But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same
The RAAC thing reminds us of the value of "red tape".
All the RAAC used was signed off, noted, tested etc.
See DTD683
I'm suggesting we need more.
Ah yes - another pile of paper will prove it’s safe next time. Perhaps if we photocopy the passwppets of everyone working on a project… twice. That’ll do it.
Do you work for the Boeing Starliner project?
"Don't make schools out of concrete that is liable to collapse" isn't too onerous, surely?
RAAC was considered just ticketyboo when it was used. Just as DTD683 was considered the dog racing undercarriage of aluminium alloys when they were building planes out of it.
All specified, certified and lovely.
Sadly God or the Laws of Physics or whatever disregarded all the documentation.
Despite earnest attempts by civil servants and politicians, both materials refused to fix themselves. In an act of grotesque insubordination to Proper Process.
The problem we have now is nothing to do with documentation. It is a response, as Herman Kahn noted, to a problem that is Just Too Big.
He noted that when a problem of fact became too big for the politicians/systems etc to deal with, their response was to deny it was a problem, hide it and persecute anyone who bought up the issue.
That is why, to be serious for a moment, whatever system you have should aim to catch problems when they are small and opportunities to learn and improve rather than allow them to grow ever larger into Crises to Be Managed.
The systems we have now do the precise opposite.
Why, exactly so.
Please stop talking common sense.
It will come up in any interview for a high end job, and you’ll get turned down for having subject matter expertise and possessing skills in arse-elbow differentiation.
We can’t have Top People like that, you know.
Well, that's me told. And why I will never be a Top Person.
I wish someone had told me before. Why I could by now be the Dido Harding of my generation - with titles and money and friends like Matt Hanco..... oh, no .....
The training starts here
Q1 You are sitting next to a BBC journalist at a dinner. He asks you questions about a scandal involving your organisation. Do you
1) make up some bollocks, composed of made up nonsense and confidential information. 2) put polonium in his coffee 3) scratch your nose in a knowing fashion, suggest that the entre was better at the dinner two weeks ago, and ask after his daughters latest exam results.
I know this one, I do, I do... it's just coming, wait a minute. Is it (c)?
Bsssss!
No, it’s 1)
You do not pass Go, you do not collect a £2.4 million pound payout.
The RAAC thing reminds us of the value of "red tape".
All the RAAC used was signed off, noted, tested etc.
See DTD683
I'm suggesting we need more.
We need more fully-certified RAAC in place? Why?
Less red tape on planning and it'd be easier to replace buildings using RAAC with newer buildings built to better standards that don't.
You seen the Welsh tiktok guy pulling apart dodgy new builds?
A lack of red tape just means we'll go through this process again and again, with long term costs that far outweigh short term savings.
Have you seen the mouldy, damp-ridden squalor too many people are forced to live in as the chronic housing shortage caused by our planning red tape means there is simply no alternative between paying for that or being homeless?
Cut red tape, allow more new builds to be built, and competition would mean shit ones wouldn't sell - and damp-ridden rundown accommodation wouldn't be let either.
I'm going to challenge you a little on this - what does "cut red tape" mean? Are you saying developments of a certain size should be automatically approved via delegated powers by Council Officers or there should be no application or consultation process at all and buildingn should just happen where there's some spare land?
Is the problem a lack of land - there is plenty banked by developers - or a lack of capacity in the construction industry and allied trades which means it's impossible for several projects to happen in an area simultaenously?
Neither of these are anything to do with "red tape" as such.
There is a defined public planning and consultation process for any major application - is it labour-intensive? Yes, I know this to be true - all sorts of assessments have to be undertaken and there's probably an argument for curtailing some of these but I'm not hearing any specifics from anyone. Do we for instance forego an Environmental Impact Assessment? I mean, is a colony of rare newts more important then our housing shortage? What about contamination of brownfield sites?
The problem is the planning system, which developers can play to their strengths.
I believe that (as I believe is already the case in Japan and other zonal nations) that planning permission should be automatic if an area is already zoned for construction. And there should be an appropriate level of land available zoned for construction.
That means no Environmental Impact Assessment, no assessments of any kind, no putting signs up to inform neighbours there will be development happening, no asking permission, no getting politicians or councils involved.
If you own land and want to start construction on it, and its already zoned, then you simply turn up one day and start doing so - to pre-approved developmental standards. To building codes.
If the Council wants to do an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to zoning a land as suitable for development it should be able to, so long as it does zone something as appropriate for development. Each region should be able to determine what it zones as suitable, but once done, that's the end of inquiries, that's the end of it. Next thing you know, there's people arriving on site with diggers. And as population growth happens, more land will need to be zoned as appropriate.
PS all land zoned for construction should be taxed accordingly. So no land banking occurs.
1) pull the fire alarm and organise an orderly evacuation 2) appoint a judge led enquiry into fires in public buildings that leaves fires in public building out of the remit 3) deny there is a fire, and lie about it in evidence given under legal oath
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
At the moment, we're still at the stage where we can look at councils needing Section 114 and point and laugh at what they did wrong. That's true whatever the political control.
The imminent danger is that councils who haven't really done anything wrong, just got an impossible combination of fixed income and required expenditure, get caught as well.
I'm hearing a lot of concern within councils currently as they think the settlement this year will be harsh and the ambient rise in inflation within the care sectors is as always higher than publiched CPI or RPI rates.
Some are going hard on raising revenue including selling off land and office buildings (not required thanks to WFH).
A lot have lost money on investments in land and property too.
