791 thoughts on “Wednesday 15 January: Princess Anne has shown how to balance royal duty with independence”

  1. First some latest news:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9f90128cb6857053d679039188f4edbf39b35c57db1275267917a56b60b650b.jpg
    In case it wasn’t clear enough already that the EU despises any sort of national pride, if it isn’t obsession with the European Project, the Brexit Party is no longer allowed to display Union Flags on their desks. Petty nonsense from the EU once again.

    …and now for today’s funny:

    Oh To Be Eight again!

    A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching his wife, who was looking at herself in the mirror.
    Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she’d like to have for her birthday.
    ‘I’d like to be eight again’, she replied, still looking in the mirror .
    On the morning of her birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Coco Pops, and then took her to “Adventure World” theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Roller Coaster, everything there was.
    Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down. He then took her to a McDonald’s where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate milkshake.

    Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soft drink, and her favourite lollies, M&M’s. What a fabulous adventure!
    Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted.
    He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, ‘Well Dear, what was it like being eight again?
    Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.

    ‘I meant my dress size, you f@*#*! retard!’

    The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he is gonna get it wrong.

    1. Morning Tom

      Nice to see that someone else is wide awake .
      It’s the way you tell them.. and an early morning chuckle thrown in.

      Why are the EU wallahs so petty minded and spiteful ?

      1. Coz they’re EU wallahs…and will never be any more…being a paper-shuffling EU wallah is the very apogee of their power and life.

      2. The flood waters were rising quite rapidly and a frog and a scorpion were marooned on an islet that was getting smaller by the minute.

        The scorpion asked the frog if he would give him a ride to dry land. “Hey” said the frog, “if I do you must promise not to sting me ‘cos if you do we shall both die.”

        “I promise” said the scorpion but half-way to safety the scorpion stung the frog. As he died he’s asked, “Why did you do that despite your promise?”

        The scorpion replied with his dying breath, “It’s in my nature.”

        A sentiment that applies to the EU wallahs.

        1. Morning NtN,
          Also could be said to “nige” most definitely
          and his rhetorical take on the UKIP membership the very people that worked for, & gave him a platform
          to build his image.
          Check out his uncalled for, unwarranted, undeserved, rant.

          1. Good morning. ogga1

            I have asked you this question before but I don’t remember getting an answer:

            Why is UKIP so much more important to you than actually getting free of the odious EU?

          2. Morning R,
            In the nicest possibly way I do believe your memory to be at fault on occasions.
            You would NOT think but in many mindsets UKIP had very little to do with the referendum,
            when In point of fact they created and triggered the referendum.
            You give farage credit when he is a top self interest politico.
            one time mogg was the man, turned out not to be so.
            Then johnson will do the trick, but who will benefit ?
            Strawclutchers galore.
            As it is currently the brexitexit issue depends on “hope” & that is bloody incredible.
            I am not going to support & vote for well known treachery dealing parties whatever the cost to rescue a multitude of political tossers who have continued to support / vote for the very parties that were quite happy rubber stamping the eu every demand right up to the referendum.
            UKIP at this moment in time is suffering from internal treachery via the NEc running a treacherous campaign against real ukippers.
            I believe in honesty and holding on to self respect when supporting a party & that is not to be found in supporting / voting for the lab/lib/con coalition party.
            Breaking out of the odious eu that supporting / voting fools have kept us in for decades at ALL costs, is not worth the rape / abuse of one child in my book, but there are many who would think it is.
            We should have been out four years ago and well down the road of clearing up the sh!te created by these governance parties, members & voters.

        1. Having read it again, I think he was identifying that it was flags and not any other item carrying a replica of the Union flag.

          Will he now appear wearing a Union flag suit, or T-shirt? I would if it pi$$ed ’em orf.

    3. For God’s sake cool down Farage and leave with dignity rather than histrionics. You’ve won. Depart your immediate stage with head held high. Les Deplorables such as us will carry you on our shoulders when the occasion is appropriate. Get a grip of your ego…if only for a week or two.

    1. ‘Twas thumping down in Wilts last night but is now benign if a bit mucky (and I’m not talking about my near neighbours). Improving weather is on its way to you..

      1. Yes it’s grey & dull in my bit of Wilts (more to the S & E of you) and I’m feeling cheated as the forecast promised a sunny day today.

          1. Yes the sunshine has arrived here too mid-morning. I’m hoping the sunny forecast for Saturday and Sunday holds as I shall be tramping across ploughed fields picking up bits of flint and it was pretty chill last weekend with the wind.

    1. That group of Labour leader hopefuls forms the best charisma free zone for quite some time.

  4. Can’t get excited about Big Ben Bonging on the 31st, it’s not as if we know that we are really leaving properly yet.

    1. Good Morning, eeyore

      Of course it’s not congruent with many NoTTLers’ wish list but it’s a heck of a lot better than I expected a few short months ago.

      1. Not necessarily zx.
        .
        This is from a Labour publication:

        “To make matters worse, Johnson is reported to have ended
        all no deal preparations: a serious error!

        The lesson of the last three years is that the EU only gives an inch when faced with a
        credible threat of no deal.”

    3. Morning B3,
      Don’t go kicking “hope” in the teeth Bob
      a great “deal ” depends on it.

    4. There once was a country vicar who said to his curate John,
      “I bet I’ve had more women than you” and the curate said
      “You’re on! You’re on!” and the curate said “you’re on!”
      “Tomorrow outside the church we’ll stand and this shall be the sign”
      “You ding-a-ding for the women you’ve had,
      and I’ll ding-a-dong for mine, for mine
      and I’ll ding-a-dong for mine”.

      There were more ding-a-dings than ding-a-dong dongs
      ’till a pretty young maid walked by
      and the curate went ding-dong
      “Ah”, said the vicar “Don’t ding-a-dong there
      that’s my wife I do declare”
      “Well” said the curate “I don’t care”
      with a ding-a ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong
      with a ding-a ding-a ding-a ding-dong.

  5. Morning everyone. It’s too quiet out there. There must be something really nasty going on that I don’t know about!

    1. Watch out Minty…everybody is conspiring against you and I’m not going to tell you……yet

      1. TB,
        The small print in the “deal,” and many a fools dependency
        on “hope” the pm does the right thing concerning such an issue of importance, is to me beyond believing.

    4. Morning AS,
      Surely the heavy coating of the royals
      issue continuing, & the MsM attention is the alarm signal.

  6. The government has taken its first steps towards repatriating the children of Isil recruits on the condition that their mother agrees not to accompany them back to the UK.

    The government is to “urgently investigate” if it can repatriate four British children who are currently residing in a Syrian refugee camp.

    Mehak Aslam has been in the camp with her four children for nearly a year while her husband, Shahan Choudhury, is detained in a nearby prison. The couple has been stripped of their British citizenship. Choudhury is a former Isil gravedigger.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/15/government-issues-ultimatum-british-isil-recruit-kids-can-come/

    Who on earth has made this decision which is absolutely crackers, has none learnt any lessons .. send them back to the home of their grandparents .

    1. Morning TB,
      I am sure you know as I know
      PC / appeasement rules OK ?
      As in abuse of people power.

    2. As soon as the child’s foot has touched these shores, it will get a lawyer and will no doubt suddenly need parents to sooth its trauma. Dubbs has already been on the radio this morning.

    3. These children would become instant martyrs, having been forcefully denied the presence of their ‘ Oh so caring’ parents, thereby becoming an excuse for atrocities on these shores to be carried out to avenge them. Future extremists in the making.

  8. Morning all

    SIR – Armed Forces pilots are awarded different wings badges according to their service. If one switches uniform, for instance from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force, Queen’s Regulations are clear: he or she must wear the wings of the new uniform (I did precisely that). Princes Philip, Charles, Andrew and Edward followed this rule, as did King George VI.

    When Princes William and Harry decided to wear their original wings (RAF and Army respectively) on their other uniforms while carrying out ceremonial duties, it sounded a clear alarm to many that they considered their personal preferences more important than tradition and the stipulations of Queen’s Regulations. It is disrespectful to the Royal Navy to wear the wings of the RAF (or Army Air Corps), and vice versa.

    Justin Tooth

    London W3

    SIR – The Duke of Sussex served with courage and distinction in Afghanistan. Now, my large circle of ex-servicemen friends and I are unanimous in our disappointment at the way he has subjected the Queen to strain and unpleasantness.

    His behaviour is no doubt intended to support his wife, but he should recall the words of Richard Lovelace: “I could not love thee, dear, so much, / Lov’d I not honour more.”

    Major Colin Robins

    Bowdon, Cheshire

    1. While I applaud the Major’s regimental loyalty to the Queen, any married man must balance the demands of his regiment with that of his wife. This dilemma is not new, and was well understood by St Paul when addressing the Carinthians at the start of Christianity, the State religion of the Queen. It was behind the Vow of Celibacy that has caused its own problems within the Catholic Church.

      The Queen is reigning monarch, but she is also a mother and a grandmother and has her own family loyalties, and a maternal and grandmaternal instinct to care for the welfare and interests of her children and grandchildren. Some do it better than others, but the more nurturing approach of, say, the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother has produced a better result than the stiff formality of Queen Mary or the emotional selfishness of Queen Victoria, herself the victim of a dreadful mother. While Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Cambridge have arrived at a good balance between duty and maternity, it could be argued that the late Princess of Wales rather overdid the caring side over duty.

      Elizabeth II has acted with her usual impeccable discretion. She has seen how much Harry is in love with his forthright American wife. What Meghan wants, Meghan gets, as this is the rule of women in a woman’s world – a man that does not adequately jump to attention gets the push, and the law will gleefully screw him into the gutter. This is the way things are done now.

      Harry lost his mother in childhood; he doesn’t want to lose his wife too, who has left him and gone to Vancouver. He has seen how she treated her first husband, or her father in the name of the Sisterhood. My mother remarked to me yesterday that she has never seen a troubled man so happy as he was when he announced his engagement to Meghan, but such happiness comes at a price, as any married man well knows.

      Harry is sixth-in-line, thanks to the breeding capability of the Cambridges. He is not really that crucial to the sustainability of the monarchy, and therefore need not be quite so bound by duty as his brother must be. The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth, as well as Sovereign of the United Kingdom. She is also Queen of Canada, a loyal and important Commonwealth member – increasingly so after Brexit, and considering how global warming may well make Canada both a breadbasket and controller of an important Arctic sea route. It may well suit both her, and the interests of the Realm, to send a major prince to Canada, which becomes effectively a principality with its own prince.

  9. SIR – Rev Christopher Miles (Letters, January 13) is correct: there should be no great show of celebration by Brexiteers on January 31.

    Those who supported Leave did so with quiet determination, voting twice to achieve their aim. Although I am a committed Brexiteer who has thought that our membership was a mistake since 1973, I will observe the day with some sadness that, having joined, we were unable to obtain the reforms that successive prime ministers attempted in order thpolat we could stay.

    I will be celebrating quietly at home with a few like-minded friends. A bottle of Somerset sparkling wine has been maturing steadily these past three-and-a-half years.

    Mark Robbins

    Bruton, Somerset

    1. SIR – If the cost of Big Ben striking at 11 pm on January 31 is considered too great (report, January 14), a cheaper and more dramatic alternative would be for every church in London to arrange a simultaneous peal of bells. How many other churches in Britain could resist the temptation to join in and make the event a memorable nationwide Brexit tintinnabulation?

      Peter Froggatt

      Dorking, Surrey

      SIR – Long before Big Ben’s ore was smelted, our country used beacons. How much more appropriate it would be to see them lit on January 31, to celebrate regaining control of our kingdom.

      Alan Wombell

      Rustington, West Sussex

      1. Re:Big Ben, can’t the money be raised via public donations? There must be at least fifty thousand leavers willing to donate a tenner.

          1. Or, better still, don’t pay the EU anything and take the “Big Ben” project out of the Foreign Aid budget!

        2. Has Boris asked the renovation management at Westminster for an itemised cost for the ringing of Big Ben on 31 January at 11pm. I am not going to contribute to a back of the envelope bill for £500000. The reconstruction management could surely make a goodwill gesture of the 11pm peel as they are making a huge amount on the renovation of the Palace of Westminster

      2. a cheaper and more dramatic alternative would be for every church in London to arrange a simultaneous peal of bells

        Mr Froggat, you are an ass, again me being polite.

        Londonistan is filled with furrin, leftie Labour remainers, who will do anything to stay on the EU Jus (they are too upmarket for gravy) Train

        Also it is condescending for you to write:

        How many other churches in Britain could resist the temptation to join in

        We do not give a Tuppenny Toss what happens to Londoners (well apart from ‘Our Susan’ and other Nottlers) There is life outside the M25 wall. Do not patronise us.

    2. I’m wondering if it’s a tad antisocial to be clanging around bells at 11pm when folk are trying to get to sleep. If you live in London, Scotland, Nationalist Ireland or university cities, then it may be more of a wake than a celebration.

      I notice Farage grumbling about the EU ban on national flags. Well, that makes it obvious then. Every brexiteer raises the Union Flag at full mast at the stroke of 11pm on the 31st.

  10. Vegans…….don’t you just…….them .

    SIR – As a GP, I take issue with Dr Michael Greger (Features, January 13), who says plant-based diets are good for health.

