They seem to subsist entirely on dry buttered toast and Riesling.
5 minutes would be too long for me. In my very controversial humble opinion they were a good band, but the most overrated of all time.
Sorry, you’re wrong about that.
They remind me of Dylan, and indeed Shakespeare, in that the more you look into the work, the more there is to look at.
One problem they have is their ridiculous ubiquity in the culture, rendering all their stuff like wallpaper.
I have actually tried not to listen for them for the past 20 years, but rediscovered them during lockdown, thus resulting in sheer jubilation and excitement once more.
It’s possible I will try to ignore them again for 20 years.
They're brilliant. By definition overrated simply because you can't be rated that high without being overrated. But brilliant.
Bizarre
do you like the Grateful Dead? They are the closest stab I can have at a guess as to what the beatles would have been like if they'd been any good. Try the "Best Of" album.
I do but I don't place that much above the Beatles last 4 or 5 years. Bob's my uber alles.
You could retire to a desert island with a playlist of Dylan covers, and never get bored. the only Beatles cover I can think of is hendrix doing Sgt pepper on one occasion, and he covered Wild Thing, so not much of an accolade. let's ponder the reasons for the discrepancy.
Probably because Dylan was a first rate songwriter but a second rate singer. Far easier to listen to a Dylan song and think "this is a great song but it would sound better sung in tune". When you listen to a Beatles song it's usually hard to think of how it could be improved. Many people have covered their songs, of course, notably Yesterday, but the originals are always the standards, with good reason.
Disagree. I prefer the dylan versions of Mr Tambourine Man, Mighty Quinn, bitw, you ain't going nowhere. Ambivalent about aatwt.
I still think the Dylan version of All Along the Watchtower is superior to that of Hendrix. There is a depth in the former that sounds like it comes from some ancient time, whereas the latter seems superficial.
Me too. Although it is such a great cover it is almost pointless comparing with the original. Best to treat as a completely different song
Yes, different songs really. Which is what the best covers manage to do and especially the best Dylan covers.
Certainly true of any Shatner effort ….
Yep. He's a killer. By the time he's finished so is the song.
I think it’s a shame that Barbados is now a republic.
At its best, the monarchy can be a symbol of, and force for, multi-cultural kinship and constitutional sobriety.
I tend to agree, though, that apres elle, le deluge.
38 out of 54 Commonwealth nations became republics or (or in the case of Tonga have their own monarch) in the reign of the Queen or her father George VIth. Barbados becoming a republic this month makes that 39 out of 54.
So the deluge already happened and it happened mainly in the reign of the current Queen with India and Ireland for example going in the reign of her father.
The only Commonwealth realms left when the Queen dies of any significance will be nations with primarily populations of mainly white British Isles heritage eg Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
So it may have been correct to say when King George Vth died in 1936, apres il le deluge, it would not be true on the death of the current Queen
Apres is a preposition and therefore takes a disjunctive pronoun as its object.In this case third person singular masculine.
Apres lui...
Jesus Fucking Christ. And you call yourself a remainer.
TfL is the perfect example of strong unions representing their workers.
And the result is a strong career path with good pay, running the finest public network in the UK. People that actually use the Underground think it's good on the whole, just needs some work - but the Tories aren't going to help with that
Not necessarily, the drivers have made themselves prime automation targets because paying them is now a huge expense so the potential saving is now high enough to warrant a big investment in self driving trains.
It's a classic example of if you want to do that - you don't want to start from here...
The underground will be one of the last networks in the world to be automated for there are an awful, awful lot of dragons in the bits that aren't already automated.
The conclusion is that the Tube will never be automated, not least the District line which is still in part managed by Network Rail. Perhaps the Tories would like to fund it and not cut it.
It's really not as difficult as the LR article makes out, just requires a bucketload of cash and some political will. So not happening anytime soon, admittedly.
The two major issues would be the need to fit platform edge doors and create level access. This is a civil engineering issue, and can be solved but will require significant disruption.
The other challenge is the psychological issue around having up to 1000 people deep underground on an unattended train, with (unlike other systems) no emergency escape route. Not a dealbreaker but would require significant political commitment at all levels.
