The British probably (data sources differ) eat more garlic per head than the French
That's the UK food revolution, right there
The revolution is incomplete. The PB Ready Mealers remain vocal and numerous.
I reckon PB is a self-selecting group of quite geeky people, mainly male and middle aged or older, who have a nerdy inability to appreciate sensual pleasures
Electoral and political minutiae, cricket, and trains are geeky? Well now I've heard everything.
It wouldn't be so necessary were it not socially unacceptable to admit to being interested in news about Lords amendments, by elections and Romanian general elections.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
According to the NY Times, the Virginia Governor's race is currently tied at zero all! This all the hallmarks of a very close race.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that - 12 minutes after the polls close - Independent candidate Princess Blanding is still hanging in there, keeping up with the leaders with her total of (checks site) zero votes.
The British probably (data sources differ) eat more garlic per head than the French
That's the UK food revolution, right there
The revolution is incomplete. The PB Ready Mealers remain vocal and numerous.
I don't know anyone who isn't interested in, and informed about, food. Literally no one. Even my elderly male relatives, who can't cook, like a good meal and will talk about food and restaurants, they just can't cook stuff
I reckon PB is a self-selecting group of quite geeky people, mainly male and middle aged or older, who have a nerdy inability to appreciate sensual pleasures
The future belongs to the foodies. Young British people are much much foodier than the old.
Indeed. I can think of only one of my friends/relatives who is food-neuter, and even he is (too) easily impressed by well-mixed drinks or vaguely inventive dishes.
PB is deeply unrepresentative in its food celibacy.
Exhibit a: a former government minister who does fantastic work in the food and farming sector, yet is intensely relaxed about the fact he can’t cook, subsists on ready meals, and is repulsed by getting jam on his fingers.
Exhibit b: an author who says the secret to his enduring slenderness is his “not liking” food.
Exhibit c: a trainspotter who thinks having three types of vinegar in the pantry is dangerously louche.
According to the NY Times, the Virginia Governor's race is currently tied at zero all! This all the hallmarks of a very close race.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that - 12 minutes after the polls close - Independent candidate Princess Blanding is still hanging in there, keeping up with the leaders with her total of (checks site) zero votes.
According to the NY Times, the Virginia Governor's race is currently tied at zero all! This all the hallmarks of a very close race.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that - 12 minutes after the polls close - Independent candidate Princess Blanding is still hanging in there, keeping up with the leaders with her total of (checks site) zero votes.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
Night all. Hopefully I am a few quids up if Youngkin wins
Hopefully you should know whether you're up or down if he wins before you go to bed.
Virginia took some steps to speed up the count but it is still expected to drag out.
From NYT live blog - Fairfax County is delayed in reporting its early vote ballots. We do not know when we are expecting those ballots to be counted, but it will not be by the self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline.
Looks like Youngkin will win the Virginia governorship then based on the early returns and exit polls. That will be encouraging news for the GOP in the first significant post Trump elections.
However we must also remember Republican Bob McDonnell won the Virginia governorship in 2009 in Obama's first year in office. While that was the first sign the GOP would retake the House the following year it did not mean much in terms of the presidential election in 3 years time.
Nonetheless now Trump is out of the Oval Office I would expect to see a GOP revival at least in Congress and at state level
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
Language connects us to North America and Oceania. But history links us to Old Europe.
The newness of the new world is alien. Much of it is synthetic: roads and soulless sprawl, rather than the charm and intensity of European cities.
Night all. Hopefully I am a few quids up if Youngkin wins
Hopefully you should know whether you're up or down if he wins before you go to bed.
Virginia took some steps to speed up the count but it is still expected to drag out.
From NYT live blog - Fairfax County is delayed in reporting its early vote ballots. We do not know when we are expecting those ballots to be counted, but it will not be by the self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline.
It was a joke. The speed of the count doesn't affect whether he's up or down if he wins.
Night all. Hopefully I am a few quids up if Youngkin wins
Hopefully you should know whether you're up or down if he wins before you go to bed.
