Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
It's a sign of age when you realise your amusing sitcom references might not actually mean anything to people you're talking to. It's only recently I've clocked this. Some of the media outlets are the worst at this. Not just Blackadder quotes, but other common ones are "I don't believe it" from OFITG (or indeed references to Victor Meldrew), dead parrot sketch or four candles references, Les Dawson accents when talking about "my mother in law", "to me, to you, to me, to you", "that's you that is", "oh no, what a personal disaster", "Don't tell 'im, Pike", "Don't panic Mr Mannering" and "they don't like it up-em sir".
Not that I ever found him amusing - but my BBC employed landlord at the time did.
Including Nicholas Lyndhurst as co-star.
Has anybody watched the reboot?
I've seen clips on YouTube. Surprisingly good, although it does have a tint of "here's a memberberry you'll recognise" - Lilith was in it for an episode. The premise is rock-solid - Frasier is a pretentious twat, does a thing, it goes wrong, there's a happy ending - and they haven't messed with the basics, just put him in a new setting. Rodney is also surprisingly good and carries off the witty banter quite well. I miss Niles and Daphne, but they aren't essential.
YouTube is - I think - the place to watch the New Frasier. All the funny bits. None of the dull stuff in between.
Mostly the pre-indy maps and post-indy NI maps, but some military maps from WW2 ...
Incidentally, this morning I watched a (for me) wonderful YouTube video on the building of the Erskine Bridge in the 1960s and 1970s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dytx7z1yEg
A bit of a cultural artifact, as well as a civil engineering document.
I haven’t eaten all day. I should be starving. Instead I’m milldly peckish
I’ve got a nice takeaway curry from the reliable restaurant next door, I’ve had two G&Ts and one glass of red
At this point normally I’d be wolfing down the rest of the food and demolishing the wine. Instead I feel sated 2/3 of the way into the curry and I am wondering if I will have more than two glasses of wine, as I am a tiny bit squiffy and that’s enough. At the same time I an not prowling the stews hunting for girls in hot pants
Everything is calmed. Maybe this drug just makes you old and/or boring. If it saves my liver I can cope with that, I can be old n boring. For a bit
What I'd say to you - heartfelt - is don't worry so much that you'll be boring unless you're getting pissed. You're an engaging person, well read and travelled, plenty to say about lots of things. You don't need to drink to excess, or at all, in order to make an impression.
I shall break my vow of not talking to you and say Thanks. Appreciated
Wahay! Thank the Lord. You can't go all 'mean girls' on here. This is PB.com.
The vow was a joke. But then you took it seriously. So I couldn’t resist pretending it was real. Which is quite wanky of me, so at least Wegovy hasn’t destroyed my pleasure in petty and juvenile twattishness
Or was I pretending to take it ("the vow") seriously? Hmm. I guess we'll never know.
I haven’t eaten all day. I should be starving. Instead I’m milldly peckish
I’ve got a nice takeaway curry from the reliable restaurant next door, I’ve had two G&Ts and one glass of red
At this point normally I’d be wolfing down the rest of the food and demolishing the wine. Instead I feel sated 2/3 of the way into the curry and I am wondering if I will have more than two glasses of wine, as I am a tiny bit squiffy and that’s enough. At the same time I an not prowling the stews hunting for girls in hot pants
Everything is calmed. Maybe this drug just makes you old and/or boring. If it saves my liver I can cope with that, I can be old n boring. For a bit
What I'd say to you - heartfelt - is don't worry so much that you'll be boring unless you're getting pissed. You're an engaging person, well read and travelled, plenty to say about lots of things. You don't need to drink to excess, or at all, in order to make an impression.
I shall break my vow of not talking to you and say Thanks. Appreciated
Wahay! Thank the Lord. You can't go all 'mean girls' on here. This is PB.com.
The vow was a joke. But then you took it seriously. So I couldn’t resist pretending it was real. Which is quite wanky of me, so at least Wegovy hasn’t destroyed my pleasure in petty and juvenile twattishness
Or was I pretending to take it ("the vow") seriously? Hmm. I guess we'll never know.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
It's a sign of age when you realise your amusing sitcom references might not actually mean anything to people you're talking to. It's only recently I've clocked this. Some of the media outlets are the worst at this. Not just Blackadder quotes, but other common ones are "I don't believe it" from OFITG (or indeed references to Victor Meldrew), dead parrot sketch or four candles references, Les Dawson accents when talking about "my mother in law", "to me, to you, to me, to you", "that's you that is", "oh no, what a personal disaster", "Don't tell 'im, Pike", "Don't panic Mr Mannering" and "they don't like it up-em sir".
My 12 year old niece was taking the mickey out of me the other day for the ever increasing grey hair I’m developing. I replied that I think it makes me look like George Clooney. Cue a blank look.
To be fair, we all have that blank look when you mention your similarity to George Clooney.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
It's a sign of age when you realise your amusing sitcom references might not actually mean anything to people you're talking to. It's only recently I've clocked this. Some of the media outlets are the worst at this. Not just Blackadder quotes, but other common ones are "I don't believe it" from OFITG (or indeed references to Victor Meldrew), dead parrot sketch or four candles references, Les Dawson accents when talking about "my mother in law", "to me, to you, to me, to you", "that's you that is", "oh no, what a personal disaster", "Don't tell 'im, Pike", "Don't panic Mr Mannering" and "they don't like it up-em sir".
Not that I ever found him amusing - but my BBC employed landlord at the time did.
Including Nicholas Lyndhurst as co-star.
Has anybody watched the reboot?
I've seen clips on YouTube. Surprisingly good, although it does have a tint of "here's a memberberry you'll recognise" - Lilith was in it for an episode. The premise is rock-solid - Frasier is a pretentious twat, does a thing, it goes wrong, there's a happy ending - and they haven't messed with the basics, just put him in a new setting. Rodney is also surprisingly good and carries off the witty banter quite well. I miss Niles and Daphne, but they aren't essential.
YouTube is - I think - the place to watch the New Frasier. All the funny bits. None of the dull stuff in between.
With the covid inquiry live stream and the post office inquiry live stream, daily, I am impressed that you still have the time to go surfing for such frivolities
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
It's a sign of age when you realise your amusing sitcom references might not actually mean anything to people you're talking to. It's only recently I've clocked this. Some of the media outlets are the worst at this. Not just Blackadder quotes, but other common ones are "I don't believe it" from OFITG (or indeed references to Victor Meldrew), dead parrot sketch or four candles references, Les Dawson accents when talking about "my mother in law", "to me, to you, to me, to you", "that's you that is", "oh no, what a personal disaster", "Don't tell 'im, Pike", "Don't panic Mr Mannering" and "they don't like it up-em sir".