Incidentally it is worth noting that Brum wasn't a Lab council (it was NOC with a Con/LD controlling group) from 2003-2012 at the time that the equal pay case happened.
Yes - it's all party.
A number of Councils went for fairly speculative investments - was it an attempt to cover the income missing from salami slicing?
The RAAC thing reminds us of the value of "red tape".
All the RAAC used was signed off, noted, tested etc.
See DTD683
I'm suggesting we need more.
We need more fully-certified RAAC in place? Why?
Less red tape on planning and it'd be easier to replace buildings using RAAC with newer buildings built to better standards that don't.
You seen the Welsh tiktok guy pulling apart dodgy new builds?
A lack of red tape just means we'll go through this process again and again, with long term costs that far outweigh short term savings.
Have you seen the mouldy, damp-ridden squalor too many people are forced to live in as the chronic housing shortage caused by our planning red tape means there is simply no alternative between paying for that or being homeless?
Cut red tape, allow more new builds to be built, and competition would mean shit ones wouldn't sell - and damp-ridden rundown accommodation wouldn't be let either.
Broadly agree, but remember that building regulations aren't meant solely to protect the people who purchase properties, but also all the negative externalities that come when a block of flats collapses, blocking the roads and filling the air with dust.
Yes, which is why I propose abolishing planning permission and not building regulations.
You should be able to build whatever you want "within code" in any land zoned for that style of construction.
No need to have red tape for every single new home. The red tape should say what can or can't be done, and then just build within those standards pro forma then on.
Would slash costs, boost development, boost efficiency and make houses affordable.
1) pull the fire alarm and organise an orderly evacuation 2) appoint a judge led enquiry into fires in public buildings that leaves fires in public building out of the remit 3) deny there is a fire, and lie about it in evidence given under legal oath
(2) and (3) surely.
Please, sir, I am getting better at this, sir, aren't I?
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
God, yes - deserts. Love them. Monument valley - outstanding.
If the DKs mainly go back to the Conservatives then a hung parliament in England at least is certainly possible. Starmer however could still get a majority with gains from the SNP.
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
For me - and I know these things are intensely personal and subjective - this is right up there as one of my favourite ever posts on PB.
Feels churlish to pick out any one bit but gun to head it would probably be "and there is something about the African bush at sunset".
1) pull the fire alarm and organise an orderly evacuation 2) appoint a judge led enquiry into fires in public buildings that leaves fires in public building out of the remit 3) deny there is a fire, and lie about it in evidence given under legal oath
(2) and (3) surely.
Please, sir, I am getting better at this, sir, aren't I?
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
For me - and I know these things are intensely personal and subjective - this is right up there as one of my favourite ever posts on PB.
Feels churlish to pick out any one bit but gun to head it would probably be "and there is something about the African bush at sunset".
The "and" being rather masterful there. 🙂
Dunno if you are joking, but if not, that’s most kind of you. Even if you are joking, thanks for reading!
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
If you can stay still in one place long enough, Leon will come to you.
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
For me - and I know these things are intensely personal and subjective - this is right up there as one of my favourite ever posts on PB.
Feels churlish to pick out any one bit but gun to head it would probably be "and there is something about the African bush at sunset".
The "and" being rather masterful there. 🙂
Dunno if you are joking, but if not, that’s most kind of you. Even if you are joking, thanks for reading!
No, not joking. I really enjoyed that post. Doubt you'll top it.
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
At the moment, we're still at the stage where we can look at councils needing Section 114 and point and laugh at what they did wrong. That's true whatever the political control.
The imminent danger is that councils who haven't really done anything wrong, just got an impossible combination of fixed income and required expenditure, get caught as well.
I'm hearing a lot of concern within councils currently as they think the settlement this year will be harsh and the ambient rise in inflation within the care sectors is as always higher than publiched CPI or RPI rates.
Some are going hard on raising revenue including selling off land and office buildings (not required thanks to WFH).
A lot have lost money on investments in land and property too.
Incidentally it is worth noting that Brum wasn't a Lab council (it was NOC with a Con/LD controlling group) from 2003-2012 at the time that the equal pay case happened.
Yes - it's all party.
A number of Councils went for fairly speculative investments - was it an attempt to cover the income missing from salami slicing?
It's more complex than that.
Changes in legislation freed Councils from a number of the financial limitations under which they had previously operated - it had been very difficult for Councils to engage in speculative property investment as property could not be purchased outside the Council's boundaries for non-operational purposes.
Around 2010-12, the after effects of the GFC meant there were only two players with money to speculate in property investment - pension funds and local councils. Those councils who moved quickly and sensibly were able to get some really good deals at the time on out-on-town retail parks and office properties which, when tenanted, returned decent rental yields.
It was an attempt by some councils to create alternative relaiable sources of income and not be reliant on Govenrment largesse - some Councils were looking to raise 10-25% of income via investment but I doubt that was ever achieved and by the mid-2010s the market was crowded and the bargains gone.
Councils could borrow at very low rates from the PWLB (Public Works Loan Board) to fund these purchases.
If you have an authority turning over £1.6 billion or similar, committing £100 million to investment purchases is fair enough but the Spelthornes and Wokings to name but two over-extended chasing sites.
With the coming of Covid and the evolution of WFH, the commercial and residential market collapsed and the valuations of sites (and their rental yields) went down with them. Oddly enough, there are signs out of town shopping is recovering slowly and as Wilko's has shown, the High Street is still under pressure.
