend had obviously told his parents about, to lunch at said restaurant years after the problem. We were both properly dressed, as we were in those days. Just as well as when we met mother and sister, both were very elegantly clad in the classic silk cheongsam dresses, with slits way up the thigh – not common in Brum in those days. What was scary was not that sister was gorgeous – she was a complete knock out, but that mother was equally gorgeous. We got a lot of "lucky b*ggers" looks that day.

          1. Okay, but the food that you ate?

            We can all dress swishly but when the plate in front of you contains doubtful ingredients .. and a cockroach or two, that is the time to say thanks and no thanks !

          2. Probably a Chow Mein of some sort – typical '60's choice. When I actually went to HK many years later, I did not recognize one item on the local menus. And could not get over how loud things were – all the diners seemed to communicate at the top of their voices.

        2. I love food from all over the world but I too have stopped eating out since most restaurants (British ones are just as bad) tend to use iffy ingredients and poisonous cooking oils that I want nothing to do with.

          That's why I cook all these dishes for my own consumption at home using decent fresh ingredients that I know the provenance of and only I use beef tallow, lamb suet, pork lard, butter and ghee in their preparation and cooking.

      3. Nothing surprises me, and that was a rumour in the 1960's .. cheap slitty eyed food , when corner shops were taken over by fast food rice emporiums .. with a little something extra.

    1. They don't need to speak English. All the necessary paperwork to claim benefits and get free NHS treatment is translated for them (at our expense).

    1. I ringed a few sedge warblers (as well as 77 other species) during my time as a licensed BTO ringer back in the early 1990s.
      Sedgies are one of my favourites and their song is a delight.

      1. You will be interested in this reply , me ole Grizzly !

        Lee Evans (LGRE) – the official account
        @LeeEvansBirding
        But beggars the question of why would a juvenile Sedge Warbler migrate north in autumn when it should be heading in a southerly direction. Rather baffling. Not a species I expect post-breeding north dispersal of as you get with GWE and other waterbirds?

        1. I've met one-eyed Lee on a number of occasions and he knows his birding. He may only have one eye but it's as sharp as mustard.

      2. The only ringed avians hereabouts are ring-necked green bloody parakeets. I'd prefer them to be wring-necked , but they wisely stay out of reach…

    1. A person would have to be an educated simpleton to believe that rubbish.
      You won't find the recent arrivals signing up for it.

    2. Going out to dinner with daughter and granddaughter tomorrow. We discussed venues, as in which steakhouse should we go to.

    3. Britain’s food security at risk as one in eight dairy farmers plans to quit

      Producers hit by labour shortages, rising staff costs and looming inheritance tax changes

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/e0225ceebef2c7a8

      Mr Sheridan Williams
      2 hrs ago
      What cretins elected this government?

      Tim Jeffery
      1 hr ago
      Reply to Mr Sheridan Williams
      Only 18.5% of voters.

      G Bond
      2 hrs ago
      If that economically imbecilic Chancellor Reeves could be advised , which is doubtful, I would suggest that her IHT changes to ABR and BPR were scrapped and tax of any sort was only imposed when the asset value of the farm or business was sold , nobody resents paying tax on a realised profit, but to destroy a farm or business is reprehensible .

      Neville Matthews
      2 hrs ago
      Reply to G Bond
      We all need to understand they are vindictive Communists.

        1. Firstborn has moved to a meat-based diet, and is feeling better and looking better already.

          1. Yes, my husband been following Carnivore Diet for couple years, has more energy. Occasionally eats a piece of fruit, portion green salad. Character not changed tho.

      2. "Plant -based" means horribly processed crap. What is the matter with eating home-grown vegetables, fresh from the ground?

        1. That isn’t what they mean by “plant based”, though. They mean crap like vegan sausages.

          1. Not so sure. There’s a pack of ‘plant based’ tea in the cupboard which I noticed a couple of days ago.

    5. Been touting this for years. Ignore. Eat/drink as you please. I quite like chocolate cake and vodka.

  70. Signing off early – going to see old chums for a drink. Supposed to b a bit of rain in the night. Doubt it. Market tomorrow.

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain. Eventually.

    1. It rained here – just as I was thinking of putting the awning out. I thought twice about it and left it.

  71. Wordle No. 1,516 4/6

    ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 13 Aug 2025

    Ersatz yoghurt for Par Four?

    1. Sour double bogey today.

      Wordle 1,516 6/6

      ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
      🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
      🟨🟩🟩🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Well I had a lot of fun with this one – having established the word ended in IR I tried an Icelandic monetary unit and started to struggle – I nearly gave up before bunging in an Islamic holy man which led me to the correct answer – a word I always thought was more closely associated with a derogatory term used by White South Africans about Black South Africans! Nonetheless limped over the line for a bogey…….

      Wordle 1,516 5/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟨⬜⬜🟩🟩
      🟨⬜🟨🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

          1. and is derived a word from the Arab traders along the ease coast 'Kafir' = unbeliever.

