645 thoughts on “Wednesday 2 October: The EU’s obstinacy over the Northern Ireland backstop is self-defeating”

    1. He hasn’t been nobbled, yet. Last week he made a sardonic reference to being replaced by an athletics event being broadcast from somewhere in the Middle East. The Great British Public are supposedly more interested in cheering-on mainly people of colour running around in circles although the stadium appears to be mostly empty.

      2. Denise Lewis (former athlete of some stripe) complained about the poor attendance saying that another professional jogger had done her victory lap in front of an empty stadium.

        “Whats wrong with that?” I hear you ask.

        She came second! Why was she doing a VL at all?

  2. Good Morning, all

    The British constitution is now under threat

    SIR – As former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and author of the “Cash for Questions” report, I have been peripherally drawn into the Government’s attempted prorogation controversy.

    It has been alleged that in 1997 Sir John Major prorogued Parliament for an extended period to avoid the risk of that report being presented to Parliament and published during the run-up to a general election.

    I cannot say whether that was true or not but it would be naive to suppose that any prime minister triggering a prorogation in recent times did so without taking fully into account the likely impact on party fortunes.

    This has benefited governments of every complexion and has been one of the conventions forming the basis of our unwritten constitution.

    In my view it is the constitution itself which is under threat. Until now, MPs have fiercely guarded their right to manage their own governance and proceedings and to do so against all-comers from the monarch down. Of particular importance has been the interface between the House of Commons and the judiciary and, in my experience, each side has been extremely sensitive to protect the boundaries between them. Now that this convention has been overturned it is difficult to predict how seismic a change this may turn out to be.

    With Mr Speaker discarding past precedents and the courts judging the justification for parliamentary proceedings, it seems unlikely that an unwritten constitution can survive.

    A written constitution could become inevitable, with political appointments to the judiciary not far behind.

    Sir Gordon Downey
    London SW1

    Yet another damning assessment of the spiderwoman’s web

    1. In my view it is the constitution itself which is under threat.

      You’re a little late to the party Sir Gordon. It’s as dead as the proverbial parrot!

      1. She was beaten and mugged by Brown, locked in a dungeon by the coalition and finally Berkow has held it under to suffocate her while Swinson and the other profiteering trougher sewage pinned her arms.

        The hatred the Left have for integrity, decency, honesty and morality cannot be conceived.

    2. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d55da55d3c3babd71e8f820ff7d1a07a95b0e3bb4de3e9ed1e3a72a3c9271a51.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/36175b2b45ce4bc55bb94e8be9d28d3e43aa72b3fc168990462d31168cdbef6a.gif
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1267aac1d35841d76eb361a6ca5346cb8b82511ef3a24bf51c4cec89b69d34f9.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1575e352be6f114128a2c5518cebe54c659e59f6ffce726f0e4bf850c2e28231.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/02502960c0aeab456f100336586df888247f614340ee2a9cf4beeecbf6909496.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0df7dccdc62e3b195ba6c497f3734660dfe7cfc0209bbf7274a17082cbf23b3d.gif

      1. Obnoxious, odious, smug little twerp of a male who thinks far more of himself than anyone else does.

        I daresay he’ll have a book out within the year – In hope no-one buys it.

        1. Ah, following your usual protests, I am led to ask why is it necessary to point out he is male? Fair’s fair, after all 🙂

      2. He really should be sacked.

        If he refuses to be a servant then he must not be kept on the staff. MPs are the help, just a group of people we hire to manage our affairs because we don’t have time to.

        1. Unfortunately the Supreme Court has appointed Bercow as the Supreme Leader of what has become the Sovereign Parliament.
          The real leader of the House is JRM who maintains that the people are Sovereign by virtue of what was formerly known as democracy.

          1. I give an awful lot to lamp the stuck up little man. His ego, arrogance and smugness need a boot to the face.

    3. BTL:

      Max Bonamy 2 Oct 2019 3:43AM
      Sir Gordon Downey, London SW1

      Another well-reasoned letter from a distinguished source illustrating the SC’s decision was madness.

      This confirms, as if confirmation were needed, that for the most part lawyers are sharp but useless. They add little to the sum of human happiness or to a nation’s commonwealth. Indeed, it is axiomatic that one of the key reasons for the mess we are in is the over-representation of these clever**cks in Parliament.

      Acres of drooling, fawning, ‘gurl-power’ lines have been penned about Lady Hale, the various concrete ceilings her brilliance has head-butted and shattered, but it is evident the flattery has gone to her head leaving no room any longer for common sense. Frightfully clever people can say and do the dumbest things. In the information age little wonder we have grown deeply sceptical about ‘experts’.

      The SC verdict is very possibly the final nail in public deference to the institutions that rule over us. And if our institutions no longer command public respect, what then?

      This Supreme Menagerie of Fools should enjoy its moment while it can, for the reckoning will come. I wager historians will record this rash, ill-conceived, Constitution-wrecking power-grab as the day Her Ladyship squandered her legacy.

      *********************************************************************

      I’m not sure I share Max’s optimism.

      Like Sir Gordon Downey, I foresee a written constitution rather than any return to that which has served us so well for so many centuries. That will require an even more important whizz-bang Supreme Court with lots and lots of powers over everything. Her Ladyship will be fêted as its mother and set on an even higher plinth.

  4. SIR – Mr Johnson is correct that many will not in all conscience be able to vote for the Tories unless they do what their manifesto promised and get us out of the EU, allowing us to form new trade agreements with the rest of the world and make our own laws.

    As one who was able to vote for Mr Johnson, but has also been a staunch supporter of the Brexit Party, I hope he will put aside his differences with Nigel Farage and work with him to ensure that we leave the EU. Only once we are free will I – and I expect many others – be able to vote Tory again.

    If this does not occur, and the result is a Marxist government, I know many who will leave the country – and, of course, it is the poorest who will suffer when no one wants to invest in Britain anymore.

    Felicity Guille
    London SW6

    I wager that, for one reason or another, the UK will not be in a position to form new trade agreements before the next General Election. Boris is cornered and there will be a fudge.

    1. The Left don’t care about that. They are blinkered and idiotic. Anyone with half a braincell could see that Corbyn’s tax and waste policies are useless and won’t work but despite all the evidence and history there are always a bunch of stupid people – as they must be, if they’re intelligent then they’re spitefully, maliciously desperate to further oppress the low paid – who vote Labour.

  5. Britain expresses ‘regret’ over Māori killings after Cook’s arrival in New Zealand. Wed 2 Oct 2019 .

    When the British explorer arrived on the east side of the Tūranganui River, near present-day Gisborne, the first encounter between his men and the Māori inhabitants of the land was disastrous, according to an official New Zealand history site, with a leader from the Ngāti Oneone group immediately shot and killed. It seemed likely the local people were undertaking a ceremonial challenge, which the Europeans misunderstood, the site said.

    At least eight other Māori are believed to have been killed. The British high commission said in its statement that Cook had written of his regret over the deaths in his diary.

    The Italian Ambasador will be making an apology shortly for the actions of the Eagle Bearer of the 10th Fretensis who came ashore at Deal in the face of hostile demonstrations on August 26 55BC and killed large numbers of the natives.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/02/britain-expresses-regret-over-maori-killings-after-captain-cooks-arrival-in-new-zealand

    1. If it had happened today, then yes, it would be very sad.

      But it didn’t. It was a misunderstanding. A group reacted to a display of violence hundreds of years ago. Will Nordic nations apologise for invading East Anglia now?

    2. ‘morning Minty,

      “it seemed likely the local people were undertaking a ceremonial challenge”

      As the Maori were basically prone to violence and continually warred with each other and other islanders, I am not likely to trust a NZ ‘re-written’ history site for a de facto version of events.

        1. Yes. It is a primitive and insulting ritual, but it has now achieved, by repetition and because no one understands the words, the same status as prayer. (Actually much higher status). It must be respected, it must be endured in silence by the opposition who must keep still for it.
          As rugby union is now a professional sport, owned by an investment company, we can expect the haka to be retained for its entertainment value.

      2. “Maori are basically prone to violence” drunkenness, wife-beating and other native practices.

        See “Once Were Warriors”

    3. FFS. More apologies for somethingbthatvhappened in another place another time another paradigm.
      Have we had an apology from Hawaii for killing Captain Cook???

          2. Won’t work, Elsie, as they aren’t very Friendly Isles.

            Good morning from Sunny Suffolk.

    1. Surely the tentacles should be blue and gold? After all, it’s the EU trying to use Ireland as staging post to control the UK.

  7. ‘Request an ATM’ service to be launched

    Communities will be able to request a free-to-use ATM for their area if they are finding it hard to access cash.
    Link, which oversees the UK’s network of cash machines, has set up a £1m fund to pay for ATMs in so-called cash deserts, although this will only fund 40 to 50 machines.
    It said more money could be added to the fund if the service proved popular.
    Criteria for successful bids include a lack of nearby ATMs, a safe location being found, and no Post Office access.

    1. Bank robbers are finding it increasingly difficult to access cash with the scarcity of ATMs.
      They find letter boxes are only useful for depositing cash.

  8. I missed this gem when it was published

    Anti-racism event hosted by Edinburgh University bans white people from asking questions

    Auslan Cramb – 27 SEPTEMBER 2019 • 11:07PM

    The University of Edinburgh has been criticised for hosting an “anti-racism” event in which white people were due to be banned from asking questions.

    The conference has been organised by the Resisting Whiteness group which opposes racism and describes itself as a QTPOC (queer and trans people of colour) organisation.

    There will be two “safe spaces” at the event one of which white people will be barred from entering.

    The safe places are meant for those who feel “overwhelmed/overstimulated or uncomfortable”.

    A blurb for the “conference, talks and workshops” at the city’s Pleasance Theatre, which aim to “amplify the voices of people of colour, says: “We will therefore not be giving the microphone to white people during the Q&As, not because we don’t think white people have anything to offer to the discussion, but because we want to amplify the voices of people of colour.

    “If you are a white person with a question, please share it with a member of the committee or our speakers after the panel discussion.”

    Questions explored during the conference will include “what does it mean to be a queer and/or trans person of colour in a society that frequently does not want to see us?”.

    However, Jane McColl, an anti-racism campaigner, said the event itself was “blatantly racist”, adding: “It sets back the battle to achieve equality and fairness by decades, all because of the actions of a tiny group of extremists, whose perverse sense of logic has led them to belittle white people, not by who they are as individuals, by merely because of their skin colour.

    “Imagine if this event was called ‘Resisting Blackness’ and non-white people were told they could not ask questions, nor access a room because they were the ‘wrong’ colour.”

    A spokesman for the university said tackling racism was an important topic for debate but added that it placed “great value on issues around equality and voice”.

    He said: “Consequently the university has met with the event organisers to ensure the event is compliant with our values.

    “We have expressed our concerns to them about certain aspects of the format of the event and they are revising their ‘safe space’ policy for the conference as a result.”

    1. “…Judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. …”

      Well, here’s judging their character and these creatures organising such an event and excluding people from speaking are disgusting. As the fellow says, such behaviour sets back equality decades. It’s farcical.

