- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-mid 19th century. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
At least there's no danger of Edinburgh putting up a monument to Johnston. Glasgow should definitely have this carved in stone somewhere though.
I like the deliberate misspell but why 'still'? Was he ever not?
Nod to the K--ts who recorded BJ Is a F C and then BJ is still a F C
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
A job is a job. Since the Middle Ages, and before, Scots and their families have earned good money in the Baltic countries (Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany etc). Not just work, but emigration and immigration. Poland, Sweden and Russia in particular have a rich Scottish heritage.
All crises in the home country encouraged further waves of activity. The Union was one such crisis, as was the Jacobite rising, the Killing Times and the fall of Dundas.
The English got about a bit too! The chap who made Sevastopol accessible to large ships, and redesigned much if the city, in the 19C was English engineer John Upton. One of his sons was captured by the British in the Crimean War.
The Russ/Scot who founded the city Thomas MacKenzie had a son who joined the British navy.
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Make them make you a gin fizz
Aren’t you meant to be sailing around Cape Verde?
Mid Feb, God willing
Hope you make it. Travelling out of Europe right now is wonderful. Sri Lanka feels entirely normal apart from masks in shops. Everything is open. The locals are DELIGHTED to see tourists. The sun beats down on the old Dutch fort. The Tuk Tuk drivers try to sell you “lovely women from Nepal”. The food is so much better than my last visit - I had an exceptional lobster and prawn linguine today, brilliantly jazzed up with chili and spices
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
A job is a job. Since the Middle Ages, and before, Scots and their families have earned good money in the Baltic countries (Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany etc). Not just work, but emigration and immigration. Poland, Sweden and Russia in particular have a rich Scottish heritage.
All crises in the home country encouraged further waves of activity. The Union was one such crisis, as was the Jacobite rising, the Killing Times and the fall of Dundas.
The English got about a bit too! The chap who made Sevastopol accessible to large ships, and redesigned much if the city, in the 19C was English engineer John Upton. One of his sons was captured by the British in the Crimean War.
The Russ/Scot who founded the city Thomas MacKenzie had a son who joined the British navy.
Oh, that's interesting - I didn't know that Upton built the Odessa stairs in the Eisenstein film Battleship Potemkin. And the Black Seas fleet docks just in time for the Crimean War ...
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
A job is a job. Since the Middle Ages, and before, Scots and their families have earned good money in the Baltic countries (Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany etc). Not just work, but emigration and immigration. Poland, Sweden and Russia in particular have a rich Scottish heritage.
All crises in the home country encouraged further waves of activity. The Union was one such crisis, as was the Jacobite rising, the Killing Times and the fall of Dundas.
The English got about a bit too! The chap who made Sevastopol accessible to large ships, and redesigned much if the city, in the 19C was English engineer John Upton. One of his sons was captured by the British in the Crimean War.
The Russ/Scot who founded the city Thomas MacKenzie had a son who joined the British navy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Whitehead - built the engines that drove the Austrian ships to their victory at Battle of Lissa. Then later, set in train the events that led to the Sound of Music. Also led to lots of dead people, of course...
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Make them make you a gin fizz
Aren’t you meant to be sailing around Cape Verde?
Mid Feb, God willing
Hope you make it. Travelling out of Europe right now is wonderful. Sri Lanka feels entirely normal apart from masks in shops. Everything is open. The locals are DELIGHTED to see tourists. The sun beats down on the old Dutch fort. The Tuk Tuk drivers try to sell you “lovely women from Nepal”. The food is so much better than my last visit - I had an exceptional lobster and prawn linguine today, brilliantly jazzed up with chili and spices
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
The lack of Covid in Sri Lanka is a bit of a mystery, in fact
They have had severe prior waves and 15,000 deaths, not trivial in a land of 20m people. And probably an undercount. Their vax rate is pretty good: 65%, but only 22% boosters: hmmm
They reopened last year, very controversially, because the government was completely desperate for foreign currency. A tourist dependent economy was collapsing. They took a known risk
While paying all due homage to the Fearsome God of Covid Hubris - and all this is very much fingers X’d - so far it seems to be paying off. Tourists are back. Not in numbers like before but noticeable and valuable. In places like Galle the hotels are full
Have they just got lucky? India and Nepal are seeing a fourth or fifth wave. Yet not down here. Long may it stay so. They are the loveliest people
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Make them make you a gin fizz
Aren’t you meant to be sailing around Cape Verde?
