You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not going to make any difference to my life. Apart from making my arguments for the abolition of the monarchy just a fraction more palatable to the public.
If you think there’s going to be a Channel 4 “Alternative Queen’s Funeral”, you’ll be sadly disappointed.
It’s going to be a week of working through the Netflix queue for republicans.
I don't watch Channel 4. I don't even have a TV license. Netflix and Amazon Prime for me.
So that's about £20 a month? I firmly believe that at sooner or later there's going to be a backlash against the fragmentation of streaming media. Freeview for the cost of the licence fee seems like a bargain to me.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
Having travelled into London from Woking yesterday, I don't think it's a surprise people from out of town weren't in London in big numbers yesterday!
But I caught the Vic line from Highbury and Islington to Oxford Circus long after the football crowd had gone and it was rammed.
Yesterday the trains were stuffed. I had no trains to Woking (or Waterloo) until at least 1:30 and then decided to do something else. I presume they were back running some time in the afternoon/evening but I imagine a lot of people would have decided not to risk it.
Trains were running between Woking and Waterloo, so we decided to go that way. My friends got to Woking station before the rest of us to say that SWR were refusing to sell tickets and let people on the station as "they couldn't guarantee that we'd get home", which I thought was utterly stupid.
So we all made our way to the Piccadilly Line but the car parks at Hatton Cross, Hounslow West and Osterley were full. My friends did well to find street parking at Boston Manor, but we ended up at Acton East. I was in my seat at the Emirates for 15:02.
Oh, and the trains were running out of Waterloo last night.
My wife's friend and her daughter had gone into London yesterday to see a show, had to end up booking a hotel to stay overnight as they couldn't get home again via rail.
So one for the lawyers please. I believe I have just established that the neighbour's trees who have fallen into my garden are my responsibility unless I have previously warned them about them. Bit taken aback by that and very surprised.
Vice President Kamala Harris, echoing President Joe Biden's comments Friday, tells CNN's @NatashaBertrand in Munich "We believe that Putin has made his decision, period," to invade Ukraine, adding "nothing's being held back" in sharing intelligence with allies.
*off topic, though great to have a TSE thread again
Is it really all down to Putin making his mind up? If it was London or Washington and rest of war bunker said no, it wouldn’t matter what the leaders preference was? Why would it be different in Moscow? What I’m practically saying is, if Putin, and those agreeing with him were asked by the generals, what’s the clarity of the mission we can achieve and withdraw without it being open ended or creeping into something else, and Putin and his allies can’t convincingly define that, then surely it won’t happen?
If at some point the Ukraine leadership want a face to face with Russian counterpart’s, what would the Ukrainians hope to get from that? They would use it just to emphasise how belligerent their position is, like how Liz Truss used her Moscow trip?
These are two good questions for this latest Sunday in pre war build up?
Although Igor the Incinerator (Putin’s likely successor if the worst happened to Putin this week) is no doubt on side with sabre rattling to get Donetsk up everyone’s agenda, and dialogue on it not kicked into long grass like any criminal investigation into Boris Johnson, I’m not convinced Igor is on side with invasion, because Surely there’s internal politics and factions on things within Moscow government too, and Igors already allowed unease of generals to seep like a message into world news?
Why do I think Igor as successor? Is this not the same path which brought Putin into the job? What do we know about Igor? His take on pursuing Greater Russian Nationalism from behind his desk at GRU has been brazen, merciless and blood thirsty, like a dalek, he’s likely to be far worse than Putin to deal with especially if he’s been courting the military these past years. ☹️
Ukrainians - "emphasise how belligerent their position is" ???? Since when is "Don't invaded my country" belligerent?
Like Napoleon, Putin has to manage a coalition of power brokers behind him. He is riding a tiger, which can eat him at any time.
A successor to Putin is not predictable. Putin himself was supposed to be a puppet figurehead, who got out of control.
In Paraguay, General Rodríguez overthrew Stroessner. Rodríguez was corrupt and a fully paid up member of the goose-stepping military.
He freed the political prisoners, unbanned the opposition, introduced real democracy, and stepped down after one term as elected (genuinely) president. Then died. People are still going WTF??
*off topic because of world war three
“ People are still going WTF?” I love that example because it is so optimistic.
I’m not so convinced though Malmsy. These people that come out the CHECKA, KGB, you can’t reason with them. You can’t think, what puts pressure on me we will apply to them. I don’t want to come over all neecher but They are like Daleks, they have had pityand mercy removed. They can’t see the bigger picture like we can. Can’t say to them, your people like my people, they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals - you can’t say this to them, they haven’t clue what you are babbling about, they have spent their life in a basement shooting intelligentsia like you in the head with a bullet, playing tinker tailor solider spy.
Is it like you sez we know how Putin ticks he’s a greater Russian nationalist. Or is he less emotional than that, a Dalek that only cares bout legacy? Because on his watch his legacy of greater Russia has shrunk, the autonomous bits of old Soviet Union, led by leaders who are not conditioned by being checka their whole life, look westerwards for investment, commerce, wealth and comfort and security for their people.
I do apologise for this gonzo, I have been polishing off the wine box. We normally go out Sunday afternoon, but I said I would do a beef bourguigiynionnon. So you got me all after noon. 😦
Not all ex-KGB are arseholes. Remember that 98% of them are office drones, as well.
"they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals" - that is what drove the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the creation of Putin. Someone who can deliver....
If Putinism stops delivering.... well the next chap might try real reform....
Or be a merciless dalek nationalist job. It can go two ways can’t it?
The Daleks are, of course, a metaphor for Nazism.
The cyber men are communists.
Occasionally a post comes along that shakes my very understanding of all I’ve ever understood 😟
Is it the Green Death?
The Green Death. Unfettered capitalism is bad. With giant maggots made from blown up condoms
A more literal interpretation might be available. Don't eat compost!
The Boris Derangement Syndrome lot don't do themselves any favours blaming Boris for the Queen getting COVID.
There are a lots of things to attack Boris for, but for the millionth time everbody is going to get COVID at some point. With Omicron its too infectious. Unless you want to live like a hermit for the rest of your days, you are going to come into contact with people who have it and then its just a matter of probability.
Given Charles and Camilla have it, and they have been spending time with her, I think its pretty likely she got it off them, so any recent changes to rules is totally mute. Omicron household spread is huge, so unless Boris is going to go back to banning families from ever meeting, its going to happen.
The "derangement syndrome" thing was never that clever or funny, was it?
I am no fan of Boris. I was one of the people on here who argued against him getting the top job, the discussions often getting heated with the Boris Fans. I didn't vote for him, and won't.
Having said that, there is a BDS. People who are driven so mad by Boris that they assert almost godly powers of malice to him, whilst also saying he is an incompetent buffoon. Sane people who lose all sense of reason whenever Boris is mentioned.
It's not complicated, he is a sociopath who is extremely competent at political tactics but extremely incompetent as at making the country better. Probably because he is interested in the former but not the latter.
What clinical evidence do you have that he is a "Sociopath"?
I mean, the guy's a joke, but if you say he is one, then I fear many politicians would fall under the same banner...
Not a professional but here is a list of characteristic traits:
Lack of empathy: Smirks at Starmer death threats Difficult Relationships: Not sure you need examples here but can provide many if you really want me to Manipulativeness: See above Deceitfulness: See above Callousness: Let the bodies pile high Hostility: Facial expressions at PMQ Irresponsibility: Guppy Impulsivity: Frequent affairs Risky Behaviour: See above
Seems pretty clear cut to a layman.
Estimates are 3-4% of males are sociopaths, and they will definitely be drawn to politics and suited to it. So yes many of the top politicians will be sociopaths but far from all or even the majority.
I have great issues with people (even experts) making medical diagnoses over t'Internet - especially when they are negative and about someone that they dislike.
I'd also argue that some of those traits are almost part of the job description for a top politician, who has to trade off many factors in making a decision. It does not necessarily mean that they are a sociopath.
I wouldn't make a diagnosis over tinternet, but it does seem as if a lot of leading politicians are sociopaths.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
As everyone has known for as long as I can remember, the only way to get a big pay rise is to change jobs.
I don't understand it, because surely then the company you leave has to offer a similar amount to the next guy to intice them, plus the time spent training them up etc, surely it would be cheaper to offer better pay rises to existing employees.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
"Anecdodotally" - a tale that is experiencing it's last outing?