The unions have done a great job for their members interests at the expense of the capital as a whole, and TfL that devotes significant time and resources to dealing with the whole pseudo-1970s obstructive bureaucracy around it. It's great for CorrectBattery and others to hold this up as socialism in action, but at the end of the day its the passengers who are paying for it. If it were up to me I'd abolish them tomorrow
And replace it with what? And who would drive the trains?
Once again, the Tories want TfL to spend less money, so how on Earth do they do what you propose?
The same drivers could drive the trains, but they wouldn't be a member of a union. Like police officers.
I never said it would be cheap or aligned with current government investment priorities. I said it was would not be as difficult as the LR article suggests it would be.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
Ella Fitzgerald does a very groovy “Savoy Truffle”.
The best Beatles covers are to be found in the jazz/soul/reggae world.
For me one of the very best Dylan covers comes from there too. Richie Havens and Just Like a Woman.
Not sure that I prefer it, but Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is quite an upbeat take on what was originally a pretty downbeat and brooding delivery by Bob.
I love Ferry's version, but it is so upbeat I wasn't aware that it was all about nuclear fallout. Although Bob denies that now anyway, so upbeat works.
TfL is the perfect example of strong unions representing their workers.
And the result is a strong career path with good pay, running the finest public network in the UK. People that actually use the Underground think it's good on the whole, just needs some work - but the Tories aren't going to help with that
Not necessarily, the drivers have made themselves prime automation targets because paying them is now a huge expense so the potential saving is now high enough to warrant a big investment in self driving trains.
It's a classic example of if you want to do that - you don't want to start from here...
The underground will be one of the last networks in the world to be automated for there are an awful, awful lot of dragons in the bits that aren't already automated.
The conclusion is that the Tube will never be automated, not least the District line which is still in part managed by Network Rail. Perhaps the Tories would like to fund it and not cut it.
It's really not as difficult as the LR article makes out, just requires a bucketload of cash and some political will. So not happening anytime soon, admittedly.
The two major issues would be the need to fit platform edge doors and create level access. This is a civil engineering issue, and can be solved but will require significant disruption.
The other challenge is the psychological issue around having up to 1000 people deep underground on an unattended train, with (unlike other systems) no emergency escape route. Not a dealbreaker but would require significant political commitment at all levels.
The unions have done a great job for their members interests at the expense of the capital as a whole, and TfL that devotes significant time and resources to dealing with the whole pseudo-1970s obstructive bureaucracy around it. It's great for CorrectBattery and others to hold this up as socialism in action, but at the end of the day its the passengers who are paying for it. If it were up to me I'd abolish them tomorrow
And replace it with what? And who would drive the trains?
Once again, the Tories want TfL to spend less money, so how on Earth do they do what you propose?
The same drivers could drive the trains, but they wouldn't be a member of a union. Like police officers.
I never said it would be cheap or aligned with current government investment priorities. I said it was would not be as difficult as the LR article suggests it would be.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
@Selebian this was part of a recent agreement between the 16 territories to align their acts of succession.
TfL is the perfect example of strong unions representing their workers.
And the result is a strong career path with good pay, running the finest public network in the UK. People that actually use the Underground think it's good on the whole, just needs some work - but the Tories aren't going to help with that
Not necessarily, the drivers have made themselves prime automation targets because paying them is now a huge expense so the potential saving is now high enough to warrant a big investment in self driving trains.
It's a classic example of if you want to do that - you don't want to start from here...
The underground will be one of the last networks in the world to be automated for there are an awful, awful lot of dragons in the bits that aren't already automated.
The conclusion is that the Tube will never be automated, not least the District line which is still in part managed by Network Rail. Perhaps the Tories would like to fund it and not cut it.
It's really not as difficult as the LR article makes out, just requires a bucketload of cash and some political will. So not happening anytime soon, admittedly.
The two major issues would be the need to fit platform edge doors and create level access. This is a civil engineering issue, and can be solved but will require significant disruption.
The other challenge is the psychological issue around having up to 1000 people deep underground on an unattended train, with (unlike other systems) no emergency escape route. Not a dealbreaker but would require significant political commitment at all levels.
