"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
@Chris, if you're really that concerned, I can forward on a list of absolutely stunning but uninhabited Hebridean islands.
You could probably get one rent free as long as you keep an eye on the ewes during lambing and are happy to briefly interact with a local boatman to offload the lambs come the autumn.
It is a pity there is not a potential leader as capable as Gove, as hardworking as May, as charismatic as Johnson and as decent as Hunt. Though they would still need the self-self-promotional skills of Truss to win.
I went from a mild dislike to ultimate detestation of the man but in my lifetime the closest any political leader got to that was Blair. He really had it all. And wasted it.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
@Chris, if you're really that concerned, I can forward on a list of absolutely stunning but uninhabited Hebridean islands.
You could probably get one rent free as long as you keep an eye on the ewes during lambing and are happy to briefly interact with a local boatman to offload the lambs come the autumn.
Gruinard deprecated tho.
I thought they cleaned it up.
They said they had. Sprayed the place with formalin. Supposed to have inactivated the anthrax spores.
Seems odd to me - if it inactivated them you'd think it would inactivate anything else, given how resistant the spores are, but the place is still grassy etc.
Edit: on checking, it was reseeded.
Yeah, without checking, my recollection is that they removed the top yard of topsoil from the entire surface and processed it to decontaminate, either chemically or with heat.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
Lots of caveats about large numbers of cases still putting pressure on hospitals, not much data on what it does in the elderly, and so on - but nonetheless very encouraging. OTOH...
Frontline doctors have issued desperate pleas for more people to get vaccinated after reporting that in some hospitals all new intensive care Covid patients have not had jabs.
An estimated 5 million people, or 10% of the eligible population, have not had been inoculated, and it is this group who are seemingly draining the most resources from overstretched hospitals, experts say.
The problem is worst in parts of London, but Cambridge’s Royal Papworth hospital said more than 80% of its Covid patients requiring the most care were unjabbed.
Will Ricketts, a consultant chest physician at the Royal London hospital, tweeted on Wednesday: “Every new respiratory admission with Covid since Friday has been unvaccinated.”
The Government is watching the situation in London like a hawk, using it (according to several reports) to gauge the likely impact on the remainder of the country, and virtually all the seriously ill Covid patients in London are unvaccinated. Make no mistake, if more restrictions are coming after Boxing Day, it'll be entirely down to the refusers. All their fault.
There is evidence that wall to wall vaccination is no guarantee of freedom, sadly. Would it were so.
As I posted the other day, Gibraltar, one of the most vaccinated place on earth, cancelled Christmas a few days ago. The restrictions are pretty tight.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
You mustn't forget the average duration of stay matters too. You can half twice the intake, if the length of stay has halved.
OTOH the healthcare supply side is reduced due to backlog and staff sickness.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
@Chris, if you're really that concerned, I can forward on a list of absolutely stunning but uninhabited Hebridean islands.
You could probably get one rent free as long as you keep an eye on the ewes during lambing and are happy to briefly interact with a local boatman to offload the lambs come the autumn.
Gruinard deprecated tho.
I thought they cleaned it up.
They said they had. Sprayed the place with formalin. Supposed to have inactivated the anthrax spores.
Seems odd to me - if it inactivated them you'd think it would inactivate anything else, given how resistant the spores are, but the place is still grassy etc.
Edit: on checking, it was reseeded.
Yeah, without checking, my recollection is that they removed the top yard of topsoil from the entire surface and processed it to decontaminate, either chemically or with heat.
Did a pretty close sail by in June. It looks perfectly healthy.
On topic, this is why I don't think Sunak or Truss will become the next leader - they won't cut it in the RW seats and the newly elected MPs know that. Same goes for the likes of Hunt etc. In fact, I think, given the change in the Conservative MP base from the last election from leader, there will be a strong demand for a leader whose background is more aligned to RW voters.
I'm loath to admit this as I realise PB will laugh at my stupidity but I've put a few quid on at 100/1 for both McVey and Dorries as next leader. McVey because, if she decides to stand again, can credibly point to be a major driver behind Red Wall Conservatism and also because she has consistently voted against lockdown measures, which will gain her a base amongst the MPs. Dorries because she is a pitbull when it comes to the cultural stuff and, if she gets the DCMS portfolio right, will be seen as someone who takes the fight to Labour.
While I am personally very fond of Ms Dorries (for kindness to my then very young children), I can't see her as Prime Minister.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
You mustn't forget the average duration of stay matters too. You can half twice the intake, if the length of stay has halved.
OTOH the healthcare supply side is reduced due to backlog and staff sickness.
I used to think like that until I appreciated that those who want to defund the police want to defund this police force on the grounds that it is f******* useless and replace it with something better. She may well conclude that being carjacked rather makes her point rather than detracting from it.
I actually have a lot of sympathy, as I have written before, with the actual aims of 'defund the police' - to rethink how policing is done, including stopping asking the police to deal with things for which they are neither trained or funded, such as homelessness, family counseling, and mental health.
However, I think that the name sucks. And it is also obvious that some of the 'defund the police' activists do take the slogan literally.
There was a very good piece on what happened with defund the police in Burlington VA where the aim was literally to cut the police department budget by 30% over a number of years through natural attrition of the workforce. It happened in 6 months because the police officers thought "f this for a game of soldiers, we have no political support", and more than 30% resigned. Crime and anti-social behaviour is rampant in downtown, and businesses there are suffering as a consequence.
There is a difference between defund and cut. We need a police force but we need one that actually meets the needs of its citizens, that is mainly honest and reliable and which is not so invested in its own self interest. Does anyone think for a moment that the Met actually meets the actual policing needs of Londoners? Or South Yorkshire? Or Police Scotland?
