The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
Which second jobs for MPs do the public approve of?
People don’t like bankers? 😭
Banker is definitely the odd one out of the most disliked professions. I know they can be disliked, but don’t deserve to be grouped with lobbyists and the media.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Doesn't this chart exclude loads of bands with members from multiple counties ?
Edit: Hold on, why does Emerson, Lake & Palmer get Dorset but the Rolling Stones are excluded from Kent ?!
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
And brought up in Blyth (which is admittedly just outside the Toon, but then so is Wallsend where Sting was born). He has a Geordie accent and is usually treated as a local boy.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
It is, I learned about it when I applied for my mother's blue badge.
Ultimately it should be used exclusively for the blue badge holder's benefit.
I had one chap who assumed people who have blue badges are on benefits and a blue badge on an expensive Mercedes pissed off and he wasn't shy about telling me off about it.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
A right to park effectively unrestricted is quite valuable in eg London, when it costs the minimum wage to park your car, plus the Sadiq taxes to get there.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Surely it's just the artist with the most sales. It's not making a judgment about birthplace or anything else.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
And brought up in Blyth (which is admittedly just outside the Toon, but then so is Wallsend where Sting was born). He has a Geordie accent and is usually treated as a local boy.
Yeah I kept the definition broad so I could have the best possible play list! Lonnie Donegan qualified on the same basis - he certainly doesn't sound Scottish on his records.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
Sting was briefly at the University of Warwick at the same time as me. One evening my friend asked me to join her for coffee in her room to chat to a guy on her course who was thinking of dropping out. I vaguely remember a guy called Gordon who had glasses, dark hair and spots. I like to think that it was indeed Sting and if I had been more lively and vivacious that evening, Sting might have pursued a career in academia rather than music. Whether this would have been a good thing, is up to you to decide.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Doesn't this chart exclude loads of bands with members from multiple counties ?
Edit: Hold on, why does Emerson, Lake & Palmer get Dorset but the Rolling Stones are excluded from Kent ?!
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
Not sure what formula could make Jethro Tull come from Bedfordshire..
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
Let's take a few actual examples. We have Geoffrey Cox QC who earns over £1m as a lawyer; we have the Saj who earned over £1m whilst a backbencher working for JP Morgan and others and we have Rishi who has a remarkable earning capacity. Oh, and we have a PM who was previously a very well paid journalist and after dinner speaker.
Is anyone really trying to argue that the House of Commons would do a better job of both staffing a government and passing our legislation without people like this? Our traditional lament is that there is not nearly enough talented people who are daft or egotistical enough to want to be politicians. It is one I have made on numerous occasions comparing our current cabinet with the talent that was available to Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher.
We absolutely should not look to hound people of genuine ability and marketability out of politics. Indeed we should be looking to entice more of them in. I want to be governed by smart, clever, capable people, not a bunch of no marks who are not capable of earning any more anywhere else.
Where I do draw the line is the sort of plain and simple conflicts of interest that Owen Paterson and IDS completely ignored. They were both earning money by seeking to direct public money to their patrons. That is a menace that must be stopped. But second jobs? Its a yes from me.
what I don't understand is why more is not said about the most obvious lobbying relationship. That between unions and Labour MPs. A union, representing a narrow section of the population, might sponsor an MP and would have a role in electing party leadership. How can that be anything other than a compromised lobbying relationship?
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Let's take a few actual examples. We have Geoffrey Cox QC who earns over £1m as a lawyer; we have the Saj who earned over £1m whilst a backbencher working for JP Morgan and others and we have Rishi who has a remarkable earning capacity. Oh, and we have a PM who was previously a very well paid journalist and after dinner speaker.
Is anyone really trying to argue that the House of Commons would do a better job of both staffing a government and passing our legislation without people like this? Our traditional lament is that there is not nearly enough talented people who are daft or egotistical enough to want to be politicians. It is one I have made on numerous occasions comparing our current cabinet with the talent that was available to Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher.
We absolutely should not look to hound people of genuine ability and marketability out of politics. Indeed we should be looking to entice more of them in. I want to be governed by smart, clever, capable people, not a bunch of no marks who are not capable of earning any more anywhere else.
