Wednesday 20 May: Mixed scientific messages are obstructing the road out of lockdown

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its comments facility (now reinstated, but not as good as ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be blacklisted.

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/05/19/lettersmixed-scientific-messages-obstructing-road-lockdown/

771 thoughts on “Wednesday 20 May: Mixed scientific messages are obstructing the road out of lockdown”

        1. Is he related to Abbopotomus, Queen of Innumeracy by any chance?

          ‘Morning, Bill. A reet good day in prospect, although some precipitation in the next few months would be most agreeable.

  3. It’s time to tell the truth about grooming gangs, Spiked. Wasiq Wasiq 20 May 2020.

    Between the mid-1990s and the late-2000s, gangs of predominantly British Pakistani Muslim men raped and prostituted thousands of predominantly young, white, working-class girls in towns and cities across England. But despite the repeated efforts of a brave few to alert the relevant authorities, too many in positions of power were either unwilling or unable to intervene.

    Morning everyone. I am of course pleased to hear that this Report is to be released but needless to say have my suspicions as to what form the Report will finally take. As might be expected the news itself is surrounded by caveats…

    …the format of the document, to be published later this year, has not yet been decided.

    An external reference group of experts is to be established to review the research before its publication.

    …. Which implies that it is not the report itself you will read (which is after all finished and could be published today) but a carefully crafted version which will satisfy the mass but still conceal or ameliorate the really bad stuff.

    I suspect (such has the modern world made us) some signs of preparation for this. The fake Starmer video with its supposed “far right” tag for one, and this article which is in Spiked and yet still has some nuances you would not expect for another. It raises up for example the spectre of the “far-right” and Tommy Robinson, who have no part whatsoever in the report itself while downplaying the responsibilities of the political elites …

    But despite the repeated efforts of a brave few to alert the relevant authorities, too many in positions of power were either unwilling or unable to intervene.

    …by making them into passive spectators when it is only they that have the power to bring the government and its agencies to account. They actively ignored all the stories over many years and it is their silent acquiescence, as in the present Home Office run channel smuggling operation, that made it possible for it to continue.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/05/20/its-time-to-tell-the-truth-about-grooming-gangs/

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grooming-gang-report-government-uk-home-office-a9522326.html

      1. They’ll be MPs and Mayors, Hugh? Oh, and Crime Commissioners (irony…)

        Good morning to you.

    2. The fake Starmer video with its supposed “far right” tag…

      ????????

      1. It is supposed to have been constructed by the “far-right” for propaganda purposes but as I am always sceptical of claims of online attribition that I cannot confirm for myself, and I cannot see how it could fail to be exposed, I have my doubts. Hence the phrase.

        1. It was the video I was unaware of, rather than the attribution of it.

    3. It’s amazing how all sorts of things of no great interest can get leaked from the government, but the one thing the people would like to see must be inaccessible locked away in the deepest dungeon of the Tower of London.

      1. A chum was talking about the security measures involved with getting devices to them through government security.

        I said it was all a bit pointless as the problem government has isn’t the technical, it’s the incompetent humans.

    4. One thing i know for sure. What the people will see is a whitewash. No action will be taken.

        1. Those men are actually white. They have just never had a wash in their lives.

    5. 319430+ up ticks,
      As,
      The Tommy Robinson stitch up shows that today works only in a selective
      manner.
      Plus as I was so rightly corrected yesterday these grooming gangs are in truth rape & abuse squads targeting under age vulnerable victims.

    6. it they release it it will be while some other world event / disaster is happening, it will get a small mention on the news and will never be spoken of again on the mainstream media.

  4. ‘Morning, all. Cloudy start today but there’s no wind – it’s perfectly still and very quiet.

    …… too quiet.
    :¬(

    1. The poor little boogers look miserable too. They didn’t ask to come into this world, and probably would be better off if they hadn’t.

    2. Morning Belle. No doubt all funded by the poor taxpayers. Begging bowls out.

  6. ‘Beacon of light’: Capt Tom Moore to be knighted. Tuesday.19 May 2020 22.30 BST.

    And now, the war veteran whose sponsored walks in his garden raised £33m for NHS charities, is to receive a knighthood.

    The prime minister recommended the Bedfordshire pensioner for the honour, which will be formally announced on Wednesday.

    It is of course impossible to criticise (unlike Boris) Colonel Tom (something that I’m sure never crossed the PM’s mind) and there have been far worse (most of them actually) mascots elevated for services to the Tory Party so I shall say no more.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/19/beacon-of-light-capt-tom-moore-to-be-knighted

    1. I am slightly weary of elevating someone who started a charity collection, as many individuals do each year. But it was the public at large who went viral and put their hands in their pockets raising M£32. The Main drive behind the gratitude given to good ol’ Tom, is, of course, the attention it has brought to the Nation’s sacred cow.

  7. Morning all

    SIR – The Government tells us that it is following the “best scientific advice” in its management of coronavirus. We deserve to know, in detail, what this advice is.

    The Imperial College pandemic modelling has been coming under criticism, yet this is the “science” that led us into lockdown, with all its social and economic repercussions.

    The single greatest obstacle to recovery is social distancing. According to British science, we should maintain a distance of two metres. The German science, however, recommends one and a half metres – while the World Health Organisation advises one metre. Following WHO guidelines would allow us to handle many more passengers on our public transport system, and many more pupils in our schools.

    Which science should we listen to?

    Michael Bird

    Lancaster

    SIR – The two-metre rule perpetuates fear and creates huge obstacles to the rebuilding of society. The sight of people hurrying through empty streets clutching scarves to their faces is the tragic result of misinformation.

    Vivian Bush

    Beverley, East Yorkshire

    SIR – It’s time to learn to live with this virus – which means opening up schools, shops and public services.

    The British economy cannot survive for much longer without doing this. The reality is that the chances of dying from coronavirus are small, despite the claims of those who are attempting to sow anxiety, discredit the Government – and, in some cases, overthrow capitalism.

    I am all for rethinking how capitalism works, and am supportive of environmental initiatives. However, without a system to create wealth, it would be impossible to provide services such as the NHS.

    John Sydes

    Hastings, East Sussex

    SIR – I am one of those classed as extremely clinically vulnerable, and am shielding until the end of June. Among this group there are concerns about what will happen next.

    However, I believe that we need to be given the freedom to take responsibility for ourselves. My situation is that I have myeloma and am receiving chemotherapy, but I deal with the side effects as best I can and get on with my life. Before coronavirus I looked after my grandchildren, exercised by swimming and walking, and took holidays abroad. While doing these things one learns to take extra care.

    Boris Johnson has said that we should use common sense. Those who do not want to run the risk of being infected can continue to isolate themselves voluntarily. But psychological wellbeing is important, too. We need to be allowed to see friends and family, and to have a future to look forward to – not a further period of house arrest.

    Neil Maurer

    Welwyn, Hertfordshire

    1. “The sight of people hurrying through empty streets clutching scarves to their faces is the tragic result of misinformation.” Not really, it makes it easy to identify the dim sheeple.

      1. I passed such a numpty a few days back. Boy, did I laugh cough.
        Morning, JSC.

  8. SIR – I don’t think enough attention is being paid to the situation for elderly people in care homes.

    At the moment they are not even allowed out of their rooms and cannot receive visitors. So they are locked away on their own all day – a state which is normally regarded as a form of punishment.

    Moreover, it would appear that when the lockdown restrictions are lifted, they will be the last group of people to benefit.

    Gordon Jones

    Wadhurst, East Sussex

    1. Extracts from two of today’s letters, one about prisons, the other about care homes:

      “Most are spending more than 23 hours a day in their cells, with no family visits, education, or chapel…”

      “At the moment they are not even allowed out of their rooms and cannot receive visitors. So they are locked away on their own all day…”

      Morning Epi.

      1. Chapel?! We seem to be in the land of Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall…

  9. Morning again

    SIR – Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, says that “quarantine makes most sense scientifically when incidence in the receiving country is low” and when people are coming from counties “where incidence is high” (report, May 15).

    This is why many people called on the Government to institute quarantine measures back in January and February.

    Just think of the thousands of lives that would have been saved. Damage to the economy, to children’s education, to the health of non-Covid-19 sufferers whose treatment has been postponed, and to the general population could have been limited.

    Surely this was the most serious mistake by Government ministers in this whole crisis.

    James Little

    Saffron Walden, Essex

    SIR – The Government’s announcement that travellers to Britain, with a few exceptions, will have to quarantine for two weeks (report, May 15), is another body blow to the airline industry.

    A better solution would be for those planning to visit the United Kingdom, or any other country, to take a test for coronavirus as close as possible to their departure date, so they could produce certified evidence of a negative result before boarding the flight. They would know that the plane was not a hotbed of disease and they could disembark as normal without the need for quarantine.

    Sam Dunning

    Guildford, Surrey

    1. 319430+ up ticks,
      Morning E,
      When will it be realised that submissive pcism & appeasement cancel out, erase completely, common sense.

    2. Jonathan Van Tam must be right, he’s an expert. Dear Heaven, are we hiring people to state the obvious, or are we hiring quacks to provide us with bizarre snake oil?
      When we should need neither.

  10. SIR – I have chosen to educate my children privately, which has come with significant personal sacrifices. Under lockdown, they receive about five hours of online lessons every day, with homework set for the evening. In contrast, my wife has been told by pupils at the local comprehensive school that they are receiving one or two hours of lessons each week.

    We are constantly reminded of the advantages of the “private school system”, in a way that seems designed to shame make me and my family. However, when I have paid my taxes to fund the state-education system, any further investment into my children’s future must surely be my own business.

    If their schools do significantly better than local state schools, rather than berate the system and say that parents have “bought the grade”, we should look at the willingness of state-school teachers and their unions to go the extra mile when needed. The current disparity between what is on offer provides a real window into the difference between the two systems.

    Dr Ian Gemmell

    Hale, Hampshire

    1. We sent Christo to Gresham’s, an independent school, but Henry wanted to go to a state boarding school.

      Henry has done as well academically as his brother and has no regrets about his schooling.

      Comparisons – as Dogberry observed – are odorous but the great difference between the two systems was the level of commitment by the staff towards extra-curricular activities. Christopher was able to participate in rugby and swimming teams; he was in two school plays and performed in the House revue; he was in the School Choir and went on a choir trip to Southern France where he acted as translator and compere; he was a keen member of the debating society and led the Gresham’s Model United Nations team and spoke at the Peace Palace at The Hague, He wrote poetry in the school magazine and was a sacristan in the chapel.

      None of these activities would have flourished without the help and time of the schoolmasters and schoolmistresses and Henry did not have the same chances in his state school.

      1. A brother sent his 3 to fee paying schools and the kids did well, GP, Dentist & Vet – the 2 females work part-time and have done for 90% of their working life.
        I did not have the choice and my 3 went to the village school & a bog standard comp – my sons are engineering graduates all with leading 3 x International Technology Companies.

        The brightest can do well in most circumstances – many of the poorest & the average could thrive in a better schooling environment.

        The 4 in my class that left for a fee paying school were average and did not rise much even in a fee paying school – but that was 60 years ago. The one who did really well was on a 100% scholarship.

        1. As I said, Henry who went to a state school, got the equivalent UCAS points as 3 A grades at “A” level. He is now studying for an M.Sc and working in computers while, his long-term girlfriend is studying for a Ph.D.

          His brother, Christo, at a public school had far more extra-curricular activites available to him thanks to the dedication of the teachers at Gresham’s and their desire to share their wide ranging interests with their pupils.

    2. Precisely. Each child at private school is saving the taxpayer £thousands per annum.
      Morning, Epidermoid.

      1. This is a point that those who want to abolish private schools do not understand and do not want to understand.

        Mitterand wanted to abolish private schools in France but the threat led to all the teachers in private schools saying that they would leave the teaching profession straight away and the state schools would be overwhelmed and incapable of coping.

        Both practically and financially Mitterand was scuppered and private schools are still very much a part of the French system.

      2. I recall an interview with Chris Woodhead, back at the inception of Ofsted, advocating a voucher system. At the time the state was spending £5k pa per pupil, of which only £3k actually reached the school, the balance swallowed by the intervening bureaucracy – and bureaucrats!

        Maybe a voucher system could work for healthcare as well.

        In both cases, it would make it clear to consumers/service users (sic) what things cost and how they are funded.

    3. That may be but I know junior is getting lessons and looked in on. He’s surprisingly good at algebra despite his age.

      In addition my nieces are getting regular set lessons and my teacher chums are working as normal – less efficiently, yes, but every child gets checked on and their work reviewed, and re-set each day. Where they’re suffering is science, as they obviously can’t do experiments.

    4. What people don’t know is that the monies going to state schools are pretty much comparable.

      The difference is that state schools have firstly the department of education – which does nothing – sat in the way, chewing through half of it. Then the local council, then various non-jobbers and – from meeting someone who did the job – a group of people employed by the council to distribute the monies to schools. All taking a bite from the funds.

    5. When I was teaching (in a state school) I used to run clubs and do all sorts of extra curricular activities (as well as taking pupils abroad on exchanges). I think I went the extra mile.

  11. I make no apologies for re-posting this, from The Grimes:

    “Britain is facing a recession on a scale “we haven’t seen” before and the economy could be permanently scarred in the wake of the lockdown, the chancellor has warned.

    Rishi Sunak warned that the country was unlikely to “bounce back” immediately as he spelt out the stark impact on the economy, health and society.

    He said that there could be a “double-digit” rise in unemployment in comments that cast doubt on suggestions of a rapid “V-shaped” recovery.”

    From the wazzock’s brass neck, you’d think that he had had nothing to do with the catastrophic economic decisions which have led to the disaster.

    1. There was much talk of the Bounce back but bankrupt businesses do not recover, not exactly rocket science. Maybe he was thinking of a dead Bat cat bounce.

