Parisian restaurants are overall poor: mediocre and expensive food. But you can eat really well in small town France. The trick is to find the restaurant that everyone goes to for Sunday lunch. Else the smart place next to the town hall. That's where the mayor goes for his lunch and it will be good.
Another place for good food (it seems) are schools. Each primary and secondary school publishes the menu for the week on their website. Some of these menus look delicious.
I think these things are still relative. A couple of times I've eaten a burger in a rush at Parisian train stations, Expectations of zero, but results of far better than their British equivalents. Similarly in Italy, random road-stop salami or train station cafes can be pretty good ; in fact, they're nearly always better than here.
This is the "baseline", or default of good functional food, that these two countries still have, and that outside of trendy metropolitan centres, you still tend not to get in the UK, or other parts of Northern Europe either.
This is just SOOOOO not true, not anymore
Well, my Parisian experiences were only two and three years ago, and I doubt things have changed that much since then. I'd be genuinely interested to know to know where outside metropolitan Britain you're getting this default/roadside and transport centre good food, however, because I'm not finding it.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
See, I don’t mind that. It’s up to her.
It’s the the idea that - according to her declaration to HMRC - that she is “just passing through” which is an abomination.
Or at least, it becomes so when you have several homes here, are raising a family here, have donated to the bloody school here, and your husband is launching a blitzkrieg on the poorest in society here as Chancellor or the freaking Exchequer here.
I mind it because it speaks to something deeper and it puts a very big conflict of interest in the Sunak household.
Firstly she lives here and has made a life here, she has kids who presumably are British citizens and her husband who is effectively second most powerful person in the country she has chosen to live in. The "just passing through" statement is a result of this, not some odd tax wheeze IMO.
I hadn't realised until now that Rishi's wife was not a naturalised citizen, I'd assumed she was and had given up her Indian nationality as so many others do, mainly because having a British passport is such a huge upgrade on an Indian one, even for a billionaire. She also has legitimate non-tax related reasons to give up her Indian nationality, she lives here.
Also, no one, not a single person keeps their Indian citizenship as part of a tax avoidance wheeze. It's a fucking headache and the Indian government revels in attempting to claim global taxation rights of its citizens, it's why everyone is so desperate to give up their citizenship as soon as they qualify for British nationality.
Getting back to the point, given that Mrs Rishi is willing to live with all of the hassle that comes with having Indian citizenship rather than British citizenship it's fairly safe to assume she sees herself as Indian first, not British. I think that's a huge conflict of interest for the chancellor.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
Where does she live most of the time? She was born in India to Indian parents. Perhaps she still feels Indian?
It's perfectly reasonable to "feel" Indian and take up British citizenship. My mum did it and so many others do it too.
That's what's been bugging me more than anything else, if Rishi's wife doesn't see herself as actually British despite living here for years, that's a much bigger problem than a few tax issues. The chancellor is married to a foreign citizen who, when it comes down to it, won't have Britain's best interests at heart. There's a huge conflict of interest there.
Perhaps she fancies a go at Indian politics?
The phrase I would use here is "skin in the game". I don't mind that Sunak's wife is rich but I want someone who has a personal stake in this country's future.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
Where does she live most of the time? She was born in India to Indian parents. Perhaps she still feels Indian?
It's perfectly reasonable to "feel" Indian and take up British citizenship. My mum did it and so many others do it too.
That's what's been bugging me more than anything else, if Rishi's wife doesn't see herself as actually British despite living here for years, that's a much bigger problem than a few tax issues. The chancellor is married to a foreign citizen who, when it comes down to it, won't have Britain's best interests at heart. There's a huge conflict of interest there.
Perhaps she fancies a go at Indian politics?
What would be the point? She doesn't need the embezzlement to get filthy rich.
Mauripol is going to be a genocide up there with the worst in recent history isn't it.
One hopes not.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Parisian restaurants are overall poor: mediocre and expensive food. But you can eat really well in small town France. The trick is to find the restaurant that everyone goes to for Sunday lunch. Else the smart place next to the town hall. That's where the mayor goes for his lunch and it will be good.
Another place for good food (it seems) are schools. Each primary and secondary school publishes the menu for the week on their website. Some of these menus look delicious.
I think these things are still relative. A couple of times I've eaten a burger in a rush at Parisian train stations, Expectations of zero, but results of far better than their British equivalents. Similarly in Italy, random road-stop salami or train station cafes can be pretty good ; in fact, they're nearly always better than here.
This is the "baseline", or default of good functional food, that these two countries still have, and that outside of trendy metropolitan centres, you still tend not to get in the UK, or other parts of Northern Europe either.
This is just SOOOOO not true, not anymore
Well, my Parisian experiences were only two and three years ago, and I doubt things have changed that much. I'd be genuinely interested to know to know where outside metropolitan Britain you're getting this default/roadside and transport centre good food, because I'm not finding it.
Yes.
