Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
Surprised by this conversation, I thought on pb.com the done thing was to have the chauffeur drive around the block until you want to be collected?
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
'The UK economy saw no growth in February after being hit by the effects of strikes by public sector workers, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a rise in construction activity had been offset by walkouts by teachers and civil servants.
It follows a surprise 0.4% jump in economic growth in January.
Despite February's flat performance, the chancellor said the UK's economic outlook was "brighter than expected".
Jeremy Hunt noted that GDP - the measure of economic growth - had grown by 0.1% in the three months to February and the UK was "set to avoid recession".'
Hmm. Not sure that Hunt is well advised to be publicly wetting himself over 0.1%. That sort of figure can be easily wiped out with a single revision later down the line.
This is true, but historically GDP has been revised up much more often than down, has it not?
And politically, only the first estimate really counts because it's the one the news notices.
The catch there is that a lot of people don't even notice the news these days.
And the bottom line hasn't changed. For the UK as a whole, it's going to feel more like a recession than a boom. And for quite a lot of people, it's going to be an actual recession.
Remember the lady in one of the 2016 debates? "I don't care about your GDP, it's not my GDP" or words to that effect.
I am concerned this growth is all centred in the South East (levelling up, what?). There’s still loads of empty shops in Newcastle, even on Northumberland St, with more homeless than I ever remember. On construction, two of our bigger main contractors have gone bust in the last few months and there does not seem to be much private sector development.
Eight serving and former Metropolitan police officers have been found guilty of “gross misconduct” over discriminatory and offensive messages they shared, including some which made fun of Katie Price’s disabled son.
The officers – seven men and one woman – were found to have sent sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and disablist comments in a WhatsApp group called Secret Squirrel Shit between 2016 and 2018.
Re the header, we get a lot around Trump but what about the possibility Biden doesn't stand because of a scandal risk and the betting implications there? There has been a number of headlines building up over the few days such as Hunter's business associates visiting the White House 80+ times when JB was VP, even though Biden has denied knowing anything of the visits.
What is clear is that (a) the story won't go away and (b) the House will now launch its own investigations. There may be p1ss and wind here but given one of the people involved has said JB was taking bribes, the chances are probably not.
Personally, I think this sort of stuff is more likely to make JB run again because he would have immunity but, if the stories and evidence keep ratcheting up, then there has to be a question whether some of the Democrat establishment at least think they need to look for an alternative.
Then we have this, namely that Robert F Kennedy Jr is running at 10% support in the Democrat vote:
That is way behind Biden and I don't think where things stand now RFK has much of a chance but if Biden's scandals widen and he is seen as a liability, that percentage may rise and RFK becomes more of a potential threat.
I'm not sure I would be backing Biden as the nominee yet.
If you want to waste your money on Trumpian conspiracy theories, go ahead. I would recommend everyone else stick to a more reality-based betting strategy.
Cash is obsolete, expensive and dangerous. Nobody who doesn't want to handle it should ever be obliged to do so.
However if two parties both consensually want to use cash, that should be their prerogative.
Quite rightly though an increasing number of stores will find that they do not find it convenient, which is their right to choose. Everyone has a freedom to choose.
Agreed. Lots of places around me are now cashless. They seem to cope fine!
Just wait for the next Carrington Event...
The lack of cash has surely changed how people think about money. Handing over a stack of twenties is very different to just waving a card or a phone around. I'm not sure this is a good thing.
Having a physical token is also a good reminder that it is essentially worthless unless guaranteed by somebody.
I'm not a techno-refusenik but I still use cash.
Perhaps your phone should give you a small electric shock, the length of which is related to the value of the payment?
Re: cash, someone said to me the other day, have you seen the 'new' 50pm coin?
I replied that I hadn't seen it, nor a 50p coin of any kind, old, middle-aged or new, for about a decade.
All that said, upon meeting a colleague for the first time in 2 years recently, I was shocked to find he no longer even carries a wallet - just does everything on his phone. Does he not worry about running out of battery? Does he not worry about losing his phone? Does he not worry about having his phone but not his glasses? Apparently not. Not for me, Clive.
That could be me, I don't carry round a wallet or a card, just my phone:
1) I have a charger at home and at work so don't need to worry on a day to day basis. If you forget another time then just manage battery life - extreme power saving lasts forever and you don't need internet to pay.
2) If I lose my phone then yes, I'd have to ask someone for help. But same applies to wallets, and I find I'm more likely to lose a wallet as I use it so infrequently so there's no need to check it's whereabouts.
3) Phone payments you just need to unlock phone, no need for glasses.
Re the header, we get a lot around Trump but what about the possibility Biden doesn't stand because of a scandal risk and the betting implications there? There has been a number of headlines building up over the few days such as Hunter's business associates visiting the White House 80+ times when JB was VP, even though Biden has denied knowing anything of the visits.
What is clear is that (a) the story won't go away and (b) the House will now launch its own investigations. There may be p1ss and wind here but given one of the people involved has said JB was taking bribes, the chances are probably not.