Mid Feb, God willing
Hope you make it. Travelling out of Europe right now is wonderful. Sri Lanka feels entirely normal apart from masks in shops. Everything is open. The locals are DELIGHTED to see tourists. The sun beats down on the old Dutch fort. The Tuk Tuk drivers try to sell you “lovely women from Nepal”. The food is so much better than my last visit - I had an exceptional lobster and prawn linguine today, brilliantly jazzed up with chili and spices
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
This is great to hear and hugely tempting. I was last in Sri Lanka back in 2018, the people, wildlife, and countryside were brilliant; the crowds of Western tourists with kids in tow, hotel prices, and food (surprisingly!) were slightly disappointing. With all of SE Asia now out of bounds, this sounds like a bit of a plan for some winter sun. Keep the updates coming please!
The lack of Covid in Sri Lanka is a bit of a mystery, in fact
They have had severe prior waves and 15,000 deaths, not trivial in a land of 20m people. And probably an undercount. Their vax rate is pretty good: 65%, but only 22% boosters: hmmm
They reopened last year, very controversially, because the government was completely desperate for foreign currency. A tourist dependent economy was collapsing. They took a known risk
While paying all due homage to the Fearsome God of Covid Hubris - and all this is very much fingers X’d - so far it seems to be paying off. Tourists are back. Not in numbers like before but noticeable and valuable. In places like Galle the hotels are full
Have they just got lucky? India and Nepal are seeing a fourth or fifth wave. Yet not down here. Long may it stay so. They are the loveliest people
It's possible the pandemic has run its course there.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Make them make you a gin fizz
Aren’t you meant to be sailing around Cape Verde?
Mid Feb, God willing
Hope you make it. Travelling out of Europe right now is wonderful. Sri Lanka feels entirely normal apart from masks in shops. Everything is open. The locals are DELIGHTED to see tourists. The sun beats down on the old Dutch fort. The Tuk Tuk drivers try to sell you “lovely women from Nepal”. The food is so much better than my last visit - I had an exceptional lobster and prawn linguine today, brilliantly jazzed up with chili and spices
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
This is great to hear and hugely tempting. I was last in Sri Lanka back in 2018, the people, wildlife, and countryside were brilliant; the crowds of Western tourists with kids in tow, hotel prices, and food (surprisingly!) were slightly disappointing. With all of SE Asia now out of bounds, this sounds like a bit of a plan for some winter sun. Keep the updates coming please!
The food was crap for me last time, as well. I’m glad I’m not alone!
And yet this time, in Colombo at least, it is delicious. I wonder if in Colombo the restaurants cater for local tastes (far fewer tourists per capita) yet in the tourist honeypots - Kandy, Ella, Galle, the major surf beaches, the Buddhist shrine towns - they mistakenly make everything blander? For westerners? Dunno
Anyway yes now is a great time to be here. There’s no quarantine. They don’t even test you on arrival. So as long as you have your neg PCR test to fly (plus modest insurance and a few filled in forms) you are treated as a normal tourist as soon as you touch down
And like you I’ve been searching for a place to find winter sun. Either everywhere is locked down - most of Thailand, Malaysia, India - or too far to reach - Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia - or boring: the Caribbean. Or violent: South Africa. Or I’ve been there too much: Egypt
Suddenly I saw Sri Lanka and how open it was. And cheap. Yay. I might die of Covid tomorrow but so far it’;s been a great choice
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
There is probably going to be a VONC next week, with the final letters going in to Sir Graham after the Gray report is published, likely on Monday. However for now Boris should probably scrape home.
If the local elections in May see heavy Tory losses and the polls are still bad, then the 1922 may enable a second VONC to be held by amending the rules in consultation with the party board. At that point Boris is more likely to lose it. There would then be a leadership election which Sunak would probably win to become next PM. Assuming Tory MPs can concoct a Sunak v Hunt runoff, thus keeping Truss off the ballot paper. Truss polls well with members but terribly with the public overall
I like the Sunak bet as complement to my main Starmer position. No vacancy = No Sunak = Starmer trades down at 4 for next PM.
The lack of Covid in Sri Lanka is a bit of a mystery, in fact
They have had severe prior waves and 15,000 deaths, not trivial in a land of 20m people. And probably an undercount. Their vax rate is pretty good: 65%, but only 22% boosters: hmmm
They reopened last year, very controversially, because the government was completely desperate for foreign currency. A tourist dependent economy was collapsing. They took a known risk
While paying all due homage to the Fearsome God of Covid Hubris - and all this is very much fingers X’d - so far it seems to be paying off. Tourists are back. Not in numbers like before but noticeable and valuable. In places like Galle the hotels are full
Have they just got lucky? India and Nepal are seeing a fourth or fifth wave. Yet not down here. Long may it stay so. They are the loveliest people
It's possible the pandemic has run its course there.