It is a pity there is not a potential leader as capable as Gove, as hardworking as May, as charismatic as Johnson and as decent as Hunt. Though they would still need the self-self-promotional skills of Truss to win.
I went from a mild dislike to ultimate detestation of the man but in my lifetime the closest any political leader got to that was Blair. He really had it all. And wasted it.
I thought I detested Blair, until Brown came along. And I realised what I had felt about Blair was 'mild dislike'.
Expect more of this. There have been whispers about a big party outside Bute House, too.
We lock up journalists and those who have the audacity to take the piss out of our oh so sensitive masters. Is Scotland still a democracy at all?
Oh, there is someone at the door. I may be some time.
Unlike Downing Street, it's possible to walk past Bute House.
You used to be able to walk past Downing St too, until the IRA.
Until 1989 you could walk down Downing Street with restrictions, although not right up to the door like you could until the 1970s. The big gate that was put in place in 1989 was supposed to be a "temporary measure".
"It’s exactly 30 years ago that general public access to Downing Street was barred, as permission was given to build the ornate protective gates that now guard the home of the Prime Minister. The planning application was filed on 23rd May 1989, and approved on the 4th October 1989 — 30 years ago today — following a very heated debate about whether it was right to block off the road at all."
"Vehicle access was curtailed in 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.[17] In 1974, the Metropolitan Police proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement and carriageway on the Foreign Office side to keep pedestrians off the main part of the street. The proposal came with assurances that tourists would still be permitted to take photographs at the door of Number 10. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, rejected the proposal, feeling that it would appear to be an unacceptable restriction of the freedom of the public. Wilson's private secretary wrote "I much regret this further erosion of the Englishman's right to wander at will in Downing Street."[18] In 1982 access was further restricted by railings and a demountable gate. They were replaced by black steel gates in 1989.[19] The increase in security was due to an increase in violence, particularly by the IRA during The Troubles. The Thatcher ministry was particularly moved to increase security after the 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten."
I used to think like that until I appreciated that those who want to defund the police want to defund this police force on the grounds that it is f******* useless and replace it with something better. She may well conclude that being carjacked rather makes her point rather than detracting from it.
I actually have a lot of sympathy, as I have written before, with the actual aims of 'defund the police' - to rethink how policing is done, including stopping asking the police to deal with things for which they are neither trained or funded, such as homelessness, family counseling, and mental health.
However, I think that the name sucks. And it is also obvious that some of the 'defund the police' activists do take the slogan literally.
There was a very good piece on what happened with defund the police in Burlington VA where the aim was literally to cut the police department budget by 30% over a number of years through natural attrition of the workforce. It happened in 6 months because the police officers thought "f this for a game of soldiers, we have no political support", and more than 30% resigned. Crime and anti-social behaviour is rampant in downtown, and businesses there are suffering as a consequence.
There is a difference between defund and cut. We need a police force but we need one that actually meets the needs of its citizens, that is mainly honest and reliable and which is not so invested in its own self interest. Does anyone think for a moment that the Met actually meets the actual policing needs of Londoners? Or South Yorkshire? Or Police Scotland?
"Mainly honest and reliable"? It is a high bar of idealism you set.
Expect more of this. There have been whispers about a big party outside Bute House, too.
We lock up journalists and those who have the audacity to take the piss out of our oh so sensitive masters. Is Scotland still a democracy at all?
Oh, there is someone at the door. I may be some time.
Unlike Downing Street, it's possible to walk past Bute House.
You used to be able to walk past Downing St too, until the IRA.
Until 1989 you could walk down Downing Street with restrictions, although not right up to the door like you could until the 1970s. The big gate that was put in place in 1989 was supposed to be a "temporary measure".
"It’s exactly 30 years ago that general public access to Downing Street was barred, as permission was given to build the ornate protective gates that now guard the home of the Prime Minister. The planning application was filed on 23rd May 1989, and approved on the 4th October 1989 — 30 years ago today — following a very heated debate about whether it was right to block off the road at all."
"Vehicle access was curtailed in 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.[17] In 1974, the Metropolitan Police proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement and carriageway on the Foreign Office side to keep pedestrians off the main part of the street. The proposal came with assurances that tourists would still be permitted to take photographs at the door of Number 10. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, rejected the proposal, feeling that it would appear to be an unacceptable restriction of the freedom of the public. Wilson's private secretary wrote "I much regret this further erosion of the Englishman's right to wander at will in Downing Street."[18] In 1982 access was further restricted by railings and a demountable gate. They were replaced by black steel gates in 1989.[19] The increase in security was due to an increase in violence, particularly by the IRA during The Troubles. The Thatcher ministry was particularly moved to increase security after the 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten."
When I joined the FCO in 1980, I used to enter via the Downing Street entrance. Did have to show my ID to the bobby on the metal barrier, but that was all.
"50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital"
50-70% being the confidence/credible interval.
But this figure in itself seems pretty meaningless. They excluded known reinfections, so it's presumably meant to be a stab at estimating the intrinsic severity of Omicron versus Delta, excluding the fact that a much larger percentage of those infected with Omicron have some kind of immunity. But they acknowledge that known reinfections will be a "a substantial underestimate".
The Imperial College study did attempt to allow for unidentified reinfections, and came up with only about a 25% reduction in hospital stays of at least one night.
Reportedly SAGE advises that the rate of hospitalisation would need to be 90% lower in order to avoid exceeding the previous peak - not 50-70% and not 25%.
@Chris, if you're really that concerned, I can forward on a list of absolutely stunning but uninhabited Hebridean islands.
You could probably get one rent free as long as you keep an eye on the ewes during lambing and are happy to briefly interact with a local boatman to offload the lambs come the autumn.
Chris makes a reasonable argument, but failed to take account of the fact that sage habitually spout a lot of doom-laden shite and have pretty much lost any credibility they may once have had.