Virginia took some steps to speed up the count but it is still expected to drag out.
From NYT live blog - Fairfax County is delayed in reporting its early vote ballots. We do not know when we are expecting those ballots to be counted, but it will not be by the self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline.
It was a joke. The speed of the count doesn't affect whether he's up or down if he wins.
UNLESS he got staked by a loan shark . . . with a VERY high rate of daily (or hourly) compound interest!
9% reported, and Youngkin leads McAuliffe 52.7 vs 46.5%. Nothing in from Fairfax yet. Also, not clear if these are mostly early and postal (which would favour Dems) or on the day (the opposite).
The British probably (data sources differ) eat more garlic per head than the French
That's the UK food revolution, right there
The revolution is incomplete. The PB Ready Mealers remain vocal and numerous.
I don't know anyone who isn't interested in, and informed about, food. Literally no one. Even my elderly male relatives, who can't cook, like a good meal and will talk about food and restaurants, they just can't cook stuff
I reckon PB is a self-selecting group of quite geeky people, mainly male and middle aged or older, who have a nerdy inability to appreciate sensual pleasures
The future belongs to the foodies. Young British people are much much foodier than the old.
Indeed. I can think of only one of my friends/relatives who is food-neuter, and even he is (too) easily impressed by well-mixed drinks or vaguely inventive dishes.
PB is deeply unrepresentative in its food celibacy.
Exhibit a: a former government minister who does fantastic work in the food and farming sector, yet is intensely relaxed about the fact he can’t cook, subsists on ready meals, and is repulsed by getting jam on his fingers.
Exhibit b: an author who says the secret to his enduring slenderness is his “not liking” food.
Exhibit c: a trainspotter who thinks having three types of vinegar in the pantry is dangerously louche.
There are plenty of foodies here, and seeing the rise of junk food by Deliveroo to the young, they ain't foodies in the main!
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
The British probably (data sources differ) eat more garlic per head than the French
That's the UK food revolution, right there
The revolution is incomplete. The PB Ready Mealers remain vocal and numerous.
I don't know anyone who isn't interested in, and informed about, food. Literally no one. Even my elderly male relatives, who can't cook, like a good meal and will talk about food and restaurants, they just can't cook stuff
I reckon PB is a self-selecting group of quite geeky people, mainly male and middle aged or older, who have a nerdy inability to appreciate sensual pleasures
The future belongs to the foodies. Young British people are much much foodier than the old.
Indeed. I can think of only one of my friends/relatives who is food-neuter, and even he is (too) easily impressed by well-mixed drinks or vaguely inventive dishes.
PB is deeply unrepresentative in its food celibacy.
Exhibit a: a former government minister who does fantastic work in the food and farming sector, yet is intensely relaxed about the fact he can’t cook, subsists on ready meals, and is repulsed by getting jam on his fingers.
Exhibit b: an author who says the secret to his enduring slenderness is his “not liking” food.
Exhibit c: a trainspotter who thinks having three types of vinegar in the pantry is dangerously louche.
There are plenty of foodies here, and seeing the rise of junk food by Deliveroo to the young, they ain't foodies in the main!
Plenty of foodies but also a lot of food-neuter.
(p.s. I said nothing about young people, that was someone else)
9% reported, and Youngkin leads McAuliffe 52.7 vs 46.5%. Nothing in from Fairfax yet. Also, not clear if these are mostly early and postal (which would favour Dems) or on the day (the opposite).
I guess in theory somebody could be doing Precinct by presinket comparisons to 4 years ago, otherwise we are realy at the guessing stage right now!!
I do not that the betfare has moved a bit in Youngkins direction, in the last hour, but still not overwhelmingly so.
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
9% reported, and Youngkin leads McAuliffe 52.7 vs 46.5%. Nothing in from Fairfax yet. Also, not clear if these are mostly early and postal (which would favour Dems) or on the day (the opposite).
Yes, the situation re: which votes are reported first is clearly mixed. Some counties with just handfuls reported, my guess is these are Election Day votes from one or a few precincts. Other counties reporting thousands, which could mean they are all or mostly Early Voting ballots.