Personally, I think this sort of stuff is more likely to make JB run again because he would have immunity but, if the stories and evidence keep ratcheting up, then there has to be a question whether some of the Democrat establishment at least think they need to look for an alternative.
Then we have this, namely that Robert F Kennedy Jr is running at 10% support in the Democrat vote:
That is way behind Biden and I don't think where things stand now RFK has much of a chance but if Biden's scandals widen and he is seen as a liability, that percentage may rise and RFK becomes more of a potential threat.
I'm not sure I would be backing Biden as the nominee yet.
here you are, banging on about hunter biden again, it must be a day that ends in y
Have I banged on about him before? Remind me.
Anyway, I think it's far more applicable to say for this site, it's a day that ends in y, let's talk (again) about Donald Trump and what he has done wrong - as if we didn't know already.
We talk about him because he keeps doing more things wrong!
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
Blimey. No wonder charging is so slow, 2.5 watts is barely break even on Telegram I think. My Peugeot will certainly be no more than the minimum.
Re: cash, someone said to me the other day, have you seen the 'new' 50pm coin?
I replied that I hadn't seen it, nor a 50p coin of any kind, old, middle-aged or new, for about a decade.
All that said, upon meeting a colleague for the first time in 2 years recently, I was shocked to find he no longer even carries a wallet - just does everything on his phone. Does he not worry about running out of battery? Does he not worry about losing his phone? Does he not worry about having his phone but not his glasses? Apparently not. Not for me, Clive.
That could be me, I don't carry round a wallet or a card, just my phone:
1) I have a charger at home and at work so don't need to worry on a day to day basis. If you forget another time then just manage battery life - extreme power saving lasts forever and you don't need internet to pay.
2) If I lose my phone then yes, I'd have to ask someone for help. But same applies to wallets, and I find I'm more likely to lose a wallet as I use it so infrequently so there's no need to check it's whereabouts.
3) Phone payments you just need to unlock phone, no need for glasses.
Not even a twenty stashed somewhere? Apps and banks fail. Remember TSB's screw up?
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
Elect a figurehead President for life (subject to recall). Maintains the continuity but gives an element of popular choice/control.
Honestly I’ve got no real beef with the monarchy though. I do think the most compelling argument against it is the impact it has on the people in the institution itself - growing up knowing you’re different to others and will be subject to public scrutiny whatever your life choices must be horrendous.
As for Charles - I don’t think he’s doing a bad job at all, so far.
In principle I'm not a monarchist, but it's very low down my list of things I actually get bothered about. I certainly don't envy any of them; the 'gilded cage' and all that. For all the apparent wealth and comfort, it's a grim life.
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
It will become a legal requirement for all bank cards to prominently feature KCIII's face. And mobile payment apps will play a short video of KCIII for every transaction.
(Off-topic, got £50 in cash yesterday for selling something on FB marketplace - commented to my wife that I had no real idea what to look for to check whether a bank note is real any more, handling them - particularly since the switch to plastic - so rarely.)
I'd like to see that on all Dura Ace's cards.
For security, that you will have to sing the full version of God Save The King for each transaction.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Cash is obsolete, expensive and dangerous. Nobody who doesn't want to handle it should ever be obliged to do so.
However if two parties both consensually want to use cash, that should be their prerogative.
Quite rightly though an increasing number of stores will find that they do not find it convenient, which is their right to choose. Everyone has a freedom to choose.
Agreed. Lots of places around me are now cashless. They seem to cope fine!
Just wait for the next Carrington Event...
The lack of cash has surely changed how people think about money. Handing over a stack of twenties is very different to just waving a card or a phone around. I'm not sure this is a good thing.
Having a physical token is also a good reminder that it is essentially worthless unless guaranteed by somebody.
I'm not a techno-refusenik but I still use cash.
Perhaps your phone should give you a small electric shock, the length of which is related to the value of the payment?
A video of the correct amount of notes being burnt, KLF style?
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
'The UK economy saw no growth in February after being hit by the effects of strikes by public sector workers, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a rise in construction activity had been offset by walkouts by teachers and civil servants.
It follows a surprise 0.4% jump in economic growth in January.
Despite February's flat performance, the chancellor said the UK's economic outlook was "brighter than expected".
Jeremy Hunt noted that GDP - the measure of economic growth - had grown by 0.1% in the three months to February and the UK was "set to avoid recession".'
Hmm. Not sure that Hunt is well advised to be publicly wetting himself over 0.1%. That sort of figure can be easily wiped out with a single revision later down the line.
Not sure if any one has ever studied this, but the revisions almost always seem to be up to me. See also the triple dip that never happened.
Yes it is well known that revisions to UK GDP tend to be upwards (not always, but more likely than not). The BOE produces a backcast of recent GDP data for its forecasts to account for this - it is a bit higher than the official data. UK official data quality is not very high. If I was going to be controversial I would say that moving the ONS to Newport probably contributes to this - it's harder to get good statisticians in Newport than in London.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
You can still hit jewellers' but the problem is that those who are competent at doing so are well known to the police.