    2. Morning Bill. He is spot on, the economic and social consequences of this lockdown haven’t even been sniffed at yet. But you wouldn’t expect much else from someone who has lived in a financially privileged position all his life. The trouble is our political system is such that it cannot cope with uncertainty. Politicians cannot cope with unprecedented times as there is no precedent to guide their illusory attempts at decision making. Look at the Ferguson fiasco – the excuse is “we are following the science”. Bollocks, what that translates to is “we are so lost and out of our depth, and technically illiterate we will hide behind a wall of obfuscation and use someone else to carry the can.” They are terrified of making real decisions as decisions are accompanied by accountability, and accountability with the associated acceptance of responsibility for any outcome is alien to vote seeking individuals – of all political bents, not just this government. What frightens me is the probable natural outcome is a change of government, the consequences of which are beyond thinking about.

    3. Morning Bill. He is spot on, the economic and social consequences of this lockdown haven’t even been sniffed at yet. But you wouldn’t expect much else from someone who has lived in a financially privileged position all his life. The trouble is our political system is such that it cannot cope with uncertainty. Politicians cannot cope with unprecedented times as there is no precedent to guide their illusory attempts at decision making. Look at the Ferguson fiasco – the excuse is “we are following the science”. Bollocks, what that translates to is “we are so lost and out of our depth, and technically illiterate we will hide behind a wall of obfuscation and use someone else to carry the can.” They are terrified of making real decisions as decisions are accompanied by accountability, and accountability with the associated acceptance of responsibility for any outcome is alien to vote seeking individuals – of all political bents, not just this government. What frightens me is the probable natural outcome is a change of government, the consequences of which are beyond thinking about.

    4. Morning Bill. He is spot on, the economic and social consequences of this lockdown haven’t even been sniffed at yet. But you wouldn’t expect much else from someone who has lived in a financially privileged position all his life. The trouble is our political system is such that it cannot cope with uncertainty. Politicians cannot cope with unprecedented times as there is no precedent to guide their illusory attempts at decision making. Look at the Ferguson fiasco – the excuse is “we are following the science”. Bollocks, what that translates to is “we are so lost and out of our depth, and technically illiterate we will hide behind a wall of obfuscation and use someone else to carry the can.” They are terrified of making real decisions as decisions are accompanied by accountability, and accountability with the associated acceptance of responsibility for any outcome is alien to vote seeking individuals – of all political bents, not just this government. What frightens me is the probable natural outcome is a change of government, the consequences of which are beyond thinking about.

    5. Morning Bill. He is spot on, the economic and social consequences of this lockdown haven’t even been sniffed at yet. But you wouldn’t expect much else from someone who has lived in a financially privileged position all his life. The trouble is our political system is such that it cannot cope with uncertainty. Politicians cannot cope with unprecedented times as there is no precedent to guide their illusory attempts at decision making. Look at the Ferguson fiasco – the excuse is “we are following the science”. Bollocks, what that translates to is “we are so lost and out of our depth, and technically illiterate we will hide behind a wall of obfuscation and use someone else to carry the can.” They are terrified of making real decisions as decisions are accompanied by accountability, and accountability with the associated acceptance of responsibility for any outcome is alien to vote seeking individuals – of all political bents, not just this government. What frightens me is the probable natural outcome is a change of government, the consequences of which are beyond thinking about.

    6. There was much talk of the Bounce back but bankrupt businesses do not recover, not exactly rocket science. Maybe he was thinking of a dead Bat cat bounce.

  12. “Bleed, bleed, poor country! Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure… “

    By tomorrow, the entire population of the UK will have been under a form of house-arrest for sixty days. A Conservative Government – shamefully assisted by the “meejah” – has, at a stroke, without proper Parliamentary Scrutiny, instead using the dubious means of a Statutory Instrument, now governs by diktat and turned a free country into a police state, the population subdued, living in fear of each other in an atmosphere in which spying on and informing on your neighbour is considered praiseworthy. It has broken up normal family life and destroyed the economy, inflicting damage that most of us in this forum will not live to see repaired and it has saddled our children and grandchildren with an impossible debt.

    This so-called “lockdown” is turning into a Marxist’s wet dream.

    2. Morning DM

      I have been reading the DT comments , and extracted a few interesting bits and pieces worth reading.

      Colin Thomasson
      20 May 2020 7:10AM
      With an entire generation of state uneducated children now doomed to needless ignorance by a latter-day Confederacy of Dunces*…
      An unholy alliance of local government potentates working hand in hand with doctrainaire teaching union officials.
      All of whom now regard themselves licensed by an untoward Rule of Fear to subvert the Rule of Parliament.

      Anyroad , all bbc roads lead back to despotism – and that is the choice on offer : let the Confederacy of Fear-mongers wreck democracy.
      Or stand up to the blighters , let the sane return to reality and poor childern resume their stolen education in a climate of normalcy uncluttered by needless and useless symbols of dread and fear.

      * from Jonathan Swift’s essay, Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting ;
      “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”

      3. what about GCSE year – A level exam year students? If they go back, do they sit their exams – unprepared having had no teaching or revision sessions for 2 months?

    3. It’s not so long ago that Johnson was declared a dictator for his prorogation of parliament.

      1. Only by those desperate to overthrow legitimate democracy.

        I wonder if the tyrants understood the irony of their position. I doubt they’ve given it a second thought. Theirs was always the dismissal of dissent.

    5. Too bad that Mrs May did not use a Statutory Instrument to get us out of the EU, in June 2106.

    6. 319430+ up ticks,
      Morning Dm,
      Much of the leeching, blood letting to a dangerous level bringing a decent nation to it’s knees was / is self inflicted.
      As shown by say the last two decades alone that voting putting the party first
      as a multitude do, or in a nose holding,
      best of the worst manner creates, guaranteed, a Country with a high deep sh!te rating once again.

    7. It could be worse: In SA, Helen Joseph was under a banning order and subject to house arrest from 1962-1985. I lived not far from her in the late 60s and early 70s and would frequently walk past her house on the way to the shops. There was always an unmarked police car outside her house with two plain-clothed neanderthals watching who visited her. The terms of her banning order were so strict that she was only allowed to see one person at a time and had to report to Patterson Park police station a couple of miles up the road twice a day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Joseph#Treason_trial_and_house_arrest

  15. Kryten’s PMQ’s are up later today,
    Expecting another forensic examination into the minutia of Boris’s covid failures.

  17. Good morning all.

    Bright & sunny. More of the rambling roses are coming out: I can see Goldfinch, Francis E. Lester & Rambling Rector in the far hedge.

  18. Discovered an interesting trivial fact today. I wonder if anyone else knows the answer.

    What connects the comedian, Tony Hancock, and the football manager, Brian Clough? Answers on a postcard.

        1. British comedian Tony Hancock joined the RAF Regiment in 1942. British football manager Brian Clough also served with the RAF Regiment during his national service.

          3. The term came into use after an accident in the Western Aden Protectorate in November 1952. Two RAF Regiment officers serving with the Aden Protectorate Levies at Dhala decided to amuse themselves by going out to shoot some of the hamadryas baboons (locally referred to as “rock apes”). The officers drew rifles and split up to hunt the apes. In the semi-darkness one of the officers fired at a moving object in the distance. When he reached the target he discovered he had shot the other officer. After emergency treatment Flight Lieutenant Percy Henry Mason survived to return to service a few months later. When asked by a board of inquiry why he had fired at his friend the officer replied that his target had “looked just like a rock ape” in the half light. The remark soon reverberated around the RAF and it was not long before the term was in general use.

          5. A member of the RAF regiment. Hard chaps who were there to protect airfields In times of hostilities whilst the rest of us sat safe inside.

          6. Not to forget being the Queens Colour Squadron, being detested as DIs and being responsible for me choking in the gas chamber.
            As for protecting airfields, that was down to us when I was in Malaya – manning an Oerlikon when not working on the aircraft (photo available but I’m not able to upload it)

          7. The Germans refer to the British as “die Inselaffen”. – the Island Apes.

            The German group of dentists in Sweden, of which I was a member, referred to the locals as “die blonden Paviane” – the Blond Baboons.

          9. Sorry I jumped in and ruined the thread..
            Must go and do something more useful now..

            Moh is now back to playing golf .. no touching the flag , no card marking , social distancing , no aftergame drinks in the golf club, no nothing, just play 18 holes but on a glorious course.

          13. “How long do you think Dad’s got before he looks like that?”
            “Not long, did you see what he had on head yesterday?”

          15. You’ve been reading those labels again, haven’t you?

            “Keep away from children”

            ‘Morning, Bill.

          21. My Father always teased us children mercilessly. He would also creep up behind us and poke us in the ribs. Making us jump and squeak.

            He went on holiday to Gib and tried the same thing on a monkey. It bit him. He had to go to Hospital for stitches.

            Which is what i was in when i heard about it. Silly sod.

          22. They can be vicious and one is advised to keep one’s distance. Henry, on the lhs, certainly doesn’t look entirely at ease!

          24. It is both happy and sad that they grow up – they were such beautiful children! Henry of the left is now working in computers and is doing a post-graduate M.Sc. degree; Christopher is a design engineer and is engaged to marry a veterinary nurse next year.

    4. Neither of them was half as funny as they thought they were.

      EDIT:
      Or ‘as he thought he was’?

    5. I remember that a disgruntled Derby County football enthusiast who disliked Brian Clough, the then Nottingham Forest manager, physically attacked him after a game. The newspaper report said that it was a case of the fan hitting the shit!

      1. “That Trevor Brooking: he floats like a butterfly … and stings like one!”

    6. We once stayed in a guest house very close to Bournemouth, which i believe was once Hancock’s home. Or his favourite hideaway.
      It was full of memories from the shows. I spent many a half hour looking round. 👀

    1. I used to go fruit picking as a child – a great way to earn pocket. And for some obscure reason the only form of paid work my mother deemed socially acceptable for some reason.

    2. That’s the way to get teenage snowflakes into the fields or by the point of a gun. The teachers can join them.

  22. Funny the references below to Petworth. I do know the town and have visited several times.

    But the name always reminds me of Professor Petworth, the character in Malcolm Bradbury’s “Rates of Exchange” who visited Slaka to give lectures.

    Every time I re-read it, I am reminded of my own trips to what was Czechoslovakia……

    1. Good morning, Bill

      How good a representation of UEA life did your MR, Carolyn, find Bradbury’s The History Man? Did she have any ideas about the true identity of the eponymous hero, Howard Kirk, played by Antony Sher in the TV adaptation?

      Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson set up the School of Creative Writing at UEA and amongst its successful graduates are Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro and Rose Tremain.

  23. What a silly letter from Vicki Cardwell (why is everyone a CEO these days) regarding her poor prisoners being confined to cells 23 hrs a day, unable to meet families. These scumbags are there by choice, their rights are removed when the do the crime – unlike pensioners and care home residents who through no fault of their own find themselves confined for 24 hrs a day, not meeting families etc. As for prisoners not being allowed showers for days, that will come as a relief for some. Bloody do-gooders!

    2. So what’s new Ms. Cardwell? I seem to recall Tommy Robinson was confined to his cell for 23hrs a day for a non-crime with family visits randomly cancelled.

    3. Deprivation of liberty is one right of many that are withheld upon sentencing. The judge has complete discretion as to what these are, and you are right – the rights given to law-abiding citizens are wilfully given up on when a crime is committed.

      However, giving prisoners decent living conditions may not be a right, but they are a privilege. It is a useful tool to help prison governors keep order, and it does show the criminal fraternity that society can be benign and worth honouring.

      Keeping pensioners and care home residents locked down in a form of house arrest, sometimes in solitary confinement, is a violation against basic rights of citizens. This is done in response to a national emergency, and we should all be vigilant to keep this to the minimum necessary and to guard against mission creep.

      As for political prisoners that someone else here mentioned, they are in an awkward position, since “justice” then depends on the whim of those in power, rather than any rational definition of crime. We have Tommy Robinson (who is partial to a bit of affray at times, but his conviction for protesting about leniancy towards Muslim criminals seems rather too much like mission creep to me. In Australia, there was Cardinal Pell, who was convicted of molesting two drunken altar servers by a prejudiced judge and jury, when it was palpably obvious that he couldn’t have done it. Pell was unpopular though because of his views on climate change, and because he was caught up in a general hatefest against Catholic priests as regards child abuse.

      1. I would change ‘decent living conditions’ to ‘adequate basic living conditions’ – no mobile phones, no drugs and basic food. If these conditions are known prior to committing a crime maybe the crime wouldn’t be committed. There is little deterrent in prison these days – conditions should be so bad that nobody wants to go back. As a similarity, nobody has ever come back for a second helping of the birch. Those who think they can reform criminals are those who think you can pick up a turd by the clean end.

        1. I do so agree, Spikey and maybe (probably) it is that we both share a background of not only discipline but the self-discipline it inevitably breeds

        2. I have seen pictures from inside cells posted to Facebook by the Crim. Cocktail Bar, Larder and Sweet shop.

          When not in Lockdown they have parties

      1. He said it was tricky – though the plane is a micro-light so can fly quite slowly!

        1. A bit chilly in a microlight over les Pyrénées…. snow didn’t disappear from le Canigou until earliest mid June and sometimes late July.

  25. ‘We give you 30 minutes’: Malta turns migrant boat away with directions to Italy. Wed 20 May 2020 06.15 BST

    The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) allegedly turned away at gunpoint a boat carrying migrants from their waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy.

    Exclusive footage is said to show an AFM vessel refusing to rescue a small rubber boat carrying 101 asylum seekers reportedly in Maltese territorial waters and instead providing them with the equipment to continue their journey to Italy. Many of the migrants leapt into the water to try to reach the boat, mistakenly thinking they were being rescued.

    Wow! Can we hire these guys and get rid of the UK’s Islamic Border Farce?

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/20/we-give-you-30-minutes-malta-turns-migrant-boat-away-with-directions-to-italy

    1. 319430+ up ticks,
      Morning As,
      Home-front a priority, a bulk dump, the tips are once again operating waiting to receive 650 pinstripe clad units.
      They in total have proved unfit to govern having got people killed via treachery & neglection of patriotic duty.
      Why the herd has this continuing wish to be culled on a five year rota is beyond me.

    2. I can just imagine all the screaming. crying and tearing of hair out. I give it an hour.

      Good morning your Mintyness.

      1. Morning Phizz. I see you’ve been going head to head with Cochrane! Bad for your health!

        1. Morning! I check the previous days’ comment tally each morning. Can always tell when AC’s been here!

          1. Morning Sue. I have real world experience of dealing with people like Cochrane. I recognise all the ploys, sophistry and false bonhomie and of course the Lies.