Not that I ever found him amusing - but my BBC employed landlord at the time did.
Including Nicholas Lyndhurst as co-star.
Has anybody watched the reboot?
I've seen clips on YouTube. Surprisingly good, although it does have a tint of "here's a memberberry you'll recognise" - Lilith was in it for an episode. The premise is rock-solid - Frasier is a pretentious twat, does a thing, it goes wrong, there's a happy ending - and they haven't messed with the basics, just put him in a new setting. Rodney is also surprisingly good and carries off the witty banter quite well. I miss Niles and Daphne, but they aren't essential.
YouTube is - I think - the place to watch the New Frasier. All the funny bits. None of the dull stuff in between.
Short clips then? (if what I hear about the show is correct)
For reasons with which I won't bore anyone, I've been a big user of the NHS over the past couple of days.
My experience of both GP and Hospital services - very good, the staff remain the biggest asset in the face of a huge workload and once you're in "the system" and begin to figure out how it works, it does work. There's a lot of waiting - the word patient is hugely apposite - but you get to the top of the queue in time.
How the various A&E departments function is a mystery - what they are like on a Saturday evening is beyond my imagination. It seems people rock up with everything and nothing and the triaging aspect looks key. One of the doctors told me a large proportion of people didn't need to be there. There's a huge requirement for public health education and regrettably this was one of the areas cut by Osborne and the coalition.
75 years on and no one is saying the NHS is perfect, far from it. The alternative, as in many countries, where you pay for even the most basic medical service, isn't something with which I'm comfortable. Unfortunately, as long as we continue to aspire to European levels of public services on American levels of taxation, we're going to struggle.
Good afternoon
Just popped in and hope it is nothing serious
My own experience 7 weeks ago affirms that once you are in the system and cleared A & E, the process for me was exceptional though I had been sent in directly by my GP as a medical emergency but after the initial triage at 5.30pm it was not until 8.00am the following morning the doctors saw me and acted swiftly and all the staff were so kind and reassuring
A & E is coping with enormous demand and some of it is indeed frivolous like the young women who turned up when I was there, with 114 patients waiting, saying she had a hangover. It does seem that the staff do monitor the stats of all patients in A & E every couple of hours but in my case my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen were normal despite the diagnosis at 10.30 that I had had a massive DVT in my thigh. Also other issues came to light on the ultrasound and I am under 3 consultants but happy and positive
I do not know how the A & E system is streamlined but it would help if more clinics were open 8 - 8 every day including weekends for people to drop in and leave A & E for exactly its purpose , Accident and Emergency
As it so happens I have caught another unpleasant bug and am resting, but it is not covid, so maybe my immune system is a bit off centre !!!
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
It is quite astonishing that Boris was brought down because he let other people have a drink after work, but that work (running the country) didn’t have a loophole that allowed it, whilst Sir Keir did exactly the same and was let off, with no one considering him dodgy, for doing exactly the same thing, but after doing a job that a loophole did allow staff to drink inside afterwards.
All while we were meant to be terrified of socialising near family and friends, and reprimanded as being thoughtless and selfish, because the virus was so contagious and deadly
He wasn’t brought down over a drink.
He was brought down over lying about putting a known sexual predator in a position of authority and then getting cabinet ministers to repeat that lie.
That wouldn’t have brought him down without partygate
He survived the vote on Partygate.
He sure did but had it not happened, he wouldn’t have been brought down by Pincher gate
We have to disagree, lying about sexual assaults is a career ender.
It probably isn't, sadly. But it is when it proves the last straw (and it is a pretty hefty straw, rightly).
Johnson was already damaged by Partygate and his general unsuitedness to being PM was increasingly coming to show. Public services were struggling, the economy had taken a big hit and airy and pithy wordsmithery wasn't enough. In that context, being asked to cover up (yet) another inappropriate Johnson appointment was one ask too far for too many MPs. However, had he still been 10 points ahead in the polls, they'd have swallowed it.
Exactly, it was the last straw. If partygate hadn’t happened, he’d probably still have been clear in the polls and survived it easily
That's akin to saying that if he weren't addicted to lying, he might have survived.
But he is what he is.
The point is that he was brought down by something that Sir Keir more or less did (well he did exactly the same but was let off on a technicality), yet is distrusted by opinion poll respondents whilst SKS is probably trusted despite making the most callous and spiteful move of the whole pandemic; he literally asked for us to be locked up for longer on no evidence, crying wolf about something that he himself showed scant regard for.
My thought is that Boris, the prime minister who actually implemented the law, should at least be expected to follow it himself. But maybe I'm just being a presumptuous oik and that Boris, loveable bounder that he is, should be excused that obligation too.
Yes, I’ve seen that said in that sarcastic James O’Brien esque way before, and I dislike it. I’d actually disagree; the people running the country through those times should have been allowed a drink after work, they were obviously working together all day anyway, whilst we were all locked indoors.
The point is that Sir Keir did the same but was let off on a technicality, that you can drink with people you work with if you’d been campaigning, despite simultaneously wanting us locked up for longer because of some supposed surge in infections. and people see that as ok.
The technicality being it was not against the law. Tens of millions of people escape criminal convictions for their activities each day on the same basis.
Say ‘James O’Brien’ and like magic the disciples appear
I haven’t eaten all day. I should be starving. Instead I’m milldly peckish
I’ve got a nice takeaway curry from the reliable restaurant next door, I’ve had two G&Ts and one glass of red
At this point normally I’d be wolfing down the rest of the food and demolishing the wine. Instead I feel sated 2/3 of the way into the curry and I am wondering if I will have more than two glasses of wine, as I am a tiny bit squiffy and that’s enough. At the same time I an not prowling the stews hunting for girls in hot pants
Everything is calmed. Maybe this drug just makes you old and/or boring. If it saves my liver I can cope with that, I can be old n boring. For a bit
Wegovy used to be how power couple Gove and La Vine presented themselves. Sad.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
It's a sign of age when you realise your amusing sitcom references might not actually mean anything to people you're talking to. It's only recently I've clocked this. Some of the media outlets are the worst at this. Not just Blackadder quotes, but other common ones are "I don't believe it" from OFITG (or indeed references to Victor Meldrew), dead parrot sketch or four candles references, Les Dawson accents when talking about "my mother in law", "to me, to you, to me, to you", "that's you that is", "oh no, what a personal disaster", "Don't tell 'im, Pike", "Don't panic Mr Mannering" and "they don't like it up-em sir".
My 12 year old niece was taking the mickey out of me the other day for the ever increasing grey hair I’m developing. I replied that I think it makes me look like George Clooney. Cue a blank look.
To be fair, we all have that blank look when you mention your similarity to George Clooney.