The unions have done a great job for their members interests at the expense of the capital as a whole, and TfL that devotes significant time and resources to dealing with the whole pseudo-1970s obstructive bureaucracy around it. It's great for CorrectBattery and others to hold this up as socialism in action, but at the end of the day its the passengers who are paying for it. If it were up to me I'd abolish them tomorrow
And replace it with what? And who would drive the trains?
Once again, the Tories want TfL to spend less money, so how on Earth do they do what you propose?
The same drivers could drive the trains, but they wouldn't be a member of a union. Like police officers.
I never said it would be cheap or aligned with current government investment priorities, I said it was would not be as difficult as the linked article suggest it will.
Really? You think levelling platforms and add enough space to allow trackside barrier to be built can be done cheaper and easier than the expert's estimate?
It's a view I suppose..
But for reference the realignment of the Northern Line at Bank is costing £600m and that's a single station
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
I see the Thatcher Head of State pro-monarchary arguement has evolved.
No10 spox: "We have been successful in securing a diverse supply and stock of vaccines throughout this process and our expectation is that we don't require that centre producing, sort of, 'state vaccinations'...
The thing that really pisses me off about that is “Things are tight and so they’re looking for a way to recoup some of the [£215m] cost.”
Given how much we spaffed up the wall on Test, Trace, and Isolate or to Tory donors are we really quibbling about £215 million?
Even without test and trace wastage, £215 million isn't a very large sum of money for having a world class vaccine research and production facility.
My understanding was the whole reason for building it in the first place was the worry that the UK was far too reliant on foreign manufacture and meaning advanced research could be done.
Maybe, but if they sell it to, say, Pfizer who turn it into a new research and manufacturing hub of vaccines in the UK the ROI would be potentially huge. Selling it isn't a bad idea, it just depends on who buys it, if it's a PE or VC fund then yes, it will be a waste of everyone's time. If it's a medium sized or larger pharmaceutical company it could provide the small push needed to get a big private investment in manufacturing and development of vaccines in the UK.
My understanding was that it was supposed to be a not for profit, essentially an academic venture, to enable R&D in conjunction with a number of leading universities, so basically enabling them to do world leading stuff shielded from immediate commercial pressures.
That potentially makes more sense in a UK where no real vaccine manufacturing capacity exists and there is little expertise. That's no longer the case and if anything this move will bring more investment in capacity and expertise. As I said, with the right buyer it could be a really great move, all of the pieces of the puzzle already exist now for a private company to come and turn that into a world leading fully integrated vaccine research and manufacturing site. I think that's what the government will be looking for, it's not the £215m so much as it is the £500-800m in further investment that will come over time to upgrade the facility and in recruitment of vaccine manufacturing expertise into the UK, an area we struggle with.
It says the interested parties include UK biotech Oxford BioMedica, Swiss chemicals group Lonza, and Japan’s Fujifilm, which has subsidiaries that provide contract development and manufacturing services to the pharma industry.
Someone please shoot me the next time I think about going to London during the Black Friday weekend.
Even though I don't use the tube, it messed up Uber and general taxis as well.
Wasn't it a tube strike on the Friday leading into Sat.
That will be the cause of much of your woe.
It was indeed. The buses were useful and got me around just fine, great public transport network in London
B*r*s bikes for me!
We call them Sadiq Cycles now
Not the worst. I save one syllable, though.
I guess how the name changes is going to be cyclical
Look out for any contenders for the next mayoral election with either name starting with W: 'Wally's wheels' for example. Obviously Red Ken lost to Boris because Londoners couldn't stomach the incoming bikes being known as 'Ken's contraptions'
Means Rory Stewart is a no-go. Unless we have 'Rory's revolvers', but that sounds more like a 60s pop band.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Head of the Commonwealth is not the same as a monarch or HoS, obviously. So it does offer a tactful intermediate position even if they do not make Charles HoS on his accession to the throne. Pace some PBers, Divine Right doesn't cut it as it used to.
Someone please shoot me the next time I think about going to London during the Black Friday weekend.
Even though I don't use the tube, it messed up Uber and general taxis as well.
Wasn't it a tube strike on the Friday leading into Sat.
That will be the cause of much of your woe.
It was indeed. The buses were useful and got me around just fine, great public transport network in London
B*r*s bikes for me!
