Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
What's with the superfluous "S" after the apostrophe?
Does nobody proof read the cartoons?
Charles's is perfectly acceptable - we are not talking about more than one Charle who jointly own a pen. Different style guides have different preferences - it really is a matter of choice.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
I don’t have a problem with unlimited bankers’ bonuses as long as they sign up for unlimited personal liability.
And what if the bankers are like the doctors? If we pay them too much, they will retire early and we will lose the benefit of their services. May even be a banker shortage.
What a tragedy that would be.
Imagine if the people I've been dealing with at Virgin Money retired early.
How would we manage without a bunch of idiots who can't write a grammatical email, answer a telephone inquiry, keep sensitive documents correctly or indeed even open and manage a simple account?
I think that the workers in the call centre rarely get million pound bonuses.
It's the managers that have done all that!
Banks have about 27 layers of managers, 25 of whom are probably getting bonuses of a few k if they are lucky.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Got any pickle?
Fig jam. That's what you need. We were introduced to it in Corsica as a cheese accompaniment. Just right.
Mini marinated (in wine and sugar) figs are delicious with cheese. Did you know every fig contains the remains of a dead wasp?
Yuk.
You do come out with some crazy stuff. I’m sure you are itching to tell us Putin’s rabble have made a smart tactical retreat this week and now is a better place defending a smaller front line around what they really came for?
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
I did the Arbroath parkrun the other week when on a trip to Carnoustie for some golf. Ticked off the stadium as never set eyes on it before and also ticked off the infamous burn that Van De Velde lost the Open in - it looked all lonely and innocent the day i went as well
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Got any pickle?
Fig jam. That's what you need. We were introduced to it in Corsica as a cheese accompaniment. Just right.
Mini marinated (in wine and sugar) figs are delicious with cheese. Did you know every fig contains the remains of a dead wasp?
Yuk.
You do come out with some crazy stuff. I’m sure you are itching to tell us Putin’s rabble have made a smart tactical retreat this week and now is a better place defending a smaller front line around what they really came for?
Personally almost always avoid superfluous final commas. However, they ARE useful in cases of possible ambiguity.
Teddy Roosevelt got his fanny in a bit of a crack during his Presidency, by imposing "spelling reform" upon the US Government Printing Office by executive order. Which briefly made him a national laughingstock, until he rescinded his edict.
The incident became part of the Rough Rider's folklore, as testifying to his enthusiasm if NOT his judgement. But at the time, more people were laughing at TR than with him.
Yep, don't need to use them ALL the time, but as the text dictates. Unless it's house style anyway, in which case there is no point arguing.
I once queried a legal agreement that was devoid of commas and consequently somewhat prolix and was reassured that the law relied upon the meaning of words rather than the placement of commas and if a contract depended on the latter it could be challenged successfully in court.
The advice was wrong.
I assumed it was more than where the meaning of a word was in dispute, that unless it was specifically defined otherwise its plain natural meaning should be assumed to be what was meant. Not that unplain meaning could not be utilised.
Though I think there are occasions where they interpret more generously?
The rumour is that a local shopping centre was built due to an errant comma in the council's planning documents.
They should have read "Retail Warehousing", but actually read "Retail, Warehousing".
Just got back from a very enjoyable two-week car trip to Lake Como, stopping at Beaune on the way down and Chamonix and Amboise on the way back.
A few random impressions:
First off, a big thank-you to M. Macron for introducing a 25c per litre fuel reduction from 1 September - we did the whole 2,000 miles on French unleaded at £1.25 a litre. Yay! ;-)
There didn’t seem to be very much amiss in either France or Italy. All those years of sloppy pseudo-socialist government and they still manage to survive, and thrive. No election posters whatsoever in Italy, even though the election is less than two weeks away (are they banned?).
American tourists are back in force. East asian tourists, still hardly to be seen. Each place we stopped was buzzing, great vibe, fantastic weather and lots of people intent on enjoying themselves.
Italian roads seem to have improved since we were last driving there 10 years ago - better than UK roads now, I’d say. French roads are of course superb. How do they do it? They now are now putting in dozens of animal bridges over all the autoroutes to help the wildlife, which is a good thing I guess but how do they find the money for things like that?
Food: As @Leon pointed out - the edge that France and Italy used to have over the UK is has pretty much gone. Mostly the food we had was competent rather than outstanding. It’s also got a lot more expensive to eat out but wine is still good value. Great breakfasts in all the hotels we stayed in though - puts most UK hotels to shame.
Plenty of restaurant staff too - no shutting on Monday and Tuesdays due to staff shortages, which seems common here. The exception being Brittany Ferries which was unable to run a full restaurant service either way, blamed indeed on ’staff shortages’. Even I can't blame that one on Brexit so I don’t know the reason. Post-covid issues maybe?