I used to think like that until I appreciated that those who want to defund the police want to defund this police force on the grounds that it is f******* useless and replace it with something better. She may well conclude that being carjacked rather makes her point rather than detracting from it.
I actually have a lot of sympathy, as I have written before, with the actual aims of 'defund the police' - to rethink how policing is done, including stopping asking the police to deal with things for which they are neither trained or funded, such as homelessness, family counseling, and mental health.
However, I think that the name sucks. And it is also obvious that some of the 'defund the police' activists do take the slogan literally.
There was a very good piece on what happened with defund the police in Burlington VA where the aim was literally to cut the police department budget by 30% over a number of years through natural attrition of the workforce. It happened in 6 months because the police officers thought "f this for a game of soldiers, we have no political support", and more than 30% resigned. Crime and anti-social behaviour is rampant in downtown, and businesses there are suffering as a consequence.
There is a difference between defund and cut. We need a police force but we need one that actually meets the needs of its citizens, that is mainly honest and reliable and which is not so invested in its own self interest. Does anyone think for a moment that the Met actually meets the actual policing needs of Londoners? Or South Yorkshire? Or Police Scotland?
I absolutely agree. The approach to policing has to be fundamentally rethought. Even more so in the US than in the UK.
Just watch the Trump clip. He's going to run, and he's going to win.
He has far, far more energy than Biden.
Don't think US democracy would survive another Trump term.
Likewise.
He will run. He will beat a clearly past it but stubborn Biden.
And then it's over. 200-odd years of democracy. It's done.
Some states will leave the union when he refuses to stand down after end of second term is my guess. It will not be peaceful.
I don't understand this point of view. If Trump wins an election fairly under the rules, how does that pose a problem for democracy? Do you expect him to abolish elections.
It is a problem for democracy because he, like other fascists before him, only believes in elections if they deliver victories to people like him. it is a weakness of the system which there is no easy answer
Then have the courage of your convictions and ban him (or the GOP) as a threat to democracy as the Germans did with the Nazi party post-1945. If you truly believe what you state, that is the logical next step - just be open about it.
Donald Trump should indeed be barred from running again. I have no problem whatsoever with saying that.
He should be in jail for inciting an attempted coup.
"Do you expect him to abolish elections."
No. But he has sent out all the signals one could need, as have the GOP leadership, that the election following 2024 will be completely rigged by voter suppression, state law makers claiming fraud and over turning votes, ballots disappearing etc etc etc.
Anyone who cannot see the dashboard of american democracy is screaming red is a fool frankly.
edit: if Trump cannot engineer a third term by changing the rules then a family member will be slotted in instead.
9.5 % of Omicron cases are re-infections more than 90 days after a positive test says UKHSA. 69 unlucky folk on their third.
Yes, several of my unit are off with covid for the second time. Neither particularly mild. Omicron is now our main variant in Leics officially. Perfect timing for the holiday.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
The news that @HYUFD is not a Tory is genuinely hilarious.
Voted Plaid = welsh nationalist = a disgrace to the Tory cause. What a massive massive hypocrite.
I voted for every Tory candidate on the ballot paper. The fact I always use every vote I have and Plaid were the only candidates left to vote for was the only reason I voted for them.
I have never not voted for a Tory candidate at every election
Just watch the Trump clip. He's going to run, and he's going to win.
He has far, far more energy than Biden.
Don't think US democracy would survive another Trump term.
Likewise.
He will run. He will beat a clearly past it but stubborn Biden.
And then it's over. 200-odd years of democracy. It's done.
Some states will leave the union when he refuses to stand down after end of second term is my guess. It will not be peaceful.
I don't understand this point of view. If Trump wins an election fairly under the rules, how does that pose a problem for democracy? Do you expect him to abolish elections.
It is a problem for democracy because he, like other fascists before him, only believes in elections if they deliver victories to people like him. it is a weakness of the system which there is no easy answer
Then have the courage of your convictions and ban him (or the GOP) as a threat to democracy as the Germans did with the Nazi party post-1945. If you truly believe what you state, that is the logical next step - just be open about it.
Donald Trump should indeed be barred from running again. I have no problem whatsoever with saying that.
He should be in jail for inciting an attempted coup.
"Do you expect him to abolish elections."
No. But he has sent out all the signals one could need, as have the GOP leadership, that the election following 2024 will be completely rigged by voter suppression, state law makers claiming fraud and over turning votes, ballots disappearing etc etc etc.
Anyone who cannot see the dashboard of american democracy is screaming red is a fool frankly.
edit: if Trump cannot engineer a third term by changing the rules then a family member will be slotted in instead.
He's not a young man. There's a non-trivial chance than he will have a meaningful health issue in the next three years.
It is a pity there is not a potential leader as capable as Gove, as hardworking as May, as charismatic as Johnson and as decent as Hunt. Though they would still need the self-self-promotional skills of Truss to win.
I went from a mild dislike to ultimate detestation of the man but in my lifetime the closest any political leader got to that was Blair. He really had it all. And wasted it.
I thought I detested Blair, until Brown came along. And I realised what I had felt about Blair was 'mild dislike'.
What specifically did you hate about Brown? I don't really share the hatred myself, but curious.
Every time I think public sector Scottish Water is poor, I just need to consider England.
£72bn in dividend payments, household bills up 31%, investment in sewage network down by a fifth, since 1990s. England water privatisation has comprehensively failed @FT
It is a pity there is not a potential leader as capable as Gove, as hardworking as May, as charismatic as Johnson and as decent as Hunt. Though they would still need the self-self-promotional skills of Truss to win.
I went from a mild dislike to ultimate detestation of the man but in my lifetime the closest any political leader got to that was Blair. He really had it all. And wasted it.
