And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
Its what we have seen in Scotland over the last 10 years, a belief that the State can fix things and that profit is a dirty word, generated by exploitation. A shipyard is having trouble delivering an ever changing contract for a ferry? Nationalise it. After all, what can go wrong when the profit element is removed? Well, about 400 million things so far, it turns out, all of them pounds. Brace, this is coming big time.
That’s what worries me. Rachel Reeves strikes me as competent as does Bridget Phillipson , Wes Streeting and Pat McFadden but there are too many that seem to be just plodders who think a big state is the solution and I think it worsens with the new intake given their backgrounds seem to be from the big state/charity/NGO environment.
I think there are things that should be run by the state and things that shouldn't.
We've tried railway privatisation, it's been a disaster.
Privatising BT has been overall a success (in the end). Ditto British Airways.
This isn't ideological to me, simply what does and doesn't work.
Should people be able to strike for the right to work from home?
They can strike, yes. I'm not sure how you would stop them.
In the case of the ONS they already have the right to work from home 3 days a week. They are objecting to going to the office for two days a week.
If the jobs can be done remotely outsource them.
We tried outsourcing our jobs and the quality of output was so poor we went back to the UK and had a remote working policy. Has been much better.
So what. Our finance and payroll functions are outsourced and work very well.
BT outsourced much of their business and has now insourced it again after it being less efficient and providing a poor customer experience. Ditto Vodafone who outsourced networks and then insourced it again.
So for every one of your successes, there are many where it's been a disaster.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
A very stark warning for those tempted to vote for the party.
Yep, best just stick to the reliable competent Tories who’ve left the country in such great shape after 14 years.
Great swathes of the private sector are however very much looking forward to a change of government.
Basically he says voters resent most governments particularly when they are in power for a long time.
On the subject of reform of public services can Labour do worse than the Tories? It seems that every public service from Criminal Justice to the NHS, to the Armed Forces to Universities is providing a less than satisfactory service. In the NHS we have record numbers of staff but the Tories have mismanaged so thoroughly that productivity is worse.
I am no Starmer fan and do not support Labour's top down statist approach, but the Tories record on the Public sector is so lamentable that Labour should be able to improve upon it.
“Labour’s top down statist approach” sounds like something out of Liberal Democrat council minutes. Stems from the LD fantasy that public investment can be somehow delivered by a network of do-gooder community trusts. It’s utter nonsense.
There is, remarkably enough, a spectrum of options for managing the public realm in between “top down statist approach” and “network of do-gooder community trusts”.
Exhibit a: just about any other developed Western country. Even France, which is possibly the second most centralised and top-down country in Western Europe after Britain.
The UK’s over-centralisation and Westminster domination is not a feature only of Labour. It pretty much defines the conservatives too. Look at their approach to levelling up, which is essentially Santa dispensing goodies selectively and telling the recipients what to do with them. It’s one reason we could do with more regional parties.
Total centralisation is always a failure of anything that involves people. You can control an entirely automated oil refinery from a control room, but little else.
Total decentralisation is equally problematic.
The trick is the right balance, which also changes over time.
A big component of the sociology of the workplace is related to the current norms in society.
In particular, educated professionals, these days, see proscriptive control from the centre as infantile and react against it.
The workplace needs to be ergonomic - fitted to the people working there. Not the people fitted to the workplace.
Can people using electric mobility aids use cycle lanes?
No, not asking for a friend; I’m being assessed for such an aid later this month.
These are my comments, which I hope help.
This is something organisations such as Wheels for Wellbeing, for whom I'm a volunteer, campaign on - cycles (standard and non-standard) to be mobility aids for disabled people who choose to use them as such, and a coherent set of laws. Rather then the current f*cked up dog's breakfast we have.
The simple answer is that a Class I or Class II scooters (to 4mph) is called a Pavement Scooter, which are not technically allowed to travel on the carriageway. A Class III Scooter (8mph and lights) is technically a motor vehicle allowed on the carriageway, but has a 4mph 'Pavement Mode' which you can use on the pavement.
In practice you should be OK in cycle/mobility tracks (which is the name for those not on the carriageway) and mobility lanes (which are on the carriageway). In 90% of circumstances it will be fine and people will happily go round you and will be very considerate, but I would avoid high volume fast cycle-tracks (eg CS6 through Chiswick) as where these exist the footway is likely to be high quality too, and on-carriageway painted cycle lanes as you will be at risk from dangerous, dozy or distracted idiots driving motor vehicles.
You will also find that people who "just have to do .. whatever" will generally not even think about your needs or rights, or the law, when it comes to blocking drop kerbs, pavements etc. We have to be quite tactical with that.
"Mobility" is perhaps better language than "cycle", as all groups in the field are more and more recognising that all active travel modes have similar needs and issues.
I'll give you chapter and verse if you like on the legal detail, but it is boring.
In terms of access rights you have all the same ones as a pedestrian, and service providers have a legal responsibility to deliver you the same access as anyone else. Think of yourself as a disabled or elderly pedestrian - you are at the top of the user hierarchy and everyone else has a duty of care to protect you.
I won't spin off into my hobby horses, however do not be surprised to find yourself barriered off from footpaths where you have a right to go; such discrimination is just routine everywhere at present. It can be challenged but people will fight you tooth and nail because of Schrodinger's Motorcyclist.
Part 2
Be aware of All Terrain Mobility Scooters (big wheels are the marker), which are far more capable and may be worth considering, and that one-wheel-at-the-front tricycle mobility scooters can be much more unstable on cross-falls (eg turning up a steep dropped kerb). Be cautious until you have learned. There's a whole scene of mobility scooter rambling, using mobility aids such as a Tramper. And many thousands of miles of off road paths and routes you can traverse - especially greenways and rail trails, but they often suffer from unlawful anti-wheelchair barriers. Local councillors will go to the gallows to defend these, as 2 votes from local complaining NIMBYs often count more than the actual law.
There are also increasingly mobility aids based on cycle technology (such as Mountain Trikes) which are perhaps not in your scope, and not always recognised as mobility aids yet. And a lot of people use e-Assist non-standard cycles such as tricycles as a mobility aid.
Using a mobility scooter you should get consideration as they are well recognised as mobility aids.
You may be surprised by how far mobility scooters can go - 10-30 mile range is quite normal. I have a couple in their 70s as tenants who both use scooters, and they quite happily go 2 miles to the big supermarket, but normally not 4-5 miles to the hospital. They can't go down off road routes as in my town all the paths and trails have anti-wheelchair barriers on them.
