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BREAKING

I can report that Whitstable is rather charming, in the mild spring sunshine. In a gritty, authentic English coastal way

We holidayed there in 2022. Had a bad oyster.

Well, I’ve just ordered nine rocks and natives at the Royal Whitstable Oyster Company, so I’m hoping you’re wrong!

It’s a really pleasant gaff, like a really good oyster bar in Brittany mixed with a Cornish gastropub. But in Kent

I might come to Whitstable more often

I'm from Whitstable, well the nearby village of Blean anyway, and am typing this from the family beach hut just past the Hotel Continental over on Tankerton Slopes. I'd give you directions and offer you a beer but I guess I'm in at least the bottom 3 of PBers you'd want to meet in person.

In case of interest, you're next door to where I lost my virginity, back of the Whitstable umbrella, in May 1990. Good times

You are really lucky! It’s a rather pleasant place. Cheers!

And no you are not on any list, I generally don’t meet any PBers because I’ve discovered that if I do - eg @rcs1000 and @Peter_the_Punter - I end up liking them, and then I can’t really insult and abuse them on the site. And I love hurling insults and abuse, obvs

I shall however make a pilgrimage to your cherry popping spot

If you want to reciprocate, mine was Room 247 in Ramsay Hall of Residence, London W1, deep in Fitzrovia, my first year at UCL

She sounds posh.

Iran quite flagrantly calling Trump's bluff.

Iran's foreign ministry denies Tehran-Washington talks
published at 13:08
Iran's foreign ministry has issued a statement, saying: "We deny what US President Donald Trump said regarding negotiations taking place between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Quoted by CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the foreign ministry adds: "The Islamic Republic of Iran adheres to its position rejecting any type of negotiations before achieving Iran's goals from the war.”

Don't bluff. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. America can and should follow through, but it is led by a fool.

Again, you have zero idea if any of this is true. Why the F would you trust what the Iranian regime tells you? They are as inclined to crazy bluster as Trump, and considerably more evil in their intents and doings

At the same time we don’t instantly believe Trump that talks did take place, and have half a thought that stock market insider dealing is making people rich.

Well, yes. Don’t trust either of them, especially during a war

This is the case in any war, in fact. Truth is the first casualty, etc

It’s still the case that a cut to electricity taxes is actually progressive (and far more so compared with fuel duty), because it’s the main form of energy poor households use (smaller homes etc). That is changing rapidly though, by 2030 I think you might be right.

Abolishing VAT on old ICE repairs/parts would be a justifiable policy, imo, and mitigate some of the inequity that is coming. Dura_Ace in dreamland.

Given the motor industry's systemic addiction to fraud that will just result in garages having a K-reg Micra parked out front that has every possible part and repair assigned to it.

If we're pretending to give a shit about the cost of transport for low earners, which nobody really does, then just raising the zero income tax bracket would be a far better way to do it than trying to halt or reverse the inexorable rise of the BEV.

Most OEMs have greatly curtailed spare part support for older ICE models anyway because it was costing them a fortune and keeping old cars on the road actually hurts them. So anything more than a very minor repair on a 10+ year old car will rely on aftermarket shit or scrapyard roulette.

The last few weeks have definitely moved the market and lease prices on BEVs have jumped significantly which generally indicates a lessee stampede to those models.

Low earners can use public transport so there are fewer cars on the road to bother the well off.

Iran quite flagrantly calling Trump's bluff.

Iran's foreign ministry denies Tehran-Washington talks
published at 13:08
Iran's foreign ministry has issued a statement, saying: "We deny what US President Donald Trump said regarding negotiations taking place between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Quoted by CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the foreign ministry adds: "The Islamic Republic of Iran adheres to its position rejecting any type of negotiations before achieving Iran's goals from the war.”

Don't bluff. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. America can and should follow through, but it is led by a fool.

Trump has a history of following through.

BREAKING

I can report that Whitstable is rather charming, in the mild spring sunshine. In a gritty, authentic English coastal way

We holidayed there in 2022. Had a bad oyster.

Well, I’ve just ordered nine rocks and natives at the Royal Whitstable Oyster Company, so I’m hoping you’re wrong!

It’s a really pleasant gaff, like a really good oyster bar in Brittany mixed with a Cornish gastropub. But in Kent

I might come to Whitstable more often

Aren't you the last person in London to have discovered Whitstable?

Yes. But I rather like the fact I can still unearth HIDDEN GEMS in my own backyard. There are always new places to explore. Even in Kent

Next week our global travel correspondent continues his series of "BACKYARD HIDDEN GEMS" with the surprise realisation that Tower Bridge is an extraordinary bridge, which even lifts up, just IMAGINE!

The following week our global travel correspondent discovers a hidden Palace in Westminster with, get this, a big CLOCK TOWER.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
·
39m
Trump gave the Iranians an ultimatum. They called his bluff. He's backed down. That's it. No "3-D Chess". No masterful deployment of "The Mad Man Strategy". Trump has caved.

https://x.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

See my prior remark. The fact is Dan has no idea if this is true. The only people that do are in the White House and at the top of the Iranian regime

Given that both sides have a penchant and a motivation for lying we will likely never find out

Some people are far more interested in Trump being seen to be defeated than they are the Iranian regime.

Like, duh. Both are utterly vile but little doubt as to which poses the bigger long term threat to global peace and security, IMHO.

Fascinatingly, I genuinely don’t know which of the two belligerents you mean

For me, the Iranians are obviously the greater threat (and the greater evil). If they get very close to nukes, without regime change, we will have nuclear war, for sure. Israel will attempt a First Strike

But given your politics perhaps you mean the USA

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
·
39m
Trump gave the Iranians an ultimatum. They called his bluff. He's backed down. That's it. No "3-D Chess". No masterful deployment of "The Mad Man Strategy". Trump has caved.

https://x.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

See my prior remark. The fact is Dan has no idea if this is true. The only people that do are in the White House and at the top of the Iranian regime

Given that both sides have a penchant and a motivation for lying we will likely never find out

Some people are far more interested in Trump being seen to be defeated than they are the Iranian regime.

Yes. It’s another symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Trump must always be lying therefore in this case the Iranians - the fecking Iranians! - MUST be telling the truth

Both the Iranians and Trump talk Shi’ite.

I think is a terrible outcome as I feared this will embolden the Iranian regime to crush the revolt at home.

A lot more innocents are going to die.

Trouble is, there are no good options from here, or even mediocre ones.

Which is why smarter leaders than Trump and Bibi wouldn't have started this whole thing.

(If you want the Jesus line about a king weighing up forces before attacking, I'm sure you can find it yourself.)

Every single coastal town in the UK should have a version of The Royal Whitstable Oyster Company. A breezy airy lovely old seaside gastropubby restaurant, where you can reliably get good oysters (and everything else seafood)

Britain has some of the very best seafood on the planet. It’s mad that it’s so hard to get, in Britain

I remember some years ago having absolutely delicious crustaceans fresh off the BBQ in Portugal and, I noticed on the boxes, fresh off the boat from Oban in Scotland where they had been harvested. If you found them for sale in this country at all they were some rare delicacy at multiple times the price. It was more than a bit frustrating. Its got a bit better, there are more seafood restaurants than there were but we could still do a lot better.

When I stay on Barra, there is a sizeable processing plant there with many of the wagons heading on the ferry to Oban with Spanish plates.