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
15 May 2020 20 May 2020 18 June 2020 19 June 2020 an unspecified date in September 2020 13 November 2020 27 November 2020 15 December 2020 17 December 2020 18 December 2020 14 January 2021 16 April 2021
plus allegations of more (basically every Friday).
The police issued 126 Fixed Penalty Notices, so that is 126 times someone broke the law, plus there were another 24 FPNs for the Conservative Party party hosted by Shaun Bailey. There are allegations of a large number of further incidents never being looked at by the police.
Absolutely. The politicians didn't believe in the laws, or that there was such a ferocious health hazard. Not Boris, not Shaun Bailey, not Keir Starmer.
Of course there was a health hazard but not one that justified the laws by way of response that the government introduced.
Starmer believed in the law and followed the law. That's why there were no FPNs for him or his staff.
Oh he believed in the laws of course he did. He is a lawyer. But he manifestly did not believe in the rationale behind the laws otherwise he simply wouldn't have gathered as he did with his co-workers.
You wouldn't need a law saying it was illegal to jump off the white cliffs of Dover, would you.
Exactly. If he really believed we should all be kept away from each other for fear of spreading a terrible disease, it simply wouldn’t have crossed his mind to share a meal & a beer inside with others when no one else could - whether it was technically allowed or not. Especially when a month later he was trying to blackmail the PM into keeping everyone else locked down
For reasons with which I won't bore anyone, I've been a big user of the NHS over the past couple of days.
My experience of both GP and Hospital services - very good, the staff remain the biggest asset in the face of a huge workload and once you're in "the system" and begin to figure out how it works, it does work. There's a lot of waiting - the word patient is hugely apposite - but you get to the top of the queue in time.
How the various A&E departments function is a mystery - what they are like on a Saturday evening is beyond my imagination. It seems people rock up with everything and nothing and the triaging aspect looks key. One of the doctors told me a large proportion of people didn't need to be there. There's a huge requirement for public health education and regrettably this was one of the areas cut by Osborne and the coalition.
75 years on and no one is saying the NHS is perfect, far from it. The alternative, as in many countries, where you pay for even the most basic medical service, isn't something with which I'm comfortable. Unfortunately, as long as we continue to aspire to European levels of public services on American levels of taxation, we're going to struggle.
The Norwegian health service seemed outstanding, from my contacts with it last summer. Their hospitals have walk-in ‘first aid’ centres, which work like A&Es but don’t, I think, deal with the serious stuff. In two different towns I went in, got triaged, saw a doctor, was examined and had some routine blood test and got the result, both times back on the street with a prescription within an hour. And with an EHIC it cost about £18 a time. Each of the centres had more staff than patients.
How they deal with more serious stuff, I don’t know, but those first aid centres reminded me of the Leave Campaign video that showed us what the post-Brexit NHS would be like.
Labour's Wes Streeting has been looking at similar arrangements in Australia, although aiui some hospitals already have similar not-quite A&E departments here.
'Minor injuries units' - at least, that's what they're called here. Our local hospital, which acts as a satellite for York and only does day-case, scans and recuperation has one. Absolute dream, you can bet on being seen within half an hour or less, typically.
My son suffered from pulled elbow repeatedly between about 13 months and 4.5 years. We had, I think, five trips to the unit during that time, always seen within 30 minutes and normally out within 40 - the one exception being where there was a chance of a fracture (he'd fallen off a swing shortly before the injury became apparent) and we got sent up to York A&E for the x-ray to rule that out as it out of hours for the x-ray facility at the local hospital.
When our kids were younger (and A&E trips were fairly frequent), we used to get seen quite quickly. This was in part at least because both our children are adopted, and hence are marked as 'At Risk' on the hospital information. Note that the 'At Risk' comes with them having been in care, not because of us! I got very used to the moment when a receptionist or nurse would be working through the initial process, and they'd see the notification on the screen, and their head would slowly turn towards me so they could give me a good looking over.
I would just say that during my 13 hour overnight stay in A & E it was surprising how many children, from babies to young teenagers, turned up at A & E and thankfully were seen quicker
Indeed my son took his youngest daughter (18 months) in when she became listless and were back home in 4 hours but a few days later his daughter (12) developed suspected appendicitis and not only was she there for over 6 hours they couldn't do a CT scan as it was Friday night and she was called back to hospital on the following Tuesday
Fortunately the CT scan couldn't justify a appedectomy
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
My, you are so out of touch.
No, I’m right
“Small boats migrants: instant removal, or process the claims? The public are split“
Visit a sauna regularly, or install one at home, if you have the space (less needed than you think).
The health benefits of heat stress have been known since prehistoric times. Cardiovascular benefit is as good as aerobic exercise. The sweating helps with weight loss. Studies demonstrate a 40%+ reduction in all-causes mortality among Finnish over-50s who sauna regularly.
Also helps avoid drinking, since the fact that alcohol-induced falling asleep inside the sauna is a not uncommon cause of death in Finland. Save the drink until after, to avoid oven roasting yourself.
For reasons with which I won't bore anyone, I've been a big user of the NHS over the past couple of days.
My experience of both GP and Hospital services - very good, the staff remain the biggest asset in the face of a huge workload and once you're in "the system" and begin to figure out how it works, it does work. There's a lot of waiting - the word patient is hugely apposite - but you get to the top of the queue in time.
How the various A&E departments function is a mystery - what they are like on a Saturday evening is beyond my imagination. It seems people rock up with everything and nothing and the triaging aspect looks key. One of the doctors told me a large proportion of people didn't need to be there. There's a huge requirement for public health education and regrettably this was one of the areas cut by Osborne and the coalition.
75 years on and no one is saying the NHS is perfect, far from it. The alternative, as in many countries, where you pay for even the most basic medical service, isn't something with which I'm comfortable. Unfortunately, as long as we continue to aspire to European levels of public services on American levels of taxation, we're going to struggle.
Good afternoon
Just popped in and hope it is nothing serious
My own experience 7 weeks ago affirms that once you are in the system and cleared A & E, the process for me was exceptional though I had been sent in directly by my GP as a medical emergency but after the initial triage at 5.30pm it was not until 8.00am the following morning the doctors saw me and acted swiftly and all the staff were so kind and reassuring
A & E is coping with enormous demand and some of it is indeed frivolous like the young women who turned up when I was there, with 114 patients waiting, saying she had a hangover. It does seem that the staff do monitor the stats of all patients in A & E every couple of hours but in my case my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen were normal despite the diagnosis at 10.30 that I had had a massive DVT in my thigh. Also other issues came to light on the ultrasound and I am under 3 consultants but happy and positive
I do not know how the A & E system is streamlined but it would help if more clinics were open 8 - 8 every day including weekends for people to drop in and leave A & E for exactly its purpose , Accident and Emergency
As it so happens I have caught another unpleasant bug and am resting, but it is not covid, so maybe my immune system is a bit off centre !!!