    3. Very tricky. My wife has a pot of the stuff in the fridge.

      Wordle 1,516 4/6

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. Awful word that I'd perhaps heard once or twice. Took up far more of my day than it deserved.

      Wordle 1,516 4/6

      ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨
      ⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
      🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Indeed, Auntie Elsie. I much preferred Fleetwood Mac when Peter Green was still with them. 😉

        1. I bow to your superior knowledge, Grizzly. I've heard of Fleetwood Mac, but have no idea who Peter Green is/was.

          1. He was the virtuous guitarist who started the band. It didn’t have a name and when asked what they were called, Green just looked across at his drummer (Mick Fleetwood) and his bassist (John McVie), pointed at them and said, “Er … Fleetwood … er … Mac.”
            After he left (he had a breakdown), the rest of the band recruited other band members and they released a multi-million selling album called … “Rumours”.
            It was Peter Green who played the hauntingly beautiful tune Albatross.

          2. Thanks, Grizzly, a really interesting fact. The interesting facts I know of mainly consist of "motion picture factoids" and those concerning singers, composers, and lyricists of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s.

          3. A 10cc song [“Flying Junk”] has the lyric, “Ooh, he’s a remnant, from the swinging sixties …”
            I knew when I first heard that they were referring to me! 👍🏻🤣

          4. Some years ago Peter Green was at a party to which I had been invited; he was there with another musician, sadly now deceased. Wonderful to have met him, but a shadow of his former self.

  74. Does anyone know when the JWK is addressing the nation? I thought it was to be this week!

    2. August 15th, I assume as that's VJ day. He'll probably apologize to the Japanese for the Bridge on the River Kwai film.

    1. Looking your teeth, demand an NHS dentist straightens them.
      Your every wish is our command.

  77. Evening, all. I did manage to get access to wifi so here I am (in Ivinghoe). Off to Radlett tomorrow for a photo shoot with the dogs. A fly has managed to get into the motorhome when I had the door open and Winston is chasing it round. I did want to put some windbreaks up to form a pen so he could have a bit of freedom (the motorhome is quite cramped for an active dog), but the ground is like iron and I had to abandon the idea. Next on the shopping list will be post holders like the ones used for rounders (only smaller holes), This laptop is playing up and a) the mouse pad won't work and b) there is no carriage return, so apologies for no paragraphs. The government has no idea what it's like to live in the country. They despise country people anyway.

  78. Second migrant at Epping hotel charged with sexual assault
    Mohammed Sharwarq faces seven charges linked to offences alleged to have been committed between July 25 and Aug 12

    2. Please note that the total charges against Mohammed Sharwarq are as of close of business Tuesday. Today's offences haven't been taken into account.

  80. I don’t really understand the use of the phrase, people smuggling and people smuggling gangs, smuggling was traditionally done in remote places under secrecy and under the threat of serious punishment if caught and any goods seized and destroyed.
    The people coming across on dinghies are not being smuggled, it is being done in plain sight with no consequences, the authorities are even aiding and assisting the process, to call this smuggling is just gaslighting in the extreme.
    In reality it is just straightforward state deception.

      1. Or so arrogant they couldn't care less about what we think, although we a) put them where they are and b) pay for that privilege.

  81. David Lammy faces £2,500 fine for fishing without licence with JD Vance
    The foreign secretary referred himself to the Environment Agency after he and the US vice-president fished for carp at Chevening without the correct permits.

    The foreign secretary could be facing a fine of thousands of pounds for going fishing with the vice-president of the United States without a licence.

    David Lammy and JD Vance were pictured last week with rods in the grounds of Chevening, the grace-and-favour country estate used by foreign secretaries, during the vice-president’s family holiday to the UK.

    The two men confirmed they had been fishing for carp, along with their children, but said that the adults had failed to catch anything. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/david-lammy-fishing-fine-59m5l0cp3

    At the start of their meeting, Vance said: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not.”

    1. Some of them looked a bit dads army, not like the ones turning out for the hotel protests.

    4. The Police are all fatties. They remind me of "The Laughing Policeman" by Charles Penrose.

  83. BBC Radio4 of course.

    Here theologian and author Dr Krish Kandiah explains the technical term xenophobia. All phobias are, by definition, irrational. Nevertheless, they have a huge impact.

    Here's his example.. MP RobertJenrick said he wouldn't want his daughters living near "men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally and about whom you know next to nothing".

    1. Well, we do know something; if they're muslims, they will see his daughters as fair game.

      1. Is She suggesting that Islam is suitable for the UK and she won't mind if it becomes the predominant aspect in the way our country is run in the future ?

        2. 'Evening, Geoff….will no-one rid us…hope you're loving this heatwave just as much as I am…(not…:-D)xx

          1. Hi Kate. Not much of a heatwave today. Warm, but mostly dull, with thunderstorms. Prolly my fault. Yesterday I finally got around to refixing the back (West-facing) door roller blind. Today, I didn't need it… x

      1. SWMBO is planning a family visit to the UK this autumn, and has warned us all to keep it buttoned in case we get into trouble for some form of illegal speech.
        Last time I watched what it was I said was during visits to Soviet Russia.
        Scary.