1) pull the fire alarm and organise an orderly evacuation 2) appoint a judge led enquiry into fires in public buildings that leaves fires in public building out of the remit 3) deny there is a fire, and lie about it in evidence given under legal oath
(2) and (3) surely.
Please, sir, I am getting better at this, sir, aren't I?
Go to the top of the class
Ooh, thank you. How much money do I get? That is the point of all this, isn't it?
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
If the DKs mainly go back to the Conservatives then a hung parliament in England at least is certainly possible. Starmer however could still get a majority with gains from the SNP.
The Red Wall polling is much better for the Conservatives this evening with the swing from Conservative to Labour down to 12.5%.
I'm very much of the view, unlike 1997, there are islands of Conservative vote resilience (we saw this in the May locals) which may withstand the Labour tidal wave. In 1997, the national swing was 10% but that varied from 7% in the north to 13% in London and there were swings of up to 20% in the odd seat.
Next time, I expect a curious mixture of very small and very big swings (from 5 to 25%) which will be dependent on any number of local demographic and economic factors.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Someone has suddenly bought up the 2.10-2.50 range on the Lib Dems on Betfair, leaving a 30-point gap between buy and sell prices. A poll, a bar chart, or just a whim (it's a thin market)? Probably trading opportunities anyway to fill that gap.
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
Oracle doesn't have clients, it has victims.
To be fair, if you had an infinite amount of money, an infinitre amount of time and an infinite amount of resource to configure Oracle, you might have a half decent system about the time the Andromeda galaxy is due to collide with the Milky Way.
Someone has suddenly bought up the 2.10-2.50 range on the Lib Dems on Betfair, leaving a 30-point gap between buy and sell prices. A poll, a bar chart, or just a whim (it's a thin market)? Probably trading opportunities anyway to fill that gap.
If Tamworth might be the same day, hopes of a mutually convenient mutual understanding?
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I could equally say Woking spent its money wisely - on cutlery for the new Hilton Hotel.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Don't think of it as a strategic campaign, more as a frantic scrambling after something, anything, that might sound bad for Labour and good for the Conservatives.
But a little bleak for me as a permanent home. Ditto the Hebrides which are even more beautiful - but even bleaker. I prefer the lushness further south
I’m just north of Shrewsbury now - Upton Magna - so I’m on that fascinating borderland where the south imperceptibly becomes the north
Shrewsbury feels definitely south to me yet 29m north west of here is Crewe. Definitely north
So somewhere along that 29 miles….. Britain completely changes
There is a lot of lushness around the coast - see Grange for instance which easily grows tropical plants.
I have lemon and fig trees growing and fruiting successfully. Other parts are fantastically g It's just that this particular stretch is - for me - beautiful no matter what the weather or time of day. There is a stillness about it, an almost architectural, abstract quality to the landscape and colours and shapes - and that combination of sky and sea, of horizons and remoteness and hiding away is magical.
It took me time to appreciate it. But now my heart lifts when I reach that road and start the descent home.
Happy is the person that loves their home! Good for you
I still love London, although I sometimes hate it, as well. But that has always been the case
London is like a girlfriend that drives you mad and you are about to leave her, then she will do something amazing that no one else can do - and you know you can’t leave her (yet!)/or live anywhere else, not full time
My idea life would actually be itinerant, I have now realised. You think I would have realised this before, after 37 years of travel writing, but anyway. I’ve now realised this is the case. I am happiest when I am on the move, but I also need that anchor, my bolt hole in London, to come back to in times of stress or exhaustion or just for some downtime and strolls on Primrose Hill
I’m just not Homo domesticus; I am not a farmer. I hunt and forage, One of Bruce Chatwin’s nomads
Most of my early life was spent on the move - between Italy and Ireland and France and England. So until I was adult I never really entirely fitted in anywhere. And one that feeling of being an outsider - on the edge of a group, sort of part of it but not really - and an observer has never ever left me.
It is one of the reasons I became an investigator - because observing and seeing things that seemed odd and having to understand the codes of places and groups I was apart from - is something that I've been doing since birth. It's quite lonely as a child and teenager but later you realise it's a great quality to have if you use it right. Both my parents were the same so I probably learnt some of it from them too.
The place I feel the greatest sense of childhood home is Naples. London is where I have lived the longest and I have enjoyed it. But what makes this place home for me is that we built it - not just bought and redecorated - and there is something very rooting about doing that. You have carved out your own Eden, in your own mind anyway. It also reminds me very strongly of the place in Ireland where my father's family came from - not so much the landscape as the feel of the place. Plus I had to spend a year in a barn halfway up a mountainside during Covid so that changed my feelings about urban landscapes quite profoundly.
I do not travel like you. But I never feel entirely at home anywhere. I like that feeling though. Being on the edge looking in.
I reckon you can have several homes
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
For me - and I know these things are intensely personal and subjective - this is right up there as one of my favourite ever posts on PB.
Feels churlish to pick out any one bit but gun to head it would probably be "and there is something about the African bush at sunset".
The "and" being rather masterful there. 🙂
Dunno if you are joking, but if not, that’s most kind of you. Even if you are joking, thanks for reading!
No, not joking. I really enjoyed that post. Doubt you'll top it.
Well, shucks
FWIW one of my favourite PB travel comments of all time was when you once waxed lyrical about the joys of the Motorway Service Station, the quintessential liminal moment on a British road trip
I think I probably teased you at the time about your proletarian tastes for buffet baked beans, but you totally nailed the weird joys of that apparently humdrum pit-stop, which is in fact a precious, stolen time out of time. The comment has - clearly - stayed with me!