I thought I detested Blair, until Brown came along. And I realised what I had felt about Blair was 'mild dislike'.
What specifically did you hate about Brown? I don't really share the hatred myself, but curious.
His current campaign to stop us doing boosters is a good example of why he is a pretty odious man.
It is a pity there is not a potential leader as capable as Gove, as hardworking as May, as charismatic as Johnson and as decent as Hunt. Though they would still need the self-self-promotional skills of Truss to win.
I went from a mild dislike to ultimate detestation of the man but in my lifetime the closest any political leader got to that was Blair. He really had it all. And wasted it.
I thought I detested Blair, until Brown came along. And I realised what I had felt about Blair was 'mild dislike'.
What specifically did you hate about Brown? I don't really share the hatred myself, but curious.
Do you know, I really can't remember now, now we're through the other side of Corbyn. I did find him immensely annoying. Probably it was the tribalism. Or possibly the Lisbon treaty debacle. Or possibly the way he dismantled pensions, though that was as chancellor.
BUPA have been utterly useless on the covering of my counselling, they refused to cover it as they don't recognise the person I get it from. I went because my GP recommended it, which is what people will do.
I'm on this side because I have pre-existing diabetes, which can be tied in to anything.
By choosing my cashplan that limitation vanishes.
Suggest you do some research. It's not medical insurance, but offers a lot of benefit. I get my money back nearly from just the dental and teh glasses grants.
The news that @HYUFD is not a Tory is genuinely hilarious.
Voted Plaid = welsh nationalist = a disgrace to the Tory cause. What a massive massive hypocrite.
I voted for every Tory candidate on the ballot paper. The fact I always use every vote I have and Plaid were the only candidates left to vote for was the only reason I voted for them.
I have never not voted for a Tory candidate at every election
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
Did we ever hear again from that new account on Monday (?) who was boosting the Labour inside info that parliament was being recalled Wednesday?
I remember from about 2009/2010 there was someone who kept setting up new accounts boosting Labour who kept changing account names or new accounts but kept using a user name that was different names of wives of late medieval kings which was probably clever in their head but eventually going to be noticed.
At least all the Sean T impersonators are amusing in all their guises…..
The news that @HYUFD is not a Tory is genuinely hilarious.
Voted Plaid = welsh nationalist = a disgrace to the Tory cause. What a massive massive hypocrite.
I voted for every Tory candidate on the ballot paper. The fact I always use every vote I have and Plaid were the only candidates left to vote for was the only reason I voted for them.
I have never not voted for a Tory candidate at every election
Shocking solecism of net webbing on what are presumably WWI helmets.
Also carrying WW2 US carbines.
Maybe it was an unremarked upon WW2 truce?
Don't think there was one. Come to think of it, even the Ww1 footie matches were distinctly out of fashion by the time the steel helmets came in 1916-ish. The brass did not like the lack of offensive spirit involved.
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I might reinvent myself with a new identity. Mild mannered milquetoast employment lawyer Doug Seal returns as hard as nails former special forces operative turned professional gambler Phil Otter.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
Shouldn't you know who is posting as whom.
@contrarian has been proven right on more things than most others on here.
Shocking solecism of net webbing on what are presumably WWI helmets.
Also carrying WW2 US carbines.
Maybe it was an unremarked upon WW2 truce?
Don't think there was one. Come to think of it, even the Ww1 footie matches were distinctly out of fashion by the time the steel helmets came in 1916-ish. The brass did not like the lack of offensive spirit involved.
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
Indeed for London standards Canary Wharf is not bad value for flat prices. Nice area by water, reasonable transport, good selection of restaurants on your doorstep. No real premium to rest of zone 2, maybe even a bit cheaper than zone 2 average.
Do we not need a thread by @HYUFD on prospects for Welsh independence.
Snowdonia isn't really tank country, is it?
What happens when you get the wrong type of sheep on the tracks?
Lasagna for dinner.
Yum. Forgot there are lots of spaghetti trees in the foothills.
Got some Borders mutton (not lamb) stew ready in 7 mins ...
I find our obsession with lamb as opposed to mutton bewildering. Enjoy.
From a small producer in the Borders which supplies our community food store. Nice almost gamy flavour. Sometimes can get hoggett from the same supplier for an intermediate flavour, too.
The only person that is allowed to vote Tory is @HYUFD.
He’s going to be shocked when learns I’ve voted Tory before
I am shamed to have to admit I have never voted Labour before after what you have said about my lack of ideological partisanship. That said I do perhaps redeem myself by once having been a member of Plaid Cymru back in the early 80s as the PC club in Cardiff was the only place you could get a drink on a Sunday evening. I have also voted both Green and LD in my dim and distant past at a local level.
I once voted Plaid in a straight PC vs Labour contest while I was at college. I had planned to vote Labour, despite being mates with one of the more prominent Plaid members there, but then the night before the poll, the Labour candidate drove his car into the quad around 11pm and blasted out calls to vote for him on his loudspeaker.
Of course, looking back, that could have been a dirty trick by Plaid, but it would have definitely been something the Labour candidate, who was known for his eccentricity, might have thought was a good idea at the time.
Believe it or not I once also voted Plaid. When I was at Aberystwyth there were not enough Tory candidates for all the town council posts and as I always use all my votes I voted for a Plaid candidate who had canvassed me
Then you must resign the Tory Party immediately, you are not a true Tory voter
That does rather destroy his persistent denial of the legitimacy of independence for Scotland, if he voted for Welsh independence. I mean, Henry VIII owned the bloody place.
I didn't vote for Welsh independence, all the other votes I cast were for Tories and the only candidates left were Plaid.