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
Report from Stratford-onAvon where we went to see a very good Much Ado earlier this week :- restaurants and hotels surviving, but only just. Foreign tourism is still non-existant.
Well. I remember the economic debate since 2011. Every lefty economist followed Paul Krugman into demands for high inflation, saying they wanted to bring down asset prices, encourage real wage growth through raising real demand, and informally default on debts. This was often linked to an anti-German narrative on Greek and Italian debt negotiations, and falsely-named "Keynesian" advocacy for permanent deficit spending in the manner of Gordon Brown. Now we have high inflation, we still have high asset prices, nominal wage growth can't keep up, demand is still suppressed, and just about their only success is that debt is spiralling upward. Those same folks do not seem to be happy with the outcomes nor do they have any new solution (considering tax-and-spend has always been in their preferred toolkit).
The next couple of years are going to be painful, as the world recovers from the pandemic and life gets back to normal.
UK is well placed to recover - the biggest issues at the moment are the supply chain slowdowns and high gas prices thanks to Russia, both of which are getting better. The inflation we are seeing is likely to be transient, and can be dealt with by reverse QE if it looks more persistent.
This is probably your usual distance thing but our supply chain problems are getting worse, not better. Dover was shut on Friday because the backlog of trucks was causing absolute pandemonium.
It is his Tory blue rosy sunny uplands specs. Place is like a banana republic and he makes out it is paradise, easy when you are far far away in tax free land.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not going to make any difference to my life. Apart from making my arguments for the abolition of the monarchy just a fraction more palatable to the public.
If you think there’s going to be a Channel 4 “Alternative Queen’s Funeral”, you’ll be sadly disappointed.
It’s going to be a week of working through the Netflix queue for republicans.
It'll be a watered down version of losing ones own parent or grand parent. Nothing like the loss of the people's princess
Oh Z. I’m disappointed in that post. It’s the peoples Princess, peoples queen and peoples Nan rolled into one.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
Report from Stratford-onAvon where we went to see a very good Much Ado earlier this week :- restaurants and hotels surviving, but only just. Foreign tourism is still non-existant.
Tbf it is February.
Was out on Friday night in Camden - medium busy, especially with the storm warning etc.
No mask wearing in the gig I was at, which was at least 40% non-UK people.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Whereas people who have a life do not give a toss.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
As everyone has known for as long as I can remember, the only way to get a big pay rise is to change jobs.
I don't understand it, because surely then the company you leave has to offer a similar amount to the next guy to intice them, plus the time spent training them up etc, surely it would be cheaper to offer better pay rises to existing employees.
Well, they do, but only if you have a job offer elsewhere for more money which they can match.
It's a horrible process to go through for an Englishman uncomfortale with a) negotiating, b) talking about money and c) talking about his own abilities apart from in self-deprecating terms.
Leaving may not always be the best career option but it is the one fraught with the least social awkwardness.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but it's not going to make any difference to my life. Apart from making my arguments for the abolition of the monarchy just a fraction more palatable to the public.
If you think there’s going to be a Channel 4 “Alternative Queen’s Funeral”, you’ll be sadly disappointed.
It’s going to be a week of working through the Netflix queue for republicans.
I don't watch Channel 4. I don't even have a TV license. Netflix and Amazon Prime for me.
So that's about £20 a month? I firmly believe that at sooner or later there's going to be a backlash against the fragmentation of streaming media. Freeview for the cost of the licence fee seems like a bargain to me.
Many media outlets are currently making the same mistake they made with audio originally. The problem is even more than MP3 era, it is trivial to find all the content on the internet in minutes after it has been launched. The reason Spotify works is it cheap and easy and basically everything is there under one roof, so absolutely no point risking going on some dodgy sites to get it for free.
If all the content right holders try to wall garden everything separately they will fail. However, we can already see that Disney have realised this, so they offer triple play of sports, kids and adults package for a single cheap fee in the US. I think we will find after a few years that all the rights holders will partner up (or be continually bought out), but at the moment they can't let Netflix win the way they were, so they are taking all their own content back and pay walling it on their own apps.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I remember the Kings death like it was yesterday but we did not have the media we have today and I expect them to be utterly over the top for weeks blotting out other serious issues, even a war in Ukraine
Vice President Kamala Harris, echoing President Joe Biden's comments Friday, tells CNN's @NatashaBertrand in Munich "We believe that Putin has made his decision, period," to invade Ukraine, adding "nothing's being held back" in sharing intelligence with allies.
*off topic, though great to have a TSE thread again
Is it really all down to Putin making his mind up? If it was London or Washington and rest of war bunker said no, it wouldn’t matter what the leaders preference was? Why would it be different in Moscow? What I’m practically saying is, if Putin, and those agreeing with him were asked by the generals, what’s the clarity of the mission we can achieve and withdraw without it being open ended or creeping into something else, and Putin and his allies can’t convincingly define that, then surely it won’t happen?
If at some point the Ukraine leadership want a face to face with Russian counterpart’s, what would the Ukrainians hope to get from that? They would use it just to emphasise how belligerent their position is, like how Liz Truss used her Moscow trip?
These are two good questions for this latest Sunday in pre war build up?
Although Igor the Incinerator (Putin’s likely successor if the worst happened to Putin this week) is no doubt on side with sabre rattling to get Donetsk up everyone’s agenda, and dialogue on it not kicked into long grass like any criminal investigation into Boris Johnson, I’m not convinced Igor is on side with invasion, because Surely there’s internal politics and factions on things within Moscow government too, and Igors already allowed unease of generals to seep like a message into world news?
Why do I think Igor as successor? Is this not the same path which brought Putin into the job? What do we know about Igor? His take on pursuing Greater Russian Nationalism from behind his desk at GRU has been brazen, merciless and blood thirsty, like a dalek, he’s likely to be far worse than Putin to deal with especially if he’s been courting the military these past years. ☹️
Ukrainians - "emphasise how belligerent their position is" ???? Since when is "Don't invaded my country" belligerent?
Like Napoleon, Putin has to manage a coalition of power brokers behind him. He is riding a tiger, which can eat him at any time.
A successor to Putin is not predictable. Putin himself was supposed to be a puppet figurehead, who got out of control.
In Paraguay, General Rodríguez overthrew Stroessner. Rodríguez was corrupt and a fully paid up member of the goose-stepping military.
He freed the political prisoners, unbanned the opposition, introduced real democracy, and stepped down after one term as elected (genuinely) president. Then died. People are still going WTF??
*off topic because of world war three
“ People are still going WTF?” I love that example because it is so optimistic.
I’m not so convinced though Malmsy. These people that come out the CHECKA, KGB, you can’t reason with them. You can’t think, what puts pressure on me we will apply to them. I don’t want to come over all neecher but They are like Daleks, they have had pityand mercy removed. They can’t see the bigger picture like we can. Can’t say to them, your people like my people, they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals - you can’t say this to them, they haven’t clue what you are babbling about, they have spent their life in a basement shooting intelligentsia like you in the head with a bullet, playing tinker tailor solider spy.
Is it like you sez we know how Putin ticks he’s a greater Russian nationalist. Or is he less emotional than that, a Dalek that only cares bout legacy? Because on his watch his legacy of greater Russia has shrunk, the autonomous bits of old Soviet Union, led by leaders who are not conditioned by being checka their whole life, look westerwards for investment, commerce, wealth and comfort and security for their people.
I do apologise for this gonzo, I have been polishing off the wine box. We normally go out Sunday afternoon, but I said I would do a beef bourguigiynionnon. So you got me all after noon. 😦
Not all ex-KGB are arseholes. Remember that 98% of them are office drones, as well.
"they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals" - that is what drove the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the creation of Putin. Someone who can deliver....
If Putinism stops delivering.... well the next chap might try real reform....
Or be a merciless dalek nationalist job. It can go two ways can’t it?
Putin is the merciless dalek nationalist job Anyone further down the tinpot dictator scale will make Russia into a joke quite rapidly.
Putin's thing *was* rational control of the corruption plus nationalism. The problem is that, even when there are vast amounts of money to steal, the wheels come off eventually - the slower rate of theft just makes it last longer.
We’ll just have to shakes hands to agree to disagree on this one then. “ Not all ex-KGB are arseholes.” anyone whose day job is support state murder is worse than a aresehole, they are not even human beings. A leader coming out the GRU my odds are no dovish than Putin 😕
“ Since when is "Don't invaded my country" belligerent? ”. I agree with that, but my point was the opposite, Ukraine are seeking face to face talks, they wouldn’t do that just to restate their firmness, but concede something under pressure?
