The Johnson family are bigger grifters than the Trump family.
Boris Johnson’s father is seeking the removal of a ban that blocks the Chinese ambassador to Britain from the Palace of Westminster as the 81-year-old plans to visit the sanctioned country.
Stanley Johnson intends to retrace the steps of Marco Polo and will visit Xinjiang, home to the Uighur people, who are persecuted by Beijing for their Muslim faith.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Johnson described Zheng Zeguang, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, as “a very agreeable, capable and intelligent man” after the two met and talked about his travel plans.
However, his comments mark an embarrassing blow to his son, whose government has joined the European Union, Canada and the United States in sanctioning Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The former MEP said that Zheng was enthusiastic about the project, which Johnson said might help improve UK-China relations. He is planning to take his son, Max, the prime minister’s half-brother, with him on the trip.
I found this table on state pension rises. If you look at it, the state pension has cumulatively risen by around 45% over 11 years. Whereas, as I understand it, public sector pay rises have been frozen at 0.5 - 1% for the whole time. What is explosive is the prospective April 2023 rise to the state pension, if it is CPI, it could be 10%.
The government make things worse by just going on about how people must 'take the pain' etc. They have just themselves to blame. There was bound to be a eventual reckoning for such a divisive and unfair policy.
State pension triple lock: rises since 2011 Financial year State pension rise Based on 2011/12 4.6% RPI 2012/13 5.2% CPI 2013/14 2.5% 2.5% 2014/15 2.7% CPI 2015/16 2.5% 2.5% 2016/17 2.9% Earnings 2017/18 2.5% 2.5% 2018/19 3% CPI 2019/20 2.6% Earnings 2020/21 3.9% Earnings 2021/22 2.5% 2.5% 2022/23 3.1% CPI
It would be interesting to see the FT chart updated with the latest figures.
Of course today's pensioners were working in Thatcher's day, not pensioners. So if it was good enough for their parents to have the link broken, and not saved for, then why isn't it good enough for them?
Boomers eh? They screwed over their parents. Then they screwed over their kids. The most selfish generation.
What rubbish, thanks to boomers their children and grandchildren will inherit more than any generation before them.
You are assuming they do not need care and nursing over several years
My son in law's parents have already burned through £200,000+ in nursing care costs though his mother has recently died
3/4 of over 65s will not need social care or will die beforehand
Ok so we have chopped out 25% from the list who will benefit, although for all I know you have just made up that figure or got it from some disreputable internet source or (most likely) have misunderstood something you have read. Now lets deal with the 75% left:
a) What percentage will inherit nothing or an amount that is meaningless in terms of long term existence. So all those whose parents are renting, have a significant mortgage, have to live off of their accumulated wealth, have multiple children (or any combination of that list). That is the parents have little to give.
b) What percentage are going to inherit at a time in life where it is pointless.
c) What percentage simply don't need to inherit.
Now just to show how common those are my circumstances fit into all 3 as well as @Big_G_NorthWales case. My father has little to give me. I don't need it anyway as I am considerably richer than him. I am 67 and I have never inherited anything (most people won't until their 60s). Unlike him (who lives off of a civil service pension) I don't have any pension (other than the state) so will be living off my wealth, so I (or more importantly my children) have no idea if they will inherit from me. I also have no idea if my father at 96 will need care to be paid for (it seems likely and it is amazing that so far he has needed none).
Can I suggest you live in a fantasy world where the children inherit the family home or business or farm at 40 and everything carries on to the 1950's middle/upper class sunset.
I have just hit 40 and sadly already know some of my contemporary who have lost either 1 or both parents well before they reached 80, let alone 90 or 100
You keep referring to Stats, although I know you really don't understand the maths of them, but we have been here before but in response to that it is now anecdotes. To leave money to your children clearly they must have been born and you needed to be alive to produce them. The average person has children around the age of 30ish so if you now do a life expectancy for a 30 something you can progress with the calculation. Now you have to adjust that life expectancy to be not for one person, but for both dying because you don't inherit until both parents die. That increases the age again.