Speaking of which, virtually no masks anywhere. The only bizarre exception being the Lake Como passenger ferries where an FFP2 mask is compulsory to board… but then can be taken off immediately you are on board - until you disembark (?!)
Lake Como is beautiful, all those tiny villages tucked into impossible spaces between the hills and the lake. Como is not just for oldies either, it seems to attract all ages these days.
Beaune, Chamonix, Amboise - all proved to be good stopping places, with plenty of restaurants, bars, sights etc. I should also add the Saturday food market in Beaune is huge and superb. You can keep your Borough Markets, give me a proper French market any day!
That’s more than enough I know. I couldn’t be arsed to do a travel blog as we went so I thought I’d post one long summary for anyone who’s interested.
Any pictures to share?
Was in Italy in 2003, just before invasion of Iraq. Only political sign I saw, from train window outside of Florence, was actually graffiti (or rather graffito) that proclaimed
"America Fuck!"
Amused me more than it should have, I reckon. Though did see where they were coming from, and driving at.
I have just posted a couple of food pics - don't tempt me to get carried away!
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Got any pickle?
Fig jam. That's what you need. We were introduced to it in Corsica as a cheese accompaniment. Just right.
Mini marinated (in wine and sugar) figs are delicious with cheese. Did you know every fig contains the remains of a dead wasp?
Yuk.
You do come out with some crazy stuff. I’m sure you are itching to tell us Putin’s rabble have made a smart tactical retreat this week and now is a better place defending a smaller front line around what they really came for?
If your dad is in the UK, no wasps in his figs
Probably why they don't taste right.
I had decided against that first response btw - idiot Vanilla chose to immortalise it as it so often does. I am not really obsessed with fig wasps.
The obvious quick win is to have NI paid on all earned income even if over retirement age.
Yes, it's absolutely baffling that that anomaly continues. And of course, the longer it's left like that, the harder it will be politically to correct. It should have been fixed under the coalition, when fewer people would have been immediately affected.
Quite why the government wants to tax me at a much lower rate than most workers is a mystery.
Possibly has something to do with your propensity to vote?
That may well be true. However, increasing tax on older workers is hardly a quick win if your aim is to encourage them back into the workforce.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
Everton, I think, started off as a Catholic club, and it's still true more Liverpool Catholics support Everton than Liverpool. But I think Liverpool was an offshoot of Everton. So still Catholic, just less so. It's not a divide keenly felt any more. Similarly Man U was Catholic - but that largely reflected where the Irish in Manchester lived, and only ever a vague rule of thumb.
NYT - Entering a general election, Don Bolduc said he now believed Biden won in 2020: ‘I’ve done a lot of research.’
Like a driver making a screeching U-turn, Don Bolduc, the Republican Senate nominee in New Hampshire, pivoted on Thursday from his primary race to the general election, saying he had “come to the conclusion” that the 2020 presidential election “was not stolen,” after he had spent more than a year claiming it was.
“I’ve done a lot of research on this, and I’ve spent the past couple weeks talking to Granite Staters all over the state from every party, and I have come to the conclusion — and I want to be definitive on this — the election was not stolen,” Mr. Bolduc said in an interview on Fox News.
He continued to falsely claim there had been fraud in the election but acknowledged that the outcome was not in question.
“Elections have consequences, and, unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country,” he said.
Mr. Bolduc won his primary on Tuesday over a more moderate candidate, Chuck Morse, the president of the New Hampshire Senate. Mr. Bolduc ran on an uncompromising right-wing platform, complete with declarations that former President Donald J. Trump had won the 2020 election.
But now he faces a tough general election campaign against Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat. She is vulnerable in November — but, Republicans worry, less vulnerable against Mr. Bolduc than she would have been against Mr. Morse.
Ms. Hassan’s campaign responded quickly to Mr. Bolduc’s reversal, sharing a series of videos and quotes of the many times Mr. Bolduc promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Don Bolduc is desperately trying to run from years of spreading the Big Lie, but he can’t hide from the video receipts,” her campaign said in a statement.
I'm unsure which is worse - that he does think it was stolen and is now shamelessly pretending otherwise, or that he never thought it was and was just shamelessly pretending to believe it. Being a lying fool, or a foolish liar.
Personally I think that Trumpers deserve all they get with a bit extra on top but I can well imagine many such people feeling a bit perplexed if they voted for him on this basis less than a week ago.
I’m just intrigued by what this ‘research’ might be.