That is certainly how it feels, and how the locals are treating it
Masks are worn half heartedly. They dangle. Everyone has them but they are shoved on for theatre. You rarely see them outside
It feels oddly like north London just as i left: like everyone is going through the motions but is heartily sick of it, and seeing as cases and deaths have been minimal for months (by the horrific standards of their earlier waves) you can see why that mentality now prevails
I pray to every God in Asia the Sri Lankans are spared any further grief. They deserve some luck, now
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
Please. No more heightism.
It is a bad hobbit.
I bet you Took a couple of minutes to think of that one.
Yes, it was. A good win. A couple more wins in the next couple of games and then survival is a reality. I hope they do stop up as a trip to the toon on a Saturday, we were there today, is so much better when it is not a match day. Much easier to get in.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
Please. No more heightism.
Yes, saying he's short is one thing, it's a fact, but saying he's TOO short is quite another. It's judgmental and reeks of prejudice. Algarkirk should be ashamed.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
Please. No more heightism.
Yes, saying he's short is one thing, it's a fact, but saying he's TOO short is quite another. It's judgmental and reeks of prejudice. Algarkirk should be ashamed.
We're talking betting odds, right?
The humour on pb tends to be so subtle it's sometimes hard to know.
I agree that Sunak is too short. It takes too little account of both no vacancy and the chance that 'anyone but a current minister' could be the right choice; ie Hunt, Tugendhat or AN Other. And Starmer at about 10/1 is value.
Please. No more heightism.
Yes, saying he's short is one thing, it's a fact, but saying he's TOO short is quite another. It's judgmental and reeks of prejudice. Algarkirk should be ashamed.
Given womens height preferences in dating if he is both a good lay and too short it suggests he is making up for it in other ways. What was his most famous policy again?
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Make them make you a gin fizz
Aren’t you meant to be sailing around Cape Verde?
Mid Feb, God willing
Hope you make it. Travelling out of Europe right now is wonderful. Sri Lanka feels entirely normal apart from masks in shops. Everything is open. The locals are DELIGHTED to see tourists. The sun beats down on the old Dutch fort. The Tuk Tuk drivers try to sell you “lovely women from Nepal”. The food is so much better than my last visit - I had an exceptional lobster and prawn linguine today, brilliantly jazzed up with chili and spices
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
Sounds like the Global South is agreeing with you. 🙂
I find it difficult to believe that a significant chunk of Tory MPs actually want Bozo as PM.
All I can think is that a lash-up of 'Not Rishi', 'Not The Truss' and other assorted factions who are against one or other of the potential replacements dare not replace the Buffoon because the replacement might not be their chosen one.
Plus there's a few on the front bench who know that as soon as Bozo goes, they'll be next out.
Let the open wound that is the Tory Party fester away until the next election. The longer this goes on, the more it plays into Labour's hands.
It's a bit like the Brexit problem. For MPs, being human mostly by nature, their first concern is self interest which normally means holding their seat next time as a sine qua non.
So there is no negative - like 'not wanting Boris' or 'not wanting X outcome over Brexit' which will override that concern on its own. It has to be matched by a feasible non-negative which is better than the status quo with regard to keeping your seat.
So unless a majority of Tory MPs believe (a) that they don't want Boris and (b) there is a reasonable chance that in getting rid of him they are more likely to hold their seat, they are unlikely to do so.
There being no agreed candidate there can only be a real uncertainty. The certainty is the Boris has form at winning elections, so even though I think he won't win the next one I could easily be wrong.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
It's both. Wanting a common EU defence policy/army is only going to work if everyone gets defended. The Baltics and Poland are really not convinced of that at the moment.
My bar doesn’t do normal bar snacks like nuts or Kettle chips
It does “flour coated Handallo flash fried with a home made dipping chili sauce”
Handallo is a tiny little eat-it-all Sri Lankan fish a bit like whitebait (which I love) but possibly even nicer. The sauce is deliciously piquant and jammy. A perfect bar snack - salty and moreish and crunchy and makes you thirsty, like crisps, but OMFG
If I look left I can see the ink-dark Indian Ocean and the tiny bobbing lights of the boats hauling in these adorable little fish
Tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny things like that are why travel is great and why I missed it so much and yes I’ve now had two martinis and *sob*
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
There is probably going to be a VONC next week, with the final letters going in to Sir Graham after the Gray report is published, likely on Monday. However for now Boris should probably scrape home.