Note that VA law was changed authorizing counties to begin processing EV ballots before the polls close, so these returns could be reported on Election Night. But it's first time, for example note that Fairfax had planned to report by 8pm local time, is now saying the EV results will be delayed.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Wales do. Their mutual predilection for sheep is well known.
New Zealand is to Australia, what Wales is to England.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I have visited NZ several times and agree with you
9% reported, and Youngkin leads McAuliffe 52.7 vs 46.5%. Nothing in from Fairfax yet. Also, not clear if these are mostly early and postal (which would favour Dems) or on the day (the opposite).
Yes, the situation re: which votes are reported first is clearly mixed. Some counties with just handfuls reported, my guess is these are Election Day votes from one or a few precincts. Other counties reporting thousands, which could mean they are all or mostly Early Voting ballots.
Note that VA law was changed authorizing counties to begin processing EV ballots before the polls close, so these returns could be reported on Election Night. But it's first time, for example note that Fairfax had planned to report by 8pm local time, is now saying the EV results will be delayed.
Quite a lot of Loudon votes in. Biden won Loudon by 25 points when he only won the state by 10. Currently, McAuliffe just leads by 6. Looks unpromising for him.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
9% reported, and Youngkin leads McAuliffe 52.7 vs 46.5%. Nothing in from Fairfax yet. Also, not clear if these are mostly early and postal (which would favour Dems) or on the day (the opposite).
Yes, the situation re: which votes are reported first is clearly mixed. Some counties with just handfuls reported, my guess is these are Election Day votes from one or a few precincts. Other counties reporting thousands, which could mean they are all or mostly Early Voting ballots.
Note that VA law was changed authorizing counties to begin processing EV ballots before the polls close, so these returns could be reported on Election Night. But it's first time, for example note that Fairfax had planned to report by 8pm local time, is now saying the EV results will be delayed.
Quite a lot of Loudon votes in. Biden won Loudon by 25 points when he only won the state by 10. Currently, McAuliffe just leads by 6. Looks unpromising for him.
...although those are mostly election day votes (better for Reps). There's a good oveview by vote type here:
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, Ireland is culturally the country closest to the UK. Although in law it is not a “foreign” country (Ireland Act 1949, s.2(1))
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
We're now 23% in, and it looks very positive for Youngkin. With one big proviso:
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Yeah, a third of us are Polynesian 🙄
72% of New Zealanders are still of white European ancestry (most of those from the British isles), plus we have a growing non white population ourselves anyway, especially in London and our biggest cities
It’s still early in Virginia. Youngkin has an early lead. That may be deceptive. So far, we mainly have heavily Republican Election Day vote. Over all, 12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes.
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
We're now 23% in, and it looks very positive for Youngkin. With one big proviso:
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
Mmm, that doesn’t make sense or maybe I am being particularly dumb. 23% of the vote is in but only 12% of Election Day votes / 5% etc
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
We're now 23% in, and it looks very positive for Youngkin. With one big proviso:
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
Mmm, that doesn’t make sense or maybe I am being particularly dumb. 23% of the vote is in but only 12% of Election Day votes / 5% etc
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
We're now 23% in, and it looks very positive for Youngkin. With one big proviso:
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
Mmm, that doesn’t make sense or maybe I am being particularly dumb. 23% of the vote is in but only 12% of Election Day votes / 5% etc
According to https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20211102/statewide/ the current figure is 26.7% of precincts reporting election-day votes and5.2% of early votes. The first figure doesn't however seem to mean 26.% of election-day votes - some precincts are very thinly-populated.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
I would have to disagree with this. The majority of British towns are pretty good from a cultural point of view. Even in many former mining/industrial areas there are usually interesting things going on in terms of cultural festivals, museums, galleries, etc.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or with large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed with a great deal of wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
So, I've kind of gone into this evening expecting Youngkin to win by four to five points, so I'm also likely to twist the results to suit my existing preconceptions.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Just looking at the NYT site, McAuliffe is leading 53-47 in Loudoun with 76pc of the vote in. Now, hard to tell, but assuming the remainder are in-day votes, I’d say that makes Loudoun probably tied between the two. If that is the case, I think Youngkin has done it, especially as with 70pc in, it looks like he has won in Chesterfield, which is what he needed to do.
