Oh dear, I just saw Catherine at the Cenotaph. And then Charles....
A week or two?
Please God no!
I've got a holiday booked in London for the end of the month.
It is vulgar and distasteful to speculate, but let's face it we are going to speculate. Charles had the same face, today, that he wore when he went to visit the DoE a few days before the old man conked out. I suspect we are very close (I hope I am wrong, ofc, not just for her sake but because it is going to be an emotional hernia for the country)
So few of us can remember what it is like when a monarch passes.
eg Do we all immediately switch to "God Save the King"? Or do we wait until Chuck is crowned, or what?
Chas becomes King the second her majesty passes.
It is automatic.
The crowning bit is largely irrelevant. Although certain oaths need to be said in order to cement it regarding upholding church of england iirc.
So, theoretically, the time of the England South Africa match next weekend, the players could all be belting out "God Save the King"
The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King
I kind of like the instant automaticity of it. But I am a monarchist
IIRC from the London Bridge plans that all major sporting events get postponed up until after the funeral.
The Rozzers will be needed elsewhere.
Presumably the funeral plans are all fairly cemented in place. Should be some good music
That's a great article, if a bit too fixated on national decline
This is an insightful passage
"In 1972, the writer Brian Masters estimated that around a third of us have dreamed about the Queen – she stands for authority and our mothers. People who are not expecting to cry will cry."
Reckon that's absolutely bang on. The Queen is Mummy. She has always been there, a fixed point in the British heavens, even hardened Republicans will be shaken, perhaps to the point of tears
A third? Bloody hell, even i have dreamed about the Queen. I'd genuinely put it at the mid 90 %s for people born here.
Yes, I've dreamed of her too. She's on the coins and stamps, she is everywhere, she is part of the national DNA, she is a constellation of meaning, emotion, memory.
A third is a vast underestimate for British people. But Masters was writing in 1972, and the Queen has grown mightily in stature and significance in the 50 years (!!) since then
I have French friends that will cry when she dies
What a load of nonsense. Of course I won't cry when the queen dies. This is lady di stuff. If you don't know her and she isn't a close relative or close friend why would you cry? People should get a grip. And as for dreaming of the queen, well I have had some weird dreams, but the queen has never been in any of them. People are odd.
People are odd. A genius insight. In this case you are the odd one
This is not Princess Di. This is the Queen. Most people will be a little sad, and maybe get a bit teary at points. Some people will be REALLY sad
I expect this is especially true for anyone over 40, who has only ever known the Queen as the head of state, a fixed lodestone, but who is also old enough to have memories of many Royal occasions from the Silver Jubilee to Di's funeral to the Cambridge and Sussex weddings
Something can be an odd thing to do and still be done by large numbers of people as we saw with Diana. People getting ridiculously emotional about someone they don't know. That is odd even if done by many. It is utterly bonkers. It is mass hysteria.
I fit that age category you describe as do most of my friends. None are going to get soppy. I would be shocked if a young royal died, as in the case of Diana, but even then no more than that, because, damn it, I didn't know her. As far as the queen is concerned she is elderly so it is never going to be a shock. It is going to happen sometime in the near future.
As I said get a grip and stop being a wimp.
lol. I'm not sitting here sobbing in expectation, I'm just observing that this will touch many many people
I have friends like you, almost certainly on the spectrum, who look at their emotional fellow humans with bewilderment. But these friends are the oddballs. I still love 'em dearly
Humanity needs all types. Kirk AND Spock
I think you might find there are quite a lot of us on your spectrum. You know those of us who only get sad when it is actually a friend or relative or when we hear of something shocking happening to a stranger.
Leon, and his previous incarnations seem to be able to patronise people with autism (which is what he is alluding to) with impunity and over a long period of time
With a son struggling hard to normalise his life by working hard to overcome the effects of autism, how I laugh heartily when Leon demeans, with his hilarious little digs, my son and others who are doing their best to manage their autism.
I have extremely close family friends who are diagnosed as People Of the Spectrum. I love them dearly. You are FAR too defensive
I never use the word "autistic" as an insult, I use it advisedly, like "blind" or "very tall" or "musically gifted" or "Boris Johnson".