If the local elections in May see heavy Tory losses and the polls are still bad, then the 1922 may enable a second VONC to be held by amending the rules in consultation with the party board. At that point Boris is more likely to lose it. There would then be a leadership election which Sunak would probably win to become next PM. Assuming Tory MPs can concoct a Sunak v Hunt runoff, thus keeping Truss off the ballot paper. Truss polls well with members but terribly with the public overall
All seems a bit farcical to me. If '1922 may enable a second VONC to be held by amending the rules in consultation with the party board' then surely 1992 and the party board ultimately have the power to select the leader no matter what. So why not simply give them the power to do it and dispense with the other stuff, which they can overrule anyway.
The 1922 committee is merely the shop stewards for the back benchers. Without the backbenchers support a PM can’t survive
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
We've recovered past the point we fell already and I don't believe that's the case for much of the G7, going from memory.
@TSE is partly right. One reason we have grown so lustily is because we fell so far so fast. We had a lot of fairly easy catch-up to do
On the other hand the Remainers and their friends were shrieking gleefully about Britain having the worst GDP fall from Covid OVERALL but that simply hasn‘t happened. Of the major European economies we are behind only France in recovery, and ahead of Spain Italy and Germany (who have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels)
Sunak has done a good job. He will make a good prime minister
My bar doesn’t do normal bar snacks like nuts or Kettle chips
It does “flour coated Handallo flash fried with a home made dipping chili sauce”
Handallo is a tiny little eat-it-all Sri Lankan fish a bit like whitebait (which I love) but possibly even nicer. The sauce is deliciously piquant and jammy. A perfect bar snack - salty and moreish and crunchy and makes you thirsty, like crisps, but OMFG
If I look left I can see the ink-dark Indian Ocean and the tiny bobbing lights of the boats hauling in these adorable little fish
Tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny things like that are why travel is great and why I missed it so much and yes I’ve now had two martinis and *sob*
What tho' the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle; Though every prospect pleases, And only man is vile?
Hopefully Bishop Heber's last point no longer holds after the conflicts.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Yes, it is an EU crisis too. I believe there is a link with Brexit. If the UK were still an active player in the EU then we might well have been able to push a harder line stance on Russia. It’s at times like this that I think the EU really misses having the UK engaged and arguing the case.
We've recovered past the point we fell already and I don't believe that's the case for much of the G7, going from memory.
I think only US is in +ve territory across pandemic and only Japan is more -ve than UK. We had fastest growth Q3-20 to Q3-21 but Q3-21 in isolation was pretty poor cf G7. It’s easy to cherrypick a measure that favours most points of view because the phasing of infection waves and lockdown has differed from country to country.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Be gentle with Big G, he's still reeling from this poll.
Drakeford da bomb, us English want Drakeford's policies implemented in England and the Welsh love him.
Obviously all right thinking Welsh people were over the border enjoying beautiful English liberty when Yougov came a calling.
Or the Welsh are a cowed, pathetic people, used to being bossed around by the English, so they will always prefer restrictions on their liberties, the way a lifelong prisoner comes to love his chains. See the same polling in Scotland
You are both defeated peoples, in love with servitude, you Scots even had the chance to throw off the shackles, and said NO
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Be gentle with Big G, he's still reeling from this poll.
Drakeford da bomb, us English want Drakeford's policies implemented in England and the Welsh love him.
I am not reeling from these polls
The public are risk averse and seem happy to have their freedom curtailed in Wales and Scotland
It does not mean it is correct and using the UK exchequer to bail them out only stopped them going further
Until recently the differences between England and other parts of UK were trivial. The main reason for polls like this and similar in Scotland is the uselessness of BJ as a communicator, his lack of gravitas, his correctly perceived lack of attention to detail, laziness, unreliability and irresponsibility.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Yes, it is an EU crisis too. I believe there is a link with Brexit. If the UK were still an active player in the EU then we might well have been able to push a harder line stance on Russia. It’s at times like this that I think the EU really misses having the UK engaged and arguing the case.
It's a threat to democracies everywhere. To turn on ourselves at the moment of threat is stupidly irresponsible. We all know that mistakes have been made, both by Germany and the UK, but the real problem is Russian aggression. We don't need to feel good about ourselves by sneering at each other, we need to feel good about ourselves by doing the right thing, which is protecting each other. Fucking focus, people.
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
Quite a history of Scots in Russia. Lermontov is a Russification of Learmonth.