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I could equally say Woking spent its money wisely - on cutlery for the new Hilton Hotel.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I could equally say Woking spent its money wisely - on cutlery for the new Hilton Hotel.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Christ, is that real?
It’s like Orwell
I wonder if “Diversity Grove” is anywhere near Brum’s Green Lane mosque where they give happy lectures on the best way to stone women (“bury them first above the waist to preserve modesty”)
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Can't believe they missed out on having Equality Street
On topic, every private indicator I had on my list for a Labour majority I've now ticked off (bar none) and so that's what I expect to happen.
I should probably pile on, even at current prices, but I don't have the cash.
Are you too young to remember 1992?
The parallels are uncanny. An unpopular Labour leader who has just cleared out the Augean stables verses a grey Tory leader who has just replaced a Titan of Conservative politics ( no, not Truss).
The expectation in 1992 was for a comfortable Labour win against an old and tired government, but the moment the cross was placed on the ballot paper, it went blue.
For someone who isn't minded towards the Conservatives it was a hammer blow. I was in sales and everyone I worked with celebrated the unexpected victory like it was Christmas on steroids. Expectation management is the key. When Rishi romps home with his 20 seat majority, I need to worry, not a jot.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Can't believe they missed out on having Equality Street
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I could equally say Woking spent its money wisely - on cutlery for the new Hilton Hotel.
How much did they fork out for it?
That's a cutting comment.
Not really, as it wasn't about knives. Although I suppose we've opened a multi-prong attack.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I could equally say Woking spent its money wisely - on cutlery for the new Hilton Hotel.
How much did they fork out for it?
That's a cutting comment.
Not really, as it wasn't about knives. Although I suppose we've opened a multi-prong attack.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
This morning, I was expecting a parcel from DPD. Their van pulled up outside our next-door neighbour, and I thought this must be our stuff. But they were actually delivering stuff for our neighbour! Our stuff turned up in a completely different DPD van with a completely different driver a couple of hours later!
The other thought on the joys of the free market vs a monopoly. Currently we have choice. And all the choices are equally shit. None of the private couriers are clearly better than any other - all have dramatically bad failings.
What is worse, consumers have zero choice which is used. If you order from Lego, its going to be DPD. Regardless of how terrible DPD are. And all seem to follow each other to impose the same crapola policies and restrictions - a cabal with no actual competition.
So why not make Royal Mail the monopoly carrier. At least if shit happens you can shout at your local postie. Mine says people complain to him about courier drop screw-ups as well...
"all the choices are equally shit"
What utter garbage.
Hermes/Evri is exceptionally shit.
DPD is great.
Others are somewhere inbetween.
And as a consumer you do have a choice. If I know a business uses Evri, I'm less likely to order from them as a result.
And of course with a competitive environment, the businesses compete with each other to be efficient/economic/reliable. If Royal Mail is shit, then you can go elsewhere.
Rivals have popped up because they offered a better service or better cost than the Royal Mail, if they didn't, nobody would use them.
Do you not understand - the experience depends on the last mile contractor. You say "DPD is great" based on your lived experience. I say DPD is the worst of the worst based on my own. We are both right.
My issue with DPD isn't just that my local contractor is a pillock. It is how DPD work - not an issue for you if you have no issues.
DPD repeatedly try to deliver my stuff in the wrong village. The app which their contractors use has incorrect GPS information - they have shown me. So you try and fix this with DPD. Finding anyone in the UK who isn't on the end of a premium phone line is hard. When you manage it they say "use our app".
So I download their app and take pictures of my house (which is prominent in our village on a main road, so hardly hidden away) and place a pin on the map. A load of old faff. So that their guy will know where you are. Does it make a difference? No!
You say that as a consumer I can go elsewhere? How - I place an order and the shipper books whichever courier firm is contracted. I do not choose, they do.
If the shipper uses a distribution company you dislike, you can order from someone else instead. Retail isn't a monopoly.
Yes. I can buy Lego from that other company who isn't Lego because DPD are shit. Its a free market, just play with other toys.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Can't believe they missed out on having Equality Street
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Can't believe they missed out on having Equality Street
'How to get to Same-sexity-street, how to get to Same-sexity-street...'
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
On topic, every private indicator I had on my list for a Labour majority I've now ticked off (bar none) and so that's what I expect to happen.
I should probably pile on, even at current prices, but I don't have the cash.
Are you too young to remember 1992?
The parallels are uncanny. An unpopular Labour leader who has just cleared out the Augean stables verses a grey Tory leader who has just replaced a Titan of Conservative politics ( no, not Truss).
The expectation in 1992 was for a comfortable Labour win against an old and tired government, but the moment the cross was placed on the ballot paper, it went blue.
For someone who isn't minded towards the Conservatives it was a hammer blow. I was in sales and everyone I worked with celebrated the unexpected victory like it was Christmas on steroids. Expectation management is the key. When Rishi romps home with his 20 seat majority, I need to worry, not a jot.
Thing I’ve learned in politics is no election is like previous ones. Especially true of the last few. 2024 won’t be a repeat of 1997 or 1992.
1992 was very different from now. The Tories were widely disliked but still respected.
I agree with the idea there will be holdouts of Tory strength in a few places. Straws in the wind suggest outer London may be one of those.
The other thought on the joys of the free market vs a monopoly. Currently we have choice. And all the choices are equally shit. None of the private couriers are clearly better than any other - all have dramatically bad failings.