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I remember the Kings death like it was yesterday but we did not have the media we have today and I expect them to be utterly over the top for weeks blotting out other serious issues, even a war in Ukraine
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
As everyone has known for as long as I can remember, the only way to get a big pay rise is to change jobs.
I don't understand it, because surely then the company you leave has to offer a similar amount to the next guy to intice them, plus the time spent training them up etc, surely it would be cheaper to offer better pay rises to existing employees.
That would be the rational way.
Bit like if you find out that a skill means that you need to pay someone twice what his manager is earning - what's the problem really?
Inflation is a problem but Sunak's rebate for gas and electricity consumers in the autumn should help. Most of the swing voters who might go to Labour over the economy and NI rise have likely already gone, the 34% still voting Tory will generally do so regardless as they are conservative in the culture wars, ie almost all Leavers and anti Covid restrictions and sceptical of Wokeism.
As for MPs pay, other public sector workers have had a rise so no reason they should be exempt
I'm not wholly convinced - the elderly are also influenced by what their children and grandchildren tell them. If they start hearing real economic hardship within their families, it may yet count against Sunak and the Conservatives.
Up to now, the cash savings accumulated by many middle class households during the virus has cushioned the blow of inflation but those reserves will be consumed by overpriced holidays and a return to full-blooded consumption which in turn which help fuel more inflation.
My local Tesco's now at 143.9p for petrol - 4p off its all time high just before the 2008 financial crash when oil prices were much higher (but of course sterling hadn't had the post-Referendum devaluation).
The other problem is a 2% inflation and 5% wage rises keeps everyone happy - it doesn't work so well the other way and savings rates remain miserably low. Try seeing what an ISA or Premium Bonds will get you these days.
Well, the hardship of the young hasn't melted the hearts of the old yet, so we shall see.
The key factor for the Tory core vote is continual house price inflation: the middle class elderly accumulate asset wealth, which they (and the heirs) expect to be passed down the generations as close to intact as possible. If the Tories want to make sure that all the olds turn out to bolster their support at the next election, they should go into it with a headline promise to scrap inheritance tax, backed up by more bribes for pensioners.
The Tories need to expand home ownership as far as they can. Their future depends on it.
Would be a huge vote winner with an entire disenfranchised generation.
Trouble is, it means massive building and that means in places where NIMBY tories don't want them. I don't see a solution without going onto brownfield AND greenfield sites.
Too many people chasing too few goods is basic A level economics but it holds good for an island which is small and over-populated.
The other solution is to turn Britain into such a shitshow that people won't want to live here anymore. Oh wait ...
One of the big vote winners for the Lib Dems in Chesham was opposing housing development. There are plenty of homes available for reasonable prices but they are not where the people want to make a,life.
There aren't that many homes available at reasonable prices. The population of the UK has increased by nearly 20% in recent years but the housing supply hasn't. The idea of plenty of spare houses being available is a very bad joke.
There are in the North East, North West, Wales, Scotland and other parts of the country. There just aren’t that many affordable ones where people want to buy.
I cannot feel sorry for people whining about house prices in London, get out of the dump if they don't like it. Take up the jobs and huge wage rises the Tories on here are crowing about in an area with lower prices.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
"I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies."
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
So - and entirely hypothetically, say the Queen dies at the same time a full blown getting-close-to-WWIII Russian invasion of Ukraine begins.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
Mr. Omnium, I remember seeing that as a repeat in my childhood. Pertwee and Baker were good Doctors.
A whle ago, the Horror channel was showing old Who episodes/serials (rather good to see some I'd never seen before).
Hartnell, Trougton, Pertwee - all along the lines of Quatermass. It's hard to disapprove of Tom Baker, but he had far too much fun, and I just stopped watching anyway.
It all went wrong thereafter, but the foundation is so strong it can handle that.
The BBC need to work out how to once again be world class or hand over the rights.
Vice President Kamala Harris, echoing President Joe Biden's comments Friday, tells CNN's @NatashaBertrand in Munich "We believe that Putin has made his decision, period," to invade Ukraine, adding "nothing's being held back" in sharing intelligence with allies.
*off topic, though great to have a TSE thread again
Is it really all down to Putin making his mind up? If it was London or Washington and rest of war bunker said no, it wouldn’t matter what the leaders preference was? Why would it be different in Moscow? What I’m practically saying is, if Putin, and those agreeing with him were asked by the generals, what’s the clarity of the mission we can achieve and withdraw without it being open ended or creeping into something else, and Putin and his allies can’t convincingly define that, then surely it won’t happen?
If at some point the Ukraine leadership want a face to face with Russian counterpart’s, what would the Ukrainians hope to get from that? They would use it just to emphasise how belligerent their position is, like how Liz Truss used her Moscow trip?
These are two good questions for this latest Sunday in pre war build up?
Although Igor the Incinerator (Putin’s likely successor if the worst happened to Putin this week) is no doubt on side with sabre rattling to get Donetsk up everyone’s agenda, and dialogue on it not kicked into long grass like any criminal investigation into Boris Johnson, I’m not convinced Igor is on side with invasion, because Surely there’s internal politics and factions on things within Moscow government too, and Igors already allowed unease of generals to seep like a message into world news?
Why do I think Igor as successor? Is this not the same path which brought Putin into the job? What do we know about Igor? His take on pursuing Greater Russian Nationalism from behind his desk at GRU has been brazen, merciless and blood thirsty, like a dalek, he’s likely to be far worse than Putin to deal with especially if he’s been courting the military these past years. ☹️
Ukrainians - "emphasise how belligerent their position is" ???? Since when is "Don't invaded my country" belligerent?
Like Napoleon, Putin has to manage a coalition of power brokers behind him. He is riding a tiger, which can eat him at any time.
A successor to Putin is not predictable. Putin himself was supposed to be a puppet figurehead, who got out of control.
In Paraguay, General Rodríguez overthrew Stroessner. Rodríguez was corrupt and a fully paid up member of the goose-stepping military.
He freed the political prisoners, unbanned the opposition, introduced real democracy, and stepped down after one term as elected (genuinely) president. Then died. People are still going WTF??
*off topic because of world war three
“ People are still going WTF?” I love that example because it is so optimistic.
I’m not so convinced though Malmsy. These people that come out the CHECKA, KGB, you can’t reason with them. You can’t think, what puts pressure on me we will apply to them. I don’t want to come over all neecher but They are like Daleks, they have had pityand mercy removed. They can’t see the bigger picture like we can. Can’t say to them, your people like my people, they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals - you can’t say this to them, they haven’t clue what you are babbling about, they have spent their life in a basement shooting intelligentsia like you in the head with a bullet, playing tinker tailor solider spy.
Is it like you sez we know how Putin ticks he’s a greater Russian nationalist. Or is he less emotional than that, a Dalek that only cares bout legacy? Because on his watch his legacy of greater Russia has shrunk, the autonomous bits of old Soviet Union, led by leaders who are not conditioned by being checka their whole life, look westerwards for investment, commerce, wealth and comfort and security for their people.
I do apologise for this gonzo, I have been polishing off the wine box. We normally go out Sunday afternoon, but I said I would do a beef bourguigiynionnon. So you got me all after noon. 😦
Not all ex-KGB are arseholes. Remember that 98% of them are office drones, as well.
"they want security, they want a decent home, decent job, come in from work the kids are doing the homework, someone cutting carrots at window, decent infrastructure, decent education, decent hospitals" - that is what drove the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the creation of Putin. Someone who can deliver....
If Putinism stops delivering.... well the next chap might try real reform....
Or be a merciless dalek nationalist job. It can go two ways can’t it?
Putin is the merciless dalek nationalist job Anyone further down the tinpot dictator scale will make Russia into a joke quite rapidly.
Putin's thing *was* rational control of the corruption plus nationalism. The problem is that, even when there are vast amounts of money to steal, the wheels come off eventually - the slower rate of theft just makes it last longer.
We’ll just have to shakes hands to agree to disagree on this one then. “ Not all ex-KGB are arseholes.” anyone whose day job is support state murder is worse than a aresehole, they are not even human beings. A leader coming out the GRU my odds are no dovish than Putin 😕
“ Since when is "Don't invaded my country" belligerent? ”. I agree with that, but my point was the opposite, Ukraine are seeking face to face talks, they wouldn’t do that just to restate their firmness, but concede something under pressure?