Generally, my experience of the NHS is of a pretty good standard of care and a rubbish standard of customer service.
I took my oldest daughter to our local hospital recently (one of Greater Manchester’s smaller offerings, and it would have been rationalised out of existence long ago but for the fact it is the NHS’s first hospital). Needed her knee looking at. My wife had rung the doctor, who advised us to go to minor injuries. When we got there we were greeted by an officious receptionist who told us that we should have phoned 111, and as we hadn’t, we’d probably have a long wait. How long? Really can’t say. Are we looking more like one hour or five hours? Really can’t say. Would it help if I phoned 111 now? No, because you’re here. You’d have to go home and do it. Why? Because I can see you’re here.
In the end we were seen after about 90 minutes by a very pleasant nurse who gave us his diagnosis, bandaged her up and sent us on our way. That side of it works fine. But the processes are horrible.
I don’t mind waiting – I realise that’s the way a finite service is rationed – but I’m sure there must be better front doors to the system.
All that said, when I’ve been to that hospital in clearly urgent situations before with a family member screaming in pain or unconscious, they have put process aside.
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
Leaving the ECHR and international treaties in which we contributed leaves us similar to Russia and Belarus and would jeopardise the WF and Good Friday Agreement
There is nothing of the left of wanting our country not to become an international pariah
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
My, you are so out of touch.
No, I’m right
“Small boats migrants: instant removal, or process the claims? The public are split“
Since Sunak stopped being Mr Sensible and embarked on his William-Hauge-facing-defeat tribute act, spinning hamfistedly off to the right, both his and the Tories’ own ratings have plummeted, now below those of the dire Truss.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
I listened to PMQ's while travelling today and for the first time Keir Starmer made me laugh out loud. Not once but several times. He was genuinely funny and rarely for a politician (maybe Robin Cook or William Hague) he timing was perfect.
I haven't been particularly enthused by him up till now but I'm starting to wonder whether we may all have been underestimating him
For reasons with which I won't bore anyone, I've been a big user of the NHS over the past couple of days.
My experience of both GP and Hospital services - very good, the staff remain the biggest asset in the face of a huge workload and once you're in "the system" and begin to figure out how it works, it does work. There's a lot of waiting - the word patient is hugely apposite - but you get to the top of the queue in time.
How the various A&E departments function is a mystery - what they are like on a Saturday evening is beyond my imagination. It seems people rock up with everything and nothing and the triaging aspect looks key. One of the doctors told me a large proportion of people didn't need to be there. There's a huge requirement for public health education and regrettably this was one of the areas cut by Osborne and the coalition.
75 years on and no one is saying the NHS is perfect, far from it. The alternative, as in many countries, where you pay for even the most basic medical service, isn't something with which I'm comfortable. Unfortunately, as long as we continue to aspire to European levels of public services on American levels of taxation, we're going to struggle.
Good afternoon
Just popped in and hope it is nothing serious
My own experience 7 weeks ago affirms that once you are in the system and cleared A & E, the process for me was exceptional though I had been sent in directly by my GP as a medical emergency but after the initial triage at 5.30pm it was not until 8.00am the following morning the doctors saw me and acted swiftly and all the staff were so kind and reassuring
A & E is coping with enormous demand and some of it is indeed frivolous like the young women who turned up when I was there, with 114 patients waiting, saying she had a hangover. It does seem that the staff do monitor the stats of all patients in A & E every couple of hours but in my case my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen were normal despite the diagnosis at 10.30 that I had had a massive DVT in my thigh. Also other issues came to light on the ultrasound and I am under 3 consultants but happy and positive
I do not know how the A & E system is streamlined but it would help if more clinics were open 8 - 8 every day including weekends for people to drop in and leave A & E for exactly its purpose , Accident and Emergency
As it so happens I have caught another unpleasant bug and am resting, but it is not covid, so maybe my immune system is a bit off centre !!!
Generally, my experience of the NHS is of a pretty good standard of care and a rubbish standard of customer service.
I took my oldest daughter to our local hospital recently (one of Greater Manchester’s smaller offerings, and it would have been rationalised out of existence long ago but for the fact it is the NHS’s first hospital). Needed her knee looking at. My wife had rung the doctor, who advised us to go to minor injuries. When we got there we were greeted by an officious receptionist who told us that we should have phoned 111, and as we hadn’t, we’d probably have a long wait. How long? Really can’t say. Are we looking more like one hour or five hours? Really can’t say. Would it help if I phoned 111 now? No, because you’re here. You’d have to go home and do it. Why? Because I can see you’re here.
In the end we were seen after about 90 minutes by a very pleasant nurse who gave us his diagnosis, bandaged her up and sent us on our way. That side of it works fine. But the processes are horrible.
I don’t mind waiting – I realise that’s the way a finite service is rationed – but I’m sure there must be better front doors to the system.
All that said, when I’ve been to that hospital in clearly urgent situations before with a family member screaming in pain or unconscious, they have put process aside.
The night I was there the waiting time was displayed on several monitors of 10 hours !!
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
Thanks. I absolutely love Southwold; I think it's perhaps the best town on the English coast. It is absolutely exquisite.
I listened to PMQ's while travelling today and for the first time Keir Starmer made me laugh out loud. Not once but several times. He was genuinely funny and rarely for a politician (maybe Robin Cook or William Hague) he timing was perfect.
I haven't been particularly enthused by him up till now but I'm starting to wonder whether we may all have been underestimating him
I think it’s more that the zeitgeist is now flowing in his favour. Coming across well is so much easier with a following wind. Compare Thatcher against late Callaghan, Blair against late Major, and Cameron against late Blair/Brown.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
"Watch live: Suella Braverman to use Commons personal statement to raise immigration" (emphasis mine)
I mean, raising immigration levels was probably the main outcome, other than the shit-talking, of her tenure as HS, but I'm impressed she managed to do it simply through a speech
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
Once you appreciate the payoff from eating and drinking less, it’s down to your weak will if you can’t take that on board without potentially life-shortening pharmaceutical intervention.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
You write quite well you do. Hope you find a way out of the loneliness.
Mostly the pre-indy maps and post-indy NI maps, but some military maps from WW2 ...
Mrs Flatlander uses that site all the time for research into historic landscapes. I was never quite sure how it came about. Is there an employee that just likes maps?
I see they've added the modern Leisure maps now too.
My favourites are the coloured OS quarter inch style and the Bartholomew half inch but they are far too cluttered for modern tastes I think.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
Thanks. I absolutely love Southwold; I think it's perhaps the best town on the English coast. It is absolutely exquisite.