Where I do draw the line is the sort of plain and simple conflicts of interest that Owen Paterson and IDS completely ignored. They were both earning money by seeking to direct public money to their patrons. That is a menace that must be stopped. But second jobs? Its a yes from me.
I agree, if keeping a second job in their old professions ensures we can still attract top professionals to become MPs as you and the thread header suggests, then so be it
A map of famous musicians by birthplace in each London Borough would be fascinating. Some stiff competition. Tho you would get concentrations around hospitals. I bet UCLH, the Royal Free and the Whittington could fill a very decent 2 day festival, by themselves
One for @Sunil_Prasannan - London Overground will be calling at Battersea Park on December 31st only - usually it's only very early morning departures and a single late night arrival.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
A right to park effectively unrestricted is quite valuable in eg London, when it costs the minimum wage to park your car, plus the Sadiq taxes to get there.
Following the link from that link shows quite a seam of fraudulently parking, and fare dodging, lawyers.
Lying about why they did it seems to be the trigger to being disbarred, rather than fined or suspended.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
I think the concept of lockdowns for the unvaccinated will be counterproductive. It's one thing to propose it in order to encourage people to get vaccinated, but if you bring it in while Delta is already circulating out of control, it won't do anything to stop the spread so risks discrediting both the state and the vaccines.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
And brought up in Blyth (which is admittedly just outside the Toon, but then so is Wallsend where Sting was born). He has a Geordie accent and is usually treated as a local boy.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
A map of famous musicians by birthplace in each London Borough would be fascinating. Some stiff competition. Tho you would get concentrations around hospitals. I bet UCLH, the Royal Free and the Whittington could fill a very decent 2 day festival, by themselves
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
But two of the original four were junkies who died from their addiction early on in their career. One of whom had already been booted out the band for his addiction.
When I saw them live Chrissie said "RIP Pete" at the end.
Only on PB could a simple map of musicians by county provoke such an outpouring of quibbling, pedantry, nit-picking and whataboutery. Along with useless trivia, personal anecdotes and opinion. Superb. Keep it up.
A map of famous musicians by birthplace in each London Borough would be fascinating. Some stiff competition. Tho you would get concentrations around hospitals. I bet UCLH, the Royal Free and the Whittington could fill a very decent 2 day festival, by themselves
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
Perhaps you subconsciously cancelled her for her romantic liaison with Prince Harry? Anecdote alert: I first heard "how long will I love you" at a wedding in Albania (not of a taxi driver, sadly) and thought it was a lovely tune, although I always get very emosh at weddings so my judgement may have been clouded by the romantic occasion.
The memo was written by a health official after a phone call on April 9, 2020, between Lord Bethell, the Tory peer who was the minister responsible for testing contracts at the time, and Paterson, the Conservative MP who was paid £100,000 a year by Randox https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1459135027766341632/photo/1
The Tory civil war about sleaze escalated last night after the culture secretary rebuked a fellow minister who claimed that the row over MPs’ outside earnings could damage the government at the polls.
In a sign of growing rancour among Boris Johnson’s MPs, a defiant Nadine Dorries accused fellow Tories of peddling “totally not true” predictions that the fallout from the second jobs scandal would hurt the party electorally.
In full view of parliamentary colleagues she told George Freeman — a business minister who last night wrote to Conservative MPs on WhatsApp to express fears that the “damage from last week” would “take a lot more than good words to repair” — that the 2009 expenses scandal had been “a billion times worse” than the current controversy.
Dorries, who as culture secretary is responsible for regulation of the media industry, went on to argue that the Tories were unfairly maligned by the press. She risked exacerbating generational tensions between Tory intakes by writing off fears of pushback from voters as the naïveté of the inexperienced.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
'Burn' is my daughters' all time favourite on Just Dance. That's the sort of territory you're in here.
The army had to be drafted in to secure essential equipment for a company that won almost £600 million in Covid-19 testing contracts while employing Owen Paterson as a lobbyist.
Randox, which was given its first £133 million contract without tender in March 2020, told officials in the subsequent days that it would struggle to complete enough Covid-19 tests without help.