Armed robbers used to be the elite of the underworld, because you had to be very careful and level-headed. The last person you'd want on the job was some trigger-happy fool.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
There have been far more unpopular monarchs than Charles III, from George IV to latterly Edward VIII, James II and Charles I. The monarchy has evolved and survived and the current constitutional monarchy we have works.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
I can think of plenty of places that will still *only* take cash, but they probably don't show up in the official numbers.
I don't think cash will ever die out, even if it declines to only 5-10% of official transactions. And there are places that still can't get (and may never reliably get) a signal.
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
There have been far more unpopular monarchs than Charles III, from George IV to latterly Edward VIII, James II and Charles I. The monarchy has evolved and survived and the current constitutional monarchy we have works.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
Interestingly and purely anecdotally a lot of people I’m speaking to are planning on watching the coronation or doing something for it - even those ambivalent or even soft-anti monarchist. There is a bit of an appreciation of the history of the occasion, even if people think the concept a little odd.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
You can still hit jewellers' but the problem is that those who are competent at doing so are well known to the police.
The other problem is that jewellery fashion has swung to sterling silver and semi precious stones - at least that's what a jeweller who I used to buy presents for my wife from told me. You get nothing for that as resale.
Aside from the watches, and a small mega bling market, that is.
I think I mentioned the story I was told by a friend about an armed robbery at a jewellers, where he was on the jury. Incompetent was definitely the defining characteristic.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
You can still hit jewellers' but the problem is that those who are competent at doing so are well known to the police.
That's just reminded me of the time I worked in retail and did cash office periodically. I remember having to take bundles of cash - five figures - to the bank by myself. I'd have been easy pickings for a smart robber who had done a fairly simple job of casing the shop for a couple of weeks.
'The UK economy saw no growth in February after being hit by the effects of strikes by public sector workers, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a rise in construction activity had been offset by walkouts by teachers and civil servants.
It follows a surprise 0.4% jump in economic growth in January.
Despite February's flat performance, the chancellor said the UK's economic outlook was "brighter than expected".
Jeremy Hunt noted that GDP - the measure of economic growth - had grown by 0.1% in the three months to February and the UK was "set to avoid recession".'
Hmm. Not sure that Hunt is well advised to be publicly wetting himself over 0.1%. That sort of figure can be easily wiped out with a single revision later down the line.
This is true, but historically GDP has been revised up much more often than down, has it not?
And politically, only the first estimate really counts because it's the one the news notices.
The catch there is that a lot of people don't even notice the news these days.
And the bottom line hasn't changed. For the UK as a whole, it's going to feel more like a recession than a boom. And for quite a lot of people, it's going to be an actual recession.
Remember the lady in one of the 2016 debates? "I don't care about your GDP, it's not my GDP" or words to that effect.
I am concerned this growth is all centred in the South East (levelling up, what?). There’s still loads of empty shops in Newcastle, even on Northumberland St, with more homeless than I ever remember. On construction, two of our bigger main contractors have gone bust in the last few months and there does not seem to be much private sector development.
Tolent going "bust" has not helped the flawed Milburngate development in Durham either.
It is not all South East the growth, Manchester is creating plenty of jobs. But then it has good local leadership who seem interested in economic development.
When the North East finally gets its Mayor it will either be Kim McGuinness, a waste of space as PCC, or the current incumbent Jamie something or other. A man so anoymous his parents probably have forgotten who he is. Neither seem interested in our economy or plans for growth.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
And why bother when you can just phone them up from a third country and con them out of it instead?
Re: cash, someone said to me the other day, have you seen the 'new' 50pm coin?
I replied that I hadn't seen it, nor a 50p coin of any kind, old, middle-aged or new, for about a decade.
Really?
Up until 2020, I had a coin jar, which accumulated change through the year and was periodically taken to the bank - it used to get about £400 a year in change. Since the pandemic, it no longer builds up ,and I have to go out of my way from time to time to get change to keep it stocked. But I do still need coins, for reasons including, er: - transactions with children (the tooth fairy doesn't bring plastic) - tips in restaurants (I want my money to go to the specific waiter/waitress who provided the service) - buskers - parking (most car parks accept payment by app but that is a massive pain in the arse, particularly if I don't have my glasses with me) - filling a pint glass with, then pissing in it and throwing it from on high at 15 year old girls who have a different favourite football team to me (joking - I'm not a Liverpool fan).
It's not a massive list. But cash isn't dead yet.
Agree with this. Kids like coins and notes too, and the implicit value of a physical item is important in teaching the value of a thing, which is harder to do with digital money.
Side note, but car park apps can get in the sea, in a bin, sealed in concrete and covered in warnings to prevent future generations from ever repeating our mistakes.
The only major parking fines I've had are from totally impenetrable car park apps that didn't work or couldn't connect.
I now avoid such places, except where I can use RingGo. It's a scam.
'The UK economy saw no growth in February after being hit by the effects of strikes by public sector workers, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a rise in construction activity had been offset by walkouts by teachers and civil servants.
It follows a surprise 0.4% jump in economic growth in January.
Despite February's flat performance, the chancellor said the UK's economic outlook was "brighter than expected".
Jeremy Hunt noted that GDP - the measure of economic growth - had grown by 0.1% in the three months to February and the UK was "set to avoid recession".'