We call them Sadiq Cycles now
Not the worst. I save one syllable, though.
I guess how the name changes is going to be cyclical
Look out for any contenders for the next mayoral election with either name starting with W: 'Wally's wheels' for example. Obviously Red Ken lost to Boris because Londoners couldn't stomach the incoming bikes being known as 'Ken's contraptions'
Means Rory Stewart is a no-go. Unless we have 'Rory's revolvers', but that sounds more like a 60s pop band.
Someone please shoot me the next time I think about going to London during the Black Friday weekend.
Even though I don't use the tube, it messed up Uber and general taxis as well.
Wasn't it a tube strike on the Friday leading into Sat.
That will be the cause of much of your woe.
It was indeed. The buses were useful and got me around just fine, great public transport network in London
B*r*s bikes for me!
We call them Sadiq Cycles now
Not the worst. I save one syllable, though.
I guess how the name changes is going to be cyclical
Look out for any contenders for the next mayoral election with either name starting with W: 'Wally's wheels' for example. Obviously Red Ken lost to Boris because Londoners couldn't stomach the incoming bikes being known as 'Ken's contraptions'
Means Rory Stewart is a no-go. Unless we have 'Rory's revolvers', but that sounds more like a 60s pop band.
What a wasted opportunity. Bailey's Bikes would have worked.
TfL is the perfect example of strong unions representing their workers.
And the result is a strong career path with good pay, running the finest public network in the UK. People that actually use the Underground think it's good on the whole, just needs some work - but the Tories aren't going to help with that
Not necessarily, the drivers have made themselves prime automation targets because paying them is now a huge expense so the potential saving is now high enough to warrant a big investment in self driving trains.
It's a classic example of if you want to do that - you don't want to start from here...
The underground will be one of the last networks in the world to be automated for there are an awful, awful lot of dragons in the bits that aren't already automated.
The conclusion is that the Tube will never be automated, not least the District line which is still in part managed by Network Rail. Perhaps the Tories would like to fund it and not cut it.
It's really not as difficult as the LR article makes out, just requires a bucketload of cash and some political will. So not happening anytime soon, admittedly.
The two major issues would be the need to fit platform edge doors and create level access. This is a civil engineering issue, and can be solved but will require significant disruption.
The other challenge is the psychological issue around having up to 1000 people deep underground on an unattended train, with (unlike other systems) no emergency escape route. Not a dealbreaker but would require significant political commitment at all levels.
The unions have done a great job for their members interests at the expense of the capital as a whole, and TfL that devotes significant time and resources to dealing with the whole pseudo-1970s obstructive bureaucracy around it. It's great for CorrectBattery and others to hold this up as socialism in action, but at the end of the day its the passengers who are paying for it. If it were up to me I'd abolish them tomorrow
And replace it with what? And who would drive the trains?
Once again, the Tories want TfL to spend less money, so how on Earth do they do what you propose?
The same drivers could drive the trains, but they wouldn't be a member of a union. Like police officers.
I never said it would be cheap or aligned with current government investment priorities, I said it was would not be as difficult as the linked article suggest it will.
Really? You think levelling platforms and add enough space to allow trackside barrier to be built can be done cheaper and easier than the expert's estimate?
It's a view I suppose..
But for reference the realignment of the Northern Line at Bank is costing £600m and that's a single station
No, I didn't comment on the cost estimate in the article. I am very familiar with the costs of undertaking this sort of work. I said it wouldn't be as difficult as suggested. There's a difference.
Yes, I believe the positives of taking away the power of the unions would outweigh the negatives around the right for labour to organise, in this specific circumstance. It might not be a popular view, but it is borne of experience.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
The point about democracy is you can also get rid of people you don't like.
Plus, if Charles was more popular than Blair, he would beat Blair in an election so why worry?
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Head of the Commonwealth is not the same as a monarch or HoS, obviously. So it does offer a tactful intermediate position even if they do not make Charles HoS on his accession to the throne. Pace some PBers, Divine Right doesn't cut it as it used to.
The monarch does not rule by divine right even in the UK.
The only monarchs who still rule by divine right are in the Middle East
Ella Fitzgerald does a very groovy “Savoy Truffle”.