HTH.
Thanks very much. I’m rather torn ATM because in the small town where we live, as mentioned upthread, the pavements are not well maintained. I’m also concerned because my balance isn’t very good, and when I tried a scooter I felt myself falling over to one side, although everyone told me I wasn’t! I’m also concerned that I’ll find the one I’m recommended will be too awkward or heavy to get into our (quite small) car. However the place I’m going to for assessment isn’t commercially involved with any type of mobility aid vendor so we’re hoping for some useful information.
My further notes:
0 - 4 wheels might be a sensible choice. I'd say 2 wheels front and one at the back (like a Morgan 2 wheeler not a Reliant Robin), but I don't think mobility scooters are there yet.
1 - Some dismantle which may help.
2 - You can get devices which can help you load it into the car. Supplier can advise.
3 - Take the appropriate amount of time, and spend the appropriate amount of money to find out what will work for YOU, in YOUR circumstances. Don't compromise on quality or function for money unless you really have no option.
4 - Insist on having the one you are considering at your home for at least a couple of weeks, even if you need to hire it. You probably want it to be good at 80-90% of your requirements, and OK at the rest.
Test all your use cases. If it is not OK, try another one until you find one that is sufficiently suitable.
5 - You could change your car - things in the mould of eg Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Partner are very practical. Or passenger versions of small vans can be good eg Ford Connect.
6 - Don't be afraid to change it if your needs change. I have a friend who started with an e-bicycle as his mobility aid, then went to the same with adult stabilisers as his balance skills reduced, and now uses an e-tricycle and a tadpole format (2 wheels at the front, one at the back) all terrain wheelchair.
The wheelchair is manic - does 12mph and goes anywhere, and it doesn't look like a tricycle so he doesn't get abused by Council Enforcement Officers telling him to pick up his mobility aid and walk. If he's on the e-tricycle, which does about 2mph in throttle mode, he gets bullied routinely by officials.
7 - On the ride, there should be options such as different types of more-ballooney tyres or a suspension-seat, or full suspension on some (prob. heavy).
8 - Are you getting all your possible benefit entitlements? eg Higher rate personal independence payment?
9 - Remember 3 wheels and cross-falls. I have numbers of friends who have tipped themselves over attempting eg to navigate "disabled pedestrian routes" around pavement-works.
10 - There are also devices available called "clip-on cycles" for wheelchairs, which convert a manual wheelchair into an e-assist tri-cycle. I'll reply and add a couple of vids.
(I'm not saying these are for you, but they are examples of alternatives.)
This is a review of a Mountain Trike all terrain wheelchair, as used by my friend in York. Amazing thing - crossover from Mountain Bike technology to wheelchairs. This is the eAssist version; there are also manual and electric only versions. These are not very cheap.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
I didn’t like endearments like that from young female carers. I don’t have carers now; the company went out of business and anyway I’m getting more mobile.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
The corporate state was a popular idea at one time.
Can people using electric mobility aids use cycle lanes?
No, not asking for a friend; I’m being assessed for such an aid later this month.
These are my comments, which I hope help.
This is something organisations such as Wheels for Wellbeing, for whom I'm a volunteer, campaign on - cycles (standard and non-standard) to be mobility aids for disabled people who choose to use them as such, and a coherent set of laws. Rather then the current f*cked up dog's breakfast we have.
The simple answer is that a Class I or Class II scooters (to 4mph) is called a Pavement Scooter, which are not technically allowed to travel on the carriageway. A Class III Scooter (8mph and lights) is technically a motor vehicle allowed on the carriageway, but has a 4mph 'Pavement Mode' which you can use on the pavement.
In practice you should be OK in cycle/mobility tracks (which is the name for those not on the carriageway) and mobility lanes (which are on the carriageway). In 90% of circumstances it will be fine and people will happily go round you and will be very considerate, but I would avoid high volume fast cycle-tracks (eg CS6 through Chiswick) as where these exist the footway is likely to be high quality too, and on-carriageway painted cycle lanes as you will be at risk from dangerous, dozy or distracted idiots driving motor vehicles.
You will also find that people who "just have to do .. whatever" will generally not even think about your needs or rights, or the law, when it comes to blocking drop kerbs, pavements etc. We have to be quite tactical with that.
"Mobility" is perhaps better language than "cycle", as all groups in the field are more and more recognising that all active travel modes have similar needs and issues.
I'll give you chapter and verse if you like on the legal detail, but it is boring.
In terms of access rights you have all the same ones as a pedestrian, and service providers have a legal responsibility to deliver you the same access as anyone else. Think of yourself as a disabled or elderly pedestrian - you are at the top of the user hierarchy and everyone else has a duty of care to protect you.
I won't spin off into my hobby horses, however do not be surprised to find yourself barriered off from footpaths where you have a right to go; such discrimination is just routine everywhere at present. It can be challenged but people will fight you tooth and nail because of Schrodinger's Motorcyclist.
Part 2
Be aware of All Terrain Mobility Scooters (big wheels are the marker), which are far more capable and may be worth considering, and that one-wheel-at-the-front tricycle mobility scooters can be much more unstable on cross-falls (eg turning up a steep dropped kerb). Be cautious until you have learned. There's a whole scene of mobility scooter rambling, using mobility aids such as a Tramper. And many thousands of miles of off road paths and routes you can traverse - especially greenways and rail trails, but they often suffer from unlawful anti-wheelchair barriers. Local councillors will go to the gallows to defend these, as 2 votes from local complaining NIMBYs often count more than the actual law.
There are also increasingly mobility aids based on cycle technology (such as Mountain Trikes) which are perhaps not in your scope, and not always recognised as mobility aids yet. And a lot of people use e-Assist non-standard cycles such as tricycles as a mobility aid.
Using a mobility scooter you should get consideration as they are well recognised as mobility aids.
You may be surprised by how far mobility scooters can go - 10-30 mile range is quite normal. I have a couple in their 70s as tenants who both use scooters, and they quite happily go 2 miles to the big supermarket, but normally not 4-5 miles to the hospital. They can't go down off road routes as in my town all the paths and trails have anti-wheelchair barriers on them.
HTH.