We're now 23% in, and it looks very positive for Youngkin. With one big proviso:
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
Mmm, that doesn’t make sense or maybe I am being particularly dumb. 23% of the vote is in but only 12% of Election Day votes / 5% etc
According to https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20211102/statewide/ the current figure is 26.7% of precincts reporting election-day votes and5.2% of early votes. The first figure doesn't however seem to mean 26.% of election-day votes - some precincts are very thinly-populated.
That would make sense.
Looking at the NYT site, looks like Youngkin has big leads in Chesterfield and Virginia Beach. That is definitely a big plus for him.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon and nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
But that is not the same as a lack of cultural and social infrastructure. Plymouth has a great cultural infrastructure. Many Cornish town and villages have lots of culture (St Ives, Mousehole spring to mind). And pretty much everywhere in the country has country pubs. We truly underestimate the social value of pubs in Britain - nowhere else (outside perhaps Ireland) can replicate the pub.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
Ireland
I covered Ireland earlier as the possible only closer nation than New Zealand to us but Ireland has its own Head of State, we share the Queen with New Zealand and Ireland is still in the EU
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon and nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
But that is not the same as a lack of cultural and social infrastructure. Plymouth has a great cultural infrastructure. Many Cornish town and villages have lots of culture (St Ives, Mousehole spring to mind). And pretty much everywhere in the country has country pubs. We truly underestimate the social value of pubs in Britain - nowhere else (outside perhaps Ireland) can replicate the pub.
Does Plymouth really have better cultural infrastructure than Auckland?
There are plenty of bars and pubs in New Zealand too
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
I would have to disagree with this. The majority of British towns are pretty good from a cultural point of view. Even in many former mining/industrial areas there are usually interesting things going on in terms of cultural festivals, museums, galleries, etc.
Also: pubs
Something as basic as that: pubs
The UK is laced with many thousands of historic, dangerous, beloved, iconic, forgotten, ugly and beautiful pubs, in every town and city, and most villages. They are a huge reservoir of cultural and social infrastructure
Likewise, churches, parks, stately homes, castles, megaliths, cathedrals. You can't move a mile in Britain without coming across something historic, and precious, and which someone somewhere cares about deeply. It is the upside of living in a crowded (too crowded) and ancient country.
In this regard we are much more like France or Italy that Australia or America. Vast tracts of Australia are, still, untouched, to a quite bewildering extent for a European. There is no tapestry of human memory enmeshed with the landscape
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
Ireland
I covered Ireland earlier as the possible only closer nation than New Zealand to us but Ireland has its own Head of State, we share the Queen with New Zealand and Ireland is still in the EU
Not sure that Head of State or EU membership is that relevant to cultural proximity. How the peoples instinctively think and react to situations is more what I would go with. And on that parameter, there is next to nothing between the UK and Ireland.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
I would have to disagree with this. The majority of British towns are pretty good from a cultural point of view. Even in many former mining/industrial areas there are usually interesting things going on in terms of cultural festivals, museums, galleries, etc.
Exactly right. @hyufd’s home town of Epping has more social and cultural infrastructure in its tight bounds than most of the interior of North Island put together.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or with large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed with a great deal of wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
You fundamentally misunderstand human society and human nature. Which is a bit alarming, but maybe not entirely surprising
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon and nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
But that is not the same as a lack of cultural and social infrastructure. Plymouth has a great cultural infrastructure. Many Cornish town and villages have lots of culture (St Ives, Mousehole spring to mind). And pretty much everywhere in the country has country pubs. We truly underestimate the social value of pubs in Britain - nowhere else (outside perhaps Ireland) can replicate the pub.