It was for town council, not even Senedd let alone Westminster (in which case I would not have voted for Plaid at all)
However furiously you back pedal, the cat is out of the bag.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I might reinvent myself with a new identity. Mild mannered milquetoast employment lawyer Doug Seal returns as hard as nails former special forces operative turned professional gambler Phil Otter.
Everyone's favourite Essicks commentator - HYakiUFDa - reinvented himself as a Tory.
Shocking solecism of net webbing on what are presumably WWI helmets.
Also carrying WW2 US carbines.
Maybe it was an unremarked upon WW2 truce?
Don't think there was one. Come to think of it, even the Ww1 footie matches were distinctly out of fashion by the time the steel helmets came in 1916-ish. The brass did not like the lack of offensive spirit involved.
Was Southgate already manager then?
Haig had taken over by then - lots of pep talks in the changing room.
Expect more of this. There have been whispers about a big party outside Bute House, too.
Communications Act? It's rare for that to be used for an event.
A MAN has been arrested and charged for allegedly organising a Hogmanay party on Nicola Sturgeon’s street.
The 33-year-old was nicked yesterday under the Communications Act 2003 after allegedly creating a Facebook event titled “NYE street party @ sturgeons house”.
Yes, it is sharing her personal address, rather than say Bute House.
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
Good evening Stodge; My report from the outside world is as follows: My wife's oldest friend (who lives in France but, after a tortuous and stressful escais back with his daughters visiting family for Christmas) came round with his daughters and his mum and dad. Hooray that spontaneous visits like this are still possible. Anyway, apropos of nothing, his mother told me how well she thinks Boris has done with the pandemic, how anyone would have made mistakes and how Kier Starmer would have kept us all locked away indefinitely. Now I certainly agreed with the last part of that, but it was still surprising to hear the view volunteered. I suppose the retired from the upper working classes are Boris's last bastion, but still slightly jarring nowadays to hear a good word volunteered about him. Oh, and she also said thank goodness they don't live 20 miles down the road in Wales. Also worth noting, though utterly irrelevant to politics, was how gorgeous her oldest granddaughter was. She's 13, but could easily have passed for 20. As my oldest daughter is 11 I found this a slightly daunting vision of the future. She also did the stereotypically French thing of looking effortlessly elegant (though apparently the effortlessness is completely illusory; she takes hours to look so effortless. This too is a daunting vision of the future.) Lastly, a quick evening trip to the Trafford Centre to get the odd last minute bit/bob. Utterly packed. Normally it's started to ease off by now, but not this year. Masking at about 90% in the shops, dropping to about 25% in the mall - where presumably there is no less covid. People are masking because them's the rules, not because they see any value in doing so.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
Shouldn't you know who is posting as whom.
@contrarian has been proven right on more things than most others on here.
Well, yes, he obv does know
And politix really is the art of the possible. It makes no difference whether a Sweden policy would have been better (spoiler: it wouldn't), it was just not possible when every other first world country was doing the lockdown thang.
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
Good evening Stodge; My report from the outside world is as follows: My wife's oldest friend (who lives in France but, after a tortuous and stressful escais back with his daughters visiting family for Christmas) came round with his daughters and his mum and dad. Hooray that spontaneous visits like this are still possible. Anyway, apropos of nothing, his mother told me how well she thinks Boris has done with the pandemic, how anyone would have made mistakes and how Kier Starmer would have kept us all locked away indefinitely. Now I certainly agreed with the last part of that, but it was still surprising to hear the view volunteered. I suppose the retired from the upper working classes are Boris's last bastion, but still slightly jarring nowadays to hear a good word volunteered about him. Oh, and she also said thank goodness they don't live 20 miles down the road in Wales. Also worth noting, though utterly irrelevant to politics, was how gorgeous her oldest granddaughter was. She's 13, but could easily have passed for 20. As my oldest daughter is 11 I found this a slightly daunting vision of the future. She also did the stereotypically French thing of looking effortlessly elegant (though apparently the effortlessness is completely illusory; she takes hours to look so effortless. This too is a daunting vision of the future.) Lastly, a quick evening trip to the Trafford Centre to get the odd last minute bit/bob. Utterly packed. Normally it's started to ease off by now, but not this year. Masking at about 90% in the shops, dropping to about 25% in the mall - where presumably there is no less covid. People are masking because them's the rules, not because they see any value in doing so.
Loved this in The Guardian’s list of the year’s 50 best tv shows:
37. Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution (BBC Two)
… It is an inside job, with Labour veterans as unreliable narrators. Brown’s speechwriter Douglas Alexander even says: “They were literally the Lennon and McCartney of British politics.” Rubbish. They were more like Wham!, with no George Michael and two Andrew Ridgeleys.
The best political programme of the last decade IMHO
That surely has to be Cumberbatch's Brexit. Took the piss out of everybody quite brilliantly.
For me the best political history programme of the last decade (it was made in 1998 but I only saw it for the first time a couple of years ago) was the Secret History on the Winter of Discontent. Sheds a lot of light on the episode which determined the fate of British politics, economics and society for at least a decade to come, and still influences it to this day.
Thanks for the link. That was excellent but it makes me think that Thatcher was an incredibly moderate and restrained response to that stupidity and arrogance. They really deserved a much harsher response.
Ending quote from that from a union official.
'It's better to have a bad Tory, than a bad socialist government'.
BREAKING: People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, but the effects of the booster vaccine wane after 10 weeks, according to new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.
That's a bit of an arse as it is nearly twelve weeks since I received my booster.
The last shall be first, and the first shall be arsed?
For what it's worth, yours truly is in the same boat. Can I borrow your life jacket?
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I might reinvent myself with a new identity. Mild mannered milquetoast employment lawyer Doug Seal returns as hard as nails former special forces operative turned professional gambler Phil Otter.