Quite a few settled on the Baltic and effectively became part of the Baltic German ethnic group. The Barclay de Tolly family was descended from Scots and the famous general was born in Courland and grew up in Livonia (now Estonia - he has a statue in Tartu).
Industrialists too. I used to walk past this Edinburgh plaque daily. Finland was part of the Tsarist empire then so I suppose it counts.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
This anti-EU goading isn't really informative of what is actually happening, so I wonder what you're up to.
Apart from, you know, unwittingly reinforcing Putin's talking points.
Try selling that to the Baltic states and Ukraine and what is actually happening
Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise your goading of Scott was preserving the fucking freedom of the good people of Vilnius. Well done, we should probably get a medal pinned to your jacket ffs.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
What does amaze me are the number of people in this country who presently want it to fail
More a case of wanting honesty about failings so that they can be addressed rather than responding to failure by pretending everything is “world-beating”.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
This anti-EU goading isn't really informative of what is actually happening, so I wonder what you're up to.
Apart from, you know, unwittingly reinforcing Putin's talking points.
Try selling that to the Baltic states and Ukraine and what is actually happening
Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise your goading of Scott was preserving the fucking freedom of the good people of Vilnius. Well done, we should probably get a medal pinned to your jacket ffs.
I have been to the Baltic States and Russia terrifies them
The EU should be standing together against this threat but it is clear Germany is not and even preventing NATO aircraft to 9v4rly their airspace
It seems those who are so full of the EU cannot accept criticism in what is a very serious and developing crisis
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Be gentle with Big G, he's still reeling from this poll.
Drakeford da bomb, us English want Drakeford's policies implemented in England and the Welsh love him.
I am not reeling from these polls
The public are risk averse and seem happy to have their freedom curtailed in Wales and Scotland
It does not mean it is correct and using the UK exchequer to bail them out only stopped them going further
Until recently the differences between England and other parts of UK were trivial. The main reason for polls like this and similar in Scotland is the uselessness of BJ as a communicator, his lack of gravitas, his correctly perceived lack of attention to detail, laziness, unreliability and irresponsibility.
Bollocks. The main reason is Devolution
For some mad reason pandemic response was devolved. So the Welsh and Scots could do whatever lockdowns they wanted, sure in the knowledge that the UK Treasury would have to pay, in the end
Of course Cardiff and Edinburgh have sought to be obviously different to London, for political reasons, and they have nearly always sided on the More Restrictions end of the spectrum, because it is superficially popular - and, again, they don’t have to find the money to pay for it
It also speaks of a more socialized, cowardly mindset in the Celtic colonies (and I speak as a Celt). Scot Nats are always going about how they want their FREEEEEDOM!!! while wearing Saltire face paint. Turns out they actually want the FREEDOM to be told to stay at home and not stand in pubs and walk one way around shops, forever and ever
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Be gentle with Big G, he's still reeling from this poll.
Drakeford da bomb, us English want Drakeford's policies implemented in England and the Welsh love him.
Obviously all right thinking Welsh people were over the border enjoying beautiful English liberty when Yougov came a calling.
Or the Welsh are a cowed, pathetic people, used to being bossed around by the English, so they will always prefer restrictions on their liberties, the way a lifelong prisoner comes to love his chains. See the same polling in Scotland
You are both defeated peoples, in love with servitude, you Scots even had the chance to throw off the shackles, and said NO
Lol
Och, a tiddler in the keep net better than nothing I suppose.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
Quite a history of Scots in Russia. Lermontov is a Russification of Learmonth.
Quite a few settled on the Baltic and effectively became part of the Baltic German ethnic group. The Barclay de Tolly family was descended from Scots and the famous general was born in Courland and grew up in Livonia (now Estonia - he has a statue in Tartu).
Industrialists too. I used to walk past this Edinburgh plaque daily. Finland was part of the Tsarist empire then so I suppose it counts.
It was an autonomous (self-governing) grand duchy of Russia in Czarist times. Finlayson textiles are still going strong. He chose Tampere because of its superb access to water power at the confluence of three lakes.
I was in central London this afternoon - a reasonably good-natured protest around Parliament Square and Whitehall.
I did feel a rubicon of sorts was crossed when, having put on a face mask to enter Westminster tube station, I was told to "take that f-ing mask off" by some anti-mask dimwit while at the same time the public address in the station was reminding me it was still a legal requirement to wear a face covering on Transport for London stations and trains.
Thus did I encounter the final pathetic stereo of the pro-mask authoritarian and the anti-mask authoritarian at the same time.
Wither liberty? Stick a memorial at Westminster tube station.