What is worse, consumers have zero choice which is used. If you order from Lego, its going to be DPD. Regardless of how terrible DPD are. And all seem to follow each other to impose the same crapola policies and restrictions - a cabal with no actual competition.
So why not make Royal Mail the monopoly carrier. At least if shit happens you can shout at your local postie. Mine says people complain to him about courier drop screw-ups as well...
"all the choices are equally shit"
What utter garbage.
Hermes/Evri is exceptionally shit.
DPD is great.
Others are somewhere inbetween.
And as a consumer you do have a choice. If I know a business uses Evri, I'm less likely to order from them as a result.
And of course with a competitive environment, the businesses compete with each other to be efficient/economic/reliable. If Royal Mail is shit, then you can go elsewhere.
Rivals have popped up because they offered a better service or better cost than the Royal Mail, if they didn't, nobody would use them.
Do you not understand - the experience depends on the last mile contractor. You say "DPD is great" based on your lived experience. I say DPD is the worst of the worst based on my own. We are both right.
My issue with DPD isn't just that my local contractor is a pillock. It is how DPD work - not an issue for you if you have no issues.
DPD repeatedly try to deliver my stuff in the wrong village. The app which their contractors use has incorrect GPS information - they have shown me. So you try and fix this with DPD. Finding anyone in the UK who isn't on the end of a premium phone line is hard. When you manage it they say "use our app".
So I download their app and take pictures of my house (which is prominent in our village on a main road, so hardly hidden away) and place a pin on the map. A load of old faff. So that their guy will know where you are. Does it make a difference? No!
You say that as a consumer I can go elsewhere? How - I place an order and the shipper books whichever courier firm is contracted. I do not choose, they do.
If the shipper uses a distribution company you dislike, you can order from someone else instead. Retail isn't a monopoly.
Yes. I can buy Lego from that other company who isn't Lego because DPD are shit. Its a free market, just play with other toys.
Errrr. Multiple vendors of Lego?
For the sets which they sell exclusively?
Or you could grow up and stop playing with Lego.
You don’t play with them, you buy them and keep them in the box as a collector. Take them out the box and play with them and they lose their value.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Some awesome person I think you mean.
Never become Foreign Secretary!
My sights would be set on DLUHC, first to change its godawful name, and second to figure out what the heck they think the department is supposed to be doing, which seems to have been missed up to now.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
You'll be telling us next that they renamed a gorge after the cheese.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Better than Prince Andrew's Close for the local schools.
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
Oracle doesn't have clients, it has victims.
Their new licensing terms for Java are quite something. One employee out of 10,000 uses Oracle java somewhere? That's 10,000 employee licenses thanks!
Oh - and 'employees' includes temps, contractors, etc.
No need to thank us. Larry's loving his new yacht.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I've decided on a staycation for my next holiday - two weeks at the end of this month, beginning of next
I was thinking of getting the Harwich to Hook Of Holland ferry and having a walk around the Netherlands, but have changed my mind
I can walk to Avebury or Amesbury in a day, mostly on footpaths, and I've never done either
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Better than Prince Andrew's Close.
I don't think retired people need to worry about him.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
The first few minutes of the film War Dogs features a guy playing acoustic guitar at an old folks' home.
You need to listen quite closely to realise the tune is Don't Fear The Reaper...
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
You'll be telling us next that they renamed a gorge after the cheese.
Of course! Very deserved too. Any word to the contrary is just lies I say.
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Better than Prince Andrew's Close.
I seem to remember (I think) Barnsley having a redevelopment and moved a police station. To a new road called "Letsbe Avenue".
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
And quite right too. Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are remarkable places. You can genuinely sense that the world fundamentally *changed here*
That is true of vanishingly few places on earth
The Tas Tepeler - the Neolithic Revolution Jerusalem - monotheism Athens - the first Democracy (however flawed) Florence - the Renaissance Ironbridge - the Industrial Revolution
I know the Tories think their being clever with the whole “Birmingham bankrupt” thing, but aren’t they forgetting a number of Tory councils having become effectively bankrupt?
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
Birmingham spent its money very wisely; it has woke roads
Humanity Close...
...to totally fucking up the planet.
When I was in Norfolk, I walked past a retirement complex that some utter numpty had actually named 'St Peter's Close.'
Better than Prince Andrew's Close.
I seem to remember (I think) Barnsley having a redevelopment and moved a police station. To a new road called "Letsbe Avenue".
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
You'll be telling us next that they renamed a gorge after the cheese.
Of course! Very deserved too.
Speaking of Cheddar, I tasted a Welsh expression of Cheddar today, called 'Rockstar' - should be banned it's so good.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I'm not sure. I'd have thought places like Italy or Israel/Palestine might give us a run for our money in terms of historical and cultural sites in a relatively compact space.
The other thought on the joys of the free market vs a monopoly. Currently we have choice. And all the choices are equally shit. None of the private couriers are clearly better than any other - all have dramatically bad failings.
What is worse, consumers have zero choice which is used. If you order from Lego, its going to be DPD. Regardless of how terrible DPD are. And all seem to follow each other to impose the same crapola policies and restrictions - a cabal with no actual competition.
So why not make Royal Mail the monopoly carrier. At least if shit happens you can shout at your local postie. Mine says people complain to him about courier drop screw-ups as well...
"all the choices are equally shit"
What utter garbage.
Hermes/Evri is exceptionally shit.
DPD is great.
Others are somewhere inbetween.