My guess is, Bolduc is referring to his internal campaign polling.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
These fellas:
For some reason the first picture makes me think of the settlement in Local Hero, sheltering a littlle way back from a picturesque and dramatic coast. Dumbarton ?
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Got any pickle?
Fig jam. That's what you need. We were introduced to it in Corsica as a cheese accompaniment. Just right.
Mini marinated (in wine and sugar) figs are delicious with cheese. Did you know every fig contains the remains of a dead wasp?
Yuk.
You do come out with some crazy stuff. I’m sure you are itching to tell us Putin’s rabble have made a smart tactical retreat this week and now is a better place defending a smaller front line around what they really came for?
If your dad is in the UK, no wasps in his figs
Probably why they don't taste right.
Nope. Common figs, including Brown Turkey and any other variety grown in the UK, don't need pollination and would be stuffed if they did because we have neither caprifigs for pollen nor the right sort of wasp to pollinate. You wouldn't get not right tasting figs, you'd get no figs at all.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Got any pickle?
Fig jam. That's what you need. We were introduced to it in Corsica as a cheese accompaniment. Just right.
Mini marinated (in wine and sugar) figs are delicious with cheese. Did you know every fig contains the remains of a dead wasp?
Yuk.
You do come out with some crazy stuff. I’m sure you are itching to tell us Putin’s rabble have made a smart tactical retreat this week and now is a better place defending a smaller front line around what they really came for?
If your dad is in the UK, no wasps in his figs
Probably why they don't taste right.
Nope. Common figs, including Brown Turkey and any other variety grown in the UK, don't need pollination and would be stuffed if they did because we have neither caprifigs for pollen nor the right sort of wasp to pollinate. You wouldn't get not right tasting figs, you'd get no figs at all.
See above! I had decided not to post it but Vanilla brought it back.
Just got back from a very enjoyable two-week car trip to Lake Como, stopping at Beaune on the way down and Chamonix and Amboise on the way back.
A few random impressions:
First off, a big thank-you to M. Macron for introducing a 25c per litre fuel reduction from 1 September - we did the whole 2,000 miles on French unleaded at £1.25 a litre. Yay! ;-)
There didn’t seem to be very much amiss in either France or Italy. All those years of sloppy pseudo-socialist government and they still manage to survive, and thrive. No election posters whatsoever in Italy, even though the election is less than two weeks away (are they banned?).
American tourists are back in force. East asian tourists, still hardly to be seen. Each place we stopped was buzzing, great vibe, fantastic weather and lots of people intent on enjoying themselves.
Italian roads seem to have improved since we were last driving there 10 years ago - better than UK roads now, I’d say. French roads are of course superb. How do they do it? They now are now putting in dozens of animal bridges over all the autoroutes to help the wildlife, which is a good thing I guess but how do they find the money for things like that?
Food: As @Leon pointed out - the edge that France and Italy used to have over the UK is has pretty much gone. Mostly the food we had was competent rather than outstanding. It’s also got a lot more expensive to eat out but wine is still good value. Great breakfasts in all the hotels we stayed in though - puts most UK hotels to shame.
Plenty of restaurant staff too - no shutting on Monday and Tuesdays due to staff shortages, which seems common here. The exception being Brittany Ferries which was unable to run a full restaurant service either way, blamed indeed on ’staff shortages’. Even I can't blame that one on Brexit so I don’t know the reason. Post-covid issues maybe?
Speaking of which, virtually no masks anywhere. The only bizarre exception being the Lake Como passenger ferries where an FFP2 mask is compulsory to board… but then can be taken off immediately you are on board - until you disembark (?!)
Lake Como is beautiful, all those tiny villages tucked into impossible spaces between the hills and the lake. Como is not just for oldies either, it seems to attract all ages these days.
Beaune, Chamonix, Amboise - all proved to be good stopping places, with plenty of restaurants, bars, sights etc. I should also add the Saturday food market in Beaune is huge and superb. You can keep your Borough Markets, give me a proper French market any day!
That’s more than enough I know. I couldn’t be arsed to do a travel blog as we went so I thought I’d post one long summary for anyone who’s interested.
Any pictures to share?
Was in Italy in 2003, just before invasion of Iraq. Only political sign I saw, from train window outside of Florence, was actually graffiti (or rather graffito) that proclaimed
"America Fuck!"
Amused me more than it should have, I reckon. Though did see where they were coming from, and driving at.
I have just posted a couple of food pics - don't tempt me to get carried away!
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
These fellas:
For some reason the first picture makes me think of the settlement in Local Hero, sheltering a littlle back from the picturesque and dramatic coast. Where is that one ?
The village / phone box is Pennan on the N facing coast E of Inverness and the beach is at Arisaig on the west coast (Camusdarach).
