What do people think the Labour VI lead, & Betfair price for Labour overall majority would be now had Boris never faced a vote of confidence last year, the mass resignations didn’t happen, & he was still PM?
Did the resignations not happen because Boris had a character implant and apologised early on or because his opponents were too frit and didn't pull the trigger?
The former the Tories probably 8-10 behind. The latter 20-25 behind.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
My auntie kept a Rhodesian Ridgebacks. These were (to me) massive dogs, and felt aggressive even when running around. But they lived on a farm, and had a couple of acres to run around. There were also always at least two on the farm. They were as soppy as anything, and the only time they caused me any hard was when one knocked me over whilst I was on one leg pulling on my workboots. They were lovely.
A South London friend kept greyhaunds on a high floor of a tower block. The greyhounds - usually seen as soppy dogs - were mad. Because they only got exercised once a day.
It is the dogs; but it is also the owner.
RRs are wonderful dogs.
Surprised at what you say about the greyhounds. They need remarkably little exercise, and are typically gentle creatures.
Perhaps I didn't say that correctly. They were gentle, but they wanted to be out and about. They were living in a tower block in South London, and did not get regular, good exercise.
My auntie's Rhodesian Ridgeback's are the only ones I have known, and I agree. They were wonderful.
Myself and a friend got attacked by a Doberman once in a pub, and it put me off large dogs for life. My friend had to have stitches in his nose. It was the landlord's dog...
Sorry to hear about your experience with the Doberman. There is nothing wrong with the breed but your experience does help to highlight the shortcomings of simplistic attitudes towards dog control. A lead is not a lot of help with an out of control Doberman. The animal is simply too strong. There is an argument for saying a dog of that type should not generally be in a public space - and a pub is nothing if not public - at all unless the owner can clearly demonstrate his/her control of the animal through normal means. That clearly did not apply in your example.
I assume some formal action and compensation followed?
It was a Peak District pub. You turned left into either the bar or lounge (I forget which). My friend entered ahead of me, turning right. The landlord had just taken his doberman for a walk, and had sat down to talk to a customer. The dog was lying in the doorway.
My friend turns right, and (we think) hit the Doberman's nose with his knee. The next thing I know, my friend is falling backwards with his hands over his nose, blood everywhere. I push past. and ask the barmaid for some napkins (I knew nothing about the dog, and thought my friend had walked into the door). We get taken to a local A&E. They found part of the dog's tooth in my friend's cartilage. I got slashed by it when I went past, and at the hospital they treated my arm.
It turned out the dog had previously attacked a barmaid's young daughter. The landlord move soon afterwards; the dog ended up at a scrapyard.
It was horrifying for a young (and underage...) lad. The landlord turned up to the hospital with a couple of pints (God knows how he got them there without spilling). He said the dog had suffered; it had lost a tooth. The one they found part of in my friend's nose...
Andy_JS asked: "Why is gerrymandering allowed in the first place?" Because elected officials have decided boundaries since the beginning of the US, usually a governor working with a majorities in the legislature. (Both houses, except in Nebraska, which has a unicameral (and nonpartisan) legislature).
And many of those officials have helped themselves, and their allies, stay in power, by drawing those boundaries.
States that have citizen initiatives could, in principle, change that for their states, by setting up commissions. There are now eight states that use commissions to draw boundaries: Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming, Michigan and Virginia.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering_in_the_United_States
But to change it nationally would take a Constitutional amendment.
There are some constraints on gerrymandering in federal law short of constitutional amendment. The Voting Rights Act 1965 was recently used successfully to overturn an Alabama gerrymander that managed to contrive just one black majority district in a 25% black state, despite a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court (Roberts and Kavanaugh joining liberal Justices). Although that was on a limited point - the general principle is pretty wide discretion to states, but not unlimited.
And the reason that local officials, judges etc are elected was a reaction by the US founders to the Squirearchy - which was based around appointing the Right Kind of people.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
Nationalists are going to nationalist whether Indian, Scottish, or Kippers.
Mid Beds will be a good test of this. At the moment it looks like tactical voting might not happen there.
Not sure it's a great test. There was very little tactical voting in Eastleigh or Little & Sad before the 1997 General Election, but was at the election itself. By-elections are big set pieces, but resources are often more targeted in the normal course.
In a General Election, there will be seats where the main challenger to a Conservative won't be clear. But that'll be the exception, not the rule.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
India are giving softish support to Russia in the Ukraine War. Every time India complains about the evils of colonialism, their current actions should be thrown back into their faces.
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
In a slightly macabre turn, the last thread made me realise that I am personal friends with the people who manufacture and supply 100% of the US canine euthanasia drug market
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
India are giving softish support to Russia in the Ukraine War. Every time India complains about the evils of colonialism, their current actions should be thrown back into their faces.
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
India however loves the cheap oil they are getting from Russia thanks to being one of the few countries willing to trade with Russia..
Maybe I am not reading this poll correctly but if you take the point when Sunak took office he was -18 and Starmer was plus 2 and now Sunak is -41 and Starmer- 20 haven't they both experienced similar drops
Not that it is good news for Sunak but would suggest that Starmer is not all that convincing either
Why is the UK not included in this new US, EU, India and Gulf states alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative? Starmer raises an important point. Did we decide not to take part or weren't we asked?
Probably because we're not in scope along the route?
It's a trans-continental trading solution with some sea hops along the way. Not sure others like Canada or Australia signed it either. US probably funding it a bit.