  9. Tesco boss Dave Lewis in shock departure

    Tesco has announced that its chief executive Dave Lewis is stepping down after five years in the role.
    Mr Lewis said the decision was “personal one” and its chairman John Allan said he had accepted the resignation with “regret”.

      1. Possibly but what I would call creative accounting is pretty much the norm in large companies so there profits are often overstated which is why so many large companies end up in financial trouble. A small dip in sales or a small change in costs can sink them

    1. I don’t know why the press keep publishing so much about them, the least publicity they get the better

      1. The trouble is, he made a bad choice, just like his father. (Although I dont think Brian was entirely to blame for his choice of wife)

        1. Another grandchild denied access to his grandfather , aunts and uncles .. all very iffy.

          Has anyone else apart from me noticed that the Royal baby may have a squint .. the photos seem to be telling us something.

          2. Good morning Bill,

            Excuse me, but I think I will just clear off for a while and write messages on bananas for sex workers , guest edit Vogue, design a few clothes , embrace the victims of a burnt out Tower block , spend loads of money on fripperies and avoid the sort of publicity I don’t want and court the publicity that feeds my ego .. yes ..and a South African trip that satisfies my attention seeking nature!

            Me being a person of pink colour has many downsides ….

            I will not be groomed by diverse forces and the BBC

            My observations are crass and unseemly ..

            Feels as if I have climbed a ladder and taken a tumble!

          3. ‘Morning, Belle. With a list like that I fear that you won’t have time to pop across the Atlantic for the occasional party or tennis match…

          5. ‘Morning, Bill, by her last sentence it seems Mags has been on the Bill Thomas Ladder Use & Mis-use course.

    3. Oh diddums.
      I just scroll past these ‘news’ items – aka publicity blurbs.
      I am sick to death of the pair of them.

  11. American companies have a hiring problem

    THe US seems to have a similar problem to the UK and it is mass illegal migration which is helping to keep wages down, US companies now prefer to fill vacancies externally rather than with internal promotions. Why? probably because it is cheaper. The US also has the same problem the UK has in that companies dont want to train or retrain people

    According to an analysis by Peter Capelli, director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, “corporations filled roughly 90% of their vacancies through promotions and lateral assignments between the end of World War II and the 1970s. Today, that figure is one third or less.”

    1. I agree. The thing that has always bothered me most about Brexit is that our rotten establishment, like the young, will want to be even more like the Americans.

  12. Morning all

    SIR – Theresa May and the EU negotiators produced a Withdrawal Agreement that was rejected three times by Parliament because of the Irish backstop. The EU demands the backstop in order to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

    If a new agreement, without the backstop, cannot be reached, Britain will eventually leave without a deal, and there will have to be a hard border. I therefore wonder why the EU, instead of helping to find a solution, is putting the onus on Britain and vetoing all of our suggestions.

    Peter Stanford
    Cranleigh, Surrey

    SIR – Boris Johnson is being over-optimistic if he thinks he can get anything but a bad deal from the EU.

    Its main objective is to discourage other members from ever thinking of leaving. As Theresa May rightly said, no deal is better than a bad deal.

    Frank Tomlin
    Billericay, Essex

    1. Mr Tomlin, we Nottlrs were about three years ahead of you. You have just wasted a letter. Do try to keep up.

    2. That could be reworded slightly:

      “Theresa May worked hand in glove with the EU to create a trap that will imprison the United Kingdom under their control, until enough new pro-EU voters could be shipped into the country to win another rigged referendum. This deal was rejected by a Remainer Parliament because they wanted to have their cake and eat it by having lots of second jobs as EU MEP’s with another gold-plated pension.

      The Withdrawal Agreement removes these jobs and cuts the Remainers access to the trough of taxpayers money. The Remainers thought that by holding out long enough they could wait until the new voters had arrived and just stay in the EU anyway.

      Boris is about to deliver his ultimatum to the EU: “Here is the trap that you designed for the United Kingdom. Take it or leave it.”

      By any reading, this is a radical redefinition of the traditional use of the word “Ultimatum.” We now wait to see if the EU will accept the deal that they wanted all along, and then threatens a no-deal Brexit if the Remainers in Parliament do not pass it this time. Many MP’s have already said that they would vote for the W/A now, if the made-up problem of the Backstop is removed.”

      We should know by the end of the day if there is a great new Free Trade Agreement waiting in the wings. Or if it is just the EU’s trap making its 4th attempt to get through Parliament. Knowing Bercow and his bias, he will wave through the “new deal” saying it is substantially different from the previous one. Even though it is the same deal with a few paragraphs missing.

      What a life.

      1. ‘Morning, Meredith, What a life– roll on death.

        No, no, I will not be defeatist

        I will not be defeatist

        I will not be defeatist

        I will not be defeatist

  13. Good morning all. Spits and spots of rain in the night. Some more forecast – but I doubt it.

    Any news today?

    2. No, no news. Unless you count the two new disabled parking spaces outside the shops in our village.

      2. In the Border the lay-bys now have a large “Disabled Parking” area painted in. The lay-bys have not been made larger so it has become difficult for lorries to use some of them, as some of the lay-bys are quite small.

  14. SIR – I normally have a lot of time for the views of William Hague, but he got it completely wrong in his latest column.

    Fire must be fought with fire. The law is being hijacked by Remainers, and we cannot sit back and be nice about it.

    The Prime Minister must use every trick up his sleeve to fight back and bring home Brexit.

    Christopher Lambert
    Tadworth, Surrey

    1. Hague was a precocious rising star in the 1980s and a young leader of the Tory Party, but he certainly entered his dotage early.

  15. There is something shakespearean about the intriguing drama unfolding with the Sussexes which is both irrelevant to the public interest and fascinating to anyone who enjoys an ongoing play about the human condition that is as entertaining as anything that can be put on stage.

    All the characters are there – a handsome prince traumatised by the death of his mother in childhood, a brash Hollywood starlet with all the neurosis, political correctness and love of lawsuits of rich Los Angeles, an embarrassment of her slob father (who ironically has blue blood himself), who otherwise is a good and decent man. The prince is deeply in love with the starlet and will do anything to defend her honour – indeed it’s his way of avenging his mother stolen from him by the papparazzi.

    No playwright could come up with a better cast list. What newspaper eager for a gripping story could resist it, fact or fiction? The Mail on Sunday’s mistake was to publish private papers – all the ingredients of this soap are in the public domain, so they did not need to do this.

  16. Morning again

    School vaccinations

    SIR – With regard to compulsory vaccinations (Letters, October 1), some 50 years ago, while studying in Portsmouth, I contracted tuberculosis. This was later shown to be by transmission, as the strain was resistant to the standard streptomycin-based treatment.

    When I was finally diagnosed (my temporary GP in Portsmouth thought it was just a bad cold), the specialist in Bristol was amazed to find out that I had not had the BCG vaccination at school. Apparently in Bristol all pupils received it, but at the time it was given I was living in Scarborough, where authorities did not deem it an important enough matter even to suggest that parents might want to have their children vaccinated.

    Parents who do not have their children vaccinated against common illnesses are not only taking risks with their children’s health; they are also endangering other people’s children.

    David Muir
    Bristol

    1. I went to the surgery yesterday for my annual Diabetes pep talk and was told that there is now a Pneumonia Jab. Since I’m reluctant to take the Flu injection I opted for this and had it on the spot!

      2. I went for my flu jab a couple of weeks ago and was told the pneumonia jab was available. It was news to me.

        Since I’ve known more people (several) who have died of pneumonia than have died of flu it seemed like a good idea.

        Felt woozy for a few hours, but it was nothing really

  18. Watched a good docu on Tianenmen Square last night (BBC4).

    Shows that a revolution can never succeed unless you get the military on your side.

    Lessons here for LEAVERS.

      1. Perhaps the only way to get noticed is to oppose the state machine. Here’s the question though: would the BBC report a heroic democrat or would it spout on about hindering the passage of the forces of good government?

        My guess is the latter. They cannot be trusted to report the truth.

    1. The Home Office floats one of these stories every now and again to blackguard the people opposed to mass immigration!

    2. I think they do it on purpose to make the news so that it makes it look like controlling immigration is a bad thing.

      1. Morning B,
        Could very well be, but does not alter the fact that we are one doctor
        less and the patient queue growing longer by the day.
        There has only been one party that
        called for controlled immigration and that party has suffered a hate / smear campaign for its existing years, UKIP.

    3. As a “racist’ I am happy to welcome a limited number of immigrants who are happy to live by our laws and mores and who do not try to change them and who are prepared to work. (No, they don’t have to be brain surgeons.)

        1. An ‘are’ is one hundred square metres.

          Bill was just testing to see if we were paying attention. He was referring to the hundreds of square metres of road and stuff in the foreground.

      2. St Pancras was opened in 1868. The vehicles and costumes are much later than that. St P is out of sight to the left.

        1. The building on the left of the picture is the Great Eastern Hotel. Hands up anyone who knows why it’s built to curve. (BoB: give the others a chance.)

          3. The track is below street level, in front of the hotel. It connected the East Coast Main Line with the Widened Lines, for northbound services. Southbound services left the ECML at Kings Cross York Road.

          4. The track that you describe was opened a decade after the building of the hotel. That’s how it got its name, the Hotel Curve.

            And you have the front and the back confused. The main entrances today are on the convex curve facing St Pancras Road although there have always been entrances at the rear (concave) for passengers coming from KX. That side is now covered by the new concourse. The Hotel Curve is between the hotel and station.

  21. In hindsight I should have posted my Facebook status
    as: “I’ve blown the head gasket on my 2004 XR3i” rather than
    “I’ve just buggered a 15 year old escort”.

    The police still haven’t seen the funny side, my
    lap top’s been confiscated, and the wife has gone off to her mother.

  22. It almost sounds as if Donald is talking about Brexit !

    Donald J. Trump

    “As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!”

    1. Sadly people like ‘Helen’ won’t understand what he’s saying so consumed are they with spite and hatred.

      The comedy of ‘I trust Jo to usurp the elected government’ is staggering.

  24. Of course there’s a good reason why Donald and Brexit are under attack…..

    Uncle George finds both anathema !

  26. A “Coup” against the President of the United States.

    A coup against Brexit.

    Nobody could accuse Georgy of doing small stuff !

  27. Listened to Nigel Farage on LBC last night. HE remarked that it was eerily quiet in Westminster yesterday and he feared there was a coup being prepared. My goodness it will be a “very bad look” if we see Margaret Beckett speaking for a “Government of National Unity” in late October.

    2. Margaret Beckett: “This is a rich country, we can import all the food we need.”

  28. Coincidence alert !

    Who is Obama’s best friend ?

    Uncle George !

    Bill Mitchell @mitchellvii

    ” HERE WE GO – Rudy Giuliani: ‘Pretty Close To Overwhelming Evidence’ That Obama Ordered Hillary, Dems To Dig Up Dirt In Ukraine On Trump.”

  30. Swedish manufacturing crash is the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Europe. AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD. 2 OCTOBER 2019 .