There is a kind of autistic mind, over-represented on PB (because we are a self selecting group of stats and politics geeks: more likely to be autistic) and probably over-represented in politics (TMay? Gordon Brown?). Defining it and spotting it is quite important, because then you can predict how they will behave (just as it is important to spot narcissists like Blair or actual psychopaths like Hitler or charismatic oddities like Thatcher)
I don't wish to be rude to Nick Palmer but I bet he is on the spectrum, if he ever did a test. I choose him as an example of someone on the spectrum with a very satisfying career and a life he seems to enjoy. Good for him
And if we aren't allowed to call them autistic then..... what? What do we call them? If they exhibit all the characteristics and we all know it and see it? It is not an insult. It is just a descriptor
Autism is strong in the RP family. My wife and one of my nephews diagnosed on the spectrum, other nephew and niece almost certainly are, my eldest with my ex is diagnosed and I am self-diagnosed (and not disputed by people who know me and the spectrum).
Autism is not a "disorder" or even a "condition". Its just an alternate way to wire up your brain. I didn't think you were having a pop. Whats wrong with being an oddball? Must be awful being "normal" as the herd define it. Let your freak flag fly! As for reacting to stuff, I was in California when Diana forgot to put her seatbelt on. Saw ludicrous reaction from Americans who couldn't understand why I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.
So I totally got what you were saying. Lets all hold hands through what is going to be a preposterous period of national wailing.
Thankyou. I really am NEVER being insulting when I use the term "autistic", because of its closeness to me in my family. It is what it is
It is, as you say, a different way of thinking. I do believe that it is sometimes quite a definite handicap - the inability to read the emotional mind of others is socially problematic. But it also makes for forensic brains that can get to the essence of the matter without distraction. That is invaluable
And we need all of these people to make a good society. The Kirks and the Spocks, as I said
What is disastrous is when you get an autistic Prime Minister, in this televisual day and age which requires empathy (or at least a good fake version of it). I would hazard a guess that both Brown and May are on the spectrum. QED
But from all I have read, Isaac Newton and possibly Albert Einstein were also autistic. And they are the greatest scientists in all human history.
It really is not an insult!
Many people wrongly use "on the spectrum" or even "autistic" to describe intelligent introverts. You may be one of them.
But I'm not. I'm a sometimes-reclusive, bipolar extrovert, with dangerously bohemian tendencies, and an insane appetite for foolish risk. I can read emotions very well. But I self harm in multiple other ways. Hey ho
I have analysed myself for 50 years and I am pretty sure of this diagnosis
I have encountered true autism in myriad forms, close to home and far away, and I do think it is a useful term to describe a type (tho I hear what NPXMP is saying, and we are all different)
I would be wary of ever seriously saying "so and so is autistic" - or narcissistic or sociopathic or manic-depressive or alcoholic etc etc - of anyone I have never met. How can I know? Does anyone ever *know*? Do I even have the right to say this?
But when it comes to our political leaders, those who seek to govern us, then we are allowed to speculate. They want power over us, the quid pro quo is that we get to deconstruct them, in a democracy, to see if they fit the bill.
I am sure we have had multiple autistic prime ministers, May and Brown are just the latest. The hard working, detail-grasping nature of the beast means they can prosper, and be highly successful, but it does mean they are exposed, cruelly, when it comes to normal human interactions. And modern society demands more, on that front, than was the case
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
I guess it all depends on what you're in to:
Do you prefer Nazi sympathisers, mindless obedience to the rules or people who keep sex slaves locked up in the cellar?
Re: succession to the British crown, surely the closest historical parallel is the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901.
Lots has changed in last 120 years, but the situation is quite similar in many respects.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
Sure, I took the Palace statement of back strain at face value, and it seems to fit what we see.
She is a frail 95 Yr old now, but she is also the Head of State, so speculation is inevitable. The curse of the Royals is that everything that they do or don't do is of public interest, even were they to wish it wasn't.
I do understand that speculation is inevitable but the idea her death was being kept secret from the public was bizarre
Both my wife and I suffer periods of back strain and my wife is similar being shorter and a wee bit more bent which does come with age
And maybe I am a bit more sensitive on these matters
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
OTOH she is the head of state not the little old lady from down the end of the road. Speculation of this kind is, I'm afraid, inevitable - although it would be much less prevalent if she had done what sundry similar figures (e.g. Pope Benedict, Queen Beatrix and Emperor Akihito) have all done in the past, and retired upon reaching an advanced age when the rigours of the job might be felt to be weighing heavily upon them.