- “… the only way he’s is going to be pushed aside is if there’s a vote of confidence that he loses.“
Impeachment?
Most likely scenario is he is clearly nailed as having lied to HoC. In those circs I think even he would realise the game was up
The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806; since then, other forms of democratic scrutiny (notably the doctrine of collective cabinet responsibility) have been favoured and the process has been considered as an obsolete—but still extant—power of Parliament.
Interesting that the last person impeached was Scottish.
Not a coincidence. Scotland was effectively ruled as a Tory colony/dictatorship 1707-1800ish. Dundas was de facto Viceroy/Dictator of Scotland, albeit an “Enlightened” one. During the Victorian era, the Scottish Liberals gained hegemony. Then a series of Liberal splits/breakaways occurred (Labour, SNP, Liberal Unionists etc).
Is that why so many Scottish naval officers ended up working for the Russian navy around then (like the guy who founded Sevastopol Thomas MacKenzie's father, and his wife's grandfather Thomas Gordon)?
Quite a history of Scots in Russia. Lermontov is a Russification of Learmonth.
Also a good reminder that Russia wasn't always the enemy and won't always be so. In some important conflicts we've been on the same side or at the very least fighting a common enemy. The Russian people are not the problem. In fact, they have the same problem we do, Vladimir Putin. It would be most welcome if they did to him what they did to the Romanovs in 1917.
Easy to forget in these days of state propaganda that Russia was long considered a valuable ally. Her people still are. She will be again.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Yes, it is an EU crisis too. I believe there is a link with Brexit. If the UK were still an active player in the EU then we might well have been able to push a harder line stance on Russia. It’s at times like this that I think the EU really misses having the UK engaged and arguing the case.
It's a threat to democracies everywhere. To turn on ourselves at the moment of threat is stupidly irresponsible. We all know that mistakes have been made, both by Germany and the UK, but the real problem is Russian aggression. We don't need to feel good about ourselves by sneering at each other, we need to feel good about ourselves by doing the right thing, which is protecting each other. Fucking focus, people.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Keelhauling seems such a cruel punshment, and yet it was far from exceptional.
There's a horrible catalogue of ways to hurt people.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
This anti-EU goading isn't really informative of what is actually happening, so I wonder what you're up to.
Apart from, you know, unwittingly reinforcing Putin's talking points.
Try selling that to the Baltic states and Ukraine and what is actually happening
Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise your goading of Scott was preserving the fucking freedom of the good people of Vilnius. Well done, we should probably get a medal pinned to your jacket ffs.
I have been to the Baltic States and Russia terrifies them
The EU should be standing together against this threat but it is clear Germany is not and even preventing NATO aircraft to 9v4rly their airspace
It seems those who are so full of the EU cannot accept criticism in what is a very serious and developing crisis
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
Seems to be a NATO crisis rather than a EU crisis
Germany aligning with Russia against the wishes of the Baltic states, with only the US and UK offering military assistance, and you think this is not a crisis for the EU
Poor Turkey, forgotten.
They aren't being discussed much in the current crisis are they? Erdogan has a curious relationship with Russia, sometimes close but at others not. He's sold drones to Ukraine which won't have pleased Putin and will be wary of Russian manoeuvres in the Black Sea.
Sitting on a balcony in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3, overlooking the starlit Indian Ocean, drinking the world’s FUCK OFFEST Gin Martini. It’s about a pint in quantity
You?
Either you down it in one or it'll be lukewarm before you're through. Not sure which is more eeeuch
Send it back.
True
TBH I’m only drinking it because the bar has RUN OUT OF TONIC = no G&T
It wouldn’t have happened during the Raj. And if it had happened, the bar manager would surely have been keelhauled in the bay by the Royal Navy
Keelhauling seems such a cruel punshment, and yet it was far from exceptional.
There's a horrible catalogue of ways to hurt people.
Wasn’t it essentially a death sentence? Few survived keel-hauling, I believe
Edit to add: Wiki claims it is quasi-mythical. However I have come to doubt the professional sensation-squashers in academic history. “Oh if there’s no written evidence that we can see right now then it never happened, its just tittle tattle”
One example of this process - academics always trying to crush the more interesting or more lurid explanation: the Moche culture of north Peru. For decades serious, spectacled academics pooh-poohed the idea that the Moche ritually sacrificed their children in orgies of sodomy and drugs. Until the bones started showing up. And the drugs. And the undeniable evidence of cannibalism
While Germany aligns with Russia against the EU Baltic states
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Whats that got to do with the queue at Dover like
@Scott_xP posts anti brexit tweets while remaining silent on the crisis engulfing his beloved EU
This anti-EU goading isn't really informative of what is actually happening, so I wonder what you're up to.