In an internal memo seen by The Times, a government official wrote that the company was “nervous about having sufficient systems” and the army was “on way to Glasgow to pick up” two machines that were urgently needed for testing.
“Current issue — don’t have enough extraction systems,” the note stated. “Was hoping yourselves, gov could help us access extraction systems from universities, hospitals anywhere . . . Any we can get our hands on.”
The memo was written by a health official after a phone call on April 9, 2020, between Lord Bethell, the Tory peer who was the minister responsible for testing contracts at the time, and Paterson, the Conservative MP who was paid £100,000 a year by Randox.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
Nick Mason was a Brummie. Still is.
Yes, but the core members, Syd and Roger were from Cambridge , not sure about others and then Dave Gilmour who joined later was also from Cambridge. Plenty of Cambridge references in songs and album covers by Storm Thorgerson who went to school with Syd and Roger
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
'Burn' is my daughters' all time favourite on Just Dance. That's the sort of territory you're in here.
Yes, I’m listening to it now. Oh dear. I’m afraid it does adduce more evidence for my Theory on the Decline of Pop Music, and of IQs in general (not including your daughter, of course)
Bombastic synth-pop with auto-tuned voices. Is it distinguishable from Katy Perry? Not sure it is
The Tory civil war about sleaze escalated last night after the culture secretary rebuked a fellow minister who claimed that the row over MPs’ outside earnings could damage the government at the polls.
In a sign of growing rancour among Boris Johnson’s MPs, a defiant Nadine Dorries accused fellow Tories of peddling “totally not true” predictions that the fallout from the second jobs scandal would hurt the party electorally.
In full view of parliamentary colleagues she told George Freeman — a business minister who last night wrote to Conservative MPs on WhatsApp to express fears that the “damage from last week” would “take a lot more than good words to repair” — that the 2009 expenses scandal had been “a billion times worse” than the current controversy.
Dorries, who as culture secretary is responsible for regulation of the media industry, went on to argue that the Tories were unfairly maligned by the press. She risked exacerbating generational tensions between Tory intakes by writing off fears of pushback from voters as the naïveté of the inexperienced.
The Tories may be, like others, unfairly maligned by the press but people see through that. This is resonating. She is deluding herself if she thinks this is just the press being nasty.
I like this thread header. It seems a particularly elegant idea to say that MPs can only continue with the jobs/skill sets they had prior to becoming an MP so that being an MP has no influence on their being hired by a company. My only disagreement would be that I am not sure I agree with the upper limit on earnings from those jobs. If you are paid 100K a year for legal work then why should you be paid any less for the same work just because you are an MP?
A map of famous musicians by birthplace in each London Borough would be fascinating. Some stiff competition. Tho you would get concentrations around hospitals. I bet UCLH, the Royal Free and the Whittington could fill a very decent 2 day festival, by themselves
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
Nick Mason was a Brummie. Still is.
Yes, but the core members, Syd and Roger were from Cambridge , not sure about others and then Dave Gilmour who joined later was also from Cambridge. Plenty of Cambridge references in songs and album covers by Storm Thorgerson who went to school with Syd and Roger
Definitely a Cambridge band. “Grantchester Meadows” on Ummagumma…
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
'Burn' is my daughters' all time favourite on Just Dance. That's the sort of territory you're in here.
Yes, I’m listening to it now. Oh dear. I’m afraid it does adduce more evidence for my Theory on the Decline of Pop Music, and of IQs in general (not including your daughter, of course)
Bombastic synth-pop with auto-tuned voices. Is it distinguishable from Katy Perry? Not sure it is
Autotune was an amazing invention. It means that anyone with a pretty face can claim they are a "singer", or even more ludicrously, a "musician"
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
'Burn' is my daughters' all time favourite on Just Dance. That's the sort of territory you're in here.