Perhaps there’s a motorway services outside Nuneaton that does the most perfect lobster Thermidor.
Mauripol is going to be a genocide up there with the worst in recent history isn't it.
One hopes not.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Hmm, a systematic extermination of Ukrainians seems to be what's happening in parts of Ukraine at the moment.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
Where does she live most of the time? She was born in India to Indian parents. Perhaps she still feels Indian?
It's perfectly reasonable to "feel" Indian and take up British citizenship. My mum did it and so many others do it too.
She is a director of her father's investment firm - which is based in India, and may require Indian citizenship to hold - which she cannot do and get a British passport. She does appear to have extensive ties to India - the issue is not her, but her tone deaf husband.
Parisian restaurants are overall poor: mediocre and expensive food. But you can eat really well in small town France. The trick is to find the restaurant that everyone goes to for Sunday lunch. Else the smart place next to the town hall. That's where the mayor goes for his lunch and it will be good.
Another place for good food (it seems) are schools. Each primary and secondary school publishes the menu for the week on their website. Some of these menus look delicious.
I think these things are still relative. A couple of times I've eaten a burger in a rush at Parisian train stations, Expectations of zero, but results of far better than their British equivalents. Similarly in Italy, random road-stop salami or train station cafes can be pretty good ; in fact, they're nearly always better than here.
This is the "baseline", or default of good functional food, that these two countries still have, and that outside of trendy metropolitan centres, you still tend not to get in the UK, or other parts of Northern Europe either.
This is just SOOOOO not true, not anymore
Well, my Parisian experiences were only two and three years ago, and I doubt things have changed that much since then. I'd be genuinely interested to know to know where outside metropolitan Britain you're getting this default/roadside and transport centre good food, however, because I'm not finding it.
Mauripol is going to be a genocide up there with the worst in recent history isn't it.
One hopes not.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Hmm, a systematic extermination of Ukrainians seems to be what's happening in parts of Ukraine at the moment.
I don’t want to get into an argument about it, and I admit I don’t follow this closely on Twitter etc, but I disagree.
What we see is the Russian army and low-discipline soldiers doing their shabby, brutal, murderous thing.
Mauripol is going to be a genocide up there with the worst in recent history isn't it.
One hopes not.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Hmm, a systematic extermination of Ukrainians seems to be what's happening in parts of Ukraine at the moment.
I don’t want to get into an argument about it, and I admit I don’t follow this closely on Twitter etc, but I disagree.
What we see is the Russian army and low-discipline soldiers doing their shabby, brutal, murderous thing.
Germany intelligence have incepted radio communications that say the opposite.
The radio traffic intercepted by the BND makes it seem as though the atrocities perpetrated on civilians in Bucha were neither random acts nor the product of individual soldiers who got out of hand.
Similar to Rishi's woes, one of the reasons for Zelensky's declining ratings before the war was his involvement in the Pandora Papers. If only voters in Russia were so exacting of their leaders.
I follow Ukrainian economic policy very closely for my job. And Zelensky's behaviour before the war was unheroic- in fact, often downright questionable. His entire career had been closely supported by one of the very worst of the Ukrainian oligarchs.
Ihor Kolomoisky, a man described by a panel of English High Court judges as facing a 'good arguable case' of having stolen around $5.5 billion from depositors in his bank. (Not a typo: five and a half billion dollars, stolen from ordinary people with bank accounts.) And that's really not the only bad thing Kolomoisky might have done, by a long way. He armed a militia during the 2014 war, but also used it to intimidate civil servants inquiring into his business interests. Kolomoisky decided to flee Ukraine in 2016, after his strong-arm tactics in the gas industry and his, er, novel approach to banking began to attract unfavourable attention. But Kolomoisky showed up again in Ukraine after- guess what?- Zelensky won the presidential election.
And after he returned to his native land, there was suddenly a mysteriously co-ordinated wave of death threats, arson attacks, lawsuits and smear campaigns against the central bank officials who had taken PrivatBank off him. Zelensky's first chief of staff was a (former?) Kolomisky employee, as were some others among his important officials. Another detail: People now like to mentionthat Zelensky played a fictional Ukrainian president in a TV comedy show. Yes, he did. And who owns the channel that broadcast the show? One Ihor Kolomoisky. Who has used the same channel to smear and attack those who criticise his business interests. How did Zelensky react to the campaign against the central bank? He refused to say a word in defence of its officials, and fired the governor in the summer of 2020.
The IMF promptly ceased disbursing all aid to Ukraine, reversing that only when Russian invasion threats started late last year. I asked a very senior, very honest former Ukrainian official at the time if they thought Zelensky was in hock to Kolomoisky and other oligarchs. 'Who knows?' this person said. They thought maybe Zelensky wanted to be a reformer, but wasn't brave enough, or lacked effective support. Certainly Ukrainian parliamentary politics seemed to be a factional nightmare before the invasion.