Still agree we should have countersigned, though, for the political value. Bit odd.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
And there you have it - in the view of the writer, presumably a Hindu Nationalist, Rishi is a traitor for not being a Hindu First.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
India are giving softish support to Russia in the Ukraine War. Every time India complains about the evils of colonialism, their current actions should be thrown back into their faces.
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
India however loves the cheap oil they are getting from Russia thanks to being one of the few countries willing to trade with Russia..
Yes, but in doing so they are helping and funding an act of imperialist aggression. The same sort of imperialist aggression they (rightly) complain about historically from Britain.
Why is the UK not included in this new US, EU, India and Gulf states alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative? Starmer raises an important point. Did we decide not to take part or weren't we asked?
I can't frankly see any possible candidate that can pull back an even close to polling lead for the Tories. Basically the public have turned on them and want them out and once that is the common public feeling you are done for.
As I have said before, the candidate is merely the face of a turnaround. Rishi has failed politically. His avowedly responsible economical approach has seen the economy flatline; he's failed to enhance energy security, he's failed to stop any boats, failed to build any houses.
Recently, a few of this Government's policies have gone the right way - removing the awful EU legislation making housebuilders responsible for people going to the toilet for example. But Sunak cannot credibly turn his back on the Sunak/Hunt technocratic high tax decline management project and sell that with himself at the helm, no more than Truss could turn around and credibly sell a Sunak programme when she'd gone all in on growth.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
His popularity is also on the wain
Total well 40% (-4)
Total badly 49% (+9)
Don't know 11% (-6)
Has the 20 mph thing started yet?
That is his swansong. 17th September and it all kicks off.
It would be helpful if the Police and GoSafeWales don't go in with their boots on for the first few months. Although, if it's money that matters, they will fill said boots
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
My village/town is supposed to be going to 20MPH throughout. Which, to be fair, won't affect people much.
Nut funnily. when it was first built, and the roads were unadopted, there were a 19MPH limit in the village. Which was unenforcable...
Here’s an interesting sociopolitical phenomenon/theory I have not encountered before
I am in Lozere, the emptiest department in France. But Lozere, apparently, is just part of the “empty diagonal” a solidus across France where (almost) no one lives
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
I doubt that 1 mph over is practical. My old Hyundai used to read under the speed limit on those flashing signs, and I looked like I was a mile or two over on the speedo. I daresay it works the other way around too. A great opportunity for a Mr Loophole.
All the community council types are up in arms in our village that 30 to 20 hasn't swept the board. Earth mother and father cyclists, one and all.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
The author has an extremely outdated view in his perception that 'the British establishment' disapproves of Rishi for 'being brown' - if we have an establishment with unwritten preferences, being non-white is certainly in the plus column, not the minus.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
Here’s an interesting sociopolitical phenomenon/theory I have not encountered before
I am in Lozere, the emptiest department in France. But Lozere, apparently, is just part of the “empty diagonal” a solidus across France where (almost) no one lives
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
Just thank the Lord you don’t own one of those cars that self-detonate if driven at 20mph. Sadly, many other PBers are not so lucky, and will no longer be able to visit Wales.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
The author has an extremely outdated view in his perception that 'the British establishment' disapproves of Rishi for 'being brown' - if we have an establishment with unwritten preferences, being non-white is certainly in the plus column, not the minus.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
I doubt that 1 mph over is practical. My old Hyundai used to read under the speed limit on those flashing signs, and I looked like I was a mile or two over on the speedo. I daresay it works the other way around too. A great opportunity for a Mr Loophole.
(Snip)
I get about a 5% difference (usually over) between GPS speed and speedo speed on our two cars. I'd trust GPS speed every time. For one thing, tyre wear reduces the diameter of a wheel by a few MM, which can marginally lead to an overestimation of the speed. But car speedos aren't required to be that accurate anyway, as long as they over-estimate the speed.
One of the reasons I like the idea of Nikki Haley becoming president is that I would get to see the effect that would have on Modi. She's from a Sikh family, but converted to Christianity. (She still obsereves one of the Sikh holidays.)
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
His popularity is also on the wain
Total well 40% (-4)
Total badly 49% (+9)
Don't know 11% (-6)
That's the Welsh saying they don't like Drakeford's resignation announcement because they know they will not get anybody else as awesome as Mark Drakeford.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
India are giving softish support to Russia in the Ukraine War. Every time India complains about the evils of colonialism, their current actions should be thrown back into their faces.
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
Criticising Britain as an ex-colonial power is a free hit.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
France has loads of immigrants, they just house them in ghettoes that no one from outside of France would ever go to because they're dangerous.
The Tories are not gonna replace Sunak. They don’t have the moral and emotional energy. They are like a dog with no fight left
They are essentially resigned to their fate, apart from a few delusional types. They will go down with their ship and their captain, saluting the king as they do so
Even @HYUFD on here has accepted a near certain defeat
A dog with no fight left, but which has mauled enough children in the last 13 years that the public wish to ban it anyway.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I tend to agree with you as far as that article goes. It contains a quite lot of unsubstantiated bollocks which betrays the author's prejudices imho, e.g.:"At home, the British aristocracy and white establishment haven’t come to terms with a brown person leading them. "
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
It's a pretty accurate description of a strand of Hindu nationalist opinion, I think.
Lots of Indians don't like Modi or his fellow travellers either, to be honest, but like many journals and journalists comment pieces that shock sell papers.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
What do people think the Labour VI lead, & Betfair price for Labour overall majority would be now had Boris never faced a vote of confidence last year, the mass resignations didn’t happen, & he was still PM?
Did the resignations not happen because Boris had a character implant and apologised early on or because his opponents were too frit and didn't pull the trigger?