“ Vasili Mitrokhin was Ex-KGB and not an arsehole. “
You raise an interesting point, defector traitor to his own side betraying his own agents. Does he go from arsehole to non arsehole like you say? To start with what was the motivation? Traitor for financial gain for money for example? But to go deeper than that, do each country need arseholes? I couldn’t take someone into a basement and shoot them in the head, or use everyday people as stooges or collateral on my mission - I couldn’t be a secret agent/arsehole. But should we be grateful we have our own arseholes who can?
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
As everyone has known for as long as I can remember, the only way to get a big pay rise is to change jobs.
I don't understand it, because surely then the company you leave has to offer a similar amount to the next guy to intice them, plus the time spent training them up etc, surely it would be cheaper to offer better pay rises to existing employees.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
A lot of places will on the day itself, it's been part of the preparatory planning. Life won't stop and people will moan about the coverage, but it will be extensive and events will be impacted, there's no question about that.
Whatever the plans bars and so will play music I am sure, but the bigger plans will go ahead. It isn't full on Thai morning, but there will be a lot of it.
Mr. Omnium, I remember seeing that as a repeat in my childhood. Pertwee and Baker were good Doctors.
A whle ago, the Horror channel was showing old Who episodes/serials (rather good to see some I'd never seen before).
Hartnell, Trougton, Pertwee - all along the lines of Quatermass. It's hard to disapprove of Tom Baker, but he had far too much fun, and I just stopped watching anyway.
It all went wrong thereafter, but the foundation is so strong it can handle that.
The BBC need to work out how to once again be world class or hand over the rights.
RTD will make a decent fist of it. The Chibnall era has been dismal but the format is sound. It just needs some direction. I think the Classic era had its highs and lows but all doctors offered something and some of the hartnell and troughton stories were tedium personified. The Web Planet or the Sensorites are hard going. The BBC should make the next series and release it all on IPlayer in one go.
So - and entirely hypothetically, say the Queen dies at the same time a full blown getting-close-to-WWIII Russian invasion of Ukraine begins.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
Putin would probably invite himself to the funeral, which could delay any NATO response, sanctions or otherwise
Respect and lots of tributes, but lives will go on no matter but the media will be unwatchable at times
I don't think she'd want huge fuss, just a dignified state funeral. People will obviously react differently (no doubt there will be idiots on Twitter trying to provoke), and it should be up to shops and individuals how they respond rather than a national mandate. But I expect most places will feel it's inappropriate to trade during the funeral itself.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
"I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies."
I'm sure my employers won't mind this post. We have the anniversary coming up, and I would like to write an article on those contributors who have died since PB started. To the best of my knowledge there are five of them:, thus
Some have masses of online info (@MarkSenior's obituary is online), others have very little (@SBS 's contributions have been lost). If anybody has any memories, anecdotes or details of them or other fatalities please send me a message at @viewcode
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
So - and entirely hypothetically, say the Queen dies at the same time a full blown getting-close-to-WWIII Russian invasion of Ukraine begins.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
Putin could probably invite himself to the funeral, which would delay any NATO response, sanctions or otherwise
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
Different places, different experiences.
You need to complain to Nicola.
WTF can she do about forcing companies to make pay rises you halfwit.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
Ukraine needs to persuade China to sail a battle fleet up round the Siberian coast. It may be the reported agreement between Moscow and Beijing covered more than the Winter Olympics, which, incidentally, have just finished.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
"Anecdodotally" - a tale that is experiencing it's last outing?
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
Inflation is a problem but Sunak's rebate for gas and electricity consumers in the autumn should help. Most of the swing voters who might go to Labour over the economy and NI rise have likely already gone, the 34% still voting Tory will generally do so regardless as they are conservative in the culture wars, ie almost all Leavers and anti Covid restrictions and sceptical of Wokeism.
As for MPs pay, other public sector workers have had a rise so no reason they should be exempt
I'm not wholly convinced - the elderly are also influenced by what their children and grandchildren tell them. If they start hearing real economic hardship within their families, it may yet count against Sunak and the Conservatives.
Up to now, the cash savings accumulated by many middle class households during the virus has cushioned the blow of inflation but those reserves will be consumed by overpriced holidays and a return to full-blooded consumption which in turn which help fuel more inflation.
My local Tesco's now at 143.9p for petrol - 4p off its all time high just before the 2008 financial crash when oil prices were much higher (but of course sterling hadn't had the post-Referendum devaluation).
The other problem is a 2% inflation and 5% wage rises keeps everyone happy - it doesn't work so well the other way and savings rates remain miserably low. Try seeing what an ISA or Premium Bonds will get you these days.
Well, the hardship of the young hasn't melted the hearts of the old yet, so we shall see.
The key factor for the Tory core vote is continual house price inflation: the middle class elderly accumulate asset wealth, which they (and the heirs) expect to be passed down the generations as close to intact as possible. If the Tories want to make sure that all the olds turn out to bolster their support at the next election, they should go into it with a headline promise to scrap inheritance tax, backed up by more bribes for pensioners.
The Tories need to expand home ownership as far as they can. Their future depends on it.
Would be a huge vote winner with an entire disenfranchised generation.
Trouble is, it means massive building and that means in places where NIMBY tories don't want them. I don't see a solution without going onto brownfield AND greenfield sites.
Too many people chasing too few goods is basic A level economics but it holds good for an island which is small and over-populated.
The other solution is to turn Britain into such a shitshow that people won't want to live here anymore. Oh wait ...
One of the big vote winners for the Lib Dems in Chesham was opposing housing development. There are plenty of homes available for reasonable prices but they are not where the people want to make a,life.
There aren't that many homes available at reasonable prices. The population of the UK has increased by nearly 20% in recent years but the housing supply hasn't. The idea of plenty of spare houses being available is a very bad joke.
There are in the North East, North West, Wales, Scotland and other parts of the country. There just aren’t that many affordable ones where people want to buy.
I cannot feel sorry for people whining about house prices in London, get out of the dump if they don't like it. Take up the jobs and huge wage rises the Tories on here are crowing about in an area with lower prices.
The issue is London is still the largest global city in Europe, even after Brexit.
Unless we return London to the less exciting, less skyscraper filled, less financial services dominated city it was in the 1970s, house prices in London and the Home Counties commuter belt will always be far higher than the rest of the UK whatever the government does
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
It will be interesting seeing what happens to pay rises during the next few months.
Anecdotally people I know have been getting the biggest pay rises they've had for decades - though in some cases this might not match their cost of living increases.
For those who live within their means and save plentifully each month a significant pay rise is perhaps nice psychologically.
Anecdodotally , most people are not getting big pay rises.
Different places, different experiences.
You need to complain to Nicola.
WTF can she do about forcing companies to make pay rises you halfwit.
Pay rises are a consequence of supply and demand.
Perhaps a more vibrant Scottish economy would lead to higher pay.
Ukraine needs to persuade China to sail a battle fleet up round the Siberian coast. It may be the reported agreement between Moscow and Beijing covered more than the Winter Olympics, which, incidentally, have just finished.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Out here in the blue wall, people are quietly having fun while remaining cautious in shops - masks almost universal in Sainsbury. A friend's funeral is getting a good turnout, but some of the elderly folk are not coming. Generally it all seems quite sensible - enjoy life as you usually would, but if you're concerned about gettting the bug, avoid unnecessary exposure that doesn't stop you having fun.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
That's not going to endear the Royal family to a lot of the country. Way over the top, though many will enjoy a free day off.
It won't endear them to republicans but who cares, they are not royal fans anyway
I thought right wing "Conservative" Party MPs were against lockdowns?
The death of her Majesty would need to be marked by a memorial of sufficient stature, it would also be temporary not months long Covid lockdown but a few weeks at most
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
When Diana died I lost a weekend's overtime because of the OTT reaction, pissed me off as I was saving up for freshers week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
I signed on for a two year contract with BT in December and I've just received a letter telling me that the price I agreed to is going up 9.4% this March. 3.9% annual increase and 5.5% for inflation!
I said 'that's odd considering you did a price based TV campaign at the end of last year. How were new customers supposed to guess their two year contracts would be subject to a nearly 10% rise two months after signing up?'
'How were we to know inflation would rise by 5.5%?' They replied
Despite the sharp practice by BT this is the first time I remember being given an extra charge specifically for inflation.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
"I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies."