    First, he is not objective. He is an advocate for the vegan diet and wants to stop us eating animal-source foods.

    Secondly, while vegetables, fruit and cereals are good for a lot of things – including certain health issues, climate and feeding the world – the vegan diet on its own is not healthy. It is hard to do it well, or on a budget. Vegans risk becoming deficient in vitamins B12, B2 and D, as well as iron, iodine, calcium, choline and some amino and fatty acids. Low calcium and vitamin D lead to brittle bones. Low iodine is a threat to unborn babies’ brain development. Low iron causes anaemia and other problems.

    Vitamin B12 deficiency damages the brain and nerves. It also contributes to anaemia, makes it harder to absorb nutrients from food and can lead to osteoporosis, mental illness, dementia and stroke. Moreover, it is very hard for doctors to diagnose B12 deficiency. The test is so poor that it detects only three out of 10 sufferers.

    Simply ditching animal-source foods is not enough. Even a dietician would struggle to avoid deficiencies – and, for fussy eaters, children or people with health problems, it has the potential to make them ill.

    Willemina Rietsema

    Oxford

    1. Yo Epi

      Low iodine is a threat to unborn babies’ brain development.

      Vegan begets Vegan?

      1. A vegan diet is not even sensible for the environment. You need massive amounts of land to grow cereals plus huge amounts of water and fertilizers and insecticides. Much of the land used for cattle and sheep etc is totally unsuitable for crops

        A vegan diet is basically unhealthy. You can live on a vegetarian diet with care although it is better suited to hot climates

        Another problem is increasing numbers of people have allergies and most are allergies to cereals and nuts

        1. I’m allergic to nuts. I just had to write a put down to one on one of the Brietbart posts. Trolls i can handle. Troll baiting is a good substitute for fox hunting (not that I ever indulged).

        1. It is a wonder they eat at all. There was a book written some while back abut “The secret lives of plants” full of evidence from “kirillan photography” that they feel pain etc or must do, when cut or damaged…..

          fruit and veg out of season from the Spanish polytunnels (which can be seen from space, but then, everything can be seen from space these days……but not, perhaps with the naked eye).

    2. And elsewhere, Gwyneth Paltrow is selling (well, sold out) a “Vagina Scented Candle”. Yuck! I am embarrassed that so many women are taken in by this charlatan. And that is what she is.

      1. Marketing and Branding is all about getting people to pay more than they need and to buy things they dont really want. Some people are far more susceptible to this than others. Look at the mugs that queue up over night to buy a limited edition trainers or the latest iphone

      3. Another clueless American idiot who routinely refers to a vulva as a “vagina”. They really do not know the difference.

        1. Good morning Grizzly

          I suspect that the Duchess of Sussex is one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s disciples.

          1. Good morning, Rastus.

            Both people are symptomatic of the irreversible decline in the human species.

          2. We’ve always had mad women holding sway over the credulous.
            Cassandra (NOT Rodney’s wife). Julian of Norwich. Linda McCartney.

          3. Cassandra was a Daily Mirror columnist who got sued by Liberace for giving him a wonderfully factual (and very entertaining) description of poofs in his weekly column.

        2. Reminds me of one of my sons. He and his wife are very right-on and insist on no euphemisms. When toddler asked, ‘What’s this?’ while in the bath (more than once while I have been there), he has told her ‘vagina’. How tempting it is to correct him! (Not worth the trouble it would get me into).

          1. Like the teacher who insisted on the children calling things by their proper name. She asked the class what they did over the weekend. First little girl said “We had a ride on a choo choo”. The teacher said “No it’s a train”. Second little girl said “I went on a gee gee”. Teacher said ” No, it’s a horse”. Teacher said to the 3rd little girl “What did you do?” She replied “I read a book” “Oh” said the teacher “What was it called?”. Little girl replied “Winnie the shit”

      5. She is obviously addicted to Women’s changing room smell, or has deep sexual problems .. and an even a more difficult one with her … bedtime toys!

        Sorry to be to the point .. it is what it is … rather grubby!

  12. Post-Brexit Britain will be like Nazi Germany, claims Lib Dem peer

    Post-Brexit Britain will be “reminiscent” of Germany under the Nazis, a peer has said, as he claimed people are crying themselves to sleep over the UK’s

    exit from the EU.

    Lord Greaves used a debate on Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords to draw comparison between Britain after January 31 and Germany in the 1930s.

    “I am particularly concerned about what the Government is doing about prevention of discrimination in the transition period,” he said.

    Has not buffoon (and that is being mega ultra polite) not noticed that The Corbyn Clan aks Labour party are very anti-semetic and prosecutions are afoot.

    If he is on about the influx of immigrants, WE have a right to out way of life.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/01/14/post-brexit-britain-will-like-nazi-germany-claims-lib-dem-peer/

        1. Actually, I knew him well when he was the leading columnist of ‘Liberal News’ in the 1980s and was also the main driving force behind the Alliance’s pavement politics that gave them a stronghold in local government. I thought highly of him then.

          Of course we all get old, and his foray into Godwinism may be just failing faculties after 35 years and seeing a major deterioration of the ideas and principles of his party.

  13. 737 Max crisis: Boeing sees lowest orders in decades

    How long can Boeing survive> They have built 400 planes but cannot deliver them so cannot bill the customers they have now stopped production of the 7376 and are now seeing falling orders. That must be straining their cash flow to the limit

    Boeing has reported its worst annual orders in at least two decades – as it remains in crisis over its 737 Max model.
    The company also said deliveries of its planes slumped to an 11-year low last year.
    It means the US firm has lost its title as the world’s biggest plane maker to European rival Airbus.
    The 737 Max has been grounded since March after two crashes in which 346 people were killed.
    Boeing said net orders after cancellations for 2019 totalled just 54 planes. That compares with 893 the previous year.
    At the same time deliveries fell by 53% to 380 planes, the lowest number since 2007.

      1. They are a huge company so I dont think they are in danger of going bust yet but if the problems are not sorted this year they potentially could although I suspect the US government would bail them out

        2. As the US government put a surcharge on Airbus products, cus they get EU monertary ‘help’ we will of course do the same to Boeing products, will we not

          NURSE

          1. The longer it goes on the more it damage Boeing. Airlines tend to go with Air bus or Boeing and thats because of the cost of training pilots and the cost of training engineers and the cost of holding spares etc but this has now dragged on so long some airlines may look at switching from Boeing to Airbus simple because they are getting to the point that they need to change their fleet. No doubt airbus will be offering them some attractive deals to switch

    3. There is a direct comparison with Microsoft, which in its heyday near-cornered the market because it could engineer a decent operating system soon enough after a bad one. Windows 95 was a big improvement on 3.1 and was improved to 98SE before that line was trashed by Me. Likewise NT was improved by 2000 which was improved by XP, and by the time of SP3 there was a stable and much-loved workhorse. Then they trashed it with Vista. Luckily for them 7 rescued the situation and over the years was polished into a fine OS. So yesterday, they have killed it off in favour of the dreadful 8, with its horrible interface, and almost-as-bad 10, which is an uneasy attempt at merging 7 and 8, and infested with auto-updating malware over which the user has no control.

      We then come to Boeing, which did the same thing with its 737 firmware as Microsoft did with Windows 10. No wonder customers hate both systems, putting the corporate bottom line above all else, and are now seeking alternatives. Yesterday, I installed Linux Mint Cinnamon on my PC, and am learning how to use it, abandoning Windows possibly forever.

    4. whatever happens on the Civil side, Boeing will survive because the US Military will ensure it.

  15. All this stuff about whether the press has been racist to Meghan or not is nothing new, it’s been around for years:-

    ‘“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

    ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

    ’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”

    ― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

    1. I have said it thrice, What I tell you three times is true.”

      Hunting of the Snark

      1. And tell it three times is a tennet of Neuro-Marketing and its 3 brain model – “the power points” must be repeated3 times, they say..
        Neuro-marketing is a polite version of propaganda but supposedly with a code of ethics….. a code which is in serious need of review from what I see.

    4. ‘If ah want tae invent ma own wee sweary words then I can. If I say, “Getifer you Basa” I can make it mean what I want it tae mean. I can tell ye tae “get oot of there” one day, and the next it can mean “A sweet wee bouquet of posies”.’

      Billy Connolly.

    2. Morning all – Everyone is busy reading and digesting: “Lords EU debate Withdrawal Bill Suggested amendments”………..

  17. Over 17 miles of potholes were reported last year it has been revealed, as small businesses put pressure on the Government to increase funding for road repairs.

    The length of all holes reported last year would be deeper than the lowest point of the Grand Canyon and equivalent to 292 Big Bens, according to new research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

    In total almost £1 billion was spent fixing damaged roads, with 700,000 potholes reported during the period.

    Local authorities receive a pothole complaint every 46 seconds, according to new Freedom of Information figures obtained by the group.

    More than £1.9 million has been paid out in compensation to claimants that had their vehicles damaged last year….

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/01/15/17-miles-potholes-recorded-last-year-businesses-urge-boris-johnson/

    Good Comment…
    Tim Ellis 15 Jan 2020 7:41AM
    Another example of where the Foreign Aid budget could be better spent…

    Our Government must really hate us – loading us and future generations with debt whilst our environment is degraded, old people struggle, our precious landscapes are destroyed with vanity projects like HS2 and all the while splashing cash around the second and third world where corruption is rife and, in some cases, the locals are hostile towards us.

    1. Do what Birmingham is planning to do. Ban cars from the City. No need to repair roads.

    3. What rather annoys me is the total lack of joined up thinking – there is a very busy, quite short, link road near here, between two bigger roads – it gets a lot of use and as a result is potholed up the ying-yang. Last week it was closed to traffic all week – when it opened we were able to see that it had been closed to allow a lot of trees to be cut back. Now, I appreciate that you can’t repair potholes under major tree surgery, but the other end of the road was nowhere near the trees – someone in the council must have approved the closure, why not make use of it by repairing the bits that were accessible??

      1. We lived where we are, at a T-junction on a country road, for many years. The junction was marked as “give way” with the usual white paint dashes.
        Over the years the white paint had mostly worn away and the surface of the road had been eroded by tractor tyres. One day, council workmen turned up and repainted the “give way” signs.
        Three weeks later council workmen arrived and resurfaced the junction, obliterating the new paint in the process.
        Raising the matter with my local councillor, I was eventually advised that there were “different departments” involved.

      2. Morning SB,
        Different department as in you have the tree fella then you have the pot hole filling fella &
        never the two should meet.

    4. What rather annoys me is the total lack of joined up thinking – there is a very busy, quite short, link road near here, between two bigger roads – it gets a lot of use and as a result is potholed up the ying-yang. Last week it was closed to traffic all week – when it opened we were able to see that it had been closed to allow a lot of trees to be cut back. Now, I appreciate that you can’t repair potholes under major tree surgery, but the other end of the road was nowhere near the trees – someone in the council must have approved the closure, why not make use of it by repairing the bits that were accessible??

    1. I rather suspect that Rebecca Hilsenrath is not my sort of person and I am sure that I am not hers..

    2. The inference here is about protecting women in the work place.

      Any man that has worked in a mostly female dominated workforce could tell many stories of sexual harassment.

      #MeToo.

  19. Heyup All!
    A bit of a disturbed night.
    SaH was on nights and got home 02:30, then at 06:15 doolally Mother in Law rang to complain she can’t get out of bed.

    Not going to be about much today, off to Nottingham for a concert this evening and booked into a hotel overnight.

    Play nicely please!

  20. Morning Each,
    To me it is similar to hearing finger nails on blackboards
    hearing peoples saying “we hope this boris chap does the right thing”
    Hope is playing a major part at this late stage after suffering nearly four years of pro eu treachery.
    In my mind a definite approach to the eu parliament of a 100% white statesman with a full set of male organs down below, a top hat, Union jack waistcoat, shiny black knee high boots,& the biggest most ferocious bull dog, is the way to go.
    First rhetoric being “listen up” here is what Great Britain
    is DOING……………

    2. Good morning, Alfie (and all other new playpals).

      Can’t stick around, got to get to the chemist’s shop for a new supply of statins.

      Talk later.

      Perry [to friends, work colleagues call me “Grin”]

  22. The centre piece of the letters page, with photo, headlines “How much can you learn about a person from the state of their drawers”
    This is an open goal to which I daren’t respond – I therefore invite others to comment

    2. There once was a stripper from Ealing
      Whose act was so very revealing
      When she pulled down her drawers
      The sound like applause
      Was just fly buttons hitting the ceiling

    4. ♫ “Aunty Mary had a canary
      Up the leg of her drawers
      And when she farted it departed
      To a round of applause” ♫

    1. Yo P-T

      AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH

      The Union Jack is only flown when the ship is ‘parked’

      When under weigh/way it flies the White Ensign, together with any other flags appropriate to who is on board. ie Royal Standard

    2. Harry: ” When Robinson Crusoe got marooned on a desert island he had Man Friday to cook his meals, wash his clothes & hunt for food, all I’ve got is a useless Z list Hollyweird gold digger who has made me the object of national ridicule & even turned my own family against me! ”
      Meghan: ” Stop whining or I wont let you use my iPhone to play your 10 Desert Island Discs “

  24. Is Veganuary actually good for you?

    The answer to that is No. It is good for the companies that make and sell them though as they can sell them for up to 3 times as much and they are cheaper to produce

    The new plant-based Rebel Whopper from Burger King still clocks in at almost 600 calories – only 31 fewer than the regular Whopper. And while the total fat is 1g less in the plant-based version, it has 0.6g more salt.