The former the Tories probably 8-10 behind. The latter 20-25 behind.
What happens with the Privileges Committee report? Is that just not happening, or is it now an investigation into the PM, rather than a gone yesterday, definitely gone tomorrow, backbencher?
The second would be messy, in a grimly fascinating way.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It surely cannot possibly be true that it's to cover extra costs at peak as the cost of serving someone is almost certainly more off-peak (staff serving fewer pints per hour but on the same wage, and fewer customers to share the fixed costs, notably rent, between).
That's not to say there isn't a case for it or that it's a bad thing - people at peak hours are probably less price sensitive, and they could do with driving up numbers at 3pm on a Wednesday.
As ever with these pricing models, they'd be much better off branding it as off-peak discounts than peak time extras (even though it amounts to the same). It also isn't new in that sense - it's pretty standard to have a cheaper lunch menu than dinner, and sometimes daytime drink discounts.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
It sounds vaguely like Guy Burgess. Did the China spy go to Oxford or Cambridge? I think TSE has already done the joke about his being a privately educated son of a GP.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
The author has an extremely outdated view in his perception that 'the British establishment' disapproves of Rishi for 'being brown' - if we have an establishment with unwritten preferences, being non-white is certainly in the plus column, not the minus.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
It sounds vaguely like Guy Burgess. Did the China spy go to Oxford or Cambridge? I think TSE has already done the joke about his being a privately educated son of a GP.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
Perhaps the Chinese already know so much about what we're doing it didn't matter a lot?
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
Maybe I am not reading this poll correctly but if you take the point when Sunak took office he was -18 and Starmer was plus 2 and now Sunak is -41 and Starmer- 20 haven't they both experienced similar drops
Not that it is good news for Sunak but would suggest that Starmer is not all that convincing either
The difference is that those getting disenchanted with Starmer will still largely vote Labour….
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
I made my first trip to Italy recently, staying in Pompeii. The centre of the town looked wonderful. I went on a walk for a few mornings, and some of the hinterlands look extremely dismal. Rendered houses need maintenance, or they just become grey monstrosities ...
There were some interesting abandoned trains and locomotives, though...
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Couple of years ago, I asked a county traffic engineer if we could have road paving like the immaculate sort I saw in a village in the Haute Loire. His response was, sure, if you pay for it to be installed and maintained; but we don't have the money to install it, and British traffic levels and heavy SUVs mean it'd be shot to pieces in a few months.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I tend to agree with you as far as that article goes. It contains a quite lot of unsubstantiated bollocks which betrays the author's prejudices imho, e.g.:"At home, the British aristocracy and white establishment haven’t come to terms with a brown person leading them. "
It's dated in the 1950s, a bit like a lot of the Morris Oxfords you still see on the road there and their use of damsel and sleuth in newspapers.
One of the reasons I like the idea of Nikki Haley becoming president is that I would get to see the effect that would have on Modi. She's from a Sikh family, but converted to Christianity. (She still obsereves one of the Sikh holidays.)
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
Kinda possible to see her burying the hatchet with Trump to be his veep but otherwise, unless the grim reaper intervenes, she is laying the ground for 2028?
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
In my experience the vast majority of “major French cities” - Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, even Marseille, are all rather lovely, in the centre. They know how to do urbanism. They bury the parking underground. They benefit from being feeble surrender monkeys so the Germans never had to bomb their cities to fuckaroo
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
It sounds vaguely like Guy Burgess. Did the China spy go to Oxford or Cambridge? I think TSE has already done the joke about his being a privately educated son of a GP.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
Perhaps the Chinese already know so much about what we're doing it didn't matter a lot?
It is an old chestnut that instead of spying on other countries, we'd learn more by simply reading their newspapers. The question about this Chinese spy in parliament is whether he was passing British foreign policy papers to Beijing, as Burgess did for Moscow while Europe was being carved up after the war.
The Tories are not gonna replace Sunak. They don’t have the moral and emotional energy. They are like a dog with no fight left
They are essentially resigned to their fate, apart from a few delusional types. They will go down with their ship and their captain, saluting the king as they do so
Even @HYUFD on here has accepted a near certain defeat
A dog with no fight left, but which has mauled enough children in the last 13 years that the public wish to ban it anyway.
Today’s PB where am I quiz:
That German looking tv tower is the clue?
Mine’s not so hard; I am having dinner by a roundabout. While they build a giant scaffold thing on the road on the other side for a music concert next weekend, by which time me and the dog will be in Slovenia.
That bridge looks like Clifton Suspension bridge in Bristol, but the surroundings don't look like Bristol at all (to me, but it's decades since I was there).
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
I've eaten a lot in France and most of the time it has been ok but nothing special and then every so often I get blown away by a fantastic meal that isn't even expensive.
Here’s an interesting sociopolitical phenomenon/theory I have not encountered before
I am in Lozere, the emptiest department in France. But Lozere, apparently, is just part of the “empty diagonal” a solidus across France where (almost) no one lives
Remarkably, it seems to take in some of the lovelier regions - eg the French Basque Country
You would probably love the channel RealLifeLore and their series on the emptiness of many countries or other curious population patterns, like how 82% if Mexico is quite empty, or how Mongolia is even sparser populated than it already appears, as 50% of the population live in the capital city, and who did an episode on France too. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyXor-IbFvGScDPO38so4WPz-_Oyam9Wu
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I genuinely struggle to see who that artile would appeal to other than deeply insecure people, since if nothing else its bloody poor diplomacy if the intent of the host was to treat Sunak poorly, which it seems it is claiming was the case. And some of it just seems outright racist, what is this but calling him a coconut by another means?