Apart from, you know, unwittingly reinforcing Putin's talking points.
Try selling that to the Baltic states and Ukraine and what is actually happening
Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise your goading of Scott was preserving the fucking freedom of the good people of Vilnius. Well done, we should probably get a medal pinned to your jacket ffs.
I have been to the Baltic States and Russia terrifies them
The EU should be standing together against this threat but it is clear Germany is not and even preventing NATO aircraft to 9v4rly their airspace
It seems those who are so full of the EU cannot accept criticism in what is a very serious and developing crisis
Germany is not the EU. Those of us who have been looking at the flightpaths you're talking about will see them going over the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland... all EU countries. This lump-then-criticise is really unhelpful, and is exactly the same old bollocks that has helped create this mess.
Don't focus on the people who are failing to help, focus on the aggressor. If we can't even agree that Russia is the problem, we're lost.
PS, "I've been to X" doesn't make you an expert on something, it makes you just a tourist.
Comments
The Russ/Scot who founded the city Thomas MacKenzie had a son who joined the British navy.
And despite being open for several months, Sri Lanka has minimal Covid
donevisible from space...Queues of lorries backed up waiting to be processed at the Port of Dover are now so long the huge tailbacks can be seen from space on Google Maps satellite images
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/dover-lorry-queues-sparked-by-brexit-delays-so-long-they-can-be-seen-from-space/
They have had severe prior waves and 15,000 deaths, not trivial in a land of 20m people. And probably an undercount. Their vax rate is pretty good: 65%, but only 22% boosters: hmmm
They reopened last year, very controversially, because the government was completely desperate for foreign currency. A tourist dependent economy was collapsing. They took a known risk
While paying all due homage to the Fearsome God of Covid Hubris - and all this is very much fingers X’d - so far it seems to be paying off. Tourists are back. Not in numbers like before but noticeable and valuable. In places like Galle the hotels are full
Have they just got lucky? India and Nepal are seeing a fourth or fifth wave. Yet not down here. Long may it stay so. They are the loveliest people
And yet this time, in Colombo at least, it is delicious. I wonder if in Colombo the restaurants cater for local tastes (far fewer tourists per capita) yet in the tourist honeypots - Kandy, Ella, Galle, the major surf beaches, the Buddhist shrine towns - they mistakenly make everything blander? For westerners? Dunno
Anyway yes now is a great time to be here. There’s no quarantine. They don’t even test you on arrival. So as long as you have your neg PCR test to fly (plus modest insurance and a few filled in forms) you are treated as a normal tourist as soon as you touch down
And like you I’ve been searching for a place to find winter sun. Either everywhere is locked down - most of Thailand, Malaysia, India - or too far to reach - Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia - or boring: the Caribbean. Or violent: South Africa. Or I’ve been there too much: Egypt
Suddenly I saw Sri Lanka and how open it was. And cheap. Yay. I might die of Covid tomorrow but so far it’;s been a great choice
Anything can be seen from space IN MASSIVELY MAGNIFIED IMAGES.
The Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space without that.
How about providing your insight into this divisive crisis now engulfing the EU
Masks are worn half heartedly. They dangle. Everyone has them but they are shoved on for theatre. You rarely see them outside
It feels oddly like north London just as i left: like everyone is going through the motions but is heartily sick of it, and seeing as cases and deaths have been minimal for months (by the horrific standards of their earlier waves) you can see why that mentality now prevails
I pray to every God in Asia the Sri Lankans are spared any further grief. They deserve some luck, now
https://www.cityam.com/oecd-uk-muscles-out-g7-to-top-economic-growth-rankings/
The humour on pb tends to be so subtle it's sometimes hard to know.
So there is no negative - like 'not wanting Boris' or 'not wanting X outcome over Brexit' which will override that concern on its own. It has to be matched by a feasible non-negative which is better than the status quo with regard to keeping your seat.
So unless a majority of Tory MPs believe (a) that they don't want Boris and (b) there is a reasonable chance that in getting rid of him they are more likely to hold their seat, they are unlikely to do so.
There being no agreed candidate there can only be a real uncertainty. The certainty is the Boris has form at winning elections, so even though I think he won't win the next one I could easily be wrong.
Drakeford da bomb, us English want Drakeford's policies implemented in England and the Welsh love him.
At least it will be portable
and
2) It is a forecast and not an actual result?