So Zelensky's peacetime record was- being very polite about it- not great. His predecessor Petro Poroshenko was an oligarch, but actually had a rather more substantial record of domestic reform than Zelensky. But now? Maybe a postwar Zelensky will be pretty poor again. But maybe he will have both the courage of his convictions and the popular and parliamentary support he needs to be a reformer. We don't yet know.
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
Parisian restaurants are overall poor: mediocre and expensive food. But you can eat really well in small town France. The trick is to find the restaurant that everyone goes to for Sunday lunch. Else the smart place next to the town hall. That's where the mayor goes for his lunch and it will be good.
Another place for good food (it seems) are schools. Each primary and secondary school publishes the menu for the week on their website. Some of these menus look delicious.
I think these things are still relative. A couple of times I've eaten a burger in a rush at Parisian train stations, Expectations of zero, but results of far better than their British equivalents. Similarly in Italy, random road-stop salami or train station cafes can be pretty good ; in fact, they're nearly always better than here.
This is the "baseline", or default of good functional food, that these two countries still have, and that outside of trendy metropolitan centres, you still tend not to get in the UK, or other parts of Northern Europe either.
This is just SOOOOO not true, not anymore
Well, my Parisian experiences were only two and three years ago. I doubt things have changed that much. I'd be genuinely interested to know to know where outside metropolitan Britain are you getting this default/roadside good food, because I havrn't found it.
You’re talking about basic everyday snacks like sandwiches and the like, right?
“Random road stop salami”
So just walk into the nearest supermarket - M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and you will find hugely inventive sandwiches and wraps and salads considerably in advance of anything you find on the continent. Ditto Pret and the like
The French equivalent is jambon beurre in a frozen and thawed baguette despatched from some monstrous warehouse near Paris, dished up with wilted cornichons if you’re lucky. I fail to see how the latter is better
Both are industrial, the British version is significantly more inventive. You find me a yummy hoi sin duck wrap in a small French town
As for burgers, lol. They are burgers. You can go low with McDonalds or high with Byron or Five Guys, in the end it is just the same, the Brits maybe have a bit more variety but who cares, it’s a burger
Where the italians still have an edge (the French bistros don’t have this edge, often all they do is microwave because of the staffing issues) is the local trattoria in a really small town. That will probably still be a fair bit better than the gastropub (if there even is one) in a small British town. But the British town will have a decent Indian restaurant. The Italian town won’t
He's boringly predictable when he writes about this sort of thing. Wonder why he bothers.
Because he is now really quite old and he has totally run out of ideas. But he still wants the job
The whole thing smacks of an elderly mad in a panic, staring at the empty laptop screen
I actually sympathise with him (perhaps as I age!) but there comes a time when you put your columnifying ammunition into a box, and store it in the attic. He may be near that time, The Falklands, FFS
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
Fun fact I just read on Twitter. Tokyo builds more houses each year than the whole UK does, tho UK is 4x bigger.
House prices in Tokyo haven’t moved in 25 years.
Isn't there a tradition in Japan where houses are not built to last more than a few decades, due to earthquakes? Hence all the wooden construction? If houses do not last as long, you will build more.
So I was told during my course. I daresay someone will correct me...
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
See, I don’t mind that. It’s up to her.
It’s the the idea that - according to her declaration to HMRC - that she is “just passing through” which is an abomination.
Or at least, it becomes so when you have several homes here, are raising a family here, have donated to the bloody school here, and your husband is launching a blitzkrieg on the poorest in society here as Chancellor or the freaking Exchequer here.
I mind it because it speaks to something deeper and it puts a very big conflict of interest in the Sunak household.
Firstly she lives here and has made a life here, she has kids who presumably are British citizens and her husband who is effectively second most powerful person in the country she has chosen to live in. The "just passing through" statement is a result of this, not some odd tax wheeze IMO.
I hadn't realised until now that Rishi's wife was not a naturalised citizen, I'd assumed she was and had given up her Indian nationality as so many others do, mainly because having a British passport is such a huge upgrade on an Indian one, even for a billionaire. She also has legitimate non-tax related reasons to give up her Indian nationality, she lives here.
Also, no one, not a single person keeps their Indian citizenship as part of a tax avoidance wheeze. It's a fucking headache and the Indian government revels in attempting to claim global taxation rights of its citizens, it's why everyone is so desperate to give up their citizenship as soon as they qualify for British nationality.
Getting back to the point, given that Mrs Rishi is willing to live with all of the hassle that comes with having Indian citizenship rather than British citizenship it's fairly safe to assume she sees herself as Indian first, not British. I think that's a huge conflict of interest for the chancellor.
Takes us back to the big question of principle that this government has tapdanced around since 2016 (after all, that's when this government coalesced as a coherent movement).
Is the UK trying to become a place where the feet of global elite temporarily land?
Or is Somewhereism where it's at?
In theory, you can hold the two together, but it's jolly hard in practice.