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
These fellas:
For some reason the first picture makes me think of the settlement in Local Hero, sheltering a littlle way back from a picturesque and dramatic coast. Dumbarton ?
Dumbarton. In Scotland even the most workaday towns have weird and dramatic geography.
Just got back from a very enjoyable two-week car trip to Lake Como, stopping at Beaune on the way down and Chamonix and Amboise on the way back.
A few random impressions:
First off, a big thank-you to M. Macron for introducing a 25c per litre fuel reduction from 1 September - we did the whole 2,000 miles on French unleaded at £1.25 a litre. Yay! ;-)
There didn’t seem to be very much amiss in either France or Italy. All those years of sloppy pseudo-socialist government and they still manage to survive, and thrive. No election posters whatsoever in Italy, even though the election is less than two weeks away (are they banned?).
American tourists are back in force. East asian tourists, still hardly to be seen. Each place we stopped was buzzing, great vibe, fantastic weather and lots of people intent on enjoying themselves.
Italian roads seem to have improved since we were last driving there 10 years ago - better than UK roads now, I’d say. French roads are of course superb. How do they do it? They now are now putting in dozens of animal bridges over all the autoroutes to help the wildlife, which is a good thing I guess but how do they find the money for things like that?
Food: As @Leon pointed out - the edge that France and Italy used to have over the UK is has pretty much gone. Mostly the food we had was competent rather than outstanding. It’s also got a lot more expensive to eat out but wine is still good value. Great breakfasts in all the hotels we stayed in though - puts most UK hotels to shame.
Plenty of restaurant staff too - no shutting on Monday and Tuesdays due to staff shortages, which seems common here. The exception being Brittany Ferries which was unable to run a full restaurant service either way, blamed indeed on ’staff shortages’. Even I can't blame that one on Brexit so I don’t know the reason. Post-covid issues maybe?
Speaking of which, virtually no masks anywhere. The only bizarre exception being the Lake Como passenger ferries where an FFP2 mask is compulsory to board… but then can be taken off immediately you are on board - until you disembark (?!)
Lake Como is beautiful, all those tiny villages tucked into impossible spaces between the hills and the lake. Como is not just for oldies either, it seems to attract all ages these days.
Beaune, Chamonix, Amboise - all proved to be good stopping places, with plenty of restaurants, bars, sights etc. I should also add the Saturday food market in Beaune is huge and superb. You can keep your Borough Markets, give me a proper French market any day!
That’s more than enough I know. I couldn’t be arsed to do a travel blog as we went so I thought I’d post one long summary for anyone who’s interested.
Any pictures to share?
Was in Italy in 2003, just before invasion of Iraq. Only political sign I saw, from train window outside of Florence, was actually graffiti (or rather graffito) that proclaimed
"America Fuck!"
Amused me more than it should have, I reckon. Though did see where they were coming from, and driving at.
I have just posted a couple of food pics - don't tempt me to get carried away!
Please do.
Oh, all right then...
Varenna, Lake Como
Your photographs are excellent.
Thanks - just an iPhone. The scenery and the light makes it really.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
These fellas:
For some reason the first picture makes me think of the settlement in Local Hero, sheltering a littlle way back from a picturesque and dramatic coast. Dumbarton ?
It is. The camera is above the site of the yard where Cutty Sark was built.
Pennan is the one in Local Hero - up in the area where Rochdale P hangs out these days.
I fear Cyclefree's threads are getting a tad predictable .
If Government policy was less controversial @Cyclefree would have no reason to write critical headers. I suspect she would be more than content to sing the praises of a calm, consistent joined up Government.
Not much hope of that with Truss, Braverman and JRM running the circus.
I'd be delighted to write thread headers about different aspects of gardening, interesting books I've read and so on.
But OGH might have something to say about that.
Anyway I hope some of you might read Julian Barnes' essay because it is very good indeed.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Crikey. The chappy in the middle looks just about ready to walk off. Yum!
Lovely pics.
The one in the middle on the left? They found it on the shelf in my nans old garden shed.
Look closer. Look at the right hand side of that cheese. We can all see it tonight can’t we? A daemon, a horned daemon laughing at us. That’s the Devil’s Cheese, sir, and that ain’t no marketing gimmick.
It’s another omen! The Dragon, now this, Cheese with face of the devil. We all know what it means - we can’t allow TSE anywhere near editor slot anytime soon, we would fear for all humanity.
What's with the superfluous "S" after the apostrophe?
Does nobody proof read the cartoons?
"Charles's" is correct. Only end with s followed by apostrophe when the noun is plural, or, and this is only if you want to create an archaic feel, for Jesus and perhaps for mythological and real figures from ancient Greece and Rome.