    Sweden has suffered the most violent slump in manufacturing output since the depths of the Lehman crisis in late 2008, flashing an early warning signal for the rest of Europe’s industrial bloc.

    The country’s PMI reading of factory activity plummeted far below the boom bust line to 46.3 in September, catching the Riksbank off guard in a startling move that points to mounting stress in Europe’s manufacturing supply chains. “The plunge was nothing short of disastrous,” said David Oxley from Capital Economics.

    Ambrose is notorious for his failed apocalyptic scenarios even surpassing my own less publicised but nonetheless dire efforts. Still I feel that he’s onto something here. Both the EU and the US are feeling a similar pinch. There is in the air the very smell of the brimstone of disaster as though we are approaching a critical moment; an unresolvable nexus of problems that will bring down the whole system on a Global Scale. A single domino tipped over laying the whole box on its back!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/10/02/swedish-manufacturing-crash-canary-coal-mine-europe/

    1. Of course this won’t affect British Manufacturing – it was killed off years ago by the Trades Union,

    3. There have been recent whispers, from normally very reliable sources, that the EU accountants have been pushing their “creative paperwork” for an almost unbelievable amount of time now. In the real world even Germany has been in recession for over a year and it is only having the “right people in the right places” that this has been concealed with false figures being produced. But the damage to the EU’s finances and economy are now so great that it cannot be hidden any longer.

      This might explain the extreme speed that the EU has been in to get all of the recent elections finished and people into their new jobs before their tinpot empire clutches its chest and falls to its knees. They would really like to drag the United Kingdom into the abyss with them, if they can.

      1. And why there was an article quoting Deutschebank and advocating a large injection of ‘parachute money’ into the EU economies, ie Deutschebank… DT yesterday.

  31. Independence Day – 29 days……Blood ,sweat and tears.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/365c81fc189015969aa741d84edcc79e87ab04e24000dea803bdacfc8f417b5e.jpg

    Won’t we all have a luv-er-ly time
    The day we get to Brexit,
    It’s been three years
    Of blood, sweat and tears.
    we’re all mighty sick of it.

    Most of us feel
    That deal or no deal
    We don’t give a toss, it’s a bore
    I’m sure we’ll cope
    So don’t give up hope
    let’s make Britain Great once more….

          2. The analogy with bull fighting isn’t a good one, but otherwise, a good read.

            https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/normal-people-couldnt-give-monkeys-gropegate-still-backing/

            “Normal people couldn’t give a monkey’s about ‘Gropegate’ – they’re still backing Boris

            An allegation by a female journalist that Boris Johnson squeezed her thigh at a Spectator magazine lunch in 1999 has “cast a pall over the Conservative party conference”, critics claim. Humbug! To choose a word of mild exasperation completely at random. The media class, grooming each other like gorillas on expenses in the fancy London Lounge here in Manchester, may like to claim that “Gropegate” has harmed the Prime Minister. Normal people couldn’t give a monkey’s.

            During his interview with Boris on yesterday’s Today programme, a censorious Nick Robinson described the PM’s accuser, Charlotte Edwardes as a “highly respected journalist”. Well, the women I have spoken to say they would have a lot more respect had she not waited 20 years to make her complaint.

            Not only that, she chose to make the revelation in her brand new magazine column as the conference got under way. Such fortuitous timing! One might almost think it had been designed to inflict maximum damage on the PM and to feed the narrative, the latest line of attack on him, that Boris has “a women problem”.

            It is obviously pure coincidence that Ms Edwardes is friends with Roland Rudd, one of the major backers of Remain. She is also the partner of Robert Peston, ITN’s political editor, who tweets with apparent enthusiasm about a possible “government of national unity” to take over from the actual government – you know, the one elected by the British people.

            The only hope an increasingly desperate Remain Alliance has of mounting a coup and installing their Janitor Junta is to attack the PM relentlessly until he loses the confidence of the public. Right now, the Selective Outrage mob are in full cry. Bolshy female MPs, who happily call the PM “fascist”, “racist” and worse, suddenly demand that Boris moderates his language. Smears get shriller because time is running out and there is now genuine fear that the UK might actually leave the EU on 31 October, as it voted to do three years and three months ago.

            Any sign that things are going rather well for the PM must either be passed over swiftly or ignored altogether. A Labour activist shouting at Boris in a hospital corridor was top of the evening news. Another hospital visit, where the PM was surrounded by nurses, doctors and patients, all taking selfies with him, never made it on air. Unless I missed it? Funny that.

            Many Leave voters I know are so incensed by this shameless Boris-bashing that they simply won’t watch or listen to the news any more. And who can blame them for the Great Switch-Off when the head of Channel 4 News gives a speech saying Boris is a liar and that her programme would be saying so? So much for impartiality!

            A few weeks ago, after another “bad week for Boris” followed by an increase in popular support for him, Sky News anchor Adam Boulton sniffed that there was always a “lag” in the opinions polls. The true picture, he implied, would emerge. The following week, Tories’ ratings were up again. And the next.

            How often have you heard the BBC report the Conservatives’ large, and growing, lead in the opinion polls? Last week, despite the fact that its conference should have given the party a significant bounce, Labour barely clambered out of its grave to a pitiful 22 points. Boris was on 41 in the same poll. Such ratings are an embarrassment for an establishment elite which simply can’t understand why its assassination of the PM’s character is so slow to take effect.

            Boris is like a bull in the ring; the media matadors plunge their swords into his back, yet he refuses to kneel down and die. Instead, he charges on defiantly to the cheers of the crowd. I saw him yesterday here in Manchester. Despite reports on Radio 4 that he has undergone a horrifying transformation from Coco the Clown to Benito Mussolini, his Borisness seemed remarkably intact, although there are flashes of something, not quite anger, but furious determination.

            There was chatter about Dilyn, the new puppy. It’s the PM’s job to take Dilyn into the No 10 garden for his early-morning wee and the dog was apparently getting on really well with Saj’s (Javid) cavapoo, Bailey, chasing her all over the place, until our PM realised Dilyn was a bit too keen – uh-oh… – and had to pull him off. It made me think Dilyn might come in handy during negotiations with the EU: “My dog ate the Surrender bill.”

            How, I wondered, did it feel to be a human piñata? Those around him hinted that he’d expected the “sledging” (verbal intimidation in cricket to force your opponent to make a mistake) to start. We are in the middle of a revolution, a historic sundering, it was never going to be easy or painless.

            I reckon what keeps him going is not only the fact that the cause is just, but his genuine concern about the consequences of not honouring the biggest democratic vote in our history. “Get Brexit Done” is the slogan of this 2019 Tory conference. Beyond the media aristocracy and the Selective Outrage mob, I bet most people agree with that.

            I was taken with a recent email to me from Louise, a Telegraph reader: “Allison, please let Boris know how many people are right behind him. What I think is the British are a mix of very practical people and the idealists. The idealists voted Brexit. I did the classic British thing and voted Remain because I am practical, because it was easy and I worried about money.

            “But that is no longer the practical answer because of all that has happened. We can’t go into reverse. We can’t undermine democracy. So pragmatists like me are now Brexiteers. But being pragmatists we are also quiet. We work. We look after our families. We don’t waste time marching or shouting. But there are more of us than they think. We are just quietly getting on. I am convinced of it. Please tell him not to give up.”

            It can’t be easy being him at the moment. He’s being treated like a cartoon character incapable of feeling pain. “He’s only human,” an aide says. If he were Left-wing, they’d call it bullying. But he’s a Tory, so different standards apply. He clearly considers it his patriotic duty to be cheerful. This conference has been imbued with his optimism, ministers are brimming over with plans. A sense of possibility is in the air.

            Boris makes you smile; it’s a simple gift but a mighty powerful one. And Louise, and the polls, are right. Millions of us are quietly behind him. “Bit below the belt, that stuff with Boris,” said a young Mancunian I bought a paper from. The Remainers can sledge away, but people are wising up to their game. We mind about fair play, see – we’re British.”

          4. Well, he has had Trump as a good example of the relentless attacks from the Remain camp and the media, plus what to do about it, i.e. nothing, except maybe attack back again, certainly never back down or apologise.

          5. “I did the classic British thing and voted Remain because I am practical, because it was easy and I worried about money.” In other words, she didn’t think, she just voted for what she considered, wrongly, to be the status quo.

  32. OT – as I mentioned the other day, a filling came out. I rang the better of the dental practices in Fakenham.

    No appointment for a month.

    Suits me – as I am not back there till end October – but what if I was in agony?

    2. Walk-in centre.
      My first job was with the only dentist in Colchester who would take emergency patients; and who worked Saturdays.
      I used to dread the day; a waiting room full of stroppy patients, many of whom had toothache because they’d not visited a dentist for many years – if at all.

          3. Oddly enough, my former GP was called Piers. Useless but always happy to prescribe whatever I needed…..

          4. Gin, wine, beer, alka-seltzer ….
            In the good old days, stout could be prescribed for anaemic patients.
            In November, every old biddy on the ward was diagnosed with anaemia; the doctors always took our word for it. For a month, Sister’s office was more like a speak-easy.
            Christmas shifts became bearable.

        1. I’ve just had a peek at Google, I think it might be based on a miss-understanding. But I’m surprised PP hasn’t come to our aid.

  34. My parents asked me if I was certain I wanted to identify as a roll on deodorant.

    “Yes, I’m sure, “

  35. ” Britain has expressed regret to Maoris for crimes committed against
    their ancestors
    when explorer James Cook arrived in New Zealand 250
    years ago.”

    Next, please.

      1. I should jolly well think so.
        You should see the state of the town wall in Colchester.
        Talk about jerry builders; and they’ve left us with the bills for the repairs.

        1. These idiots who want the British to apologise for everything unpleasant that happened to anyone non-British in the past don’t realise how racist they are being. They are indirectly saying that it was Ok for some darker people to be unkind to some other darker people because it’s what they do, a bit like children really. We being white, should have known better.

    1. I’m not so sure about that…. I think there’s been a continuous Uncle George parliament since 1990.

    2. Good grief, an SNP man with a sensible view! That must be why he’s ‘former deputy’…

      1. He seems like an honest man. Which is why he never got to the top in our corrupt system.

  37. My mail today to Mr Redwood………………..

    Looks most unlikely that ”parliament will facilitate Brexit”, it seems far more probable that parliament will continue to ”undermine” the nation state.

    Donald J Trump today talks about a ”Coup” against the US, there is a coup against Brexit, and also it looks like there might yet be an attempted coup against Boris to replace him as PM………………..

    ”As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP intended to take the power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!” Donald J Trump

    What a coincidence that there are three ”COUPS” all coincidentally aimed at ”underming the nation state” !

    Deary me….. all these ”coups” couldn’t possibly be linked to the same source, could they ?

    Here’s another coincidence………..

    ‘Pretty Close To Overwhelming Evidence’ That Obama Ordered Hillary and Dems To Dig Up Dirt In Ukraine On Trump.” Rudy Giuliani (Donald Trump’s attorney)

    (There is no ”dirt” on Trump in Ukraine, Rudy means fabricate)

    Who is Obama’s best friend ?

    Uncle George.

    Who loathes Brexit ?