The best Beatles covers are to be found in the jazz/soul/reggae world.
For me one of the very best Dylan covers comes from there too. Richie Havens and Just Like a Woman.
Not sure that I prefer it, but Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is quite an upbeat take on what was originally a pretty downbeat and brooding delivery by Bob.
On covers, Jealous Guy by Roxy Music is also pretty good. I've grown to appreciate later smooth Roxy more than I did at the time, though art school Roxy is of course nonpareil.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
The point about democracy is you can also get rid of people you don't like.
Plus, if Charles was more popular than Blair, he would beat Blair in an election so why worry?
Monarchs are not elected, that is the whole point, it is hereditary not party political
I think it’s a shame that Barbados is now a republic.
At its best, the monarchy can be a symbol of, and force for, multi-cultural kinship and constitutional sobriety.
I tend to agree, though, that apres elle, le deluge.
many of them had experience living or studying in the UK and while they were mostly pretty Anglophile (eg loving English football and pubs)
While of course very touristy, I remember watching Arsenal vs Chelsea at the Surfside Bar with plenty of locals cheering (IIRC) mainly for the Arse.
Oh and Tony Blair was also there watching. Can't remember the score.
Yes if I remember right Arsenal is the big Bajan team. I used to watch games at Bubba's Sports Bar, I don't remember ever seeing Tony there.
I'm not entirely convinced, pretty straight as he undoubtedly is, that Tone is also a South Coast kind of guy.
Ha ha, well quite. I definitely was a South Coast kind of guy, I went to Baku a few times but Harbour Lights or the Boatyard were my preferred hangouts, plus all the bars along St Lawrence Gap. The West Coast was more popular with the mega rich and older people. The West Coast had some of the best beaches though.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Head of the Commonwealth is not the same as a monarch or HoS, obviously. So it does offer a tactful intermediate position even if they do not make Charles HoS on his accession to the throne. Pace some PBers, Divine Right doesn't cut it as it used to.
The monarch does not rule by divine right even in the UK.
The only monarchs who still rule by divine right are in the Middle East
You said only last month that Charles would be king by divine right!
I think it’s a shame that Barbados is now a republic.
At its best, the monarchy can be a symbol of, and force for, multi-cultural kinship and constitutional sobriety.
I tend to agree, though, that apres elle, le deluge.
many of them had experience living or studying in the UK and while they were mostly pretty Anglophile (eg loving English football and pubs)
While of course very touristy, I remember watching Arsenal vs Chelsea at the Surfside Bar with plenty of locals cheering (IIRC) mainly for the Arse.
Oh and Tony Blair was also there watching. Can't remember the score.
Yes if I remember right Arsenal is the big Bajan team. I used to watch games at Bubba's Sports Bar, I don't remember ever seeing Tony there.
I'm not entirely convinced, pretty straight as he undoubtedly is, that Tone is also a South Coast kind of guy.
Ha ha, well quite. I definitely was a South Coast kind of guy, I went to Baku a few times but Harbour Lights or the Boatyard were my preferred hangouts, plus all the bars along St Lawrence Gap. The West Coast was more popular with the mega rich and older people. The West Coast had some of the best beaches though.
You and your comprehensive schooling and not going to the Platinum Coast (as I believe it is also called in travel brochures). You're going to give PB bragging a bad name.
Someone please shoot me the next time I think about going to London during the Black Friday weekend.
Even though I don't use the tube, it messed up Uber and general taxis as well.
Wasn't it a tube strike on the Friday leading into Sat.
That will be the cause of much of your woe.
It was indeed. The buses were useful and got me around just fine, great public transport network in London
B*r*s bikes for me!
We call them Sadiq Cycles now
Not the worst. I save one syllable, though.
I guess how the name changes is going to be cyclical
Look out for any contenders for the next mayoral election with either name starting with W: 'Wally's wheels' for example. Obviously Red Ken lost to Boris because Londoners couldn't stomach the incoming bikes being known as 'Ken's contraptions'
Means Rory Stewart is a no-go. Unless we have 'Rory's revolvers', but that sounds more like a 60s pop band.
What a wasted opportunity. Bailey's Bikes would have worked.
Ella Fitzgerald does a very groovy “Savoy Truffle”.