It does “flour coated Handallo flash fried with a home made dipping chili sauce”
Handallo is a tiny little eat-it-all Sri Lankan fish a bit like whitebait (which I love) but possibly even nicer. The sauce is deliciously piquant and jammy. A perfect bar snack - salty and moreish and crunchy and makes you thirsty, like crisps, but OMFG
If I look left I can see the ink-dark Indian Ocean and the tiny bobbing lights of the boats hauling in these adorable little fish
Tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny things like that are why travel is great and why I missed it so much and yes I’ve now had two martinis and *sob*
We've recovered past the point we fell already and I don't believe that's the case for much of the G7, going from memory.
The public are risk averse and seem happy to have their freedom curtailed in Wales and Scotland
It does not mean it is correct and using the UK exchequer to bail them out only stopped them going further
And you haven't had to suffer the consequences of Welsh Labour’s failing NHS and education system over years
Apart from, you know, unwittingly reinforcing Putin's talking points.
On the other hand the Remainers and their friends were shrieking gleefully about Britain having the worst GDP fall from Covid OVERALL but that simply hasn‘t happened. Of the major European economies we are behind only France in recovery, and ahead of Spain Italy and Germany (who have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels)
Sunak has done a good job. He will make a good prime minister
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-60084347
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle;
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile?
Hopefully Bishop Heber's last point no longer holds after the conflicts.
https://fullfact.org/economy/january-2022-gdp-growth-g7/ seems to be most up to date actuals set out for comparison.
You are both defeated peoples, in love with servitude, you Scots even had the chance to throw off the shackles, and said NO
Lol
We all know that mistakes have been made, both by Germany and the UK, but the real problem is Russian aggression. We don't need to feel good about ourselves by sneering at each other, we need to feel good about ourselves by doing the right thing, which is protecting each other. Fucking focus, people.
Report
Further revelations reinforcing/undermining conclusions of report
The EU should be standing together against this threat but it is clear Germany is not and even preventing NATO aircraft to 9v4rly their airspace
It seems those who are so full of the EU cannot accept criticism in what is a very serious and developing crisis
For some mad reason pandemic response was devolved. So the Welsh and Scots could do whatever lockdowns they wanted, sure in the knowledge that the UK Treasury would have to pay, in the end
Of course Cardiff and Edinburgh have sought to be obviously different to London, for political reasons, and they have nearly always sided on the More Restrictions end of the spectrum, because it is superficially popular - and, again, they don’t have to find the money to pay for it
It also speaks of a more socialized, cowardly mindset in the Celtic colonies (and I speak as a Celt). Scot Nats are always going about how they want their FREEEEEDOM!!! while wearing Saltire face paint. Turns out they actually want the FREEDOM to be told to stay at home and not stand in pubs and walk one way around shops, forever and ever
But I doubt there'll be a smoking gun and any MPs waiting for that may be inclined to continue spinelessly prevaricating.
Finlayson textiles are still going strong. He chose Tampere because of its superb access to water power at the confluence of three lakes.
I did feel a rubicon of sorts was crossed when, having put on a face mask to enter Westminster tube station, I was told to "take that f-ing mask off" by some anti-mask dimwit while at the same time the public address in the station was reminding me it was still a legal requirement to wear a face covering on Transport for London stations and trains.
Thus did I encounter the final pathetic stereo of the pro-mask authoritarian and the anti-mask authoritarian at the same time.
Wither liberty? Stick a memorial at Westminster tube station.
But disagree re assassination.
Strangely, Turkey thinks that a Black Sea dominated by a militarily expansionist Russia is not to her advantage....
There's a horrible catalogue of ways to hurt people.
Edit to add: Wiki claims it is quasi-mythical. However I have come to doubt the professional sensation-squashers in academic history. “Oh if there’s no written evidence that we can see right now then it never happened, its just tittle tattle”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keelhauling
One example of this process - academics always trying to crush the more interesting or more lurid explanation: the Moche culture of north Peru. For decades serious, spectacled academics pooh-poohed the idea that the Moche ritually sacrificed their children in orgies of sodomy and drugs. Until the bones started showing up. And the drugs. And the undeniable evidence of cannibalism
Those of us who have been looking at the flightpaths you're talking about will see them going over the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland... all EU countries. This lump-then-criticise is really unhelpful, and is exactly the same old bollocks that has helped create this mess.
Don't focus on the people who are failing to help, focus on the aggressor. If we can't even agree that Russia is the problem, we're lost.
PS, "I've been to X" doesn't make you an expert on something, it makes you just a tourist.