Mr. Omnium, I remember seeing that as a repeat in my childhood. Pertwee and Baker were good Doctors.
A whle ago, the Horror channel was showing old Who episodes/serials (rather good to see some I'd never seen before).
Hartnell, Trougton, Pertwee - all along the lines of Quatermass. It's hard to disapprove of Tom Baker, but he had far too much fun, and I just stopped watching anyway.
It all went wrong thereafter, but the foundation is so strong it can handle that.
The BBC need to work out how to once again be world class or hand over the rights.
This isn’t Gallifrey Base so apologies to non whovians. I loved some of nuWho. Eccleston launched the revamped series then exited pdq. Tennant was great, aside of the ‘I don’t want to go’ nonsense. Then Matt Smith. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved it. Harder to like capaldi at first, but rewarding with effort. A sensible regrounding. And then the shit hit the fan. Dr Who has always been woke. Don’t use guns, talk, use science. Be kind. No issue with a female doctor. None at all. But why write her so poorly? And why have a crowd of hangers on? It’s been tried before and didn’t work then. One, or at most two companions. So now the saviour of Dr who is coming back to do it all again. Please, please start with a ‘it was all a dream/regeneration crisp’. Stick with a female doctor if you want, but make her decent...
So - and entirely hypothetically, say the Queen dies at the same time a full blown getting-close-to-WWIII Russian invasion of Ukraine begins.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
Putin would probably invite himself to the funeral, which could delay any NATO response, sanctions or otherwise
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
That's not going to endear the Royal family to a lot of the country.
I find that attitude really really strange if I am honest. I didn't care for the extent of the Phillip coverage and it had literally zero impact on my view of the royal family. Why would people be so petty as to be more or less endeared to the royal family when coverage of the event annoys them? I think that is a rather negative view of the public to think they'd behave so pettily.
When it is too much people will tune it out, end of. Any talk of it impacting general views on things is just over dramatic nonsense to me. Submitting of complaints etc is just attention seeking behaviour when you can just ignore it or not partake, same as that story earlier about the failure of right wing campaigns against 'woke' charities - its noisy is all.
Respect and lots of tributes, but lives will go on no matter but the media will be unwatchable at times
I don't think she'd want huge fuss, just a dignified state funeral. People will obviously react differently (no doubt there will be idiots on Twitter trying to provoke), and it should be up to shops and individuals how they respond rather than a national mandate. But I expect most places will feel it's inappropriate to trade during the funeral itself.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
When Diana died I lost a weekend's overtime because of the OTT reaction, pissed me off as I was saving up for freshers week.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
The Scots did not, on the whole, go OTT when the then Duchess of Rothesay died in a car crash; I well recall the shock and fear at the reaction down south that we were seeing on the TV screens. I was down in England at the time and had to be warned not to say that anywhere in public at all. And I was not being a republican at all - simply frightened at the hysteria.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
That's not going to endear the Royal family to a lot of the country.
I find that attitude really really strange if I am honest. I didn't care for the extent of the Phillip coverage and it had literally zero impact on my view of the royal family. Why would people be so petty as to be more or less endeared to the royal family when coverage of the event annoys them? I think that is a rather negative view of the public to think they'd behave so pettily.
When it is too much people will tune it out, end of. Any talk of it impacting general views on things is just over dramatic nonsense to me. Submitting of complaints etc is just attention seeking behaviour when you can just ignore it or not partake, same as that story earlier about the failure of right wing campaigns against 'woke' charities - its noisy is all.
What seems to be supported by some on here is lockdown.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
That's not going to endear the Royal family to a lot of the country. Way over the top, though many will enjoy a free day off.
It won't endear them to republicans but who cares, they are not royal fans anyway
I thought right wing "Conservative" Party MPs were against lockdowns?
The death of her Majesty would need to be marked by a memorial of sufficient stature, it would also be temporary not months long Covid lockdown but a few weeks at most
The Boris Derangement Syndrome lot don't do themselves any favours blaming Boris for the Queen getting COVID.
There are a lots of things to attack Boris for, but for the millionth time everbody is going to get COVID at some point. With Omicron its too infectious. Unless you want to live like a hermit for the rest of your days, you are going to come into contact with people who have it and then its just a matter of probability.
Given Charles and Camilla have it, and they have been spending time with her, I think its pretty likely she got it off them, so any recent changes to rules is totally mute. Omicron household spread is huge, so unless Boris is going to go back to banning families from ever meeting, its going to happen.
The "derangement syndrome" thing was never that clever or funny, was it?
I am no fan of Boris. I was one of the people on here who argued against him getting the top job, the discussions often getting heated with the Boris Fans. I didn't vote for him, and won't.
Having said that, there is a BDS. People who are driven so mad by Boris that they assert almost godly powers of malice to him, whilst also saying he is an incompetent buffoon. Sane people who lose all sense of reason whenever Boris is mentioned.
It's not complicated, he is a sociopath who is extremely competent at political tactics but extremely incompetent as at making the country better. Probably because he is interested in the former but not the latter.
What clinical evidence do you have that he is a "Sociopath"?
I mean, the guy's a joke, but if you say he is one, then I fear many politicians would fall under the same banner...
Not a professional but here is a list of characteristic traits:
Lack of empathy: Smirks at Starmer death threats Difficult Relationships: Not sure you need examples here but can provide many if you really want me to Manipulativeness: See above Deceitfulness: See above Callousness: Let the bodies pile high Hostility: Facial expressions at PMQ Irresponsibility: Guppy Impulsivity: Frequent affairs Risky Behaviour: See above
Seems pretty clear cut to a layman.
Estimates are 3-4% of males are sociopaths, and they will definitely be drawn to politics and suited to it. So yes many of the top politicians will be sociopaths but far from all or even the majority.
I have great issues with people (even experts) making medical diagnoses over t'Internet - especially when they are negative and about someone that they dislike.
I'd also argue that some of those traits are almost part of the job description for a top politician, who has to trade off many factors in making a decision. It does not necessarily mean that they are a sociopath.
Disagree with your second point. Other politicians (except Trump) are not like Johnson in his sociopathic characteristics, if that's what they are. That's why Johnson is unfit for office whereas the main alternatives to Johnson would be OK.
So Johnson lacks empathy, makes no distinction between right and wrong, takes no responsibility for his actions, is an impulsive liar, can be aggressive and indulges in risky behaviour. Those are characteristics of a sociopath. We don't need to diagnose his clinical condition. We can simply say those characteristics make him uniquely unfit for office.
Okay, I'll go there: any Communist is psychopathic.
Anybody who supports a system that has bought so much evil to the world exhibits exactly the same traits, with added self-delusion that they're making the world a better place, and it'll all work out 'next time' ...
Your second statement is wrong on the facts. There are plenty of supporters of Communism who are nice people just as there are nice Conservatives, including on this board, even though they support a party led by a irresponsible liar, which they personally are not, at all.
I agree with you up to a point. It isn't particularly helpful to do clinical diagnosis over the internet. Let's just stick with what we know about Johnson's personality. That damns him enough.
Godwinning myself, I'm sure plenty of Nazi's were 'nice people' as well. There was lots of good banter at parties in Berlin in the mid-1930s. I treat Communists with the same contempt. The reasons for the contempt are different, but the effects are the same.
Here's a question: can sociopaths *appear to be* nice people?
IMV: of course they can; particularly if you agree with them, and their needs align with yours. The real problems occur when you disagree with them ...
I signed on for a two year contract with BT in December and I've just received a letter telling me that the price I agreed to is going up 9.4% this March. 3.9% annual increase and 5.5% for inflation!
I said 'that's odd considering you did a price based TV campaign at the end of last year. How were new customers supposed to guess their two year contracts would be subject to a nearly 10% rise two months after signing up?'
'How were we to know inflation would rise by 5.5%?' They replied
Despite the sharp practice by BT this is the first time I remember being given an extra charge specifically for inflation.
Pretty much all mobile phone tariffs will be going up 3% plus CPI, so a similar amount. That is going to be quite steep in a lot of families.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Out here in the blue wall, people are quietly having fun while remaining cautious in shops - masks almost universal in Sainsbury. A friend's funeral is getting a good turnout, but some of the elderly folk are not coming. Generally it all seems quite sensible - enjoy life as you usually would, but if you're concerned about gettting the bug, avoid unnecessary exposure that doesn't stop you having fun.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
Why are people still wearing masks in shops ?