We'd have exactly the same sort of thing if this were a republic and the incumbent president were elderly and kept having to cancel important public appearances for a growing list of health-related excuses. The Queen occupies the apex of the political system. Her condition is a matter of public interest.
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
I guess it all depends on what you're in to:
Do you prefer Nazi sympathisers, mindless obedience to the rules or people who keep sex slaves locked up in the cellar?
So... avoid Austria alotegther then?
Innsbruck is lovely, and great for hiking. Salzburg too, but a much bigger town. Austria is a delightful country with the towns well preserved, having gone from imperial capital to backwater in 1918, missed serious bombing in WW2 and the worst of the postwar demolitions for concrete utopias.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
OTOH she is the head of state not the little old lady from down the end of the road. Speculation of this kind is, I'm afraid, inevitable - although it would be much less prevalent if she had done what sundry similar figures (e.g. Pope Benedict, Queen Beatrix and Emperor Akihito) have all done in the past, and retired upon reaching an advanced age when the rigours of the job might be felt to be weighing heavily upon them.
We'd have exactly the same sort of thing if this were a republic and the incumbent president were elderly and kept having to cancel important public appearances for a growing list of health-related excuses. The Queen occupies the apex of the political system. Her condition is a matter of public interest.
There wouldn't be speculation if we'd had more honest information in the past.
Re: succession to the British crown, surely the closest historical parallel is the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901.
Lots has changed in last 120 years, but the situation is quite similar in many respects.
I agree. I also think that Charles, much to the dismay of republicans, will turn out to be a successful king - but that he won't share his mother's desire to hang on to the job for life.
Assuming he exhibits similar longevity, you can well imagine him going into retirement and handing the job on to William once he and Camilla have had enough of it.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
OTOH she is the head of state not the little old lady from down the end of the road. Speculation of this kind is, I'm afraid, inevitable - although it would be much less prevalent if she had done what sundry similar figures (e.g. Pope Benedict, Queen Beatrix and Emperor Akihito) have all done in the past, and retired upon reaching an advanced age when the rigours of the job might be felt to be weighing heavily upon them.
We'd have exactly the same sort of thing if this were a republic and the incumbent president were elderly and kept having to cancel important public appearances for a growing list of health-related excuses. The Queen occupies the apex of the political system. Her condition is a matter of public interest.
There wouldn't be speculation if we'd had more honest information in the past.
I think this is the issue. There is a strong suspicion that we are not being told the truth, or at best only parts of the story. See also Liverpool. Nearly 12 hours on and so little information. Inevitable that people will speculate. It’s what we do.
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
"[W]e will not stand for the Fucking signs being removed. It may be very amusing for you British, but Fucking is simply Fucking to us. What is this big Fucking joke? . . ."
The diplomatic solution would be for us to find or invent a place named after a German swear word for their tourists. Arschloch seems like it could be a place, possibly Scotland.
The Fuggers are already free (now that US travel ban is lifted) to visit historic Vickburg, Mississippi.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
... although I somehow doubt she is scrolling through PB.com. 😂
- Is car mechanic - Intimate knowledge of military stuff - access to fighter jets - Has claim to Normandy/speaks French - closet environmentalist, possibly passed onto wayward son
With regards to the "back sprain" cover story. The faces of the entire senior royal family today was not one where the boss has pulled her back but is otherwise ok.
With regards to the "back sprain" cover story. The faces of the entire senior royal family today was not one where the boss has pulled her back but is otherwise ok.
Rochdale, your analysis is, unfortunately, correct.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
... although I somehow doubt she is scrolling through PB.com. 😂
- Is car mechanic - Intimate knowledge of military stuff - access to fighter jets - Has claim to Normandy/speaks French - closet environmentalist, possibly passed onto wayward son
With regards to the "back sprain" cover story. The faces of the entire senior royal family today was not one where the boss has pulled her back but is otherwise ok.
I wish we wouldn't speculate about the Queen's health.
I do find it rather unedifying and the idea she had died earlier in the day and it was being kept a secret was unnecessary
She is an elderly person and like all those who are elderly a little bit of respect would not be amiss
... although I somehow doubt she is scrolling through PB.com. 😂
- Is car mechanic - Intimate knowledge of military stuff - access to fighter jets - Has claim to Normandy/speaks French - closet environmentalist, possibly passed onto wayward son
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
I guess it all depends on what you're in to:
Do you prefer Nazi sympathisers, mindless obedience to the rules or people who keep sex slaves locked up in the cellar?