    Uncle George.

    Who loathes Boris because he wants Brexit ?

    Uncle George.

    Nevertheless, all these ”coups” are obviously all just an extraordinary coincidence !

    Polly

  39. Daily Brexit Betrayal

    No 3: “Remain alliance stalls after stalemate in talks with Labour, the SNP, and Lib Dems” (link)

    – oh dear. Remember – these are the people who firmly believe that they

    know better than the PM and any of us what to do. However, if you think

    this might be the end of the matter – never fear:

    “John McDonnell has

    said Labour can “convert” Jo Swinson to backing Jeremy Corbyn as leader

    as he said a no confidence vote is “unlikely” until after October 18.

    Opposition party leaders will meet again on Wednesday as talks continue

    to try and stop a no-deal Brexit.” (paywalled link)

    This meeting is taking place today

    while the EU ponders Johnson’s proposals. The plotters don’t care that

    this will reinforce Brussel’s nay-saying. And there’s another challenge

    to Johnson:

    No 4: “Remainers set to launch Brexit plot to impeach Boris – and replace him with Hammond”(link). This is how it might happen:

    https://independencedaily.co.uk/your-daily-brexit-betrayal-wednesday-2nd-october-2019/

    1. “John McDonnell has said Labour can “convert” Jo Swinson to backing Jeremy Corbyn as leader..”
      A little light knee-capping or Chinese burns?

      1. Hi Anne, I am sure that some of Corbyn’s friends have the experience to carry out the knee-capping. Wasn’t it one of the IRA’s favorite means of torture?

    2. Hi Rik, I’m not so certain that even Hammond is that thick skinned that he would agree to impeaching Boris so that he could replace him. A large majority of Party members voted for Boris and he has probably increased his majority since.

      The real issue is the fact that so many members and ex-members of Parliament are willing to explore any legal/constitutional ruse to stop us leaving the EU. With Bercow willing to break or ignore any rules in the HoC nothing is impossible and our wonderful MSM, led by the impartial BBC, will do all they can to help.

      We are truly in Wonderland, I just hope Boris gets us out on WTO at teh end of the month.

      “No 4: “Remainers set to launch Brexit plot to impeach Boris – and replace him with Hammond”(link). This is how it might happen:

      “Senior Tories believe the plotters could […] be planning to use Mr Johnson’s threat to defy the so-called Surrender Act designed to block a no-deal Brexit as the pretext for tabling the motion. It would require Speaker John Bercow to allow the use of an emergency motion – under Commons standing order 24 – for the impeachment process. The motion would be worded to demand the sacking of the Prime Minister while recognising that his successor must be another Tory MP because the party is the largest in the Commons. [A] minister said: “If this coup succeeds it would be a disaster for democracy.” (link)”

      1. Daniel Kawczynski (MP for Shrewsbury) is taking a leaf out of the litigious remainers’ book. He’s contemplating challenging the Benn Surrender Act because it contravenes EU law. I do hope it succeeds!

        1. Hi Conway, I see on his twitter feed he is getting a lot of ‘stick’ from Remainers.

          The Government should be challenging the Benn Surrender Act and also Bercow’s behaviour.

    4. Hang on.

      An unelected clique wants to remove the elected PM.

      The elected party is trying to get through a democratically demanded referendum instruction

      That unelected clique is trying to remove the PM so it can ignore that instruction.

      On what planet is this even legal, let alone moral?

      It’s a coup. A junta, banana republic farce.

      If they try it, I suggest we hang them. One after another leaving McDonnell and Swinson to last so they can see the kicking and bloated corpses they will soon join.

      1. I hope your front has been reinforced with a steel panel, wibbling. Expect a visit from the boys in blues at around 3 am tomorrow!

        :-))

        EDIT: Of course I meant to write “boys in blue“.

  41. Nicked oi laffed

    Is Dom Grieve planning a trip to Hartlepool?

    They know how to deal with French Spies.

  42. Well what can you do when the countryside is far too white?

    COUNTRYFILE fans have blasted the BBC for handing the £1,000 prize in a wildlife photography competition to a snap set up indoors.

    Viewers who voted for Michelle Howell’s harvest mouse picture said it was not clear it was taken in a plastic box under lights.

    It will be on the front cover of the show’s £9.50 charity calendar.

    But Emma Poulton tweeted: “Surely the whole point is to capture natural shots in the bloomin’ countryside?!”

    Julie Aldred added: “Some people spent hours, weeks or even months waiting for the right photo. To set up a shoot in a studio is hardly fair.”

    Judges selected a shortlist from 42,000 entries.

    After viewers plumped for Michelle’s “An Apple a Day” presenter John Craven admitted: “She used a studio so she could get up close.

    “Taking pictures of wildlife in this way is in the rules, just as long as it’s declared as such.”

    Michelle, who retired from West Yorkshire Police nine years ago, used specialist lighting in her conservatory and was helped by a snapper pal licensed to handle harvest mice.

    She said: “You are not going to come across this on a woodland path.”

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10038262/countryfile-bbc-harvest-mouse-wildlife-photography/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=sunmaintwitter&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1569916893

    1. Beware of all those ‘amazing’ pin-sharp close up photos of kingfishers plummeting towards the water with the tip of their beak just entering, or just about to enter the water, along with a description of how the photographer had been trying for 5 years to get that perfect shot.

      They are all faked. He might have been trying to photograph a plunging kingfisher for 5 years, and failing for 4 years and 11 months of it, but after he got the kit that he’s got now a month ago all that changed and he can knock them off like a production line.

      The photographer either uses a known kingfisher perch, or more likely sets up his own and waits for a kingfisher to start using it. He then puts a small transparent plastic tank into the water immediately below the perch and fills it with a few minnows or other small fish. The rim is below the surface of the water to hide it from the camera, while still preventing the fish escaping. He sits in his mobile hide with his camera pre-focussed on the space immediately above the tank (this is why a small, rather than a large tank is used, to make accurate focusing easier). When a kingfisher arrives and looks as if it’s about to plunge he sets his camera off snapping at about 10 frames per second and Bob’s your uncle. He’ll get a lot of misses, but all he needs is one hit and everyone goes ‘Oooohh! Well done’. ‘What a clever boy, give him a prize’.

      What they don’t know is that this technique is frowned on by other photographers, not just because of the subterfuge, but because it kills kingfishers. The bird doesn’t see the limits of the tank. All it sees from above are the minnows. It plunges, takes a minnow and all is well and good. Next time it comes back, or the time after, or the time after that it doesn’t go so well. It strikes the rim of the tank trying to get a fish near the (invisible) edge and either kills itself outright with the impact, or breaks a wing and dies of shock, starvation, or predation.

      So next time you see one of those kingfisher shots, don’t say ‘Well done!’, tell him he’s a bastard.

      1. Another fake to look out for is a pin-sharp photo of a bird in flight, against a perfectly focused distant landscape behind. You can’t have both. Either the landscape will be in focus, or the bird. If both are then the bird has been superimposed from another photo.

        Look out for moon-rises. A pin-sharp full moon on the horizon is a fake. If it’s low down then atmospheric condidtions close to the ground will make the image soft – and if the moon is white as it rises, it’s another fake. The moon is orange when it rises, for the same reason as the sun.

        An example in these pictures.

        One day a couple of years ago I was delighted to get a honey buzzard on migration as it passed in front of the moon overhead. I saw it heading that way and because of that split second of shutter lag, between the button being pressed, the mirror lifting out of the way and the camera firing I had to press the shutter just before the bird crossed. The bird is heading slightly away, so its face is hidden but there’s nothing you can do about that. The first picture is the good, honest shot.

        The second is the sort of thing you might see in magazines or newspapers to catch the eye and it’s a fake – I did it to demonstrate this same thing to a friend. What sets it out as a fake is that the bird, only a couple of hundred feet overhead is in focus, as is the moon a quarter of a million miles away. With a lens with a focal length long enough to get the bird any bigger than a speck at the apertures available then one or the other could be in focus, but not both. Another thing is that it’s a full moon. A full moon rises as the sun sets. It’s only that high in the sky at around midnight, and it’s dark there at midnight. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b081a07c837d86287feb9d9c9682a72810091792634cc786561081ee638508d8.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d72c7a31fc91cf002e26bc168d1aea435ea27c298e80b25c4d96c8a312a1a087.jpg

  45. I see that Dianne Abbott is going to be leading PMQ for the opposition today. Nightmare thought: I presume it’s now far more than 20 years since any leading politician touched her thigh ….

    1. I’d imagine her thigh comes into contact with someone close every time she sits down next to somebody on the tube.

      She’ll spread like lava.

  46. Boris Johnson to say 2020 would be year of ‘chaos’ and two referendums if Corbyn able to delay Brexit

    Here is an extract from Boris Johnson’s speech released overnight.

    Voters are desperate for us to focus on their other priorities –
    what people want, what leavers want, what remainers want, what the whole
    world wants – is to move on.

    That is why we are coming out of the EU on October 31. Let’s get Brexit done — we can, we must and we will.

    Corbyn wants to turn the whole of 2020 – which should be a great
    year for this country – into the chaos and cacophony of two more
    referendums – a second referendum on Scottish independence, even though
    the people of Scotland were promised that the 2014 vote would be a once
    in a generation vote, and a second referendum on the EU, even though we
    were promised that the 2016 vote would be a once in a generation vote.

    Can you imagine another three years of this? That is the Corbyn
    agenda – stay in the EU beyond October 31, paying a billion pounds a
    month for the privilege, followed by years of uncertainty for business
    and everyone else.

    My friends, I am afraid that after three and a half years people
    are beginning to feel that they are being taken for fools. They are
    beginning to suspect that there are forces in this country that simply
    don’t want Brexit delivered at all. And if they turn out to be right in
    that suspicion then I believe there will be grave consequences for trust
    in democracy.

    Let’s get Brexit done on October 31 so in 2020 our country can move on.

    1. ” My friends, I am afraid that after three and a half years people
      are beginning to feel that they are being taken for fools.”

      That is it. Exactly.

    2. We were beginning to feel we were being taken for fools during the referendum campaign.
      This actions of Parliament ever since the result has confirmed it.

  48. I was just thinking of a good Conservative principle – Boris talked about having a family, running a home, starting a business…

    Is he saying that starting a business is as much a normal routine part of any household as having a TV, a washing machine, or a home computer? That would indeed be revolutionary.

    How does one bring that about?

    1. After you’ve been in for your new washer, just pop down to the stock exchange and buy one. Easy. They’re all at it.

    2. Starting a business is relatively simple. Getting a tax bill before you’ve made any money trading is just offensive though.

      The depths to which government rams its hand into your pocket when you formalise yourself is hideous.

  49. There are mutterings from SA that the old commonwealth whities feel rather neglected .. I think the Duchess is being very racist with regard to her minglings and meetings.

    1. Yes, so do I Belle. She’s doing what Mrs O’Barmy used to do over here – apparently restricting her contact to those of similar colour.

  50. Doctor who treated first known patient of Brexit-triggered psychosis warns political upheaval can impact mental health. 1 October 2019.