Thanks very much. I’m rather torn ATM because in the small town where we live, as mentioned upthread, the pavements are not well maintained. I’m also concerned because my balance isn’t very good, and when I tried a scooter I felt myself falling over to one side, although everyone told me I wasn’t! I’m also concerned that I’ll find the one I’m recommended will be too awkward or heavy to get into our (quite small) car. However the place I’m going to for assessment isn’t commercially involved with any type of mobility aid vendor so we’re hoping for some useful information.
My further notes:
0 - 4 wheels might be a sensible choice. I'd say 2 wheels front and one at the back (like a Morgan 2 wheeler not a Reliant Robin), but I don't think mobility scooters are there yet.
1 - Some dismantle which may help.
2 - You can get devices which can help you load it into the car. Supplier can advise.
3 - Take the appropriate amount of time, and spend the appropriate amount of money to find out what will work for YOU, in YOUR circumstances. Don't compromise on quality or function for money unless you really have no option.
4 - Insist on having the one you are considering at your home for at least a couple of weeks, even if you need to hire it. You probably want it to be good at 80-90% of your requirements, and OK at the rest.
Test all your use cases. If it is not OK, try another one until you find one that is sufficiently suitable.
5 - You could change your car - things in the mould of eg Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Partner are very practical. Or passenger versions of small vans can be good eg Ford Connect.
6 - Don't be afraid to change it if your needs change. I have a friend who started with an e-bicycle as his mobility aid, then went to the same with adult stabilisers as his balance skills reduced, and now uses an e-tricycle and a tadpole format (2 wheels at the front, one at the back) all terrain wheelchair.
The wheelchair is manic - does 12mph and goes anywhere, and it doesn't look like a tricycle so he doesn't get abused by Council Enforcement Officers telling him to pick up his mobility aid and walk. If he's on the e-tricycle, which does about 2mph in throttle mode, he gets bullied routinely by officials.
7 - On the ride, there should be options such as different types of more-ballooney tyres or a suspension-seat, or full suspension on some (prob. heavy).
8 - Are you getting all your possible benefit entitlements? eg Higher rate personal independence payment?
9 - Remember 3 wheels and cross-falls. I have numbers of friends who have tipped themselves over attempting eg to navigate "disabled pedestrian routes" around pavement-works.
10 - There are also devices available called "clip-on cycles" for wheelchairs, which convert a manual wheelchair into an e-assist tri-cycle. I'll reply and add a couple of vids.
(I'm not saying these are for you, but they are examples of alternatives.)
This is a review of a Mountain Trike all terrain wheelchair, as used by my friend in York. Amazing thing - crossover from Mountain Bike technology to wheelchairs. This is the eAssist version; there are also manual and electric only versions. These are not very cheap.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
I didn’t like endearments like that from young female carers. I don’t have carers now; the company went out of business and anyway I’m getting more mobile.
I don't like being called by first name in emails, particularly from banks, dentists etc. Chummy. Yuck.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
WFH depends on the area, the team structure, the methodology and the implantation.
Properly done, it is productive. For some things, some of the time.
For example, when new people join the team - how is that handled?
Sending everyone home with a laptop is to WFH what giving everyone a small fire extinguisher is to fire fighting. Almost nothing.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
The NHS around here seems to have adopted "my lovely".
I always associate that with West country beauties, or Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
When I had 3 weeks in the local hospital last year, they were all calling me and other people "my lovely", where 30 years ago it could have been "love" or "duck".
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
The NHS around here seems to have adopted "my lovely".
I always associate that with West country beauties, or Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
When I had 3 weeks in the local hospital last year, they were all calling me and other people "my lovely", where 30 years ago it could have been "love" or "duck".
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
Your presenting an instance of outsourcing that did not work to support an argument against all outsourcing or certainly in this case. My point is they succeed or fail for a variety of reasons and I cited a successful one. Your claim that for every success many fail is unprovable.
I didn’t say the ONS would regret it. I said the staff would.
I never said I was against WFH. I work from one day a week.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
WFH depends on the area, the team structure, the methodology and the implantation.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
Your presenting an instance of outsourcing that did not work to support an argument against all outsourcing or certainly in this case. My point is they succeed or fail for a variety of reasons and I cited a successful one. Your claim that for every success many fail is unprovable.
I didn’t say the ONS would regret it. I said the staff would.
A facile comment impossible to prove or disprove. Your example of a failure is as relevant as mine is of a success. There are a variety of reasons why these succeed or fail.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
How is my comment any more facile than you saying the ONS will end up regretting it?
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
WFH depends on the area, the team structure, the methodology and the implantation.
Properly done, it is productive. For some things, some of the time.
For example, when new people join the team - how is that handled?
Sending everyone home with a laptop is to WFH what giving everyone a small fire extinguisher is to fire fighting. Almost nothing.
For new starters, I think being in the office some/most of the time is a good idea. But when they've built up knowledge and experience in the company, frankly I don't much mind how they work.
For team meetings, personally I think in person can work better depending on the task at hand but for other things I think it's fairly marginal. For example for technical refinement I find the in-person approach more useful. But if we're just discussing more high level work or people are remote anyway, it's what people prefer.
It is heavily team and business dependant I agree about that. But in general I tend to think people know how they work best until they prove they don't then some management is requirement. But I tend to trust people until they break it - so far that's worked for the people I've managed.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
The NHS around here seems to have adopted "my lovely".
I always associate that with West country beauties, or Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
When I had 3 weeks in the local hospital last year, they were all calling me and other people "my lovely", where 30 years ago it could have been "love" or "duck".
It felt like a recommended practice.
Lovely !
I’ve noticed that women, especially those working for the NHS, tend to end a phone call with ‘take care’.
As was said about it at the time, it would have been cheaper to lower the ocean.
This is meant to be one of the reasons that a branch of ITV (like ITC or something) went out of the film business. They spent so much on Raise the Titanic and another film about The Village People, released just when disco had gone out of fashion, that they narrowly avoided collapse and went out of films.
My review Reasonable British thriller of the period, it's not bad, although it has its boring bits. The plot revolves around raising the Titanic to retrieve the only known stocks of an ore vital to a Cold War weapon. It's understated (hence the boring bits). In appearance it is very basic and looks like a television episode, a disadvantage it shares with its contemporaries North Sea Hijack! (1980), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Meteor (1979). I keep banging on about Moonraker (1979) being the peak of the British special effects and it was: other films began a long decline and it show here here and there. But it overcomes its disadvantages in two notable cases: the raising scene and the score, both of which are brilliant.