So... avoid Austria alotegther then?
Innsbruck is lovely, and great for hiking. Salzburg too, but a much bigger town. Austria is a delightful country with the towns well preserved, having gone from imperial capital to backwater in 1918, missed serious bombing in WW2 and the worst of the postwar demolitions for concrete utopias.
The World Cup qualifying play-offs are going to be interesting. Come on Scotland! Come on Wales!
Wales aren't there yet, and there's a strong chance that they won't be. Their last game is against Belgium (and yes, Belgium have won their group and thus have nothing left to play for, but they are also, of course, a very strong side indeed.) Wales need at least a draw from that match. If they get beaten then the Czech Republic will probably secure second place in the group with a win over Estonia.
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
The Brutish Empire was still pretty much around in 1952.
The World Cup qualifying play-offs are going to be interesting. Come on Scotland! Come on Wales!
Wales aren't there yet, and there's a strong chance that they won't be. Their last game is against Belgium (and yes, Belgium have won their group and thus have nothing left to play for, but they are also, of course, a very strong side indeed.) Wales need at least a draw from that match. If they get beaten then the Czech Republic will probably secure second place in the group with a win over Estonia.
Their fate will be settled on Tuesday night.
Haven't they qualified via the Nations League route already?
The World Cup qualifying play-offs are going to be interesting. Come on Scotland! Come on Wales!
Wales aren't there yet, and there's a strong chance that they won't be. Their last game is against Belgium (and yes, Belgium have won their group and thus have nothing left to play for, but they are also, of course, a very strong side indeed.) Wales need at least a draw from that match. If they get beaten then the Czech Republic will probably secure second place in the group with a win over Estonia.
Their fate will be settled on Tuesday night.
Haven't they qualified via the Nations League route already?
You are quite right. I had entirely forgotten about the existence of the Nations League.
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
The Brutish Empire was still pretty much around in 1952.
She is officially: "Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith"
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
I guess it all depends on what you're in to:
Do you prefer Nazi sympathisers, mindless obedience to the rules or people who keep sex slaves locked up in the cellar?
So... avoid Austria alotegther then?
Innsbruck is lovely, and great for hiking. Salzburg too, but a much bigger town. Austria is a delightful country with the towns well preserved, having gone from imperial capital to backwater in 1918, missed serious bombing in WW2 and the worst of the postwar demolitions for concrete utopias.
Years ago was in Vienna, and happened to attend a daytime screening of "The Third Man" which showed IIRC some scenes of mass devastation around St. Stephen's Cathedral.
After the movie ended, walked out of the theater, into the same area forty years later. Quite a contrast.
Plus the flick also featured a rather louche establishment, frequented by Harry Lime & etc., called the Kit-Kat Klub. And as I walked back to my humble lodgings, I strolled past . . . wait for it . . . the Kit-Kat Klub! Which had morphed into a XXX emporium.
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
The Brutish Empire was still pretty much around in 1952.
She is officially: "Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith"
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
Yep. London Declaration of 1949. The Formation of the Commonwealth.
Newspapers writing some awful crap about HS2 Leeds link being scrapped.
Apparently, a high speed Birmingham to Nottingham link is part of the new deal. Expect it is to East Midlands Parkway and not Nottingham or Derby.
Parkway is literally in the middle of nowhere. Next to the EM airport but otherwise nothing.
Papers saying time from Brum to Nottingham will be 27mins.
No chance.
I posted on this earlier - an absurd decision made worse by the even more absurd spin. They have cancelled HS2E and, it would appear, "Northern Powerhouse Rail". But they need to have things to talk up so look - THREE new High Speed Lines! We promised you TWO and now we give you THREE!
Except that one is part of HS2W which is already part of the plan. One is the Leeds to Thurnscoe bit of the cancelled HS2E where "high speed" trains from Leeds to Sheffield then trundle through Swinton Rotherham and Meadowhall as they do now. And the third supposedly gets people from Brum to Nottingham in fast time yet "Nottingham" is East Midlands parkway - another section of the scrapped HS2E.
The massively needed high speed line between Manchester and Leeds? Missing. I know that Boris has no idea where anything is (referred to COP26 in Edinburgh earlier...) but the voters do. They are going to get a twonking if the Sunday Times press release is real.