The best Beatles covers are to be found in the jazz/soul/reggae world.
For me one of the very best Dylan covers comes from there too. Richie Havens and Just Like a Woman.
Not sure that I prefer it, but Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is quite an upbeat take on what was originally a pretty downbeat and brooding delivery by Bob.
On covers, Jealous Guy by Roxy Music is also pretty good. I've grown to appreciate later smooth Roxy more than I did at the time, though art school Roxy is of course nonpareil.
Ha, I'd forgotten Ferry did an album of Dylan covers!
No10 spox: "We have been successful in securing a diverse supply and stock of vaccines throughout this process and our expectation is that we don't require that centre producing, sort of, 'state vaccinations'...
The thing that really pisses me off about that is “Things are tight and so they’re looking for a way to recoup some of the [£215m] cost.”
Given how much we spaffed up the wall on Test, Trace, and Isolate or to Tory donors are we really quibbling about £215 million?
Even without test and trace wastage, £215 million isn't a very large sum of money for having a world class vaccine research and production facility.
My understanding was the whole reason for building it in the first place was the worry that the UK was far too reliant on foreign manufacture and meaning advanced research could be done.
Maybe, but if they sell it to, say, Pfizer who turn it into a new research and manufacturing hub of vaccines in the UK the ROI would be potentially huge. Selling it isn't a bad idea, it just depends on who buys it, if it's a PE or VC fund then yes, it will be a waste of everyone's time. If it's a medium sized or larger pharmaceutical company it could provide the small push needed to get a big private investment in manufacturing and development of vaccines in the UK.
My understanding was that it was supposed to be a not for profit, essentially an academic venture, to enable R&D in conjunction with a number of leading universities, so basically enabling them to do world leading stuff shielded from immediate commercial pressures.
That potentially makes more sense in a UK where no real vaccine manufacturing capacity exists and there is little expertise. That's no longer the case and if anything this move will bring more investment in capacity and expertise. As I said, with the right buyer it could be a really great move, all of the pieces of the puzzle already exist now for a private company to come and turn that into a world leading fully integrated vaccine research and manufacturing site. I think that's what the government will be looking for, it's not the £215m so much as it is the £500-800m in further investment that will come over time to upgrade the facility and in recruitment of vaccine manufacturing expertise into the UK, an area we struggle with.
It says the interested parties include UK biotech Oxford BioMedica, Swiss chemicals group Lonza, and Japan’s Fujifilm, which has subsidiaries that provide contract development and manufacturing services to the pharma industry.
Which seems like exactly the right kind of buyer, they will want to keep the asset running at maximum capacity and it becomes a new site for them to expand capacity when it is needed, which I'm sure it will be over the next decade. Lonza manufacture every dose of the Moderna vaccine outside of the US, I have no doubt that if they get their hands on this place they will use it to increase production of the vaccine and variant specific versions etc...
As I said, with the wrong buyer it could become a bit of a waste but I'm sure they will find a reasonably good buyer who will continue to invest. As it is the place will make 15-20m doses of vaccines per month under state subsidised contracts, with the right kind of investment it could probably do 10x those numbers on a commercial basis. With this facility in government hands the UK will never be a vaccine superpower, in private hands we might actually become one. Belgium is and their facilities are privately owned and the investment comes from those private companies. Pfizer invested hundreds of millions of Euros at the beginning of the year to increase output at Puurs.
I think it’s a shame that Barbados is now a republic.
At its best, the monarchy can be a symbol of, and force for, multi-cultural kinship and constitutional sobriety.
I tend to agree, though, that apres elle, le deluge.
many of them had experience living or studying in the UK and while they were mostly pretty Anglophile (eg loving English football and pubs)
While of course very touristy, I remember watching Arsenal vs Chelsea at the Surfside Bar with plenty of locals cheering (IIRC) mainly for the Arse.
Oh and Tony Blair was also there watching. Can't remember the score.
Yes if I remember right Arsenal is the big Bajan team. I used to watch games at Bubba's Sports Bar, I don't remember ever seeing Tony there.
I'm not entirely convinced, pretty straight as he undoubtedly is, that Tone is also a South Coast kind of guy.