          3. I think he was waiting for a reply as he had prepared a masturbation session. Not sorry to disappoint.

          5. Off topic.
            Morning, Elsie. I’ve emailed you.
            This post is a backup rhubarb alert, delivery this morning if you’re about. This message will NOT self-destruct in 5 seconds unless Disqus has another breakdown.😎

          6. Will check my email now, Korky. In a couple of minutes I shall be out in the garden for an hour, working the other side of the large honeysuckle which spreads across my front and side gardens, so if there is no reply when you ring the bell, try shouting “Hello” facing the honeysuckle.

    4. Why continue their journey? Give them directions back to where they came from. Why should Italy suffer them?

  26. Good morrow, Gentlefolk, a helluva tale:

    This guy dies and finds himself in hell. He is wallowing in despair when he has his first meeting with a demon. “Why so glum?” the demon asks.

    “What do you think? I’m in hell!” the guy responds.
    “Hell’s not so bad. We actually have a lot of fun down here… you a Drinkin’ man?”

    “Sure, I love to drink.”
    “Well you’re gonna love Mondays then. On Mondays that’s all we do is drink. Whisky, tequila, Guinness… you name it!”
    “Gee that sounds great.”

    “You a smoker?”
    “You better believe it!”
    “All right! You’re gonna love Tuesdays. We get the finest cigars from all over the world and smoke our lungs out. If you get cancer no biggie you’re dead anyway!”
    “Wow…that’s awesome!”

    “I bet you like to gamble.”
    “Why yes, as a matter of fact I do.”
    “Wednesdays, you can gamble all you want. Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Slots, whatever you want! Hey, do you like chicks?”

    “Are you kidding? I LOVE women! You don’t mean…”
    “That’s right! Thursday is orgy day. Help yourself to the finest pussy hell has to offer!”
    “Yowza! I never realised Hell was such a swingin’ place!”

    “Are you gay?”
    “No…”
    “Ooooh… then you’re gonna HATE Fridays!”

    1. How much of this is the vaccine its self and how much the crap they package it with, which does include neurotoxins like mercury?

      1. Sodium and chlorine are harmful by themselves, but when combined they are essential for life.

        1. Correct.
          But are there any compounds of mercury that are not poisonous?

      2. Good question. We have friends whose youngest grandson is severely autistic; institutionalised and now too big for his mother to control.
        His grandparents swear blind that he was developing quite normally until the GP administering the MMR brushed aside the parents’ worries about the child having a cold.

  28. National Trust faces £200m loss as it reveals its properties are unlikely to reopen until autumn due to coronavirus pandemic. 20 May 2020.

    National Trust properties are unlikely to reopen this summer, with the charity facing up to a £200 million loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Director general Hilary McGrady admitted yesterday that while parks and gardens will be first to reopen, the trust’s houses, which have all been shut since March 20, may not be available again before late August.

    The number of cancelled memberships has soared as the charity is now looking to try and access its cash reserves of £1.3 billion, which are subject to restrictions, according to The Times.

    Hmmm. There’s a distinct lack of sympathy below the line but this is the PC National Trust!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8338363/National-Trust-faces-200m-loss-reveals-properties-unlikely-reopen-autumn.html

    1. “National Trust faces £200m loss as it reveals its properties are unlikely to reopen until autumn due to coronavirus pandemic panic.”

    2. National Trust faces £200m loss as it reveals its properties are unlikely to reopen until autumn due to coronavirus pandemic panic. 20 May 2020.

      There, that looks more accurate.

      1. The total mortality rate so far is around 0.05%.

        If we didn’t have the MSM and politicians constantly talking about it, and the constant slogans “We’re all in it together” “Save the NHS” blah, blah, no one would have really noticed anything. And perhaps there wouldn’t have been such a high mortality rate in care homes if the PTB (hope they get sued for corporate manslaughter and sent to jail for the rest of their lives) hadn’t decided to empty wards of elderly CV19-positive patients back to care homes, on pain of losing funding.

        Funny how the same policy has been mandated by so many left-wing Democrat governors in the U.S….

      1. It’s all about priorities. I suspect the rainbow lanyards are priority.

      1. Stopping alienating the normal among their clientele wouldn’t come amiss, either.

    5. I shan’t be giving any money to the National Distrust any time soon. It will have to become unwoke before I do.

    6. Serves them right. Dreadful organisation that has far too much of Britain in its clutches. Even before it went politically correct, I found the National Trust most distasteful for many years, since hearing stuff about its internal workings.

    1. I note he is ‘an artist’. Former colleague of mine was with ‘an artist’ who was a total layabout. He still sponges off everyone. Funnily enough, he is also now on his own, still on benefits in his mid 30s.

  30. ‘Morning, Peeps.

    Littlejohn setting out Mayor Khant’s charge sheet (with apologies if already posted, I wasn’t paying much attention yesterday). Surely a caretaker Mayor should not be in a position to make radical – and potentially crippling – changes as technically his term has expired. Looks to me like a scorched earth policy…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8333625/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Genghis-Khan-lays-waste-London-declares-war-mobility.html

    1. ‘Morning, Belle. I’m sorry to say that I gave up on PE after nearly 50 years, due to the fact that it lost its bite – that and its fervent anti-Brexit stance.

      1. The issue above will be our last. I tried to cancel, but because he subs were like a direct debit on a credit card, they said they cannot stop the money coming… Fuck them. I cancelled the card, so no money will be going. They are also no longer funny, or amusing, just a bunch of whining shills whose idea of balance is to have a chip on both shoulders.
        A pity, really, as the initial subscription was a gift from my Father a very long time ago – something like 30 years.

        1. I tried to cancel, but because he subs were like a direct debit on a credit card…

          I have the identical problem with my BBC (which of course is what it is) licence fee. The only way I can get out of it is to close the account!

          1. ‘That’s effectively what I did. We have a family account with several cards, so I cancelled the card and got another.

        1. ‘Morning, G. Hislop ceased being a fearless, independent thinker after he gradually became a fully paid-up member of the establishment.

          1. You are right. As a satirist he is far too biased to be even remotely relevant. It is high time he retired

      3. I subscribed for 25 years from 1986 then gave up after Hislop morphed from satirist to doyen of the Sneering Classes.

      1. Morning Bill

        Pure and applied wit is a lost art these days .. however , anything that initiates a wry smile is better than nothing at all.

  32. They come down the road at fearful speed with deliberate noise knowing that plod will be far away in the park or on the beach.

    SIR – Overt the weekend, more than 100 hundred motor bikes have made their very noisy, very fast way through Petworth.

    How we miss lockdown.

    Carry Hepworth
    Petworth, West Sussex

    1. Poor Carry. My heart bleeds for her.
      Presumably she doesn’t have to earn a living and the butler does her shopping.

      1. No, no, Butlers don’t do anything, they organise the servants who are the ones who do.

    2. I live on the A272 in Hampshire. I was out trimming our hedge on Saturday and the wind caused my passing traffic (cars and motorcycles) was such that I was only able to bag half of the clippings – the rest are now in Petworth 🙂

    3. I wonder if that was 100 over the full weekend or a single ride out of 100 motorcycles?
      Did you see this one below it?

      Robert Spowart
      20 May 2020 1:35AM
      I can sympathise with Carry Hepworth. This weekend the much delayed Via Gelia Grand Prix on the A5012 from Matlock Bath via Cromford finally got underway.

      Delete6Like
      Reply

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/27abacfd8b8f84dbd77b57b69e1599238c16fbd94e07b0787cf6a020386be28a.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9dbd768d16d3597d1c5083c05974d5579663672f7a0971c2dfeedfdc89906846.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ba99b523023a34f115f03b478d62fc80f78ba1f4cdd562794f2961d61a2c9214.jpg

    5. ‘Morning, Epi, I couldn’t see the sense of that sentence – other comments make me wonder if disqus has removed the actual letter that I dug for and found:

      SIR – Overt the weekend, more than 100 hundred motor bikes have made their very noisy, very fast way through Petworth.

      How we miss lockdown.

      Carry Hepworth
      Petworth, West Sussex

      Hopefully that removes others from similar confusion.

      1. Having now refreshed, I can see that it was disqus who left out the letter and your opening comment was left hanging out of context.

    6. “Overt (sic) the weekend more than 100 hundred (sic?) motor bikes…”

      If it was just a hundred in 48 hours I would say you have done rather well, Petworth resident. However, if it was indeed 10,000 then I would say that your gripe is justified.

      Just wait until Gatport Airwick wakes up…then you really will have cause to lament the passing of ‘lockdown’.

      PS Anyone who knows Petworth will doubt the description “very fast”…

      Oops…’Morning, Epi.

      1. Petworth is on the A272, which is a great road for motorcycling (been there, done that). 10,000 is prolly stretching a point, though…

        1. Yes, the A272 is a fine route…all except the town itself, with it’s tiny streets and one-way system.

          ‘Afternoon, Geoff.

  33. How anyone but the BBC could consider getting rid of BBC4, as reported, is beyond me. They churn out some marvelous documentaries and the one linked to below is no exception and worth watching.

    I won’t spoil it but anyone who saw it and missed the first 15 minutes could have easily thought they were watching a film based on a novel and not a real-life story.

    The Changin’ Times of Ike White:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jb6v

      1. It would be interesting to know how many of the 16-34 year-olds pay to watch BBC compared to their parents and old fogies in general.

      1. Very true, Minty. The part of the BBC that should be closed/sold and pronto, is their version of ‘News’. Fat chance. With an average viewing age of 62 (allegedly) for BBC4 it is undoubtedly for the chop, given their utterly pointless pursuit of yer yoof viewer. When said viewers grow up they are likely to make the transition to more mature programming anyway, so at a stroke they have dumped our generation for absolutely no gain. Brilliant!

      2. Morning Araminta.

        You’re not a million miles from the truth there. My telly goes on at 9pm and I avoid the BBC’s whispering dramas and other stuff like the plague. I’ve even started switching the ten o’ clock news off.

        Most of what I watch is BBC4’s stuff, either live or what I’ve recorded.

    3. The only bbc station I’m interested in.
      Possibly too factual and Not enough propaganda content for it to continue ?
      If it’s removed people should demand a refund. I’m certainly not going to be paying the licence fee again.

  34. I’ve been notified of a job vacancy. Here it is:
    “The Moray East Offshore Windfarm Project is a joint venture between Energias de Portugal Renewables, ENGIE, Diamond Generating Europe and China Three Gorges Corporation, to construct what will be one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world in the Moray Firth off the North East Coast of Scotland.
    We are looking for an OFTO Cost Controller reporting to the Moray East Project Controls Manager with an indirect reporting line to the OFTO* transaction manager. You will be providing monthly report on progress of cost elements for the OFTO transaction.”

    The interesting thing is that none of the partners is a British company. ENGIE is French, and Diamond is Japanese. Are we completely daft?
    *OFTO – Offshore Transmission Owners operate and maintain electrical transmission assets. (Wikipedia)

    2. I didn’t. I saw myself on extended holidays. Albeit not in my back garden.

  36. I have just been sent this link- and I know it is the Grauniad. It seems that the UK is bulk buying hydroxychloroquine. Of course, if Donald Trump was a Democrat, he would be applauded as a hero for taking this drug but naturally he has been lambasted. For those who listened to the interview with Professor Dolores Cahill- she has stated that it costs 10 cents per pill and a minimal amount is needed to offer protection. It seems what the UK is paying is way above this rate but we always like to be ripped off, it seems although it could be a case of supply and demand pushing up the price. Certainly, from what Dolores Cahill said, the side-effects issue is overstated- this drug has been around for 60 odd years.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/19/uk-to-test-hydroxychloroqine-as-coronavirus-treatment?CMP=share_btn_link

    2. Strange that the BBC had a lady doctor on Jeremy Vine who got very over emotional pointing out that hydroxychloroquine is an highly dangerous drug and should not be taken unless under strict medical supervision.

    3. As soon as Trump mentioned it, all common sense and actual fact flew out of the window in the scramble to prove that it’s lethal and should never, ever be prescribed to coronapatients.

      2. All Tommy’s content is on https://tr.news

        This video will probably be set to limited state soon after upload. That is how YouTube operates on material the UK Government doesn’t want you to see, feel free to download and re-upload this content everywhere.

        1. “YouTube has discovered that the content of this video could be inappropriate or offensive to individual viewers”

          1. Of course. “We don’t like your political views so we’re going to be offended and censor you.”

            Paul Golding of Britain First (who I don’t necessarily agree with completely), talks about how he’s arrested and investigated under the 2000 Terrorism Act. That’s the one the police used to arrest an 80 year-old for calling out “rubbish” at a Labour party conference or meeting (I can’t remember the exact details). At the time there was an outcry about the blatant misuse of this Act and police powers, it it’s never been repealed. All this goes back, yet again, to Tony Blair’s government, and the loss of privacy and freedom, and the slow march to a police state where they can arrest and imprison you because they don’t like you.
            And they call us paranoid or conspiracy theorists. I think it’s more of a conspiracy theory to deny what’s happening.

      3. Open the YouTube link and click through. After reading their mealy mouthed statement of course.

    2. A Mr G Orwell (aka E Blair (significant???) is helping the perlice with their enquiries….

    3. “This video can’t be played here. Its content has been identified by the YouTube community as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.”

      For ‘YouTube community’ read ‘The Police State’.

  38. Morning all 😕
    Yet another delay in stopping illegal migrants (2021) arriving in the UK.
    Mass debate on Facebook today, it seems the overwhelming majority are fed up to the eyeballs with yet another useless UK government.

    1. The 2024 GE could well be a nail-biter at this rate, despite the recent Bill for boundary changes (with the prospect of another 30 Conservative seats).

      ‘Morning, Eddy.

  39. They don’t need the pandemic now to continue to destroy lives and livelihoods, they have the 2m social distancing rule, it will cause the death of more people and destroy more businesses than the virus over the coming year or so.

    1. I’ve been telling my family that there is something very dark and sinister going on during this virus situation.
      It’s such a shame that they just seem to regard me as an old fart-her these days. 😊

      1. 319430+ up ticks,
        Re,
        20 year old with experience required how many can truly answer the call.