Does Plymouth really have better cultural infrastructure than Auckland?
There are plenty of bars and pubs in New Zealand too
Plymouth has an excellent theatre and gets great music acts. I don't know Aukland that well, but Aukland should be compared with London, not Plymouth. Does Plymouth have better culture than Christchurch or Dunedin. Undoubtedly.
Buxton is in the middle of nowhere, but the festival there is one of the best in the country, attracting world class authors, musicians, performers, etc.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
I would have to disagree with this. The majority of British towns are pretty good from a cultural point of view. Even in many former mining/industrial areas there are usually interesting things going on in terms of cultural festivals, museums, galleries, etc.
Also: pubs
Something as basic as that: pubs
The UK is laced with many thousands of historic, dangerous, beloved, iconic, forgotten, ugly and beautiful pubs, in every town and city, and most villages. They are a huge reservoir of cultural and social infrastructure
Likewise, churches, parks, stately homes, castles, megaliths, cathedrals. You can't move a mile in Britain without coming across something historic, and precious, and which someone somewhere cares about deeply. It is the upside of living in a crowded (too crowded) and ancient country.
In this regard we are much more like France or Italy that Australia or America. Vast tracts of Australia are, still, untouched, to a quite bewildering extent for a European. There is no tapestry of human memory enmeshed with the landscape
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
Ireland
I covered Ireland earlier as the possible only closer nation than New Zealand to us but Ireland has its own Head of State, we share the Queen with New Zealand and Ireland is still in the EU
Not sure that Head of State or EU membership is that relevant to cultural proximity. How the peoples instinctively think and react to situations is more what I would go with. And on that parameter, there is next to nothing between the UK and Ireland.
I would put Australia ahead of Ireland in terms of cultural similarity to the UK. Historic Catholicism does make Ireland slightly yet significantly different
I've never been to NZ so I cannot talk of it
I would rank the nations (in terms of similarity to Britain):
Australia (NZ here?) Ireland Canada USA Western Europe (with Holland, Denmark and the Nordics top)
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
In NZ, they can't say the "litter E" properly. In Ireland, they can't say the "letter Oi" properly
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
Ireland
I covered Ireland earlier as the possible only closer nation than New Zealand to us but Ireland has its own Head of State, we share the Queen with New Zealand and Ireland is still in the EU
Not sure that Head of State or EU membership is that relevant to cultural proximity. How the peoples instinctively think and react to situations is more what I would go with. And on that parameter, there is next to nothing between the UK and Ireland.
I would put Australia ahead of Ireland in terms of cultural similarity to the UK. Historic Catholicism does make Ireland slightly yet significantly different
I've never been to NZ so I cannot talk of it
I would rank the nations (in terms of similarity to Britain):
Australia (NZ here?) Ireland Canada USA Western Europe (with Holland, Denmark and the Nordics top)
I was going on the ease of socializing with expat communities as I've experienced it living abroad most of my life. I'd put it Ireland, NZ, Aus, Canada, US, Dutch, Swedes, Danes and then the rest is so different it makes little sense to order them.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
I would have to disagree with this. The majority of British towns are pretty good from a cultural point of view. Even in many former mining/industrial areas there are usually interesting things going on in terms of cultural festivals, museums, galleries, etc.
Also: pubs
Something as basic as that: pubs
The UK is laced with many thousands of historic, dangerous, beloved, iconic, forgotten, ugly and beautiful pubs, in every town and city, and most villages. They are a huge reservoir of cultural and social infrastructure
Likewise, churches, parks, stately homes, castles, megaliths, cathedrals. You can't move a mile in Britain without coming across something historic, and precious, and which someone somewhere cares about deeply. It is the upside of living in a crowded (too crowded) and ancient country.
In this regard we are much more like France or Italy that Australia or America. Vast tracts of Australia are, still, untouched, to a quite bewildering extent for a European. There is no tapestry of human memory enmeshed with the landscape
See my post 3 above yours on pubs.