Sometime ago I did that calc using ONS data and a bit of maths and it comes out at an average of about 63 - 65. When I posted that others confirmed the ball park with info they looked up.
If you are going to keep quoting stats at us then don't go back to anecdotes which are meaningless. We all sadly know people who have sadly died in there 40s, 50s, 60s and well as children and teens. It does stop the maths that tell you the average age of inheritance is in your 60s.
Well if we are talking averages most people will still be alive in their 60s when they get that big inheritance with about 20 years of life left too
Yes they will be, but you seem (as usual) to have cherry picked the information and/or gone off on a tangent. So if you go back to my original reply you will see that for many/most although they will be alive there will not be a big inheritance or if there is they will not need it (In their 30s handy, in their 60s less so). Your scenario is only available to a single defined set of people, all the others are just buggered or inheriting at the point where they don't need it anyway.
You don't seem to be able to hold more than one pair of linked facts in your head at one time.
I repeat my circumstance and one or more will apply to many/most people:
a) There is little to inherit. We don't all have family farms and businesses b) If there was stuff to inherit I don't need it anyway at 67+ (I am at least 10x wealthier than my Dad, so pointless) c) If my Dad needs care, I will be paying for that (negative inheritance)
Inheritances in your 60s are utterly pointless. What a pathetic notion to be grateful for.
I'd rather have a lifetime of being able to spend my own money, than get a windfall when I'm already elderly myself.
Inheritances in your 60s are utterly pointless. I'd challenge that. They're less useful than at say 30 but you'd be able to help your own kids or grandkids out.
In which case that gets back to the notion that 60s isn't that useful compared to earlier in life - and if "helping out" others is a good idea, why wasn't it done while the person bequeathing the inheritance was alive in the first place?
Far better than the grandkids can all achieve an income on their own merits rather than relying upon the fatality of others to help them out.
They can do both but in London and much of the Home counties inheritances are key to getting deposits and on the property ladder for all but the highest earners
So fix that. That isn't good enough.
Inheritances should never be required for anyone who works for a living to get a deposit.
I agree with your sentiment: “fix that”. We’ve had 12 years of Conservative PMs who haven’t fixed it. I wonder if maybe the solution therefore is to vote in a PM from another party…?
Maybe.
There were some good reforms done when George Osborne was Chancellor that reversed some of the damage inflicted in the Blair and Brown years. Not seen much good in recent years from any party though, the originally proposed planning reforms this government were proposing were very sound, but were defeated by NIMBY backbenchers like Theresa May moaning about "mutant algorithms" and the Lib Dems winning a by-election by campaigning on NIMBYism.
If another party comes up with better proposals, I would be interested in hearing them, sadly none seem to right now.
How did Theresa and the Lib Dems overturn Boris's landside majority?
Because it only takes 41 MPs rebelling or threatening to rebel to overturn policy, even if the policy is justified and the rebels are NIMBYs.
That's why bullshit claims about elective dictatorships have always been bullshit.
PMQs - Starmer really does need to get quicker on his feet, too many opportunities for good ripostes are missed.
So today - Boris: "25 of your MPs were on picket lines", Starmer should have been straight back with: "I'd rather have 25 of my MPs on the picket line than 148 of my MPs voting no confidence in me".
He does need to sharpen up, quickly.
He just doesn't have the wit or response time needed by either a court lawyer or a front line politician. I can't see this changing now.
You appear to be right. Though I know someone who knows him well from DPP days, and she reports that he's as sharp as anything, very quick and quite funny - in private. I don't know what's holding him back - fear of going off script, maybe?
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Have you been to Pakistan ? A friend of mine visited recently, it looked very interesting.
Off topic - I am sorry to let regular readers know that the fairly frequent poster rpjs passed away last Thursday after a battle with cancer.