    From high fat content to processed ‘fillers’, many of the foodstuffs purporting a healthier lifestyle and diet aren’t that healthy at all.

    While meat replacements are one of the easiest ways to transfer over to a vegan diet, many of the substitutes on offer are filled with artificial ingredients, preservatives and processed oils. Dietary experts have also expressed concerns over the high levels of sodium found in many meat substitutes; on average, meat-free burgers contain more salt than regular meat burgers, with 0.75g per serving vs. 0.89g. In other words, if you’re switching to meat alternatives for health reasons, it always pays to read the label carefully beforehand.

    Non-dairy dessert options can be worse for your health than the traditional puddings. Taking butter, cream and eggs out of the equation often leaves extra room for higher amounts of fat and sugar to replicate consistency, taste and texture. Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy range is very similar in nutrition to its regular offerings; half a cup of the vegan Chunky Monkey has 260 calories, 14 grams of fat and 8 grams of saturated fat vs 300 calories, 18 grams of fat and 10 grams of saturated fat in its dairy option. While it’s a small reduction in fat in the vegan version, there’s 8 per cent less calcium and protein than in the non-vegan offering.

    It’s been the go-to superfood for health bloggers for years, yet coconut oil was dubbed ‘pure poison’ by a Harvard professor. Coconut oil is around 90% saturated fat, while butter is 64% and beef fat and lard are both 40%. Two tablespoons of the stuff would give women their daily recommended sat fat amount. For those still championing its nutritional benefits in other areas (namely ‘good’ cholesterol and brain power), a 2016 study found that there isn’t enough evidence for any health claim at all.

    As Veganuary carries on, so does the onslaught of popular chains and restaurants announcing their new plant-based menu items. KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Greggs and Patty & Bun have all released new vegan versions of their best-selling products. And while perfect for those looking for a meat-free alternative to the regular burger and fries, JBH has released data that show just how calorific (and salty) the plant-based counterparts can really be

    1. A friend was telling me of an aquaintance who had become a vegan – talking to the vegan’s mother, she asked if it was helping with her weight problems. Answer: no, she was living on chips!

    2. I’ve been on a diet since Jan 1.

      I have cut out ALL: alcohol; carbs (including potatoes, bread, cakes, biscuits, buns, pasta, rice, pastry and anything containing flour); sugar and sugared foods; fruit; and root vegetables.

      I have enjoyed a diet of greens (mainly raw), salads, cheese and meat. I drink lots of water. I already feel much better and sleep like a log.

        1. Oh yes, lots of fish (especially white sea fish, I don’t go in for that pond muck). I adore seafood of all kinds but I have to be careful since all kinds are full of purines and can trigger gout.

          1. As a former long-term gout sufferer I can relate to the purines comment. Some surprising foodstuffs are on the gout list – nevertheless daily allopurinol has given me carte blanche to eat what I fancy without worrying.

          4. My dinner today (It’s noon and I’m from England where we have dinner ladies) is a plate of: boiled ham, hard-boiled egg, cheddar cheese, salted peanuts, raw tomatoes, grated raw cabbage, lettuce, raw yellow pepper and celery. What is deficient in that?

          5. I once had to lose some weight after spending years typing on a computer all day before driving home and typing on a computer all night. “Alcohol, carbs, bread, biscuits, buns, pasta, rice, pastry” – those are also the foods that I either cut out completely, or cut to a bare minimum. The weight almost dropped off, although I did not eat many biscuits beforehand.

            Those foods have a surprisingly large number of calories in them if someone is unaware of it.

        1. I’ll not be on the diet forever, John, especially as I have 8 large home-made pork pies and a dozen home made steak and kidney pies in my freezer.

          And even if I’m tempted, I’ll just eat the middles and chuck the crusts.

          1. More than happy to save you from temptation, George; how much is the postage on 12 S&K pies?

          5. Steak and Kidney is one of my all time favourites. Next time i make it i’ll try the Windmill way.

          6. You’ll not regret it. It is divine. I made large potful of the filling then froze it in individual portions (in aluminium trays with cardboard lids). When I want one I just defrost it, then place a square of pastry on top before baking it. I know it’s not a proper pie but it saves a lot of faffing.

      2. Meatless Bacon Lettuce & Tomato recipe:
        First buy a regular BLT . Next remove Bacon & donate to charity shop for starving Liverpudlians , you now have a Vegan BLT, enjoy!

  25. Lords committee stage day two: Wednesday 15 January

    Watch live on Parliament TV from 3.30pm

    Read the transcript in Lords Hansard from 3 hours after the debate

    A third day of committee stage is scheduled for 16 January.

    Report stage, a further chance to examine the bill and make changes, is scheduled to take place over two days on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 January. Third reading, a chance to ‘tidy up’ the bill and make changes, is scheduled to take place after the conclusion of report stage.

    Following completion of third reading, the bill may pass to the Commons for consideration of any Lords amendments. House of Lords consideration of Commons amendments is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 22 January.

    1. Good morning Jenny! Weather certainly an improvement on yesterday – it’s brighter and the wind has dropped.

      1. Yes it certainly has. I can put up with most weather conditions ecept wind…it terrifies me when the rafters are lifting. I see in Slough, a huge shopping centre roof was blown into the road. Powerful force.

      2. Ha ha ha……I had not noticed that bubbling…..just thought it was a nice image to post.

  27. Matt Hancock signals A&E waiting targets likely to be scrapped

    The problem is far to many people turn up at A&E that dont need to be there but there is no real alternative so that’s a problem that needs addressing

    a sensible target would be how long it takes to get a patient from A&E a bed. Delays there cause a lot of problems and add om costs such as Ambulances tied up for hours on end

    Asked if the target would stay, he said: “We will be judged by the right targets. Targets have to be clinically appropriate. The four-hour target in A&E which is often taken as the top way of measuring what’s going on in hospital. Perhaps A&E should have a small ward where patients can be held until a bed becomes avialable on an appropriate ward

    1. I remember a young work colleague back in the 80’s complaining that her GP was useless because she’d gone to him with a blister on her foot caused by new shoes and he’d told her to put a plaster on it herself. As we’ve said many times on here, you can’t cure stupid.

    2. The Texas system for drunks and drug adicts is not to take them to hospital but to arrest them and take them to detox centres after a check up to ensure that their condition is not life threatening. If they resisted they would appear before a judge who would determine on detox treatment and rehab follow up treatment. If person went voluntarily no judge would be involved but detox and follow up rehab would have to be agreed. I have a close friend who has just gone through detox and rehab and is now required to attend follow up sessions at regular and frequent intervals. Drunks and addicts should not clutter up A&E departments in the UK. The police, or private company, could take the drunks or addicts to a “drunk tank” to recuperate under supervision .There could at least be a £100 penalty but aftertreatment along the Texas line could be followed.

    3. That is so true. Even coughs and colds send folk to this department – unbelieveable. Obviously they have problems with the actual name – ‘Accident and Emergency’. It certainly isn’t the place for those who have been out on the town either. Our hospital has small wards you mention and also single rooms where those needing emergency help such as IVs – can be treated until a ward is available to them.

        1. Lots of what were called cottage hospitals and Later day hospitals where they could carry out minor treatment.Basically they could do most things that need no more than a local anesthetic

          If say you have a minor gash you finger from an attempt at DIY and its the evening or weekend . You have the choice of A&E or waiting several days to see a GO who will probably say you need to go to A&E. So most decide to cut the middle man out and go to A&E

        2. Small is always better. I detest these huge organisations…so impersonal. I have to say, I am hearing stories about GPs leaving in droves. I don’t blame them but really sorry I lost the best GP I ever had. Our surgery now has 2 doctors instead of 4 but the same number of patients. Still, I would not go to A and E unless absolutely necessary. In fact, I have only been twice – both by ambulance from my home on with the agreement of a paramedic.

      2. With most GP’s being large group practices they ought to be able to open on a rota at week ends and evenings to deal with minor injuries. Trouble is they would probably just refer them to A&E. They should be able to deal with minor injuries and cleaning a minor wound and putting a couple of stitches in in fact a suitably trained nurse would be more than capable of doing that, Drunks should be in police sells and not A&E. Trouble is most of ther police cells have been closed

  30. For those who do not know, the downvote feature has been made non anonymous. I sincerely hope those who have left because of downvotes, now feel safe to return. It is a pointless feature and I would have preferred it gone altogether but this at least should stop targeting of vulnerable people. Disqus did good.

    3. Gosh, you’re right – thanks Jenny. Forgive me but I just tried down-voting your comment to see if it worked. It did and I’ve just made it an up-vote again x

      1. A friend at Disqus told me last night and I was talking until midnight about it. If only they did this a long time ago, we still may have channels – many were downvoted to death…literally. Oh well, it is done now and I hope it helps.

        1. Did they explain the reason for having anonymous own-voting? The mechanism for showing up and down voters is identical, so it can’t have been technical. All it did was play into hands of the permanently aggrieved, aka trolls.

          1. They believed that anonymous down voting was justified because posters need not fear reprisals for disagreement. I know…it made me laugh too. All it did was allow trolls. stalking and harassment as you rightly point out.

      2. ‘Afternoon, Sue, if you’ve down-voted, giving an up-vote won’t cancel the down-vote; to get rid of the down-vote, click on it again. Feel free to experiment on this post. I can’t check it myself, as I’ve neutralised down-votes and can no longer see them – life’s too short.

    4. I’ve just looked back over recent days when downvoting was heavy and I see the downvotes have all been retracted. A few guilty consciences perhaps.

        1. A different issue I think. Mine dropped about 50% but have now stopped dropping and might even be accumulating any new upvotes.

        1. If any are banned, do their downvotes get erased? and, to be fair, any upvotes. Actually, given the habit of trolls to upvote each other maybe a good idea.

      4. mola – not all of them, 🙂 I went back to that page and the picture saying that we wanted Bill Thomas to stay. The one that received 31 downvotes. I suggested at the time that these were not real votes and was one person using multiple accounts to fake the result.

        I have just looked at those 31 downvotes and most of them are from names that I had not seen ever comment here before, which is a hallmark of fake accounts when they suddenly appear. There were however 7 downvotes on that one picture all from one specific name: “Pretty Polly.” That does not include the other accounts that she was clearly using.

        Yet they pretend to be one of the “good people.” I saw her for what she was soon after coming here and observing her contradictions. Nobody mentions Soros that many times.

        Here is the page of this blog that this picture was from. The next day the same picture only received 2 downvotes, which shows just how many fake accounts Polly is using.

        https://nttl.blog/friday-10-january-when-history-rhymes-the-prince-the-american-divorcee-and-the-succession-to-the-throne/

        1. Across the river bridge was a meadow full of green, green grass
          Under the bridge there lived a big, bad troll
          And all day long he’d sit under the bridge and sing his bad troll song

          I’m a troll, fol-dee-rol, I’m a troll, fol-dee-rol

          I’m a troll, fol-dee-rol, fol-dee-rol-dee-rullee

          I have three heads and I have three hats

          I have three chins and I have three cats

          I have six eyes and I have six ears

          When I cry, I cry six tears

          1. Don’t want to be the playground snitch but taking a scroll through your profile, I see only one down-vote remaining and was very surprised to see whodunnit. Bet it doesn’t stay there long.

          2. I saw that too.

            I did, though, also see a couple from two of our famous anonymous chums. I’m not being critical of them though since they are neutral and have no axe to grind.

          3. Being anonymous is good – especially on some other Disqus sites, when any comment may be “rebutted” by someone picking through one’s posting record.

          4. May be an accident. I’ve found it easy to end up doing the wrong thing. Example: trying to find out who upvoted a comment sometimes works properly and sometimes you have to go through upvoting yourself and then clicking again to remove the upvote. The other day, when I tried to do the second click, what I got every time was the profile of one of the “upclickers” instead of a reduced vote count. Had to refresh the page to get rid of that “bug”.

            I do wish this software was written by adults, not Nutella eating teenagers. Or that someone there understood what Quality Assurance was.

          6. Hmmm. If this is to be any good then the downvoter must not be able to remove their downvote later to hid their identity when anyone does a search.

    6. Yes, I noticed that today when I downvoted myself out of curiosity. (And then retracted it because I really didn’t disprove of what I had said).
      The government shoudl also consider making all antifa protestors unmask whenever they see them. Anonymity is a license to abuse. Note that Sheffield Uni is paying for stasi like informers to stamp out people saying bad things and so far a Malaysian student has outed herself. I suspect, since they are paid informers, that the freedom of information act should reveal who is being paid. I am sure HMRC would like to know too.

  31. Outside now, using binoculars to see where the rain was getting in through the roof tiles, causing a drip from the bathroom ceiling. Aha, just a slipped tile by the look of it. Not bad as that building in Slough, obviously.

        1. The big hand is pointing at 33 minutes past the hour and also pointing at the figure on the left – not sure if that part is significant?