        1. I’d have to write that down for them all, the attention span is not that great, when we all sit around a table for a meal or a social gathering I can get a word in.

        1. Yeah we all know that Minty.
          One thing that I’m sure of, next time I’m definitely going to spoil my ballot paper at the next election.

      5. Reminds me of….

        “Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance”.

        David Mamet.

      6. I was castigated yesterday by one of our committee members for circulating the Dr Chris Whitty video and should be ashamed of thinking the lockdown is over the top. She was also extremely offensive to me on another level.
        We are opening our bowls club next Monday and there are restrictions that will be in place following guidance from Bowls England, DCMS and the local council who we lease the green from. Of course we and I will abide by them but she didn’t like me criticising them.

        1. Obviously you don’t know your place, Alf, nor how deadly the plague is. Kills dozens (relative to other killers, such as malaria…..)

          1. She’s a moaning Minnie at every committee meeting which, thankfully, we’ve been spared for the past couple of months.

        2. Brain washing seems to be very effective. Ask her who’s going to be the first to jack off ;_)))

          4. What about the unnecessary deaths from the stopping treatment of cancer and cardiac patients?

          5. The mother of the lady opposite died Monday this week, the man next door to them also died about a month ago, from pneumonia. Our eldest son’s best man (40) died in February. And one of my nieces, her under 50 husband died, all bar one of cancer. Nothing to do with the virus.

    3. There are continuing arguments about which symptoms are indicative of the onset of a COVID-16 infection but there seem to be several symptoms of having had COVID-16.

      Amongst these are early onset dementia which reduces the human ability to recognise the people who are talking sense.

      1. 319430+ up ticks,
        Morning Aoe,
        Regarding politicians my belief is that their standing on the ladder of importance plays a major part where different size of envelope & content come into play.

        1. Morning ogga1
          Yes, if the envelope isn’t stuck down properly the content falls out.

  41. For those still at home with not so much to do, here’s a link to wool & woolcrafts that might be interesting. http://www.dorsetwool.co.uk – homemeade sheep & home-dyed wool, and training in wool dyeing if you are that way inclined. Looking good.
    Don’t be sheepish, take a look!

  42. I would not be a bit surprised if the next panic to be worried about is tuberculosis.

    Families, several generations , overcrowded , confined to small houses and flats , in particular Asian and African families who have poor diets like a chapati diet and who live in poverty . Of course not too far behind will also be poor British families on very low incomes or no incomes at all .

    I really do believe there will be more trouble ahead, if there isn’t already .

    The old industrial areas of Britain are so overcrowded , and now the economy is nothing but a pigs ear , who is going to pay for all of this pain.

    1. Afternoon Belle,

      Surely Africa has long had and continues to have Malaria, Cholera, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Bubonic Plague and Smallpox yet pretty much the whole continent has been shut down for Covid 19, which has barely affected them at all. The prevalence of disease doesn’t appear to be what’s driving this.

      1. There does seem to be an agenda which we are not party to. The 2014 ebola outbreak was a lot nore severe in Africa than this one has been so far. We were temperature tested at Entebbe airport, but other than that there seem to have been no other precautions. Yet this time schools, airports and businesses have been shut down.

        Most African countries rely on tourism for a large proportion of their income, and that has been completely trashed.

        I did notice on last night’s telly, that David Shuckman has started banging on again about his usual topic – climate change – and the wonderful clean air we now have due to the worldwide shutdown, so possibly the agenda is to make us all much too poor to go anywhere.

        1. I do wish people would stop conflating pollution and climate change. If we burned poor quality coal the air would be like the old London smogs. However, global temperatures would fall because the sulphur would make clouds more reflective and decrease the amount of surface warming by the Sun.

        2. Africa doesn’t have an aging population , that is why this virus has stayed awy from them .. they are a young continent.

          2. A great many died from Aids, but that seems to have faded into the background now.

          4. Ah yes, the water and sewerage systems that, over the past 60 years and countless £billions of foreign aid later they’ve still not managed to maintain the original pipework or install new ones.

          6. Or they’ve got it, but it’s not being recorded. Anecdotally, I heard about someone dying in hospital in SA recently, of a lung infection, which the family assumed was the bat flu, but no test was done. The funeral was therefore private.

      2. Apart from the tens of thousands making their laborious – and costly – journey to Kent – via Italy, France etc etc

        1. I’d dispute that – Pliny was a wise man but he’d obviously never been on safari.

          1. Perhaps I used the wrong word Ndovu! The original is Ex Africa semper aliquid novi!

          3. My cousins, Paul and Andrew Tracey, who were in Wait a Minim made an LP with Jeremy Taylor called: Always Something New Out of Africa and Karen Blixen wrote a book entitled Out of Africa which was made into a film with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

          5. I didn’t see the film but I do have Karen Blixen’s book. Things have changed a bit since then and the population in Kenya is much better educated now. Although she was kind to her staff, she clearly sets herself way above them.

          1. I was surprised how delicate and pretty proper SA gladioli are. Now those I would like to have in the garden.

    2. I read the plan is to build at least 20,000 new homes in the north east somewhere. I can’t see that plan ever being value for money, there’s even less work now that 9,000 have been ‘sacked’ at Rolls Royce.

    3. Hi Belle,
      The UK almost eradicated TB in the 60s, then we opened our doors to all and sundry without any health checks….Madness!

    4. I failed the Heaf test at school, aged 12, and consequently had the BCG inoculation. Hopefully I should be immune to TB.

      1. I can only assume that, as my father had TB well before I was born and lived in the same house as my mother and I until he was drafted into the Navy, I must have natural immunity.
        I gather my mother and I were checked when the medics discovered he had one totally shot lung and the bug was nobbling away at the other.

      3. I reacted to the Heaf test and did not need the inoculation. My grandfather and three of his siblings died of TB. So did many of the previous generation.

        1. I’m not aware of any historical cases of Consumption in the family but my data could be awry.

          1. I never met my grandfather, who died in 1931, so I doubt if the immunity came from him. There was probably a lot of it about when I was a child.

  43. Britain First leader Paul Golding arrives at court supported by Tommy Robinson to face terror trial for refusing to give police his phone’s PIN code at Heathrow. 13:35, 20 May 2020

    Britain First leader Paul Golding today arrived at court with Tommy Robinson to face a charge under the Terrorism Act.

    He is accused of refusing to provide officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command access to his electronic devices.

    The 38-year-old made victory symbols alongside the English Defence League founder at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London ahead of the half-day trial.

    A huge police presence lined the street outside the court and officers also flanked the defendant.

    Agh! Here’s another frame up by the Stasi.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8339937/Britain-Firsts-Paul-Golding-supported-Tommy-Robinson-arrives-court-terror-charge.html

    2. It’s so clearly set up it’s almost a joke. But one thing for sure that is, it aint very funny.
      I’d start coughing that’s for sure.

    3. The police and security services don’t consider muslim terrorists to be terrorists.

  44. So, 35,000 dead from the plague.

    Gosh – 43% – almost HALF the number that died from Hong Kong ‘flu in 1968.

    When the country continued as normal. Apart from quantities of corpses blocking the morgues.

    HMG – are you listening? Thought not.

          1. You could say that. Personally, I think it made him a wimp. But then, I am a heartless bar steward 🙂

        2. I posted a “Bah, humbug!” kind of comment to that news item in the Mail, and to my surprise, it got more upvotes than downvotes!

      3. its imposed its not a choice that I object to. What a mess the government has caused. They learn nothing from the past and think they know best and the dont as we can all see. When they understand the folly of what they have done it will never happen again.

        2. Johnny,
          Previously I have been the victim of your uncaring words.

          Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
          I assume you have the ears of the VIP…..tell them!!

    2. 0.05% of the population.
      Hardly the Black Death, is it?
      Most people wouldn’t even notice if the media and everyone else wasn’t constantly bombarding us with information about it.

    3. U.K. population in 1968: 55.09 million.
      U.k. population 2020 (estimated): 67,886,011 (doncha just lurve the 11?)

        1. Your eyesight is better than mine then. I can’t see any furriness even when i enlarge the picture.

          3. Between the wing bases you can see the dorsal part of the thorax & it is furry.

    3. My only raspberry plant died. I brought it home after i’d stopped using the allotment 5 years ago. Our 5 year old grand son will be disappointed.

      1. Mine are taking over the veg plot next to the soft fruit patch! If I knew where to send them, I could let you have some. They appear to be indestructible. They’re autumn fruiting.

      2. You must let me know how to kill raspberries, I have mowed them and dug them up but a piece of root always seems to survive and start them of again.

        Hmm, autocorrect changed mowed to mined. Must try that next.

        1. Indeed.
          We have one growing through from our neighbour’s garden, right through where we have a climbing rose, so can’t dig out or poison one without doing the same to the other.

        2. I have been able to snap off the stems all dead. It started okay about a month ago. Blossoms and now nothing.

  46. Yo All

    There has been an outbreak of Common Purpose Sense at high levels in HMG and it has been there for a while

    Read this article and you might sleep easier tonight, if we can just keep the Snivel Serpents and Pollytishuns out of decision making

    Revealed: the top bosses in secret Forces unit that built Nightingale hospitals

    After fixing the Toddbrook Reservoir dam last year, the ‘break glass in emergency’ unit has been busy building spare capacity for the NHS

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/17/revealed-top-bosses-secret-forces-unit-built-nightingale-hospitals/

    1. Mrning OLT ,

      You may be interested in this re your past helo days

      Borrowed from F/B from an FAA page

      Some recent news… In the midst of the current COVID-19 Pandemic three Merlin HM2s of 820 NAS based at RNAS Culdrose and crews have been set aside from normal tasking/training to provide roiund-the-clock support to the NHS and South West Ambulance Services, covering the South west and a population of over 4.5m across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, the Channel Island and the Isles of Scilly.

      ASW equipment has been temporarily stripped from the aircraft to allow carriage of stretchers, passengers and stores, smoothly and efficiently over large distances.

      Cdr Chris ‘Grassy’ Knowles RN (CO 820 NAS) recently told the FAAOA, “This is very diffrent from our ordinary role but jobs like this are in our DNA. We are helping the Nation and NHS during these testing times – it’s a real moment for everyone to pull together.”

      This is the second time in five years 820 NAS has been called upon to support a medical emergency. Over the winter 2014-15 is supported the UK’s response to the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

      120 trained personnel, from the Cornish Air Station, are on notice to deploy along with other personnel from other stations and services to meet any challenge required of them.

      (The story is extracted from an article published by the Fleet Air Arm Officers’ Assoc in its May 2020 ‘Fly Navy’ newsletter. Library picture: 820 NAS Merlin HM2 ZH846 seen at Newquay Airport in Aug 2018 – by Peter Mitrovitch).

      2. Yo T_B

        I did not realise that the FAA had any aircraft not in the Museum at Yeovilton

        Last time I went their, the WASP HASI had been airbrushed out of history, even thogh one ‘shot down’ the Argie submarine.

          2. A submarine of the Irish Navy has been lost with all hands – apparently it was hot and stuffy in there so one of the crew opened a window

        2. I think that we bought some variant of the 737 from the Americans to do the job. They arrived in the last 6 months or so.

          1. I think only one has been delivered and is being evaluated – the airfield is not ready for them anyway from all accounts

        3. Even now, the Russian submarine fleet has surfaced in the Bristol Channel. Dinghies have taken some crew ashore to buy cigarettes, bacon, and ice cream. Other crew members are sitting on the decks, on deck chairs, sunning themselves, while the officers play romantic tunes on their balalaikas.

          1. Now that would not surprise me in the slightest!
            In fact I think exchange visits between Russian and RN/NATO vessels would be an excellent idea.

    2. BTL comment:-

      Robert Spowart
      20 May 2020 1:52PM
      After being royally shewn up as totally incompetent by the Staff Corps, I imagine the Civil Service will now be looking at ways of either getting rid of it or stuffing it so full of Common Purpose crap that they may as well get rid of it.

      DeleteLike
      Reply

      1. FAA Squadrons

        with First Digit ‘7’ Training/support tasks

        with First Digit ‘8’ Front Line Sqns.ie ship borne/Commando units

  47. How does one tell the difference between a scam call and a genuine one re misselling of mortgages etc?

    Moh back from golf entered into a lengthy conversation when the landline rang, The caller was on a mobile ….. When I answered the phone went dead , so Moh said ring it back .. which I did.. The male caller had all our details .. too many details , and said we were entitled to money that we had overpaid ..

    My B/P has hit the roof as Moh cannot see a problem .. I am rather suspicious ..

    What do I do, or shall I forget it and just let Moh fall into a trap .

    1. Put the number into Google and see what it says. If it is legitimate it will mention who you mortgage with

    2. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVERNEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVENEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVERR NEVER NEVER

      Ring them back

      Did I say do not call them back

    3. I heard of something similar and they discovered after they ‘phoned back that they were ‘phoning a premium rate line which charged £150- a minute.

    4. Who did they say they were representing, a Nigerian Prince? If it’s a well known organisation, find its number independently, and tell them they are being used as part of a scam.
      Call out of the blue, and they want your bank details to make a transfer to you…I think your instincts are spot on.

    5. Ignore it as it will not be genuine. Don’t tell them anything. Get a call guardian phone and you’ll never have another nuisance call.

      2. I use to answer and spend 5 minutes winding them up and then leave the phone next to the radio or TV speakers.
        We don’t seem to get as many calls as we use to. ;-))

        1. A good way of doing it as they only get paid if they do a certain amount of calls. Waste their time and hurt their Marketing/Advertising business.

          1. I had great fun once pretending I was a CID officer investigating my murder and that I wanted to interview the caller about any links he had with me (the victim). I had him going and in a blue funk for about 20 minutes before he twigged as I was spinning him a yarn and he slammed the phone down on me, only to phone me back 5 minutes later to swear at me. My good deed for the day was done!

    6. As many have TB get an answer phone message onto your land line and you will usually hear the person leaving a message if you are interested pick up the hand set. If they ring off forget it.

    8. If he continues tell him that if it is genuine the company will write a confirmatory letter and if they phone again he should insist on the letter.

      Check your phone bill to be sure you haven’t also called a premium number rather than a mobile.

      NEVER give bank or other details over the phone if the call was initiated by someone else.