    The male patient suffered hallucinations and delusions when his mental state “deteriorated rapidly” shortly after the results of the EU referendum in the summer of 2016.

    He also became increasingly worried about racial incidents and, after being admitted on to a psychiatric ward, said he felt ashamed to be British.

    Once admitted, the unnamed patient was described as agitated, attempting to “burrow” through the hospital floor with his hands to “get the hell out of this place”.

    The man, in his forties, believed he was being spied on and that talks on the radio were directed at him.

    He later said: “I was looking at the electoral map of voting for the EU. I am in a constituency that reflects an opinion that is not for me.”

    He’s a Remainer!

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/doctor-warns-political-upheaval-can-impact-mental-health-a-details-about-first-reported-case-of-a4251556.html

    2. Hi Minty,

      looks like a doctor trying to use Brexit to get his name in print:

      “Dr Katshu added: “His mental health had deteriorated rapidly following the announcement of the results, with significant concerns about Brexit.

      “He presented as agitated, confused and thought disordered. He had auditory hallucinations, and paranoid, referential, misidentification and bizarre delusions.”

      The patient also reported experiencing family pressures and it is possible these and work-related stress also contributed to his illness.

      The patient was diagnosed with acute schizophrenia-like psychotic disorder, a category of acute and transient psychotic disorder (ATPD) – the first case believed to have been triggered by Brexit.

      He recovered completely within a fortnight after a brief admission and treatment with olanzapine, an anti-psychotic.

      While he had experienced a similar episode 13 years previously following work-related stress, he had no family history of mental health problems, history of alcohol or substance misuse, or physical health issues barring mildly impaired hearing in one ear”

    3. I wonder if there would have been any incidences of ‘Brexit-triggered psychosis’ if Remain had won the referendum.

  51. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tells the Conservative Party conference he wants “an Australian-style points based system for immigration”.
    Currently, those from within the EU do not need a visa to work in the UK because they benefit from freedom of movement – although there are limits on claiming certain benefits.
    For those from outside the EU, there are similarities to the Australian system.
    Points are awarded for having English language skills, being sponsored by a company and meeting a salary threshold.
    A maximum number of work visas are awarded – the cap is set at around 21,000 a year but isn’t often met.
    Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at University of Oxford, told Reality Check: “There is only one way you can get in and that’s if you meet all of those criteria.”
    “What the UK points system doesn’t do is assess the individuals for things like their age and qualifications. The UK system trusts the employer to decide whether the person is qualified to do the job, while the Australian system is more centrally

  52. Boris makes a rousing 45 minute conference speech, those leaving the hall were vigourously bouyed by it and, upon returning to the Studio, the BBC immediately set about trying to trash it.

    Well, look at the surprise on my face.

    1. For the first minute or two, the Beeboids were so surprised that they sounded half reasonable. I began to wonder if their tax was under threat and they’d warned to tone it down.
      Then normal service was resumed.

  53. The boris gave a rousing speech which in turn can be nullified by corbyn &
    the best speech tutors our money can buy, via brussels.
    It is ALL bloody rhetoric, trust NONE of the inglorious 650, make it quite clear through a peoples open letter to parliament that any article signed
    and found to be unacceptable to the peoples then the rope stretching will
    commence immediately.
    Surely even the lab/lib/con current members / supporters / voters have had enough of this political twattery.

  54. Peter Sissons: Former BBC and ITN newsreader dies at 77

    Peter Sissons, the former BBC and ITN newsreader who presented Question Time from 1989 to 1993, has died at the age of 77.
    A statement from his management company said he “died peacefully last night” in Maidstone Hospital in Kent.
    “His wife and three children were with him and wish to pass on their thanks to the hospital staff,” it continued.

    1. Did any of the black tribes have written languages of their own prior to European colonialism?

      I remember way back when I used to watch Question Time they had an African writer on the panel who boasted that his country had a literary tradition going back 40 years. Yes, all of 40 years. Homer anyone? (No, not The Simpsons! Need to get that in – I know you lot!)

      1. Sue, I don’t know how you can hack working at the BBC. You must feel like a stranger in a strange land. Don’t you ever feel the urge to go mad and stand on your desk and shout “Viva Brexit!’ 🙂

        1. How does one escape the madness though? It isn’t just at work, it’s at church, at the Proms, among my neighbours – even friends I once thought were sane, though only one or two are completely beyond help! Thankfully, a few cousins aside, my family have retained their sanity.

          1. I liken the EU to the sea coming in on a rocky shoreline. It manages to penetrate every nook and cranny. It has tentacles which like mycelium gradually engulf everything and everyone.

            Otherwise sane people are infected and become junkies to its overriding influences. They mistakenly see the EU as a sort of status quo whereas in reality it is always and slowly changing its colours and morphing into a monster all the time.

          2. Many people do not like to think for themselves and like just being told what to do by a big brother ( EU)

          4. I find that remainers either have self interest in remaing or are just unthinking sheep.

        2. ‘ a stranger in a strange land’

          Those few words brought immediately to mind a song by someone else who worked for the BBC – in the Radiophonic Workshop when they composed the theme tune for Dr Who. Delia Derbyshire from 1969. Those words are in the lyrics of this song.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_pKgC2pfw

    2. What about the struggle of campaigners of all colours struggling to get the referendum result activated?

        1. Presumably the uniform is a stark reminder of the many stabbings inflicted on PC Keith Blakelock by the angry mob. Most appear to be in the back.

        1. I just checked. He is now a Baron in the Lords. Jesus wept!

          Edit: I have enlarged the picture and can confirm the bod standing is Bernie Grant. Boateng is seated to his left in the picture.

    4. I thought we had black history month.
      Or am I mixing it up with gay pride month?
      Can’t they just combine them all into one victimhood month, and leave the rest of us alone for the rest of the year?

      1. They need to keep drumming in how divided we all are by splitting up society into many different victim groups. Otherwise all of those people that they claim to represent might get together and realise how they are being manipulated and how bl00dy stupid left-wing ideology is.

      2. As Morgan Freeman said when asked how we eradicate racism ‘Stop talking about it!’

    5. What I find odd is that we don’t talk about Diane Abbot the great MP. We talk about Diane Abbot the innumerate racist.

      I don’t care if someone’s green, pink, tall, short, male, female or think’s they’re a goat. I’ll judge them on how they behave, not what they look like.

    6. Labour’s Diane Abbott made a landmark achievement in the Commons today by becoming the first black politician to lead a political party at Prime Minister’s Questions.

      The shadow home secretary squared off against Dominic Raab in the absence of Boris Johnson, who missed the session in order to give his speech at the Tory Party conference in Manchester.

      Ms Abbott used her appearance to blast the Tories, saying they needed to learn how to treat women ‘less cruelly’.

      She raised abuse aimed at MPs, abortion rights in Northern Ireland, the so-called ‘rape clause’ connected to tax credits and the plight of workers at Thomas Cook before accusing the Government of ‘letting women down’.

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7529197/Diane-Abbott-black-politician-lead-party-Prime-Ministers-Questions.html

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7529323/Video-students-provocatively-dancing-lecture-hall-outrages-critics.html

      ‘How many UCAS points will I need for this?’: Video of students provocatively dancing in a lecture hall outrages critics – while others viewers joke that they’ll apply to the university now
      Students were grinding against each other in front of a university lecture hall
      Believed to have taken place at an Afro Caribbean Society Meet and Greet event
      However, the footage sparked outrage and criticism of Hertfordshire University

      Should I shrug my shoulders now , and say whatever.. or weep for Britain which I now see is a lost cause , and quite honestly, short term measures with the first aid repair kit like Brexit are just that .. not a real fix it ..to be truthful.

      Sorry to be so miserable.

  57. MDF & Kitchen Style Hinges

    Anyone know where I can buy the nylon inserts they use in better quality kitchens. The Hinge Screw go into the insert which expands and hold it secure. IT is a lot better than screwing direct into MDF. I cannot find these things anywhere not even sure what the name is for them.

  58. Peter Sissons, newsreader etc , has died age 77. In his autobiography he criticised the BBC’s left wing bias.

    2. I remember in a private interview he asked (when the Queen mother died) if he could wear a darker suit and tie and was told no.

      He was – as is expected from his demeanour – reserved about it, but it obviously bothered him enough to raise it.

  59. Darn it!

    Something went wrong while trying to load this feed. Try again in a little while.

    Please visit Discuss Disqus to learn more.

        1. It’s called a bl**dy nuisance.
          It keeps trying to tell me I’m not logged in when I am.

    2. They should be proving that CO2 and methane are really greenhouse gases, or that the greenhouse effect is even a thing.

      1. CO2 is definitely a greenhouse gas; if you want to increase your crop yield, pump CO2 into your greenhouse. It’s essential plant food (see the formula for photosynthesis).

  61. Harry and Meghan’s war on press freedom. Brendan O’Neill 3 September 2019.

    There is a striking irony in The Harry and Meghan Show. This pair present themselves as a new kind of royal: chilled out, PC, green, more likely to visit a Peckham radio station run by struggling youths than a cake-making charity run by women with blue-rinsed helmet hair. And yet scrape away their chilled, chatty veneer and what we have here are two of the most elitist and snobby royals in the Windsor household. And that’s saying something.

    Brendan taking a break from Brexit. He sounds a little frustrated!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/10/02/harry-and-meghans-war-on-press-freedom/

    1. Interesting article, but I think on this occasion, Brendan might be slightly off the mark.
      I don’t think it’s about being Royals so much as Hollywood-nurtured PC lefties, who really, really don’t like being criticised, but are more than happy to dish it out.
      I suspect that Harry wouldn’t have tried this tactic if he’d not married Meghan, but maybe, as the son of Diana, I would expect him to be very defensive of anyone he married when it comes to the press.

      1. If Meghan sent the letter to her father, and her father passed it on to the press, then there is a grey area as to the ownership of the letter.

        1. That’s possibly true, I don’t know, but my point was less about the letter, as is Meghan’s threat of legal action against the newspaper (and not her father), and more about their general attitude.

        2. The written words belong to Meghan, in a literary sense. But it matters as to whether the father gave, or sold, a copy to the press. Publishing the text for financial gain could be an infringement of her copyright.

          There is nothing to stop the dad reading the letter to his friends on facebook, because he was the recipient.

        3. It’s always been my understanding that a letter becomes the property of the person it’s addressed to once delivered.

          Then unless there are contractual or legal reasons why the content cannot be divulged they can do with it what they will.

  63. WTO rules in favor of US in Airbus dispute, paving way for tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods

    The World Trade Organization (WTO) has backed a U.S. request to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of European goods, potentially sparking a new trade war across the Atlantic.

    Arbitrators from the WTO have granted President Donald Trump’s administration the right to levy billions against imports of European goods for what they say are illegal subsidies granted to the planemaker Airbus by European governments.

  64. In case you missed it last night and following on from Lewis D’s post on the fraudulent photographic competition…
    _________________________________________________________

    The Countryfile ‘extremists in the countryside’ row. Below are a couple of quotes from the programme. Unpack Mr Daines confused nonsense if you can.