The World Cup qualifying play-offs are going to be interesting. Come on Scotland! Come on Wales!
Wales aren't there yet, and there's a strong chance that they won't be. Their last game is against Belgium (and yes, Belgium have won their group and thus have nothing left to play for, but they are also, of course, a very strong side indeed.) Wales need at least a draw from that match. If they get beaten then the Czech Republic will probably secure second place in the group with a win over Estonia.
Their fate will be settled on Tuesday night.
Haven't they qualified via the Nations League route already?
You are quite right. I had entirely forgotten about the existence of the Nations League.
Come on Wales it is then. Wales - Scotland in the playoffs anyone?
Newspapers writing some awful crap about HS2 Leeds link being scrapped.
Apparently, a high speed Birmingham to Nottingham link is part of the new deal. Expect it is to East Midlands Parkway and not Nottingham or Derby.
Parkway is literally in the middle of nowhere. Next to the EM airport but otherwise nothing.
Papers saying time from Brum to Nottingham will be 27mins.
No chance.
I posted on this earlier - an absurd decision made worse by the even more absurd spin. They have cancelled HS2E and, it would appear, "Northern Powerhouse Rail". But they need to have things to talk up so look - THREE new High Speed Lines! We promised you TWO and now we give you THREE!
Except that one is part of HS2W which is already part of the plan. One is the Leeds to Thurnscoe bit of the cancelled HS2E where "high speed" trains from Leeds to Sheffield then trundle through Swinton Rotherham and Meadowhall as they do now. And the third supposedly gets people from Brum to Nottingham in fast time yet "Nottingham" is East Midlands parkway - another section of the scrapped HS2E.
The massively needed high speed line between Manchester and Leeds? Missing. I know that Boris has no idea where anything is (referred to COP26 in Edinburgh earlier...) but the voters do. They are going to get a twonking if the Sunday Times press release is real.
It sounds like a ragbag of utter shit scrapped together by a junior press officer under pressure.
Let's hope it isn't happening.
And in theory this is all Shapps idea and he could be gone by end of the week thanks to lobbying and so on.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
I think the numbers of cases and admissions is going to carry on at the levels that we have seen over the last couple of months until Christmas or so. As we doctors say: there's a lot of it about!
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
A relief if true. I'm under 50 but was very much hoping to get mine anyway, on the grounds of being someone who lives with an extremely vulnerable person and ought therefore to be in cohort six of the old JCVI scheme. However, the record keeping of the NHS is frequently useless and would probably have omitted this information. If the age bar were to be removed then so would be this problem.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
A relief if true. I'm under 50 but was very much hoping to get mine anyway, on the grounds of being someone who lives with an extremely vulnerable person and ought therefore to be in cohort six of the old JCVI scheme. However, the record keeping of the NHS is frequently useless and would probably have omitted this information. If the age bar were to be removed then so would be this problem.
You're already able to book if you are 5 months past your second jab.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
I think the numbers of cases and admissions is going to carry on at the levels that we have seen over the last couple of months until Christmas or so. As we doctors say: there's a lot of it about!
Maybe we are at the Winter HIT (given waning and number of anti-vax whackos) and we will have these levels (≈38-39K a day) for the next three or so months?
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
The Brutish Empire was still pretty much around in 1952.
She is officially: "Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith"
Also Lord of Man and (I think) Duke of Normandy
I think she is only known as Duke of Normandy in the Channel islands.
Looks like I missed a Leon meltdown of historic proportions today Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
A relief if true. I'm under 50 but was very much hoping to get mine anyway, on the grounds of being someone who lives with an extremely vulnerable person and ought therefore to be in cohort six of the old JCVI scheme. However, the record keeping of the NHS is frequently useless and would probably have omitted this information. If the age bar were to be removed then so would be this problem.
You're already able to book if you are 5 months past your second jab.
Only if you are 50+ or classed as vulnerable or a carer.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
A relief if true. I'm under 50 but was very much hoping to get mine anyway, on the grounds of being someone who lives with an extremely vulnerable person and ought therefore to be in cohort six of the old JCVI scheme. However, the record keeping of the NHS is frequently useless and would probably have omitted this information. If the age bar were to be removed then so would be this problem.
You're already able to book if you are 5 months past your second jab.
That comes later in the month, but like I said being under 50, and therefore reliant for my booster on having been put into cohort 6 late after a rule change (in April, I think,) I was concerned that computer would still say no. If the age bar itself is to be scrapped then that problem disappears.