          1. The pfennig has just dropped! [D’oh!]

            The men are standing inside the clock tower, yet the face on the clock shows how it looks from the outside!

          2. OK, here it is (and congratulations to Grizz for the above): the Roman numeral IV should be IIII. Don’t know why.

  34. I just called in to see if this board had become a nice place to be again, so hello.
    If there is a moratorium on the downvoting comments topic, I may stop if you will let me.
    I have just been watching Parliament, which is behaving as it should once again, with the exception of course of the Labour people,
    who should be banned. I am very impressed with Boris Johnson – he is superb in comparison with his predecessors.
    I do not know if any of you have been following or not, but you really should.

    1. Welcome Tony and good afternoon!

      BJ mentioned earlier that the HoL is discussing the Withdrawal Agreement and requesting amendments. Presumably the HoC doesn’t have to accept these? One worries that said amendments will make the agreement more EU rather than more UK friendly?

      (The down-vote story will die a natural death now that they’re visible.)

      1. Hello Sue,
        I confess that I have stopped following the Brexit machinations. We are stuck with what we will get, but the most important thing is that, short of divine intervention or the other kind, we are OUT. The only progress afterwards will be up.Even Harry and Meg are only expecting a 50 percent ” leave ” position !!

          3. THe Lords are debating the bill today and tomorrow. AS they have already suggested amendments it will have to go back to the commons probably next week but I can see nothing in the schedule so far I guess they will make time for it

    2. The last question was about the difficulty of finding a seat in the House of Commons due to overcrowding at PMQs. There is a ready made solution to ease this situation but the MPs are reluctant to reduce their numbers. The Speaker is going to see what can be done about it.

    3. Hiya Tony! Good to see you.

      The problem of losing up-votes seems to have been solved, at least for the time being. Some people have replaced their avatars.

        1. Afternoon M,
          You cracked it blue eyes the first Guinness is on me.
          A complete shower of two faced bastards.

  35. Letters: Princess Anne has shown how to balance royal duty with independence

    And all those stories about how she inspired the Scotland XV with a new sense of purpose by her vim and vigour are groundless…snigger, snigger {:^))

    1. SIR – The Duke of Sussex should spend some time with his aunt. Princess Anne was once second in line to the throne, but has slipped steadily down the pecking order to a lowly 14th.

      This has not stopped her from carrying out a meaningful public role and raising a family. I feel sure she could pass on some valuable no‑nonsense tips to the Duke and Duchess.

      Janet Smith
      London SW17

      1. I don’t think Anne was ever second in line. Her brothers came before her and by the time the rules changed, Charles already had children and grandchildren.

        2. Good point. Moreover she certainly wasn’t second in line when indulging her protection officers under the rhododendron bushes when allowed out as a 16/17 year old.

          2. Not briefly, boot. Ten years. Members of my family used to work for the Firm

            Charles 14/11/48
            Anne 15/08/50
            Andrew 19/02/60
            Edward 10/03/64

          3. Hi zxcv3, down voters names are now displaying, Polly Parrot is the serial down voter on here , I have her 12 sock ID’s noted down, you are one of the posters she frequently down voted , look back on your profile over the last week or more to find the names
            1) Pretty Polly @disqus_r2Mgo00diq https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2Mgo00diq/
            2) Blue Rosette @SirHumphrey123 https://disqus.com/by/SirHumphrey123/
            3) Caroline @disqus_xXOfmpxD5V https://disqus.com/by/disqus_xXOfmpxD5V/
            4) Disqus Poster @disqus_4w96H1cX7k https://disqus.com/by/disqus_4w96H1cX7k/
            5) J Bonnington Jagworth @jbonningtonjagworth https://disqus.com/by/jbonningtonjagworth/
            6) Florence in Florence @florenceinflorence https://disqus.com/by/florenceinflorence/
            7) Elizabeth @disqus_r2NMdf5DxR https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2NMdf5DxR/
            8) Gail’s in the Dales @gailsinthedales https://disqus.com/by/gailsinthedales/
            9) Lucinda @disqus_UgiiPQY3UM https://disqus.com/by/disqus_UgiiPQY3UM/
            10) Fiona @disqus_atKFy3N7Up https://disqus.com/by/disqus_atKFy3N7Up/
            11) spectre @disqus_0GGH6tHR2m https://disqus.com/by/disqus_0GGH6tHR2m/
            12) Christiana @disqus_JBLNsQUb3y https://disqus.com/by/disqus_JBLNsQUb3y/

        4. Akshully Anne was No2 and attended the coronation. Andrew and Edward appeared much later…perhaps for a reason

        5. I think she was second in line for the duration of the 1950s, Sue, right up to before Andy was born in 1960.

      2. SIR – When Princess Anne married Mark Phillips they set up a business at Gatcombe Park. She carried on serving as a member of the Royal family and he stayed independent. She made sure their children also retained independence, while continuing to support the monarchy as an HRH.

        For the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to do the same would be nothing new. The mistake was making them a Duke and Duchess.

        Sue Doughty

        Reading, Berkshire

  37. We have to talk about these Pakistani gangs. Spiked 15 January 2020.

    This is a scandal of epic proportions. The very organisations that are charged with looking after young people who are at risk of abuse failed to do their duty. And they failed to do their duty because they did not want to ruffle community feathers; because they believed, as so much of the establishment does, that ordinary Britons are a vile racist throng and if we hear about an Asian grooming gang we will go crazy. They let their ideology – their commitment to political correctness and to multicultural censorship – distract them from the task of protecting girls from ‘the most profound abuse and exploitation’.

    Read this! There’s nothing new to Nottlers of course, we’ve been writing about it for years, but it’s a pleasure to see it. Brendan must be one of around four or five journalists in the UK who is unafraid to mention this. The rest are MSM lackeys more suitable to some Marxist hellhole than what used to be the Free West!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/01/15/we-have-to-talk-about-these-pakistani-gangs/

    1. The first comment made under that story is worth repeating here, because it is so good:

      “ED TURNBULL
      15th January 2020 at 1:18 pm

      Yes, there needs to be a conversation, and there will be. Of sorts. But I’m betting that conversation, at least in ‘polite’ circles, won’t get within a million miles of examining the cultural – not racial – factors that drove these atrocities.

      There’ll be no scrutiny (except by a bunch of ‘racist gammons’, of course) of the belief system that divides the world into an in-group and an out-group, and gives sanction to the sexual abuse of members of the out-group. A belief system that, in effect, sacralises the sexual abuse of children, especially out-group children. A belief system whose founder and figurehead indulged in all manner of activity that our modern world would (or, at least, ought to) condemn as heinous criminality. Yet adherents of this belief system consider this individual’s actions to be normative, and worthy of emulation.

      When will we be having *that* conversation? When will we acknowledge that the tenets of the belief system in question are utterly incompatible with western culture. We won’t, of course. The adherents of this belief tend to be, if not given a free pass, at least granted extraordinary leeway. And this seems to be awarded on the basis of the skin colour of the majority of its adherents. One again the woke mob judge people based on their skin colour, rather than the content of their character. MLK, wherever he is now, must be shaking his head, and wondering how, i the name of all that’s holy, judging people by the content of their character came to be considered ‘racist’.”

      1. Hi Meredith, down voters names are now displaying, Polly Parrot is the serial down voter on here , I have her 12 sock ID’s noted down, you are one of the posters she frequently down voted , look back on your profile over the last week or more to find the names
        1) Pretty Polly @disqus_r2Mgo00diq https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2Mgo00diq/
        2) Blue Rosette @SirHumphrey123 https://disqus.com/by/SirHumphrey123/
        3) Caroline @disqus_xXOfmpxD5V https://disqus.com/by/disqus_xXOfmpxD5V/
        4) Disqus Poster @disqus_4w96H1cX7k https://disqus.com/by/disqus_4w96H1cX7k/
        5) J Bonnington Jagworth @jbonningtonjagworth https://disqus.com/by/jbonningtonjagworth/
        6) Florence in Florence @florenceinflorence https://disqus.com/by/florenceinflorence/
        7) Elizabeth @disqus_r2NMdf5DxR https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2NMdf5DxR/
        8) Gail’s in the Dales @gailsinthedales https://disqus.com/by/gailsinthedales/
        9) Lucinda @disqus_UgiiPQY3UM https://disqus.com/by/disqus_UgiiPQY3UM/
        10) Fiona @disqus_atKFy3N7Up https://disqus.com/by/disqus_atKFy3N7Up/
        11) spectre @disqus_0GGH6tHR2m https://disqus.com/by/disqus_0GGH6tHR2m/
        12) Christiana @disqus_JBLNsQUb3y https://disqus.com/by/disqus_JBLNsQUb3y/

        1. mahatama – read my comment below as I spotted this earlier. The difference with Polly is that she was downvoting using her own account, which she is fine to do, but then she tried to drive out Bill Thomas and others by using multiple accounts to downvote them 25+ each, all on her own.

          If you look at how these accounts were used and the pattern that they were used in, then most of them belong to just her. Trying to drive away a good person such as Bill Thomas is the first time I witnessed her use so many accounts at once in a directed attack. That is typical of a left-wing troll and shows her/him for what they are.

          You won’t stop people like this, but it does tell everyone to ignore it when they suddenly get 20 downvotes from accounts that they have never seen before.

          1. As of this morning down voters names are now visible to all & I quickly looked over who down voted me on 4 blogs including NTTL , and as a sample of posters being serially downvoted on here , who down voted Bill Thomas, zxcv3 & Avalon / Lotl and found the same group of Pollys ID’s behind the down voting so I began running Reputation checks on them on the Solutions blog where I am a Mod & a Bot ( a friendly one ) is installed as a Mod to find other common traits linking the down voting to Polly & Jules / Ndovu has confirmed that many of the same ID’s of Pollys had been banned on the old NTTL Channel
            ( but not on the new blog ) https://www.realms.chat/t/7784410304

          3. the 2 owned by me :-
            1) The Coconut Whisperer https://disqus.com/home/forum/the-coconut-whisperer/ it replaced my News, Escape from Egypt & Cheese channels
            2) The Sputniks Orbit https://disqus.com/home/forum/thesputniksorbit-blogspot-com/ covers Defense, Science & Technology
            the other 3 that I mod on but do not own
            3) Life of Earth https://disqus.com/home/forum/lifeofearth/ Science based
            4) NTJP News https://disqus.com/home/forum/81a9a82c-deaf-4c4b-898b-8116224e55e8/ pro-Israel community blog ( I owned the original channel )
            5) Solutions https://disqus.com/home/forum/realm-solutionsonly/
            owned by Dr. Thomas the DoW bot creator but run by ‘My Name is Wishinobody’
            https://disqus.com/by/Wishinonehandism/

          5. BTW…Dr T was a great friend and helped me out many times with Disqus shennannigans. I totally respect that guy.

    2. MSM journalists have no problem reporting on sexual abuse carried out by individual Catholic and Anglican priests. Indeed, they seem to relish reporting the details. But when it comes to reporting the religion of these ‘Asian’ rape gangs, journalists are very reticent in mentioning the fact that the vast majority of members in all gangs are Muslim.

      1. But happy enough, media, police, CPs etc., to take the word of a deranged lunatic and go after “celebrity” figures like Cliff Richards….. it tells it all really. (yet in the US Michael Jackson got a free pass despite the colour of his skin…er, wait, the artificial colour of his skin).

    3. Afternoon AS,
      Could I please point out the one Gerard Batten has been very rhetorical
      also in book form pointing out in no uncertain manner the dangers of
      islamic ideology since 2005.
      He suffered and was ignored by a great many herd members of late for having
      one arch villain, raving racist , etc,etc
      Tommy Robinson as a personal advisory on things inclusive of incarceration / active paedophilia artists.
      (TR first & foremost a truth
      activist)
      This link flew in the face of
      PC / Appeasementism and would NOT be tolerated by the lab/lib/con coalition party, and an incarceration
      term will operate seen as legal / not legal, no matter.
      In reality the time the three monkey brigade wake up many of their kids will be well on the road to suffering mental torture

    4. I caught some snippets of interviews on LBC this morning: first up was Nick Ferrari and he had a few strong interviews with people, one claiming to be a human rights lawyer, about the rights or wrongs of calling out these paedophiles as Pakistanis and in some instances moslems. Even now, after all the exposures there exists a group of people who will not have the truth revealed.
      Sheila Fogarty is now debating this issue and as I listened she brought up the failures of the many services that should have been protecting the young victims.
      My problem with these ‘failures’ is the manner in which so many services ‘failed’ in so many towns, cities and counties across the UK.This problem was exposed many years ago and repeatedly ignored despite the evidence. The mystery of why so many police forces, social services, council safeguarding groups etc ‘failed’ across the whole Country with this particular demographic of paedophiles should be investigated from the very top, down to the grassroots. The investigation should look at who knew and who gave the nod to keep the lid on. If there’s any justice to be had in this sorry saga there should be a large group of people who require an immediate change of underwear but I’m convinced that that will not happen. Perhaps destroying any confidence in our Justice system is just another step along the road to the total collapse of our culture, the culture that the establishment appear to despise so much.

      2. The mystery of why so many police forces, social services, council
        safeguarding groups etc ‘failed’ across the whole Country with this
        particular demographic of paedophiles should be investigated from the
        very top, down to the grassroots.