I'll take your Southwold and raise you Whitby*
Southwold is pleasant enough, but to me it seems like a bit of a coastal theme park for Londoners. But, each to their own
*as one example, Whitby probably not my favourite either, but it depends where 'town' ends and 'village' begins, I guess
Visit a sauna regularly, or install one at home, if you have the space (less needed than you think).
The health benefits of heat stress have been known since prehistoric times. Cardiovascular benefit is as good as aerobic exercise. The sweating helps with weight loss. Studies demonstrate a 40%+ reduction in all-causes mortality among Finnish over-50s who sauna regularly.
Also helps avoid drinking, since the fact that alcohol-induced falling asleep inside the sauna is a not uncommon cause of death in Finland. Save the drink until after, to avoid oven roasting yourself.
Finland has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe. The UK has one of the lowest
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
My, you are so out of touch.
Your earlier post about how fast food is only an occasional treat/dirty secret/indulgence for most Brits made me think that you might be a bit out of touch yourself.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
Also, keen eaters tend to be larger - and it takes considerably more alcohol to intoxicate a 16 stone man than a ten stone one.
In my formative drinking years, there was always an idea that most drinks were a bit effeminate. Real men drank bitter, or else Guinness (or equivalent). Lager was suspect. Wine was fine in the context of a meal, but as a casual drink it was either for mums or hooray henrys (fairly sure that wouldn't have been the term I'd have used at 15 but you get the idea). Whisky and vodka were ok, but other shorts were not. Alcoholic drinks disguised as soft drinks were definitely suspect - what's the matter you big Jessie - scared you might taste something? (Although Jack Daniels and coke you could get away with, cos that's what Lemmy drank).
And it's very difficult to become a proper alcoholic drinking bitter. There is an upper limit to how drunk you can get. You get full before you get insanely drunk.
Mostly the pre-indy maps and post-indy NI maps, but some military maps from WW2 ...
Mrs Flatlander uses that site all the time for research into historic landscapes. I was never quite sure how it came about. Is there an employee that just likes maps?
I see they've added the modern Leisure maps now too.
My favourites are the coloured OS quarter inch style and the Bartholomew half inch but they are far too cluttered for modern tastes I think.
Just good public service ethos? It's been a thing for a long time.
They do have their own map newsletter called Cairt, which Mrs F might like to try signing up to - brief emailed thing every other month or so, and I always look through it carefully. The lidar mapping was an unexpected treat of the kind that is otherwise easilyt missed.
Edit: PS the National Records also moving into putting their mapping online, but documents and the like really as you would expect.
Mostly the pre-indy maps and post-indy NI maps, but some military maps from WW2 ...
Mrs Flatlander uses that site all the time for research into historic landscapes. I was never quite sure how it came about. Is there an employee that just likes maps?
I see they've added the modern Leisure maps now too.
My favourites are the coloured OS quarter inch style and the Bartholomew half inch but they are far too cluttered for modern tastes I think.
My dad always favoured the Bartholomews - I used to love looking at those as a child with all the colour detail.
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
My, you are so out of touch.
Your earlier post about how fast food is only an occasional treat/dirty secret/indulgence for most Brits made me think that you might be a bit out of touch yourself.
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
Thanks. I absolutely love Southwold; I think it's perhaps the best town on the English coast. It is absolutely exquisite.
It is, isn’t it. That and Aldeburgh, although some years ago when I worked there people tended to have a very relaxed attitude to parking. Not unusual to see people stop in the middle of the road for a chat with a passing pedestrian.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
But my life isn’t fundamentally unfulfilling, so you must speak for yourself
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
Once you appreciate the payoff from eating and drinking less, it’s down to your weak will if you can’t take that on board without potentially life-shortening pharmaceutical intervention.
You have to rely on a dog for company, and indeed intimacy, you could try leaving the poor trembling hound alone for a week before you start gloating about your “superior will power”
Visit a sauna regularly, or install one at home, if you have the space (less needed than you think).
The health benefits of heat stress have been known since prehistoric times. Cardiovascular benefit is as good as aerobic exercise. The sweating helps with weight loss. Studies demonstrate a 40%+ reduction in all-causes mortality among Finnish over-50s who sauna regularly.
Also helps avoid drinking, since the fact that alcohol-induced falling asleep inside the sauna is a not uncommon cause of death in Finland. Save the drink until after, to avoid oven roasting yourself.
Finland has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe. The UK has one of the lowest
Mostly the pre-indy maps and post-indy NI maps, but some military maps from WW2 ...
Mrs Flatlander uses that site all the time for research into historic landscapes. I was never quite sure how it came about. Is there an employee that just likes maps?
I see they've added the modern Leisure maps now too.
My favourites are the coloured OS quarter inch style and the Bartholomew half inch but they are far too cluttered for modern tastes I think.
Just good public service ethos? It's been a thing for a long time.
They do have their own map newsletter called Cairt, which Mrs F might like to try signing up to - brief emailed thing every other month or so, and I always look through it carefully. The lidar mapping was an unexpected treat of the kind that is otherwise easilyt missed.
Edit: PS the National Records also moving into putting their mapping online, but documents and the like really as you would expect.
PS The maps thing is far too sustained and broad to be a singleton enthusiast, I think - too much negotiation involved with OS etc. Clearly supported at senior management level.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
Have to agree. It’s the same for a lot of modern life “Prevention is better than a cure” is a great motto, but unfortunately everyone seems to value finding, or more to the point, selling, cures now
I was lonely & single entering middle age. Very isolated and becoming agoraphobic. My advice is to try and get out in the fresh air every morning, join a club, get to the gym, & try internet dating. Good luck, don’t lose heart
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
But my life isn’t fundamentally unfulfilling, so you must speak for yourself
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
My life is fulfilling too. I have a family whom I live and a job I find interesting. But I am constantly hungry and snack far too often. This isn't society's fault. It is a function of my body worrying - despite 48 years evidence of the next meal being just around the corner - that famine might be imminent.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
Have to agree. It’s the same for a lot of modern life “Prevention is better than a cure” is a great motto, but unfortunately everyone seems to value finding, or more to the point, selling, cures now
I was lonely & single entering middle age. Very isolated and becoming agoraphobic. My advice is to try and get out in the fresh air every morning, join a club, get to the gym, & try internet dating. Good luck, don’t lose heart
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
She's not deluded. She knows exactly what she's doing and is playing her hand. She's watched the likes of Trump, Orban, Erdogan and Bolsonaro and knows it can work.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
But my life isn’t fundamentally unfulfilling, so you must speak for yourself
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
My life is fulfilling too. I have a family whom I live and a job I find interesting. But I am constantly hungry and snack far too often. This isn't society's fault. It is a function of my body worrying - despite 48 years evidence of the next meal being just around the corner - that famine might be imminent.