    Nick Daines, consultant for Prevent, the Home Office ‘anti-radicalisation’ scheme:
    “They [Generation Identity] are accepting of other cultures but they like to see separate ethno-states where difference are celebrated and acknowledged but not integrated. It could be a gateway to more hardcore, extreme groups.”

    He also gave us an anecdote (dangerous, these, as Enoch Powell discovered) about an isolated farm worker who wanted to spray pig’s blood on a mosque.

    Roger Griffin, Emeritus Professor in modern history at Oxford Poly and an expert on ‘far-right extremists’:
    “British Revival…shows the old fascist concern with the decadence of the modern age, urban violence and multiculturalism.”

    He also managed to get in an implicit reference to Blut und Boden so that he could link it all to the Nazis (who didn’t ‘invent’ the idea).

    Ifs and coulds and maybes abound. It is fair to say that Generation Identity look like a bunch of numpties but rather less frightening than Labour supporters peacefully picketing coke depots, print works, coal mines and Tory Party conferences.

    This is, of course, from the same BBC that earlier this year produced the radio series ‘Fatwa’ in which the ancient wool-spinners of Savile Town, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, spoke of the awakening of their Moslem identity following the Salman Rushdie affair. Nothing dangerous there (once all the white people were driven out).

    From 8:20 to 19:40.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008zsx/countryfile-lake-district
    _________________________________________________________

      2. I’ve looked up your link. Seems perfectly normal. In 1950 99% of our people would have agreed with them. Now they are on the verge of being criminalised?

    2. Generation Identity? Extinction Revival, Climate Entropy, Social Isolation, … who makes up these nonsense titles?

  65. Government publishes Brexit proposals

    The plan would see Northern Ireland essentially stay in the European single market for goods, but leave the customs union.

    The Northern Ireland Assembly would have to approve the arrangements first and be able to vote every four years on whether to keep them.

    The European Commission says it will “examine [the proposals] objectively”.
    Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, Mr Johnson said the only alternative to his plan was no-deal.

    Government sources said they believed they could enter an intense 10-day period of negotiations almost immediately with the bloc, with the aim of coming to a final agreement at the EU council in the middle of the month.

    Speaking before he saw the plan, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told the Irish Parliament: “What we are hearing is not encouraging and would not be the basis for agreement.”

    1. Well, that’s the imaginary backstop sorted. What about the rest of it? You know, the bit where we surrender sovereignty, is that still on course?

      1. I saw a blow-up of the letter that Boris sent to the EU on Sky News. It does specifically mention Northern Ireland and its place “at the end of the transition period” – so that means that it is the Withdrawal Agreement that is the basis of this deal that we have heard so much about.

        That would be disastrous for the United Kingdom. Boris knows it and anybody who has read it knows it. It means being tied under EU control for as long as the transition period lasts. Which could be many years when it is extended. It is Theresa May’s deal that the EU wrote for her, back once again, but with the backstop changed a bit.

        I think I may have a few vodka and cokes later.

        1. If you are correct, that it’s the dreadful WA as was voted down 3 times, we are stuffed good and proper. And I’m sure that many, if not all of us on here, feared this would be the case in the end.

          1. The letter had the Whitehall Heading at the top and Boris’s signature at the bottom (of the last page) and it was full of waffle about the backstop. As we know, the backstop is not the problem. It is true that many, many feared this happening. Bring on a general election and the triumph of the Real Conservatives that are in the party with The Brexit Party covering their backs. I want Ann Widdecombe on our screens far more than she is.

            Then we can leave the EU anyway, whatever trap we might get signed up to in the short term.

          2. I’m not so sure. The Supreme Court’s decision to poke its nose into politics has changed everything. Democracy has been shattered.

          3. Then we disband the Supreme Court as well. I have seen this suggested by several “experts” (who knows who the real ones are anymore?) It has not existed for very long and can be put out of our misery quite quickly. It is Tony Blair’s poisonous offspring and should be treated as such.

  66. “My mother voted Leave”

    Key words in an excellent speech by Boris.

    Don’t let us and your mother down, lad, and don’t stitch us up.

  70. Oh…………….

    Maybe it’s not all a coincidence and not Polly’s silly conspiracy theory after all ?

    Maybe it’s actually happening as the Daily Telegraph reported on Feb 7 2018 ?

    ”plan to stop Brexit by bringing down the Government…….made on Monday last week, at dinner at George Soros’s house in Chelsea…….Their campaign, due to launch at the end of this month, will be funded by Soros..”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/02/07/elitist-remainers-plotting-bring-government-wake-up-call-tory/

    1. I missed your raising this but it wasn’t unexpected. There are people who stand to lose an awful lot of money from the UK leaving the EU. Those people – because they pocket most of that money and enjoy the corruption, influence and power that the UK provides to the EU don’t want us to leave and will spend any amount of – our – money to keep us chained to the thing.

      Without our cash it ends. It’s as simple as that. Of course they’ll fight using every dirty trick to keep us chained.

    1. I tried to follow that link and it said “Page not found” – The BBC have caught “censorship fever” if they are deleting their own stories about cows 10 minutes after someone reads them.

      It must be getting tense at the BBC for any hetero-sexual white people that are still left. It must be similar to having the Grim Reaper standing over your shoulder all the time. Waiting for one tiny slip-up…

        1. Tony – I could have found it if I really wanted to. 🙂 It was just my indirect way of informing issyagain that I could not get the link to work, in case it had been typed in incorrectly. Thank you for the link though. Hmmm an “Aberdeen Angus calf.” To be nicknamed “burger to go” at some point.

          I tend to eat meat from a local butcher who sources it from local farms, so I don’t know if Aberdeen Angus is actually tasty, or if it is just a marketing ploy. I have seen it on some labels in the shops.

          2. LOL I know what it is. :-)))) I was just saying that I don’t know if it happens to be tasty, or just one of those marketing things to shift it off the supermarket shelves, for those who do not know how tasty fresh meat from the farm down the road can be. 🙂

  72. TSA airport security October 2020 deadline is a year away

    One year from Tuesday, anyone flying will need to have a driver’s license that meets new security requirements, or they’ll have to produce another form of acceptable identification to get through airport checkpoints.

  73. WTO rules in favor of US in Airbus dispute, paving way for tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods

    1. Not a problem if we leave this month. However, the latest news on Brexit is that we will remain in the EU.

  74. Let us be clear. The “backstop” is the tail of the dog and we are being wagged by it. The atrocious betrayal that is the Withdrawal Agreement is going full steam ahead it seems. The EU Commissioners may die laughing.

      1. If our MP’s were moral and serving us then this Withdrawal Agreement would be dead in the water (for the 4th time.) But we have seen them throwing caution to the winds in the last few weeks. They are now openly working against the United Kingdom and in the interests of the EU. So I don’t hold out much hope that the MP’s will start doing the right thing now. Especially if it stops us leaving the EU for a few years.

  75. CHANCELLOR Sajid Javid last night dropped a major hint he could abolish death duties in his Budget later this year.

    He said getting rid of inheritance tax was “something that’s on my mind” as he said it was unfair to target the elderly “all over again” when they die.

    WHEN?

    1. Age has nothing to do with it. Some people die young.

      Raising the start point rather than abolition would be fairer.
      ( Apologies to the 93.9 per cent of NTTLers who would be liable to the tax)

        1. It is an unbalanced tax. And I cannot see the logic of deferring the liabilty of the first deceased until the death of the second.
          And the start point is far too low,

          1. Why should any wealth accrued through, for most people who pay this tax, though their hard work be taxed at all. Most will have paid tax on that money throughout their working life. Why shouldn’t it pass to family instead of propping up government funds and be passed on to other people. Why is it all taxed at 40%?
            My family and I are capable of wasting our own money it is not necessary to pass on to others to waste.

          3. The fundamental purpose of this tax is an ideological one, not just to raise some money. Those who are very, VERY wealthy have lawyers and trust funds and loop-holes to get around most of this tax, so it is a minor inconvenience and some paperwork to do for them.

            The primary purpose of this tax is to stop hard-working people, who earn a lot of money over their lives, from passing on the wealth to their families. It is to slow down “outsiders” from building up a strong wealth-base over generations. It is a blunt tool of course, but so are many of these “social engineering” tools.

            I forget what the lower threshold is for no death taxes at all – they like to give some hope to those without great wealth. It is those who are “middle class” that they want to stop from thinking of themselves as “upper class.”

          4. It has great similarities to Green Taxes i.e. only paid by the poor as the rich receive vast subsidies for having wind farms and solar farms on their land.
            I know life isn’t fair but that is obscene.

          5. I would guess the majority is tied up in property – the elderly, if they manage to keep their home instead of having to sell it to pay the care home fees, will be passing on a huge bill to be paid by their children.

          6. Possibly forcing the children to sell the house to one of the uber wealthy in order to pay the bill, and thereby losing a “solid” family asset in the process. It is deeply unfair to those who have worked hard to improve the lives of their loved ones.

        2. Using a similar argument why, after paying in to my pension fund for over 40 years, do I have to pay tax again as if the “benefits” I paid for are new earned income?

          1. It is an income, therefore taxable – and, derived from tax-relieved contributions, so perfectly right and proper.

          2. Thanks for the explanation, D in K. I am still trying to reconcile your answer with that from grumpygrey who gives a different point of view.

          4. Gordon Brown raided pension funds when Labour came to power in 1997 and taxed the investment returns of private pension schemes. That immediately reduced the reinvested income by 25%. We went from having the best private pension schemes in Europe to having amongst the worst.
            The original idea of private pension schemes was that all you contributions were free if tax including reinvested investment returns and that you would pay tax when you retired. The first part was reneged on but you still pay the tax.

      2. but…but…but I’ve already paid tax, it’s a double whammy.
        Why should I pay tax again on my savings…..

    2. It doesn’t target the elderly when they die – there are no pockets in shrouds – it targets the heir/beneficiaries.

    2. If this is post-conference euphoria, he should be heading away from Manchester surely??

  77. The teenager accused of throwing a six-year-old boy from the 10th floor at the Tate Modern has been named as Jonty Bravery.
    The reporting restriction protecting his identity has expired as the suspect has now turned 18.

    Bravery is accused of attempted murder after allegedly throwing the young French boy from the viewing platform at the London art gallery on 4 August.

    2. Not much bravery involved in nearly killing a little boy, who is apparently maimed for life.

  78. I have just sent this note to my Conservative MP

    I hope all this talk about the Backstop is not just a smokescreen to get through the rest of May’s Wretched Agreement. As we discussed some time ago Boris made a good start but it is the finish that counts and if this is just a smokescreen MPs will pay a terrible price if the rest of the Betrayal Treaty is implemented.

    You know my feelings that the backstop was an invented red herring and not a serious problem for the U.K. It is an EU construct and is for them to solve not us.

    1. Agreed 100%. It’s a good start but something need to be done fast to get that agreement thrown out. We are only half way to the end at the moment.

  79. LAST POST _ BECAUSE IT IS AN ODD STORY

    French police demonstrate in Paris today to complain that 51 (YES 51) of their number have committed suicide since 1 Jan 2019.