        There was and remains no mystery at all. Anyone employed in these organisations at all levels, but especially lower active service levels, learned a long time ago that any allegation made against an ethnic minority person even with supporting evidence would result in a career determining counter allegation. If you valued your job why take the risk? Your card would be marked forever.

        1. What you have written isn’t anything new, that’s been known for years. The mysteries are the why and the who.
          Why is it problematic to take action against miscreants from ethnic minorities and who started the move towards treating those minorities differently from the indigenous people?
          Labour MP Ann Cryer came up against the problem and got nowhere, she even had to have a panic alarm fitted to her house such was the fear that her safety was at risk. The real mystery remains.

          1. So glad you found my personal experience informative. Now read it again – slowly. The real mystery is why I am bothering to reply. Old world charm I suppose.

    5. He is brave enough to mention the M-word, but only buried far down the article. Asia Bibi is Pakistani, do you think any of her family members were involved in this kind of abuse? Many different nationalities have been involved in these gangs, but they all share one thing in common, their religion. The painful fact is these rapists do what they do not because they are asian, or because they are Pakistani but because they are Muslim.

    6. And we will be told: “Ah, but white men are rapists as well…”

      O’Neill lets himself down a bit at the end: “If we don’t talk about this, far-right elements will continue to make mileage from this issue…”

      2. All sorts of men are rapists. They are all criminals. Rarely some are serial or repeat rapists. Few however are part of an industrial scale commercial enterprise arranging rape for cash. That is the detail these cases have in common that is never mentioned in the mainstream conversation. It was not only providing sexual gratification to a thuggery of men from identical communities governed by cultism, it was highly profitable. Sexual slavery, people trafficking and political extremism that has murdered dozens has the same root. Time to pull it up.

      3. No, there is no Far Right. There are just people who want to stop girls being raped by Muslims with the endorsement of the state.

    7. I don’t think it was the belief we are a ‘vile racist throng’ but rather not wanting to poke the hornets nest in some cases and in others supporting, endorsing and encouraging the abuse of girls.

      Why, I do not know.

  39. Climate change conference in Glasgow in November will be expensive, what with 90,000 participants flying in from all around the world. Nice work if you can get it!
    The police are “meeting monthly with Scottish and UK government officials to plan security and minimise disruption for residents of Glasgow“.
    That of course is baloney. The centre of Glasgow will be closed off for about six weeks, possibly longer. The entire area will be surrounded by heavily armed idiot policemen. The rest of the city centre will be occupied by Extinction Rebellion protesters, and a full range of loonies, thousands of them.
    Every building having sight of the conference area, or any of the hotels or other buildings involved, will be forcibly searched by the “security people” *who will no doubt include some outsourced heavies from businesses owned by friends of the government, such as Serco and G4S.
    This will be the biggest policing operation in UK history.
    There will be three months of unmitigated nuisance, disturbance, disruption and losses by local residents and businesses.

    * This happened in Edinburgh when a Commonwealth Conference was held there. Flats were torn apart in searches that were presumably illegal, as there was no “probable cause” or whatever the legal term is.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-51112821

    1. Having been to Glasgow 3 times last year I would have thought Glaswegians would welcome climate change.

    3. I wonder if any of this will be on their carbon-munching agenda:

      The Climate Emergency extremists worry about the amount of carbon
      dioxide being produced and suggest various remedies but the main culprit…

      Isn’t the farts from cows, sheep and pigs;

      Isn’t the coal fired power stations in China and India;

      Isn’t even the emissions from all forms of transport.

      The main culprit is the farts and the CO2 we
      humans breath out. At the last estimation in April 2019 there were
      7,700,000,000 humans alive on the planet.

      In order to reduce this pollution, we need a visit by one or
      more of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

      Conquest rides a white horse; War, a red horse; Famine, a
      black horse; and Plague, a pale horse. Though in deference to the Climate
      Extremists I would change ‘Conquest’ to Flood and Drought.

      Are you prepared for this extreme solution to your extreme
      emergency?

      Thought not – it’s too realistic.

    1. I don’t think the founding members of the UN had this in mind. Mind you, the UN has more or less cleared up its basic work, so they must have time on their hands.

      1. I would guess so. Very similar speeds and they love round numbers.

        France is suffering from a plague of speed bumps and 30kph zones. The result is more pollution, not less, and lots of impatient drivers. As soon as the zone is cleared, down stamp the feet and there appears to be a lot more dangerous overtaking as a result.

        As we were driving back from the UK, in several villages gendarmes were busy pulling drivers over. This was on a Sunday and there was little traffic on the roads. At the lower speeds cars were in lower gears and one could clearly see the extra puffs of pollution as gears were changed and the cars bounced over the humps.

        1. Ah, but that business with lower gears and more pollution won’t apply when we’re all electric.

          1. I wonder…
            If the batteries are shaken about and constant acceleration and deceleration is occuring, won’t that shorten their range and also shorten their useful life?

      2. Does that mean you mustn’t go below 20 mph?
        That’s nigh impossible in Edinburgh. (Other congested cities are a available.)

        1. It is worse than that. There are three speed limits in force in Edinburgh; 40mph, 30mph, 20 mph.
          One road may have all three in the space of a mile.
          Main roads in/out may be 40, but 20 when passing a school. Standard across the city is 30mph except where there are schools and hospitals, and residential areas and random areas which are 20 mph.

    4. The genius minds that enforce these silly limits obviously never have thought about the fact people change down gears and probably run at higher revs to go at such low speeds, stop-start systems on cars are a similar false economy and annoying if you wait in a cue where stop-starters wait to leave huge gaps in order to start and move forward grrr!!

    1. Then they need to be apart…..it is that simple. Not sure how it could be done but they cannot remain together if they are so childish.

      1. If it is as bad as the article suggest the two need to be separated with one preferably going to another hospital

        1. They are like two petty children…professional people? No professional people I know would put a child at risk like that. Appalling story.

    3. This was first reported a while ago. Someone needs to give them a severe “grow the heck up” talking to.

    4. I’m in two minds whether to go to this. I attended the rally in Parliament Square on 29th March last year and it was a fun, good-natured event. But I don’t believe we will have ‘got Brexit done’ until we are properly free of the EU. On 1st February we become a vassal state of the EU, and we are putting huge trust in the Eu-loving Tories and Civil Service to properly extricate us.

      I’d rather keep the English sparkling wine on ice until we are properly out. Leave means Leave, not stuck in transition!

  42. The Party is On

    London authorities have approved a street party in Parliament Square, Westminster, on Brexit Day, organised by Nigel Farage and Leave Means Leave.

    Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage announced the approval on social media, writing: “Leave Means Leave have been given the approval to hold an event in Parliament Square on 31st January. Great news! It is a big moment in the history of this nation to celebrate.”

    The event starts at 9 p.m. and Mr Farage directs those interested in attending to register on the Brexit Celebration website.

    2. I’ll put my sausage rolls (which I’m currently not eating) up, in a blind tasting, against Greggs’ mass-produced efforts any day of the week.

    1. I have just this afternoon bought a bottle of English fizz (can’t call it Champagne) for the 31st.

        2. Good afternoon, Johnny.

          I tried to buy some bottles as Christmas presents, the Vineyard of choice
          was out of stock……we are not the only ones looking forward to
          celebrating!
          ‘Half a loaf is better than no bread.’

      3. I’ve just bought a bottle of Waitrose’s own “fizz” now in the cellar ( cupboard in the conservatory ) and a hunk of local Beef in the freezer just waiting for the 31st.

  46. Pub ‘banter’ and social media posts can be sexual harassment, equality watchdog warns bosses

    That is Beattie aka Maureen Lipman (who has deserted Labour

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/14/pub-banter-social-media-posts-can-sexual-harassment-equality/

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/nintchdbpict0004058846581-e1527281299435.jpg

    Rebecca Hilsenrath, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has called on employers to ‘step up’

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2020/01/14/TELEMMGLPICT000178678852_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwaeO2kr2r63Hb6tIvjhtiq4.jpeg?imwidth=1400

    1. I would never dream of indulging in “pub banter” with such a sour-faced, vinegar-titted harridan.

      Virago intacta or what?

  47. BBC boss details more job moves out of London

    Lord Hall said a new tech hub will be opened in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, while 150 jobs will be moved to Bristol.
    Salford will be “the heart” of BBC Sounds and will be home to more digital posts and “much more journalism”.

    Location % of workforce
    London 48%
    England (excluding London) 34%
    Scotland 7%
    Wales 7%
    Northern Ireland 4%

    1. But most are co-located in Gaza, Kabul , Baghdad, Karachi , Dhaka, Tehran , Cuba, Bejing, Moscow & Pyongyang their spiritual & in some cases their actual home towns !

  48. Good afternoon All Nottlers , FYI the names of Down Voters are now Visible & here are some that I have identified as serial down voters on NTTL and all 10 IMO belong to Pretty Polly. She has been serially down voting me on here & several other blogs and now I am going to ban all her ID’s on my blogs
    1) Pretty Polly @disqus_r2Mgo00diq https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2Mgo00diq/
    2) Blue Rosette @SirHumphrey123 https://disqus.com/by/SirHumphrey123/
    3) Caroline @disqus_xXOfmpxD5V https://disqus.com/by/disqus_xXOfmpxD5V/
    4) Disqus Poster @disqus_4w96H1cX7k https://disqus.com/by/disqus_4w96H1cX7k/
    5) J Bonnington Jagworth @jbonningtonjagworth https://disqus.com/by/jbonningtonjagworth/
    6) Florence in Florence @florenceinflorence https://disqus.com/by/florenceinflorence/
    7) Elizabeth @disqus_r2NMdf5DxR https://disqus.com/by/disqus_r2NMdf5DxR/
    8) Gail’s in the Dales @gailsinthedales https://disqus.com/by/gailsinthedales/
    9) Lucinda @disqus_UgiiPQY3UM https://disqus.com/by/disqus_UgiiPQY3UM/
    10) Fiona @disqus_atKFy3N7Up https://disqus.com/by/disqus_atKFy3N7Up/

    1. She/it is a Soros shill and is probably sponsored by one of his “foundations”. I fear that you’re wasting your time banning, she just reappears in a different guise or new IP.

      1. It would help if we could discover its location and then send the SAS around to neutralise.

          1. The Welsh version of that company, Dai-Norod has had to close down

            His wife bought him a rod for Christmas

          4. Hi Grizz, Now you are edging towards dangerous territory, but for obscure reasons. Warfarin is an anti-coagulant and also a poison. Jokes about rodent poison have the potential to be perceived as anti-semitic.

          5. I see. Was that case of a joke going wrong, Tim?

            But you know that I’m not anti-semitic. Just ask Pud.

      2. Not sure how you square that with her love for Trump, who is the Anti-Soros, if anyone is.

        A Russian troll, maybe, i.e. trying to cause disruption for its own sake, but supporting Trump. Anyone know anyone in Five?

        1. It’s entirely to get Nottle posters on-side. If you look at her/its posts. 90%+ are deliberate attempts at disruption.

          1. I noticed that in the short time that I have been here. There were the laughably constant anti-Soros comments, but on the two occasions where a decision had to be made, Polly was fully promoting the globalist position, not the democratic one.

          2. She/it will take any position that causes dissent and stirs up the regulars.

            Yes, we do have a tendency towards being an echo chamber, but there are sufficient differing views to make it entertaining.

          3. That’s why she jumped to the defence of the convicted UK woman in Cyprus and attacked me repeatedly , because she is a paid Soros shill & the Human Rights lawyers from the UK who defended her work for Soros front groups !

          4. Oddly enough you and I must part company on that case.

            I believe that the woman brought it on herself, but I also believe that the boys/men took maximum advantage and did not stop when she found she was out of her depth and asked them to cease. At which point it moved from a consensual “gang-bang” to rape.

            But that’s because I’m very old-school about a woman’s right to say no at any point in the proceedings.

            I have sympathy for both sides, but I don’t think the boys/men are in the right.

          5. Only 3 of the boys had sex with her, 9 others were innocent of any crime other than viewing the video of her tryst with 3 boys & possibly passing it on but viewing & passing on a video is probably not a crime in Cyprus or most countries except the UK were the legal system is owned by Soros appointed judges & human rights lawyers

          6. Only three DNA tests presented evidence.

            Using a condom would have ensured that none was present.

            The bruising, passed off as jelly fish stings, suggests that there was a degree of violence “rough sex” if you will…

            I think the whole investigation would not pass muster in either the UK or Israel.

            I’m more on the side of the boys/men than the woman, but I will take a lot of persuading that it is entirely a case of the woman at fault.

        2. A year or two back, I posited that PP was a paid Russian troll but someone, Stig I think but am not certain, replied that she was an American living in the south of England. He had some other details that suggested that she was legit (if a bit… well, odd).

          2. He/she/it/they did make mention of US relatives once. But so much of what PP posts, especially about Trump and US politics is so factually incorrect, or lifted from conspiracy theory sites, that nothing that PP posts is worth any consideration at all.

          3. Actually, in one out of the thousands of posts on utterly banal rubbish, there was something of interest or value. Probably not much, though, as I can’t remember what it was about. It just may not have been about Trump or Soros!