Hmm. Not sure that Hunt is well advised to be publicly wetting himself over 0.1%. That sort of figure can be easily wiped out with a single revision later down the line.
Not sure if any one has ever studied this, but the revisions almost always seem to be up to me. See also the triple dip that never happened.
Yes it is well known that revisions to UK GDP tend to be upwards (not always, but more likely than not). The BOE produces a backcast of recent GDP data for its forecasts to account for this - it is a bit higher than the official data. UK official data quality is not very high. If I was going to be controversial I would say that moving the ONS to Newport probably contributes to this - it's harder to get good statisticians in Newport than in London.
It's a problem that goes back a long time (it turns out the economy grew much faster, from 1976-79, and 1985-90 than initially thought). I don't think it's down to bad statisticians (the ONS is generally reckoned to be very good) as that it's just very hard to measure GDP, and the ONS are expected to produce initial estimates within a very short timeframe.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
There have been far more unpopular monarchs than Charles III, from George IV to latterly Edward VIII, James II and Charles I. The monarchy has evolved and survived and the current constitutional monarchy we have works.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
There is no certainty that we will always have a monarchy and it is undeniably losing popularity
It very much depends on the behaviour of the royals, their ability to adapt to change, and the support of the younger generation going forward
I am ambivalent to the monarchy or a presidency but change happens, often quickly but also gradually through time
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
If there's contactless (hell, even chip and pin) then I'm not too bothered about what else is available. Cash for those who prefer/need that should also be provided, I think.
The frustrating thing is that any halfway decent parking app standard would be more convenient for most. Car reg(s) stored in app. Location services pinpoint the car park (or some NFC thing to swipe at worst). Choose your time and go, automatic payment. Extendable without returning to the car park. No queues. Many benefits. The current shit-show is not necessary.
The trouble with car parks is that accepting cash does add significant extra costs to the operator - and even card payments has some extra costs over a phone app.
But for most businesses, the idea that handling cash is more expensive than card payments is absurd to me and suggests that something dodgy is going on with the banking system.
Handling cash means people counting cash, with access to cash. This is more expensive and there is the theft risk.
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
You can still hit jewellers' but the problem is that those who are competent at doing so are well known to the police.
The other problem is that jewellery fashion has swung to sterling silver and semi precious stones - at least that's what a jeweller who I used to buy presents for my wife from told me. You get nothing for that as resale.
Aside from the watches, and a small mega bling market, that is.
I think I mentioned the story I was told by a friend about an armed robbery at a jewellers, where he was on the jury. Incompetent was definitely the defining characteristic.
You still see plenty of gold, platinum, and diamonds for sale, as far as I can tell.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
I can think of plenty of places that will still *only* take cash, but they probably don't show up in the official numbers.
I don't think cash will ever die out, even if it declines to only 5-10% of official transactions. And there are places that still can't get (and may never reliably get) a signal.
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
It appears some Chinese restaurants in our area only accept cash and that does raise questions for me, and I avoid them
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
There have been far more unpopular monarchs than Charles III, from George IV to latterly Edward VIII, James II and Charles I. The monarchy has evolved and survived and the current constitutional monarchy we have works.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
Important Republics would not surround themselves with the trappings of monarchy (lavish inaugurations, orders of chivalry etc.) unless such things were appealing to much of the population.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
I would just caution in life there is no certainty, not least a King William or even more so a King George outliving us all
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
If the monarchy can survive Charles and Camilla (and so far they are better than expected) then it will certainly survive with the more popular William and Kate and George. Diana's son and grandson
Times change, opinions change, and health and accidents happen - hence there is no certainty
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
There have been far more unpopular monarchs than Charles III, from George IV to latterly Edward VIII, James II and Charles I. The monarchy has evolved and survived and the current constitutional monarchy we have works.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
There is no certainty that we will always have a monarchy and it is undeniably losing popularity
It very much depends on the behaviour of the royals, their ability to adapt to change, and the support of the younger generation going forward
I am ambivalent to the monarchy or a presidency but change happens, often quickly but also gradually through time
William and Kate in particular are popular across the ages, even if Charles and Camilla are far more popular with the old than the young.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
He could have sung A Soldier's Song. In Irish.
He offered a $4bn bribe instead. On past form, that's likely to outweigh any insult.
Shirt fronts only, sleeves and billboards still allowed.
For now - it's surely certain that gambling spononsorship is going the same way as cigarette sponsorship sooner or later.
Yes it is. The puritans are already campaigning to remove the latter.
It will be advertising on TV next.
Thank the Lord we have people to protect us from ourselves.
I'd vote in a second for anyone who said they would ban advertising on paid for TV. Or indeed subscription websites.
It royally pisses me off when I've paid to access something and then have to sit through five minutes of tedious badly written adverts for junk I won't buy before I can actually watch/read/listen to it.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
I missed that. What are the DUP fuming about now?
It's not the DUP.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
Labour MPs have this week received yet another pay rise, of £2,440. Yet they won't support a single worker asking for the same, or even half that amount. What is the point of the Labour Party?