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
The author has an extremely outdated view in his perception that 'the British establishment' disapproves of Rishi for 'being brown' - if we have an establishment with unwritten preferences, being non-white is certainly in the plus column, not the minus.
Last I heard Corbyn was still a member of the Labour party and has not been expelled.
The whip has merely been withdrawn and the national executive committee has decided they don't want him standing as a Labour candidate, which it has the power to do.
Many people might see that as outrageous, but if so it should be accurate outrage.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
In my experience the vast majority of “major French cities” - Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, even Marseille, are all rather lovely, in the centre. They know how to do urbanism. They bury the parking underground. They benefit from being feeble surrender monkeys so the Germans never had to bomb their cities to fuckaroo
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
I found Brussels a very very edgy place - at least when travelling on their underground. Just seemed to be an air of racial tension and brooding suppressed something.
I'm talking 20 years ago so I could be way out of date.
I was genuinely surprised as this could be seen as the "capital" of europe in some ways.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
In my experience the vast majority of “major French cities” - Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, even Marseille, are all rather lovely, in the centre. They know how to do urbanism. They bury the parking underground. They benefit from being feeble surrender monkeys so the Germans never had to bomb their cities to fuckaroo
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
Like you, I was struck by the immaculate town and village centres when I was in France earlier this year (Brittany). It was quite extraordinary, the contrast.
There are, as you say, ghettos. Yet the general standard of urban centres seems to be vastly higher.
The best video I've seen about the RAAC concrete issue, which also goes into the asbestos and flat roof (*) problems. I *think* it can be followed by people who have no engineering experience.
(*) Who the **** designs flat roofs in a country as wet as the UK? It is designing for five years, not decades...
It's perfectly possible to design flat roofs for rainy countries. It just needs to be designed right and executed competently.
Used to be in charge of a block of flats with a 5° roof which drained perfectly well. We occasionally worried about the hypothetical consequences of a 3ft snow drift, but in inner London there were plenty of other problems to divert us.
Company X, here in Cambridge, had a large(ish) span saw-tooth roof, so not flat. But it needed drains in the middle, which went down interior columns. Every autumn, some unfortunate sod would have water p*ss out of the plasterboard beside them. Because leaves would blow into the gulleys every autumn, along with birds' nests and other detritus, and block the underfloor drains from the columns. A head of water would then build up, until it reached a joint in the downpipe in the column and flow out over your desk.
Water management is a massive part of the architect's art here in the UK. If you give water an inch, it will take a mile. And that requires good and often regular maintenance. Which architects more often than not ignore.
Disagree with your last comment- every public or part public funded project I’ve worked on required a maintenance plan as part of the funding bid. Employing architects to clean and maintain roof drainage strikes me as an expensive way to solve the problem.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
I've eaten a lot in France and most of the time it has been ok but nothing special and then every so often I get blown away by a fantastic meal that isn't even expensive.
Yes, that’s my experience
However, over the years the mediocre French meals have got more common, and the wonderful French meals less common. At least that is my perception, but is is of course coloured by several factors:: I have much more experience of food worldwide, I have eaten better and better food as I’ve got more affluent (and experienced), British food (and other cuisines - eg Oz) have improved markedly in the last 20-30 years, meaning French food is less impressive from the get-go
However in certain areas French food has absolutely declined, cf the problems with microwaved food shipped frozen from Paris to “authentic bistros” nationwide
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
In my experience the vast majority of “major French cities” - Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, even Marseille, are all rather lovely, in the centre. They know how to do urbanism. They bury the parking underground. They benefit from being feeble surrender monkeys so the Germans never had to bomb their cities to fuckaroo
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
Like you, I was struck by the immaculate town and village centres when I was in France earlier this year (Brittany). It was quite extraordinary, the contrast.
There are, as you say, ghettos. Yet the general standard of urban centres seems to be vastly higher.
Maybe this is to do with Mayors?
I friend of mine who has a Normandy property had a run in with the local mayor over, and I kid you not, the number of dandelions my mate had allowed to grow on the lane that ran into his house.
The Conservative VI share in tonight's R&W poll is the lowest since March so those still backing the Government will be hoping this is an outlier (and to be fair R&W have produced more than their fair share of outlier numbers).
The weighted England sub sample produces Labour 47%, Conservatives 25%, Liberal Democrats 13%, Reform 7%, Green 7% so a 13 point Conservative lead is now a 22 point Labour lead giving a swing of 17.5% while the swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat is 11.5%.
Second caveat - the Don't Know party polls a respectable 15% - Labour leads 39-21 among probable voters with the LDs fourth on 10% so some slivers of hope for the blues.
It's the collapse in Sunak's own ratings which must be the biggest source of concern - for most of the year he's polled well ahead of his party but that gap is now closing and it's almost as though people have come back from their holidays and realised the same Government is still running the show.
One of the reasons I like the idea of Nikki Haley becoming president is that I would get to see the effect that would have on Modi. She's from a Sikh family, but converted to Christianity. (She still obsereves one of the Sikh holidays.)
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
Kinda possible to see her burying the hatchet with Trump to be his veep but otherwise, unless the grim reaper intervenes, she is laying the ground for 2028?
Not really sure I could see either him offering or her accepting the VP slot. She's no Christie, but has made her discomfort with Trump pretty clear, and would struggle to deal with his sh1t for four years. Whereas Ramaswamy is as insane as Trump, and Scott could just about suck it up to play the long game.
I think the Special Mashed Potato Lady has arrived
Fantastique
Let me guess, that's not Smash is it?