Apart from being the only person on this board that I knew in real life, he was also my oldest friend and his gentle style of reasoning reflected that he was a thoroughly good person in real life and leaves a hole in my life even though we have been separated by the Atlantic for the past decade. I will also miss being able to recognise his posts instantly from the way they were written.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Professor Tim Spector, of Zoe fame, sounds like a barrel of laughs, must be good at parties
“Face masks and ventilation continue to provide important additional layers of protection – especially in crowded settings. “I still wear a mask, but not a cheap mask – I wear a proper FFP2 or 3 mask,” said Spector. “These new variants are still very much airborne and you need an even smaller amount to get infected, so I think a mask is definitely a good idea when as many as one in 30 people have it again.””
Was it a relative or disciple of his on that bus with you perhaps?
The woman in the plastic bag from Preveza? Lol. Mebbes
I always somehow remember Prof Spector as being a voice of sanity. Yet he is STILL wearing a mask, and not just any mask - a proper FFP2 or FFP3!! - all the time, it seems.
I get that he really wants to avoid Covid A LOT but has he not got the brain space to work out that many other people have balanced the risks, realised that Covid is here to stay, and opted for a modest dash of extra danger, in return for a real human life of smiles and laughter and unmasked faces?
We cannot wear masks for the rest of time. Down with the Mask Taliban
If you are going to wear a mask, and you can afford it, of course you should choose a proper one. Wearing a less effective one is the worst option of all.
OR do not wear one, because Covid is with us forever and masks are horrible
Those on the Right like to pretend that they believe in personal choice and responsibility, when often what they actually want is conformity to their petty whims.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Have you been to Pakistan ? A friend of mine visited recently, it looked very interesting.
Never been to Pakistan. The mountain bits must be beautiful. But is it monsoon?
As I've reported previously - you can get a GP appointment. Six weeks ago I filled in an e-consult, was called later that day and had an appointment in person that evening.
You are doing the classic thing of seeing headline news and thinking it is the experience of everybody. It isn't. Chaos at airports - well yes, but it was strongly correlated with half term, and I think that extra demand often causes problems. Traffic jams - anything in particular? I've not seen anything out of the normal. We currently have rail strikes. Other countries have strikes at times too. France seems particularly prone.
Roger always favours anecdotes over data. It's how he will bang on about how awful Britain is due to some story he has read whilst ignoring the vast political support for the Le Pen mob.
I am beginning to think, in political betting, there is a role for anecdotal in relationship with data.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Bhutan ?
Wonderful. But I’ve been. I’m setting myself parameters. And one of them is: has to be new
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Professor Tim Spector, of Zoe fame, sounds like a barrel of laughs, must be good at parties
“Face masks and ventilation continue to provide important additional layers of protection – especially in crowded settings. “I still wear a mask, but not a cheap mask – I wear a proper FFP2 or 3 mask,” said Spector. “These new variants are still very much airborne and you need an even smaller amount to get infected, so I think a mask is definitely a good idea when as many as one in 30 people have it again.””
Was it a relative or disciple of his on that bus with you perhaps?
The woman in the plastic bag from Preveza? Lol. Mebbes
I always somehow remember Prof Spector as being a voice of sanity. Yet he is STILL wearing a mask, and not just any mask - a proper FFP2 or FFP3!! - all the time, it seems.
I get that he really wants to avoid Covid A LOT but has he not got the brain space to work out that many other people have balanced the risks, realised that Covid is here to stay, and opted for a modest dash of extra danger, in return for a real human life of smiles and laughter and unmasked faces?
We cannot wear masks for the rest of time. Down with the Mask Taliban
If you are going to wear a mask, and you can afford it, of course you should choose a proper one. Wearing a less effective one is the worst option of all.
OR do not wear one, because Covid is with us forever and masks are horrible
Those on the Right like to pretend that they believe in personal choice and responsibility, when often what they actually want is conformity to their petty whims.
Am i asking for conformity? No. I am not going to stop anyone wearing a mask but I reserve the right to laugh at them for the joyless, spineless, life-hating cowards they are
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Bhutan ?
A family member went recently. Amazing was his view. Go now while it is not ruined by modern world was his other view.
In principle, I am very much against industrial action. And I tend to think rail workers are remunerated very well for what they do. However, on the face of it, the fault lies with the Government for refusing to meet with the Union. That cannot be right, however little headway they anticipate. It's dereliction of duty, flagrantly so.