Helena Wilkinson @BBCHelena · 1m Friday’s Daily Telegraph: Sunak allies claim No10 is undermining Chancellor #tomorrowspaperstoday
Fight....fight...fight...fight....I am not going to be shocked if Big Dom drops another smelly shit.
If it’s Dom, who is he doing it for?
No, I am saying Team Boris is briefing against Sunak. And Sunak is Big Doms man, and every time Team Boris have prodded Big Dom hornet nest, he takes a bit dump on Boris.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
Where does she live most of the time? She was born in India to Indian parents. Perhaps she still feels Indian?
It's perfectly reasonable to "feel" Indian and take up British citizenship. My mum did it and so many others do it too.
That's what's been bugging me more than anything else, if Rishi's wife doesn't see herself as actually British despite living here for years, that's a much bigger problem than a few tax issues. The chancellor is married to a foreign citizen who, when it comes down to it, won't have Britain's best interests at heart. There's a huge conflict of interest there.
I don't see that at all.This isn't America. We vote for a person not a couple and I couldn't care less who the Chancellor is married to or their sex or whether they're married at all. This is getting a little weird
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
The M&S on the corner of Fenchurch Street has got a great little hot food bit downstairs. You can get a half chicken, some kind of grain and salad for about £7 and it's both tasty and filling while being pretty good value for the area. The queue has become pretty horrendous lately though so I'm having to go earlier and earlier.
Fun fact I just read on Twitter. Tokyo builds more houses each year than the whole UK does, tho UK is 4x bigger.
House prices in Tokyo haven’t moved in 25 years.
I might be wrong on this, but I think that stat might be a bit misleading....I believe for cultural and tax reasons, in Japan very common not to do major renovations, rather to just knock down homes (especially when somebody dies) and rebuild i.e. they aren't expanding the housing stock when they do so.
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
Bizarrely Boots sandwiches are also pretty good, and excellent value in their meal deal. Not sure why.
Mauripol is going to be a genocide up there with the worst in recent history isn't it.
One hopes not.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Hmm, a systematic extermination of Ukrainians seems to be what's happening in parts of Ukraine at the moment.
I don’t want to get into an argument about it, and I admit I don’t follow this closely on Twitter etc, but I disagree.
What we see is the Russian army and low-discipline soldiers doing their shabby, brutal, murderous thing.
Germany intelligence have incepted radio communications that say the opposite.
The radio traffic intercepted by the BND makes it seem as though the atrocities perpetrated on civilians in Bucha were neither random acts nor the product of individual soldiers who got out of hand.
Low level soldiers were replaced by Wagner Group and Chechens with a particular purpose in mind.
A good indication is whether the country publicly says the actions are wrong. That their troops abusing civilians is wrong; that it recognises what 'civilians' are. That troops breaking the rule of law will be prosecuted.
Is Russia saying that, or is it saying that *anyone* who looks at them oddly in the street is a Nazi, and can therefore be raped, abused and/or murdered?
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
Does it also depend on if you want a restaurant, or will be happy with a gastropub? My town of 17,000 has Indians, chinese, chippies, Italians etc. None that classy, but within 5 miles are at least three decent high end pubs. We also have an excellent Indian in an old Little Chef on the A36. It’s gone slightly downhill in the last few months, but it’s still a fantastic place to eat, with an emphasis on healthier Indian/Bangladeshi cuisine.
But doesn’t seem to be borne out by any “real life” results, local or by-election. Which suggests saying Labour is a lazy way of expressing opposition to the Govt. Doesn’t mean people will actually vote for them.
What's most interesting about this is that Rishi's wife must not have taken up British citizenship. I find that a truly odd decision.
Where does she live most of the time? She was born in India to Indian parents. Perhaps she still feels Indian?
It's perfectly reasonable to "feel" Indian and take up British citizenship. My mum did it and so many others do it too.
She is a director of her father's investment firm - which is based in India, and may require Indian citizenship to hold - which she cannot do and get a British passport. She does appear to have extensive ties to India - the issue is not her, but her tone deaf husband.
Part of the challenge of being a Chancellor (I would assume) should be creating an environment where more non doms want to 'dom', settling here and paying equitable but not ridiculously high taxes. To have his family do the exact opposite is just so way off the pace as to be ridiculous.
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
I have this issue with refrigerated bread, which is problem for prepared sandwiches wherever they come from.
@Leon you are right about the M&S sandwiches, we posted the same thing at the same time.
But, no, you can’t just pull into, say Nelson in Lancashire, and expect to find a decent “sit-down” meal.
Whereas in my experience in provincial France you can. Provided it’s at the right time of day!
incidentally I also agree on the roast beef and horseradish sandwich from M&S. It is succulent. My fave sandwich lunch is that plus the hoi sin wrap. Fucking genius
I add just a bit of Kikkoman soy to the hoi sin wrap, or maybe - if I’m very daring - a dab of sriracha, but it is pretty much perfect
You just can’t get this anywhere else in the world, with such reliability
They are so good they have rendered picnics a little redundant (in terms of planning). Just bring booze and condiments, let M&S provide the sandwiches, fruit, ham, salami, juices
One of the true and legitimate wonders of the UK is M&S.