It is, indeed, not Smash
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Local government with little freedom, no constitutional protection from government interference, a meagre tax base, and no money.
France has no more money than the UK. Its economy is a similar size, its debt is rather bigger
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
But have you seen the approach roads to most french towns/cities? My memory is that it is like US, mile after mile of low slung crap looking retail joints with huge signs.
It's easy to get rose-tinted.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
In my experience the vast majority of “major French cities” - Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, even Marseille, are all rather lovely, in the centre. They know how to do urbanism. They bury the parking underground. They benefit from being feeble surrender monkeys so the Germans never had to bomb their cities to fuckaroo
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
Like you, I was struck by the immaculate town and village centres when I was in France earlier this year (Brittany). It was quite extraordinary, the contrast.
There are, as you say, ghettos. Yet the general standard of urban centres seems to be vastly higher.
Their centres are much nicer, their ethnic ghettoes much worse
Last I heard Corbyn was still a member of the Labour party and has not been expelled.
The whip has merely been withdrawn and the national executive committee has decided they don't want him standing as a Labour candidate, which it has the power to do.
Many people might see that as outrageous, but if so it should be accurate outrage.
He's effectively been thrown out. I think you are splitting hairs.
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
It sounds vaguely like Guy Burgess. Did the China spy go to Oxford or Cambridge? I think TSE has already done the joke about his being a privately educated son of a GP.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
It's interesting that he was working for an 'anti-China' parliamentary grouping. If the allegation is true, that means China infiltrating groups opposed to it - very clever really. I mean it's international espionage - it's meant to be clever, but still. I doubt we've got people inside the 'China against the UK' group if there is such a thing in Beijing.
One of the reasons I like the idea of Nikki Haley becoming president is that I would get to see the effect that would have on Modi. She's from a Sikh family, but converted to Christianity. (She still obsereves one of the Sikh holidays.)
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
Kinda possible to see her burying the hatchet with Trump to be his veep but otherwise, unless the grim reaper intervenes, she is laying the ground for 2028?
Not really sure I could see either him offering or her accepting the VP slot. She's no Christie, but has made her discomfort with Trump pretty clear, and would struggle to deal with his sh1t for four years. Whereas Ramaswamy is as insane as Trump, and Scott could just about suck it up to play the long game.
I agree. I see it as 'possible' but highly unlikely.
The Tories are not gonna replace Sunak. They don’t have the moral and emotional energy. They are like a dog with no fight left
They are essentially resigned to their fate, apart from a few delusional types. They will go down with their ship and their captain, saluting the king as they do so
Even @HYUFD on here has accepted a near certain defeat
A dog with no fight left, but which has mauled enough children in the last 13 years that the public wish to ban it anyway.
Today’s PB where am I quiz:
That German looking tv tower is the clue?
Mine’s not so hard; I am having dinner by a roundabout. While they build a giant scaffold thing on the road on the other side for a music concert next weekend, by which time me and the dog will be in Slovenia.
Looks like the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Budapest - designed by an English engineer, construction overseen by a Scottish one. Unless Marlow has gone all continental!
Conservatives in Wales need to hide with latest poll on ITV Wales
Labour 50% Conservative 19% with a prediction of nil seats
Certainly if these polls continue with no outside events intervening the Conservatives are heading into a very big defeat indeed
And changing Sunak is not the answer
You Can't Shake The Drake
He cannot be overtaken! (So long as he's travelling no less than 20 mph).
The real shocker is Andrew RT Davies, with 13% consider he is doing a good job. I'll have a pint of whatever they are drinking. Rishi should hang around more with RT. Relatively speaking, Rishi would appear awesome.
He is hopeless and anonymous with 44% don't know
17th September is going to be a very interesting day, though the new 30mph signs on display in our area look as if the LA may just be being sensible
I was driving on Top Road in Burry Port. The new 20mph signs were up, but so we're the speed camera 30 signs in between them. Chaos! In our village the Vale have put new 20s (currently in black) and new 30s up.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
I suspect it is going to be chaotic and to be honest it didn't need to be this way
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
The Chinese spy story is interesting - we know Alicia Kearns and Tommy Tugend have been associated with this person; who are the other 'senior Conservative MPs' and will they be remaining anonymous?
It sounds vaguely like Guy Burgess. Did the China spy go to Oxford or Cambridge? I think TSE has already done the joke about his being a privately educated son of a GP.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
Perhaps the Chinese already know so much about what we're doing it didn't matter a lot?
It is an old chestnut that instead of spying on other countries, we'd learn more by simply reading their newspapers. The question about this Chinese spy in parliament is whether he was passing British foreign policy papers to Beijing, as Burgess did for Moscow while Europe was being carved up after the war.
AIUI He was trying to turn China hawks into China doves.
Last I heard Corbyn was still a member of the Labour party and has not been expelled.
The whip has merely been withdrawn and the national executive committee has decided they don't want him standing as a Labour candidate, which it has the power to do.
Many people might see that as outrageous, but if so it should be accurate outrage.
He's effectively been thrown out. I think you are splitting hairs.
'Oh Jeremy' has only himself to blame mind.
He has been forced to the margins, and they might even want him out, but I think it's important when condemning to condemn for what actually is, not what is perceived to be. Whilst it is not a massive difference, I do think the difference matters - one means he is being victimised, as his supporters would see it, the other means he is actually ostracised.
Given his supporters (or sympathisers like Stewart) won't see much of a difference between those two things, all the more reason to get it right - there's no need to ham it up.