It didn't flop because it was bad, it flopped because it's budget was too much for its natural audience. Well worth watching on a slow Sunday afternoon with some whiskey in one hand and PB in the other.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
The corporate state was a popular idea at one time.
The problem with the above proposal is that you have an organisation that is private company that doesn’t answer to the shareholders (the government)
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
The corporate state was a popular idea at one time.
The problem with the above proposal is that you have an organisation that is private company that doesn’t answer to the shareholders (the government)
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
Railways are an interesting one (to me, at least...). They are a massive and diverse organisation, with many different roles to fulfill: from operating services to maintaining structures that often do not fit well together. When they have been centralised - and even then, not fully - it has been fairly disastrous.
And the odd thing is: the railways are probably more centralised now than they have been since the 1960s. Yes, there are 'private' companies running things; but these are often analogous to some of the structures that existed under BR. But nowadays, the DfT and treasury hold the purse strings far tighter than they did in the 70s and 80s.
Back in the 70s, BR might have an idea: "Let's build a High Speed Train!". They would work out costs, and perhaps even develop prototypes out of their own funding. Then they would approach the government (i.e. treasury) with the begging bowl, and they would say yay or nay.
Nowadays - and this is an invention of the last 15 years or so - the DfT specify exactly what train companies / ROSCOs will buy. Before, BR would decide and ask the government for money. Projects are driven centrally, and not by the railways.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
One flaw with the Edinburgh Trams project was that the "experts" at Transport Scotland, who have much more experience with big projects, were not involved. So don't dismiss DfT so quickly - it might be cheaper for them to provide a comprehensive tram network to the NW of England in its entirety rather than piecemeal council by council.
And going back to the remarkable success of Lothian Buses, I'm convinced that the lack of meddling from councillors from the various councils they serve (hat tip @Carnyx ) is part of the reason it works so well.
For some time they were not "too big to fail" - the councils could not prop them up if they ran out of cash, nor direct their operations. So you ended up with a lean independent business that focussed on survival rather than profit or local politics, and therefore provided a coherent, high quality transport network.
Can people using electric mobility aids use cycle lanes?
No, not asking for a friend; I’m being assessed for such an aid later this month.
These are my comments, which I hope help.
This is something organisations such as Wheels for Wellbeing, for whom I'm a volunteer, campaign on - cycles (standard and non-standard) to be mobility aids for disabled people who choose to use them as such, and a coherent set of laws. Rather then the current f*cked up dog's breakfast we have.
The simple answer is that a Class I or Class II scooters (to 4mph) is called a Pavement Scooter, which are not technically allowed to travel on the carriageway. A Class III Scooter (8mph and lights) is technically a motor vehicle allowed on the carriageway, but has a 4mph 'Pavement Mode' which you can use on the pavement.
In practice you should be OK in cycle/mobility tracks (which is the name for those not on the carriageway) and mobility lanes (which are on the carriageway). In 90% of circumstances it will be fine and people will happily go round you and will be very considerate, but I would avoid high volume fast cycle-tracks (eg CS6 through Chiswick) as where these exist the footway is likely to be high quality too, and on-carriageway painted cycle lanes as you will be at risk from dangerous, dozy or distracted idiots driving motor vehicles.
You will also find that people who "just have to do .. whatever" will generally not even think about your needs or rights, or the law, when it comes to blocking drop kerbs, pavements etc. We have to be quite tactical with that.
"Mobility" is perhaps better language than "cycle", as all groups in the field are more and more recognising that all active travel modes have similar needs and issues.
I'll give you chapter and verse if you like on the legal detail, but it is boring.
In terms of access rights you have all the same ones as a pedestrian, and service providers have a legal responsibility to deliver you the same access as anyone else. Think of yourself as a disabled or elderly pedestrian - you are at the top of the user hierarchy and everyone else has a duty of care to protect you.
I won't spin off into my hobby horses, however do not be surprised to find yourself barriered off from footpaths where you have a right to go; such discrimination is just routine everywhere at present. It can be challenged but people will fight you tooth and nail because of Schrodinger's Motorcyclist.
Part 2
Be aware of All Terrain Mobility Scooters (big wheels are the marker), which are far more capable and may be worth considering, and that one-wheel-at-the-front tricycle mobility scooters can be much more unstable on cross-falls (eg turning up a steep dropped kerb). Be cautious until you have learned. There's a whole scene of mobility scooter rambling, using mobility aids such as a Tramper. And many thousands of miles of off road paths and routes you can traverse - especially greenways and rail trails, but they often suffer from unlawful anti-wheelchair barriers. Local councillors will go to the gallows to defend these, as 2 votes from local complaining NIMBYs often count more than the actual law.
There are also increasingly mobility aids based on cycle technology (such as Mountain Trikes) which are perhaps not in your scope, and not always recognised as mobility aids yet. And a lot of people use e-Assist non-standard cycles such as tricycles as a mobility aid.
Using a mobility scooter you should get consideration as they are well recognised as mobility aids.
You may be surprised by how far mobility scooters can go - 10-30 mile range is quite normal. I have a couple in their 70s as tenants who both use scooters, and they quite happily go 2 miles to the big supermarket, but normally not 4-5 miles to the hospital. They can't go down off road routes as in my town all the paths and trails have anti-wheelchair barriers on them.
HTH.
Thanks very much. I’m rather torn ATM because in the small town where we live, as mentioned upthread, the pavements are not well maintained. I’m also concerned because my balance isn’t very good, and when I tried a scooter I felt myself falling over to one side, although everyone told me I wasn’t! I’m also concerned that I’ll find the one I’m recommended will be too awkward or heavy to get into our (quite small) car. However the place I’m going to for assessment isn’t commercially involved with any type of mobility aid vendor so we’re hoping for some useful information.
My further notes:
0 - 4 wheels might be a sensible choice. I'd say 2 wheels front and one at the back (like a Morgan 2 wheeler not a Reliant Robin), but I don't think mobility scooters are there yet.
1 - Some dismantle which may help.
2 - You can get devices which can help you load it into the car. Supplier can advise.
3 - Take the appropriate amount of time, and spend the appropriate amount of money to find out what will work for YOU, in YOUR circumstances. Don't compromise on quality or function for money unless you really have no option.
4 - Insist on having the one you are considering at your home for at least a couple of weeks, even if you need to hire it. You probably want it to be good at 80-90% of your requirements, and OK at the rest.