Ha ha, well quite. I definitely was a South Coast kind of guy, I went to Baku a few times but Harbour Lights or the Boatyard were my preferred hangouts, plus all the bars along St Lawrence Gap. The West Coast was more popular with the mega rich and older people. The West Coast had some of the best beaches though.
You and your comprehensive schooling and not going to the Platinum Coast (as I believe it is also called in travel brochures). You're going to give PB bragging a bad name.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Charles was confirmed as Head of the Commonwealth to succeed the Queen. At the end of the day, much easier to agree on him that anyone else I would imagine. Tony Blair, anyone?
The point about democracy is you can also get rid of people you don't like.
Plus, if Charles was more popular than Blair, he would beat Blair in an election so why worry?
Monarchs are not elected, that is the whole point, it is hereditary not party political
Yes. The point is they are not democratic. Wafting Tony Blair into the discussion is the kind of thing done be people who like to defend monarchy without even understanding democracy.
TfL is the perfect example of strong unions representing their workers.
And the result is a strong career path with good pay, running the finest public network in the UK. People that actually use the Underground think it's good on the whole, just needs some work - but the Tories aren't going to help with that
TFL is a perfect example of strong Trade Union dinosaurs screwing the public.
Last time I lived in London, they were striking for having been supplied with the wrong type of kettle, and were even being egged on by Contemptible Ken Livingstone.
Congratulations to Barbados who shrug the yoke of imperialism and become a republic from midnight tonight. Australia next, I reckon.
Given they've said they would do it for bloody years now I'd assume Jamaica, cant see what the hold up is when they appear to have consensus.
Waiting for the change of monarchs, I expect. Tactful.
What's the protocol wrt countries that have the Queen as Head of State? Is it that they have her specifically as HoS or the UK HoS as HoS? I mean, when Charles is King, would they have to take an active decision to remove him as their HoS or could they just passively never make Charles HoS? The latter is obviously a great deal easier and the obvious outcome of apathy.
I suspect it may be a mix? For some, specifically QE2 as HoS, for others the UK HoS? For the Commonwealth, wasn't it specifically Elizabeth, but Charles was confirmed as successor a couple of years back?
Head of the Commonwealth is not the same as a monarch or HoS, obviously. So it does offer a tactful intermediate position even if they do not make Charles HoS on his accession to the throne. Pace some PBers, Divine Right doesn't cut it as it used to.
The monarch does not rule by divine right even in the UK.
The only monarchs who still rule by divine right are in the Middle East
You said only last month that Charles would be king by divine right!
You can be anointed monarch by God, as Charles will be, while still ruling with an elected Parliament as he also will do
No10 spox: "We have been successful in securing a diverse supply and stock of vaccines throughout this process and our expectation is that we don't require that centre producing, sort of, 'state vaccinations'...
The thing that really pisses me off about that is “Things are tight and so they’re looking for a way to recoup some of the [£215m] cost.”
Given how much we spaffed up the wall on Test, Trace, and Isolate or to Tory donors are we really quibbling about £215 million?
Even without test and trace wastage, £215 million isn't a very large sum of money for having a world class vaccine research and production facility.
My understanding was the whole reason for building it in the first place was the worry that the UK was far too reliant on foreign manufacture and meaning advanced research could be done.
Maybe, but if they sell it to, say, Pfizer who turn it into a new research and manufacturing hub of vaccines in the UK the ROI would be potentially huge. Selling it isn't a bad idea, it just depends on who buys it, if it's a PE or VC fund then yes, it will be a waste of everyone's time. If it's a medium sized or larger pharmaceutical company it could provide the small push needed to get a big private investment in manufacturing and development of vaccines in the UK.
Personally I would prefer it as a centre of excellence to drive work to develop the international manufacturing network that Az have developed - in contrast to Brussels having circled the wagons around a factory in Germany making vaccines too expensive for the developing world - with some investment from the ODA budget.
Would be huge for creating high tech in developing countries, and placing UK at the heart of it globally.
But Boris the Bonehead is pissing away the opportunity for thruppence, just as they are selling off OneWeb and letting Inmarsat go.
Ella Fitzgerald does a very groovy “Savoy Truffle”.
The best Beatles covers are to be found in the jazz/soul/reggae world.