The ideal scenario for Starmer might well be Corbyn running for Mayor, which would see him expelled by his own choice rather than Starmer's, and then do badly showing not only his time has gone but his supporters had best quit too.
One of the reasons I like the idea of Nikki Haley becoming president is that I would get to see the effect that would have on Modi. She's from a Sikh family, but converted to Christianity. (She still obsereves one of the Sikh holidays.)
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
Kinda possible to see her burying the hatchet with Trump to be his veep but otherwise, unless the grim reaper intervenes, she is laying the ground for 2028?
Not really sure I could see either him offering or her accepting the VP slot. She's no Christie, but has made her discomfort with Trump pretty clear, and would struggle to deal with his sh1t for four years. Whereas Ramaswamy is as insane as Trump, and Scott could just about suck it up to play the long game.
I agree. I see it as 'possible' but highly unlikely.
But Trump is a surprise merchant.
I think Pence's 'betrayal' might make him wary of anyone but a complete sycophant, even if someone else would potentially offer more use.
I mean Pence loyally served the administration for four years, until about a month ago he barely criticised Trump and even now seems reluctant to do so (and will certainly vote for him when he's the nominee), but when the moment came he put his personal view of duty above Trump, to the point of now running against him.
I feel like he will not want anyone who has even a slither of a chance of defying him ever again. He will find even among the sycophants some won't do anything, but he can lower the odds of that.
I must confess reading the Evening Standard tonight I'm tempted to channel my usually well-hidden but always present inner anarchist.
At first glance, the fact 13 new hotels are opening in London should be positive news - after all, London thrives on tourism whether domestic or international and having hotels to suit all budgets across the capital would seem a pre-requisite.
However, it seems none of these new openings is going to charge less than £1000 per night for a room and the Standard goes on to laud the fact London is a magnet for the ultra-elite. While I've no issue with the "ultra elite" per se, I'm more concerned they are considered the group to whom we must now prostitute ourselves.
I think London deserves to be more than a multi-billionaires playground. It should be an open, welcoming city for all and while I know we can't dictate to the luxury hotel chains what they charge, it would be nice to think we were ensuring there was a good mix of accommodation for all and those of us less financially endowed could still come and stay and enjoy the wonders London has to offer.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
Sounds just like Tory Brexiter MPs when it came to Ireland and Brexit, it must be said.
The best video I've seen about the RAAC concrete issue, which also goes into the asbestos and flat roof (*) problems. I *think* it can be followed by people who have no engineering experience.
(*) Who the **** designs flat roofs in a country as wet as the UK? It is designing for five years, not decades...
It's perfectly possible to design flat roofs for rainy countries. It just needs to be designed right and executed competently.
Used to be in charge of a block of flats with a 5° roof which drained perfectly well. We occasionally worried about the hypothetical consequences of a 3ft snow drift, but in inner London there were plenty of other problems to divert us.
Company X, here in Cambridge, had a large(ish) span saw-tooth roof, so not flat. But it needed drains in the middle, which went down interior columns. Every autumn, some unfortunate sod would have water p*ss out of the plasterboard beside them. Because leaves would blow into the gulleys every autumn, along with birds' nests and other detritus, and block the underfloor drains from the columns. A head of water would then build up, until it reached a joint in the downpipe in the column and flow out over your desk.
Water management is a massive part of the architect's art here in the UK. If you give water an inch, it will take a mile. And that requires good and often regular maintenance. Which architects more often than not ignore.
Disagree with your last comment- every public or part public funded project I’ve worked on required a maintenance plan as part of the funding bid. Employing architects to clean and maintain roof drainage strikes me as an expensive way to solve the problem.
A 'plan' is a fine tickbox. The practicality of the plan is a very different matter.
My point is that it is all too easy to design something that looks striking, and earns the architect plaudits or even awards, that costs the end-user a fortune to maintain. Medium- and long-term maintenance is massively important, and the architectural design awards don't care about that.
The best video I've seen about the RAAC concrete issue, which also goes into the asbestos and flat roof (*) problems. I *think* it can be followed by people who have no engineering experience.
(*) Who the **** designs flat roofs in a country as wet as the UK? It is designing for five years, not decades...
It's perfectly possible to design flat roofs for rainy countries. It just needs to be designed right and executed competently.
Used to be in charge of a block of flats with a 5° roof which drained perfectly well. We occasionally worried about the hypothetical consequences of a 3ft snow drift, but in inner London there were plenty of other problems to divert us.
Company X, here in Cambridge, had a large(ish) span saw-tooth roof, so not flat. But it needed drains in the middle, which went down interior columns. Every autumn, some unfortunate sod would have water p*ss out of the plasterboard beside them. Because leaves would blow into the gulleys every autumn, along with birds' nests and other detritus, and block the underfloor drains from the columns. A head of water would then build up, until it reached a joint in the downpipe in the column and flow out over your desk.
Water management is a massive part of the architect's art here in the UK. If you give water an inch, it will take a mile. And that requires good and often regular maintenance. Which architects more often than not ignore.
Disagree with your last comment- every public or part public funded project I’ve worked on required a maintenance plan as part of the funding bid. Employing architects to clean and maintain roof drainage strikes me as an expensive way to solve the problem.
Be good for them, at minimum wage, like the poor sods who usually do it.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
I tend to agree with you as far as that article goes. It contains a quite lot of unsubstantiated bollocks which betrays the author's prejudices imho, e.g.:"At home, the British aristocracy and white establishment haven’t come to terms with a brown person leading them. "
Like Trevor Noah doing a piece about racist Brits blowing up about it, and when it was pointed out such reaction had been incredibly minor, pretended he hadn't gone for the easy gag and implied it was a major thing, just that it had happened. Would have more respect if he'd just admitted it was a simpler bit for the american audience - it's not like we don't pander about other countries to our own audience.