Do they actually think it will do any good or has it become some sort of weird social habit ?
I signed on for a two year contract with BT in December and I've just received a letter telling me that the price I agreed to is going up 9.4% this March. 3.9% annual increase and 5.5% for inflation!
I said 'that's odd considering you did a price based TV campaign at the end of last year. How were new customers supposed to guess their two year contracts would be subject to a nearly 10% rise two months after signing up?'
'How were we to know inflation would rise by 5.5%?' They replied
Despite the sharp practice by BT this is the first time I remember being given an extra charge specifically for inflation.
I'd consider getting a 4g/5g router, a £20 a month unlimited data sim from 3 (or similar PAYG sim) and saying goodbye to BT.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
I’m not convinced. Will it be legally mandated to close? To not play music? I’ll crank up my car stereo then and drive up and down. People die. I’ve never met her. She’s had a good innings. I dread the thought of Charles 3rd, or George the 10th or whatever stupid name he chooses.
Macron seems to be staking quite a lot on the opposite, today, with all this talk on a ceasefire and new summit. Either he or the UK/US are going to emerge with their credibility damaged in some way, from all this.
"The purpose of the leaders’ summit if the conditions are met, would be to define a new order of peace and security in Europe,” the French presidency said."
Respect and lots of tributes, but lives will go on no matter but the media will be unwatchable at times
I don't think she'd want huge fuss, just a dignified state funeral.
I think is one area where you are probably wrong though. She herself is not overly expressive as we know, doesn't like a fuss, but she will know the plans for her own funeral. I can believe she'd order them scaled back a bit to seek to avoid it being seen as too much, but they wouldn't plan for it to be huge if she was no on board with that plan. She might well regard it as necessary for a big occasion to aid in Charles' transition, who knows.
My advice is people catch the tributes in the first couple of days and then avoid the news channels and you'd probably not know much is going on until the funeral day. As a child I found the Diana stuff mawkish, and had my fill of Phillip sympathy quickly enough, the key is just not to let it get to you if others do want to be exensive - hence moaning about it at the time will only cause a reaction, whereas letting it go on without comment will be smoother all around.
Mr. Omnium, I remember seeing that as a repeat in my childhood. Pertwee and Baker were good Doctors.
A whle ago, the Horror channel was showing old Who episodes/serials (rather good to see some I'd never seen before).
Hartnell, Trougton, Pertwee - all along the lines of Quatermass. It's hard to disapprove of Tom Baker, but he had far too much fun, and I just stopped watching anyway.
It all went wrong thereafter, but the foundation is so strong it can handle that.
The BBC need to work out how to once again be world class or hand over the rights.
This isn’t Gallifrey Base so apologies to non whovians. I loved some of nuWho. Eccleston launched the revamped series then exited pdq. Tennant was great, aside of the ‘I don’t want to go’ nonsense. Then Matt Smith. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved it. Harder to like capaldi at first, but rewarding with effort. A sensible regrounding. And then the shit hit the fan. Dr Who has always been woke. Don’t use guns, talk, use science. Be kind. No issue with a female doctor. None at all. But why write her so poorly? And why have a crowd of hangers on? It’s been tried before and didn’t work then. One, or at most two companions. So now the saviour of Dr who is coming back to do it all again. Please, please start with a ‘it was all a dream/regeneration crisp’. Stick with a female doctor if you want, but make her decent...
There's probably a high correlation between when I began to stop paying proper attention and when Karen Gillan/Amy Pond left it, but I've sort of dipped in and out semi-regularly since.
Capaldi was an ideal choice as the Doctor, but the bad writing had already begun to set in in his tenure, which eroded how good it was, and then it just circled the drain once Whittaker came in. Whittaker was neither especially good nor bad, just a bit bland, but coupled with the really god awful writing of it all and the terrible hangers-on the last few series have stunk the place up something rotten. The Flux series was incredibly awful, bar the one episode with the Weeping Angels.
- Cases down. R below 1 for all regions and ages. - Hospital admissions down. R stable below 1. - MV beds down - In hospital down - Deaths down.
Yet we were told that removing mask mandates was too much of a risk.
According to the most recently published ONS figures, the total number of deaths registered in the week ending February 4th in England and Wales was about 9% below the (pre-Covid) five year average. This doesn't stop the rearguard of the Zero Covid movement from continuing to wail specifically about Covid mortality, of course, but what they're conveniently failing to mention is that, at this stage of the pandemic, all that appears to be happening is that Covid infection is crowding out flu (flu activity is "very low" according to the most recent weekly report) and is simply picking off most of the people who would otherwise have died of that - and we didn't bring in a million tests a day, masks and social distancing to deal with influenza.
The emergency is over. We'll have to see what the Government announces tomorrow, but a strategy going forward that relies primarily on reserving expensive testing capacity and anti-viral drugs for the most vulnerable, with the rest of the population told to take a common sense approach to symptomatic Covid like they would with anything that makes you feel rough and stay at home until you're better, seems about right to me. We need to let go of the rules some time; this seems as good a time as any.
So one for the lawyers please. I believe I have just established that the neighbour's trees who have fallen into my garden are my responsibility unless I have previously warned them about them. Bit taken aback by that and very surprised.
Opinions please? Ideally from lawyers.
Saw them up for firewood. Say you are exercising the right of distress damage feasant.
Macron seems to be staking quite a lot on the opposite, today, with all this talk on a ceasefire and new summit. Either he or the UK/US are going to emerge with their credibility damaged in some way, from all this.
"The purpose of the leaders’ summit if the conditions are met, would be to define a new order of peace and security in Europe,” the French presidency said."
Interesting. I wonder what the conditions would be.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
Inflation is a problem but Sunak's rebate for gas and electricity consumers in the autumn should help. Most of the swing voters who might go to Labour over the economy and NI rise have likely already gone, the 34% still voting Tory will generally do so regardless as they are conservative in the culture wars, ie almost all Leavers and anti Covid restrictions and sceptical of Wokeism.
As for MPs pay, other public sector workers have had a rise so no reason they should be exempt
I'm not wholly convinced - the elderly are also influenced by what their children and grandchildren tell them. If they start hearing real economic hardship within their families, it may yet count against Sunak and the Conservatives.
Up to now, the cash savings accumulated by many middle class households during the virus has cushioned the blow of inflation but those reserves will be consumed by overpriced holidays and a return to full-blooded consumption which in turn which help fuel more inflation.
My local Tesco's now at 143.9p for petrol - 4p off its all time high just before the 2008 financial crash when oil prices were much higher (but of course sterling hadn't had the post-Referendum devaluation).
The other problem is a 2% inflation and 5% wage rises keeps everyone happy - it doesn't work so well the other way and savings rates remain miserably low. Try seeing what an ISA or Premium Bonds will get you these days.
Well, the hardship of the young hasn't melted the hearts of the old yet, so we shall see.
The key factor for the Tory core vote is continual house price inflation: the middle class elderly accumulate asset wealth, which they (and the heirs) expect to be passed down the generations as close to intact as possible. If the Tories want to make sure that all the olds turn out to bolster their support at the next election, they should go into it with a headline promise to scrap inheritance tax, backed up by more bribes for pensioners.
The Tories need to expand home ownership as far as they can. Their future depends on it.
Would be a huge vote winner with an entire disenfranchised generation.
Trouble is, it means massive building and that means in places where NIMBY tories don't want them. I don't see a solution without going onto brownfield AND greenfield sites.
Too many people chasing too few goods is basic A level economics but it holds good for an island which is small and over-populated.
The other solution is to turn Britain into such a shitshow that people won't want to live here anymore. Oh wait ...
One of the big vote winners for the Lib Dems in Chesham was opposing housing development. There are plenty of homes available for reasonable prices but they are not where the people want to make a,life.
There aren't that many homes available at reasonable prices. The population of the UK has increased by nearly 20% in recent years but the housing supply hasn't. The idea of plenty of spare houses being available is a very bad joke.
There are in the North East, North West, Wales, Scotland and other parts of the country. There just aren’t that many affordable ones where people want to buy.
I cannot feel sorry for people whining about house prices in London, get out of the dump if they don't like it. Take up the jobs and huge wage rises the Tories on here are crowing about in an area with lower prices.
The issue is London is still the largest global city in Europe, even after Brexit.