For me one of the very best Dylan covers comes from there too. Richie Havens and Just Like a Woman.
Not sure that I prefer it, but Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is quite an upbeat take on what was originally a pretty downbeat and brooding delivery by Bob.
On covers, Jealous Guy by Roxy Music is also pretty good. I've grown to appreciate later smooth Roxy more than I did at the time, though art school Roxy is of course nonpareil.
I hate Roxy's Jealous Guy. It just seemed like they were cashing in on Lennon's murder. Elton John's Empty Garden by contrast was a heartfelt tribute to a friend.
Early Roxy Music hits are sublime, although some album tracks are difficult to deal with. Ferry going all Cole Porter is tiresome, but later Roxy are great, Oh Yeah is almost the perfect pop song.
Ella Fitzgerald does a very groovy “Savoy Truffle”.
The best Beatles covers are to be found in the jazz/soul/reggae world.
For me one of the very best Dylan covers comes from there too. Richie Havens and Just Like a Woman.
Not sure that I prefer it, but Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is quite an upbeat take on what was originally a pretty downbeat and brooding delivery by Bob.
On covers, Jealous Guy by Roxy Music is also pretty good. I've grown to appreciate later smooth Roxy more than I did at the time, though art school Roxy is of course nonpareil.
I hate Roxy's Jealous Guy. It just seemed like they were cashing in on Lennon's murder. Elton John's Empty Garden by contrast was a heartfelt tribute to a friend.
Early Roxy Music hits are sublime, although some album tracks are difficult to deal with. Ferry going all Cole Porter is tiresome, but later Roxy are great, Oh Yeah is almost the perfect pop song.
Comments
Oh and Tony Blair was also there watching. Can't remember the score.
Apres lui...
Jesus Fucking Christ. And you call yourself a remainer.
I never said it would be cheap or aligned with current government investment priorities. I said it was would not be as difficult as the LR article suggests it would be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Agreement
It's a view I suppose..
But for reference the realignment of the Northern Line at Bank is costing £600m and that's a single station
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/new-images-show-the-progress-of-a-huge-ps600m-revamp-of-bank-station-a3756786.html
This stuff is remarkable complex as you need to ensure you don't damage anything that already exists.
They seem to be Digital Economy Agreements, which will be good if properly negotiated.
It seems that ND is the UK Digital Secretary.
Nadine Dorries. Just call me "Fingers".
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/report-suggests-uks-national-vaccine-facility-is-on-the-block/
Means Rory Stewart is a no-go. Unless we have 'Rory's revolvers', but that sounds more like a 60s pop band.
Yes, I believe the positives of taking away the power of the unions would outweigh the negatives around the right for labour to organise, in this specific circumstance. It might not be a popular view, but it is borne of experience.
Plus, if Charles was more popular than Blair, he would beat Blair in an election so why worry?
The only monarchs who still rule by divine right are in the Middle East
The 'fiery redhead is a bit peeved that she didn't hear earlier' schtick is the epitome of a Westminster village story.
Let's see what Starmo comes up with.
As I said, with the wrong buyer it could become a bit of a waste but I'm sure they will find a reasonably good buyer who will continue to invest. As it is the place will make 15-20m doses of vaccines per month under state subsidised contracts, with the right kind of investment it could probably do 10x those numbers on a commercial basis. With this facility in government hands the UK will never be a vaccine superpower, in private hands we might actually become one. Belgium is and their facilities are privately owned and the investment comes from those private companies. Pfizer invested hundreds of millions of Euros at the beginning of the year to increase output at Puurs.
Last time I lived in London, they were striking for having been supplied with the wrong type of kettle, and were even being egged on by Contemptible Ken Livingstone.
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5484546.essex-tube-unions-in-storm-over-a-teacup/
NEW THREAD
Would be huge for creating high tech in developing countries, and placing UK at the heart of it globally.
But Boris the Bonehead is pissing away the opportunity for thruppence, just as they are selling off OneWeb and letting Inmarsat go.
Early Roxy Music hits are sublime, although some album tracks are difficult to deal with. Ferry going all Cole Porter is tiresome, but later Roxy are great, Oh Yeah is almost the perfect pop song.