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
I have this issue with refrigerated bread, which is problem for prepared sandwiches wherever they come from.
I find leaving the sandwich out of the fridge for about 20 mins fixes any issues with fridge bread and enhances the flavour of the fillings which almost always taste better at room temp.
The unsophisticated islanders desire to remain British of course irrelevant in his elite liberal eyes
The British troops certainly had a sense of humour. They called the Falkland Islanders 'Stills'. Initially they called them 'Bennies' after Benny in Crossroads. The officers banned the use of the term Bennies so they called them Stills because they were 'Still Bennies'. Having had a slight work contact with the Falklands and also some soldiers who went there I think it is fair to say they aren't the brightest buttons in the box.
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
You and I both know that that menu screams frozen bought in stuff to reheat or fry up.
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
Are you so silly you don’t think most French bistros buy in frozen shit and do exactly the same? Do you really believe that cute French resto in a town of 30,000 people has a team of cheap labourers (in France! Lol) slicing the shallots and reducing the jus?
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are seriously and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
Helena Wilkinson @BBCHelena · 1m Friday’s Daily Telegraph: Sunak allies claim No10 is undermining Chancellor #tomorrowspaperstoday
They've been doing that for months. He only cares now because it is working.
He depth-charged his own prospects in less than 50mins when he stood up in the Commons in late March and delivered the most out of touch Budget in memory.
Whilst energy and food crisis hammered middle england he waxed on about a mythical tax cut sometime near the next GE because he thought that is what the burghers of the 1922 wanted to hear.
Everything else is a side dish.
He has no one, absolutely no one to blame but his own arrogance and tin ear.
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
You and I both know that that menu screams frozen bought in stuff to reheat or fry up.
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
Are you so silly you don’t think most French bistros buy in frozen shit and do exactly the same? Do you really believe that cute French resto in a town of 30,000 people has a team of cheap labourers (in France! Lol) slicing the shallots and reducing the jus?
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are serious and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
Indeed and Parisian restaurants serving the reheated crap railed against the regulations to mark out what was prepared on site and what wasn't. Even at a basic bloody Nandos they grill the chicken on site, but in scores of Parisian restaurants (supposedly a global leader in cuisine) they were simply defrosting and microwaving pre-prepared dishes and serving them to unsuspecting punters.
In London you can walk around and go to most reasonable looking restaurants and get something decent, if you know where to go it can range from decent to incredible even on a reasonable budget. In Paris I don't think this is possible any longer, especially not on a budget.
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
You and I both know that that menu screams frozen bought in stuff to reheat or fry up.
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
Are you so silly you don’t think most French bistros buy in frozen shit and do exactly the same? Do you really believe that cute French resto in a town of 30,000 people has a team of cheap labourers (in France! Lol) slicing the shallots and reducing the jus?
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are seriously and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
The fact that the French affect to be shocked, and indeed pass laws to discourage it, should tell us something, though.
In the UK no-one would be much surprised that their buffalo chicken strips did not come from a nearby agriturismo.
While I’m at it, in France the waiters are often competent middle-aged people, suggesting the job retains some kind of status.
In the UK, it tends to follow reflect class status. Posh restaurants in the sticks (a vineyard, say) often have posh kids doing the waiting, less posh places, less posh kids…
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
You and I both know that that menu screams frozen bought in stuff to reheat or fry up.
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
Are you so silly you don’t think most French bistros buy in frozen shit and do exactly the same? Do you really believe that cute French resto in a town of 30,000 people has a team of cheap labourers (in France! Lol) slicing the shallots and reducing the jus?
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are seriously and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
The fact that the French affect to be shocked, and indeed pass laws to discourage it, should tell us something, though.
In the UK no-one would be much surprised that their buffalo chicken strips did not come from a nearby agriturismo.
While I’m at it, in France the waiters are often competent middle-aged people, suggesting the job retains some kind of status.
In the UK, it tends to follow reflect class status. Posh restaurants in the sticks (a vineyard, say) often have posh kids doing the waiting, less posh places, less posh kids…
Lol, talk about spinning it positively. It became an issue because restaurants were still trying to pass off the food as freshly prepared on site. No one in the UK believes that Spoons are doing anything other than microwaving the burgers and reheating some chips and if they tried to pretend otherwise we'd all have a good laugh about it.
I do really like that about Greece, all of the restaurants have to mark out what is cooked from frozen, it just gives everyone notice of what not to bother ordering. I think we should bring the same rules in over here to encourage more fresh food.
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
You and I both know that that menu screams frozen bought in stuff to reheat or fry up.
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
Are you so silly you don’t think most French bistros buy in frozen shit and do exactly the same? Do you really believe that cute French resto in a town of 30,000 people has a team of cheap labourers (in France! Lol) slicing the shallots and reducing the jus?