    2. ‘Afternoon, Hat, I shall take it upon myself to copy and paste that list of indescribable cowards, every day with my daily funnies. we need to let the small-minded little troll know that we are watching – and asking disqus to take action

        1. You’re too late.

          I looked earlier, as soon as Jenny(?) posted that names were visible, and I’ve looked again just now.

          The little shill is deleting the down-votes and I noted that comments made by her/it have also disappeared, so I suspect accounts are being closed down too.

          1. Yes it was I and no post has given me more pleasure to write. I have fought this batte 2 years now, even contacted Zeta……no joy because I was told they could not remove the feature….and at the time the tally was invisible. Then loads of people complained after the tally was shown. So got there in the end. Such a pity so many of the old channels had to suffer first. Too many good people were driven away.

          3. I aso fought tooth and nail to have flagging made non anonymous and would love to think I helped in that change. It sure stopped the flagging trolls as this will stop the downvoter trolls.

          4. In the past I used the flags when I spotted obvious spammers. That was usually on other sites.

            The zero votes thing changes that somewhat and one must use one’s judgement.

          5. Yes, and flags are stil used for such things…the difference is that the anonymous flagging trolls were stopped.

            The zero votes thing is an entirely different entity – a bot – but obviously behind every bot stands a bad person.

          9. I wouldn’t want any artificial votes on my own and if everyone got them then they are worthless anyway. I would like them returned to those who have lost them and worried about reps. I do not worry about mine. Take me or leave me is my motto.

          11. Afternoon H,
            ALL my post were being down voted by some demented character.
            This is separate to the up ticking issue is
            it not ? after losing 42000 mine is now once again going up.

          12. O – the ‘negative upvote’ bot seems to have stopped for the moment. My upvote total is now around -70,000, and rising. With luck I’ll be back in positive territory before the end of the decade…

          18. Hi Ogga , 2 separate problems – our up votes are being wiped out by a malicious bot program which I believe somebody at Disqus created to drive us off of Disqus . I scrolled back 15 days on your profile – you have only 2 down votes by bona fide posters on here, I guess they simply did not like what you wrote – which is legitimate not to agree . Note that posts over 7 days old a ‘Locked” so anybody who down voted you cannot retroactively remove them now , as for you recent ( last 6 days ) posts if Polly down voted you those DV’s are now gone

          19. Evening H,
            No , prior to 15 days ago the down voter of my post was someone to do with footwear clog, shoe, something like that.
            What ever the creature was they were down voting my anti paedophilia post’s which tells me they were pro PIE.

          21. Undoubtedly, but if you look closely, the really big down-vote numbers/comment have dropped a lot.

            When I first looked there were a number of comments he made with down votes well into double figures, and numerous with multiple “polly”s; I saw one with four.

            There are now far fewer examples.

            (This is a separate issue from the vote-gobbler.)

        2. Many ISP’s use dynamic IP’s for “end users”, not fixed – fixed IP’s are common in the business world.

          Today’s IP address may not be tomorrow’s. so, how do you ban a varying IP address?

          2. Anyone can open any number of email addresses on various mail servers, and an email address is all you need to open a Disqus account. You can deal with what has happened, but not what may come. I fully expect said troll to return under some other guise.

    4. Something interesting possibly, I’ve been mostly logged out of my other account, and my overall vote count has remained static at around 20k (still well down on what it had been). I’d expected it to be much lower by now.

      1. The Bot has been switched off for some posters , but not for others, I was given a 2 day respite & now its back gobbling up another 5K of my upvotes since last night

        It must work for Corbyn & Labour as its working according to ” Up Vote Losses For The Many, Not For The Few ”

          3. Somebody at Disqus did her a favor, they can’t or wont fix the bot problem so they artificially gave her up votes. In the past they added fake follower numbers to their flagship Marxist propaganda channel News Views ( which they created & run for a year or so before handing it over to some All Star trolls ) to bring it back up in the top 10 channels on the top 300 trending list . By the time of channel closure on Sept.1st 2019 it had over 1.2 million followers but only a few dozen active posters & a few dozen more semi active posters , I estimate that 800-900K artificial followers were added in the last 5 years to make it look like a top 10 channel

          7. Not when you consider that Disqus channels were created as a social ( ie Socialist ) media experiment by its hard left founders in California & in the past when somebody signed up to Disqus they were offered as a default option to Follow 3 channels before finishing the sign up process so being in the Top 10 channels on the list meant that the average new poster would see a channel called News Views in the top 10 ( it was for many years number 1 on the list ) and thinking it was a genuine news channel select it as one of the 3 as very few new posters would scroll down a list of 300 channels & start opening them up to check them out, so it had to be kept near the top by dishonest means !

          8. I had a friend who was banned from News Views for saying there were ‘no go’ areas in the UK. They asked him to delete it and he wouldn’t because he said he believed it was true. So they banned him – and a nicer more friendlier poster you couldn’t wish to meet.

          10. He’d be pleased to know that – if he was still around. Poor soul had terrible ill health and never got banned anywhere – he was quite upset about it but stood his ground.

          11. We had some police chief in London saying that there were no such things as “no-go” areas in the United Kingdom. Then those webpages used by serving Police Officers (using hidden I’D.’s) lit up saying that there damn well were and they could list them.

            It is always nice when some Common Purpose drone, promoted far above their ability, is shown up by those who are actually doing the job.

          12. I can’t comment per se but I do know it was on our local news about ambulances and staff being attacked. Couldn’t believe it.

          13. Ndovu – It does show how those people on the left think – manipulate the numbers by adding or taking away 100,000’s votes and that will make others believe that their left-wing ideology is popular and a good thing.

            While those of us with a few years under our belts know that it is the words spoken that change peoples minds. The left cannot do that because their ideas melt like snow on a spring day when exposed to the real world.

          15. mahatma – Yes, I said to read my earlier post where I had spotted her pattern. 🙂

            It is not that she chose to downvote me using her account – that is fine. It is her using 30 fake accounts to try to drive people such as Bill Thomas away that makes her the scum of the earth and a worthless troll. Good people should not need to face that.

      1. Yes but nobody thought of copying out the banned list before ditching the old channel & pre-banning all the trouble makers on the new blog. I took the time to copy out mine before creating my 2 new blogs . You need to make sure that all 13 are now individually banned or she will change her IP or use a VPN and change the screen names , however even using another IP or VPN the software will recognized the new screen name & not let it post.

        1. No – we only banned Shakey out of hand. The problem seems to be that we can’t ban anyone who hasn’t commented on the current site.

          1. Hi Jules that’s wrong , you can ban posters before they post but its seems none of you NTTL Mods have mastered the basic Modding skills such as pre-banning or pre-adding as a Trusted User etc . Sorry but not being a Mod on NTTL I can’t help you with that . I may not be much of a Techie but I am good with the Admin functions of the Mod panel, my skills honed when owning 10 channels and modding on 15 others of which I administered 5 that had absentee owners

  49. Two stories in the press that are making the news today are Gwynneth Pattrow’s ‘Pudenda Pong Candles’ and the Duchess of Sussex’s business ambitions. I wonder if Prince Harry and his wife are about to market the Sussex Royal Semen Scented Dildo? It would probably be a great commercial success.

    3. I read about the candle and was absolutely disgusted and I like to think I am pretty broad minded.

        1. There are ways if so but this was beyond contempt. I won’t ever be able to watch her in a movie ever again not that I watched much anyway. That is what this story did for me.

  50. It’s the start of the floral year here—my favourite time—and I have snowdrops and winter aconites pushing through (one aconite is in bud).

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7bf6f2e6060390d05635058ce205fb8d112c5357f0645b379786f49878ab556b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/043deb2d1d74c0e28aa7b768e2bf92cfbf345d7e7c7386ed0ee3f9c774e65b7b.jpg

    Here is a piece of doggerel I concocted way back in 1990:

    Winter Queen
    (In praise of the Snowdrop)

    Galanthus nivalis: fair damsel of februa.
    True ice-maiden of robust aplomb belying your aura of fragility;
    Your yearned-for emergence gives cheer
    In this dark, dismal start to the year.

    Oh, I so wish you would bloom the calendar round.
    How would the fair-weather friends of sheltered, sunny border—
    Or pampered hothouse—cope with your delicate presence?

    Orchid! Curtsey in admiration.
    Your waxen blooms will shiver in the chill North gale.

    Gardenia! Cast down your calyx in respect.
    You are mere pretender to the throne of white purity.

    Rose! Bow in deference.
    Could your thorns strike fear in the heart of Jack Frost?

    ©1990 A Grizzly B.

    2. Grizz , you are summoning the spirit of spring beautifully.

      You are such a real romantic … all hidden away in that tough guy exterior .

      As I sit here , I can see a couple of faded Masquerade rose blooms sheltering in the shiny fruity ivy that has smothered the telegraph pole in the garden . and the first snow drop shoots are peaking through … shooting up .. and a very shy anemone leaf is pushing its way through the compost in the large pots full of crocus and narcissus bulbs ..

      The birds were feeding until minutes ago , the sun has dipped and the breeze is cold .. the garden is silent now.. Sparrows and long tailed tits have retreated to the shelter of the ivy clad telegraph pole .

      1. Thanks, Maggie. Birds in my garden, this winter, have been a bit disappointing. I have the usual ‘gang’ of tree sparrows; several house sparrows, blue tits, great tits, greenfinches, a few chaffinches and a couple of blackbirds, but not much else.

        Normally, at this time of year, I can expect bramblings, redpolls, siskins, and even waxwings but not this year. Even redwings and fieldfares have been very fugitive.

    4. Beautiful Grizz…..just what I needed on this brass monkey day.

      Thank you….xxx Hope you enjoyed your lunch.

      1. Thanks, Jenny. It was my pleasure.

        Dinner was tasty. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that when I step on the bathroom scales on Friday morning (my habit), they won’t scream back at me, “GET OFF ME, YOU BAT FASTARD!”

    1. Afternoon JK,
      Bit early yet as comparing it with the eu
      it has taken four decades plus a real
      UKIP instigated exit campaign to very near get us OUT of the eu,
      Hs2 has a bit more lifestyle padding to go yet.
      Been on the real UKIPs policy card for years.

    1. As I understand it, if we didn’t have a “greenhouse effect”, the Earth would be too cold for most life to survive, i.e. snowball Earth. Too much heat would be radiated back into space.

  53. This article suggests that perhaps Meghan was planning a bunk and to ‘take the money and run’ even before her marriage!

    The down-to-earth duchess? Why Meghan dipped into her Suits wardrobe for her first Canadian outing

    DT 15 JANUARY 2020

    Unless you’ve been on a silent retreat or in bed with a particularly virulent case of the flu, you can’t have missed the seismic shift in the royal family caused by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s announcement that they wish to step down as senior royals and Meghan’s subsequent departure for Canada.

    Much of the speculation has been around what their new roles – their means of financial independence – will be, and what brand ‘Harry and Meghan’ will look like. This is new territory. Royals have swapped public lives for private before, but not in the social media era. And Meghan has past experience of being in the spotlight in a non-royal capacity, as an actress on Suits and with her own blog, The Tig.

    On Tuesday, we got our first glimpse of how the couple might choose to position themselves when Meghan visited the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver. The choice of a women’s centre echoed the causes that she championed while living in the UK, like the Smart Works charity of which she was patron, which offers interview clothing and training to out-of-work women, or the charity cookbook that she collaborated on with Grenfell survivors.

    And her choice of outfit for her first public appearance since the news of Megxit broke also told us something about her strategy during this repositioning period. In place of the sharp tailoring and nipped in silhouettes that Duchess Meghan preferred, she opted for a much more relaxed, ‘normal’ outfit of DL1961 jeans, cream jumper and flat knee-high boots by Le Chameau. I’d say she was going for approachable and relatable: could her new personal brand be The Down-to-Earth Duchess?

    On screen as Rachel Zane in Suits
    On screen as Rachel Zane in Suits CREDIT: NBCUNIVERSAL
    There was one more thing of note about her outfit. The loose-fitting cream cable knit jumper was by American luxury label The Row (founded by the Olsen twins). Like the rest of her outfit, it was a re-wear – no doubt a conscious choice not to appear in an expensive new outfit while the British public baulks at having bankrolled the Sussexes’ wedding and house refurb – but not one from her royal wardrobe. Meghan wore the jumper in character as Rachel Zane on TV show Suits back in 2013.

    This could be a sign that Meghan is reclaiming parts of her wardrobe – and the right to wear whatever she liked – that she shed when she decided to marry into the royal family. This could mark a shift back towards her actor persona, and away from her royal one.

    Perhaps the timing is noteworthy: Meghan’s visit came as news emerged that her father, Thomas Markle, would be willing to testify against her in the court case which she is bringing against the Mail on Sunday. By making a public appearence – in a noteworthy look at that – the duchess cleverly reclaimed some ground.

    Or perhaps it’s simpler than that, and she’s just rediscovered some old favourites from her time spent living in Canada while filming Suits. Which raises the question: did Meghan leave some of her old clothes, and life, in storage there? And if she did, did she always intend to go back for them?

    For more news, analysis and advice from The Telegraph’s fashion desk, click here to sign up to get our weekly newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday. Follow our Instagram @Telegraphfashion.