Yes, we absolutely agree
Brits take their densely storied, richly coloured, historically intricate landscapes and cityscapes, with their age-old networks, for granted. Many many countries do not have what the UK has. Only favoured areas of western mainland Europe and maybe a few parts of east Asia (Japan?) can claim the same
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon and nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
But that is not the same as a lack of cultural and social infrastructure. Plymouth has a great cultural infrastructure. Many Cornish town and villages have lots of culture (St Ives, Mousehole spring to mind). And pretty much everywhere in the country has country pubs. We truly underestimate the social value of pubs in Britain - nowhere else (outside perhaps Ireland) can replicate the pub.
Does Plymouth really have better cultural infrastructure than Auckland?
There are plenty of bars and pubs in New Zealand too
I drove hundreds of miles around North Island over three weeks and found maybe four decent pubs. It’s half a world away.
Surprising that so many in the the UK think we have more in common with the US than we do with Europe. For those of us who know and have worked in both the idea is ridiculous.
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Though the parochial Remainers who can't look beyond their own tiny continental horizons fail to realise that the foreign nation that Britons are most associated and have most in common with is Australia.
No, we have culturally more in common with New Zealand than Australia or the US or continental Europe
Have you ever been to NZ? It’s only sort of like Britain in that it has a similar climate and speaks English. But, it’s not really much like Britain otherwise. It’s disperse and remote and lacks much in the way of social and cultural infrastructure. Its towns and villages are almost entirely soulless and utilitarian.
I am not saying it is an exact replica of the UK, most countries are distinct from each other.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
This is bizarre nonsense
Name one other country culturally closer to the UK than New Zealand then? Ireland I have already covered
I was disputing your frankly weird 2nd paragraph, claiming that most of Britain lacks social and cultural infrastructure
Once you get outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bath and maybe a few other places like Stratford on Avon nowhere is exactly a great magnet for tourists or with large numbers of cultural attractions or indeed with a great deal of wealth beyond parts of the Home Counties and the Cotswolds
You fundamentally misunderstand human society and human nature. Which is a bit alarming, but maybe not entirely surprising
We're not talking about tourist traffic, FFS
Yes, I’m not clear why my term ‘social and cultural infrastructure’ has been interpreted as ‘tourist attractions’. Lost in translation.
This could be quite a significant election - in the UK too. This is maybe the first time the Right has weaponised Wokeness, and the Culture Wars, and used them to clear, decisive advantage
This could be quite a significant election - in the UK too. This is maybe the first time the Right has weaponised Wokeness, and the Culture Wars, and used them to clear, decisive advantage
The Dem progressives will blame it on McAuliffe who will be portrayed as the HRC of Virginia.
It’s a fairly meaningless exercise to compare England with other countries, as it’s quite unique. It’s like saying France is like Italy. Well up to a point, but it’s not really like Italy. Italy is like Italy and France is like France.
England is sod all like New Zealand for all that it is more like New Zealand than it is, say, Eritrea.
It’s a fairly meaningless exercise to compare England with other countries, as it’s quite unique. It’s like saying France is like Italy. Well up to a point, but it’s not really like Italy. Italy is like Italy and France is like France.
England is sod all like New Zealand for all that it is more like New Zealand than it is, say, Eritrea.
It's not meaningless. For example, it tells you where you could be happy as an expat
I had this debate with a Swiss businessman when I was in Switzerland in September. His thesis was that "you can never be truly comfortable or at ease in any country other than your own". He was speaking as a worldly Swiss man who has lived in multiple countries
I disagreed. I told him as a Brit I felt entirely at home in Australia. At ease. I know the language, the sports, the politics, the jokes, I get virtually all of it. They go down the pub. They argue about cricket. We all know Shakespeare
Australia is no more alien to me than the Hebrides or north Norfolk. It feels like a unique bit of Britain with a different climate (that is not meant to be patronising)
Ireland is almost that yet there is something more alien in the culture, which must be the legacy of Catholicism (and, now, EU membership)
France feels very foreign. Ditto Spain, Germany or Italy. I am not automatically at ease in these countries, beautiful and cultured as they are. I LOVE holidaying in these places, but that is different
Sure, it’s not very densely populated. That’s kind of the point?