Unless we return London to the less exciting, less skyscraper filled, less financial services dominated city it was in the 1970s, house prices in London and the Home Counties commuter belt will always be far higher than the rest of the UK whatever the government does
London is the global city.
London in the 70s was a mixed bag. Most of the issues then are now gone - racism far reduced, no actual bomb-sites (from ww2), squalor much reduced, etc.
The Met had more issues then than they do now. (Incredibly!)
Wolves today is free money. I would also tip Coady or Kilman to score. Leicester are shocking at defending set pieces.
Leicester injury woes continue with Barnes and Maddison out. Absolutely foul weather.
I’m not big into football - seems to attract thuggish behaviour and be more boring than rugby to watch - so I don’t know if this question is going to be stupid, but Leicester we’re better than this, is it being in EURO and Thursday night football that’s messed em up?
Macron seems to br staking quite a lot on the opposite, today, with all this talk on a ceasefire and new summit. Either he or the UK/US are going to emerge with their credibility damaged in some way, from all this.
I disagree with this. Macron has been playing one role, other leaders another. He couldn't play that role without someone else talking up a harder line. Given how mercurial Putin is I don't think leaders taking diffferent approaches would mean they automatically would lose credibility.
I think any assessment afterwards which says 'This person suggested an invasion could be avoided and it wasn't, they are a fool' or 'This person said it looked like an invasion would happen and it didn't' will be very misplaced.
So - and entirely hypothetically, say the Queen dies at the same time a full blown getting-close-to-WWIII Russian invasion of Ukraine begins.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
Putin would probably invite himself to the funeral, which could delay any NATO response, sanctions or otherwise
You cannot be serious
Of course Putin won't come, he is paranoid about close human contact, just look at his socially distanced meetings. Indeed germophobia may be a sign of a dangerously deterioration in his overall paranoia.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Out here in the blue wall, people are quietly having fun while remaining cautious in shops - masks almost universal in Sainsbury. A friend's funeral is getting a good turnout, but some of the elderly folk are not coming. Generally it all seems quite sensible - enjoy life as you usually would, but if you're concerned about gettting the bug, avoid unnecessary exposure that doesn't stop you having fun.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
Why are people still wearing masks in shops ?
Do they actually think it will do any good or has it become some sort of weird social habit ?
Because shops have asked them to, such as Waitrose etc. And yes, some folk do believe they will help prevent them catching Covid. This should be the future. I have no beef with people wearing masks. I get annoyed at people being upset if I don’t.
I signed on for a two year contract with BT in December and I've just received a letter telling me that the price I agreed to is going up 9.4% this March. 3.9% annual increase and 5.5% for inflation!
I said 'that's odd considering you did a price based TV campaign at the end of last year. How were new customers supposed to guess their two year contracts would be subject to a nearly 10% rise two months after signing up?'
'How were we to know inflation would rise by 5.5%?' They replied
Despite the sharp practice by BT this is the first time I remember being given an extra charge specifically for inflation.
I'd consider getting a 4g/5g router, a £20 a month unlimited data sim from 3 (or similar PAYG sim) and saying goodbye to BT.
Too late unfortunately. I wish I could. I've signed up to two years and there's no way I can walk away without paying up the contract.
Which is 24 months at £150 a month! Don't touch BT with a bargepole.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Out here in the blue wall, people are quietly having fun while remaining cautious in shops - masks almost universal in Sainsbury. A friend's funeral is getting a good turnout, but some of the elderly folk are not coming. Generally it all seems quite sensible - enjoy life as you usually would, but if you're concerned about gettting the bug, avoid unnecessary exposure that doesn't stop you having fun.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
Why are people still wearing masks in shops ?
Do they actually think it will do any good or has it become some sort of weird social habit ?
I have been for the latter reason. No real reason at this point, people don't seem to be following covid rates as much.
Macron seems to br staking quite a lot on the opposite, today, with all this talk on a ceasefire and new summit. Either he or the UK/US are going to emerge with their credibility damaged in some way, from all this.
I disagree with this. Macron has been playing one role, other leaders another. He couldn't play that role without someone else talking up a harder line. Given how mercurial Putin is I don't think leaders taking diffferent approaches would mean they automatically would lose credibility.
I think any assessment afterwards which says 'This person suggested an invasion could be avoided and it wasn't, they are a fool' or 'This person said it looked like an invasion would happen and it didn't' will be very misplaced.
The differences are greater than that, though. The UK/US are now saying an invasion is *certain* , in the last few days ; Macron is now talking about a new security architecture and upcoming possible ceasefire. Those two lines are too distinctively and definitively different to be part of the same co-ordinated strategy, I would say.
In other news, Camden's night life is back. Been out there Friday last week with my friends and then again yesterday with my wife's friends. Bars and pubs are all packed, not many people milling about outdoors but everywhere had queues to get in, The Underworld has been refurbished and you can wear canvas shoes risk free and use the gents.
Londoners have got their confidence back. What I don't see as much is out of towners like people from Essex heading into Liverpool Street on Fridays for a night in one of Leicester Square's more commercial bars/clubs. Hopefully as we head into the summer this crowd will be back too, despite the fights/piss/rowdiness London needs the two sizes too small polo shirt wearing crowd.
I have seen the same. Camden Market today is RAMMED despite the lousy weather: completely back to pre-pandemic levels, indeed possibly busier than normal for a very wintry, wet Sunday. Barely possible to drive through, all the pubs full at 4.30pm
Another thing I have noticed: gentrification has sped along, up from Camden High Street, down Kentish Town Road, all the way to Tufnell Park and even tentatively as far as - yes - Archway, previously a dystopian urban Toilet.
This seems to be a post-demic thing, or at least the process has been vastly speeded up by the plague. What used to be crappy pound stores, betting shops, charity outlets, is now all trendy bars, Vietnamese pho pop-ups, organic grocers, new cafes, wine shops, fancy clothes stores.
Intriguing
Of course this leaves the Big Question: how is CENTRAL London doing?
The City was still incredibly quiet the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. And Canary Wharf.
Yes, it's a major concern. Central London is THE motor
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Out here in the blue wall, people are quietly having fun while remaining cautious in shops - masks almost universal in Sainsbury. A friend's funeral is getting a good turnout, but some of the elderly folk are not coming. Generally it all seems quite sensible - enjoy life as you usually would, but if you're concerned about gettting the bug, avoid unnecessary exposure that doesn't stop you having fun.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
Why are people still wearing masks in shops ?
Do they actually think it will do any good or has it become some sort of weird social habit ?
Part habit, part terror I should imagine. The habit wearers will eventually get out of it, as they notice more and more other people stopping. The first spell of hot weather (in whatever century we finally get some) should help with that.
The terrified may keep using them for the rest of their lives.
The best work Macron has done is speak to Putin, preventing him getting up to mischief for an hour and a half.
Excellent point. There's plenty of world leaders, if we basically rotate them on a shift schedule we can filibuster the entire war out of the frozen ground weather window.
You seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter. There are quite a few there blaming Boris.
As for Nokes comment I don’t see why one very wealthy, privileged, individual catching Covid changes anything with regards to ending restrictions. It’s the right thing to do, other nations are opening up. So should we.
There is utterly no reason whatsoever to postpone Covid changes.
I hope the Queen is OK but she's mortal and her card will be marked one day, whether it be Covid or anything else, we have to trust the vaccines.
If not now, post-three doses of vaccine, then when?
Indeed, then we have a month of national mourning, then prepare for King Charles' coronation in 6 months as he finally gets the role he has waited his life for at 73.
Hopefully however Her Majesty has a few years left in her but she is 95, she has had as much protection as she can get being double vaccinated and boosted
Point of order: we get about six hours of national mourning, after which viewers start to ring up the BBC complaining about EastEnders being replaced by Nick Witchell.
Tough. I want full Iranian style national mourning when the Queen dies.
I want sombre music on every radio station and wall to wall coverage on all the main freeview channels until her funeral is over. I also want shops shut throughout the day of her funeral.
Anyone who complains gets sent to the Tower., that would also help weed out republicans. After all, what else did we elect a Tory government for?
Good japes!
It's going to be wall to wall for at least a week, and yes, people will complain about it, but it's a one off so I am sure people will manage.
Interestingly, there was a discussion about getting insurance at our recent Dart Music Festival Committee Meeting. One of the things we are having to look at is an additional sum to cover the death of HM the Queen. In the event of it happening, everything - and I mean everything - closes down for three days. Including our free Festival.