Test all your use cases. If it is not OK, try another one until you find one that is sufficiently suitable.
5 - You could change your car - things in the mould of eg Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Partner are very practical. Or passenger versions of small vans can be good eg Ford Connect.
6 - Don't be afraid to change it if your needs change. I have a friend who started with an e-bicycle as his mobility aid, then went to the same with adult stabilisers as his balance skills reduced, and now uses an e-tricycle and a tadpole format (2 wheels at the front, one at the back) all terrain wheelchair.
The wheelchair is manic - does 12mph and goes anywhere, and it doesn't look like a tricycle so he doesn't get abused by Council Enforcement Officers telling him to pick up his mobility aid and walk. If he's on the e-tricycle, which does about 2mph in throttle mode, he gets bullied routinely by officials.
7 - On the ride, there should be options such as different types of more-ballooney tyres or a suspension-seat, or full suspension on some (prob. heavy).
8 - Are you getting all your possible benefit entitlements? eg Higher rate personal independence payment?
9 - Remember 3 wheels and cross-falls. I have numbers of friends who have tipped themselves over attempting eg to navigate "disabled pedestrian routes" around pavement-works.
10 - There are also devices available called "clip-on cycles" for wheelchairs, which convert a manual wheelchair into an e-assist tri-cycle. I'll reply and add a couple of vids.
(I'm not saying these are for you, but they are examples of alternatives.)
This is a review of a Mountain Trike all terrain wheelchair, as used by my friend in York. Amazing thing - crossover from Mountain Bike technology to wheelchairs. This is the eAssist version; there are also manual and electric only versions. These are not very cheap.
Thanks very much. I’ve seen a clip-on motor which would work on my (NHS) wheelchair.
On wheelchairs, when I got one for mum in 2017 I was surprised how reasonable light aluminium good quality folding ones could be. In the end I found a nice light folding one for just around £400.
And you can of course have several mobility aids for different circumstances. I have one marvellous acquaintance who uses an e-Brompton to get places, and tows her manual wheelchair behind it like a trailer to use when she gets there.
That e-Assist Mountain Trike is just under £7k. But really good if you will use it for what it is good at.
My friend created havoc for National Rail when they were trying to avoid putting ramped footpath-level-crossing-replacement bridges in because "disabled people can never get there". So he made a video of himself getting there.
Clip on e-cycles are generally £2.5k -> £5k.
The Director of Wheels for Wellbeing, Isabelle Clements, has been using one for decades and found it transformative. Here she is presenting her story. 4 minutes.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
The corporate state was a popular idea at one time.
A nod to fascism if I understand you. The Corporates in fascist/totalitarian theory are not "private companies with a legal personality" but "groups of people", like guilds or trades unions or the Church of England. The intent is to bypass democracy by consulting with the corporates on action: the state is everybody and everybody is subordinate to the state. This renders elections as unnecessary.
It's a mistake, because the people must retain the ability to remove the government (yes I know the UK doesn't do that directly) by election, the ultimate feedback loop.
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
And the party of the elderly isn't using working people and the private sector as a cash cow right now?
Plus financial parts of the private sector using other parts of the private sector as cash cows by loading them up with debt. Isn't that roughly what's killing Thames Water? (That, and not doing enough actual investment for decades.)
Also the private sector using the public sector as a cash cow seems to have become more of a thing recently.
All the public sector money comes from the private sector , molly coddled and pretty crap at providing the services given the cash they get to boot. I see a bunch of them are for striking because they are asked to go in to work 2 days a week, unbelievable. Phone any public service and it as least half an hour before they leave their films to answer.
Apart from courageous Sole Traders, most of the private sector takes advantage of Limited Liability, which is a creation of the state.
Sterling for example is either issued by the state or by banks operating under state licence and up to a proportion of their assets that is set by the state.
That said, the state is just as much a fictitious person as Tesco.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
The NHS around here seems to have adopted "my lovely".
I always associate that with West country beauties, or Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
When I had 3 weeks in the local hospital last year, they were all calling me and other people "my lovely", where 30 years ago it could have been "love" or "duck".
It felt like a recommended practice.
Lovely !
I’ve noticed that women, especially those working for the NHS, tend to end a phone call with ‘take care’.
They probably have a lot of experience with people who didn't !
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
74% of Power Generation by Renewables at the moment.
I don't understand why this success story doesn't get more attention. From the doom and gloomsters, you'd think we were still producing 90% of our energy from coal.
I see Labour MP Charlotte Nichols is suggesting the NHS could fund "magic mushrooms" as treatment for some mental health conditions.
How are we supposed to afford that has she not heard austerity Reeves telling us that there's no magic mushroom tree!!
Gets coat
There’s actually a serious point here which doesn’t deserve such a careless throwaway remark.
The potential curative mental health properties of Psilocybin is a genuine area of research. A psychiatrist friend of mine is researching it right now and, if you have not done so, you might try reading the best-seller 'Entangled Life' by Merlin Sheldrake.
If I may say so, it’s fairly typical of the reactionary right to shout first and think later, if at all.
mate
????!!!
I know it might seem strange to you but some females inhabit this space.
TBF, 'mate' is regularly used as a non gender specific term these days. Watch a couple of episodes of Line of Duty if you doubt that.
It really isn’t though, not IRL.
It was in my last job, before I retired.
Firemen masculising everyone because most firefighters are… men.
Who knew?
Some real sourpuss party poopers on here, desperate to be offended by anything and everything.
I wasn’t offended by it. I just challenged the idea that it is common (or indeed polite) for men to refer to women as “mate”.
Should people be able to strike for the right to work from home?
They can strike, yes. I'm not sure how you would stop them.
In the case of the ONS they already have the right to work from home 3 days a week. They are objecting to going to the office for two days a week.
If the jobs can be done remotely outsource them.
We tried outsourcing our jobs and the quality of output was so poor we went back to the UK and had a remote working policy. Has been much better.
So what. Our finance and payroll functions are outsourced and work very well.
BT outsourced much of their business and has now insourced it again after it being less efficient and providing a poor customer experience. Ditto Vodafone who outsourced networks and then insourced it again.
So for every one of your successes, there are many where it's been a disaster.
British Gas outsourced a lot of their work, and they somehow managed to make their customer service even worse than it already was.
But ONS aren't a "customer-facing" company with big call centres. They crunch numbers. So long as the broadband etc. is up to the task, working from home should not cause a problem.