Greater Wellington would be lucky to amount to half a million souls. It’s about the size of Bournemouth. But Wellington has Peter Jackson and Weta Workshops, a relatively famous “dub” scene, and it’s own horror comedy (currently available on Now TV).
There’s certainly no “there” in Hamilton, Palmerston North, Whangarei, Hastings or Tauranga although the latter has a nice beach.
But there’s all sorts of other charms. Art Deco Napier; colonial Russell; goldrush Dunedin, the vineyards of Blenheim; the quaint remoteness of outposts like Greymouth, Hokitika, Gisborne, or Oamaru.
Auckland is a proper city, new world yes, but with several hundred coves, beaches and extinct volcanoes to explore and a very decent restaurant scene.
Comments
Still, right now, have to say that I expect a Youngkin win.
It wouldn't be so necessary were it not socially unacceptable to admit to being interested in news about Lords amendments, by elections and Romanian general elections.
BUT we still have to see how the in-betweens vote.
Also, am not sure IF exit polling also was done sampling early voting?
The gulf between the parochial 'Leavers' and the more cosmopolitan Remainers is getting wider by the day. So much so I doubt the gulf will ever be bridged
Official results page
First vote drop. He's up 3,933 to 2,246 as we see a bunch of rural counties drop early votes.
PB is deeply unrepresentative in its food celibacy.
Exhibit a: a former government minister who does fantastic work in the food and farming sector, yet is intensely relaxed about the fact he can’t cook, subsists on ready meals, and is repulsed by getting jam on his fingers.
Exhibit b: an author who says the secret to his enduring slenderness is his “not liking” food.
Exhibit c: a trainspotter who thinks having three types of vinegar in the pantry is dangerously louche.
https://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2021 November General/Site/Governor.html
Youngkin with a big lead. (11 of 2855 precincts reporting)
Princess Blanding is way off the pace now, I'm afraid, on just 56 votes.
910 Youngkin
Actual votes so far..
Via CNN
Pretty sure I'm not going to make it to the end of this one.
10,525
McAuliffe
4,382
But I expect a 52/53% share for Youngkin.
Catch you all tomorrow.
From NYT live blog - Fairfax County is delayed in reporting its early vote ballots. We do not know when we are expecting those ballots to be counted, but it will not be by the self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline.
65,952
McAuliffe
58,335
However we must also remember Republican Bob McDonnell won the Virginia governorship in 2009 in Obama's first year in office. While that was the first sign the GOP would retake the House the following year it did not mean much in terms of the presidential election in 3 years time.
Nonetheless now Trump is out of the Oval Office I would expect to see a GOP revival at least in Congress and at state level
If you live in a London flat, not so much.
The newness of the new world is alien. Much of it is synthetic: roads and soulless sprawl, rather than the charm and intensity of European cities.
126,240
McAuliffe
113,053
What’s your view @rcs1000 at this stage? I think it’s looking good for Youngkin but that may be my bias
(p.s. I said nothing about young people, that was someone else)
I do not that the betfare has moved a bit in Youngkins direction, in the last hour, but still not overwhelmingly so.
My gut is that most of the votes counted are early (and therefore good for the Dems), but are from mostly rural areas (which is good for the Republicans).
I'm sticking with Youngkin by 4-5, but that may change radically as the evening progresses.
Note that VA law was changed authorizing counties to begin processing EV ballots before the polls close, so these returns could be reported on Election Night. But it's first time, for example note that Fairfax had planned to report by 8pm local time, is now saying the EV results will be delayed.
New Zealand is to Australia, what Wales is to England.
However culturally, in its political and social views, in terms of average wealth per head, in terms of shared language and culture I would say New Zealand is closer to the UK than any other nation on earth with the possible exception of Ireland. However we also share the Queen with New Zealand unlike with Ireland and we are also outside the EU unlike Ireland now.