To be fair, imminent famine was the risk for all of us until very recently, and for too many even now.
Evolution takes a while to catch up- for practical purposes, we're cavemen in smart casual.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
But my life isn’t fundamentally unfulfilling, so you must speak for yourself
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
My life is fulfilling too. I have a family whom I live and a job I find interesting. But I am constantly hungry and snack far too often. This isn't society's fault. It is a function of my body worrying - despite 48 years evidence of the next meal being just around the corner - that famine might be imminent.
Actually, food is the one place where I would say @kyf_100 has a point about dystopian modern life
The worldwide plague of obesity is not due to some global collapse in willpower, it is because the food industry has learned to create sweet fatty foods that we all find horrifyingly addictive, and which give us cravings for more. It is hideous. In my widely travelled lifetime I have watched one country after another fall victim to this, obesity is now so ubiquitous it is a shock when you reach a country which doesn’t suffer it - Cambodia is an example, Thailand is not: they are getting fat
On my recent visit to France I noticed it there, too: the French are also getting fat
We desperately need these weight loss drugs to work: as a species. Or we fiercely regulate the food industry
Wow Braverman. I had to pinch myself to remind me this was London 2023 and not Berlin 1933. Quite a dangerous woman.
She's getting a bit deluded and that was definitely intended to cosplay Rovers of Blood. Unfortunately a good public speaker though.
I would suggest she is not a bit deluded but wholly deluded as she moves to the hard right
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
In what world is it “hard right” for a country to police its own borders and determine who gets in and who doesn’t? And not some nebulous international court sitting in a foreign country?
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
I agree that 'right' and 'left' don't help at all here - as is much more generally the case. Among the countries most keen to police their borders are those often considered 'left' - Cuba, N Korea, China.
The problem is that two good principles are not compatible: The principal that every country has the right to police their borders is not fully consonant with the right to flee persecution and seek asylum.
The other problem is that all asylum seekers are equal but some are more equal than others. We don't hear an awful lot about being swamped or invaded by people from Hong Kong or Ukraine.
I agree of course that large numbers of people are taking the Michael, but that is largely a problem because of UK Home Office incompetence over decades.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
It seems very likely that these weight loss drugs work on the same reward centres, whether it's the dopamine hit from a grilled cheese sandwich or a bottle of wine. Supposedly it also works on problem gambling, too, which suggests a disruption in the brain's reward mechanism beyond purely physical stimuli.
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
But it doesn’t remove the pleasure (for me, anyway)
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I don't doubt it.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
But my life isn’t fundamentally unfulfilling, so you must speak for yourself
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
My life is fulfilling too. I have a family whom I live and a job I find interesting. But I am constantly hungry and snack far too often. This isn't society's fault. It is a function of my body worrying - despite 48 years evidence of the next meal being just around the corner - that famine might be imminent.
Actually, food is the one place where I would say @kyf_100 has a point about dystopian modern life
The worldwide plague of obesity is not due to some global collapse in willpower, it is because the food industry has learned to create sweet fatty foods that we all find horrifyingly addictive, and which give us cravings for more. It is hideous. In my widely travelled lifetime I have watched one country after another fall victim to this, obesity is now so ubiquitous it is a shock when you reach a country which doesn’t suffer it - Cambodia is an example, Thailand is not: they are getting fat
On my recent visit to France I noticed it there, too: the French are also getting fat
We desperately need these weight loss drugs to work: as a species. Or we fiercely regulate the food industry
Just don't eat sugary crap.
By the way, re PT, by remarkable co-incidence published just today:
Incidentally, I was only one of two swimmers when I went to the pool this morning. I chatted to the lifeguard and another staff member, and said: "Have I gone wrong and ended up in the Marie Celeste?"
They looked at each other, and asked: "What's that?"
Two women in their twenties had not heard of the Marie Celeste. I find that quite incredible.
They seemed to quite enjoy the story when I told them it.
I mentioned yesterday that I was now being assisted by carers. It often surprises my wife and myself, when we make reference to something which we regard as common knowledge, how often our carers look at us blankly and say that they've never heard of whatever it is.
A friend of mine, who teaches history at university, says he has long since stopped making "fun" references to Blackadder, as most students haven't heard of it let alone ever seen an episode.
I don't find the thing about people never having heard of the Mary Celeste at all surprising. It was a fairly well known little tale when I was growing up, but these things get displaced by others over time and aren't the same across cultures. It isn't something anyone needs to know about, and doesn't have any historical significance. There are lots of similar stories where what happened exactly has never been established, and while the answer is probably mundane if unlucky, the lack of conclusive evidence invites fanciful speculation. These little tales come into favour and fall out of it again.
That is a shame, not least because my sister-in-law gets a top up to her pension from the royalties on the repeats of a certain episode of Blackadder.
May I ask which one? As well as introducing my son to Die Hard, we've started Blackadder with Season 2, and now 3. (Yes, we missed out the first series for now). Some of the jokes are a little over his head, but he finds much of it hilarious.
And occasionally: "Oh, that's why you say that, dad!" (e.g. Sod Off Baldrick...)
I'll send you a message. Don't want to dox myself. I know you are a regular visitor to Southwold so he/you might bump into an actor or two. One benefit is we sometimes get to use Richard Curtis's beach hut.
Thanks. I absolutely love Southwold; I think it's perhaps the best town on the English coast. It is absolutely exquisite.
I'll take your Southwold and raise you Whitby*
Southwold is pleasant enough, but to me it seems like a bit of a coastal theme park for Londoners. But, each to their own
*as one example, Whitby probably not my favourite either, but it depends where 'town' ends and 'village' begins, I guess
Whitby's a good call. But...
When I walked the coast, I set off from Edinburgh. I had very little experience of anywhere on the east coast, so I was seeing places for the first time. I found Whitby a bit... meh. Scarborough felt like a hell-hole. But walking into Southwold one cold November day, it *felt* good. even out of season, it was warm and welcoming.
Clare Wilson @ClareWilsonMed A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia
Speaking of weight loss - I’m on Wegovy after trying Ozempic. Definitely lost some weight … but much more interestingly it has really changed my desire for booze
I reckon it’s roughly halved my intake. I still enjoy a glass - or indeed several - but then I stop. My desire is sated much quicker. Its truly odd
These things could be absolute wonder drugs as long as it doesn’t turn out they all give you brain cancer
We're grateful for the current guinea pigs engaged in the large scale, long term trial which will help determine that.
So thanks.
I'm confused (or perhaps Leon is). Ozempic is Wegovy. Both are semaglutide.
Different dosage levels (and separate FDA authorisations) for the two brand names, I think ? Wegovy is the higher dose.