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
Well especially if you are a woman
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
On WFH, anecdotal I know, but it can work very well. I have a very bright nephew, a mathematician, who is a project-based data cruncher in a government department. He started WFH during Covid, and argues convincingly that his productivity has increased significantly simply because he doesn't face the distractions, both social and work-based, that were evident in the office. He now attends meetings in person, but that's about it. He's London-based, and the section he works in has made significant cost savings by reducing office space by around two thirds. I would imagine the ONS is not dissimilar.
That very long article and story is an incredible indictment of religious fanaticism.
Three world religions, or their more fanatical followers and fringes, believing that the Temple Mount was intended by God specifically for them.
Christian Fundamentalists in the U.S. are promoting the Israeli view for their own ends, as are wealthy radical Islamists outside Palestine.
This is the real story underlying the atrocities committed by both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and two peoples increasingly driven by fanaticism ; not the moderate face Israel likes to present to the West, or the solely resistance status sometimes presented by Hamas.
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
For obvious reasons ONS and OBR needs to be independent of government or at least hands off. The UK statistical community cannot be *run* by government in that sense, to prevent the UK govt from faking the numbers.
74% of Power Generation by Renewables at the moment.
I don't understand why this success story doesn't get more attention. From the doom and gloomsters, you'd think we were still producing 90% of our energy from coal.
Bizarrely you often get the impression the Telegraph* would be happier if 90% was still generated from coal even though their heroine shut the mines. Better that than some new fangled woke nonsense like solar panels.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
Well especially if you are a woman
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
For obvious reasons ONS and OBR needs to be independent of government or at least hands off. The UK statistical community cannot be *run* by government in that sense, to prevent the UK govt from faking the numbers.
What's to prevent the OBR from 'faking the numbers' to suit their own ideological bent?
I take the point that some organisations should have a quasi-independent stance, but their leadership should be held strictly accountable for failure and their workings subjected to rigorous checking and debate. Instead, the words of the OBR have become holy writ, despite them never having issued anything like an accurate forecast, and the Bank of England is effectively running the economy from Threadneedle Street despite its utter failure in its central task of controlling inflation, long before Ukraine.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
Well especially if you are a woman
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
xx
Speaking of presumptuous overfamiliarity, why have you just given us all two kisses on the bottom?
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
Problem with the Railways under the current model of nationalization is that we have got the DfT responsible for the costs and the Treasury that pockets the revenue [in a typical UK central government manner]. The DfT that is currently micro managing the railways has no interest in revenue, so is happy to allow strikes on the basis it reduces costs, and reduce service on the basis that also reduces costs.
At least an independent body can be put in charge of both, and will be responsible for the net effect of any actions.
In London TfL and the mayor have the whole profit and loss account, so have the incentive to keep their services running, and also to expand the network where it can be done profitably.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
Problem with the Railways under the current model of nationalization is that we have got the DfT responsible for the costs and the Treasury that pockets the revenue [in a typical UK central government manner]. The DfT that is currently micro managing the railways has no interest in revenue, so is happy to allow strikes on the basis it reduces costs, and reduce service on the basis that also reduces costs.
At least an independent body can be put in charge of both, and will be responsible for the net effect of any actions.
In London TfL and the mayor have the whole profit and loss account, so have the incentive to keep their services running, and also to expand the network where it can be done profitably.
I am not commending the current arrangements. Privatisation was botched, due to EU law that prevented the rolling stock being operated by the same company as the lines. John Major's favoured solution was to privatise the railways much as they were before they were nationalised.
On WFH, anecdotal I know, but it can work very well. I have a very bright nephew, a mathematician, who is a project-based data cruncher in a government department. He started WFH during Covid, and argues convincingly that his productivity has increased significantly simply because he doesn't face the distractions, both social and work-based, that were evident in the office. He now attends meetings in person, but that's about it. He's London-based, and the section he works in has made significant cost savings by reducing office space by around two thirds. I would imagine the ONS is not dissimilar.
His thirty pennyworth…
This is actually happening.
Imagine if every working person in the country refused to actually go into their place of work as required.
If this was the private sector they would be out of the door. Gentle reminder to the staff who think they are above going into work - the taxpayer pays your wages, the same taxpayer who actually turns up at work every day.
Reading books is the biggest threat to the American way of life according to the Trump crowd. The war against librarians continues as Louisiana makes it a criminal offence to join the American Library Association
Actually the law has yet to pass - but it might, as a similar measure only narrowly failed in another state. Many such bills are have regularly been put forward by the GOP in the redder states as performative measures, which have no chance of passing. That has changed recently.
The article describes librarians as among the most trusted professionals, but they are also one of the least scrutinized professions. Librarians and library services can pretty much do what they like, without anyone ever questioning their professionalism. The result of this is that university library services in the UK have almost stopped buying BOOKS, and some are even throwing out the books that they still have. Almost all new books added to university libraries in 2024 are EBOOKS not books, You usually cannot find new books on the shelves on astronomy or machine learning, as they are nearly all in digital form now. This change has been done without announcement or consultation with students or teaching staff, who in many cases still prefer books to ebooks (if they were asked).
Research has suggested that most students learn more effectively from books than from ebooks. However, in CILIP (the library and information association) it is highly fashionable to buy ebooks and not books. Librarians keen to progress their careers have stopped buying books, and they are escalating withdrawals of existing physical books. University managements are looking the other way, because they TRUST the Heads of Library Services (who as librarians are EXPERTS whose judgements must be accepted), and they do not want to confront the dogma of librarians that ebooks are better than books. Vice Chancellors also do not want to consult with students, so their views are discounted even though physical books that are in demand are often unavailable as there are not enough copies.
It is high time for responsibility for managing library services to be removed from librarians, who are technical experts in information and cataloguing but not in education, and given back to Councillors and university academic boards and governing bodies who are ultimately responsible for providing library services.
The library profession is not a regulated profession. You do not need to be a qualified librarian to work in or to run a library. The library profession should be recognised for what it is: a group of people with technical skills in library systems. It should not be assumed that librarians are interested in books or in reading or research, just because they work with books. Librarians have too much power in libraries, and the interests of readers and students are being excluded.
Umm isn't this really about costs? Surely ebooks are multiple times cheaper than physical ones? Whether people learn best from physical books is also an area that needs MUCH MORE research.