And as a consumer you do have a choice. If I know a business uses Evri, I'm less likely to order from them as a result.
And of course with a competitive environment, the businesses compete with each other to be efficient/economic/reliable. If Royal Mail is shit, then you can go elsewhere.
Rivals have popped up because they offered a better service or better cost than the Royal Mail, if they didn't, nobody would use them.
Do you not understand - the experience depends on the last mile contractor. You say "DPD is great" based on your lived experience. I say DPD is the worst of the worst based on my own. We are both right.
My issue with DPD isn't just that my local contractor is a pillock. It is how DPD work - not an issue for you if you have no issues.
DPD repeatedly try to deliver my stuff in the wrong village. The app which their contractors use has incorrect GPS information - they have shown me. So you try and fix this with DPD. Finding anyone in the UK who isn't on the end of a premium phone line is hard. When you manage it they say "use our app".
So I download their app and take pictures of my house (which is prominent in our village on a main road, so hardly hidden away) and place a pin on the map. A load of old faff. So that their guy will know where you are. Does it make a difference? No!
You say that as a consumer I can go elsewhere? How - I place an order and the shipper books whichever courier firm is contracted. I do not choose, they do.
If the shipper uses a distribution company you dislike, you can order from someone else instead. Retail isn't a monopoly.
Yes. I can buy Lego from that other company who isn't Lego because DPD are shit. Its a free market, just play with other toys.
Errrr. Multiple vendors of Lego?
For the sets which they sell exclusively?
Or you could grow up and stop playing with Lego.
You don’t play with them, you buy them and keep them in the box as a collector. Take them out the box and play with them and they lose their value.
I used to collect the Dr Who figures.
Lego sets are a genuinely strong investment if you can be arsed with it all and don’t mind sitting on them (not literally) for a few years. Especially the limited edition ones.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I've decided on a staycation for my next holiday - two weeks at the end of this month, beginning of next
I was thinking of getting the Harwich to Hook Of Holland ferry and having a walk around the Netherlands, but have changed my mind
I can walk to Avebury or Amesbury in a day, mostly on footpaths, and I've never done either
Friends of mine have done the entire Ridgeway and rave about it. And they are experienced travellers
if you have two weeks you can step off the path to endless fascinating towns and villages and ancient sites en route. Also lots of great pubs with good food
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I've decided on a staycation for my next holiday - two weeks at the end of this month, beginning of next
I was thinking of getting the Harwich to Hook Of Holland ferry and having a walk around the Netherlands, but have changed my mind
I can walk to Avebury or Amesbury in a day, mostly on footpaths, and I've never done either
Classic children TV show, Children of the stones, was filmed in Avebury.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
And quite right too. Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are remarkable places. You can genuinely sense that the world fundamentally *changed here*
That is true of vanishingly few places on earth
The Tas Tepeler - the Neolithic Revolution Jerusalem - monotheism Athens - the first Democracy (however flawed) Florence - the Renaissance Ironbridge - the Industrial Revolution
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I'm not sure. I'd have thought places like Italy or Israel/Palestine might give us a run for our money in terms of historical and cultural sites in a relatively compact space.
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I'm not sure. I'd have thought places like Italy or Israel/Palestine might give us a run for our money in terms of historical and cultural sites in a relatively compact space.
Practically tripping over ancient civilisations in Iraq I suppose, though a bit harder to visit.
Surprised the Keegan fan club haven't posted this.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has come under fire from colleagues for her "unilateral" decision to determine which school buildings need to close as part of the concrete crisis, Sky News has learned.
Ministers elsewhere in Whitehall fear she has opened a "Pandora's box" by setting a more cautious than necessary standard that could affect a huge array of public buildings, including housing stock, local authority buildings and the military estate.
The education secretary has made clear she took the most cautious of the options presented by officials over which buildings to shut last week.
Sky News understands she "informed" the relevant Whitehall committees, which have been dealing with the issue of crumbling concrete for years. However, she did not fully consult or secure agreement for her move, believing she needed to move fast.
Ministers are worried they could now face massive disruption and spiralling costs if other public buildings are now held to the same precedent set in the Department for Education.
Birmingham City Council is the largest authority in my experience to issue a section 114 notice.
A 114 notice doesn't mean the council is "bankrupt" per se but it puts a check on all non-essential spending. In truth, many Councils have a "star chamber" of officers and members who will scrutinise even relatively small expenditure.
The implementation of an Oracle IT system is apparently about £80 million of the problem but the main issue seems to be the settlement of equal pay claims which dates back to a case which went to the Supreme Court over a decade ago.
At the moment, we're still at the stage where we can look at councils needing Section 114 and point and laugh at what they did wrong. That's true whatever the political control.
The imminent danger is that councils who haven't really done anything wrong, just got an impossible combination of fixed income and required expenditure, get caught as well.
I'm hearing a lot of concern within councils currently as they think the settlement this year will be harsh and the ambient rise in inflation within the care sectors is as always higher than publiched CPI or RPI rates.
Some are going hard on raising revenue including selling off land and office buildings (not required thanks to WFH).
Care home settlements in April 23 are running at 7.5-12.5% for the current fiscal year
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I'm not sure. I'd have thought places like Italy or Israel/Palestine might give us a run for our money in terms of historical and cultural sites in a relatively compact space.