BUPA have been utterly useless on the covering of my counselling, they refused to cover it as they don't recognise the person I get it from. I went because my GP recommended it, which is what people will do.
I'm on this side because I have pre-existing diabetes, which can be tied in to anything.
By choosing my cashplan that limitation vanishes.
Suggest you do some research. It's not medical insurance, but offers a lot of benefit. I get my money back nearly from just the dental and teh glasses grants.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I might reinvent myself with a new identity. Mild mannered milquetoast employment lawyer Doug Seal returns as hard as nails former special forces operative turned professional gambler Phil Otter.
I'd still suss you. There's always a tell.
Hm? No great achievement, as he's already told you his name will be Phil Otter.......
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
Good evening Stodge; My report from the outside world is as follows: My wife's oldest friend (who lives in France but, after a tortuous and stressful escais back with his daughters visiting family for Christmas) came round with his daughters and his mum and dad. Hooray that spontaneous visits like this are still possible. Anyway, apropos of nothing, his mother told me how well she thinks Boris has done with the pandemic, how anyone would have made mistakes and how Kier Starmer would have kept us all locked away indefinitely. Now I certainly agreed with the last part of that, but it was still surprising to hear the view volunteered. I suppose the retired from the upper working classes are Boris's last bastion, but still slightly jarring nowadays to hear a good word volunteered about him. Oh, and she also said thank goodness they don't live 20 miles down the road in Wales. Also worth noting, though utterly irrelevant to politics, was how gorgeous her oldest granddaughter was. She's 13, but could easily have passed for 20. As my oldest daughter is 11 I found this a slightly daunting vision of the future. She also did the stereotypically French thing of looking effortlessly elegant (though apparently the effortlessness is completely illusory; she takes hours to look so effortless. This too is a daunting vision of the future.) Lastly, a quick evening trip to the Trafford Centre to get the odd last minute bit/bob. Utterly packed. Normally it's started to ease off by now, but not this year. Masking at about 90% in the shops, dropping to about 25% in the mall - where presumably there is no less covid. People are masking because them's the rules, not because they see any value in doing so.
Escape, not escais.
Surely the dinghy from northern France would have been pretty rough at this time of year?
BREAKING: People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, but the effects of the booster vaccine wane after 10 weeks, according to new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.
That's a bit of an arse as it is nearly twelve weeks since I received my booster.
That's really serious - we've rushed to vaccinate millions only to find we've only bought ourselves a little time at most.
The only person that is allowed to vote Tory is @HYUFD.
He’s going to be shocked when learns I’ve voted Tory before
I am shamed to have to admit I have never voted Labour before after what you have said about my lack of ideological partisanship. That said I do perhaps redeem myself by once having been a member of Plaid Cymru back in the early 80s as the PC club in Cardiff was the only place you could get a drink on a Sunday evening. I have also voted both Green and LD in my dim and distant past at a local level.
I once voted Plaid in a straight PC vs Labour contest while I was at college. I had planned to vote Labour, despite being mates with one of the more prominent Plaid members there, but then the night before the poll, the Labour candidate drove his car into the quad around 11pm and blasted out calls to vote for him on his loudspeaker.
Of course, looking back, that could have been a dirty trick by Plaid, but it would have definitely been something the Labour candidate, who was known for his eccentricity, might have thought was a good idea at the time.
Believe it or not I once also voted Plaid. When I was at Aberystwyth there were not enough Tory candidates for all the town council posts and as I always use all my votes I voted for a Plaid candidate who had canvassed me
Falls off chair in amazement!
You do know that because of our bonkers voting system you could have prevented one or more of the Tories winning by doing that. If it can be avoided you always need an exactly full slate of candidates (which can a bugger for Indies) as if spare votes go to alternatives it can mean the alternatives can overtake your preferred candidates if enough do it. It is a common problem with FPTP with multiple positions where the least preferred candidate in you list overtakes your preferred candidates by scooping up the votes from those who have spare vote to cast.
To be fair, our colleague did say it was a straight fight between Llafur and Plaid
@OldKingCole still works against you in a straight fight. Think about the process. If it is a tight fight with the Tories just ahead but one candidate short and each Tory voter uses their spare vote on a Plaid candidate then the Plaid candidates will end up having more votes than the Tories due to the extra votes they got from Tory voters.
The glories of our electoral system.
So @HYUFD on principle using all his votes could stop the Tories winning.
PS Whoops just appreciated what you are saying. Don't speak Welsh.
Do the jokes start in the new Grand Tour special at any time
I thought it was mildly entertaining....if it had been an old school Top Gear weekly episode, I would have ranked it as fine. But it isn't a "special".
BREAKING: People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, but the effects of the booster vaccine wane after 10 weeks, according to new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.
That's a bit of an arse as it is nearly twelve weeks since I received my booster.
That's really serious - we've rushed to vaccinate millions only to find we've only bought ourselves a little time at most.
Well let's not panic yet. Does it mean 'start to wane' after 10 weeks - and if so, how quickly does it decline? And where does it decline to?
Do the jokes start in the new Grand Tour special at any time
I thought it was mildly entertaining....if it had been an old school Top Gear weekly episode, I would have ranked it as fine. But it isn't a "special".
It was meh, and I was their target audience, a petrolhead with a dose of taking the piss out of the French.
Loved this in The Guardian’s list of the year’s 50 best tv shows:
37. Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution (BBC Two)
… It is an inside job, with Labour veterans as unreliable narrators. Brown’s speechwriter Douglas Alexander even says: “They were literally the Lennon and McCartney of British politics.” Rubbish. They were more like Wham!, with no George Michael and two Andrew Ridgeleys.
The best political programme of the last decade IMHO
That surely has to be Cumberbatch's Brexit. Took the piss out of everybody quite brilliantly.