No, there is not a huge difference between the costs of ebooks and printed books. E.g. The Elements of Statistical Learning by Trevor Hastie et al. costs £43.49 for the Kindle edition and £51.84 hardcover Real Analysis by John M. Howie costs £20.79 for the Kindle edition, and £24.95 paperback
The issue is the lack of transparency, with books being replaced by ebooks without warning, announcement, or discussion. This raises many issues as ebooks cannot be lent to or consulted by everyone due to licencing limitations, and they will probably be lost over time due to technological obsolescence, whereas printed books easily last for centuries.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
Well especially if you are a woman
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
xx
Speaking of presumptuous overfamiliarity, why have you just given us all two kisses on the bottom?
*Of your message.
I don't like to use of lady instead of woman TBH. Not a hill to die on but it does make me cringe.
And an excellent piece from Janan Ganesh. Labour is the party of the public sector middle class as the Tories are the party of the elderly.
The dividing line in labours time in office will be less productive public sector, with ever increasing demands, versus the private sector which is seen as a cash cow.
As was said about it at the time, it would have been cheaper to lower the ocean.
This is meant to be one of the reasons that a branch of ITV (like ITC or something) went out of the film business. They spent so much on Raise the Titanic and another film about The Village People, released just when disco had gone out of fashion, that they narrowly avoided collapse and went out of films.
My review Reasonable British thriller of the period, it's not bad, although it has its boring bits. The plot revolves around raising the Titanic to retrieve the only known stocks of an ore vital to a Cold War weapon. It's understated (hence the boring bits). In appearance it is very basic and looks like a television episode, a disadvantage it shares with its contemporaries North Sea Hijack! (1980), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Meteor (1979). I keep banging on about Moonraker (1979) being the peak of the British special effects and it was: other films began a long decline and it show here here and there. But it overcomes its disadvantages in two notable cases: the raising scene and the score, both of which are brilliant.
It didn't flop because it was bad, it flopped because it's budget was too much for its natural audience. Well worth watching on a slow Sunday afternoon with some whiskey in one hand and PB in the other.
The Village People film, “Can’t Stop the Music”, is also excellent… if you like movies of that style and era.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Nor had I until researching him after today’s performance. He reminds me a bit of Graham Hick in the 80s. It’s nice to be at Lord’s so early in the year but it’s a bit chilly without a coat.
I would argue that the "decentralisation" of the railways has been at the route of many of its problems.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
I respect both your intelligence and your enthusiasm, but I think that your solution is possibly the worst of all possible worlds, for the following reason. Arms length independent bodies (quangos) are something we have a proliferation of in the UK. Their 'independence' means a total lack of accountability despite being an arm of the state - who holds the Bank of England accountable? Their bosses get paid inordinate amounts of money for failure that wouldn't be tolerated in the private sector, and politicians still get blamed for their lack of delivery, despite little to no power over the outcome.
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
Public Bodies 2002, the latest register (from the Cabinet Office), lists
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs; 141 public corporations; 428 advisory NDPBs; 36 tribunal NDPBs; 3 nationalised industries; 23 central NHS bodies. This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
For obvious reasons ONS and OBR needs to be independent of government or at least hands off. The UK statistical community cannot be *run* by government in that sense, to prevent the UK govt from faking the numbers.
What's to prevent the OBR from 'faking the numbers' to suit their own ideological bent?
I take the point that some organisations should have a quasi-independent stance, but their leadership should be held strictly accountable for failure and their workings subjected to rigorous checking and debate. Instead, the words of the OBR have become holy writ, despite them never having issued anything like an accurate forecast, and the Bank of England is effectively running the economy from Threadneedle Street despite its utter failure in its central task of controlling inflation, long before Ukraine.
The ONS is held to account by what used to be called the Statistics Authority, although it's a bit muddled these days:
The ONS produces the figures
The OSR oversees the ONS and the figures
The GSS oversees ("badges") the statisticians
The Statistics Authority oversees everybody
I take your point about the OBR, but they are economists so stats folk just point and laugh at them, whilst being jealous at the fact they get paid more and held to account less.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
An older lady at the service station in Nantes called me "cheri" this week, which I rather liked.
"Dear" always feels a bit patronising, to both sexes.
I quite like being called “darling” or “sweetheart” by barmaids.
The NHS around here seems to have adopted "my lovely".
I always associate that with West country beauties, or Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
When I had 3 weeks in the local hospital last year, they were all calling me and other people "my lovely", where 30 years ago it could have been "love" or "duck".
It felt like a recommended practice.
Lovely !
I’ve noticed that women, especially those working for the NHS, tend to end a phone call with ‘take care’.
Just trying to drum up business? As in "take care" = "seek care always & often"?
OR is it 'take care" = "because you are such a serious risk to yourself and others"?
Either way, delighted to hear that you are on the mend, Okie! (To deploy a chummy diminutive.)
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
As was said about it at the time, it would have been cheaper to lower the ocean.
This is meant to be one of the reasons that a branch of ITV (like ITC or something) went out of the film business. They spent so much on Raise the Titanic and another film about The Village People, released just when disco had gone out of fashion, that they narrowly avoided collapse and went out of films.
Has anyone seen either? I'd like to.
As Lew Grade famously commented on Raise the Titanic:
"It would've been cheaper to lower the Atlantic..."
As was said about it at the time, it would have been cheaper to lower the ocean.
This is meant to be one of the reasons that a branch of ITV (like ITC or something) went out of the film business. They spent so much on Raise the Titanic and another film about The Village People, released just when disco had gone out of fashion, that they narrowly avoided collapse and went out of films.
My review Reasonable British thriller of the period, it's not bad, although it has its boring bits. The plot revolves around raising the Titanic to retrieve the only known stocks of an ore vital to a Cold War weapon. It's understated (hence the boring bits). In appearance it is very basic and looks like a television episode, a disadvantage it shares with its contemporaries North Sea Hijack! (1980), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Meteor (1979). I keep banging on about Moonraker (1979) being the peak of the British special effects and it was: other films began a long decline and it show here here and there. But it overcomes its disadvantages in two notable cases: the raising scene and the score, both of which are brilliant.
It didn't flop because it was bad, it flopped because it's budget was too much for its natural audience. Well worth watching on a slow Sunday afternoon with some whiskey in one hand and PB in the other.
Producer Lew Grade later remarked "it would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic"
Sunny, windy and warm with low demand. This is an example of the sort of day where an investor in energy storage could make a fortune, or indeed a smelter / carbon fibre producer / other highly automated energy intensive manufacturer with production flexibility.