We deserve a Government that performs its basic duties.
Since when has it been the Government's duty to mediate between unions and their employers?
Shouldn't the employers be the ones meeting with unions?
When government is the employer.
Particularly when that employer leaves its managers out on a limb.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Bhutan ?
A family member went recently. Amazing was his view. Go now while it is not ruined by modern world was his other view.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
In principle, I am very much against industrial action. And I tend to think rail workers are remunerated very well for what they do. However, on the face of it, the fault lies with the Government for refusing to meet with the Union. That cannot be right, however little headway they anticipate. It's dereliction of duty, flagrantly so.
We deserve a Government that performs its basic duties.
Since when has it been the Government's duty to mediate between unions and their employers?
Shouldn't the employers be the ones meeting with unions?
When government is the employer.
Particularly when that employer leaves its managers out on a limb.
Aren't the train operating companies the employer?
The managers have a budget, what more do they need?
The Johnson family are bigger grifters than the Trump family.
Boris Johnson’s father is seeking the removal of a ban that blocks the Chinese ambassador to Britain from the Palace of Westminster as the 81-year-old plans to visit the sanctioned country.
Stanley Johnson intends to retrace the steps of Marco Polo and will visit Xinjiang, home to the Uighur people, who are persecuted by Beijing for their Muslim faith.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Johnson described Zheng Zeguang, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, as “a very agreeable, capable and intelligent man” after the two met and talked about his travel plans.
However, his comments mark an embarrassing blow to his son, whose government has joined the European Union, Canada and the United States in sanctioning Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The former MEP said that Zheng was enthusiastic about the project, which Johnson said might help improve UK-China relations. He is planning to take his son, Max, the prime minister’s half-brother, with him on the trip.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Shimla. You can get there on the narrow gauge railway.
In principle, I am very much against industrial action. And I tend to think rail workers are remunerated very well for what they do. However, on the face of it, the fault lies with the Government for refusing to meet with the Union. That cannot be right, however little headway they anticipate. It's dereliction of duty, flagrantly so.
We deserve a Government that performs its basic duties.
Since when has it been the Government's duty to mediate between unions and their employers?
Shouldn't the employers be the ones meeting with unions?
When government is the employer.
Particularly when that employer leaves its managers out on a limb.
Aren't the train operating companies the employer?
The managers have a budget, what more do they need?
Professor Tim Spector, of Zoe fame, sounds like a barrel of laughs, must be good at parties
“Face masks and ventilation continue to provide important additional layers of protection – especially in crowded settings. “I still wear a mask, but not a cheap mask – I wear a proper FFP2 or 3 mask,” said Spector. “These new variants are still very much airborne and you need an even smaller amount to get infected, so I think a mask is definitely a good idea when as many as one in 30 people have it again.””
Was it a relative or disciple of his on that bus with you perhaps?
The woman in the plastic bag from Preveza? Lol. Mebbes
I always somehow remember Prof Spector as being a voice of sanity. Yet he is STILL wearing a mask, and not just any mask - a proper FFP2 or FFP3!! - all the time, it seems.
I get that he really wants to avoid Covid A LOT but has he not got the brain space to work out that many other people have balanced the risks, realised that Covid is here to stay, and opted for a modest dash of extra danger, in return for a real human life of smiles and laughter and unmasked faces?
We cannot wear masks for the rest of time. Down with the Mask Taliban
If you are going to wear a mask, and you can afford it, of course you should choose a proper one. Wearing a less effective one is the worst option of all.
OR do not wear one, because Covid is with us forever and masks are horrible
Those on the Right like to pretend that they believe in personal choice and responsibility, when often what they actually want is conformity to their petty whims.
I can't remember the last time I saw anyone criticising someone for not wearing a mask, whereas the mask babies of Covid seem to have gone into perpetual curtain twitching mode about those people who do choose to wear a mask.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Get your arse to Mars Africa. Ethiopia.
I always fancied the area around the Tian Shan mountains in Kazakhstan. It is supposed to be where much of our hard fruit - apples, pears etc - originated. Apparently they still have wild apple forests there.