    One asks oneself whether it is possibly because slightly odd people are being recruited as police – and given guns…

    Discuss.

    TTFN

    2. If they get the same sort of backing from their senior leaders that our police and armed forces get, I am not surprised that they want to commit suicide because of stress.

  82. Jason Donovan tackles neighbour’s fire in underpants

    The sight of Jason Donovan in his underpants tackling a fire was certainly a surprise for one crew of firefighters.
    Officers called to Notting Hill, London came across the Australian actor and singer tackling the fire with an extinguisher.
    Donovan, 51, who lives across the road spotted the flames from his home.
    The London Fire Service quipped, “everyone needs good neighbours”.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/46655822cbc9a932e00c3bd9adf73958474401a0da67720182c1127694d0a4ef.jpg

    1. Yo JBJ

      I thought Jason Donovan’s reason for living was not

      to tackle neighbour’s fire in underpants

      But to light one there

    3. Good description, Bill – more like sheds or stables than a house. Certainly not stunning.

  84. Has everyone else here received the Boris email asking for money for a Get Brexit Done Fund?

      1. Curiously the TV Ads urging everyone to prepare for Brexit mention only the day and month not the year…..

    3. If BJ is relying on crowd-funding – just get the hell out of the UK

      Nice house for sale in Laure-Minervois (for the price of a shed in Engerland)

        2. I get the impression they are reluctantly selling up as it’s becoming a burden, but will still go to France for holidays.

      2. I don’t think the Babbling Poltroon has any more need for his memoir-writing shed, so perhaps he can sell it and buy your house, Uncle Bill.

      1. In fact I obviously didn’t delete it, because here it is’

        “Dear Max,
        It’s time to get Brexit done. Are you with me?
        Donate now
        The 2016 referendum was a vote for change. But in the last three years, nothing has changed.
        That’s because Parliament failed us. Politicians have spent all their time arguing about Brexit – while ignoring the country’s priorities.
        We need to elect a new parliament that respects the will of the people. And if you’re with me, you can make it happen.
        Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour comrades are blocking an election. But an election will come – and together we can win it.
        That’s why I’ve started the Get Brexit Done Fund.
        Every single penny of it will go towards winning the next election – and finally getting Brexit done, so we can focus on building a brighter future. Will you chip in?
        Donate £20
        Donate £50
        Donate £100
        Donate £250
        Corbyn used to call for an election all the time. So you’ve got to wonder what’s got into him now. If I had to guess, he’s afraid to face the people.
        While Labour are still arguing about Brexit, we’re getting on with the country’s priorities.
        Investing in the NHS. Hiring 20,000 extra police officers. Getting more money to every single school in the country.
        And with your help, we’ll get Brexit done.
        So if you’re with me, then chip in to the Get Brexit Done Fund.
        Yours sincerely,

        Boris Johnson
        Prime Minister of the United Kingdom”

        2. This has to be a scam as tax payers are already donating such sums of money – Boris has no need to ask for more.

    5. After I searched my e-mails I’ve found 2 from Boris, 2 from James Cleverly and 1 from Steve Barclay. Begging letters all.

  85. Verhoftwat’s and his steering committee’s first reaction: not positive. Back to the drawing board?

    1. If the EU are going to accept this deal, which is essentially the exact same deal that they designed themselves to take control of the United Kingdom, then they cannot leap off of the benches and shout to Boris “Well done mine kameraden! You might succeed where dear Theresa failed 3 times!”

      They will pretend that they are making GREAT sacrifices with the troublesome UK to show how reasonable they are. The EU cannot tell the truth any more as it has forgotten what that is like after so many years of being able to ignore everyone and do as they wish.

      1. Have they ever agreed immediately to any offer from the UK? May was bent double trying to give them everything they wanted and they still messed her about.

        2. Elton, Ringo and Polly seems to have disappeared on this one. Is the girl on the bike in the background our own Annie Allan by any chance?

      3. I can see Marc Bolan, Ringo Starr and Elton John at around 2:54. Is the bird above them our own Pretty Polly by any chance?

  90. Evening, all. The EU is determined to punish us for the effrontery of voting to leave. They won’t do anything rational; they would rather cut off their nose to spite their face.

  91. The final paragraph of the Boris letter looks pretty clear. The old WA is not ”the goal” and the future is a FTA with the UK taking control of own regulatory affairs and trade deals with other nations.

    1. The “future” is not the 1st November but could be many years hence – or not in our lifetimes……..

      2. I obviously haven’t read the near 600 pages of the full document, but the covering letter looks good I would have thought.

          1. Have you read the last paragraph ? The old WA is ”not the goal”, Britain to get a free trade deal, control over own regulatory affairs and trade deals with other countries.. and that means no customs union and the single market is only for Northern Ireland. As I understand it at present.

          2. Yes – I’ve read it. It’s ambiguous. It could possibly mean what we would like it to mean, or it could just be that all the other bits are still in the full document.

          3. Are you going to apologize for accusing me of bluffing ?

            That accusation means intent to deceive.

          5. Ndovu – I have come to the conclusion that Polly is one of those people who won’t stop replying to you as long as you reply to them. I would not apologise as you have said nothing wrong.

            I have seen nobody else attempt to say that Boris has removed the bad things from the Withdrawal Agreement.

            (Edit – I rest my case. Polly is trying to get me to reply to them even now in the comment below. Luckily I am off for the night and can enjoy some music. 🙂

          7. ‘Evening, Meredith – and Julie,

            Since I’ve found that Polly is a pernicious time-waster, never engages in straight-forward dialogue and lives up to her polly-name by endlessly repeating herself – the only solution to stop wasting time and space, is to block her – and all her reincarnations.

          9. Late start for me today. Is it 01:00PM already? 🙂

            I don’t worry about people like Polly at all and normally ignore them. But if I see those people talking utter carp, or being unpleasant to those I do like, then I do sometimes jerk their chain. I can see them now, copying this comment I’m making and filing it away for future reference.

            What can you do with people like that except skip past their comments? Ah well, time to switch on the 01:00PM news to see how Sky are going to pretend that Boris’s deal is not the same Withdrawal Agreement that will trap our country under EU control for years. 🙂

          10. Well, Ndovu, you reckon that Boris is bluffing and Polly reckons he is not. Who do I believe? Neither of them; November the 1st (barely more than 4 weeks away) will make it clear.

      3. Ndovu – precisely. Boris wants to “work towards” a Free Trade Agreement, no matter if it takes 20 years in transition under the EU’s control to get there.

      1. Well, as far as I can see, it’s a pretty good start judging by the covering letter. As far as I can see, the only wobble is Northern Ireland, but they get devolved powers to make their own decisions about their relationship with the EU.

        1. THe DUP are happy with it. The EU are under pressure now. They no we are now serious. I dont think they will rule it out but will demand some changes. Little over 2 weeks though to finalize something

  92. Meredith McKay. Please stop posting silly stuff. Your latest post below is ridiculous.

    1. Coming from you, those words are an utter vindication of my existence. I thank you.

    1. Her husband, Duncan Hames I think his name is, is director of something called Transparency International and it’s based in yer Deutschland.

    2. The answer is no.

      Allegedly, Transparency International is part funded by the EU, and her hub apparently works for the organization.

    3. Good evening Belle
      This is my response from yesterday. Another day has not altered my view.

      Very murky transparency.
      Only €3.5 million. Not a problem not as serious as a man who allegedly touched a woman’s leg.
      MSM won’t bother asking Jo Swinson about that. Just not a story.
      A plague on all their houses.

        1. Yup. They are so self opinionated and thick that they have missed the fact that via social media we are able to watch their every indiscretion and eventually will call them to account.

    6. I believe that the present crop of parliamentarians are so full of themselves, so inclined to preening themselves under the protection of the pro-EU BBC, so divorced from the electorate and so profoundly ignorant that they believe themselves untouchable.

      Those subsidised bars and excessive and still corruptible expense allowances have given those idiots an aura of invincibility. This mindset is perfectly demonstrated in Jo Swinson, Jess Phillips and their like. They have managed to skim off vast sums from the taxpayer without censure in an utterly corrupt system.

      Their excesses have been encouraged and endorsed by a corrupt and partial Speaker.

      When Jo Swinson rattles on about second referenda and that she would reverse a second vote to leave, we have to apply the usual proven test viz. follow the money. Sure enough the ghastly bint is married to a prat who has been taking the Soros and EU shilling for years, making millions.

      I suppose the next question, as MPs are busily digging the dirt on some invented Boris indiscretion of no relevance whatever, is why does no one in Parliament and the MSM point up this self interested hypocrisy?

    1. Don’t need peddy. That’s what she said; old people live too long and it’s a risk for the world economy. Something must be done.

          2. A trifle previous, isn’t it, Phil? Is this a longstanding upset or more recent? Or are you referring to Lagarde?

          3. It is a previous upset. I thought Lagarde was a woman of character. I very much appreciate the company of women who have lived a life. Then ….this happens…

      1. It still surprises me that Ministers don’t bother to read the detail and the voting public don’t bother either. It’s all out there but no one seems to care much.

        1. I am annoyed at myself for not bookmarking the site. Plenty of info and much of what we see being pushed now having its roots in the UN documents.

          3. No, thanks for the pointer, though. I found the site late on and I’ve posted a comment this morning with the link.

          5. I’d cleared that earlier in the day, something I have to do manually with Opera. If I don’t do that I believe the cookies stop me copying tweets etc into Disqus.

    4. She says,“Old people live too long and there is a risk to the global economy, something has to be done “

      Be afraid – be very afraid. She already has sites earmarked throughout the UK for extermination camps. At her age, she could become the first customer.

  97. Gotta laugh 🙂

    NoToNanny Meredith Mckay • 27 minutes ago
    ‘Evening, Meredith – and Julie,

    Since I’ve found that Polly is a pernicious time-waster, never engages in straight-forward dialogue and lives up to her polly-name by endlessly repeating herself – the only solution to stop wasting time and space, is to block her – and all her reincarnations.

          1. Codeine and Bloody Mary does that……… My fave Bar in Malta. http://thecompasslounge.com/

            They even drive me home… :o)

            On my Dolly walk today i was chatting to another resident of the Grove and it turns out he was RN and spent many a time at St Angelo.

          3. I have sharpened my hooks.

            “Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it
            is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself
            involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear
            of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an
            upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent
            me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking
            people’s hats off – then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon
            as I can.”

            ―

            Herman Melville,

            Moby-Dick

            :o)

      1. Hmm, if I want to listen to two women having a perpetual spat with each other I can get that much closer to home without having to log in to here to get it.

        I’ll be back when they’ve put a sock in it.

        Cya Ndovu.

        1. Any two women in particular? Nottl is a lot less spatty than it used to be. I just zone out if I don’t want to join in.

          1. Pretty Polly always seems to be a participant. Last night I think it was Meredith somebody. If people want to come on to the site to bicker with each other then fine, get on with it. But I see enough of it in real life, I don’t need to volunteer for any more.

            Hence my original comment.