Yes, I’m listening to it now. Oh dear. I’m afraid it does adduce more evidence for my Theory on the Decline of Pop Music, and of IQs in general (not including your daughter, of course)
Bombastic synth-pop with auto-tuned voices. Is it distinguishable from Katy Perry? Not sure it is
Autotune was an amazing invention. It means that anyone with a pretty face can claim they are a "singer", or even more ludicrously, a "musician"
On topic: One proposal worth looking at might be to say that the decision on where to award a contract should not rest with MPs but with Civil Servants. MPs might provide general guidance - prioritising British firms etc - but I would have thought the job of Government is to decide what is done not who does it. Remove the power of MPs to decide the specifics of where contracts are awarded and a lot of the temptation and appearance of corruption would go away.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Some bands are just forever associated with a particular city or county, regardless of where individuals might be born.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
Nick Mason was a Brummie. Still is.
Yes, but the core members, Syd and Roger were from Cambridge , not sure about others and then Dave Gilmour who joined later was also from Cambridge. Plenty of Cambridge references in songs and album covers by Storm Thorgerson who went to school with Syd and Roger
Definitely a Cambridge band. “Grantchester Meadows” on Ummagumma…
Absolutely; as Radiohead is to Oxford, Pink Floyd are to Cambridge.
A map of famous musicians by birthplace in each London Borough would be fascinating. Some stiff competition. Tho you would get concentrations around hospitals. I bet UCLH, the Royal Free and the Whittington could fill a very decent 2 day festival, by themselves
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is very famous and has been making music for well over 10 years you luddite
So she has. And yes she’s sold lots of records - I just checked. I now feel like the elderly judge who inquired as to the identity of this “musical combo - the Beatles”
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
'Burn' is my daughters' all time favourite on Just Dance. That's the sort of territory you're in here.
Yes, I’m listening to it now. Oh dear. I’m afraid it does adduce more evidence for my Theory on the Decline of Pop Music, and of IQs in general (not including your daughter, of course)
Bombastic synth-pop with auto-tuned voices. Is it distinguishable from Katy Perry? Not sure it is
Autotune was an amazing invention. It means that anyone with a pretty face can claim they are a "singer", or even more ludicrously, a "musician"
So we end up with a stream of industry plants, talentless pretty faces with a big marketing operation.
Great for the talent manager and his casting couch, but terrible for music.
Well quelle surprise. Johnson didn't know what he was actually advocating. Cummings knew what an easily manipulatable idiot he had helped put in No10. What he hadn't realised was that Carrie knew this too and she had methods unavailable to Cummings.
Let's take a few actual examples. We have Geoffrey Cox QC who earns over £1m as a lawyer; we have the Saj who earned over £1m whilst a backbencher working for JP Morgan and others and we have Rishi who has a remarkable earning capacity. Oh, and we have a PM who was previously a very well paid journalist and after dinner speaker.
Is anyone really trying to argue that the House of Commons would do a better job of both staffing a government and passing our legislation without people like this? Our traditional lament is that there is not nearly enough talented people who are daft or egotistical enough to want to be politicians. It is one I have made on numerous occasions comparing our current cabinet with the talent that was available to Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher.
We absolutely should not look to hound people of genuine ability and marketability out of politics. Indeed we should be looking to entice more of them in. I want to be governed by smart, clever, capable people, not a bunch of no marks who are not capable of earning any more anywhere else.
Where I do draw the line is the sort of plain and simple conflicts of interest that Owen Paterson and IDS completely ignored. They were both earning money by seeking to direct public money to their patrons. That is a menace that must be stopped. But second jobs? Its a yes from me.
Oh wow, that was my 40,000th post on PB under the current system.
I'd be more inclined to ask about their conflicts of interest attacking the Chair of a University at a time they are running a campaign to tip the balance of funding pensions schemes far more heavily against universities, when there are proposals around for having uni pensions more sustainably funded.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Some bands are just forever associated with a particular city or county, regardless of where individuals might be born.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
Excuse me! Soft Cell and the Gang of Four were from Leeds. Legends.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Some bands are just forever associated with a particular city or county, regardless of where individuals might be born.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
Zeppelin were largely Brum, along with Sabbath. I had (perhaps erroneously) also thought that the third part of the "unholy trinity", Deep Purple were also Brum in their roots?
I'd be more inclined to ask about their conflicts of interest attacking the Chair of a University at a time they are running a campaign to tip the balance of funding pensions schemes far more heavily against universities, when there are proposals around for having uni pensions more sustainably funded.