The forms "Charles' " and "Liz Truss' " look illiterate.
The really annoying one is "for goodness' sake", which is actually correct because we don't say "goodness" with an /ɪz/ on the end. But it looks like crap on the page, so I try to avoid it for that reason.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Did you have a favourite?
I did, it was that blue one in the middle (sorry, I can't remember the name) I limited myself to 5 (I know) but they were all superb.
I am going to The Mess at Messum's Wiltshire tomorrow night, a restaurant I mentioned a few weeks back. They do a superb, Michelin star quality, set 4 course dinner for £55 a head, which is good value... but cheese instead of dessert is an outrageous £13.50 supplement. Nowhere in France would they think to charge extra for cheese in place of dessert.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
These fellas:
For some reason the first picture makes me think of the settlement in Local Hero, sheltering a littlle way back from a picturesque and dramatic coast. Dumbarton ?
It is. The camera is above the site of the yard where Cutty Sark was built.
Pennan is the one in Local Hero - up in the area where Rochdale P hangs out these days.
BTW tyhe castle is on the rock too - not the best angle here. But it's one of the great scenic fortresses of Scotland beside Berwick, Tantallon, Edinburgh, Stirling and Fort George. And outy of shot to the left is the Denny Test Tank for ship models. One of the great outings for engineering minded tourists.
Finally, here's yours truly wheeling 'into the void' at L'Aguille du Midi
That's enough photos now!
Don't look down!
I slept on the concrete floor in there once (quite some time ago now) to avoid paying hut fees. Was no worse than conditions in the average hut at that time, I guess.
The 'walk' out along the arete at 2am was quite something with just a thin ridge of ice visible in the light of a head torch and a huge drop into the blackness on both sides. As it was August the Perseids were spectacular.
Sadly the weather was rather warm so the complete traverse to the Aiguille du Plan was a bit dodgy and we had to reverse the tightrope walk back.
I imagine it has been even more dangerous this year.
I am very much over this queue thing. It's becoming boring. Memes, Twitter threads, why there was even an article in the Speccie about it. Get over it. Lots of people. Of all types. From all over. We get it.
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
Finally, here's yours truly wheeling 'into the void' at L'Aguille du Midi
That's enough photos now!
Don't look down!
I slept on the concrete floor in there once (quite some time ago now) to avoid paying hut fees. Was no worse than conditions in the average hut at that time, I guess.
The 'walk' out along the arete at 2am was quite something with just a thin ridge of ice visible in the light of a head torch and a huge drop into the blackness on both sides. As it was August the Perseids were spectacular.
Sadly the weather was rather warm so the complete traverse to the Aiguille du Plan was a bit dodgy and we had to reverse the tightrope walk back.
I imagine it has been even more dangerous this year.
There were some people out on the ridges but obviously that's rather out of bounds for me.
And after reading Life and Limb I wouldn't have ventured out even if I could.
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
According to Rangers and Celtic supporters, Everton, Man City and Chelsea are protestant and Liverpool and Man U are catholic. I assume that that is only in their own warped minds, and not in the minds of Everton, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool or Man U supporters.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Did you have a favourite?
I did, it was that blue one in the middle (sorry, I can't remember the name) I limited myself to 5 (I know) but they were all superb.
I am going to The Mess at Messum's Wiltshire tomorrow night, a restaurant I mentioned a few weeks back. They do a superb, Michelin star quality, set 4 course dinner for £55 a head, which is good value... but cheese instead of dessert is an outrageous £13.50 supplement. Nowhere in France would they think to charge extra for cheese in place of dessert.
Back to Corsica, they served the cheese and fig jam ahead of the desert. You had to moderate the cheese intake to leave room for a pud!
I saw Martha’s Vineyard is trending on Twitter so looked it up.
What a frankly weird story. A sort of domestic Rwanda policy / Belarus-Poland border issue.
Not exactly. It would be like Kent County Council sending all the immigrants to Hampstead or Dulwich.
Not quite that either. As Martha's Vineyard balloons in summertime into affluent holiday haven, but it's really a small island with small off-season population, including Wampanoag Indians of Aqunnah.
AND it's in New England, which is to Florida as Scotland is to Kent.
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Did you have a favourite?
I did, it was that blue one in the middle (sorry, I can't remember the name) I limited myself to 5 (I know) but they were all superb.
I am going to The Mess at Messum's Wiltshire tomorrow night, a restaurant I mentioned a few weeks back. They do a superb, Michelin star quality, set 4 course dinner for £55 a head, which is good value... but cheese instead of dessert is an outrageous £13.50 supplement. Nowhere in France would they think to charge extra for cheese in place of dessert.