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
A relief if true. I'm under 50 but was very much hoping to get mine anyway, on the grounds of being someone who lives with an extremely vulnerable person and ought therefore to be in cohort six of the old JCVI scheme. However, the record keeping of the NHS is frequently useless and would probably have omitted this information. If the age bar were to be removed then so would be this problem.
You're already able to book if you are 5 months past your second jab.
Only if you are 50+ or classed as vulnerable or a carer.
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
Yep. London Declaration of 1949. The Formation of the Commonwealth.
I think the idea that the UK was not an empire in the 1950s will come as a surprise to some. For example, Kenyans. Doesn't really matter if an empire stops calling itself an empire if it still actually is one.
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
Stop in the far northern Italian Tyrol, just south of the Brenner Pass
I especially recommend Bolzano, if you want a fine handsome city, or Bressanone/Brixen, if you want a gorgeous little town
A stunning part of the world. Magnificent mountains (the Dolomites!), superb food, Italian charm, German parking, endless history. One of my favourite corners of the world
I would definitely go for the Italian side of the border (even if they speak German for the first 50 miles). The coffee alone is so much better...
Thanks all!
I think Bolzano is where that defrosted ice man (Utzi or something) is? There's a museum to him and you can see him and his artefacts. Really cool story of how he was found and how he changed the understanding of European prehistory. They had to move the start of the European Copper Age back 1000 years on the basis of this axe. And they know what his last meal was, the two valleys he grew up in and so on. Phenomenal stuff.
Obscure factoid: I have discovered by chance that the British peerage includes amongst its number the Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield. This is not a typo. The history of how the Earldom of Mansfield came to be created twice - first for the real Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, second for an entirely fictitious Mansfield in Middlesex - and both titles were given to the same 18th century Scottish lawyer is really quite odd.
EDIT: And I've clearly been spending way too long mucking about with Google. Time for bed.
Looks like I missed a Leon meltdown of historic proportions today Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
Non-historic. Only 3.7 on the Richter Scale.
My personal favorite was during his play-by-play description of England's performance during a World (or many Euro?) Cup match number of years ago. GREATLY added to the reportage.
Looks like I missed a Leon meltdown of historic proportions today Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
What was the meltdown about? Trying to work out whether it's worth me scrolling through hundreds of comments to find it.
With regards to the other thing if it has happened. If they have delayed the announcement out of respect for Remembrance Sunday, at which time in the morning will they push the button?
Theoretically, about 5am so ready for the main TV breakfast programmes. In practice, it would be utterly astonishing if they'd both tried and succeeded in keeping the death of the monarch under wraps for that long in this day and age. I don't think we were watching King Charles III's first public engagement this morning.
Charles literally looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anne and Edward a million miles away mentally. William a little wistful. And then they cut away to the ladies on the balcony who looked even worse.
Yes I know its Remembrance Sunday but something very very serious has happened which they were all consumed by.
Not Boris of course. Not in the loop. And was snapped looking in the opposite direction of the former PMs he was wth - at his own state funded personal photographer. What a tosser.
You missed a trick. Surely Boris would very much be in the loop. You could have said he just doesn't give a f***.
AIUI they don't tell the PM until it breaks out of the palace. I don't think she's passed, but it can't be long. Sadly.
I think she has osteoporosis of the spine, hence the spine strain today. She has visibly shrunk and has quite a back curvature. This can be quite painful, and would explain why she has given up riding a couple of months back. Resting is good advice.
I expect that she will die in the next year or two, but who knows really? It will be the end of an era and an end to a reign of change, starting as monarch of a worldwide empire, and ending where we are now, an offshore island uncertain of what to do next. I won't cry though, and imagine that London Bridge will be way over the top. Life goes on.
Was she ever monarch of an empire?
I thought her dad was the last Emperor?
Yes, he gave up the title Emperor of India in 1948. That title (as Empress) was Disraeli’s idea in 1876 due to the prospect of Victoria’s daughter, also named Victoria, potentially outranking her mother once her husband ascended to the German throne (which he did in 1888 but only for a few months before passing on himself).
There has never been an Emperor/ess of Britain itself, or of the “British Empire”, unless you count what is sometimes called the “Britannic Empire” of Carausius from 286-296AD. It’s highly debatable as to whether that was actually intended to be a permanent secession from the Roman state rather than Carausius’s base to attempt to usurp the legitimate emperor, Diocletian.