          2. Not sure if MM is male or female, to be honest. I’ve always assumed him to be male. I invited him here a few weeks ago – he’s a regular on the “Trollograph”. We don’t get many spats there – it’s very focussed on politics without much chit chat.
            Polly is just Polly, and not to be taken too seriously.

  102. Boris’ letter refers to a “transition period”, with no actual length mentioned. The transition period was the first 2 years after Article 50 was triggered.
    What is this new transition period? What are the arrangements? Are we still to be subject to Common Policies of fishing and agriculture but without any say?
    What is being cooked up?

    2. We simply do not know as yet. Having delivered one of the great conference speeches I simply do not believe that Boris would now betray the principles he has laid down.

      Regrettably we all have the mindset that all politicians are bare faced liars. I sincerely hope and trust that Boris is different to the previous dross we have put up with, most recently Theresa May and David Cameron.

      On his speech itself I thought it masterly in engaging his audience and those like me watching from a distance.

      The ability to convey a higher purpose and sprinkle with wit and humour, stardust if you will, is a great gift and very welcome.

        1. Judging by his extempore projection I imagine he does. He might take advice from his Chief of Staff and closest ministers but nobody could speak with conviction like Boris without having the greater part in its construction.

          I might add that I have been obliged to speak in public on numerous occasions, whether from presenting an architectural scheme to public or clients to lecturing a garden society about the Privy Garden Restoration at Hampton Court Palace, for which I was the Architect.

          I can assure you that a lot of work
          is involved both in preparation and rehearsal, in my case in front of my sternest critic, my dear wife.

          1. C,
            As I have prior posted many talk a good fight maybe that is all that is needed seeing as how many peoples still believe in party manifesto’s.

        2. T,
          If he is taking the treachery route then as far as the eu is concerned he can write his own ticket.
          There is an awful lot of lifestyles, past, current,future that guarantees treachery pays well within the eu.

        3. Mostly, although I would guess that with so much on his plate at present he may throw out ideas to speech-writers and then polish their initial drafts before delivery.

      3. I would assume there is a full legal document attached with that letter. It is this document we need to see and not the letter. I expect at this stage that document will be confidential

      4. C,
        When dealing with the current
        lab/lib/con coalition politico’s keep in mind ALWAYS, rhetorical treachery is their bag.
        Patriotic actions speak louder than words.

      5. “We simply do not know as yet”. I totally agree with you, Corrie. But many on this site have already decided that Boris is no different from May or Cameron. Like you, I sincerely hope and trust that Boris is different. If he is, he will join the hallowed ranks of Churchill and Thatcher. If not, his future will be ignominy greater than that of Cameron and May.

        1. Thank you Elsie. If we are all so negative and unable to glimpse the occasional chink of light in an otherwise dark world we are a sad lot and undeserving of escape from the grotesque embrace of the EU.

          1. Boris does seem to have got the bit between his teeth, and would not want to spoil the show now.
            Sadly, even should he achieve a clean no-deal exit on 31st, the chances of the Conservatives achieving a good result at the next election are negligible. Three years of horror followed bt a few weeks of atonement ? Memories are not so short.
            The end will become the beginning.

        2. I’ve been visiting a number of sites and it’s clear that people are confused by Johnson’s letter. He states that his government has a different goal from May’s i.e. an FTA and the Backstop is therefore a bridge to nowhere. May’s Backstop was a trap to keep us tied in forever. He appears to have the ERG on side and that indicates that May’s WA is no more; I’d like to hear Francois’ take on this new look agreement. We need some clarity before we can decide on whether he is working for us or for the EU.

          2. That may be his intention but I didn’t mean to convey that in my comment. I was trying to indicate that it wasn’t only people on this site who were unsure of what had been disclosed in the letter. I couldn’t blame him if he was doing that at this early stage but he will have to open up if he wants to convince people he is doing the right thing and deserving of their support.

          3. The letter was only a covering letter. The full proposal will be in another document and at this stage it will probably be confidential. The letter really says nothing other than outline the proposal

    2. That will have quite an effect on anybody waking up “the worse for wear” over the holidays. I am sober and my eyes are melting.

    3. Are those presents under the tree or are they crocks of gold? And do you put a leprechaun on top of the tree instead of a fairy? Or perhaps a fairy is even more appropriate on this type of tree.

  105. Darn it!

    Something went wrong while trying to load this feed. Try again in a little while.

    Please visit Discuss Disqus to learn more.

    1. He might be described as a to$$er but that would be to admit that he knows what he’s doing.

    2. Presumably he will never get divorced, move house or change his bank because they are ‘too hard’?

    1. Skiving again, when you should be here entertaining us lot! 🙂
      Sleep well, old fruit.

  110. Bleeding control kits to be launched in Liverpool nightspots

    Special bleeding control kits designed to save the lives of stabbing victims are to be placed in pubs and nightclubs around Liverpool.
    The packs, which contain scissors, gloves, tourniquets and a chest wound sealant, have been launched as part of a safety campaign led by a surgeon.
    Nikhil Misra said new ideas were needed to fight the “epidemic” of knife crime.
    There have been 48 stabbings in Merseyside this year, of which four were fatal.
    Mr Misra is a consultant trauma surgeon at Aintree Hospital, home to the major trauma centre that serves Merseyside and Cheshire.
    He came up with the treatment kits, called KnifeSavers, after seeing cases of serious knife crime rise year-on-year.

    1. Dear heavens Bill

      TV and the soaps have got a lot to answer for .. what on earth is going on . Going for a slash is is now to be taken in a different context!

      1. Seriously – how many people will know what to do?
        It sounds a bit like defibrillators being put in old telephone boxes. Ultimately, what are the chances of trained personnel being present?

        1. The latest defibs are virtually foolproof. They do all the diagnosis & decide for themselves when they discharge & tell the operator when to stand clear. Almost like listening to a satnav.

  111. Just finished watching a tribute to Rik Mayall. Lump in the throat, I’m afraid.

    Where are today’s comedians, let alone comedy geniuses?

    1. This is though just the proposal for NI. It is not clear as to what the full proposal is for the rest of the UK

      2. Agreed, BJ. Since May’s approach fooled me I am now very wary of any politician’s claims but, with just over 4 weeks to October 31st, I am prepared to wait before passing judgement and insisting that Boris is a total liar.

        1. I can still only see the first page. Does he mention the other bits of the WA that nobody wanted?

          1. Ndovu – Sky News had the document up. It waffles on about the backstop but ends by saying that at the end of the transition period Northern Ireland will… So the transition period is there and it is the Withdrawal Agreement. He does not mention dealing with the other terrible aspects of it. I strongly suspect that he does not want to draw attention to how bad this deal really is.

          2. Scroll down and there is a further photo of all four pages of Boris’ covering letter to Juncker. Click on that and you get to read the entire letter. It suggests that the main proposals would differ in major respects from May’s original Withdrawal Agreement.

    3. Farage was talking about the two year transition earlier this evening. If we are still going to endure that, how is that leaving?

    4. There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since May’s WA, but surely the Backstop was just the first stumbling block and the whole WA was riddled with devious non-get out clauses.

      1. By removing the ”surrender” sections which Boris has done, the only wobble is NI but Stormont gets devolved power to decide what happens over there.

        2. He just hasn’t mentioned the other bits – how are you so sure they’ve been removed?

          1. – Imagine Winston Churchill taking over and saying he wanted to compromise over Chamberlains peace in our time letter

          2. Aha – the truth is finally out. Something that many have suspected for quite some time. Polly is actually working for Soros after all this time, and just repeats his name over and over in inane comments to dull people on the subject.

            This deal of Boris’s IS the Theresa May Withdrawal Agreement without the bad bits removed. There is no possible time for the EU to renegotiate all of those – there would be no deal left to agree to. By Polly trying to pretend that it is a different deal, they have revealed their intention to serve the globalists that they talk about so much. I shall adopt a Charles Gray pose.

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/98f509c357466004a9da3ff39a69136aab17f92b2f7683a7f1c76a06701df339.jpg

    2. That last paragraph contains weasel words which could possibly mean what Polly seems to think it means, or could mean nothing has changed.

      1. My reply a few minutes ago to Meredith, Julie:

        ‘Evening, Meredith – and Julie,

        Since
        I’ve found that Polly is a pernicious time-waster, never engages in
        straight-forward dialogue and lives up to her polly-name by endlessly
        repeating herself – the only solution to stop wasting time and space, is
        to block her – and all her reincarnations.

          2. Too much hassle, NtN. I just ignore most of her posts – rather like Ogga1 – but am not averse to occasionally agreeing with her or him and perhaps occasionally ridiculing her/his posts.

        2. I have to be very desperate to resort to blocking. I’ve only once blocked someone on here and that was temporary.

  117. But the first prize undoubtedly goes to…………….

    Bill Thomas ladyofthelake • a year ago
    ”I blocked her months ago. She reminded me of the some of the worst of the swottish A level pupils that the MR used to teach. Always with their hand up. Always with a clever-clever quip/riposte/repartee. And always, but always, knowing more than people three times their age. And without any chance of gainful employment. Still living at home with “Mummy and Daddy” – Daddy repairing the car when she hits something. Loves fluffy little animals and birds….

    Good riddance.”

    1. Forget it. Just concentrate on making astute comments. Repetition of obscure references to Soros is a put off, so you might avoid the parroting. Those of us on here who have been around for a decade under various guises really appreciate constructive comments on any subject.

      Over the years we have seen off Shakey and any number of imbeciles wishing to cast the seeds of dissent on this thread and have vanquished Igonikon Jack, an idiotic fantasist and poseur. We have tolerated any number of fools but ‘care in the community’ is outwith our abilities.

      1. Does Igonikon Jack post on any other forums, do you know? I quite enjoyed some of his posts as it was quite a challenge to spot the one example of lucidity in months of banal drivel.

    1. You just need to look at the higher prices for drugs in the US compared to prices in Canada. Unless there are high taxes on drugs sold in the US, the drug companies are simply charging as much as they can to maximize profits. Good free market activity, hardly fair to those in need.

      1. Since 1998, I have relied on Trimipramine to correct disturbed sleep patterns due to ongoing sense of dread, which is normal. It was marketed as ‘Surmontil’, but went generic in 2013.

        Price, with private prescription, at a German High Street pharmacist: € 16.80 for a pack of 100 tablets.

        Price charged to my local NHS GP surgery, according to a Deal negotiated by the Department of Health and imposed through the Drugs Tariff. £220 for a pack of 28 tablets.

        Since last year, this drug was banned by the Clinical Commissioners. Doctors were instructed by the Department of Health to lie to their patients, persuading them that trimipramine is clinically unsafe, despite having the least side-effects of all antidepressants and the only one that does not interfere with sleep patterns. The true reason is cost, and this is down purely to the Department of Health’s willingness to extort local GPs.

        All I got from my MP and from the ombudsman were platitudes, and have given up trying to get anything sensible from there. They know what they are doing and know that nobody can hold them to account.

        I must now ration my stock of German tablets as long as possible, reducing my dose to 1/2 tablet twice a week, which should take me to 2021. I hope to be dead by then.

          1. There is a little thing going on beginning with B that nobody is talking about right now. All will become clear in about 30 years.

Comments are closed.