Really anywhere along the old Silk Route looks amazing. I think perhaps Samarkand in Uzbekistan looks the best, both because of its amazing architecture and its almost mythical history.
Professor Tim Spector, of Zoe fame, sounds like a barrel of laughs, must be good at parties
“Face masks and ventilation continue to provide important additional layers of protection – especially in crowded settings. “I still wear a mask, but not a cheap mask – I wear a proper FFP2 or 3 mask,” said Spector. “These new variants are still very much airborne and you need an even smaller amount to get infected, so I think a mask is definitely a good idea when as many as one in 30 people have it again.””
Was it a relative or disciple of his on that bus with you perhaps?
The woman in the plastic bag from Preveza? Lol. Mebbes
I always somehow remember Prof Spector as being a voice of sanity. Yet he is STILL wearing a mask, and not just any mask - a proper FFP2 or FFP3!! - all the time, it seems.
I get that he really wants to avoid Covid A LOT but has he not got the brain space to work out that many other people have balanced the risks, realised that Covid is here to stay, and opted for a modest dash of extra danger, in return for a real human life of smiles and laughter and unmasked faces?
We cannot wear masks for the rest of time. Down with the Mask Taliban
If you are going to wear a mask, and you can afford it, of course you should choose a proper one. Wearing a less effective one is the worst option of all.
OR do not wear one, because Covid is with us forever and masks are horrible
I hate masks with a passion, but I was surprised that wearing a good quality one on public transport in London over Easter was sufficient to prevent me from catching Covid then, while a family wedding (obviously without masks) has meant that I've caught it now.
My wife is still wearing a mask around the house though. She has Covid. I have Covid. Her mother has Covid. Her Dad will have Covid after sharing a car with her mom for four hours as they drive back from Roscommon. Some people are a bit strange about masks.
Hopefully the vaccines will do their thing for us and, after we recover, her fear will have abated. And then the masking can stop.
I think the degree to which the govt and the medical authorities scared us over the past two years shouldn't be underestimated.
A few days ago I commented that the problem with the strike was that it didn't have a clearly articulated purpose.
Well, the Mick Lynch media blitz has fixed that... And more. The big shift in support has come from a lot of people recognizing the argument and saying "hey, that applies to me too."
Yes, Lynch is really earning his salary - I can't remember a union leader who puts the case as clearly, calmly and with a dash of dry wit. (I don't care what he thinks about the Labour Party, Ukraine, or anything else.)
In fairness he's sitting there with 7 or 8 hearts in his hand and the government has just declared them trumps, having completely misread the situation.
In what regard? I get that people might be thinking "yeah, they deserve a higher pay rise, and so do I", but there was a notable lack of "chaos" yesterday. The government can afford to sit back and let them go on strike again and again and again.
In regard to public opinion. The majority are not annoyed at the inconvenience and support the strikes. That is not what the government wanted. The government has come across as completely unreasonable by not allowing the management to make an offer until the day after the first strike. Claims that the Union were not negotiating have been effectively demolished by Lynch whose blunt style is well suited to such disingenuousness.
The number annoyed may increase as the number of strike days increase but other unions settling for circa 7% in the same industry show where this needs to go.
But isn't it to the government's advantage that people aren't annoyed? The media are obsessed with the strikes at the moment. They might not be so interested when they are on strike for the 10th time later this year.
No, the government chose this fight for the political advantage they thought it would give them (Labour's strikes etc). It has nothing to do with economics or the running of the railway business. If it was the focus would be on different points and a genuine attempt to resolve it would have been made before the strikes began. People being sympathetic and not cross was not the desired outcome.
Really? Surely the most important thing is that government doesn't give in on pay because they'll have the rest of the public sector queuing up for similar pay increases.
Absolutely spot on. High pay rises from public and private sector prolonging the inflation cost of living crisis is an existential threat to the re election of this government. This is a battle to the death for this government, they cannot give an inch on the pay rises being demanded.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Have you been to Pakistan ? A friend of mine visited recently, it looked very interesting.