Planning a road trip to the Italian Lakes next summer and we fancy coimng back via Austria with a few nights stop somewhere.
I don't know Austria at all, what's our best bet for a stop... Innsbruck? Salzburg? Vienna is a bit out of the way since we have to drive back to the Channel
Stop in the far northern Italian Tyrol, just south of the Brenner Pass
I especially recommend Bolzano, if you want a fine handsome city, or Bressanone/Brixen, if you want a gorgeous little town
A stunning part of the world. Magnificent mountains (the Dolomites!), superb food, Italian charm, German parking, endless history. One of my favourite corners of the world
I would definitely go for the Italian side of the border (even if they speak German for the first 50 miles). The coffee alone is so much better...
Thanks all!
I think Bolzano is where that defrosted ice man (Utzi or something) is? There's a museum to him and you can see him and his artefacts. Really cool story of how he was found and how he changed the understanding of European prehistory. They had to move the start of the European Copper Age back 1000 years on the basis of this axe. And they know what his last meal was, the two valleys he grew up in and so on. Phenomenal stuff.
Looks like I missed a Leon meltdown of historic proportions today Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
Non-historic. Only 3.7 on the Richter Scale.
My personal favorite was during his play-by-play description of England's performance during a World (or many Euro?) Cup match number of years ago. GREATLY added to the reportage.
"The summit can be reached via the eponymous Wankbahn, a cable car system that runs during the summer months . . . A mountain hut on the summit, the Wank-Haus, provides food and accommodation . . ."
"The summit can be reached via the eponymous Wankbahn, a cable car system that runs during the summer months . . . A mountain hut on the summit, the Wank-Haus, provides food and accommodation . . ."
Sadly the good burghers of that region can no longer consider twinning with Wankie, in what is now Zimbabwe, as that was changed to Hwange shortly after independence.
Looks like I missed a Leon meltdown of historic proportions today Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
What was the meltdown about? Trying to work out whether it's worth me scrolling through hundreds of comments to find it.
Oh it had everything. Zombies. Atheism. Contraception.
Ongoing situation connected to taxi explosion apparently. Some of the tweets below suggesting police 'negotiations'.
Liam Thorp @LiamThorpECHO NEW: Taxis arriving at the scene at Rutland Avenue to escort residents out of the area
We’ve seen a number of residents being evacuated from the street with luggage and taken away in cars 11:36 pm · 14 Nov 2021·Twitter for iPhone
I rented a bedsit in one of those big Victorian houses Rutland Avenue many years ago. The road had a fair number of properties let out to Liverpool University students.
Why in God's name would someone try to bomb a woman's hospital?
There are suggestions the target was the nearby Remembrance Day service at Liverpool Cathedral. The taxi driver probably stopped something terrible from happening.
"President Macron is using the migrant crisis to punish Britain for Brexit, ministers believe, as more than 1,000 people are expected to cross the Channel this week." (£)
Comments
I have analysed myself for 50 years and I am pretty sure of this diagnosis
I have encountered true autism in myriad forms, close to home and far away, and I do think it is a useful term to describe a type (tho I hear what NPXMP is saying, and we are all different)
I would be wary of ever seriously saying "so and so is autistic" - or narcissistic or sociopathic or manic-depressive or alcoholic etc etc - of anyone I have never met. How can I know? Does anyone ever *know*? Do I even have the right to say this?
But when it comes to our political leaders, those who seek to govern us, then we are allowed to speculate. They want power over us, the quid pro quo is that we get to deconstruct them, in a democracy, to see if they fit the bill.
I am sure we have had multiple autistic prime ministers, May and Brown are just the latest. The hard working, detail-grasping nature of the beast means they can prosper, and be highly successful, but it does mean they are exposed, cruelly, when it comes to normal human interactions. And modern society demands more, on that front, than was the case
Lots has changed in last 120 years, but the situation is quite similar in many respects.
Both my wife and I suffer periods of back strain and my wife is similar being shorter and a wee bit more bent which does come with age
And maybe I am a bit more sensitive on these matters
We'd have exactly the same sort of thing if this were a republic and the incumbent president were elderly and kept having to cancel important public appearances for a growing list of health-related excuses. The Queen occupies the apex of the political system. Her condition is a matter of public interest.