        2. When my mother died I made some innocent comment to the lawyer dealing with my mothers estate. It was something really meaningless about the amount of Canary Wharf that the Canadian Government Pension Plan owned.

          He warned me that i modern day Britain, some would take offence at such a comment so I needed to be careful!

  90. BBC apologises after Jenrick accused of xenophobia

    A BBC statement said that while Dr Kandiah's message was "broadly in line with expectations of Thought for the Day, some of the language it used went beyond that and we apologise for its inclusion".

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dxqwkwx5qo

    Well, it's almost an apology.

  91. Goodnight, all. I've had a tiring day with road closures and diversions, plus the inevitable traffic jams when they reduced the speed on the Motorways.

  92. 'Evening, all. News from NoTTL Mission Control: as most are aware, I've had eyesight issues since November. Retinal bleeds in the "good eye". It's a few months since the last laser session dealing with unwanted blood vessels (a diabetic thing). Some blood remains, but is receding. I've been reliant on accesibility settings on the 'pooter, with white text on a black background, in order to keep in touch.

    Today, I turned that setting off for some reason (wasn't important; I forget why). Suddenly, colour is restored. It's fuzzy, admittedly. But it's definitely progress. It's easier to follow and respond to comments, and the notification "red dot" is now visible. I've caught up with upvotes, but there are comments which deserve a reply, but they are on pages not easily available to reply, so apologies…

    I still struggle to read black text on white, including music, but I'm getting there. Hymns I can do from memory, as long as I know the key and the numer of verses. Voluntaries, not so much. But as long as I don't bleed again, I anticipate being able to read music for the voluntaries at my last service at the end of September, when I'm due to "be retired".

    1. Wow! Great news, Geoff! Delighted to hear it and hope the improvement continues apace!😁

      1. I hope so, Sue. Last appointment, I was told there was not very much blood, so there was no need for surgery. Cataracts are the problem. "OK, so can we deal witth those?" "We don't recommend it, as you have had diabetic issues".

        Yet I know what I can see. First thing, before rising, I can read my smart watch without specs. Getting out of bed, I have an interesting 3D pattern ofstreams of blood. Almost pretty. Then it spreads out and everything becomes blurred. Worse when I move about, but a few hours in front of the laptop of an evening and it becomes sharper.

        1. Prayers for you, Geoff. Hope the improvement continues. We were nearly without an organist on Sunday morning. One of the servers stepped in at last minute and played very well. He’s Nicholas Riddle, chairman of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards.

        2. Ooo… urgh.
          Now I feel queasy.
          That's not at all fun, Geoff. Hope it can be made to go away in a good and painless manner!

    5. My word , you are cheerful and positive Geoff .

      I wish we could turn the clock back for you , but so pleased there is some improvement .. no matter how slight .

      Hugs from me .. xx

    7. In the words of my favourite bard, Dylan Thomas;

      Do not go gentle into that good night
      Rage, rage, against the dying of the light……

    9. Great news, may the progress continue.
      Your blog is a social lifeline to many, I'm sure.

      Good luck.

    10. That's good news Geoff – I hope your sight will continue to improve.
      Has being the organist become a burden or will you miss it?

    12. I went through laser treatment on a retina years ago. After several laser sessions and a number of injections, the doctor declared that my eyesight in the bad eye was now good enough that I could legally drive.

      Heavens to betsy, if people with vision as poor as that are allowed to drive then I am staying home.

    13. How lovely to hear of.your progress, Geoff. Long may it continue!

      it occurs that it is possible to invert black and white when printing documents, given a bit of technical savvy. I wonder if it might be possible to get someone to try that with the score to a voluntary, possibly enlarging the size as well, to see if (sorry!) you can read that? Just a thought.

      All the best from Buenos Aires,

      Katy x

      1. If you don't use black paper, it'd cost a fortune in ink… and can you get white laser-printer ink?
        Morning / afternoon / evening, Katy!

        2. Wouldn’t a print shop do it? Básic B/W, no need for white ink?

          PS Morning, lovely!

  93. And an enjoyable day was had at Ashover show.
    A bloody hot one though!

    And it ended with a tour of the three pubs in the village, a walk back to Kelstedge and a pint in the pub there before catching the bus back to Matlock, then to Cromford and the DT picking me up to come home.
    A cold bath as soon as I'd sorted my stuff out and a bite to eat has now left me ready for bed.

    Good night all.

  94. I hope there are no Spurs fans here….

    European Super Cup v Paris St Germain… Spurs 2-0 up with 5 minutes to go, then concede two in the final five minutes, so 2-2 and penalties.

    Spurs 1-0 in the penalties – PSG having missed their first – go on to lose 4-3, what a set of chokers……

  96. Well, chums, I overslept and have just woken up. So a belated Good Night, and my very best to Geoff with his eye problems; here's hoping that matters continue to improve. Sleep well everyone, and I hope to see you all early tomorrow morning.

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