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are serious and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
Indeed and Parisian restaurants serving the reheated crap railed against the regulations to mark out what was prepared on site and what wasn't. Even at a basic bloody Nandos they grill the chicken on site, but in scores of Parisian restaurants (supposedly a global leader in cuisine) they were simply defrosting and microwaving pre-prepared dishes and serving them to unsuspecting punters.
In London you can walk around and go to most reasonable looking restaurants and get something decent, if you know where to go it can range from decent to incredible even on a reasonable budget. In Paris I don't think this is possible any longer, especially not on a budget.
This is why i always, in France, go for the grand old brasseries, especially the ones with seafood - oysters and cockles and clams on display
They make enough money they don’t need to overcharge and they are so big they can afford proper staff, And you can’t freeze a fucking oyster without ruining it
Have oysters and fruits de mer than andouilettes with chips and mustard. Bottle of house red. Sorted. Proper Gallic Happiness
I do really like that about Greece, all of the restaurants have to mark out what is cooked from frozen, it just gives everyone notice of what not to bother ordering. I think we should bring the same rules in over here to encourage more fresh food.
Although fresh will probably cost more, and for some food frozen can be better.
Given that literally everyone in the whole world will get covid at some point (probably soon), these updates of so-and-so has covid seem rather passe these days. I mean I - Anabobazina - have covid, but I keep forgetting about it.
Helena Wilkinson @BBCHelena · 1m Friday’s Daily Telegraph: Sunak allies claim No10 is undermining Chancellor #tomorrowspaperstoday
They've been doing that for months. He only cares now because it is working.
By why now?
Good question.
He is already in massively deep shit over the Budget, which is still playing out as the massive energy bills and NI costs land on doormats.
Why is someone turning the knife exactly now?
Fall guy after the locals?
Yes, I can see this. Being as Johnson is a shit.
PM: "Well, we've, erm, erm, clearly, erm, erm, terrible night, erm, sad for councillors, erm, ah, ah, I once went to a council office. Decent canteen.
Anyway, erm, we have listened to what the voters have, erm, said and in the words of Auxilliaric of Troy, I've decided "to throw my Chancellor into the river"
I do really like that about Greece, all of the restaurants have to mark out what is cooked from frozen, it just gives everyone notice of what not to bother ordering. I think we should bring the same rules in over here to encourage more fresh food.
Although fresh will probably cost more, and for some food frozen can be better.
Sure, but they can still order the frozen options. I'm not suggesting we get rid of them.
Comments
Firstly she lives here and has made a life here, she has kids who presumably are British citizens and her husband who is effectively second most powerful person in the country she has chosen to live in. The "just passing through" statement is a result of this, not some odd tax wheeze IMO.
I hadn't realised until now that Rishi's wife was not a naturalised citizen, I'd assumed she was and had given up her Indian nationality as so many others do, mainly because having a British passport is such a huge upgrade on an Indian one, even for a billionaire. She also has legitimate non-tax related reasons to give up her Indian nationality, she lives here.
Also, no one, not a single person keeps their Indian citizenship as part of a tax avoidance wheeze. It's a fucking headache and the Indian government revels in attempting to claim global taxation rights of its citizens, it's why everyone is so desperate to give up their citizenship as soon as they qualify for British nationality.
Getting back to the point, given that Mrs Rishi is willing to live with all of the hassle that comes with having Indian citizenship rather than British citizenship it's fairly safe to assume she sees herself as Indian first, not British. I think that's a huge conflict of interest for the chancellor.
I am a little squeamish about the genocide word. I think some of the rhetoric has been genocidal, and I’ve read that genocide-guy’s tweet, but to me genocide has to be systematic and I’m not sure this has been.
It’s still a barbaric war crime though and Putin should be on trial.
I see he has admitted to suffering serious losses today, which is interesting.
Perhaps there’s a motorway services outside Nuneaton that does the most perfect lobster Thermidor.
What we see is the Russian army and low-discipline soldiers doing their shabby, brutal, murderous thing.
https://news.yahoo.com/republican-registrations-surge-pennsylvania-warning-100703871.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmVhbGNsZWFycG9saXRpY3MuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIR9_oHSZnM35nnCnGmDcUAEULm79RBZzNzKqouIYkpumzDmXYyDq6708aUlIG5SA8YWQ8GAbw9OdaUcThDC3ayDcWu45GjbL9NlL6YCZGdsrCYcFAvi8VO68LsdwoNWnKXTlbinGt18jHRx3lUXVOARFBEJVFJFFI0fqMhqCffw
The radio traffic intercepted by the BND makes it seem as though the atrocities perpetrated on civilians in Bucha were neither random acts nor the product of individual soldiers who got out of hand.
https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/possible-evidence-of-russian-atrocities-german-intelligence-intercepts-radio-traffic-discussing-the-murder-of-civilians-in-bucha-a-0a191c96-634f-4d07-8c5c-c4a772315b0d
Low level soldiers were replaced by Wagner Group and Chechens with a particular purpose in mind.