For me the best political history programme of the last decade (it was made in 1998 but I only saw it for the first time a couple of years ago) was the Secret History on the Winter of Discontent. Sheds a lot of light on the episode which determined the fate of British politics, economics and society for at least a decade to come, and still influences it to this day.
Thanks for the link. That was excellent but it makes me think that Thatcher was an incredibly moderate and restrained response to that stupidity and arrogance. They really deserved a much harsher response.
Ending quote from that from a union official.
'It's better to have a bad Tory, than a bad socialist government'.
Slogan for the far left?
That was definitely worth a watch. Having been brought up in that period ( I was 13 in 79) it makes me realise why I have always loathed the far left.
Do the jokes start in the new Grand Tour special at any time
I thought it was mildly entertaining....if it had been an old school Top Gear weekly episode, I would have ranked it as fine. But it isn't a "special".
It was meh, and I was their target audience, a petrolhead with a dose of taking the piss out of the French.
Taking the piss out of the French...thats right up your alley.
In all honesty, I just think they need to stop it now. Clarkson Farm showed by Clarkson can do.
I had my booster last Sunday, as I mentioned on here. But unfortunately my NHS record has yet to be updated (which in itself is annoying as they forgot to give me the card and I would quite like to know which vaccine I had) and I'm now being bombarded with almost hourly texts and emails demanding I book my booster. Which is not only tedious but actually borders on harassment.
Is there any way of contacting these people to explain I have had it and it's their fault not mine that they don't seem to know that?
BREAKING: People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, but the effects of the booster vaccine wane after 10 weeks, according to new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.
That's a bit of an arse as it is nearly twelve weeks since I received my booster.
That's really serious - we've rushed to vaccinate millions only to find we've only bought ourselves a little time at most.
I had my booster very recently. Still got Covid, though so far seems little more than a bad cold. Hoping it stays that way, and perhaps it may have been worse if I hadn't been triple jabbed.
I had my booster last Sunday, as I mentioned on here. But unfortunately my NHS record has yet to be updated (which in itself is annoying as they forgot to give me the card and I would quite like to know which vaccine I had) and I'm now being bombarded with almost hourly texts and emails demanding I book my booster. Which is not only tedious but actually borders on harassment.
Is there any way of contacting these people to explain I have had it and it's their fault not mine that they don't seem to know that?
I had my booster last Sunday, as I mentioned on here. But unfortunately my NHS record has yet to be updated (which in itself is annoying as they forgot to give me the card and I would quite like to know which vaccine I had) and I'm now being bombarded with almost hourly texts and emails demanding I book my booster. Which is not only tedious but actually borders on harassment.
Is there any way of contacting these people to explain I have had it and it's their fault not mine that they don't seem to know that?
Do the jokes start in the new Grand Tour special at any time
I thought it was mildly entertaining....if it had been an old school Top Gear weekly episode, I would have ranked it as fine. But it isn't a "special".
It was meh, and I was their target audience, a petrolhead with a dose of taking the piss out of the French.
Taking the piss out of the French...thats right up your alley.
In all honesty, I just think they need to stop it now. Clarkson Farm showed by Clarkson can do.
Yup, we binged watched Clarkson's Farm in a weekend.
I heard somewhere that normally there'd be a dozen or so crew on set filming a scene like that, by the end of the final take there were only two or three crew members left on set.
No matter how many times they recorded it, they all kept on laughing out loud, despite seeing it many times.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I might reinvent myself with a new identity. Mild mannered milquetoast employment lawyer Doug Seal returns as hard as nails former special forces operative turned professional gambler Phil Otter.
...who can do terrible things with the red tape used to tie bundles of legal papers together.....
BREAKING: People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, but the effects of the booster vaccine wane after 10 weeks, according to new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.
That's a bit of an arse as it is nearly twelve weeks since I received my booster.
That's really serious - we've rushed to vaccinate millions only to find we've only bought ourselves a little time at most.
Well let's not panic yet. Does it mean 'start to wane' after 10 weeks - and if so, how quickly does it decline? And where does it decline to?
Fair comment - it's very early days but presumably those who had the booster earliest must be getting near the 10 week and of course we've still got a lot of winter to come.
Comments
Let me summarise them for you:
"Today I am therefore relieved to be able to tell you that I am announcing no further restrictions at all.
There is today no requirement to restrict your civil liberties in order to protect life or the GHA’s ability to protect life."
So, when you say "Christmas is cancelled", how do you square that with "no further restrictions at all".
It's almost like you are talking - what's the phrase... - ah yes, complete and utter shit.
"It’s exactly 30 years ago that general public access to Downing Street was barred, as permission was given to build the ornate protective gates that now guard the home of the Prime Minister. The planning application was filed on 23rd May 1989, and approved on the 4th October 1989 — 30 years ago today — following a very heated debate about whether it was right to block off the road at all."
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2019/10/04/30th-anniversary-of-the-10-downing-street-gates/
"Vehicle access was curtailed in 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.[17] In 1974, the Metropolitan Police proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement and carriageway on the Foreign Office side to keep pedestrians off the main part of the street. The proposal came with assurances that tourists would still be permitted to take photographs at the door of Number 10. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, rejected the proposal, feeling that it would appear to be an unacceptable restriction of the freedom of the public. Wilson's private secretary wrote "I much regret this further erosion of the Englishman's right to wander at will in Downing Street."[18] In 1982 access was further restricted by railings and a demountable gate. They were replaced by black steel gates in 1989.[19] The increase in security was due to an increase in violence, particularly by the IRA during The Troubles. The Thatcher ministry was particularly moved to increase security after the 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street#Security_gates
It is a high bar of idealism you set.
69 unlucky folk on their third.