It was pretty thin as well
- investment in BAe through a mutual fund while a director - Investment in Schroder managed funds while a director
I was on the investment committee of a London School (grad) for years. Council played zero role in investment decisions and who the fund manager was
The Times have got an article on the virus situation in Europe, it's extremely gloomy. Fingers crossed that our strategy of chasing herd immunity in the summer and autumn has worked. I really can't do another lockdown.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Some bands are just forever associated with a particular city or county, regardless of where individuals might be born.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
Zeppelin were largely Brum, along with Sabbath. I had (perhaps erroneously) also thought that the third part of the "unholy trinity", Deep Purple were also Brum in their roots?
I agree, in my head, Led Zep are West Midlands. But they were formed, I think in London. Only Plant and Bonham were Midlanders.
I didn't realise Olivia Newton-John was from Cambridge. Apparently her father worked for MI5 at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.
Poor old London. Could have had Bowie instead they get Sir Elton.
Sir Elton has sold a crazy amount of records, only behind the Beatles in the UK.
Yep. And the Rubettes probably sold more than Roxy Music. That comparison is perhaps being a bit unfair to Sir Elt.
Little know fact. Both Bryan Ferry and Elton John auditioned as a singer for King Crimson. Both turned down. Some guy, Robert Fripp. (King Crimson, BTW, are well worth discovering if you've hitherto overlooked them. And are still touring.)
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Actually clicking on the link it says "County of origin", you are right it will have Mr Knopfler down a a Scot.
What do they use for bands, founding lead singer member ?
If so then The Cure (founded in my own home town of Crawley) isn't quite right as Robert Smith was actually born in Blackpool.
The map is ludicrous when you scrutinise it. No logic (some bands included, many not, whatever their actual birthplace) and a poor choice of artists, it’s certainly not sales
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
The non mention of Led Zeppelin is what kills it's cred for me.
Some bands are just forever associated with a particular city or county, regardless of where individuals might be born.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
Agree about Leeds punching under its weight culturally, well, certainly in music. It's a big puzzler.
I'd struggle a bit to pinpoint Nottingham's modern cultural influence as well.
Seems the Geordies prefer Gordon Sumner over Mark Knopfler.
(Actually I see that Sting and I attended the same university, he to do teacher training, me to do my CIPD).
I think the county only refers to where the artist is born, and it's the artist with most worldwide record sales in each county. So it doesn't matter who Geordies prefer, Sting has sold more records.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow. Dire Straits are on a playlist of Scottish artists I put together for Burns Night on that basis.
Which makes it even less relevant who Geordies prefer between him and Sting then!
Erm... Pink Floyd - Cambridge? Surely one of the biggest worldwide sellers of all time.
Nick Mason was a Brummie. Still is.
Yes, but the core members, Syd and Roger were from Cambridge , not sure about others and then Dave Gilmour who joined later was also from Cambridge. Plenty of Cambridge references in songs and album covers by Storm Thorgerson who went to school with Syd and Roger
Definitely a Cambridge band. “Grantchester Meadows” on Ummagumma…
This is a stretch.
Nick Mason is from Surrey (went to Frensham Heights) and Richard Wright was from Middlesex.
After Syd Barrett's departure in 1968, of the four settled members of Pink Floyd, two had nothing to do with Cambridge.
Comments
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for using a family member's 'Blue Badge' to shave a bit of time off his walk to work.
Wahid Nazari worked in the Sussex office of personal injury firm Carpenters at the time. He was also the primary carer for a relative, Person A, who had a legitimate Blue Badge, which is reserved for use by a disabled person.
Nazari was convicted at Lewes Crown Court in 2019 for dishonest use of the Blue Badge, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 after he was deemed to have used the badge for his own purpose on "at least eight" occasions between June and August 2018.
On one occasion, Nazari dropped off his relative, drove to work, and parked on a single yellow line near to the office. Inspectors spotted Nazari's car was parked in a restricted area, with the Blue Badge displayed on the dashboard.