“ The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, runny nose or sore throat. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Wegovy® may cause serious side effects, including inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney problems (kidney failure), serious allergic reactions, change in vision, increased heart rate, and depression or thoughts of suicide. ”
What for? Just to lose weight? Just eat and drink less.
I am a self confessed alcoholic. A highly functional alcoholic but still, an alcoholic
I joke about it, and I don’t particularly stress about it (because I function, and I enjoy booze) - nonetheless I am aware it is probably sub optimal for my health etc
This stuff halves my booze intake without my even trying. Not something I can normally do without a grave effort and intense boredom - followed by relapse
Indeed despite its expense wegovy probably pays for itself as I normally drink so much pricey red wine
I’ve noticed it here in Bangkok. I’ll have half a bottle of red with contentment… but then I just stop. Drink the rest the next day. That’s absolutely not normal for me
I remember you describing the benefits as wanting fewer puddings. Which didn't immediately strike me as a benefit, because I love puddings. I don't want not to want them.
It reminds me of the old broccoli joke: “I don’t like broccoli – and I’m glad I don’t like it – because if I liked it, I’d eat it – and I hate the stuff.”
Mind you, I would like not to feel hungry all the time. And I could certainly do to lose a few stone.
OTOH, by the age of 48, I already have that relationship with alcohol. I love a beer, I enjoy cider, wine, whisky ... but I can't remember the last time I was drunk. I blame kids - the threat of a hangover with young children brought a hidden self-regulating mechanism which I didn't know I possessed and now can't override. One drink is usually fine nowadays; more than three almost unheard of. The me of my late teens wouldn't recognise me now.
My alcoholism was 'cured' by age and a 2nd marriage. Age because I could no longer function or recover as before. The 2nd marriage because an end to stupid level drinking was a condition of it. The main legacy of all that nonsense (apart from whatever internal damage there is) is I still hate to have just 1 drink. I don't want more than 3 these days but I do want that 3 (or 4 at a push) if I start. I won't have a drink at all if I know I can't have another couple. My other little quirk on this is I don't like to mix drinking and eating. I much prefer booze on an empty stomach.
All day drinking sessions with all the lads are a rarity nowadays – but I always used to be baffled by the indifference with which eating was treated on these occasions. I enjoyed a whole day drinking as much as anyone else, but an adequate-to-good pub meal is a pleasure too – I seemed to be in a minority in insisting on eating, and downright odd for insisting on a pudding. Men eating puddings in the company only of other men seems to be seen as slightly girly. Which is odd, as in mixed company it seems more common for women to be the pudding-dodgers.
Food is a good defence against alcoholism, I'd say. Most problem drinkers are indifferent to it in my experience. And the ones that aren't still drink less (and less dangerously) because they also (like you) enjoy masticating.
Also, keen eaters tend to be larger - and it takes considerably more alcohol to intoxicate a 16 stone man than a ten stone one.
In my formative drinking years, there was always an idea that most drinks were a bit effeminate. Real men drank bitter, or else Guinness (or equivalent). Lager was suspect. Wine was fine in the context of a meal, but as a casual drink it was either for mums or hooray henrys (fairly sure that wouldn't have been the term I'd have used at 15 but you get the idea). Whisky and vodka were ok, but other shorts were not. Alcoholic drinks disguised as soft drinks were definitely suspect - what's the matter you big Jessie - scared you might taste something? (Although Jack Daniels and coke you could get away with, cos that's what Lemmy drank).
And it's very difficult to become a proper alcoholic drinking bitter. There is an upper limit to how drunk you can get. You get full before you get insanely drunk.
Yes on the whole. But there's always exceptions. In my very early accounting days the firm I was training with (in Savile Row would you believe) hired this bloke at sub partner level who was big and posh, wide shoulders, good hair, and for some reason hadn't quite made it in the way you'd expect of someone like that. First time I worked with him I found out why. Out at a client, lunchbreak, just me and him, strictly an hour, he downed 5 pints of bitter to my 2. I'd never seen beer drinking like it (in a suit and tie lunch hour). It was quite astonishing to witness. He seemed a nice person, drunk or sober, but his sheer capacity, his ability to 'hold it', did him no favours. He left after a couple of months for enigmatic reasons but the legend lived on. I hope he got himself straightened out.
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dytx7z1yEg
A bit of a cultural artifact, as well as a civil engineering document.
Rosemary, maybe.
Just popped in and hope it is nothing serious
My own experience 7 weeks ago affirms that once you are in the system and cleared A & E, the process for me was exceptional though I had been sent in directly by my GP as a medical emergency but after the initial triage at 5.30pm it was not until 8.00am the following morning the doctors saw me and acted swiftly and all the staff were so kind and reassuring
A & E is coping with enormous demand and some of it is indeed frivolous like the young women who turned up when I was there, with 114 patients waiting, saying she had a hangover. It does seem that the staff do monitor the stats of all patients in A & E every couple of hours but in my case my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen were normal despite the diagnosis at 10.30 that I had had a massive DVT in my thigh. Also other issues came to light on the ultrasound and I am under 3 consultants but happy and positive
I do not know how the A & E system is streamlined but it would help if more clinics were open 8 - 8 every day including weekends for people to drop in and leave A & E for exactly its purpose , Accident and Emergency
As it so happens I have caught another unpleasant bug and am resting, but it is not covid, so maybe my immune system is a bit off centre !!!
Frankly she should join RefUK alongside Farage
Braverman is entirely correct and I imagine at least 50% of the country totally agrees with her on this issue
Tories who find her views “abhorrent” are pathetic beta cucks who have allowed the left to castrate them
Indeed my son took his youngest daughter (18 months) in when she became listless and were back home in 4 hours but a few days later his daughter (12) developed suspected appendicitis and not only was she there for over 6 hours they couldn't do a CT scan as it was Friday night and she was called back to hospital on the following Tuesday
Fortunately the CT scan couldn't justify a appedectomy
“Small boats migrants: instant removal, or process the claims? The public are split“
https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/47381-small-boats-migrants-instant-removal-or-process-the-claims-the-public-are-split
The health benefits of heat stress have been known since prehistoric times. Cardiovascular benefit is as good as aerobic exercise. The sweating helps with weight loss. Studies demonstrate a 40%+ reduction in all-causes mortality among Finnish over-50s who sauna regularly.
Also helps avoid drinking, since the fact that alcohol-induced falling asleep inside the sauna is a not uncommon cause of death in Finland. Save the drink until after, to avoid oven roasting yourself.
I took my oldest daughter to our local hospital recently (one of Greater Manchester’s smaller offerings, and it would have been rationalised out of existence long ago but for the fact it is the NHS’s first hospital). Needed her knee looking at. My wife had rung the doctor, who advised us to go to minor injuries. When we got there we were greeted by an officious receptionist who told us that we should have phoned 111, and as we hadn’t, we’d probably have a long wait. How long? Really can’t say. Are we looking more like one hour or five hours? Really can’t say. Would it help if I phoned 111 now? No, because you’re here. You’d have to go home and do it. Why? Because I can see you’re here.