Never been to Pakistan. The mountain bits must be beautiful. But is it monsoon?
I shall check
I used to travel to Pakistan a lot. Was very taken with the place, although it was easier back in the 90's - Al Qaeda later blew up the Islamabad hotel I used to stay in.
The mountains are stunning. Murree was a hill station that the Brits used in the heat of summer, a shortish jaunt out of Islamabad. But I had an extraordinary trip into the high mountains - out through Abbotabad (where Bin Laden was shacked up) and on to the Kaghan valley. I stayed above 10,000 feet, but the high Himalayas including K2 were just over there and above you. Stayed at a basic guest house where the menu was goat or mountain-stream trout, both of which were dispatched/caught as ordered.
Then walked up to Lake Saiful Muluk - which is extraordinarily beautiful. The only people I saw there were Pakistanis - a small family party having a picnic and a guy in hiking boots and white tuxedo. As you do.
It used to be very friendly - you could chat to local people with piercing blue eyes, a throw back to the armies of Alexander the Great who went through there. Not sure how long you would last there now as a tourist. I feel very fortunate to have seen it when it was doable.
And as for @rpjs how very sad; I always made a point of reading his posts as they were some of the few "sane" milestones on PB amidst a bunch of sometimes quite unhinged debate (and I of course include myself in the latter group).
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Get your arse to Mars Africa. Ethiopia.
I always fancied the area around the Tian Shan mountains in Kazakhstan. It is supposed to be where much of our hard fruit - apples, pears etc - originated. Apparently they still have wild apple forests there.
Really anywhere along the old Silk Route looks amazing. I think perhaps Samarkand in Uzbekistan looks the best, both because of its amazing architecture and its almost mythical history.
Yes, the Tien Shan would be on my list too.
Mrs Flatlander had a tutor that spent a lot of time investigating the origins of the domestic apple and he was the first to confirm it had come from there.
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
Bhutan ?
Wonderful. But I’ve been. I’m setting myself parameters. And one of them is: has to be new
I am working out where to go next, after I’ve finished Armenia and Georgia. I’ve kind of had enough of post USSR states, charmingly ramshackle as they are. That said, I am drawn to the Stans, particularly Kyrgyzstan, which looks small enough to see in a week
But where else could I go within striking distance of the Caucasus? I don’t want to double back to europe. Is there anywhere in India that has decent weather in July? Ladakh sounds like it does, but what the hell is Ladakh?!
For a quick intro read about Isabella Bird in Jacki Hill-Murphy's Adventuresses.
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That's why bullshit claims about elective dictatorships have always been bullshit.
A friend of mine visited recently, it looked very interesting.
😔
I shall check
Particularly when that employer leaves its managers out on a limb.
MarsAfrica. Ethiopia.The managers have a budget, what more do they need?
Really anywhere along the old Silk Route looks amazing. I think perhaps Samarkand in Uzbekistan looks the best, both because of its amazing architecture and its almost mythical history.
The mountains are stunning. Murree was a hill station that the Brits used in the heat of summer, a shortish jaunt out of Islamabad. But I had an extraordinary trip into the high mountains - out through Abbotabad (where Bin Laden was shacked up) and on to the Kaghan valley. I stayed above 10,000 feet, but the high Himalayas including K2 were just over there and above you. Stayed at a basic guest house where the menu was goat or mountain-stream trout, both of which were dispatched/caught as ordered.
Then walked up to Lake Saiful Muluk - which is extraordinarily beautiful. The only people I saw there were Pakistanis - a small family party having a picnic and a guy in hiking boots and white tuxedo. As you do.
It used to be very friendly - you could chat to local people with piercing blue eyes, a throw back to the armies of Alexander the Great who went through there. Not sure how long you would last there now as a tourist. I feel very fortunate to have seen it when it was doable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Saiful_Muluk
Mrs Flatlander had a tutor that spent a lot of time investigating the origins of the domestic apple and he was the first to confirm it had come from there.
A book was written...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extraordinary-Story-Apple-Barrie-Juniper/dp/1842466550