The solicitor told the inspectors that he intended to collect his relative from the nearby train station and take them to Brighton after he finished work. When the inspectors ascertained that the relative was some distance away, they confiscated the Blue Badge.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/solicitor-struck-misusing-blue-badge
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/withers-dragged-tory-sleaze-scandal-mps-ps900k-consultancy
Edit:
Hold on, why does Emerson, Lake & Palmer get Dorset but the Rolling Stones are excluded from Kent ?!
Ultimately it should be used exclusively for the blue badge holder's benefit.
I had one chap who assumed people who have blue badges are on benefits and a blue badge on an expensive Mercedes pissed off and he wasn't shy about telling me off about it.
Not so long ago a good % of use was fraudulent.
A right to park effectively unrestricted is quite valuable in eg London, when it costs the minimum wage to park your car, plus the Sadiq taxes to get there.
Didnt Nixon have a dodgy group of people called 'The Plumbers' who did 'tasks'?
Is anyone really trying to argue that the House of Commons would do a better job of both staffing a government and passing our legislation without people like this? Our traditional lament is that there is not nearly enough talented people who are daft or egotistical enough to want to be politicians. It is one I have made on numerous occasions comparing our current cabinet with the talent that was available to Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher.
We absolutely should not look to hound people of genuine ability and marketability out of politics. Indeed we should be looking to entice more of them in. I want to be governed by smart, clever, capable people, not a bunch of no marks who are not capable of earning any more anywhere else.
Where I do draw the line is the sort of plain and simple conflicts of interest that Owen Paterson and IDS completely ignored. They were both earning money by seeking to direct public money to their patrons. That is a menace that must be stopped. But second jobs? Its a yes from me.
Herefordshire: Ellie Goulding??! What? Who?
Most of the Pretenders came from Herefordshire, I believe. A vastly more important musical presence who sold way more records than… Ellie Goulding
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2021/11/11/london-overground-trains-to-call-at-battersea-park-station-on-new-years-eve/
Lying about why they did it seems to be the trigger to being disbarred, rather than fined or suspended.
https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1459130995400130590
I think the concept of lockdowns for the unvaccinated will be counterproductive. It's one thing to propose it in order to encourage people to get vaccinated, but if you bring it in while Delta is already circulating out of control, it won't do anything to stop the spread so risks discrediting both the state and the vaccines.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/move-to-green-economy-risks-jobs-in-some-parts-of-the-uk-report-warns/ar-AAQBqr3?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531
https://brilliantmaps.com/music-london/
You are welcome.
But I’m not sure he qualifies as a musician…
I will now listen to her most famous song to see if it’s good
But two of the original four were junkies who died from their addiction early on in their career. One of whom had already been booted out the band for his addiction.
When I saw them live Chrissie said "RIP Pete" at the end.
Along with useless trivia, personal anecdotes and opinion.
Superb. Keep it up.
Although the North of Tyne Combined Authority has essentially reinstated historic Northumberland.
I never knew rod stewart was born in Camden. Highgate!
It proves my point that london itself could fill a world class 2 day festival with bands and acts. The best festival ever, in fact
Anecdote alert: I first heard "how long will I love you" at a wedding in Albania (not of a taxi driver, sadly) and thought it was a lovely tune, although I always get very emosh at weddings so my judgement may have been clouded by the romantic occasion.
- decreased in England and Wales
- remained level in Scotland
- the trend was uncertain in Northern Ireland
in the week ending 6 November 2021.
https://twitter.com/ONS/status/1459129141287137284?s=20
One in:
England: 60
Wales: 45
NI: 75
Scotland: 85
In a sign of growing rancour among Boris Johnson’s MPs, a defiant Nadine Dorries accused fellow Tories of peddling “totally not true” predictions that the fallout from the second jobs scandal would hurt the party electorally.
In full view of parliamentary colleagues she told George Freeman — a business minister who last night wrote to Conservative MPs on WhatsApp to express fears that the “damage from last week” would “take a lot more than good words to repair” — that the 2009 expenses scandal had been “a billion times worse” than the current controversy.