SKS fans please explain
We are stuck politically. There are small groups on left and right who point to the genuine structural problems we have. They follow their political ideology and propose solutions.
You are at one end of that spectrum. Bart and the Trussites are at the other end of the spectrum.
The problem for both is that you are unelectable. The bulk of people in the middle have been made so disconnected with how anything works or even the reality of their own situation that they don't accept the proposed solutions.
You and I will both agree that pay needs to rise, even though we're coming at it from opposite sides. The issue is that if you can't carry the electorate with you, your ideas remain ideas.
Which is how after decades of relatively radical political changes we have become stuck with the post-Thatcher settlement. And neither Corbynism nor Trussism are possible. So we get shades of the same thing offered by supposedly competing parties.
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
I can think of plenty of places that will still *only* take cash, but they probably don't show up in the official numbers.
I don't think cash will ever die out, even if it declines to only 5-10% of official transactions. And there are places that still can't get (and may never reliably get) a signal.
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
It appears some Chinese restaurants in our area only accept cash and that does raise questions for me, and I avoid them
All taxis and hire cars registered in St Albans will now be forced to take cards.
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
I can think of plenty of places that will still *only* take cash, but they probably don't show up in the official numbers.
I don't think cash will ever die out, even if it declines to only 5-10% of official transactions. And there are places that still can't get (and may never reliably get) a signal.
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
It appears some Chinese restaurants in our area only accept cash and that does raise questions for me, and I avoid them
All taxis and hire cars registered in St Albans will now be forced to take cards.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
We don't just comment on English affairs, here.
He looks like he's a pensioner that's been fished out of a rural pub in deepest darkest County Sligo and shoved awkwardly into a brand new suit.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
I missed that. What are the DUP fuming about now?
It's not the DUP.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
Er, I thought the Unionists approved of the RIC and the Auxies?
I have an old gmail account from the day it was launched that gets a lot of emails from people subscribing to things and forgetting their email isn't XYZ@gmail it's XYC1234@gmail.com
From November 2020 onwards Trump sent a lot of emails that were people that claimed to be about paying for legal costs to challenge the result but hidden in the email is the reality that it the money was going into Trump's general campaign fund.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
what is it from the cigarette lighters?
120W but most of it will be lost in heat in the eBay 12v DC USB charger thing.
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
I can think of plenty of places that will still *only* take cash, but they probably don't show up in the official numbers.
I don't think cash will ever die out, even if it declines to only 5-10% of official transactions. And there are places that still can't get (and may never reliably get) a signal.
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
It appears some Chinese restaurants in our area only accept cash and that does raise questions for me, and I avoid them
All taxis and hire cars registered in St Albans will now be forced to take cards.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
We don't just comment on English affairs, here.
He looks like he's a pensioner that's been fished out of a rural pub in deepest darkest County Sligo and shoved awkwardly into a brand new suit.
Same is probably true of Michael Higgins.
Like recent male Conservative Prime Ministers, on average, in other words.
Bizarre times, as the country moves to the left on economic issues, Labour isn’t there, it’s moved right! Murdoch paper leading with half of Tory voters wanting energy to be nationalised. Just after Starmer has abandoned the existing Labour policy to do precisely that.
Shirt fronts only, sleeves and billboards still allowed.
For now - it's surely certain that gambling spononsorship is going the same way as cigarette sponsorship sooner or later.
Yes it is. The puritans are already campaigning to remove the latter.
It will be advertising on TV next.
Thank the Lord we have people to protect us from ourselves.
I'd vote in a second for anyone who said they would ban advertising on paid for TV. Or indeed subscription websites.
It royally pisses me off when I've paid to access something and then have to sit through five minutes of tedious badly written adverts for junk I won't buy before I can actually watch/read/listen to it.
Absolutely agree on all counts. Most ads today are terrible on mainstream TV, even worse on Youtube (I watch more Youtube than most terrestrial channels)
Problem is, if they did that,the argument goes then you will have to pay more for your current choice of channels or your package of channels will be reduced.
It is interesting to see Greatest Hits radio now offers a premium, no advert, option for a small fee.
Bizarre times, as the country moves to the left on economic issues, Labour isn’t there, it’s moved right! Murdoch paper leading with half of Tory voters wanting energy to be nationalised. Just after Starmer has abandoned the existing Labour policy to do precisely that.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
We don't just comment on English affairs, here.
‘Wanker’ being the top quality commentary we’ve come to expect,
You’ll be calling next for Guardian-esque letter writing campaigns to the voters in countries not your own. Tbf that’s about as close to regime change as the mangy old UK could manage nowadays.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
what is it from the cigarette lighters?
120W but most of it will be lost in heat in the eBay 12v DC USB charger thing.
I got one from Tesco for about £8, seems to be pretty effective.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
As someone eligible for an Irish passport (not claimed it) - quite a few Irish people think he is wanker.
Absolutely not, King William will follow and then King George will outlive us all.
We certainly don't want President Johnson or President Blair
You may not, but lots of people would rather not have someone in a position simply by act of birth.
Its the 21st century.