Plus once you get outside of London and Edinburgh and Bath and Oxbridge and a few pretty Cotswold villages most of our market and industrial towns and villages and indeed most of our cities are not huge centres of culture either or with huge amounts of social and cultural infrastructure.
https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20211102/statewide/
"12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes"
It’s still early in Virginia. Youngkin has an early lead. That may be deceptive. So far, we mainly have heavily Republican Election Day vote. Over all, 12 percent of Election Day votes have been counted by the state, compared to just 5 percent of early and 2 percent of absentee votes.
It is not % of total vote - I think it is usually % of precincts - and precincts can vary in size and of course have different turnout.
Looking at the NYT site, looks like Youngkin has big leads in Chesterfield and Virginia Beach. That is definitely a big plus for him.
There are plenty of bars and pubs in New Zealand too
Something as basic as that: pubs
The UK is laced with many thousands of historic, dangerous, beloved, iconic, forgotten, ugly and beautiful pubs, in every town and city, and most villages. They are a huge reservoir of cultural and social infrastructure
Likewise, churches, parks, stately homes, castles, megaliths, cathedrals. You can't move a mile in Britain without coming across something historic, and precious, and which someone somewhere cares about deeply. It is the upside of living in a crowded (too crowded) and ancient country.
In this regard we are much more like France or Italy that Australia or America. Vast tracts of Australia are, still, untouched, to a quite bewildering extent for a European. There is no tapestry of human memory enmeshed with the landscape
We're not talking about tourist traffic, FFS
See my post 3 above yours on pubs.
I've never been to NZ so I cannot talk of it
I would rank the nations (in terms of similarity to Britain):
Australia
(NZ here?)
Ireland
Canada
USA
Western Europe (with Holland, Denmark and the Nordics top)
Brits take their densely storied, richly coloured, historically intricate landscapes and cityscapes, with their age-old networks, for granted. Many many countries do not have what the UK has. Only favoured areas of western mainland Europe and maybe a few parts of east Asia (Japan?) can claim the same
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.187090973
This could be quite a significant election - in the UK too. This is maybe the first time the Right has weaponised Wokeness, and the Culture Wars, and used them to clear, decisive advantage
England is sod all like New Zealand for all that it is more like New Zealand than it is, say, Eritrea.
I had this debate with a Swiss businessman when I was in Switzerland in September. His thesis was that "you can never be truly comfortable or at ease in any country other than your own". He was speaking as a worldly Swiss man who has lived in multiple countries
I disagreed. I told him as a Brit I felt entirely at home in Australia. At ease. I know the language, the sports, the politics, the jokes, I get virtually all of it. They go down the pub. They argue about cricket. We all know Shakespeare
Australia is no more alien to me than the Hebrides or north Norfolk. It feels like a unique bit of Britain with a different climate (that is not meant to be patronising)
Ireland is almost that yet there is something more alien in the culture, which must be the legacy of Catholicism (and, now, EU membership)
France feels very foreign. Ditto Spain, Germany or Italy. I am not automatically at ease in these countries, beautiful and cultured as they are. I LOVE holidaying in these places, but that is different
And on that uncontroversial note, goodnight
I simply don’t recognise @Anabobazina’s picture.
Sure, it’s not very densely populated.
That’s kind of the point?
Greater Wellington would be lucky to amount to half a million souls. It’s about the size of Bournemouth. But Wellington has Peter Jackson and Weta Workshops, a relatively famous “dub” scene, and it’s own horror comedy (currently available on Now TV).
Bournemouth has a few tired guest houses.
There’s certainly no “there” in Hamilton, Palmerston North, Whangarei, Hastings or Tauranga although the latter has a nice beach.
But there’s all sorts of other charms. Art Deco Napier; colonial Russell; goldrush Dunedin, the vineyards of Blenheim; the quaint remoteness of outposts like Greymouth, Hokitika, Gisborne, or Oamaru.
Auckland is a proper city, new world yes, but with several hundred coves, beaches and extinct volcanoes to explore and a very decent restaurant scene.