  54. Labour Leadership And Deputy Leadership

    A pretty grim choice of candidates in my view. What will be interesting as well will be who they put in the shadow cabinet and there is not much choice there neither. Will any of them be daft enough to keep Abbott in the shadow Cabinet ? I think they might

          1. I find it strange as to how Liverpool clings to Labour still. Mind you it has always had a tendency to extremist Labour. Why I have never been able to work out

      1. The mystery of how you get in the Lords

        Nigel has never been offered a seat in the Lords bu the useless (in my view) Natalie Bennett has. She was not an MP so what the criteria are who knows , Given her competences of leading the Green Party I dont think she brings any value to the Lords

  55. A survey of the BBC Website has discovered the terms ‘Asian’ or ‘Asians’ has been used very frequently in recent years (and clearly there are large Asian communities in Blackburn, Halifax, Bradford, Dewsbury, Telford, Luton, etc), but the term ‘Pakistani’ or ‘Pakistanis’ is much rarer in stories.

    In another survey, the term ‘grooming’ was used quite frequently, ut rarely in the same story did the words ‘horses’ or muslims’ occur.

        1. Why the Conservatives are not flaying Labour alive for all that happened under their watch is beyond me.

          1. Bob,
            Probably because they are a segment of the
            pro eu coalition party.
            The tories in governance were a continuation
            of lab in government, with the wretch cameron
            raising the number of potential felons entering the country, thereby ALL complicit with the evil consequences being uncovered.
            Since the political knifing of MRs Thatcher these Isles have deteriorated by the day.
            Can any deny that ?

            The toxic coalition are riddled with PC / Appeasementism usage, and that pair are people killers / maimers.

    3. If I was of Sikh, Hindu, Chinese, Malay or Tamil heritage, I think that I might feel aggrieved to be lumped together with the one group that is committing these outrages. I wonder if those who refuse to “name names” as it were, would like, say, Chinese media to constantly refer only to “Europeans” being responsible for the Holocaust.

      1. I do that if i’ve had nothing to say so it marks the page. Easier to get to the new post by Geoff the following day.

        1. Thanks for your reply.
          I very often have nothing to say so it is nice to have that option.

      3. It means that I wanted to log in briefly to check if downvotes are now identifiable and then log out. But when I clicked on Discus to get back in, do the test and then remove my downvote and retire, Discus told me that I could not have a blank post. So I posted 5 dots and attempted to do a downvote, but was asked to log in again and was told that I had “the wrong password” so I chose the option to change both my password and my avatar, and a new “link” was sent to my (MS) laptop (I post here on my iMac). For some unexplained reason the laptop would not allow me to receive emails.

        Several hours later, I managed to “unblock” my laptop and the emails came hurtling in. During all of this the 5 dots remained. I used the email link to change both my avatar and my password, but when I finally got to grips with this and logged in once again, I found that I was still Elsie Bloodaxe.

        Do you understand now why I am totally baffled with computers? Anyhow, I shall now downvote you to see if I am named as the guilty party, then reverse that downvote, then log out and just read today’s and yesterday’s posts.

        At least it is good that Discus has now made the names of the down voters visible, and that the 7 upvotes I got for a “dotty” post demonstrate that I am not “the enemy” as one poster on here believes. Bye for now, vvof.

  57. Sheku Kanei-Mason on BBC R3 just now, live in the studio, has just played “Blow The Wind Southerly”.
    For some reason I’ve got dust in my eyes.

          3. Oh the embarrassment of finding that photograph posted at the stable door.

            Honest, they put something in my oats.

            Sob!

      2. Can I ask you a question Obers?……just wanted to know if your cats come to you when called…..xxx

        1. Depends on their mood, but usually, yes they do. Outside, too, where they are much less tame.
          Quite often, they’ll rush out & meet us at the car after work. Especially when the food bowl is empty…

    2. Leicester – quite frankly, as long as they’re brown, Labour politicians there could eat babies for breakfast while bŭggering the Archangel Gabriel, and they’d still be acceptable to the electorate.

    4. He’s been voted in as “chair”. Does that mean they can sit on him?

      The proper word (for a man or a woman) is CHAIRMAN, FFS!

    1. When my sister and I were little girls , mother always used to refer to the bit ‘down there ‘ as our arichafuzalems’… and I still do.. It isn’t being coy .. but it is one of those nicer private words..

      Idiotic Gwyneth Paltrow just hasn’t quite got it .. she has created a terrible image .. similar to Sea Squirts!

  60. In my book these so called tories in power currently are as guilty as the lib / dems / lab for the last two decades
    of political services rendered supporting the pro eu infrastructure within the United Kingdom.
    A treacherous political rubber stamper has no conscience similar to willy at attention.
    Lest we forget.

    1. Its going to be difficult to get the woke/pc supertanker of politics to change direction. But I think that Boris is the only one who has a chance. He will stick his neck out and is quite dismissive of press criticism. Whether we end up with BRINO is another matter but he will get us out by the end of the year, and it may be on WTO terms. At least they are still on the table by default, and he did the spadework to get that majority to force through conservative ideas.

      1. Evening K,
        I do believe your heart is in the right place but,
        I see johnson as part & parcel of the rubber stampers.
        To me he was also a major player in the leadership farce along with gove the potential pm candidate / assassin, & leadsome who found, after a brief visit, the political kitchen to hot.
        All returned to the cabinet after the may placement.
        The ball has never left the tory hands for nigh on four years and to my mind we are on the last stage of the tory partial re-entry rocket.
        Any deal will do to be built on in the future.
        It should never / ever got to the stage of “if we land up with brino is another matter”
        Many of us did not visit, mile after mile, letter boxes with leaflets in the name of UKIP demanding OUT
        only to have it squandered by a gang of political treacherous cretins within the toxic trio.

      2. “and he did the spadework to get that majority to force through conservative ideas.”
        I think Nigel Farage’s constituency concessions played a major part in achieving that Conservative majority.

    1. ” The driver, handyman Muhammad Rodwan, launched “a savage machete attack” after being warned he was under arrest, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told the Old Bailey.” For handyman substitute Bomb Maker

      1. His friends gave it to him. They said: ” Don’t use a knife. Use this. You can’t match it !.

    1. Canada is just a temporary abode for her until she can move to LA.AS far as I can tell she was just the US equivalent of a so called soap star and Bag carrier on a game show

    3. I don’t really follow people such as them, but I find that I am now even more bored of them than I was before. This is an achievement for a couple that I found to be mildly tedious at best beforehand.

      The only time that I have seen such a media obsession on a story in the past few years is when they have been trying to distract attention from something else.

      1. A distraction from Brexit. Megxit and Brexit are not entirely unrelated. It seems she has backers.

        Edit: omg – allegedly!

  64. Stormy weather across England causes damage

    The high street of Slough, Berkshire, remains closed after a large section of a roof was blown off a block of flats.
    Sounds like a poor design. It was a flat roof and it looks as if the design allowed the wind to get under it ripping the roof off

  65. South Yorkshire political leaders agree on devolution deal

    These ad hoc devolution deals for random areas does not seem to be very sensible

    It seems to be yet another disconnected layer of administration so now we have local councils, Unitary authorities , South Yorkshire and the government all dabbling in transport and skills

    Political leaders have agreed to move forward with a South Yorkshire devolution deal – more than four years after it was initially announced.
    Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield council leaders with Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis, said the deal had been agreed.
    A deal for South Yorkshire will go to public consultation this year.
    The original deal, for Sheffield City Region, was struck in October 2015 proposing a directly-elected mayor.
    The mayor would have power over transport, strategic planning and skills in the region, plus £900m over 30 years.

  66. As we as coming to understand now, when a troll appears the most effective way to make them go away is to ignore their comments 100% of the time. This method has worked for years on many platforms. It drives them insane to be ignored. 🙂

    The real people here are far more interesting to speak with anyway. I am currently trying to find a certain cat picture, but the directory where I keep them has grown too large thanks to Rik, who I hope is responding well to his new treatment and is back soon.

        1. Over the years I have rode the range far and wide, and witnessed the brightest sunshine and the darkest night. I have stood alone in the face of the wind and rain, and enjoyed the warmth and camaraderie of good friends in ancient inns.

          But I have never had a directory with so many cat pictures in it until I came here.

          1. That post is like something I could say….my cat directory also grows…..and grows…….and well, you get my drift. The rest is very true also.

    2. I have been here from the beginning and although I enjoy the discussion I do not make many comments; mainly because my thoughts have already been eloquently expressed by others. However, I do not ever remember being trolled. I have never been bothered by Polly, read, agree/disagree move on. What I have been extremely surprised by is those who pack in the site because of the number of votes. I now have none, but I remain because I enjoy the banter (not sure whether that is still allowed) and the educated and thought provoking comments by others,

      1. It wasn’t so much the number of votes people had, it was how Polly used 25-30 fake accounts to target someone at once. If you log in and see +4 upvotes and -27 downvotes for a comment, that can make some people feel uncomfortable. They do not realise that it is just one person behind most of those votes.

        I just ignore them because they are really not worth noticing. 🙂

      2. It wasn’t so much the number of votes people had, it was how Polly used 25-30 fake accounts to target someone at once. If you log in and see +4 upvotes and -27 downvotes for a comment, that can make some people feel uncomfortable. They do not realise that it is just one person behind most of those votes.

        I just ignore them because they are really not worth noticing. 🙂

        1. We lost one of our most esteemed and dearest posters because of that screwed up piece of excrement.

          1. More than one I suspect.

            Going back over the years I can think of several other regulars who said: “to Hell with it”.

            It’s one of the reasons I think it is a Soros shill.

    2. I remember Bryan Ferry, at Glastonbury, performing a great song with sax by Jorja Chalmers – sadly I’ve killed the brain cell that had the name of the song – don’t think it was this one, although it is good. the one I’m looking for has more of Jorja!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-DKcg232uE

  68. You have to love the Graun. Consider the hyperbolic headline on this article about MS-13 and gang warfare in El Salvador:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/jan/10/how-the-us-helped-create-el-salvadors-bloody-gang-war

    After a walk through the horrific results of gang warfare in El Salvador, we get told that the reason things are so bad is that Trump deported criminal MS-13 gang members back to El Salvador. What are we supposed to do with them? Let them run rampant?

    MS-13 is in the Washington suburbs these days. A 14 year old girl was recently lured into woods in the suburbs and hacked to death with machetes because the gang “thought” she was a snitch. The good news is that the teenage attackers are now faced with 50 years apiece behind bars. Sadly, that just means they will join up with their compadres already in jail and probably get treated as heroes.

    Trump is dead right – deport them all.

        1. As I suspected. There’s no way to ‘contact us’ on their website and, at 75, I’ve no intention of joining such a corrupt mob.

    2. I am worried that if the Police Force engages all those new coloured recruits, us whites will become victims of a stop-and-search frenzy.

    1. On Friday 31st? I could. I have nothing else planned for that evening, though not sure about staying late. According to Leave EU on their Facebook page, Mark Francois wants to crowd fund having Big Ben bong.

      1. For goodness sake have a recording. Cheaper and the same result – a bonging out of the EU.

      3. Of all of the things that they could spend £500,000 on, they think of that Big Ben gesture.

        I would prefer to pay for a 21-gun salute firing out over the English Channel in the direction of France.

      1. It might be if he has allowed Antifa or others of that ilk to demonstrate against it. In such case there could be trouble, and we all know who the police would be told to suport.

    4. I will be in Simpson’s on the Strand. Can’t make it for the suicide bombfest unfurtunately.

      1. Goodness, only the best! I happen to be passing through London to visit my son that evening but I am wary of walking the streets.

          4. Do you tip the carver? I always slip him a quid or two (no more) and suddenly the meat portions are (a) more generous and (b) from the end of the joint you specify.

    2. A collector of VC medals and Brexiteer.

      One time deputy Chairman of the Conservative party

  72. Thinking about you Rik….hope you are okay.

    BT and Cheshire lad please pop in…it is safe now and we miss you. I seee you upvoting me CL……:-)

    2. I don’t belive that CL has ever posted here, although he visits regularly.

      I fear that BT may be a lost cause.

      Tomorrow is his birthday, if we all wish him well perhaps he might return, although I doubt it.

      1. I was sure he had posted….perhaps on the old page but was sure he did. I’ll go find a cake…….xxx

        1. I will drink to that……but no trombetti in any form!! White wine is my preference, but if BT shows up…well, I can certainly quaff a nice red or two in his honour!

      3. I think it’s a case of priorities with BT. NoTTL has been a comfy diversion for a bit of fun and banter, but with a house sale in prospect and the related activities, including offloading furniture/chattels etc., NoTTL becomes an irrelevance. Once settled back in Blighty, I hope he sees fit to return.

        1. I agree, but the last lot of unpleasantries had quite an adverse effect at a stressful time.

          2. Ignoring their comments 100% will. Being ignored is kryptonite to them. Even mentioning them this much is too much of a waste of time.

    4. BT had just gone off on one of his holiday jaunts when he announced his departure from the site, so he may steer clear for the duration of that, but let’s hope he gives the site another chance when he returns.