Ihor Kolomoisky, a man described by a panel of English High Court judges as facing a 'good arguable case' of having stolen around $5.5 billion from depositors in his bank. (Not a typo: five and a half billion dollars, stolen from ordinary people with bank accounts.) And that's really not the only bad thing Kolomoisky might have done, by a long way. He armed a militia during the 2014 war, but also used it to intimidate civil servants inquiring into his business interests. Kolomoisky decided to flee Ukraine in 2016, after his strong-arm tactics in the gas industry and his, er, novel approach to banking began to attract unfavourable attention. But Kolomoisky showed up again in Ukraine after- guess what?- Zelensky won the presidential election.
And after he returned to his native land, there was suddenly a mysteriously co-ordinated wave of death threats, arson attacks, lawsuits and smear campaigns against the central bank officials who had taken PrivatBank off him. Zelensky's first chief of staff was a (former?) Kolomisky employee, as were some others among his important officials. Another detail: People now like to mentionthat Zelensky played a fictional Ukrainian president in a TV comedy show. Yes, he did. And who owns the channel that broadcast the show? One Ihor Kolomoisky. Who has used the same channel to smear and attack those who criticise his business interests. How did Zelensky react to the campaign against the central bank? He refused to say a word in defence of its officials, and fired the governor in the summer of 2020.
The IMF promptly ceased disbursing all aid to Ukraine, reversing that only when Russian invasion threats started late last year. I asked a very senior, very honest former Ukrainian official at the time if they thought Zelensky was in hock to Kolomoisky and other oligarchs. 'Who knows?' this person said. They thought maybe Zelensky wanted to be a reformer, but wasn't brave enough, or lacked effective support. Certainly Ukrainian parliamentary politics seemed to be a factional nightmare before the invasion.
So Zelensky's peacetime record was- being very polite about it- not great. His predecessor Petro Poroshenko was an oligarch, but actually had a rather more substantial record of domestic reform than Zelensky. But now? Maybe a postwar Zelensky will be pretty poor again. But maybe he will have both the courage of his convictions and the popular and parliamentary support he needs to be a reformer. We don't yet know.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Griboyedov1/status/1511792857258106891
You can get a hoisin duck wrap or a roast beef and horseradish sandwich of v good quality the length and breadth of the land, and I don’t think this is true of any other country I’ve been to.
“Random road stop salami”
So just walk into the nearest supermarket - M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and you will find hugely inventive sandwiches and wraps and salads considerably in advance of anything you find on the continent. Ditto Pret and the like
The French equivalent is jambon beurre in a frozen and thawed baguette despatched from some monstrous warehouse near Paris, dished up with wilted cornichons if you’re lucky. I fail to see how the latter is better
Both are industrial, the British version is significantly more inventive. You find me a yummy hoi sin duck wrap in a small French town
As for burgers, lol. They are burgers. You can go low with McDonalds or high with Byron or Five Guys, in the end it is just the same, the Brits maybe have a bit more variety but who cares, it’s a burger
Where the italians still have an edge (the French bistros don’t have this edge, often all they do is microwave because of the staffing issues) is the local trattoria in a really small town. That will probably still be a fair bit better than the gastropub (if there even is one) in a small British town. But the British town will have a decent Indian restaurant. The Italian town won’t
It’s all quite marginal now
Helena Wilkinson
@BBCHelena
·
1m
Friday’s Daily Telegraph: Sunak allies claim No10 is undermining Chancellor #tomorrowspaperstoday
But, no, you can’t just pull into, say Nelson in Lancashire, and expect to find a decent “sit-down” meal.
Whereas in my experience in provincial France you can.
Provided it’s at the right time of day!
The whole thing smacks of an elderly mad in a panic, staring at the empty laptop screen
I actually sympathise with him (perhaps as I age!) but there comes a time when you put your columnifying ammunition into a box, and store it in the attic. He may be near that time, The Falklands, FFS
Tokyo builds more houses each year than the whole UK does, tho UK is 4x bigger.
House prices in Tokyo haven’t moved in 25 years.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18201906/rishi-sunak-defends-wife-tax-status/
So I was told during my course. I daresay someone will correct me...
Is the UK trying to become a place where the feet of global elite temporarily land?
Or is Somewhereism where it's at?
In theory, you can hold the two together, but it's jolly hard in practice.
Mike you are wrong on this point, the last polls will be published on Friday evening.
The law only bans them on polling day and the day before.
Thus Saturday will be the first day without polls and any campaigning will be banned too: no public rallies, no leaflets, nothing.
@ElectionMapsUK
With local elections less than a month away, how has polling changed since this cycle was last up in 2018?