There seems to be a genuine strand of thought in India that think that Sunak should run Britain on their behalf, just as it was once the other way round, and astonished and rather put out when that proves to not be the case.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
India are giving softish support to Russia in the Ukraine War. Every time India complains about the evils of colonialism, their current actions should be thrown back into their faces.
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
India however loves the cheap oil they are getting from Russia thanks to being one of the few countries willing to trade with Russia..
"I feel I must apologize for my nation-of-birth's conduct during ze Ukraine war!"
Should prove a useful pretext to sever remaining monarchical ties in the region, which inexplicably have stuck around in some of them even when there's been political consensus for a very long time about going to a republic.
Comments
The former the Tories probably 8-10 behind. The latter 20-25 behind.
Then, they fall back on rudeness to the former colonial power, and playing to the crowd, which is presumably a self-esteem thing.
My friend turns right, and (we think) hit the Doberman's nose with his knee. The next thing I know, my friend is falling backwards with his hands over his nose, blood everywhere. I push past. and ask the barmaid for some napkins (I knew nothing about the dog, and thought my friend had walked into the door). We get taken to a local A&E. They found part of the dog's tooth in my friend's cartilage. I got slashed by it when I went past, and at the hospital they treated my arm.
It turned out the dog had previously attacked a barmaid's young daughter. The landlord move soon afterwards; the dog ended up at a scrapyard.
It was horrifying for a young (and underage...) lad. The landlord turned up to the hospital with a couple of pints (God knows how he got them there without spilling). He said the dog had suffered; it had lost a tooth. The one they found part of in my friend's nose...
Hence I'm uneasy around big dogs. Sue me.
So they made everything elected.
In a General Election, there will be seats where the main challenger to a Conservative won't be clear. But that'll be the exception, not the rule.
I am used to driving at 20 in St Brides Major now, But 10% plus two is scant margin for error. 25, and you're busted!
Clearly, Sunak, a brown man trying to prove that he is whiter than the whites
And this just seems like outright projection, since Sunak doesn't seem to have any issues of identity confusion, other than wishing he didn't come across as posh as he does.
Sunak, who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds, is experiencing an identity crisis: Is he a Hindu first or a Briton?
If colonialism is wrong (it is), then it's bad if it's historic and British. It's also bad if it is modern and Russian. Their lack of condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine puts a shadow over their understandable complaints about the British Empire.
Not that it is good news for Sunak but would suggest that Starmer is not all that convincing either
It's a trans-continental trading solution with some sea hops along the way. Not sure others like Canada or Australia signed it either. US probably funding it a bit.
Still agree we should have countersigned, though, for the political value. Bit odd.
Recently, a few of this Government's policies have gone the right way - removing the awful EU legislation making housebuilders responsible for people going to the toilet for example. But Sunak cannot credibly turn his back on the Sunak/Hunt technocratic high tax decline management project and sell that with himself at the helm, no more than Truss could turn around and credibly sell a Sunak programme when she'd gone all in on growth.
It would be helpful if the Police and GoSafeWales don't go in with their boots on for the first few months. Although, if it's money that matters, they will fill said boots
There are roads where 20mph is absolutely correct but there are also very many where it is unnecessary
Hopefully it will see LA making sensible adjustments so it works for everyone
I see there is a group of MPs pushing for speed enforcement at just 1mph above the limit
Haven't they got anything better to do like addressing the COL or RAAC or Chinese spies
It is aligot, a rib-sticking speciality of the region (Aubrac - think Yorkshire Dales but sunnier, yet not so pretty). It’s mash with cheese and garlic. It’s nice. I wouldn’t go mad about it
My honest expectation is that the food on this trip will not be as good as the food I had in the Welsh Marches, and so far that is the case. British food at the higher end is now commonly as good as French - or better, because more varied and less hidebound
But let’s see. The Frogs might surprise me
They still do the public realm better than us. The well kept villages, the lovely stone paving. Why can’t we have the same civic pride?
Nut funnily. when it was first built, and the roads were unadopted, there were a 19MPH limit in the village. Which was unenforcable...
Then:
https://www.huntspost.co.uk/lifestyle/22961373.uncertainty-new-speed-limit/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28709849@N00/409761510
And now:
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/concern-20mph-speed-limits-cambourne-27656691
I am in Lozere, the emptiest department in France. But Lozere, apparently, is just part of the “empty diagonal” a solidus across France where (almost) no one lives
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_diagonal
Remarkably, it seems to take in some of the lovelier regions - eg the French Basque Country
All the community council types are up in arms in our village that 30 to 20 hasn't swept the board. Earth mother and father cyclists, one and all.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/06/30/french-debt-exceeds-3-trillion-for-first-time_6040202_7.html
They just seem to “care” more. Plus I guess they don’t have the demographic pressures, due to lower immigration and more space. It is easier to keep a place looking nice if it isn’t overrun with inhabitants demanding crappy redbrick new-builds
France is also better at NOT despoiling towns with hideously inappropriate new buildings
France 118
England 434
Good move or a way of alienating customers ?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/busy-pubs-charge-customers-dynamic-pricing-stonegate-group/
My guess is that he wouldn't see this success by a daughter of India as completely admirable.
You Can’t Remake The Drake, as they say in Wales.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2023_New_Zealand_general_election
Lots of Indians don't like Modi or his fellow travellers either, to be honest, but like many journals and journalists comment pieces that shock sell papers.