      1. I do hope so and hopefully he will see we are thinking of him in the meantime. That always helps in these situations I find…..xxxx

      2. I’ve been in touch with Bill, mainly because I wanted him to know that the whole downvoting and disappearing upvote issue business was much wider than a personal attack on him. He’s says he’s been spending too much time on the site, and won’t be returning. Don’t we all. I think we have to respect his decision, though he’ll be sadly missed.

    1. Aquarius rising? That’s bad news as another birthday approaches. Seems only a year since the last one.🙃

      1. Thank you my friend…if Disqus has taught me one thing…it is never to let the bad guys win. This is a great place!!

    4. You got downvoted. I’m using my ohone, can’t fix. Maybe another mod can?
      Edit: A “guest vote”. I thought unidentified people couldn’t vote up or down?

      1. Thank you Obers but it don’t bother me none…it can downvote until it’s beak falls off. Many thanks for watching out….xxxx

        I have eaten bigger sprouts!

        1. Please, this a friendly, polite site, we do not mention sprouts except in December

          PS Your should be on, in the pressure cooker for Xmas 2030

          4. Jeez, I hope not. There’s not two parts of me hanging the right way and my inside apparently is in a worse state. Ha ha ha.

          5. Erk!
            :-((
            Lets hope your glue keeps all the parts in the right locations and orientations.

          6. Ha ha…and in the meantime, I have my super chair…every day is a theme ride. Every cloud…..

      2. ‘Evening, Paul. Unless I’m missing something, I can’t ban a poster who hasn’t posted on the site. “Add user name” to banned users list doesn’t seem to work. I’m by no means certain that banned users are prevented from downvoting, either. I think the best thing to do with downvotes is to ignore them. They’re much less potentially serious than membership of the “Zero Votes Club”, since this may restrict access to certain sites. Not that it’s happened to me yet, though.

        2. Unless Hatman has some other way – I tried to ban all those on his list but couldn’t because they hadn’t posted. Most of those names were banned on the old site.

    5. I’ve sent Bill a couple of e-mails – one enclosing your post about down voters now being identifiable and the other by mahatmacoatmabag which identifies the down voter but, for the moment, he does not want to come back.

    1. This is just what I need….cats are just the best…will watch and calm down….lol.

  77. Man held in Pakistan over murder of policewoman in 2005

    A man wanted in connection with the murder of a police officer in Bradford more than 14 years ago has been arrested in Pakistan.

    PC Sharon Beshenivsky had only served nine months in West Yorkshire Police when she was gunned down while responding to a robbery at a travel agent in November 2005.

    The 38-year-old became the seventh female officer in Britain to be killed on duty, while colleague PC Teresa Milburn suffered serious injuries during the same incident.

    On Tuesday, police in Pakistan arrested Piran Ditta Khan in connection with the murder.

    The 71-year-old appeared in court in Islamabad on Wednesday where matters relating to his extradition were discussed, and has been remanded in custody to return to court on 29 January.

    1. They’re buggers for that. I cancelled my subscription when they ran a five-page special on why Brexit was the worst thing ever, and that it was unthinkable that anyone who voted Leave shouls deserve any respect whatever. Or something along those lines. I didn’t go quietly, though.

    1. When you read these sorts of things nutil you can know what she said, you cannot make a judgement.

      And I am far too tired to learn Swedish.

  83. Excellent concert tonight.
    It included a talk about RV-W’s 6th that was very informative.

  85. Newsnight on now about the rape / abuse by pakistani etc. the very same program that castigated Gerard Batten / Tommy Robinson.

  86. Watching newsnight I would glorify the raising of a so called far right, racist bastards army of the same calibre of Gerard Batten & Tommy Robinson .

  87. School to fine parents who are late picking up child – then call Social Services

    Parents are fuming after a school announced they will fine them a pound for every five minutes they are late picking up their children -and may even ring Social Services.

    The new policy, which will see teachers calling the authorities if pupils aren’t collected before 4pm, has been branded “a disgrace” by outraged parents.

    Holy Trinity C of E Primary, in Gravesend, Kent has brought in the new rules this week to target those picking up their children just ten minutes late –

    anytime after 3.40pm.

    My bit

    Primary School teachers will be fined £1.00 for every 5 minutes that the Holy Trinity C of E Primary, in Gravesend, Kent,is closed for incest Inset days: – sorted

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/school-fine-parents-1-every-21287070

    2. Seems to be a money making scam, It is also debatable as to whether they can legally do that.

    3. Charge the School £1 for 5 minutes for every day it closes a school because a flake of snow is forecast.

      2. Good morning, Stormy.

        In answer to your questions to Phizzee!!
        When….lunchtime, 1st. April.
        Where…Surrey.

        If you are interested [ and we would like you to be!!]
        let me know when you will be about and I will let
        you have my e-mail address.

        Regards, G.

    1. A survey of 500 Muslims?

      Wow!!

      We MUST change Britain off the back of that.

      What do they want?

      More special treatment of Muslims.

      Now, there’s a surprise.

      1. There was a Channel 4 Dispatches survey of young muslims in Britain and what they believe, and it was the standard “go-to” document when you wanted to make people aware of the disturbing reality. It was amazing that Channel 4 released the data at all, but it has now been removed from the website. I could only find a related page that was trying to explain away the answers. Here were some of the statistics that survived:

        “1. Almost a third of those polled would like to live under sharia law.
        2. More than one in ten understand why British Muslims might want to carry out suicide missions in this country.
        3. Nearly a quarter thought that the 7/7 bombings were justified because of Britain’s foreign policy.
        4. Almost one in five respect Osama Bin Laden to some extent.”

        Number 3 is worth particular note. It was almost 25% of those young British muslims who are living here who were questioned said that they thought that suicide attacks against the British public were justified.

        It is nice to see that “integration” is working so well.

    2. Evening LD,
      The whole of the lab/lib/con mass uncontrolled immigration / paedophilia umbrella coalition are complicit,and have been for donkeys.
      Like animal farm with the three monkeys playing a large part among the electorate within the polling booth.
      Decent peoples ignored and castigated
      after warning years & years ago of the dangers of islamic ideology, plus one being fitted up by the establishment and imprisoned on the strength of lies.

    4. What is it that the likes of Long-Bailey find so distasteful in their own kith and kin? What drives the hate? If she thinks that she will be happier in a moslem culture she could always decamp to the ‘stan’ of her choice instead of trying to change this country into one.

    5. She’s chasing the muslim vote. They will never vote for a woman. Warsi discovered that.

    6. When it comes to No. 6, it doesn’t say ‘Muslim’ refugees, but obviously that’s the only type of refugee that would be of interest to them.

      1. “I will stand with the muslim community.”
        – Becky Bailey-Bridge.

        She is really going all out to abandon the traditional Labour voters and British people. She is obviously thinking long-term with our borders staying open and the expected arrival of millions of new voters. But they do not think that highly of woman leaders telling them what to do.

        1. Selling her putrid soul, along with our country, for votes from people who would gladly see her stoned to death.

  90. ‘Wait a minute, come on, is it because I is black?’ – Megain Sparkle No! Sorry! Ali G!

  91. I have just spotted that Terry Pratchett’s “Good Omens” is starting to be shown on BBC2 from 09:00 PM tonight (episode 1 of 6) followed by a 40 minute documentary on his life. I have not watched Good Omens before, but was about to buy the DVD. This will give me a chance to see if it is any good before adding it to my collection.

    1. Although I enjoy the genre, for some reason I’ve never been able to get “into” any of the Terry Pratchett series.
      I should try again.

    2. Watched it on Amazon Prime some months ago. It is good fun and a good adaptation of the book. Hope you enjoy it too!

      1. I loved the book back in the days where I read anything with his name on it. The films that were made were alright, but not as impressive as the books were, but they rarely are. I think this should be a good one though. 🙂

  92. Maybe this long bailey is thinking long term of keeping the cannister attached to the torso, she only has to study the voting pattern of these Isles, and the party first mode of voting.
    How was this islamic ideology following allowed to grow to such an extent that shortly the bailey type will maybe convert to islam & the host party become the islamic labour party.
    She could be sworn in as such in parliament as the operating Manuel is on hand and in use already.

    1. Your Disqus personal upticks-to-comments ratio on the old DT letters’ page, eight years ago, was 11·29.

      Today it has plummeted to 4·07. That’s only a third of what it was before you became a one-trick pony. Do you have any comments to make on these findings for the folks back home?

      1. I am so close to making my first blocking….totally against my principals but I have listened to this longer than I care to remember now. It takes a lot to get to me……

          5. Don’t want to go down that road – it is a very long story. How do you know she isn’t.

          6. Fair enough. I have no idea; I tend to presume male unless it’s clear from comments that a poster is female.

          8. Lol…….I won’t be unkind, I just can’t read anymore – the broken record is going the same way as the parrot tonight.

      2. G,
        The truth hurts the truth deniers do you not find that so.
        For instance eight years ago I had respect for the police, today, you see where I am coming from ?

        2. That’s the $64,000 question. However, since Brexit wasn’t on everyone’s lips back then, I’m guessing he must have made some excellent contributions to be quite so popular.

      4. In fairness, Grizz, ogga1 is likely haemorrhaging upvotes to the blasted bot, as many of us (including thee and me) are. The only reason he’s not shown as having zero votes is that he had so many in the first place.

        1. The only reason I mentioned it, Geoff, was a result of my delving into the past, yesterday, when I located the list from about eight years ago of then commentators. Ogga was quite well up the list then with a more than respectable upvotes-to-posts ratio. The difference between then and now, for whatever reason, is quite startling.

    2. Fear not. If Rebecca Long Bailey becomes Labour Party leader then Labour are by default out of power for decades. I doubt they will ever recover.

      It is all very well for the silly woman to court Muslim votes but the greater part of the Labour Party constituency are against mass immigration and particularly opposed to its effects on their everyday lives. This is the reason that so many Labour constituencies voted to leave the EU in the Referendum. It is also the reason that Labour lost the last election so heavily.

      2. Evening C,
        I did not put many put the party first lightly, that has been proved by the state of the country, consequences of the voting pattern.
        There will be a fight for the islamic vote as there are currently, up and down the country those of the islamic persuasion in positions of power, waiting.
        The hard work has been done, the mosques have been built and a bridgehead established.
        Taking over a severely battered host party would not be hard for determined peoples.

        1. Evening ogga 1. We will never allow Muslims to rule over us. If these geeks continue on their present path they will be repatriated by popular demand.

          We do not accept no go areas or Muslim only areas.

          The Labour Party has lost its way. This is perfectly understandable for the reason that we no longer have a ‘working class’ as such. We have an aspiring class of workers who wish to get on in life. We have some very wealthy people including many successful entrepreneurs. Then we have the current Labour Party constituency of deluded but arrogant work shy Muslims and a diaspora of drug addicts and Welfare dependant layabouts.

          Admittedly there are a few tens of thousands of Labour supporters occupying certain London boroughs such as Islington and Hackney but this is most likely because there is something in the water; that or else they are concentrations of very thick people.

          1. C,
            It most certainly was not peoples of a decent sane nature that got us as a nation, into the sh!te bog we are in as a country now, it was
            the electorate via the polling booth in the vote to keep him / her out, vote to keep him / her in,
            regardless of consequences, party before Country is the voting mode.
            The drug taking, rape / abuse, killing / maiming
            much of it due to mass uncontrolled immigration, the mass uncontrolled immigration parties are the only players in the main, and receiving the mass of the vote which tells me that the voter is content with the status quo.

          2. Like you I remain very concerned about the import of people who wish us harm. A lot of this is to do with our membership of the EU, an undemocratic entity governed by Germans who see immigrants purely as economic units.

            The problem as ever is that the Germans have yet again miscalculated. Instead of importing a million and more doctors, dentists, architects and engineers the fools have merely imported evil Muslim dolts with little education and mouths full of rotten teeth.

            The judgement of Germans is faulty. It is not entirely their fault; they simply have a genetic disposition to that unique combination of arrogance and stupidity. That is the reason they lost their wars. Incidentally we are still paying for their heinous acts.

          3. C,
            What I find is that our governance parties were only to willing to do brussels bidding year on year and also to adhere strictly to the unwritten rulings of PC / Appeasement with many of the peoples condoning it, proof being what is being uncovered now and also issues that they, the establishment, have no intentions of tackling for instance FGM and the suffering endured, halal slaughter etc,etc.
            These issues are given the three monkey treatment by the governance internally, not the eu.

          4. As I stated previously there is only so much that we English will tolerate. I rather hope that Boris Johnson has By in now worked this out.

            There will be one hell of a retribution should Boris fail to observe the expressed wish of the electorate to sort out unmitigated immigration. We are a Catholic and Anglian Christian nation. Our Mediaeval churches were Catholic long before Anglican.

            We do not appreciate militant Islamism or any other deviant belief system being imported into our country.

          5. “there is only so much that we English will tolerate.”. Agreed with an addition.

            There is only so much that we Welsh will tolerate.

          7. C,
            I am not in any way a defeatist far from it but leaving it to “hope” and our politicians is a very tenuous way to go and a sure fire way to lose a country.
            It was “our” politicians who have tried their damndest to hand us over to an alien force, the eu.

      3. Labour don’t care. If they think they can get more muslim votes, they will support muslims. Eventually those will be the majority.

        edit P.S. Labour has nothing whatsoever to do with the British working people.

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