    9. A call from an unknown mobile should already be suspicious for anyone who answers the phone. For any numbers not known to us and that haven’t already been blocked I check before phoning back at all with a who called me? web site.

      If the caller has been harassing other people there will be reports on the ethnicity and dialect of the caller and why they have been calling and there is usually a rating on the assessed risk when answering that number.

      If the caller is making harassing phone calls then that can be a crminal offence but if suspected to be fraudulent it is usually recommended to register the number with https://www.actionfraudalert.co.uk/Contact.
      Unfortunate!y the police will only get involved when someone has actually been defrauded but by then for most it will be too late.

      1. If they can be persuaded away from frightening old ladies in Tesco carpark.

        1. Our Tesco carpark scam is the I’m lost – can you show me where to go on this map? scam.
          Meanwhile accomplice nicks credit card from handbag the PIN numder of which was observed on checkout.

    10. Do you have a mortgage? If not, I have a deal I can offer involving a Nigerian prince.

    11. T_B

      As I have said before, have fun with them:- make them hang up on you

      If they inquire how you are, tell them, in great detail, about your supurating piles, halalitosis, flatulence etc

      If they offer to fix your Windows, lead them on, then finally ask if they have a ladder to reach you in your 117 storey high flat

      Speak to them in Swahil, french or pigeon Indian restuarantese

      etc

        1. When I lived in the UK I was brief, terse, and Anglo Saxon: just two words before slamming down the receiver.

          I have never received any unsolicited calls, here in Sweden, on either landline or mobile.

          1. BT call blocker is a help.

            We used to get dozens of nuisance calls in France – often at meal times. I used simply to hang up – but once I lost it and used the two anglo-saxon words to which you refer. Then hung up. Immediately, the bloke called back and said, in English, that I was extremely rude to use such language!

            I had to laugh!

          2. I find it hard to believe that you could ever be so uncouth, George! /sarlier

    12. No such thing as a free lunch, Belle. Ever. If someone phones you offering you money, cash, for whatever reason, then you are their prey. Anything like that should come via the mail where you can then check and verify their contact and other details at your leisure.

  48. I think I’ve seen it all now.
    Just 15 minutes ago on the bbc ‘news’
    There was a heartfelt appeal for the early release of all prisoners, in case they come into contact with the virus inside.
    The tearful sister of a drug dealer sentenced for 12 years was pleading for his release because he’s not very well. WTF is happening to this country ?

    1. Introduce the virus into all prisons and lock them in – ridding us of the scum of society and saving money – what’s not to like?

    2. Why risk sudden death from a heart attack (registered as a virus death, of course) by watching or listening to ANY news, politics of current affairs programmes, Eddy?

      1. Yes doc, I’m suffering from lockdown frustration syndrome.
        I’m going to play a few of my favourite tunes.
        And then going to make a new table for one of our three terraces.
        New Miele vaccy arriving from John Lewis today must stay alert.

          1. I used sanitising wipes it’s up and running already…..cough cough……!

        2. SNAP!
          New Hoover Whirlwind arriving today. My Vax went into isolation two weeks ago.

          1. Our postie has just delivered it. I was going to buy a new motor for the old one it’s about 20 years old now. with a new floor/carpet fitting and the motor it was cheaper to buy a new one.

      2. Bill, according to Tony Hall, during this manufactured crisis, “Virtually everybody, young and old, has turned to us. They’ve relied on our specialism, our schedules, and our streaming services”. (Quote from his cover e-mail linking to the “Annual Plan”.)

        3. I wonder if the number of licences has gone up during the corona lockdown?

    3. The brains of Homo sapiens started to deteriorate over 100 years ago. The malady gets more ingrained, worldwide, by the hour.

      1. The Kalergi Plan was intended to lower the peasant IQ. 85-95 is about right. Bright enough to follow instructions but not to question them.

        1. I think that with or without The Kalergi Plan, the intellectual capacity of the human species is rapidly deteriorating at an inverse proportion to the increase in the size of its population.

          It is my considered opinion that had the human population level never elevated above the one milliard mark (as it was during the Napoleonic Wars), worldwide, then the potential for a universal raising of the intelligence levels, intellect, ingenuity and resourcefulness of the entire species would have been easily realised.

          Unfortunately mankind’s inbuilt and innate greed and stupidity will perpetually prevent this from happening.

    1. “But the founders of the service had no concept of how the world would
      change. If they sat down now with a blank sheet of paper, would they
      choose to pay for cosmetic surgery, gastric bands, IVF, etc?”
      He forgot to add – all the transgender surgery & nonsense.

  50. Coronavirus latest news: Police turn away 200-mile daytrippers to Brecon Beacons. 20 MAY 2020 • 2:45PM

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/034d05ee0503332296db6e66c2060f79251ba7c99b5e8f782af11a83b9f58645.jpg

    Superintendent Clark Jones-John of Dyfed Powys Police with his officers stopping motorists at the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. CREDIT: SKY

    Police in Wales have been turning round and fining some cars travelling from England as their trips do not constitute essential travel.

    “When people are in Wales it’s the Welsh regulations that are applicable,” he said.

    “What that means that travel must be for essential purposes like buying food, exercising, however any such travel must be local.

    “And we have seen situations where people have travelled from Birmingham, Bristol and London – that is clearly non-essential travel, is not local and it is unfortunate that such people have been turned around and we have issued fines where necessary.

    Here’s another Petty Fuhrer glorying in his power. Probably runs a shuttle service for disabled burglars in his spare time!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-vaccine-testing-contact-tracing-uk-lockdown/

    1. I expect the BBC will send a dozen crew down to film the action and interview the tough boyyos.

    3. 319430+ up ticks,
      Afternoon As,
      Yet we welcome foreign day trippers
      heading for Dover on overcrowded transport on a daily basis.
      I am beginning to see a pattern emerging here and in time visualise some of these people gaining positions of power.
      It could even change the indigenous person’s lifestyle, in time.
      If these governance parties are at fault
      peoples would not support & vote for them, would they ?

    4. Looking back to the halcyon days of my youth – as you do – I remember travelling to the Brecon Beacons to attend a “fan-dance”. It certainly couldn’t have been classed as essential travel, We didn’t need go there – we chose to do so, and I wonder whether the like of Superintendent Jones the Plod and his merry men would have felt up to stopping us and ordering us out.

      ….. I think not.
      ;¬)

    5. When considering a holiday destination (should we ever be free to do so), I hope everybody avoids Wales like the plague after the authoritarian attitudes of Heddlu Cymru. They don’t like you going 1 mph over the speed limit, either.

    7. I went off with a shopping list to find our finest stopping motorists in the village this morning. They were not stopping everyone so my evil deed was not discovered. Went back on my bike for a photo as evidence In the future that police do have the manpower to be on the streets looking for crime, but they must have retired for lunch.

    8. I expect the BBC will send a dozen crew down to film the action and interview the tough boyyos.

    9. Actually on this occasion I’m with the police – I see in North Devon Saunton and Morthoe are gridlocked with half wits parked all over the place – on double yellow lines, in passing places etc. We do need to ease lockdown, but we also need people to exercise a little common sense – driving a couple hundred miles to Wales, when the fact that they are still “locked down” has been well publicised argues a lack of it!

      2. Your parking problem has probably been exacerbated by the fact they are not opening up all the car parks in places.

  51. Today’s Ponder
    Blame game kicks off as minister claims coronavirus ‘science was wrong’

    Advisers fear they will be made scapegoats for any poor decision made in the early days of outbreak

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/20/blame-game-kicks-minister-claims-coronavirus-science-wrong/

    The ministers were given information, from their advisers and acted on it.

    If that information came from one viewpoint, as with the goodliness of Green Energy as lauded by Greta the Bleata and Extinction Rebellion, then they were idiots. Not a Quality Decision

    A few boring words about that awful word Quality

    Japan, when they started an industrilal Recovery after WWII, realised their products were fairly crap.

    A bright spark, decided to that the people who knew the products bestererester were those who made them: so the PTB had meetings with them to try to establish the best way of manufacture etc. Remedial Actions were implmented as a result of these chats

    These groups became known as Quality Circles: and the rest is history. In Uk, these people would be known as Whisleblowers and sacked.
    The important outcome, is that rectification is the resposibility of the ‘manager’ In the Covid case HMG

    The Ministers etc should have assembled a group with disparate (not desperate) views and discussed to pro’s (not the sort Clinton used) and con’s (not all those released eraly prisoners, cus they may get Covid).

    If you listen just to one side of an arguement, you will always lose.

    The meeting(s) should have included members of the Staff Corps.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/17/revealed-top-bosses-secret-forces-unit-built-nightingale-hospitals/

    Shouting that it was decision made at a COBRA meeting is total crap: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A

    The could have just as easily held it in the back garden of No 10

    1. ‘Morning OLT
      It was neither scientists or politicians that made the decisions,it was the hysterical shrieking headline seeking MSM,the politicians were too gutless to stand up to them

      1. Plastic politicians. Boris was a journalist before he became PM, Carrie is a professional politician. Of course they’re going to bow to the media, they think it represents the whole world.

    2. We are being somewhat unrealistic in expecting management expertise and sensible decision-making from politicians who have never, ever acquired management expertise or made an important decision in their entire careers. For more than 30 years UK Government decisions have been hand-me-downs from Brussels.

  53. I got a pamphlet through the letterbox today from the NHS trust Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear. It concerned my Wellbeing and Mental Health during COVID-19 . A guide to looking after yourself and others.
    I am taught how to Manage my stress bucket,connect with people, stay healthy, struggling to cope, a jar of hope, spot the signs and thoughts of suicide.
    I have to report , however, that on page 018 there was a cartoon figure which reminded me of a Robertson? marmalade figure who was banned many years ago.
    As a result I now suffer from PTSD but am recovering slowly. I have no mental issues I didn’t have before COVID-19

    1. There is far more PTSD and other mental health issues amongst younger people – as a wise old man you know how to manage stress without being told by a leaflet.

      1. I took a “how is your mental health?” survey from Mental Health for Riders yesterday. It tells me I’m coping, but I could do with some support. Ha! Chance would be a fine thing!

  54. Good moaning everybody. It’s a long time since I’ve said that – used to be about Brexit, obvs. (Will be again soon I don’t doubt!).

    Has anyone posted Allison Pearson in full, if not, I can thanks to outline.com and instructions on Nottl. I apologise for not making a note of who it was, may have been ims2.

    Anyway, it’s not just fear that’s stopping our children being educated, it’s left wing politics. And aren’t the unions playing a blinder. Of course the relentless messaging from government about “Save the NHS, Save lives” has been far too successful and it always rankled with me that that was the message. Not save lives, help the NHS.

    The idea of our children having to social distance at school is monstrous, in fact, it’s inhuman. Our government is proving to be so weak the lefties are just running rings around them.

    Been out for a short walk this morning before breakfast and it was really warm then, at about 9.30. Will have another longer one later. Have a lovely day everybody.

    Edit It is fear – not science – that is stopping our children being educated
    ALLISON PEARSON MAY 19, 2020
    Coronavirus Charity Appeal – compact puff to donate page – article embed
    Coronavirus Charity Appeal – compact puff to donate page – article embed
    I still can’t get over it. That photograph of little children sitting alone in chalk squares spread out across a playground. Was it a scene from some dystopian film, a creepy vision of life in a world where infants are permitted a simalcrum of togetherness yet cruelly kept apart? I’m sorry to say the picture is not fictional. It shows one French school’s attempt at social distancing for its youngest pupils. Not content with invisible cages in the playground, there are angry stripes of hazard tape around classrooms, segregated desks and “air hugs” instead of the joyous, real, touching kind. This is not the new normal this is the new nightmare.

    Please don’t make the mistake of assuming British children will be spared such alienating horror. The NEU, the largest teaching union, has done its damndest to block the resumption of lessons, instructing members to demand strict social-distancing measures, warning, laughably, that it could be “unsafe” to mark children’s workbooks and insisting on a Cornavirus Workplace Checklist only marginally shorter than the Old Testament.

    Depressing plans are already afoot in our schools. Time slots for toilet breaks – “Sorry, Daniel, you’re not allowed a wee till quarter to eleven!” No help from teachers if youngsters fall over or wet themselves (despicable, frankly). “Triage” entry systems into reception with teachers in face masks, gloves and plastic aprons checking the temperature of every small person returning on June 1st. If, that is, teaching unions can be persuaded that an environment which will be a pullulating petri dish of normal flu by November can somehow clear an impossible bar and be guaranteed 100% Covid compliant.

    What makes all this even more disturbing is that such measures are almost entirely unnecessary. There is little about coronavirus we can be absolutely sure of – this is a brand new disease and our knowledge grows by the day – but most of the available evidence so far strongly suggests that children are neither suffering from coronavirus nor spreading it. Studies in South Korea, Iceland, Italy, Japan, France, China, the Netherlands and Australia all concur that youngsters are “not implicated significantly in transmitting Covid”, not even to parents and siblings.

    Adult paranoia, stoked by over-the-top government messaging, union intransigence and media conniptions, is now being inflicted on the youngest members of our society to whom the virus poses a threat so tiny scientists call it “statistically irrelevant”. Instead of nursery rhymes, mixed infants may soon be invited to sing something called the “two-metre-song” as they stick their arms out to keep their friends at bay.

    Dear God, do we really intend to turn our children and grandchildren into fearful little brainwashed North Koreans? If not, what the hell is going on and what is Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, doing about it?

    Let’s rewind a bit. In its pre-lockdown assessment, SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) found that closing British schools would have a very limited impact on reducing transmission of the virus. In fact, senior scientists concluded that keeping children at home might make infections of elderly people within households and the community worse, leading to more deaths among vulnerable groups. (This chimes with the tragic experience of New York City where Mayor Cuomo admitted recently that 66% of new hospitalizations were people who had stayed home.) When it came to “potential effectiveness in reducing total number of cases and deaths”, SAGE said shutting schools would have only a “modest impact” compared to other measures.

    Throughout the pandemic, the Government has claimed that it “followed the science”, but the decision to shut schools was quite clearly political. The science said having kids at home could cause more not fewer deaths. It was mounting pressure from a baying chorus of critics which closed classrooms.