Chicken roasting in oven,
Amongst other things
Mead in glass
Off to fiancees parents tommorow
Merry christmas eve eve
I absolutely agree. The approach to policing has to be fundamentally rethought. Even more so in the US than in the UK.
No. But he has sent out all the signals one could need, as have the GOP leadership, that the election following 2024 will be completely rigged by voter suppression, state law makers claiming fraud and over turning votes, ballots disappearing etc etc etc.
Anyone who cannot see the dashboard of american democracy is screaming red is a fool frankly.
edit: if Trump cannot engineer a third term by changing the rules then a family member will be slotted in instead.
Hello @contrarian. Nice of you to join us under a new name. And nice of you to start your new posting history with us by spouting some obvious falsehoods that can be refuted with a simple Google.
I have never not voted for a Tory candidate at every election
£72bn in dividend payments, household bills up 31%, investment in sewage network down by a fifth, since 1990s. England water privatisation has comprehensively failed
@FT
https://t.co/jw4znr8qNK
https://mobile.twitter.com/DianeCoyle1859/status/1473930312606535680
I did find him immensely annoying. Probably it was the tribalism. Or possibly the Lisbon treaty debacle. Or possibly the way he dismantled pensions, though that was as chancellor.
I'm on this side because I have pre-existing diabetes, which can be tied in to anything.
By choosing my cashplan that limitation vanishes.
Suggest you do some research. It's not medical insurance, but offers a lot of benefit. I get my money back nearly from just the dental and teh glasses grants.
I remember from about 2009/2010 there was someone who kept setting up new accounts boosting Labour who kept changing account names or new accounts but kept using a user name that was different names of wives of late medieval kings which was probably clever in their head but eventually going to be noticed.
At least all the Sean T impersonators are amusing in all their guises…..
As we get into whatever Christmas groove works for us - for me, it's "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" by Alan Jackson - one or two anecdotal snippets.
Went to Canary Wharf at lunchtime today for the last Christmas bits and pieces - a little busier but nothing like the pre-pandemic crowds. The one thing that has saved the place is the number of people who now live there. It's more residential and that has kept some of the businesses alive though by no means all.
A more disquieting note struck by a call from a friend whose housebound mother has still to receive the booster vaccination. It seems in her part of the country (Yorkshire), there is a shortage of mobile nurses to go out and administer boosters to the housebound. I hope this is not a general issue as we must ensure all who require a booster vaccination get it.
@contrarian has been proven right on more things than most others on here.
RIP.
Free Wales!
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2021/dec/23/literary-legend-joan-didion-a-stylish-life-in-pictures
What the one near St Andrews?
My report from the outside world is as follows:
My wife's oldest friend (who lives in France but, after a tortuous and stressful escais back with his daughters visiting family for Christmas) came round with his daughters and his mum and dad. Hooray that spontaneous visits like this are still possible. Anyway, apropos of nothing, his mother told me how well she thinks Boris has done with the pandemic, how anyone would have made mistakes and how Kier Starmer would have kept us all locked away indefinitely. Now I certainly agreed with the last part of that, but it was still surprising to hear the view volunteered. I suppose the retired from the upper working classes are Boris's last bastion, but still slightly jarring nowadays to hear a good word volunteered about him. Oh, and she also said thank goodness they don't live 20 miles down the road in Wales.
Also worth noting, though utterly irrelevant to politics, was how gorgeous her oldest granddaughter was. She's 13, but could easily have passed for 20. As my oldest daughter is 11 I found this a slightly daunting vision of the future. She also did the stereotypically French thing of looking effortlessly elegant (though apparently the effortlessness is completely illusory; she takes hours to look so effortless. This too is a daunting vision of the future.)
Lastly, a quick evening trip to the Trafford Centre to get the odd last minute bit/bob. Utterly packed. Normally it's started to ease off by now, but not this year. Masking at about 90% in the shops, dropping to about 25% in the mall - where presumably there is no less covid. People are masking because them's the rules, not because they see any value in doing so.
Bloody hell, it's like Smithy and Nessa all over again.
And politix really is the art of the possible. It makes no difference whether a Sweden policy would have been better (spoiler: it wouldn't), it was just not possible when every other first world country was doing the lockdown thang.
'It's better to have a bad Tory, than a bad socialist government'.
Slogan for the far left?
For what it's worth, yours truly is in the same boat. Can I borrow your life jacket?
The glories of our electoral system.
So @HYUFD on principle using all his votes could stop the Tories winning.
PS Whoops just appreciated what you are saying. Don't speak Welsh.
Utter drivel, avoid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKevvak5lxo
In all honesty, I just think they need to stop it now. Clarkson Farm showed by Clarkson can do.
The Two Ronnies were legends! 👍🏻👍🏻😂😂🎄🎄🎅🏻🎅🏻 https://twitter.com/daveguitarjones/status/1474105300588322821/photo/1
I had my booster last Sunday, as I mentioned on here. But unfortunately my NHS record has yet to be updated (which in itself is annoying as they forgot to give me the card and I would quite like to know which vaccine I had) and I'm now being bombarded with almost hourly texts and emails demanding I book my booster. Which is not only tedious but actually borders on harassment.
Is there any way of contacting these people to explain I have had it and it's their fault not mine that they don't seem to know that?
Give Caleb his own spin off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0C59pI_ypQ
'What's the difference between a donkey and an ass? One's a trade union leader and the other's a member of the cabinet.'
'What is Bernard Manning famous for? That is the question.'
'Who is Dean Martin? He's an artist. Correct. What sort of artist? Pass. That's close enough.'
No matter how many times they recorded it, they all kept on laughing out loud, despite seeing it many times.
Also enjoyed his appearance as the Mugwump of the Hendon Branch, for surely his best pun.
'I am a witch. Warlocks I hear you cry, and you'd be right.'