I would be happy to go for a meal that involved that cheese board and no other courses.
Finally, here's yours truly wheeling 'into the void' at L'Aguille du Midi
That's enough photos now!
Don't look down!
I slept on the concrete floor in there once (quite some time ago now) to avoid paying hut fees. Was no worse than conditions in the average hut at that time, I guess.
The 'walk' out along the arete at 2am was quite something with just a thin ridge of ice visible in the light of a head torch and a huge drop into the blackness on both sides. As it was August the Perseids were spectacular.
Sadly the weather was rather warm so the complete traverse to the Aiguille du Plan was a bit dodgy and we had to reverse the tightrope walk back.
I imagine it has been even more dangerous this year.
There were some people out on the ridges but obviously that's rather out of bounds for me.
And after reading Life and Limb I wouldn't have ventured out even if I could.
I'm not sure it would be in bounds for me any more, either.
Weird as it sounds, i would absolutely hate that glass floor. If you are climbing you can somehow disconnect from the height and concentrate on the task in hand but there's no distractions at all there.
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
I am very much over this queue thing. It's becoming boring. Memes, Twitter threads, why there was even an article in the Speccie about it. Get over it. Lots of people. Of all types. From all over. We get it.
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
The queue was noticeably white. I watched the video and i did a count and estimated the white proportion at around 95%. Bear in mind the white british population of london is less than 50% and that was on census figures from 10 years ago
2. Le Chariot de fromage, Restaurant la Maison Carrier, Chamonix. Perfect!
(and no surcharge versus a dessert!)
Did you have a favourite?
I did, it was that blue one in the middle (sorry, I can't remember the name) I limited myself to 5 (I know) but they were all superb.
I am going to The Mess at Messum's Wiltshire tomorrow night, a restaurant I mentioned a few weeks back. They do a superb, Michelin star quality, set 4 course dinner for £55 a head, which is good value... but cheese instead of dessert is an outrageous £13.50 supplement. Nowhere in France would they think to charge extra for cheese in place of dessert.
Back to Corsica, they served the cheese and fig jam ahead of the desert. You had to moderate the cheese intake to leave room for a pud!
I would happily skip the dessert in that situation.
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
Finally, here's yours truly wheeling 'into the void' at L'Aguille du Midi
That's enough photos now!
Don't look down!
I slept on the concrete floor in there once (quite some time ago now) to avoid paying hut fees. Was no worse than conditions in the average hut at that time, I guess.
The 'walk' out along the arete at 2am was quite something with just a thin ridge of ice visible in the light of a head torch and a huge drop into the blackness on both sides. As it was August the Perseids were spectacular.
Sadly the weather was rather warm so the complete traverse to the Aiguille du Plan was a bit dodgy and we had to reverse the tightrope walk back.
I imagine it has been even more dangerous this year.
There were some people out on the ridges but obviously that's rather out of bounds for me.
And after reading Life and Limb I wouldn't have ventured out even if I could.
I'm not sure it would be in bounds for me any more, either.
Weird as it sounds, i would absolutely hate that glass floor. If you are climbing you can somehow disconnect from the height and concentrate on the task in hand but there's no distractions at all there.
Good effort...
It is a *very* unsettling, but strangely enjoyable, experience tbh.
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
Quite. Really quite a destructive decision. Those ultimately responsible should be identified and held to account. If it leads back to Truss, does it then in turn lead back to insistence from Washington? Let's hope it's just good old-fashioned homegrown stupidity.
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
Celtic in trouble for anti queen banners including SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS MICHAEL FAGAN
LOL
'Meanwhile, Uefa said it would not take action Rangers for defying its rules by playing God Save the King before their 3-0 defeat to Napoli at Ibrox later on Wednesday evening.'
Yes, for all @theuniondivvie seems to loathe Rangers for their sectarianism, Celtic seem rather more unpleasant.
Distance lends low information disenchantment.
Those lucky enough to enjoy your PB oeuvre need never feel distant from Glasgow's sectarian amusements.
Given PBers constant reference to me in association with Glasgow's sectarian amusements, I must assume that they're most gratified that I can fulfill their thirst for knowledge. There's certainly a big void of knowing fuck all about it that needs filling, though I do accept that there's a certain amount of eye averting.
I'm a St Mirren season ticket holder. Last time Rangers came, their fans booed "Flower Of Scotland". Celtic visit us on Sunday; I shall report back.
(though Motherwell fans are the worst I have seen)
Motherwell? Really? Worst in what respect? Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland. And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it. I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
Liverpool/Everton is sectarian, can't remember which way round.