About 25% of the population don't admittedly but even Corbyn won more than that in 2019.
A ceremonial constitutional monarch and head of state world renowned is far better than a divisive elected party political head of state or a nonentity ceremonial President.
Plenty of people still have jobs by birth, from farmers to family business owners anyway
Can you explain why? Do we need a head of state that is not the PM?
As the PM is head of government NOT head of state which should be above party politics.
See the US, Brazil or effectively France for the problems that come when the head of government is also head of state and the divisions that produces
Absent a monarch, what is the best approach here? The Irish model?
No, Higgins is an ex Irish Labour politician himself and little known outside Ireland.
Phew, a relief that PB whining about pols in a country in which the whiner does not live has moved on from France. Scotland and Germany still to come no doubt.
We don't just comment on English affairs, here.
He looks like he's a pensioner that's been fished out of a rural pub in deepest darkest County Sligo and shoved awkwardly into a brand new suit.
Same is probably true of Michael Higgins.
Like recent male Conservative Prime Ministers, on average, in other words.
John Major David Cameron Rishi Sunak
Hmm can’t say any of them really match “pensioner that's been fished out of a rural pub in deepest darkest County Sligo and shoved awkwardly into a brand new suit.”
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
I missed that. What are the DUP fuming about now?
It's not the DUP.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
Er, I thought the Unionists approved of the RIC and the Auxies?
Surely only thin skinned, humourless bigots could take offence at such a misspeak? Oh, I see.
Council round here has moved to phone apps entirely for parking, even though they had machines available which could take contactless payments. Bonkers.
Contactless is great. Phone apps for carparking just shouldn't be allowed. For one thing your debit card won't go out of battery for that 1% of time your phone is out of juice and you can't phone tap the contactless.
People don't charge their phones in their cars?
The charging speed on all car ports is very poor. No idea why its so slow.
Most OEMs only put 2.5W into the USB ports. Honourable exception: BMW. They put 15W into the USB C ports in the iX and it has 3 USB controllers (that I can find on the K-Bus/MOST network) so the 15W is only shared across 2 devices.
what is it from the cigarette lighters?
120W but most of it will be lost in heat in the eBay 12v DC USB charger thing.
A hittile is a missile (usually AA) designed to penetrate the target, rather than explode near it, is it not ?
These are more hit-and-missiles.
I think it started as a joke when some of the newer missiles started show a startling ability to nearly always hit the target.
As opposed to things like the old Sparrow AAM, which occasionally hit something by accident.
Then the marketing men started using “hittile”
The Sparrow came good in the end and the AIM-7M that we had on the F-14 was a hell of a weapon with a very good solid state seeker and a monster 40kg warhead that would fuck your day right up. Sparrow got more air to air kills than any other weapon in GW1.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
I missed that. What are the DUP fuming about now?
It's not the DUP.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
Er, I thought the Unionists approved of the RIC and the Auxies?
Surely only thin skinned, humourless bigots could take offence at such a misspeak? Oh, I see.
I think the story was that Joe Biden was celebrating the fact that his distant relative Rob Kierney (Irish rugby player) had given the All Blacks 'a good hiding' (I think). Except he didn't say All Blacks, he said Black and Tans.
To be honest, I think the original would have been ruder (if I'm right). The latter is just an old man misspeaking. Again. Black and Tans appears to be trending on Bing now (don't judge me, it's my work home page).
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
Wy buy a "Battle Bus"? Surely the smart move is to rent one, just as everyone else does?
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
Too obsessed with politics to do anything else?
That really is bizarre. Has she ever been on a ferry?
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
There were comments earlier about the expensive camper van not being used.
It never moved, but does that mean it was never used???
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
King Charles could be the last monarch on a banknote as cash loses its crown
Digital payments dominate amid increasing obsolescence of cash
Halfway through 2024, King Charles III will become only the second monarch to see his portrait launched into circulation on British banknotes. It is feasible that his likeness will be the last one on a banknote that is ever actually used.
The use of cash is collapsing around the world. De La Rue, a firm which designs a third of the world’s banknotes, says global demand for physical currency has hit a 20-year low. Card, mobile and digital wallet payments are replacing traditional payment methods at a swift rate.
Globally, between 2018 and 2022, the value of global cash transactions fell from $11.6 trillion (£9.3 trillion) to $7.7 trillion, a drop of a third, according to financial services firm FIS.
Last year, cash accounted for just 16pc of transactions worldwide. By 2026, global cash transactions will be worth only $6 trillion, making up just one in 10 payments, FIS has forecast.
By this measure, the UK is ahead of the curve: last year, cash already accounted for only a tenth of point of sale transactions.
In the 10 years to 2031, cash payments will slump by another 52pc, according to UK Finance, the lender trade body. Debit card payments, already the dominant method for settling up, will have surged by nearly a quarter in that time.
“We are going to have to start preparing for a very, very low cash society,” says John Howells, chief executive of Link, the UK’s cash machine network.
“Cash will be a store for safety, but as a means of payment it is already dropping fast, and that is going to continue. I think in 15 or 20 years’ time that could have virtually disappeared.”