Israel is too small to count, and lacks much modern history, and has very little landscape variety
Italy is perhaps the only contender, but again lacks on the modern aspect, unless you look at corners like Veneto-Trentino, which are indeed packed with history and culture and modern drama, and have intense landscape diversity
Still not sure they can match the UK per square mile…. Who knows,. It is one of the upsides of our island being so densely settled for so long, I guess
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
Stokesay castle: my late grandfather took a photo almost identical to this when visiting Shropshire with his photographic society friend Fred, who processed it in his darkroom. It hung on grandpa’s wall for years until his death.
A few years later I was there and recreated the shot on my iPhone. Took ages to wait for visitors to disappear from shot.
Bookshop news , for those interested who remember my questions a week or so ago: I've had a look at the accounts and bank stuff, and it looks very positive. I shall be making contact with the bank tomorrow about the funding. It's very exciting!
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I like that they actually renamed the gorge after the first iron bridge, such a big deal it was.
And quite right too. Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are remarkable places. You can genuinely sense that the world fundamentally *changed here*
That is true of vanishingly few places on earth
The Tas Tepeler - the Neolithic Revolution Jerusalem - monotheism Athens - the first Democracy (however flawed) Florence - the Renaissance Ironbridge - the Industrial Revolution
Perhaps also Silicon Valley?
Chatsworth, in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley is the birthplace of the modern porn industry
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
Go to Stokesay Court - the house that the Magnus family chose to keep when they gave away the Castle. Far prettier (was used for Atonement I believe)
Here’s a thought. Is there “more to see per square mile” in the UK than anywhere else on earth?
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
I'm not sure. I'd have thought places like Italy or Israel/Palestine might give us a run for our money in terms of historical and cultural sites in a relatively compact space.
Comments
No, it’s 1)
You do not pass Go, you do not collect a £2.4 million pound payout.
What does a Blairite say to himself after a terrible one night stand?
Flings ... can only get better 🙂
I believe that (as I believe is already the case in Japan and other zonal nations) that planning permission should be automatic if an area is already zoned for construction. And there should be an appropriate level of land available zoned for construction.
That means no Environmental Impact Assessment, no assessments of any kind, no putting signs up to inform neighbours there will be development happening, no asking permission, no getting politicians or councils involved.
If you own land and want to start construction on it, and its already zoned, then you simply turn up one day and start doing so - to pre-approved developmental standards. To building codes.
If the Council wants to do an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to zoning a land as suitable for development it should be able to, so long as it does zone something as appropriate for development. Each region should be able to determine what it zones as suitable, but once done, that's the end of inquiries, that's the end of it. Next thing you know, there's people arriving on site with diggers. And as population growth happens, more land will need to be zoned as appropriate.
PS all land zoned for construction should be taxed accordingly. So no land banking occurs.
The building you are in is on fire. Do you
1) pull the fire alarm and organise an orderly evacuation
2) appoint a judge led enquiry into fires in public buildings that leaves fires in public building out of the remit
3) deny there is a fire, and lie about it in evidence given under legal oath
But seriously - yes. It's a top quality 1/2 shot.
Bangkok in January feels like my natural winter home. Specifically the bars and restaurants along soi 8, Sukhumvit Road
Deserts soothe me in a way a “home” should maybe soothe you. The deserts of Arizona or southern Utah. Sossuvlei and the Namibian Naukluft
Europe in general feels like my civilisational home. The typical European townscape. Church, square, pub/taverna/brasserie, old houses: that is a spiritual home
And there is something about the African bush at sunset that feels like this is the ultimate home all of humanity
A number of Councils went for fairly speculative investments - was it an attempt to cover the income missing from salami slicing?
You should be able to build whatever you want "within code" in any land zoned for that style of construction.
No need to have red tape for every single new home. The red tape should say what can or can't be done, and then just build within those standards pro forma then on.
Would slash costs, boost development, boost efficiency and make houses affordable.
Which is why some hate this idea with a passion.
Please, sir, I am getting better at this, sir, aren't I?
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/rory-stewart-says-he-won-t-run-as-london-mayor-due-to-tory-rule-change-b1104902.html
Feels churlish to pick out any one bit but gun to head it would probably be "and there is something about the African bush at sunset".
The "and" being rather masterful there. 🙂
Changes in legislation freed Councils from a number of the financial limitations under which they had previously operated - it had been very difficult for Councils to engage in speculative property investment as property could not be purchased outside the Council's boundaries for non-operational purposes.
Around 2010-12, the after effects of the GFC meant there were only two players with money to speculate in property investment - pension funds and local councils. Those councils who moved quickly and sensibly were able to get some really good deals at the time on out-on-town retail parks and office properties which, when tenanted, returned decent rental yields.
It was an attempt by some councils to create alternative relaiable sources of income and not be reliant on Govenrment largesse - some Councils were looking to raise 10-25% of income via investment but I doubt that was ever achieved and by the mid-2010s the market was crowded and the bargains gone.
Councils could borrow at very low rates from the PWLB (Public Works Loan Board) to fund these purchases.
If you have an authority turning over £1.6 billion or similar, committing £100 million to investment purchases is fair enough but the Spelthornes and Wokings to name but two over-extended chasing sites.
With the coming of Covid and the evolution of WFH, the commercial and residential market collapsed and the valuations of sites (and their rental yields) went down with them. Oddly enough, there are signs out of town shopping is recovering slowly and as Wilko's has shown, the High Street is still under pressure.
I'm very much of the view, unlike 1997, there are islands of Conservative vote resilience (we saw this in the May locals) which may withstand the Labour tidal wave. In 1997, the national swing was 10% but that varied from 7% in the north to 13% in London and there were swings of up to 20% in the odd seat.