According to Rangers and Celtic supporters, Everton, Man City and Chelsea are protestant and Liverpool and Man U are catholic. I assume that that is only in their own warped minds, and not in the minds of Everton, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool or Man U supporters.
I have family members who support Rangers in Scotland and Liverpool in England. So that's bollocks.
Finally, here's yours truly wheeling 'into the void' at L'Aguille du Midi
That's enough photos now!
[Snip]
Did you manage cross all the way into Italy?
No, sadly the Vallée Blanche Cable Car that crosses to Italy is one of the few that are not wheelchair accessible.
Ah, that's a sod, I assumed it would be.
The view is pretty good from the Midi station, anyway.
It is. I liked Chamonix but Grindlewald still beats it from my perspective. The north face of the Eiger towering above, brooding, timeless, magnificent.
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
I think all ethnic groups were well represented in the Queue - probably not much different to their ratio in the UK.
I am very much over this queue thing. It's becoming boring. Memes, Twitter threads, why there was even an article in the Speccie about it. Get over it. Lots of people. Of all types. From all over. We get it.
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
The queue was noticeably white. I watched the video and i did a count and estimated the white proportion at around 95%. Bear in mind the white british population of london is less than 50% and that was on census figures from 10 years ago
Interesting. The very first few people through when they opened it up were very diverse.
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
Most ethnic minorities also support the monarchy even if by lesser numbers than whites, 37% of ethnic minorities in the UK back the monarchy, 33% a republic.
However heading for white minority status is not necessarily without problems, see the rise of white nationalism in the US with Trump and to a lesser extent in Europe
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
I am very much over this queue thing. It's becoming boring. Memes, Twitter threads, why there was even an article in the Speccie about it. Get over it. Lots of people. Of all types. From all over. We get it.
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
The queue was noticeably white. I watched the video and i did a count and estimated the white proportion at around 95%. Bear in mind the white british population of london is less than 50% and that was on census figures from 10 years ago
people have come from further than london to be in that queue so dont see why the London ethnic ratio is used by yourself
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
They’re torturing and raping civilians, leaving behind mass graves and shit all over peoples houses and openly talking about wiping out an entire national identity.
I am very much over this queue thing. It's becoming boring. Memes, Twitter threads, why there was even an article in the Speccie about it. Get over it. Lots of people. Of all types. From all over. We get it.
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
The queue was noticeably white. I watched the video and i did a count and estimated the white proportion at around 95%. Bear in mind the white british population of london is less than 50% and that was on census figures from 10 years ago
Interesting. The very first few people through when they opened it up were very diverse.
But I haven't really paid attention to it since.
Yeah maybe for the tv cameras at the front. But i counted many people in the queue and ethnic minorities were around 5% of total
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
I think all ethnic groups were well represented in the Queue - probably not much different to their ratio in the UK.
Oh sure there were some there but nowhere near the proportion you would expect. Bear in mind the latest census will show the uk no more than 80% white british at best..london likely less than 40% white british
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
Bollocks on both counts. IMO.
great argument - the war has to end sometime and when it does it needs to end with a peace not a nuclear war
I do think however if you are a republican support for the monarchy being concentrated on white people is a good thing. Demographic change means support for the monarchy will inevitably drain away
I think all ethnic groups were well represented in the Queue - probably not much different to their ratio in the UK.
Oh sure there were some there but nowhere near the proportion you would expect. Bear in mind the latest census will show the uk no more than 80% white british at best..london likely less than 40% white british
Not sure if you can tell a Pole from a Brit. Of any colour, can you?
To please @MoonRabbit by doing my 'Russia' bit, it's a very poor decision not to invite Russian representatives to the funeral. It's cheapening and tawdry. The loss of QEII is a state event that transcends current conflicts, not a victory photoshoot for Zelensky and his t-shirt. I would be very surprised if the lady herself had anything to do with the decision, and if she didn't, nobody else should have.
Could have been the chance for the start of some diplomacy which this conflict needs (given that Russia could start a nuclear war)
Bollocks on both counts. IMO.
Indeed. Would we have invited Hitler or Hirohito to a funeral during WW2, or Milosevic after the Bosnian war? That’s what we’re dealing with here. Genocidal war criminals, not people we have a bit of a geopolitical rivalry with.
Comments
Scottish football is bloody complex. English football clubs basically just hate each other. There isn't really to any great extent another layer of complex identities which sit on top as appears to be the case in Scotland.
And this is only the identities I'm aware of. Rangers and Celtic and to a lesser extent Hearts and Hibs. If there are other clubs with sectarian or political identities I am agog to hear about it.