"A male GP has been prevented from donating blood to the Scottish NHS after he refused to confirm whether or not he was pregnant.
Steffen McAndrew, who works in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, said he had been turned away from a blood donation centre in nearby Ayr after he refused to answer a “bonkers” question about if he was carrying a baby."
Re: cash, someone said to me the other day, have you seen the 'new' 50pm coin?
I replied that I hadn't seen it, nor a 50p coin of any kind, old, middle-aged or new, for about a decade.
All that said, upon meeting a colleague for the first time in 2 years recently, I was shocked to find he no longer even carries a wallet - just does everything on his phone. Does he not worry about running out of battery? Does he not worry about losing his phone? Does he not worry about having his phone but not his glasses? Apparently not. Not for me, Clive.
That could be me, I don't carry round a wallet or a card, just my phone:
1) I have a charger at home and at work so don't need to worry on a day to day basis. If you forget another time then just manage battery life - extreme power saving lasts forever and you don't need internet to pay.
2) If I lose my phone then yes, I'd have to ask someone for help. But same applies to wallets, and I find I'm more likely to lose a wallet as I use it so infrequently so there's no need to check it's whereabouts.
3) Phone payments you just need to unlock phone, no need for glasses.
Not even a twenty stashed somewhere? Apps and banks fail. Remember TSB's screw up?
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
There were comments earlier about the expensive camper van not being used.
It never moved, but does that mean it was never used???
I can conceive why there is nothing to see here. Bought as a campaign vehicle. Drive around the Highlands and Islands offering both transport and a base. No election on at the moment, change in leadership so it needs parking up somewhere until the next use. Available driveway from a trusted person, park it there.
On topic, Trump is malignant and utterly lacking in any morals or scruples whatsoever, but Biden is also a tone-deaf prat.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
I missed that. What are the DUP fuming about now?
It's not the DUP.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
Er, I thought the Unionists approved of the RIC and the Auxies?
Surely only thin skinned, humourless bigots could take offence at such a misspeak? Oh, I see.
I think the story was that Joe Biden was celebrating the fact that his distant relative Rob Kierney (Irish rugby player) had given the All Blacks 'a good hiding' (I think). Except he didn't say All Blacks, he said Black and Tans.
To be honest, I think the original would have been ruder (if I'm right). The latter is just an old man misspeaking. Again. Black and Tans appears to be trending on Bing now (don't judge me, it's my work home page).
Arlene Foster gave an interview with GB News saying Joe Biden hates the UK and it went 'viral', requiring his team to issue a denial. This was before the black and tan comment.
Apparently neither Nicola Sturgeon nor Peter Murrell can drive. Neither can the Transport Secretary Kevin Stewart. Imagine that in a country like Scotland with its huge rural hinterland and lack of public transport options. Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
There were comments earlier about the expensive camper van not being used.
It never moved, but does that mean it was never used???
I can conceive why there is nothing to see here. Bought as a campaign vehicle. Drive around the Highlands and Islands offering both transport and a base. No election on at the moment, change in leadership so it needs parking up somewhere until the next use. Available driveway from a trusted person, park it there.
Convincing...?
No. Given the tiny amount of time such a vehicle would actually be used for campaigning, it would much, much cheaper to rent as required.
Comments
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq-DSAFglVQ/
Though most likely to outlive myself !!!
Eight serving and former Metropolitan police officers have been found guilty of “gross misconduct” over discriminatory and offensive messages they shared, including some which made fun of Katie Price’s disabled son.
The officers – seven men and one woman – were found to have sent sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and disablist comments in a WhatsApp group called Secret Squirrel Shit between 2016 and 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/13/eight-met-officers-guilty-of-misconduct-over-discriminatory-whatsapp-messages?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
1) I have a charger at home and at work so don't need to worry on a day to day basis. If you forget another time then just manage battery life - extreme power saving lasts forever and you don't need internet to pay.
2) If I lose my phone then yes, I'd have to ask someone for help. But same applies to wallets, and I find I'm more likely to lose a wallet as I use it so infrequently so there's no need to check it's whereabouts.
3) Phone payments you just need to unlock phone, no need for glasses.
Petrol stations are a bit of a nightmare - had to ask my girlfriend to get her card out last time.
I expect a lot of antipathy towards the coronation and some of it will be embarrassingly archaic
I do not see Charles and Camilla as anywhere near the late Queen and expect a gradual slide in their popularity and indeed the monarchy
By the way good to see you back posting
Armed robbery has largely died because most people are paid through their bank accounts - the days of the wages van being hit by Proper Villains (TM) and John Thaw shooting it out with them with a .38 with no barrel to speak of, are long long gone.
UK official data quality is not very high. If I was going to be controversial I would say that moving the ONS to Newport probably contributes to this - it's harder to get good statisticians in Newport than in London.
Armed robbers used to be the elite of the underworld, because you had to be very careful and level-headed. The last person you'd want on the job was some trigger-happy fool.
We were lucky to have had Elizabeth II for most of our adult lives who was a great monarch but the monarchy was here for 1000 years before her and will be now she has gone.