I mean the campaign posters just write themselves
Portuguese distilling company apologises for accident that led to fears a nearby river would suffer environmental damage"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYVSIZoNWiU
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/09/11/red-wine-flood-streets-portugal-village-sao-lourenco-levira/
The second would be messy, in a grimly fascinating way.
That's not to say there isn't a case for it or that it's a bad thing - people at peak hours are probably less price sensitive, and they could do with driving up numbers at 3pm on a Wednesday.
As ever with these pricing models, they'd be much better off branding it as off-peak discounts than peak time extras (even though it amounts to the same). It also isn't new in that sense - it's pretty standard to have a cheaper lunch menu than dinner, and sometimes daytime drink discounts.
The other obvious question is why nothing much happened since March, compared with the major panic around the alleged Iranian spy who broke out of Wandsworth (and who was not spirited out of the country via their embassy!).
Or wine cellar, as it now is.
Plenty of its major cities, and banlieues, are total shitholes.
There were some interesting abandoned trains and locomotives, though...
However, as others have pointed out, they have plenty of grim places, but they tend to be hidden away in the bainlieus or in bleak dormitory towns
Saint Denis in far northern Paris is the most menacing place I have been in all of Europe, with the exception of the the ‘Ndrangheta Calabrian Mafia capital of Plati
Full interview ... on @novaramedia, published this Sunday at 6pm.
https://twitter.com/AyoCaesar/status/1701268261210403286 (video in tweet).
‘Corbyn, whatever you think of him, is a major figure.’
https://novaramedia.com/2023/09/11/rory-stewart-slams-keir-starmer-for-disgusting-treatment-of-jeremy-corbyn/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyXor-IbFvGScDPO38so4WPz-_Oyam9Wu
The whip has merely been withdrawn and the national executive committee has decided they don't want him standing as a Labour candidate, which it has the power to do.
Many people might see that as outrageous, but if so it should be accurate outrage.
I'm talking 20 years ago so I could be way out of date.
I was genuinely surprised as this could be seen as the "capital" of europe in some ways.
There are, as you say, ghettos. Yet the general standard of urban centres seems to be vastly higher.
However, over the years the mediocre French meals have got more common, and the wonderful French meals less common. At least that is my perception, but is is of course coloured by several factors:: I have much more experience of food worldwide, I have eaten better and better food as I’ve got more affluent (and experienced), British food (and other cuisines - eg Oz) have improved markedly in the last 20-30 years, meaning French food is less impressive from the get-go
However in certain areas French food has absolutely declined, cf the problems with microwaved food shipped frozen from Paris to “authentic bistros” nationwide
I friend of mine who has a Normandy property had a run in with the local mayor over, and I kid you not, the number of dandelions my mate had allowed to grow on the lane that ran into his house.
The Conservative VI share in tonight's R&W poll is the lowest since March so those still backing the Government will be hoping this is an outlier (and to be fair R&W have produced more than their fair share of outlier numbers).
The weighted England sub sample produces Labour 47%, Conservatives 25%, Liberal Democrats 13%, Reform 7%, Green 7% so a 13 point Conservative lead is now a 22 point Labour lead giving a swing of 17.5% while the swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat is 11.5%.
Second caveat - the Don't Know party polls a respectable 15% - Labour leads 39-21 among probable voters with the LDs fourth on 10% so some slivers of hope for the blues.
It's the collapse in Sunak's own ratings which must be the biggest source of concern - for most of the year he's polled well ahead of his party but that gap is now closing and it's almost as though people have come back from their holidays and realised the same Government is still running the show.
'Oh Jeremy' has only himself to blame mind.
But Trump is a surprise merchant.
Given his supporters (or sympathisers like Stewart) won't see much of a difference between those two things, all the more reason to get it right - there's no need to ham it up.
The ideal scenario for Starmer might well be Corbyn running for Mayor, which would see him expelled by his own choice rather than Starmer's, and then do badly showing not only his time has gone but his supporters had best quit too.
But I don't expect he will do that.
I mean Pence loyally served the administration for four years, until about a month ago he barely criticised Trump and even now seems reluctant to do so (and will certainly vote for him when he's the nominee), but when the moment came he put his personal view of duty above Trump, to the point of now running against him.
I feel like he will not want anyone who has even a slither of a chance of defying him ever again. He will find even among the sycophants some won't do anything, but he can lower the odds of that.
At first glance, the fact 13 new hotels are opening in London should be positive news - after all, London thrives on tourism whether domestic or international and having hotels to suit all budgets across the capital would seem a pre-requisite.
However, it seems none of these new openings is going to charge less than £1000 per night for a room and the Standard goes on to laud the fact London is a magnet for the ultra-elite. While I've no issue with the "ultra elite" per se, I'm more concerned they are considered the group to whom we must now prostitute ourselves.
I think London deserves to be more than a multi-billionaires playground. It should be an open, welcoming city for all and while I know we can't dictate to the luxury hotel chains what they charge, it would be nice to think we were ensuring there was a good mix of accommodation for all and those of us less financially endowed could still come and stay and enjoy the wonders London has to offer.
My point is that it is all too easy to design something that looks striking, and earns the architect plaudits or even awards, that costs the end-user a fortune to maintain. Medium- and long-term maintenance is massively important, and the architectural design awards don't care about that.
Royal Expert on Sky says the need to consider it as it will appeal to younger people.
https://x.com/skynews/status/1701146803893088394?s=61&t=s0ae0IFncdLS1Dc7J0P_TQ