    Now, far-left teaching unions, who have shamelessly weaponised Covid19 to get at a Prime Minister they hate, are demanding that schools be made “safe” when they were never unsafe in the first place. “Show us the science,” demands Labour’s Angela Rayner. How about the fact that the EU reported this week that reopening schools in 22 member states had not increased the incidence of the virus significantly among either children, families or staff. Is that enough science for you?

    We are well into Emperor’s New Clothes territory here, dear reader. Mad and distressing things are about to happen to children in the name of protecting them against a monster which preys on the old but not the young.

    Unwittingly, parents are colluding with this delusion. Terrified by misleading public-information films which insisted that everyone was at equal risk from the virus, and by exceptionally rare cases of sick babies and adolescents featured prominently on the news, mums and dads are understandably reluctant to see little Idris or Isla be used as a “guinea pig” when schools reopen.

    The middle-class obsession with safety – Volvoism as a droll teacher friend calls it – is another barrier to people being able to grasp, really grasp, the relative risks which say that their DCs (darling children) are as safe in school as they are at home. Ironically, they’re safer if they get Covid rather than normal flu because mortality in children in England under 15 years of age features about twelve “influenza-attributable” deaths every year.

    Facts, eh? So strong is the prevailing groupthink that any mum who dares admit that, actually, she would rather like her child to go to school, indeed, she is rather worried about the effect on her child of not being in school, risks a public tongue-lashing. Gemma, who has two kiddies under 9 and is struggling to do her work while trying to home-school, told me at the weekend that the Mummies’ WhatsApp group for her son’s class has “gone mental”. The mums have convinced themselves that school is toxic for their DCs and it’s “far too soon” to go back. One mother who dared to challenge this herd conformity attracted vicious comments including, “Sorry your son misses his friends… he’ll miss them a lot more if he’s dead.”

    As it happens, when I spoke to Gemma I had just been sent the comprehensive data for Italy’s 32,007 corona deaths. The average age of fatalities was 80 (85 for women, 79 for men) with the overwhelming majority of the deceased being over 70. Mercifully, so few children were lost to the virus that they didn’t even register on the graph; six deaths in the whole 0 to 19 age group. And only 3.9% of the total did not have pre-existing conditions.

    I sent the data to Gemma. “Unreal,” she texted back immediately. “This needs to go to all the news media so parents know and we can stop the scaremongering.” And a squadron of wild boar will shortly be spotted in the skies over Tuscany.

    You know, I haven’t even mentioned the disastrous effect the lockdown has had on education itself. Since 20th March, two-thirds of children have not taken part in a single online lessons. While privately-educated pupils still have full timetables many state-school students get no home teaching at all. Missing a third of a year of school could cut a pupil’s lifetime earnings by 4%, according to a new German study. How do Corbynist union leaders, who claim to be on the side of the disadvantaged, reconcile that with playing politics with the poorest children’s lives?

    Here’s the thing. More children are dying of the lockdown than of the virus. Two poor mites succumbed to sepsis after their parents were too frightened to take them to hospital. At least two youngsters have been murdered behind closed doors by a parent. Horrifying. This may come as a shock to the Volvoists, but not everyone is playing Happy Families and baking sourdough.

    Next time you hear Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, whining that, “If you have 15 four- or five-year-olds in the class it’s impossible to social distance” ask her how many Victoria Climbies she thinks there are, bruised and cowering in some flat, praying for school to reopen and spring them from their abusers?

    Bousted does not speak for all teachers. Far from it. Many have been absolutely brilliant, dedicated professionals who continued to teach the children of keyworkers for the past eight weeks. Here’s a puzzle for you: if it’s OK for teachers to already be working with the kids of NHS staff, who are most likely to be infected with Covid, how can it be a problem teaching the rest. Answer: it really isn’t.

    So why is the Government allowing the teaching unions to shamelessly play the Fear Card and insist on psychologically disturbing social-distancing measures for small children when there is no scientific basis for any of it? Because the Government has played the Fear Card itself and is now a prisoner of its own propaganda.

    At least one group of parents is so shocked and upset that they are refusing to allow their little ones to be enrolled in this dystopian nightmare. Us For Them is a national campaign to raise awareness of the fact that Covid-compliant measures in schools have taken no account of children’s welfare and are “damaging and disproportionate”.

    You are not alone – in article puff – compact version
    Gavin Williamson should channel this anger and tell the unions that all the odd years in primary school – Reception, 1,3 and 5 – are starting lessons on June 1st. If they want their members to wear PPE and look ridiculous then he’s happy to oblige. It would deprive the recalcitrant buggers of their excuse for not going back. I bet every school would ditch it as unworkable within a week. They’d only need a week of it before they realises they were getting dressed for Ebola when facing Crayola. Return to school should be voluntary for children; I’m sure any doubts will be overcome once they know their friends are having fun.

    That photo of French children in their isolated chalk squares didn’t just look chilling. It is chilling. Not only is it impossible to get mixed infants to observe social distancing measures, it is unnatural, unnecessary and unconscionable. If adult paranoia is allowed to punish children, to stop them from being children, in the name of protecting them from a virus that can’t harm them what does that say about our society?

    Mad. That’s it. Covid has unhinged us. We’ve gone stark staring mad.

      1. It’s a waste of time posting anything late in the evening because there are fewer people about to read it.

    3. 319430 + up ticks,
      Morning V,

      ” Our government are proving to be so weak the lefties are running rings around them”
      Up until the 24/6/2016 they were ALL on the same side, treacherous to a man.
      Very little has changed they are a three party, close shop, coalition,

    4. And refusal of teachers to return to work means no pay.
      If it’s OK for health workers with PPE to minister to sick people with Covid, it’s OK for teachers to teach the children – who seem not to be a transmitter of the virus anyway.

      1. Totally agree but wishful thinking. Think of the outcry if the government tried that on – oh my word, all hell would break loose! As I said some while ago Rishi Sunak has been far too generous in lengthening “furlough pay” until end of October, why would anyone want to go back to work as long as they’re paid to do nothing. The shocks will come when they are told the job no longer exists which I’m convinced will happen. Meanwhile we’re “spending” money we don’t have.

        1. The unions would call for a National Strike. Spiteful little empire builders that they are.

          Also, what the members don’t realise or turn a blind eye too is that they are being used as a political tool of the left.

          1. Do you think they really don’t understand that? Of course it used to be that the majority of workers, not the so-called “professional” bodies, had to contribute to the union whether they wanted to or not but I’ve lost track of whether that’s still the case, I suppose it is, and they are labour supporters.

          2. It is not about poor working conditions or protecting the workers. It’s about the power the higher ups get to use and to bash the Tories with it. Have you ever seen a poor Union leader?

            Hi Vouvray. Having a nice afternoon?

          3. Lovely afternoon thanks. Have been to our usual garden centre (ridiculous social distancing queueing) and bought some edging and a pot of 3 allium Purple sensation. Already in flower but will be beautiful next year. Sitting in some water now before planting tomorrow. Gardener came this morning and dug out 2 rogue saplings which came from I know not where. He comes for just 2 hours every other week and is extremely good, RHS qualifications, so knows most plants and shrubs, and works very quickly. He’s Hungarian BTW and a really lovely man.

          4. There are no poor Union leaders and, what’s more, they are paid to do their union work when they’re supposed to be properly working. Talk about “nice work if you can get it”.

    5. It was me who suggested outline.com, but since suggesting it, it doesn’t work for me any more….😕

    1. I personally believe that we shouuld be exposed to the virus – as we are all others – to develop an immunity.

      However, there are plenty of teachers who – rationally, outside of the union hysteria – are saying that it simply isn’t sensible. Classes hugely segregated won’t work as kids will mingle in corridors. What about discipline? What if there’s an accident? A teacher won’t be able to assist, yet logic demands they will.

      It doesn’t make any sense. Either we acknowledge that we simply need to go back to normal or we don’t.

      1. None of it makes any sense, to be honest. We need to bite the bullet, realise that the NHS will no longer be overwhelmed and get back to work and as near as will pass for normal life (I bet people will continue to leap out of the way when they see someone coming). When I went shopping yesterday I’d never seen so many people wearing masks – I thought we were gradually coming out of it. I saw a cyclist wearing one today – at least it will keep the flies out of his mouth 🙂

  56. Just popped back indoors from planting out broccoli, curly kale,onions – and about to plant the trombetti.

    I won’t bore you with photographs.

    3. PT requested that people do. Besides, you wouldn’t want to upset a lady, would you.

      Besides, she’ll bash you with her Tennis Racquet.

      1. All just down to money and sales I guess. Probably not enough people are put off by that to compensate for Muslim sales.

        1. Nobody knows about it! If they had a big sign in the supermarket next to the products, it would put non muslims off buying them.

      2. How do you get halal bread? Do they kill the yeast without stunning it first?

      3. Their website is full of the most revoltingly smug virtue signalling. No way am I buying any halal product. It’s against my religion.

      1. I just use the same dough as the white loaf. About 100 grams to a bap. Same proving and everything. Just flatten it out. 12 minutes at 200°C.

  58. Repeated today for the early to bed yesterday!

    CHARLES MOORE

    The coronavirus crisis must not be allowed to delay Brexit

    Germany’s constitutional court’s decision raises many of the questions expressed in the Brexit debate

    Should Covid-19 delay the completion of our post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union? Parliament legislated that the deal must be done by December 31, but the argument is that Britain will be so flat on its face because of the virus that it will need the continuing shelter of European single-market and customs-union rules to survive.

    It is indeed true that our economy is being knocked sideways by the virus. But so is that of the EU. It is important to note that while the economic damage is bad for both, the existential damage is much greater for the EU than it is for Britain.

    This is because we, as a free, independent country, can work out our own economic and monetary response for ourselves. That option is not really open to the EU because it has never resolved whether it is or is not a United States of Europe. As he negotiates with us on behalf of the European Commission, Michel Barnier lays claim to the plenipotentiary power of a supreme body (look at his high-handed stuff about fish), but he does not really have it, because that body is divided against itself.

    The Covid response of the European Central Bank (ECB) has been to announce £2 trillion of bond purchases, chiefly to shore up the weaker member states of the eurozone. The ECB has thus put itself at odds with the German Federal Constitutional Court. The court ruled that the ECB overstepped “their legitimate competence”. Its decisions therefore have “no validity” in Germany. Since Germany is by far the richest member state, this ruling threatens to undermine the ECB’s entire rescue policy.

    One way to put this is that the Germans are now – though in a very different manner from the British – confronting the fundamental contradictions of the European project, many years after the argument became hot here. The constitutional court’s decision raises the classic questions. Who’s really in charge? Is the EU a treaty organisation of member states or a new sort of super-country? What happens to democracy? Who ends up paying?

    Our vote to Leave anticipated this struggle. As it starts to come to a head in the EU, we don’t want to be half-there, bound by the rules, contributing to the bills, unable to vote. And I doubt – though this is a harder question to answer – whether most EU countries will now want to prolong the fight with Britain while battling it out with one another over Covid monetary remedies.

    In the post-Covid struggles, Boris Johnson will need to look to his political base, battered by horrifying prospects of taxes and borrowing. At the weekend, the new Centre for Brexit Studies produced a report and a poll. Sixty-one per cent of Conservatives want no extension to the transition period. Only 24 per cent of the population thinks the transition period is too short.

    A Liberal dilemma

    On a walk at the weekend, I had a frightening new experience. I realised I could not remember who is the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

    Many readers may not understand my sense of disorientation. It is possible they have passed years – even, in some cases, entire adult lives – without retaining this information. Our current Prime Minister, in his days as a leading political commentator, once told me he made it a firm rule never to write a column about the Liberal Democrats. He said he had never had cause to regret it.

    For me, however, it is a different matter. Brought up by parents who were active Liberals, I have known continuously from the age of about seven who, at any one time, was the Liberal leader. (“My” first one was Jo Grimond, perhaps the last to have a real belief in classical liberalism.) Even today, I could give you an almost accurate run-through of the sequel of Grimond, Thorpe, Grimond (very briefly) again, Steel, Ashdown, Kennedy, Campbell, Clegg, Farron, Cable, to Jo Swinson, though I might get a bit muddled up by interims and joint leaderships to do with Liberals and Social Democrats combining. So it was a shock to find my mind a total blank.

    A check with better-informed sources (Wikipedia) reveals that the party has had three leaders since Ms Swinson lost her seat at the general election last December and resigned. Originally it was jointly led Sir Ed Davey and Lady Brinton. (Interesting, by the way, that our two parties of the Left are now led by people with titles.) Today it is still Sir Ed, but joined by Mark Pack, of whom, I am afraid, I have never heard. Mr Pack is also president of his party. And so the pair will continue, thanks to Covid-19, until May 2021.

    The question I cannot decide is – am I negligent in my duties, or is failure to remember who is leader of the Liberal Democrats a perfectly rational response to modern conditions?

    Gone but not forgotten…

    Never before, indeed, has the recent past seemed so distant. Only six months ago, names like John Bercow, Philip Hammond, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Dominic Grieve, Gina Miller, Lady Hale, Rory Stewart, David Gauke, Amber Rudd, the People’s Vote and Ms Swinson herself were on our lips and on our screens. Now they all gone, gone with the wind.

    The absence of Mr Bercow is particularly soothing – like being able to hear birdsong beside a motorway in our Covid-induced silence.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/19/coronavirus-crisis-must-not-allowed-delay-brexit/

    1. “The absence of Mr Bercow is particularly soothing – like being able to
      hear birdsong beside a motorway in our Covid-induced silence.”

      Delightful. It is time Mr Moore came out of retirement to lead the Telegraph back from the rocky left wing ground it has currently chosen to occupy back to the smooth tarmac of the Boris supporting centre right. Even if he did find Boris a difficult journalist to manage!