In the end we were seen after about 90 minutes by a very pleasant nurse who gave us his diagnosis, bandaged her up and sent us on our way. That side of it works fine. But the processes are horrible.
I don’t mind waiting – I realise that’s the way a finite service is rationed – but I’m sure there must be better front doors to the system.
All that said, when I’ve been to that hospital in clearly urgent situations before with a family member screaming in pain or unconscious, they have put process aside.
There is nothing of the left of wanting our country not to become an international pariah
Being fat, lonely, single, and entering middle age, I eat and drink too much. On the other hand, I have no real desire to take a drug that sates the pleasure from the only things I really enjoy these days.
Thanks to the government's ridiculous "energy price cap" I already feel cold and numb. That's just what winter is like when it costs a fortune to heat your house.
These drugs are marketed as drugs that reduce fat, but what they really reduce is pleasure. Which is the natural response to a world that makes you feel cold and numb. To seek pleasure. Whether that be in the bottle, in the arms of a beautiful Thai hooker, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
When I think of drugs like Ozempic et al, I am reminded of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto -
“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.”
Instead of actually improving our world, we medicate away the side effects from the cold, grey world we live in, which are a desire for wine, women and song.
I listened to PMQ's while travelling today and for the first time Keir Starmer made me laugh out loud. Not once but several times. He was genuinely funny and rarely for a politician (maybe Robin Cook or William Hague) he timing was perfect.
I haven't been particularly enthused by him up till now but I'm starting to wonder whether we may all have been underestimating him
https://news.sky.com/video/watch-pmqs-live-rishi-sunak-faces-sir-keir-starmer-in-the-commons-13024004
"Watch live: Suella Braverman to use Commons personal statement to raise immigration"
(emphasis mine)
I mean, raising immigration levels was probably the main outcome, other than the shit-talking, of her tenure as HS, but I'm impressed she managed to do it simply through a speech
It makes you sated quicker. You still enjoy the meal, the wine, the occasional bunk up, but the cravings don’t dominate your thoughts
A close female relative of mine is on Ozempic. She loves it. She has always struggled with being overweight and for her the biggest benefit of the drug is not the weight loss (tho she likes that) it’s the removal of the nagging addictive voice which made her think about food all the time and way too much, and feel hungry even when she wasn’t
That voice has gone. Her mind is clearer. She does other stuff
I see they've added the modern Leisure maps now too.
My favourites are the coloured OS quarter inch style and the Bartholomew half inch but they are far too cluttered for modern tastes I think.
The same arguments were made for prozac in the 90s, valium in the 60s. It's a way of externalising the side effects of the chemical imbalance that modern society creates. In the case of prozac, depressive thoughts, in the case of ozempic, problem eating/drinking/dopamine hits. It doesn't address the root cause.
I'm sure I'd be a stone lighter and my liver would thank me if I hopped on the ozempic bandwagon. But fundamentally, it does nothing to address the question of why so many of us jump on the booze/takeaway/dopamine hit bandwagon in the first place. Which is that our lives are fundamentally unfulfilling.
Southwold is pleasant enough, but to me it seems like a bit of a coastal theme park for Londoners. But, each to their own
*as one example, Whitby probably not my favourite either, but it depends where 'town' ends and 'village' begins, I guess
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/fast-food-cms-page.takeaway
In my formative drinking years, there was always an idea that most drinks were a bit effeminate. Real men drank bitter, or else Guinness (or equivalent). Lager was suspect. Wine was fine in the context of a meal, but as a casual drink it was either for mums or hooray henrys (fairly sure that wouldn't have been the term I'd have used at 15 but you get the idea). Whisky and vodka were ok, but other shorts were not. Alcoholic drinks disguised as soft drinks were definitely suspect - what's the matter you big Jessie - scared you might taste something? (Although Jack Daniels and coke you could get away with, cos that's what Lemmy drank).
And it's very difficult to become a proper alcoholic drinking bitter. There is an upper limit to how drunk you can get. You get full before you get insanely drunk.
They do have their own map newsletter called Cairt, which Mrs F might like to try signing up to - brief emailed thing every other month or so, and I always look through it carefully. The lidar mapping was an unexpected treat of the kind that is otherwise easilyt missed.
Edit: PS the National Records also moving into putting their mapping online, but documents and the like really as you would expect.
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/researching-places
Anyway, this rings true - how else could Britain support quite so many takeaways in our high streets?
I travel for a living and I adore travelling. I knap flints en route and I would do that for nothing. But I get paid for it
I readily admit I am very lucky
Yes of course I get down and sad and people die and its shit, but that is the human condition, I don’t think we have created some new unique dystopia in the last century or two
I was lonely & single entering middle age. Very isolated and becoming agoraphobic. My advice is to try and get out in the fresh air every morning, join a club, get to the gym, & try internet dating. Good luck, don’t lose heart
This isn't society's fault. It is a function of my body worrying - despite 48 years evidence of the next meal being just around the corner - that famine might be imminent.
NEW THREAD
Evolution takes a while to catch up- for practical purposes, we're cavemen in smart casual.
No wonder we're all a bit loopy.
The worldwide plague of obesity is not due to some global collapse in willpower, it is because the food industry has learned to create sweet fatty foods that we all find horrifyingly addictive, and which give us cravings for more. It is hideous. In my widely travelled lifetime I have watched one country after another fall victim to this, obesity is now so ubiquitous it is a shock when you reach a country which doesn’t suffer it - Cambodia is an example, Thailand is not: they are getting fat
On my recent visit to France I noticed it there, too: the French are also getting fat
We desperately need these weight loss drugs to work: as a species. Or we fiercely regulate the food industry
The problem is that two good principles are not compatible: The principal that every country has the right to police their borders is not fully consonant with the right to flee persecution and seek asylum.
The other problem is that all asylum seekers are equal but some are more equal than others. We don't hear an awful lot about being swamped or invaded by people from Hong Kong or Ukraine.
I agree of course that large numbers of people are taking the Michael, but that is largely a problem because of UK Home Office incompetence over decades.
By the way, re PT, by remarkable co-incidence published just today:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/dec/06/the-sauna-secret-why-finland-is-the-happiest-country-in-the-world
When I walked the coast, I set off from Edinburgh. I had very little experience of anywhere on the east coast, so I was seeing places for the first time. I found Whitby a bit... meh. Scarborough felt like a hell-hole. But walking into Southwold one cold November day, it *felt* good. even out of season, it was warm and welcoming.