Dorries, who as culture secretary is responsible for regulation of the media industry, went on to argue that the Tories were unfairly maligned by the press. She risked exacerbating generational tensions between Tory intakes by writing off fears of pushback from voters as the naïveté of the inexperienced.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mps-fill-pockets-using-rent-expenses-loophole-v7j5jtls6
The army had to be drafted in to secure essential equipment for a company that won almost £600 million in Covid-19 testing contracts while employing Owen Paterson as a lobbyist.
Randox, which was given its first £133 million contract without tender in March 2020, told officials in the subsequent days that it would struggle to complete enough Covid-19 tests without help.
In an internal memo seen by The Times, a government official wrote that the company was “nervous about having sufficient systems” and the army was “on way to Glasgow to pick up” two machines that were urgently needed for testing.
“Current issue — don’t have enough extraction systems,” the note stated. “Was hoping yourselves, gov could help us access extraction systems from universities, hospitals anywhere . . . Any we can get our hands on.”
The memo was written by a health official after a phone call on April 9, 2020, between Lord Bethell, the Tory peer who was the minister responsible for testing contracts at the time, and Paterson, the Conservative MP who was paid £100,000 a year by Randox.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/army-called-in-to-help-owen-paterson-firm-randox-on-covid-contract-728qcq5bp
There's more than £100,000 a year in dodgy payments being made.
The Grand National sponsorship tie-up is a thing I'd be investigating.
Though I believe he went to Harrow not Eton
https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1459136876468650036
Bombastic synth-pop with auto-tuned voices. Is it distinguishable from Katy Perry? Not sure it is
When Vote Leave say that the public knew what they were voting for in 2016 and 2019, it turned out that even their frontman didn't know what he was voting for. https://twitter.com/Dominic2306/status/1459136193162063872
One proposal worth looking at might be to say that the decision on where to award a contract should not rest with MPs but with Civil Servants. MPs might provide general guidance - prioritising British firms etc - but I would have thought the job of Government is to decide what is done not who does it. Remove the power of MPs to decide the specifics of where contracts are awarded and a lot of the temptation and appearance of corruption would go away.
Soft Machine in Canterbury, Pulp in Sheffield, Blur in Essex, ELO or Black Sabbath in Brum, Nick Drake in Warwickshire, the Animals in Newcastle etc.
Some cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Canterbury, and I guess Sheffield, have or had well defined “scenes” or even “sounds”.
Leeds seems to be a black hole; not much seems to have come from there.
He was at Elstree before he went to Harrow.
The Beatles, Joy Division, Stone Roses, Oasis, the Smiths.
Great for the talent manager and his casting couch, but terrible for music.
Now Ministers have given Deloitte another contract preparing the "strategy" for the public inquiry. Cancel this contract now. https://twitter.com/AngelaRayner/status/1459134473270870056/photo/1
I like finding new music, indeed eager to hear it. But the regular versions of Ellie Goulding don’t do it for me, I’m afraid
#getalife?
I'd be more inclined to ask about their conflicts of interest attacking the Chair of a University at a time they are running a campaign to tip the balance of funding pensions schemes far more heavily against universities, when there are proposals around for having uni pensions more sustainably funded.
"He followed all the advice and all the guidance that he got at all times. I think that's the right thing for all of us to do’
What actually happened https://twitter.com/paul__johnson/status/1459141938964221958/photo/1
Sebastian Faulks went there as well didn't he?
- investment in BAe through a mutual fund while a director
- Investment in Schroder managed funds while a director
I was on the investment committee of a London School (grad) for years. Council played zero role in investment decisions and who the fund manager was
But they were formed, I think in London. Only Plant and Bonham were Midlanders.
If I was from Brum I would claim them.
Little know fact. Both Bryan Ferry and Elton John auditioned as a singer for King Crimson.
Both turned down. Some guy, Robert Fripp.
(King Crimson, BTW, are well worth discovering if you've hitherto overlooked them. And are still touring.)
I'd struggle a bit to pinpoint Nottingham's modern cultural influence as well.
Nick Mason is from Surrey (went to Frensham Heights) and Richard Wright was from Middlesex.
After Syd Barrett's departure in 1968, of the four settled members of Pink Floyd, two had nothing to do with Cambridge.