We also haven't had a coronation for 70 years. The French and Americans have Presidential inaugurations every 5 or 4 years
And, it only takes one incidence of 'the system' going down before everyone starts keeping £50 in their wallets again.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-gambling-shirt-sponsor-ban-b2319114.html
Aside from the watches, and a small mega bling market, that is.
I think I mentioned the story I was told by a friend about an armed robbery at a jewellers, where he was on the jury. Incompetent was definitely the defining characteristic.
It is not all South East the growth, Manchester is creating plenty of jobs. But then it has good local leadership who seem interested in economic development.
When the North East finally gets its Mayor it will either be Kim McGuinness, a waste of space as PCC, or the current incumbent Jamie something or other. A man so anoymous his parents probably have forgotten who he is. Neither seem interested in our economy or plans for growth.
I now avoid such places, except where I can use RingGo. It's a scam.
It very much depends on the behaviour of the royals, their ability to adapt to change, and the support of the younger generation going forward
I am ambivalent to the monarchy or a presidency but change happens, often quickly but also gradually through time
If it's legal tender it's legal tender.
I can't think of any American President who could have pissed the NI Unionists off more yesterday, even if he'd celebrated the Easter Rising or the vision of Eamon de Valera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EQCpQbUrzI
When I watch an EPL Soccer game on SKY, admittedly not often, I cannot say I notice them that much.
These are more hit-and-missiles.
For now - it's surely certain that gambling spononsorship is going the same way as cigarette sponsorship sooner or later.
It's not on, and it's not a real choice if legal tender is refused.
Cash isn't American Express.
It will be advertising on TV next.
Thank the Lord we have people to protect us from ourselves.
My favourite funny of the day. Macclesfield.
On past form, that's likely to outweigh any insult.
It royally pisses me off when I've paid to access something and then have to sit through five minutes of tedious badly written adverts for junk I won't buy before I can actually watch/read/listen to it.
Biden praised the Black & Tans rather than the All Blacks yesterday.
You are at one end of that spectrum. Bart and the Trussites are at the other end of the spectrum.
The problem for both is that you are unelectable. The bulk of people in the middle have been made so disconnected with how anything works or even the reality of their own situation that they don't accept the proposed solutions.
You and I will both agree that pay needs to rise, even though we're coming at it from opposite sides. The issue is that if you can't carry the electorate with you, your ideas remain ideas.
Which is how after decades of relatively radical political changes we have become stuck with the post-Thatcher settlement. And neither Corbynism nor Trussism are possible. So we get shades of the same thing offered by supposedly competing parties.
Same is probably true of Michael Higgins.
I have an old gmail account from the day it was launched that gets a lot of emails from people subscribing to things and forgetting their email isn't XYZ@gmail it's XYC1234@gmail.com
From November 2020 onwards Trump sent a lot of emails that were people that claimed to be about paying for legal costs to challenge the result but hidden in the email is the reality that it the money was going into Trump's general campaign fund.
Here's an interview (in English) with Baerbock by Deutsche Welle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB-5miVUf3I
As opposed to things like the old Sparrow AAM, which occasionally hit something by accident.
Then the marketing men started using “hittile”
Murdoch paper leading with half of Tory voters wanting energy to be nationalised. Just after Starmer has abandoned the existing Labour policy to do precisely that.
Problem is, if they did that,the argument goes then you will have to pay more for your current choice of channels or your package of channels will be reduced.
It is interesting to see Greatest Hits radio now offers a premium, no advert, option for a small fee.
You’ll be calling next for Guardian-esque letter writing campaigns to the voters in countries not your own. Tbf that’s about as close to regime change as the mangy old UK could manage nowadays.
David Cameron
Rishi Sunak
Hmm can’t say any of them really match “pensioner that's been fished out of a rural pub in deepest darkest County Sligo and shoved awkwardly into a brand new suit.”
Oh, I see.
To be honest, I think the original would have been ruder (if I'm right). The latter is just an old man misspeaking. Again.
Black and Tans appears to be trending on Bing now (don't judge me, it's my work home page).
How nice would you be to your boss if they could kick you out on the street?
Not the curiousity to learn and get about their own country - beyond the Central Belt. Possibly explains the current tone-deafness to what so many people think and the SNP obsession with keeping the Greens onside. The growing political division in Scotland driven by geography is something to keep an eye on.
That really is bizarre. Has she ever been on a ferry?
It never moved, but does that mean it was never used???
What does that actually mean?
Clearly there have been more than 2 monarchs with their picture on bank notes
What does that actually mean?
Clearly there have been more than 2 monarchs with their picture on bank notes
Steffen McAndrew, who works in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, said he had been turned away from a blood donation centre in nearby Ayr after he refused to answer a “bonkers” question about if he was carrying a baby."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/13/scotland-nhs-male-blood-donor-turned-away-pregnant/
Bought as a campaign vehicle. Drive around the Highlands and Islands offering both transport and a base. No election on at the moment, change in leadership so it needs parking up somewhere until the next use. Available driveway from a trusted person, park it there.
Convincing...?
https://www.gbnews.com/news/arlene-foster-joe-biden-northern-ireland-visit