LAB: 39.0% (-0.1)
CON: 34.8% (-6.7)
LDM: 9.6% (+1.3)
GRN: 5.3% (+2.6)
UKIP/RFM: 3.6% (+0.3)
Others: 7.7% (+2.6)"
Is Russia saying that, or is it saying that *anyone* who looks at them oddly in the street is a Nazi, and can therefore be raped, abused and/or murdered?
Helena Wilkinson
@BBCHelena
·
51s
Friday’s Times: Sunak fears revelations over wife are ‘hit job’ #tomorrowspaperstoday
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has a conflict of interest when his wife claims - as she must do as a non-dom - to be just passing through.
As to the idea that she hopes to “go back to India to look after her parents when they are old”, it is risible.
I agree that in this situation you will maybe do better in Italy or even France, but how many people live in or need to eat in, towns of that size??
Moreover, due to Britain being so densely populated, you will nearly always be near a larger town ten minutes away, which will have all you need
According to TripAdvisor this is the best resto in Nelson, and this is their menu
https://www.acecentre.co.uk/site_assets/files/ACE Bistro Menu - Jan20 (web).pdf
That’s quite tolerable. I’d have the haddock fish cake and then the lamb skewers. For 12 quid
Nelson also has a Chinese. Which will probably be serviceable. I bet the French town of 30k people does not
I wonder whether at heart he is cut out for the brutal world of politics?
(Yes I know they build differently).
Philip Collins
@PhilipJCollins1
·
2h
Classic non-dom.
Raze, rebuild, repeat: why Japan knocks down its houses after 30 years - Unlike in other countries, Japanese homes become valueless over time
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/16/japan-reusable-housing-revolution
In the end, most of these prefabricated houses – and indeed most houses in Japan – have a lifespan of only about 30 years.
Unlike in other countries, Japanese homes gradually depreciate over time, becoming completely valueless within 20 or 30 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/16/japan-reusable-housing-revolution#:~:text=In the end, most of,within 20 or 30 years.
"With time the political class will decide to reduce trade barriers with Europe: they always do."
Nick Macpherson
Most people in Tokyo live in apartments. Are these multi-family units all torn down after 30 years?
It’s seems difficult to accredit,
I add just a bit of Kikkoman soy to the hoi sin wrap, or maybe - if I’m very daring - a dab of sriracha, but it is pretty much perfect
You just can’t get this anywhere else in the world, with such reliability
They are so good they have rendered picnics a little redundant (in terms of planning). Just bring booze and condiments, let M&S provide the sandwiches, fruit, ham, salami, juices
But good selection, probably the only real option. Unless you make in time for the full English breakfast.
It is such a problem in France they have had to bring in laws to mark out the places that don’t do this
You are seriously and oddly naive
“Earlier this week, top French chef Xavier Denamur claimed that three-quarters of meals served in French restaurants, brasseries and cafes are shipped from a factory and microwaved. It's not the first time in recent years that the once untouchable French Restaurant has taken a good bashing.”
https://www.independent.ie/life/precooked-microwaved-and-very-expensive-31148329.html
https://guide.michelin.com/gb/en/lancashire/fence/restaurant/white-swan
Third best restaurant in Burnley:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g6589956-d3135906-Reviews-The_White_Swan-Fence_Burnley_Lancashire_England.html
Whilst energy and food crisis hammered middle england he waxed on about a mythical tax cut sometime near the next GE because he thought that is what the burghers of the 1922 wanted to hear.
Everything else is a side dish.
He has no one, absolutely no one to blame but his own arrogance and tin ear.
Helena Wilkinson
@BBCHelena
·
38s
Friday’s i: Sunak vetoed extra help on energy bills #tomorrowspaperstoday
He is already in massively deep shit over the Budget, which is still playing out as the massive energy bills and NI costs land on doormats.
Why is someone turning the knife exactly now?
In London you can walk around and go to most reasonable looking restaurants and get something decent, if you know where to go it can range from decent to incredible even on a reasonable budget. In Paris I don't think this is possible any longer, especially not on a budget.
Thornberry.
Not a bad line.
But 'proper' houses in suburbia would be a different thing.
I'd be interested in hearing from Edmund in Tokyo about this.
In the UK no-one would be much surprised that their buffalo chicken strips did not come from a nearby agriturismo.
While I’m at it, in France the waiters are often competent middle-aged people, suggesting the job retains some kind of status.
In the UK, it tends to follow reflect class status. Posh restaurants in the sticks (a vineyard, say) often have posh kids doing the waiting, less posh places, less posh kids…
They make enough money they don’t need to overcharge and they are so big they can afford proper staff, And you can’t freeze a fucking oyster without ruining it
Have oysters and fruits de mer than andouilettes with chips and mustard. Bottle of house red. Sorted. Proper Gallic Happiness
I miss France
PM: "Well, we've, erm, erm, clearly, erm, erm, terrible night, erm, sad for councillors, erm, ah, ah, I once went to a council office. Decent canteen.
Anyway, erm, we have listened to what the voters have, erm, said and in the words of Auxilliaric of Troy, I've decided "to throw my Chancellor into the river"