Next time, I expect a curious mixture of very small and very big swings (from 5 to 25%) which will be dependent on any number of local demographic and economic factors.
If you have an old car with carburettors, then there is a case for leaving it running for less than twenty seconds
Otherwise idling is MUCH worse
Bart is talking polluted horseshit
Whole conservative tactic just seems..odd
#notasordiddeal
FWIW one of my favourite PB travel comments of all time was when you once waxed lyrical about the joys of the Motorway Service Station, the quintessential liminal moment on a British road trip
I think I probably teased you at the time about your proletarian tastes for buffet baked beans, but you totally nailed the weird joys of that apparently humdrum pit-stop, which is in fact a precious, stolen time out of time. The comment has - clearly - stayed with me!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/05/trump-eligible-president-2024-supreme-court
It’s like Orwell
I wonder if “Diversity Grove” is anywhere near Brum’s Green Lane mosque where they give happy lectures on the best way to stone women (“bury them first above the waist to preserve modesty”)
The parallels are uncanny. An unpopular Labour leader who has just cleared out the Augean stables verses a grey Tory leader who has just replaced a Titan of Conservative politics ( no, not Truss).
The expectation in 1992 was for a comfortable Labour win against an old and tired government, but the moment the cross was placed on the ballot paper, it went blue.
For someone who isn't minded towards the Conservatives it was a hammer blow. I was in sales and everyone I worked with celebrated the unexpected victory like it was Christmas on steroids. Expectation management is the key. When Rishi romps home with his 20 seat majority, I need to worry, not a jot.
...to totally fucking up the planet.
This morning, I was expecting a parcel from DPD. Their van pulled up outside our next-door neighbour, and I thought this must be our stuff. But they were actually delivering stuff for our neighbour! Our stuff turned up in a completely different DPD van with a completely different driver a couple of hours later!
Been done !!
I suspect that might be true
I am in Upton Magna, Shropshire
I am 12 miles from Ironbridge, UNESCO listed, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important places on earth
I am 3 miles from Shrewsbury, a splendidly preserved Medieval-Georgian English market town, childhood home of Darwin. I am half an hour from Ludlow, which is even better
I am right next door to Attingham Park, a glorious 18th century mansion, on a site with 4000 years of human history, Bronze Age, Roman, you name it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attingham_Park
I am 2 minutes from Haughmond Abbey, an exquisite ruin of a 12th century abbey
I am 20 minutes from incredible Stokesay Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokesay_Castle
I am a short drive from eerie Clee Hill, with - again - millennia of history
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/titterstone-clee-hill
I am surrounded by medieval churches and Iron Age hill forts and weird Manor Houses and the like
I don’t believe any other country on earth offers this variety of history, scenery, culture, weirdness, beauty, ugliness, packed into such a tiny space
1992 was very different from now. The Tories were widely disliked but still respected.
I agree with the idea there will be holdouts of Tory strength in a few places. Straws in the wind suggest outer London may be one of those.
I used to collect the Dr Who figures.
https://x.com/mikecosgrove/status/1699005353575297259?s=61&t=s0ae0IFncdLS1Dc7J0P_TQ
Oh - and 'employees' includes temps, contractors, etc.
No need to thank us. Larry's loving his new yacht.
I was thinking of getting the Harwich to Hook Of Holland ferry and having a walk around the Netherlands, but have changed my mind
I can walk to Avebury or Amesbury in a day, mostly on footpaths, and I've never done either
If there was a school there...
You need to listen quite closely to realise the tune is Don't Fear The Reaper...
For which I applaud them.
That is true of vanishingly few places on earth
The Tas Tepeler - the Neolithic Revolution
Jerusalem - monotheism
Athens - the first Democracy (however flawed)
Florence - the Renaissance
Ironbridge - the Industrial Revolution
Perhaps also Silicon Valley?
He assumed the dial was at 80% when in fact it was turned up to 11
Very eerie indeed right now.
https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/the-ridgeway/route/
if you have two weeks you can step off the path to endless fascinating towns and villages and ancient sites en route. Also lots of great pubs with good food
Terrific show.
Germany is bursting with lovely stuff as well.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has come under fire from colleagues for her "unilateral" decision to determine which school buildings need to close as part of the concrete crisis, Sky News has learned.
Ministers elsewhere in Whitehall fear she has opened a "Pandora's box" by setting a more cautious than necessary standard that could affect a huge array of public buildings, including housing stock, local authority buildings and the military estate.
The education secretary has made clear she took the most cautious of the options presented by officials over which buildings to shut last week.
Sky News understands she "informed" the relevant Whitehall committees, which have been dealing with the issue of crumbling concrete for years. However, she did not fully consult or secure agreement for her move, believing she needed to move fast.
Ministers are worried they could now face massive disruption and spiralling costs if other public buildings are now held to the same precedent set in the Department for Education.
https://news.sky.com/story/education-secretary-under-fire-for-opening-pandoras-box-on-concrete-crisis-12955766
Italy is perhaps the only contender, but again lacks on the modern aspect, unless you look at corners like Veneto-Trentino, which are indeed packed with history and culture and modern drama, and have intense landscape diversity
Still not sure they can match the UK per square mile…. Who knows,. It is one of the upsides of our island being so densely settled for so long, I guess
A few years later I was there and recreated the shot on my iPhone. Took ages to wait for visitors to disappear from shot.
I've had a look at the accounts and bank stuff, and it looks very positive.
I shall be making contact with the bank tomorrow about the funding.
It's very exciting!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site