  59. When Trump mentioned this they all said he was mad……
    https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israeli-hospital-kills-corona-germs-with-ultraviolet-light/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Israeli+Satellite+Exposes+Iranian+Weapons%3B+Ultraviolet+Light+Kills+Corona+in+Israeli+Hospital%3B+NY+Times+Links+Israel%27s+Corona+Rules+to+Crusades+Era%3B+Hamas%3A+Kidnap+More+Israelis&utm_campaign=20200518_m158415596_Israeli+Satellite+Exposes+Iranian+Weapons%3B+Ultraviolet+Light+Kills+Corona+in+Israeli+Hospital%3B+NY+Times+Links+Israel%27s+Corona+Rules+to+Crusades+Era%3B+Hamas%3A+Kidnap+More+Israelis&utm_term=WATCH_3A+Israeli+Hospital+Kills+Corona+Germs+with+Ultraviolet+Light

      1. My best mate came out of hospital on Monday after spending two weeks having treatment for water retention and build up in his lungs. intravenous furosemide. He was suffering from Cardiomyopathy. He couldn’t get up the stair s at home with out a struggle and now he’s able to take short walks from his home. And back again of course.

  60. One small step: Spartie is slowly demolishing his bed. Today, I saw a similar style bed but made of tougher material – and on special offer.
    Turned it over to check the base (the area he really tears to shreds) and discovered the label”Made in China”. The current bed will have to do and I will use some tough spare material to repair the base.

  61. The Government has removed the excuse for schools being closed. Do Councils not have a statutory duty to provide education? If that is not the case how can they have the power to fine parents for not sending children to school?
    Will the Government now bring legal action against Councils and officials where schools are not opened? Will those involved be sent to prison, fined and disbarred from public office?
    Hmmm… I wonder.

    1. After children have now missed two months of school, how can they possibly justify fining parents who take their kids on a week’s holday?

  62. Just popped back indoors after a cup of tea on our corner patio to take a picture of a bird on one of the feeders.
    Too hot for the birds so I took this photo of my entry to Plum’s request for image alternatives to Chelsea.

    This exhibit, Rustic Tea Break features a rustic Christmas tree used as a bird feeder/perch,
    roses yet to bloom, MOH’s sewing hut, a rusty bird feeder, rusty sack truck and upturned wheelbarrow at end of raised herb patch.

  64. In today’s DT Letters, Robert Gower writes from Berwickshire on the subject of church music.

    The professional expertise of a church musician is born of intensive training, which often begins as a child chorister. This can foster an interest in the organ.

    Aye, and I reckon we’ve all heard about that sort of thing!

    Just my warped sense of humour, Geoff

    1. The ex-choirmaster from our Church got 12 years in prison, for abuse at another Church several years after he left us.

      Our boys swear he never touched them and he seemed a thoroughly decent man. Perhaps they were lucky that all practices were for the whole choir and as is often the case the choir was mainly eagle-eyed, very protective grannies.

      You never can tell.

      1. Sadly, it’s not uncommon. To the extent that many years ago in Suffolk, whilst discussing the news that a well-known organist and choirmaster had jumped from the Orwell Bridge, a fairly high-ranking Diocesan official referred to this as being due to “the usual problem”.

        1. It’s very sad for all concerned.

          It will never happen, of course, but it’s a shame that such men can’t be allwed to admit to their desires but be closely monitored as they teach.

          So often those men are teachers of the highest quality,

    1. 319430+ up ticks,
      o2o,
      In a decent Country the arse would fall out of tesco shares, currently in the UK they will probable rise.
      Given time it will be acceptable as the incoming numbers continue to grow, Dover shows that.

      1. 319430+ up tcks,
        Evening Anne,
        What is worse is the governing party condoning it and to my mind that is paving the way for the future when it will not be only animals that fall foul of the sacrificial sword, but also those complaining about the menu.
        Still the peoples know the governance parties pedigree over the last four decades so this must be the way they want it.

  66. Iranian prosecutors extend Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s furlough from prison. 20 May 2020 • 11:40am.

    Iranian authorities have extended Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe’s furlough from prison pending a decision on clemency, her family said.

    Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, one of several British-Iranian dual nationals who have been jailed in Iran, was among prisoners granted temporary release in March in response to the Covid-19 epidemic.

    Comically enough the Iranians appear to have realised that the UK government has no interest in returning this woman to the UK and have decided to spare themselves the expense of keeping her in gaol! Lol!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/20/iranian-prosecutors-extend-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffes-furlough/

    1. The UK government has had other worries recently so she’s not high on the agenda now. Probably when flights resume she will quietly be on one.

      1. If she is it will be because the Iranians are sick of paying for her board and lodging!

  67. Here are some snaps of our garden this arvo.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/da3084abcffc8aa251c3c91322f463e027b1534689e4d9bb231cb2b7910c09fa.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f822cf2a9ed539a16855439de8cb7a1e5ee43dd120fbde9d27a7c54ee61904f.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5ea50105e705409afebdfef37cecc662a1833405934f5f35f1141219fc2fc103.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/712767458ade4a74ec06e199372d099a67dc7342073974d9ad10d7b74c28e674.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a70101b6ef8a4d6b1013ea67c2fe69e3118c01dd7796ad5c05da2b766001ce71.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/838546624495ce67a93948e42f28870befa6b3157350cf5d5b1a697b94001d57.jpg

        1. No weeds in your garden.

          Weeds feed insects; butterflies, bees and the like, insects pollinate flowers.

          The highly manicured flower garden is too modern for the insects, adaptable though they are, you get a bit of pollination, they don’t get sufficient nourishment..

          You should always have at least a little “wilderness” in the garden.

          OK, I accept that my jungle probably gives you sufficient wilderness off-set credits.

          1. The effing garden is full of weeds, you fool. I just tried to avoid taking photographs of them.

            (Sighs….)

          2. Ah! Deliberate falsification.
            Weeds are often the most interesting bits.
            A few chateau sosraboc weeds
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/46886ef5a4d94931b884969a6d0d14c53efd24006e45baf265090a8be71b5531.jpg

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b3f7913e021cf8a482c12d4d66c3ca5aa5a2ea325843c464d0283228000b1215.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b34e9d0e688fb54b8adf07a863ad382419f1ab77bdb633ce7fd7eb5bac3409ef.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad525c16eb44236922fbf69bfdbffe4e8ed9842e46999fbc83ceba707b6f0774.jpg .

          3. A weed is a plant in the wrong place; those seem to be in the right places to me 🙂

  68. Back on-line following a couple of boaty days. Yesterday I spotted a Police transit van with about a dozen police officers inside – It didn’t look like any were wearing masks and they certainly weren’t sitting 2 metres apart. It brought to mind Social Distancing – the growing distance between one time supporters of law and oder and the current ranks of Repressionists.
    No other boats on the move so I had the waterway to Guildford to myself. There were three memorable encounters with wild life – A buzzard being mobbed by three crows, a King Fisher that flew away as I approached and then did a return fly past about 10 feet away. Finally a swan that honked – it was a Whooper Swan a bit like the one in this image.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2d2f31e893462b46cc3b1e81de92f9769443be51a54b9c582d9d30b70a68940d.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2c7bb37635a95c9d1bb9d3d1a31db907a52faaebfe19a86b74c56fc01e109f27.jpg

    1. ‘Ere – where d’ya think you are goin’, sunshine?

      Can’t be an essenchul jurney – yer nicked.

      2. I had a note from the national trust that said I could boat ossifer!

        What was delightful was a group of a dozen children ages 14-15 paddling in a lock spill way – absolutely no attempt at social distancing – although when I approached the group to operate the lock one lad pulled his T-shirt up to cover his part of his face- “That’s looks better” says I as I passed!

  69. Afternoon, all. Far too hot still to do anything outside here, so I’m waiting for the temperature to drop a bit before I go back to tackling the front border which I made a start on last night.

    We are being softened up for the raid on savings: https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2020/05/20/bank-of-england-boss-says-foolish-to-rule-out-negative-uk-interest-rates/
    I braved the heat to go to the bank to pay a bill (the facility to do which over the telephone had been withdrawn by NatWest due to making things more “convenient” – presumably not for the customers). The branch had closed for lunch, so I had to wait until they opened (they were a few minutes late doing so). Then I had to queue because they only allowed two people in at a time (and I was, lucky me, the third). Having jumped through those hoops, when I got to the counter the miserable teller told me (yet again) that they shouldn’t be doing that and I should pay over the phone. I reminded him that this was no longer possible, I didn’t have telephone banking nor internet banking (and neither did I want either facility) and pointed out that as I was there, perhaps he wouldn’t mind doing the transaction? Grudgingly he did. I only hope he’s sent the money to the right place. I’ve successfully run a bank account since I was 18 and had a credit card for pretty much the same length of time. I have seldom experienced such appalling service as I have this last year. All I can say is that the bank I am currently with is the least worst of the choices (and I’ve tried the others previously). If they close and I have to travel to get to a branch, I shall be choosing a different bank rather than staying with them.

    1. I’ve been with NatWest since I was a student and had no problems at all for years. Indeed, at one point in the 90s I managed to persuade them to refund bank charges that they levied for a quarter (as the banks did then) when I slipped a couple of pounds into the red for one day. I think service in most of the banks has slipped in the internet age, with counters closing and long waits for service if you need one.

      Last week I found that my balance wasn’t what I thought it should be so when I was in town I popped into the local branch for an over-the-counter statement. I waited. And waited. And waited. There was a customer at the only counter open and he was there for almost 15 minutes. It turned out that he was waiting for authorisation for a foreign transaction. Not one of the three staff attending to the queue of two and the occasional user of the cashpoint bothered to offer an explanation. We had to ask. I couldn’t be bothered waiting any longer so I left.

      I found the answer to my question later in the day. In the bin. I’d thrown away a receipt…

      1. I used to be with NatWest and had no problems, but they closed their branch and since I need to set up Standing Orders I need a bank with a presence on the High Street. I still have my NatWest credit card and that is what I was trying to pay. In the good old days, I would just ring the number on the statement, jump through the security hoops, input my card number and pay it. That facility is no longer available. I felt like asking the miserable teller why he thought, if I could pay over the telephone, I chose instead to go into town, wait for the branch to open, queue outside and then subject myself to his telling me I shouldn’t be there because they weren’t supposed to offer any sort of service I needed any more. Did he think I looked like a masochist?

      2. If I had asked for a statement in my branch they would have said, “we aren’t really supposed to do that”, believe it or not. I’m not making it up; that’s what they said when I asked for one when I was in there about a month ago.

  70. I’ve just seen a post on FB where someone is saying that Nigel Farage has been at sea and seen French navy escorting illegal migrants in filled rubber boats being handed over for escort to our beaches.
    They shouted to him and his crew if he films this the boat will be boarded and confiscated.
    It must be part of the ‘Brexit deal’.
    They are all in France illegally as well.
    This is completely and utterly contrived, absolutely thoughtless and extremely stupid.
    No job prospects no housings no income no English, hands out as usual.
    Is it any wonder the NHS is going down the drain.

    1. RE, I’ve just heard Farage talking about this on his LBC show this evening. Here is the video of his voyage this morning.
      Farage just received a late reply from the Home Office – usual blather with a few figures of the illegals but, and this is noteworthy, no mention of the RIB he saw and filmed with around 22 people on it.

      Farage in the Channel

      1. I’ve just tried to watch it Bob it’s this time of the evening when virgin media signal falls off its log.

        1. 319430+ up ticks,
          Evening Re,
          We in the real UKIP not the current ersatz NEc
          UKIP have been fighting the lab/lib/con pro eu coalition party for years and those supporting / voting time & again for the treacherous trio.
          They are & have always been mass uncontrolled immigration parties.

      2. No – sense of smell lost throughout the country.

        That’s how you know you have the plague…..

        1. Essentially slave labour, employed by their “relatives”.
          It’s all one Gawd-almighty scam at out expense.

          Correction, at the little people’s expense, the elite benefit from the cheap labour.

        2. If so most of it is unlikely to be spent in the UK, they get enough of everything on benefits.

    1. I thought they helped themselves to 10 grand a piece to stay at home. The bastards are having fun.

  72. That’s me for this very warm – and busy – day. Tomorrow, we may go to the garden centre (which e-mailed us to congratulate itself on being newly “open”. Though it has been for the last two weeks……. It depends, of course, on whether we can find a convincing reason to be making the journey….

    Have a jolly soirée.

    A demain.

  73. Is it only the very brave, the very beautiful or the very deluded Nottlers such as Grizzly, Caroline, Johnny Norfolk, Plum-Tart and myself, who dare to put pictures of their own faces on their avatars?

    1. I’m none of those – just prefer to keep my mug private. You can find me on Facebook if you want to see what I look like.

      1. I am sure that, like the Lady of Shallot, you have a lovely face.

        As I mentioned the other day our lawyer is very plain but he looks very much more handsome now that he is wearing a face mask.

          4. I was always on the side of the Elephant’s Child and the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake in their tussle with the crocodile in the Great Grey Green Greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees.

          6. Not exactly – I don’t think I’d be wearing so many layers of warm clothing if I was there.

      1. Good day to you Johnny

        I am sorry I left your name out. I have added it.

    3. Yup.
      I like to stay semi-incognito….except to those brave Nottlers who have met me…

    5. I use that avatar in other places where i wouldn’t want people to know my personal details.

      I have posted pictures of myself ,my garden, my bungalow and my car on here.

    6. I feel that using my own name is probably brave enough – or stupid enough. Someone has given me an iMDB entry so it’s possible to make the connection. I’ve no intention of posting any selfies till I’ve been to the hairdresser! (Next appointment 4 July. Apparently the National Federation of Hairdressers has forbidden their members working any sooner and my lady doesn’t want to risk her insurance.)

    7. Modesty and a wish not to confirm Mi5’s suspicions is reason enough one would have thought Richard!

    8. I just don’t know how to post pictures Richard you know that by now :-))

      Please,……….peeps don’t tell me how, it’s not my type of thing.

      1. Same for me, I have had it explained to me many times, but instructions do not stay in my head… not my fault I do not have a technical brain!!!

    10. A bunch of us put up photos about 2 christmases ago. I shall have to look at what I have that doesn’t scare horses.

        1. Deosn’t time fly when yr locked down! TY hadn’t seen the compilation. Grizz at least will need an update.

        3. I very much like the look of the woman in the right hand photo on the first line!

          To be honest all the Nottler girls look pretty good.