I find Scottish football fascinating, btw. It is like English football, but distilled, more intense, and fundamentally stranger. It is what football would be if it was plotted by Joe Abercrombie. It has stadia like the Rock, Dumbarton, and Gayfield Park, Arbroath, which wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel.
You are just weird for even knowing that.
I'm sure Dura Ace would be up for a stint.
They should have read "Retail Warehousing", but actually read "Retail, Warehousing".
Varenna, Lake Como
BUT if you feel strongly, suggest urging Deputy Prime Minister to expand upon her grammatical dicktat.
Similarly Man U was Catholic - but that largely reflected where the Irish in Manchester lived, and only ever a vague rule of thumb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fegra1FLI6o
(A couple of other wannabes in that clip too)
https://twitter.com/QuantaMagazine/status/1570512795447492608
A man in Portugal found an 82-foot-long brachiosaur skeleton in his backyard, reports @bychrisbrito for @cbsnews. It seems to be the largest sauropod ever recovered in Europe.
What a frankly weird story. A sort of domestic Rwanda policy / Belarus-Poland border issue.
In Scotland even the most workaday towns have weird and dramatic geography.
That's enough photos now!
It's more complex than that.
https://www.toffeeweb.com/fans/beingblue/religion.asp
With an S: St James's Park, London
Like the Greggs-Pret ratio, another North-South divide.
Pennan is the one in Local Hero - up in the area where Rochdale P hangs out these days.
But OGH might have something to say about that.
Anyway I hope some of you might read Julian Barnes' essay because it is very good indeed.
What's with the superfluous "S" after the apostrophe?
Does nobody proof read the cartoons?
A sad reminder of the commentators who insisted on referring to St. Giles’s Cathedral.
Well done Mr Pointer
Look closer. Look at the right hand side of that cheese. We can all see it tonight can’t we? A daemon, a horned daemon laughing at us. That’s the Devil’s Cheese, sir, and that ain’t no marketing gimmick.
It’s another omen! The Dragon, now this, Cheese with face of the devil. We all know what it means - we can’t allow TSE anywhere near editor slot anytime soon, we would fear for all humanity.
The forms "Charles' " and "Liz Truss' " look illiterate.
The really annoying one is "for goodness' sake", which is actually correct because we don't say "goodness" with an /ɪz/ on the end. But it looks like crap on the page, so I try to avoid it for that reason.
I am going to The Mess at Messum's Wiltshire tomorrow night, a restaurant I mentioned a few weeks back. They do a superb, Michelin star quality, set 4 course dinner for £55 a head, which is good value... but cheese instead of dessert is an outrageous £13.50 supplement. Nowhere in France would they think to charge extra for cheese in place of dessert.
I slept on the concrete floor in there once (quite some time ago now) to avoid paying hut fees. Was no worse than conditions in the average hut at that time, I guess.
The 'walk' out along the arete at 2am was quite something with just a thin ridge of ice visible in the light of a head torch and a huge drop into the blackness on both sides. As it was August the Perseids were spectacular.
Sadly the weather was rather warm so the complete traverse to the Aiguille du Plan was a bit dodgy and we had to reverse the tightrope walk back.
I imagine it has been even more dangerous this year.
Did you manage cross all the way into Italy?
Or go on the Northern Line or into Leicester Forest services and knock yourself out about the diverse and unfathomable nature of ordinary Britain.
The apostrophe wasn't even needed as it has been the High Kirk of St Giles since the 1690 settlement.
And after reading Life and Limb I wouldn't have ventured out even if I could.
AND it's in New England, which is to Florida as Scotland is to Kent.
Weird as it sounds, i would absolutely hate that glass floor. If you are climbing you can somehow disconnect from the height and concentrate on the task in hand but there's no distractions at all there.
Good effort...
The view is pretty good from the Midi station, anyway.
So that's bollocks.
But I haven't really paid attention to it since.
New from me - Raft of legislation for the chop amid focus on growth over regulation. MPs say threats to gambling reform, online harms and animal welfare bills could also be on the cards. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/15/raft-of-legislation-for-the-chop-amid-focus-on-growth-over-regulation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.britishfuture.org/jubilee-britain-monarchy-preview/
However heading for white minority status is not necessarily without problems, see the rise of white nationalism in the US with Trump and to a lesser extent in Europe
No thanks.
Follow this rule, whatever the final consonant. Thus write,
Charles's friend
Burns's poems
the witch's malice
Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus', and such forms as for conscience' sake, . . . "
That's rule number 1 in the little book, "The Elements of Style", which has guided millions of American college students.
(Author and education blogger once suggested -- as I recall -- that you add 's to a possessive, if, when you say it, you add a sylllable.)