The vast majority of people in the UK, who have lived there all their lives, have never experienced the death of a monarch before. Between the death and the funeral, there won’t be a lot going on, the country will be utterly shocked in a way that’s never been experienced by anyone under 70.
I just don’t agree with this. People were shocked when Diana died because it was so unexpected. Everyone knows she will die at some point soon. Yes there will be an outpouring of love and grief, but it will be her time. I don’t see most people being that shocked. Do you expect businesses and schools to close until she is buried? I don’t. You may see sports cancelled for a weekend.
In a word, yes.
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
That's not going to endear the Royal family to a lot of the country.
I find that attitude really really strange if I am honest. I didn't care for the extent of the Phillip coverage and it had literally zero impact on my view of the royal family. Why would people be so petty as to be more or less endeared to the royal family when coverage of the event annoys them? I think that is a rather negative view of the public to think they'd behave so pettily.
When it is too much people will tune it out, end of. Any talk of it impacting general views on things is just over dramatic nonsense to me. Submitting of complaints etc is just attention seeking behaviour when you can just ignore it or not partake, same as that story earlier about the failure of right wing campaigns against 'woke' charities - its noisy is all.
What seems to be supported by some on here is lockdown.
Even HUYFD was making jokes about sending people to the tower, so I think we'll avoid actual lockdown about it.
Comments
Opinions please? Ideally from lawyers.
I don't understand it, because surely then the company you leave has to offer a similar amount to the next guy to intice them, plus the time spent training them up etc, surely it would be cheaper to offer better pay rises to existing employees.
Leicester injury woes continue with Barnes and Maddison out. Absolutely foul weather.
Worrying times.
No mask wearing in the gig I was at, which was at least 40% non-UK people.
It's a horrible process to go through for an Englishman uncomfortale with a) negotiating, b) talking about money and c) talking about his own abilities apart from in self-deprecating terms.
Leaving may not always be the best career option but it is the one fraught with the least social awkwardness.
If all the content right holders try to wall garden everything separately they will fail. However, we can already see that Disney have realised this, so they offer triple play of sports, kids and adults package for a single cheap fee in the US. I think we will find after a few years that all the rights holders will partner up (or be continually bought out), but at the moment they can't let Netflix win the way they were, so they are taking all their own content back and pay walling it on their own apps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Mitrokhin
I still have to read volume 2 of the archive.
Though Hopalong Putin might not agree.
Bit like if you find out that a skill means that you need to pay someone twice what his manager is earning - what's the problem really?
We need tourists back
Commuters are definitely returning
Respect and lots of tributes, but lives will go on no matter but the media will be unwatchable at times
You need to complain to Nicola.
How would the news channels deal with that one? Probably perhaps about the only thing that stops it being entirely wall-to-wall black-armband stuff. Unless the Prez does the "my fellow Americans" speech for the announcement of aliens being here and happy to take questions.
It all went wrong thereafter, but the foundation is so strong it can handle that.
The BBC need to work out how to once again be world class or hand over the rights.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-invasion-us-intelligence-orders/
You raise an interesting point, defector traitor to his own side betraying his own agents. Does he go from arsehole to non arsehole like you say? To start with what was the motivation? Traitor for financial gain for money for example? But to go deeper than that, do each country need arseholes? I couldn’t take someone into a basement and shoot them in the head, or use everyday people as stooges or collateral on my mission - I couldn’t be a secret agent/arsehole. But should we be grateful we have our own arseholes who can?
The first three days, and the day of the funeral itself (day 9), will be like Christmas Day on the High St. there will be no music in bars for the week, sports will all be off for the first three days too, schools may well close and businesses work to bank holiday hours for the week.
There’s an awful lot of planning gone into it.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/16/what-happens-when-queen-elizabeth-dies-london-bridge
Whatever the plans bars and so will play music I am sure, but the bigger plans will go ahead. It isn't full on Thai morning, but there will be a lot of it.
Maybe somebody will invade Russia...
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/calum
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/SBS
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/nichomar
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/Plato
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/Plato_Says
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/profile/comments/MarkSenior
Some have masses of online info (@MarkSenior's obituary is online), others have very little (@SBS 's contributions have been lost). If anybody has any memories, anecdotes or details of them or other fatalities please send me a message at @viewcode
With the Borgia ring....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrhLACIby9E
Was Tucker Jenkins the first Generation Xer ?
Unless we return London to the less exciting, less skyscraper filled, less financial services dominated city it was in the 1970s, house prices in London and the Home Counties commuter belt will always be far higher than the rest of the UK whatever the government does
Perhaps a more vibrant Scottish economy would lead to higher pay.
My office will reopen at the end of March, with most people planning to come in two days a week, permanently - nobody is very keen, but it 's recognised that 100% wfh has its drawbacks. An interesting side-effect has been that some people are working overtime as needed without claiming TOIL - as one said, "I'm saving two hours a day on commuting, I'm not fussed if I need to spend half an hour extra finishing a report."
I signed on for a two year contract with BT in December and I've just received a letter telling me that the price I agreed to is going up 9.4% this March. 3.9% annual increase and 5.5% for inflation!
I said 'that's odd considering you did a price based TV campaign at the end of last year. How were new customers supposed to guess their two year contracts would be subject to a nearly 10% rise two months after signing up?'
'How were we to know inflation would rise by 5.5%?' They replied
Despite the sharp practice by BT this is the first time I remember being given an extra charge specifically for inflation.
And then the shit hit the fan. Dr Who has always been woke. Don’t use guns, talk, use science. Be kind.
No issue with a female doctor. None at all. But why write her so poorly? And why have a crowd of hangers on? It’s been tried before and didn’t work then. One, or at most two companions.
So now the saviour of Dr who is coming back to do it all again.
Please, please start with a ‘it was all a dream/regeneration crisp’. Stick with a female doctor if you want, but make her decent...
When it is too much people will tune it out, end of. Any talk of it impacting general views on things is just over dramatic nonsense to me. Submitting of complaints etc is just attention seeking behaviour when you can just ignore it or not partake, same as that story earlier about the failure of right wing campaigns against 'woke' charities - its noisy is all.
A week of that? Heaven knows what it would do.
Here's a question: can sociopaths *appear to be* nice people?
IMV: of course they can; particularly if you agree with them, and their needs align with yours. The real problems occur when you disagree with them ...
I assume so...
Do they actually think it will do any good or has it become some sort of weird social habit ?
I’ll crank up my car stereo then and drive up and down. People die. I’ve never met her. She’s had a good innings. I dread the thought of Charles 3rd, or George the 10th or whatever stupid name he chooses.
"The purpose of the leaders’ summit if the conditions are met, would be to define a new order of peace and security in Europe,” the French presidency said."
My advice is people catch the tributes in the first couple of days and then avoid the news channels and you'd probably not know much is going on until the funeral day. As a child I found the Diana stuff mawkish, and had my fill of Phillip sympathy quickly enough, the key is just not to let it get to you if others do want to be exensive - hence moaning about it at the time will only cause a reaction, whereas letting it go on without comment will be smoother all around.
Capaldi was an ideal choice as the Doctor, but the bad writing had already begun to set in in his tenure, which eroded how good it was, and then it just circled the drain once Whittaker came in. Whittaker was neither especially good nor bad, just a bit bland, but coupled with the really god awful writing of it all and the terrible hangers-on the last few series have stunk the place up something rotten. The Flux series was incredibly awful, bar the one episode with the Weeping Angels.
The emergency is over. We'll have to see what the Government announces tomorrow, but a strategy going forward that relies primarily on reserving expensive testing capacity and anti-viral drugs for the most vulnerable, with the rest of the population told to take a common sense approach to symptomatic Covid like they would with anything that makes you feel rough and stay at home until you're better, seems about right to me. We need to let go of the rules some time; this seems as good a time as any.
London in the 70s was a mixed bag. Most of the issues then are now gone - racism far reduced, no actual bomb-sites (from ww2), squalor much reduced, etc.
The Met had more issues then than they do now. (Incredibly!)
I think any assessment afterwards which says 'This person suggested an invasion could be avoided and it wasn't, they are a fool' or 'This person said it looked like an invasion would happen and it didn't' will be very misplaced.
Which is 24 months at £150 a month! Don't touch BT with a bargepole.
The terrified may keep using them for the rest of their lives.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-invasion-us-intelligence-orders/