Speculation re foiled suicide bombing shortening.
Assuming he exhibits similar longevity, you can well imagine him going into retirement and handing the job on to William once he and Camilla have had enough of it.
- Intimate knowledge of military stuff
- access to fighter jets
- Has claim to Normandy/speaks French
- closet environmentalist, possibly passed onto wayward son
@Dura_Ace
Likes hunting and shooting a bit much for our resident militant vegan.
Or maybe that's what she wants me to think...
It would be a bit of a chew on if the games had to be postponed.
Apparently, a high speed Birmingham to Nottingham link is part of the new deal. Expect it is to East Midlands Parkway and not Nottingham or Derby.
Parkway is literally in the middle of nowhere. Next to the EM airport but otherwise nothing.
Papers saying time from Brum to Nottingham will be 27mins.
No chance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_offensive
Their fate will be settled on Tuesday night.
@malcolmg .
Apparently, even the Queen won't live forever.
Informative.
Years ago was in Vienna, and happened to attend a daytime screening of "The Third Man" which showed IIRC some scenes of mass devastation around St. Stephen's Cathedral.
After the movie ended, walked out of the theater, into the same area forty years later. Quite a contrast.
Plus the flick also featured a rather louche establishment, frequented by Harry Lime & etc., called the Kit-Kat Klub. And as I walked back to my humble lodgings, I strolled past . . . wait for it . . . the Kit-Kat Klub! Which had morphed into a XXX emporium.
A murdered husband, pickled under the floorboards, and pb.com.
(Maggie Smith in Keeping Mum)
Except that one is part of HS2W which is already part of the plan. One is the Leeds to Thurnscoe bit of the cancelled HS2E where "high speed" trains from Leeds to Sheffield then trundle through Swinton Rotherham and Meadowhall as they do now. And the third supposedly gets people from Brum to Nottingham in fast time yet "Nottingham" is East Midlands parkway - another section of the scrapped HS2E.
The massively needed high speed line between Manchester and Leeds? Missing. I know that Boris has no idea where anything is (referred to COP26 in Edinburgh earlier...) but the voters do. They are going to get a twonking if the Sunday Times press release is real.
@Steven_Swinford
·
6m
Exclusive:
The coronavirus booster programme is expected to be extended to under 50s in bid to increase immunity this Winter, govt expected to announce tomorrow
Scientists believe move could help drive down transmission and keep middle-aged people out of hospital
Let's hope it isn't happening.
And in theory this is all Shapps idea and he could be gone by end of the week thanks to lobbying and so on.
Judging from the picture, the Polish lady is about 4-foot nothing.
Also reckon Her Majesty looks up to her, and the once-young girls like them both, who truly fought for their country and humanity.
Bob plays piano pinkies up….
Al Kooper discusses Bob Dylan's piano playing on the New Morning Album
http://azuremilesrecords.com/wheneightwasmorethanten.html
Thank you to all who helped feed him and rattle his bars, it's really quite enjoyable reading.
Doesn't really matter if an empire stops calling itself an empire if it still actually is one.
EDIT: And I've clearly been spending way too long mucking about with Google. Time for bed.
My personal favorite was during his play-by-play description of England's performance during a World (or many Euro?) Cup match number of years ago. GREATLY added to the reportage.
But the taming of the coronavirus conceals failures in public health"
https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2021/11/08/covid-19-is-likely-to-fade-away-in-2022
There has never been an Emperor/ess of Britain itself, or of the “British Empire”, unless you count what is sometimes called the “Britannic Empire” of Carausius from 286-296AD. It’s highly debatable as to whether that was actually intended to be a permanent secession from the Roman state rather than Carausius’s base to attempt to usurp the legitimate emperor, Diocletian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imi-p5T2PWk
I meant "of histrionic proportions"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wank_(mountain)
"The summit can be reached via the eponymous Wankbahn, a cable car system that runs during the summer months . . . A mountain hut on the summit, the Wank-Haus, provides food and accommodation . . ."
Liam Thorp
@LiamThorpECHO
NEW: Taxis arriving at the scene at Rutland Avenue to escort residents out of the area
We’ve seen a number of residents being evacuated from the street with luggage and taken away in cars
11:36 pm · 14 Nov 2021·Twitter for iPhone
But she still used it to book. And got it done today.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/french-letting-migrants-cross-to-uk-as-a-punishment-for-brexit-mcnz08qnh