        4. Deosn’t time fly when yr locked down! TY hadn’t seen the compilation. Grizz at least will need an update.

  74. I can’t be bothered to sit through this morning’s ‘Today’ programme (if that’s where it was) to find it, but one of the presenters quoted Johnson thus: “I didn’t realise how easy it would be to take away freedoms or how difficult it would be to give them back.” I assume this is a distillation of one of BJ’s rambling moments but when did he say this? He’s correct and I don’t think he likes it. On the other hand, Corbyn will be aghast at his missed opportunity.

    1. Anything and eveything that is taken away by a bigger bully is always hard to get back, except by force.

      It doesn’t bode well.

      1. This is why the abomination that is the ‘Human Rights Act’ is so lethal. No one understood that if they can give you rights, then they are defacto excluding them.

    2. You have to validate everyting you hear ,read or see from the BBC and the rest of the media. You cannot trust the BBC to tell the clear trith or both sides of a topic.

    2. Someone in the comments made the point that the figures are not comparing like with like.

    3. Close to eigthy percent in Canada as well but the numbers are questionable because of the lack of testing.

      Perhaps we need to be cautious about CV19, we might be a lot fitter than those in care homes but we are the right age.

    4. Can’t trust any of the figures either way. They could be too low. They could be too high.

      https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/after-changing-its-counting-guidelines-colorados-confirmed-covid-19
      Colorado COVID-19 death count down almost 25%, as state differentiates ‘dying with,’ ‘dying from’
      State authorities faced criticism for classifying as COVID-19 death a man with astronomical .55 blood-alcohol content.
      the virus in that state, one that sent confirmed COVID-19 fatalities tumbling by a full 25%.

      Public health officials in the state elected to start distinguishing between individuals who died directly from the disease and those who simply died with the virus in their systems. Authorities in that state had faced criticism this week for classifying as a COVID-19 death a man whose blood-alcohol content registered an astronomical .55.

      With the new system in place, confirmed coronavirus deaths in Colorado plummeted from 1150 to 878, a drop of almost 25%.

    1. That – being blunt – it’s boring.

      Sme folk might like it – I spent the day working writing aa script helper – but the other two folk who I know are on furlough due to a lack of work did, originally like it. Then the days wore on. They then started writing scripts, bug fixing, working, basically.

      They want to work. I don’t believe they’re unusual in any way. People like being productive unless you’re a complete waster.

      1. I suspect many people do.

        But equally, I suspect that too many people are quite happy to have an all expenses paid holiday.

        If “furlough” stopped tomorrow, you should be well out of the way when the stampede back to work starts.

  77. COME INTO THE GARDEN MAUD…

    Yesterday I suggested NoTTlers may be interested in a new gardening thread.. Tips, pics and helpful hints etc.
    Many Nottlers are keen gardeners, however the Chelsea Flower Show has been cancelled so we could hold our very own NOTTLER FLOWER SHOW…
    I was disappointed when nobody took up the challenge!
    So I’ll kick off with….”Come into the Garden Maud”

    Here’s one I made earlier…

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3450a33e751d95e535e66f65b6451b030df0900b6d0c38035083ef4400936f25.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f72525dceef2219c049b24a86365519ffc7b8948faaf4440bcde4c4f1bc80f7.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f72525dceef2219c049b24a86365519ffc7b8948faaf4440bcde4c4f1bc80f7.jpg

    2. You put us all to shame. Still unable to post pics from an ipad, will open up my windows relic sometime.

      3. Try deleting your web data and cookies/history, then post. Unfortunately it does not appear to be a permanent solution, and it is a pain as it deletes other information you may have to re-do, like passwords etc.

        1. I routinely delete all the cookies that creep into the system and it does keep me logged in when I refresh but have had no luck in posting from ipad since a software upgrade! some time ago.

          1. Upgrades have messed me up in the past as well, especially when I have wanted to copy a well turned phrase or two. The iPad simply wouldn’t do it. It has got better over the last year or two though and getting a newer, more up-to-date iPad has helped.

      1. This is a real work in progress

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4678315a394ec9ac049d08a09ac0d8718c9790512d3eaae2516ef6ffd0067647.jpg

        I have been working on an overgrown fence line for the past few months, digging out some of the scrub that was there.

        Must admit tto some jelousy seeing all of these gardens in bloom, all we have so far are daffodils

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e657afa030e64955866a173911e66b887d7876952aeb170c9c85c5f112f67082.jpg
        Oh and dandelions, the bees are well fed this year.

    6. I’d love to take part in your NoTTLer Flower Show, Plum.

      If you let me know where to send them, I’ll get on to Interflora right away.

    7. Many years ago, I recall Frank Muir telling a tale about a young man who was be-smitten by young lady called Carmen who was, unfortunately, equally be-smitten by a competitor called Toothy Gordon. They were all enthusiastic members of a yacht club. When the young lady eloped with his competitor, the young man in question was so distraught that he took his own life with poison and on his death bed uttered the immortal words “Carmen, Toothy Gordon, moored”.

        1. Was that the show? It featured Frank Muir and Dennis Norden but my hazy recollection is that it was a TV show.

          1. The DT & myself used to enjoy My Word on Radio 4, but I’m not sure if it was ever transferred to television.

    9. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/081a126b25f1839cc4fbf369624cf7cb3885eb766ba15f128ba77045aa0e6e37.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/657ce5c859d821bad1c8a5aa6b805665ac7cf269db4430a06e8c6af093ccee79.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/490f76f9a9b0974e2a2dcd6ef211818f8ab27aa751b680e66b9e4acf603ccc7a.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d06df9685628c86c962aff9a9c8fa45ef45cade46a0dc68ad5ba717000188fac.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b70fd635ed998d4ef95b9d0fff8dfe416a670e5045c21a956e4188b35ece2e9e.jpg

        1. Most of the guests were always family. Most of them couldn’t be bothered to reciprocate. I don’t do them any more. Just dinners for four.

          Meet you at a micro anytime.

          1. Oh well,…….. i’d left un posted for a few minutes and tapped it in when I came back to it with out checking {;= ))

        1. Shocking isn’t it.

          Mine is 7.5 metres by 3.5 metres. Plus i have just installed the same dimension of decking behind it. Stole the space from a disused railway embankment which is never going to re-open or can be used for anything else except for wildlife.

        2. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cda19d4ba3c9223220c82fe24ba1ab59a429d16879594e326ba95431e54c602c.jpg Copse Corner (no, not Silverstone!). 17m Norway Spruce, Maple, Purple Lilac and White Lilac. I also have a mature Hazel plus Euonymus, Apple, Philadelphus, Cherry and Pear trees.

          Roses are about a month behind the UK so are in their pomp in June.

          [BTW I’ve just mown the lawn and strimmed the edges, trees and shrubs: this photograph was taken yesterday]

          3. My roses are behind in Norfolk, Grizz! Just about to come out (apart from the one I showed the other day…Gaisomething).

          4. We have a beautiful and heavily scented yellow one rather like the one you posted the other day. I must get out and take a photo of it. It’s a shared one with our next door neighbours.

      1. Look at the motor.
        One of, if not the smallest in the Mercury range.

        I very much doubt it can propel that number of people in a boat 22+ miles without constant refills of petrol.
        We’re being taken for fools.

        1. Having spent a lot of my career transferring in similar boats [never so overloaded], I can only agree that that isn’t going to get anywhere like 22 miles through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world – WTF is going on???? Your last sentence seems to be the answer!

    4. Not a lot of freeboard there, but plenty of ‘free (bed and) board’ when they arrive on shore.

  79. A few snaps of the garden at KtK’s homestead.

    Very popular refuge for the sparrows, tits and blackbirds.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/91aad0aa89705c22cda3263d847921942df1cdf6735d79551467cbe66c90a2b8.jpg

    Spud experiment – growing them in large bags as I haven’t been able to rebuild the raised bed due to you know what closing the builders’ merchants.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53d1ce85131c0913cd0569c39322d10660290434c16417809976c6230ac7d690.jpg

    Summer raspberries, lots of bees on these plants over the last few days.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/aeeef0d8740d02457331f6240211de6e6626afb3e6a16813fd12e9dae14bc5fc.jpg

    Outdoor tomatoes, carrots and courgettes. The ‘fencing’ top and sides is there to keep the bloody cats and foxes out of the bed. Already had a row of carrots scrapped up.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3a84e1cf9857b84d026f5f3d23d9454b72577165d2b76cc2447ce785dd69f395.jpg

    1. Excellent! For the last several years, we’ve been overrun with blasted cats, every new resident seems to arrive armed with them. Today one cat even started digging in my tray of lettuce 😬 . They find the tiniest patch of bare soil to do their evils in, stinkers. I try to cover bare soil with well branched fuchsia printings or bits of clematis mesh.

        1. My Mum used to manage that. We’ve never been quick enough and never see them squatting either.

      2. Get a empty spray bottle, fill it with half water and half vinegar – any cheapo stuff. Get close to any cats in your garden and give them a jolly good squirt. It doesn’t hurt them, but they will want to lick themselves dry – and they will hate the taste. Believe me, they won’t come back in a hurry!

        I did this once with a cat in the marina who insisted on coming onto the boat after food. He got a bit cheeky and tried to come down below, so I gave the chap the vinegar squirt treatment – I’ve never seen cat shoot backwards with such speed! A couple of days later I met the same cat in a completely different part of the marina; he remembered me and scarpered.

        2. Sounds fun! It reminded me of when I used to buy our boys the longest range water shooters I could find. Often kept one fully filled by the back door. Adding vinegar is a good idea.

      3. Next door’s cat had a nasty shock today; it strolled up the garden path while the dog was lying by my side. I managed to send the cat off before the dog woke up and noticed or there would have been an almighty scrap.

        1. We have a pistol that emits a sound inaudible to humans – you should see the cats scarper. Fun at the time but doesn’t stop them returning though.

      4. I was forced to construct these frames years ago to keep rabbits off my vegetable plots. However, with cats and foxes they, unlike the rabbits, can jump on to or over the frames and do their damage. Unsightly as the tops aren’t ‘made to measure’ but are what I have left over from when I had more vegetable beds.

      5. I put cocktail stick, sticking up, in mine. Seems to have worked so far (touch wood).

        ‘Morning MiB!.

    2. A belated thank you for the rhubarb you brought me this morning, Korky. Now all washed, topped and tailed, chopped into 1 inch chunks and placed in the freezer in a dish covered with cling film, ready for a rhubarb crumble making session this weekend.

      1. Haven’t had a home made rhubarb crumble for years. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

      2. We’ve been making rhubarb fool – more suited to the current weather than crumble.

    2. God talk about grim. I’m rather squeamish so couldn’t read it all. Why is there no one protecting girls from such appalling assaults.

      That old geezer walking round his garden should have given the millions raised to help girls such as these, not the useless NHS. I wonder if the way to tackle this problem is actually to sue in the civil courts for damages both police, social workers etc and perpetrators. Trying to deal with the problem politically seems hopeless.

      1. That might work if the courts were prepared to take on wokeness and ignore cries of waycism. We are back to the situation that appertained in the 1680s.

      2. Surprise surprise,heaven forfend the reality behind that cosy word “grooming ” be exposed

    1. I am in quandry,

      If I do not believe YouGov, who are pathalogical liars

      It means I believe the MSM, who are pathalogical liars

      Best if I stay away and just Nottle

      1. What should we believe , I dunno.

        Nottling is good .. A think tank of sorts .. Brains trust .. do you remember .. hang on a second , even some of them had iffy lives!

        1. 319430+ up ticks,
          Evening Tb,
          Certainly NOT any lab/lib/con politico’s, that has been the case for decades.
          All truthsayers are maligned, smeared & castigated such as Batten, Braine, Robinson,Benjamin etc,
          ALL suppressed.

    1. Good to know but the conviction still appears unsound given what I heard in the video interview with Tommy Robinson.

  88. PMQs had its moments today and Zoom questions surprised and amused me. Some of the female MPs looked as if they had just come out of school but pretty. Ian Blackford was in the dark for his first question to Boris. He had sorted it out for his second. I preferred the dark version but at least he had removed the rather drab kilt/ tartan curtain that he had hung up as background for his previous at home questions. Keith Starmer treats Boris as a guilty criminal in his forensic prosecution type interrogation of Boris.
    The close TV coverage of Boris’s face showed a rather lived in nose. At one point the speaker threatened to chuck the Health Minister out of the commons for, I think, giving Keith Starmer advice whilst he was asking his 5 questions. The Health minister shut up.

    1. My brother deals with those shipped down to Cardiff, he is in the NHS and gets to know the latest scam on how to cling on here.

    2. Shocking, and questions need asking. But if Nige can go out fishing in the Channel, why can’t I? He’s on an angling/fishing vessel. Only feathers visible, but it’s the ‘one household/distancing/meet one person’ shite that is screwing up the country.

  90. Unable to rub by on the £162 a day tax free from the HoL allowance, this little piggie has claimed the furlough giveaway. Exclusive: peer ‘milking’ taxpayer by furloughing himself and claiming Lords allowance, from the Telegraph.

    1. I expect that if a pleb worked on another job, whilst claiming furlough pay from his day job, HMRC would be down on him like a ton of bricks. I wonder what the rules – if any – say about the matter?

      1. Morning A-A – I think the government are allowing that. Some on Furlough have a second job but still got the payment for the first job and those on Furlough are now being urged to join the army of fruit pickers to boost their income. BBC Radio 4 news now reporting that more than £1billion may have been falsely claimed by gangs abusing the online identity checks rather than face to face interviews. These giveaways were an ideal fraud opportunity for criminals. Sunak has a lot to answer for.

    1. … all quibble about sending their little children to school,….

      Send your little children (and their older sisters) unto me, said Ali from the Snack Bar

    2. Taken with a telephoto lens so that the false sense of perspective makes everyone look closer than they really are.

      1. Quite! Once again our pitiful government has parted with millions of taxpayers cash, for seemingly nothing in return. Priti Useless ought to be considering her position?

        1. 319430+ up ticks,
          Hj,
          the priti one will go pretty far in the current governing mob.
          Do you not think that you muddle pitiful up with treacherous ?

    2. 19430+ up ticks,
      Evening Hj,
      Does the fact that the border force are government employees, not make one a teenie bit suspicious ?
      They are still eu
      RUBBER STAMPERS.

    3. Well you know the response to that don’t you? Breitbart is far right, the article should be ignored.

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