What you don't want to get called is "big man". There's usually an undercurrent with that.
Well especially if you are a woman
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
xx
Speaking of presumptuous overfamiliarity, why have you just given us all two kisses on the bottom?
*Of your message.
I don't like to use of lady instead of woman TBH. Not a hill to die on but it does make me cringe.
I was witheringly admonished for using “Lady” in my first ever college tutorial in October 1995. “We say woman these days”, she told me with a partially raised eyebrow.
On WFH, anecdotal I know, but it can work very well. I have a very bright nephew, a mathematician, who is a project-based data cruncher in a government department. He started WFH during Covid, and argues convincingly that his productivity has increased significantly simply because he doesn't face the distractions, both social and work-based, that were evident in the office. He now attends meetings in person, but that's about it. He's London-based, and the section he works in has made significant cost savings by reducing office space by around two thirds. I would imagine the ONS is not dissimilar.
His thirty pennyworth…
This is actually happening.
Imagine if every working person in the country refused to actually go into their place of work as required.
If this was the private sector they would be out of the door. Gentle reminder to the staff who think they are above going into work - the taxpayer pays your wages, the same taxpayer who actually turns up at work every day.
Which would have been acceptable to both him and his employer unlike the current situation with the ONS workers.
The ONS workers are looking at striking because they don’t want to spend any of their working time in the office. They are being asked to work in the office 2 days a week.
I cannot see what is wrong with what Anderson is saying. He spends plenty of time in Parliament and time working in his constituency. Effectively the same mixed model being asked of the ONS staff.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
On what appears to be the topic of the day: I have no objection at all to being called mate, pal, buddy, love, duck or any other term of informal mild friendliness. Nor do I see any of these terms as suitable only for one gender.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
I see Labour MP Charlotte Nichols is suggesting the NHS could fund "magic mushrooms" as treatment for some mental health conditions.
How are we supposed to afford that has she not heard austerity Reeves telling us that there's no magic mushroom tree!!
Gets coat
There’s actually a serious point here which doesn’t deserve such a careless throwaway remark.
The potential curative mental health properties of Psilocybin is a genuine area of research. A psychiatrist friend of mine is researching it right now and, if you have not done so, you might try reading the best-seller 'Entangled Life' by Merlin Sheldrake.
If I may say so, it’s fairly typical of the reactionary right to shout first and think later, if at all.
I’m going to spend my 3,000th post to endorse this recommendation; Entangled Life is a really excellent book worthy of any PBer’s shelf (and eyes/brain).
The therapeutic benefits of psychoactive fungi are certainly an interesting part of the book, but there’s a whole lot more in there too.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
Lib Dems rubbed me up very much the wrong way with a very mayor-centred leaflet attacking Sadiq Khan.
To be blunt, under the new electoral system (which many voters will not be aware of) a vote for the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, as compared with a vote for Sadiq Khan, is equivalent to half a vote for Susan Hall. The Lib Dems would be far better advised to concentrate their London campaign on Assembly votes, rather than campaigning for mayoral votes that - in the circumstances - amount to half-Tory votes by proxy.
Lib Dems rubbed me up very much the wrong way with a very mayor-centred leaflet attacking Sadiq Khan.
To be blunt, under the new electoral system (which many voters will not be aware of) a vote for the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, as compared with a vote for Sadiq Khan, is equivalent to half a vote for Susan Hall. The Lib Dems would be far better advised to concentrate their London campaign on Assembly votes, rather than campaigning for mayoral votes that - in the circumstances - amount to half-Tory votes by proxy.
I've voted LD at every general election since and including 2010, but I'm not at all sure I'm going to support them again next time. They seem to have lost their way slightly. But I have no idea who I might vote for instead.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
And, from time to time, Sir Geoffrey…
Indeed. The greatest living Yorkshireman……
When he’s gone, will TSE be in the running ?
That's the first time 'Boycott' and 'running' have been involved in the same sentence without 'not' or 'out his partner' involved somewhere.
Related to the topic: The decision to hold the Democratic convention in Chicago may be an error: "For a preview of the fun that awaits President Biden at the Democratic National Convention in August, get a load of this week’s spectacle in the Windy City. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is defending an alderman who spoke at a rally in favor of canceling the DNC.
Lib Dems rubbed me up very much the wrong way with a very mayor-centred leaflet attacking Sadiq Khan.
To be blunt, under the new electoral system (which many voters will not be aware of) a vote for the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, as compared with a vote for Sadiq Khan, is equivalent to half a vote for Susan Hall. The Lib Dems would be far better advised to concentrate their London campaign on Assembly votes, rather than campaigning for mayoral votes that - in the circumstances - amount to half-Tory votes by proxy.
Only makes sense if the Tories had a snowballs of winning, which they don't.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
Never heard of him, and I'm quite a big cricket fan. Wish I was at Lords! I remember watching Gooch get 333 on TV in 1990.
Sam Northeast; been around for quite a while.
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked. One of the might have beens.
Also by all accounts however a difficult customer. Fired as Kent captain and left, fell out with Hampshire and left them too.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
KP has also been known to court controversy from time to time.
That was my point..,
Even going back in time they accommodated awkward players. John Snow being a prime example.
And, from time to time, Sir Geoffrey…
Indeed. The greatest living Yorkshireman……
When he’s gone, will TSE be in the running ?
That's the first time 'Boycott' and 'running' have been involved in the same sentence without 'not' or 'out his partner' involved somewhere.
Well he certainly didn’t score all those rounds in boundaries.
The European F-16 coalition aims for the first deliveries of 24 Ukrainian F-16s to start this summer, with Danish-supplied F-16s delivered first, followed by the Dutch-supplied ones.
Comments
My lovely, my loverr, etc.
We've tried railway privatisation, it's been a disaster.
Privatising BT has been overall a success (in the end). Ditto British Airways.
This isn't ideological to me, simply what does and doesn't work.
If ONS staff think permanent working from home is a good permanent solution they will end up regretting it. Deservedly so.
Can you explain why they will end up regretting it? What exactly is your issue with working from home?
Total decentralisation is equally problematic.
The trick is the right balance, which also changes over time.
A big component of the sociology of the workplace is related to the current norms in society.
In particular, educated professionals, these days, see proscriptive control from the centre as infantile and react against it.
The workplace needs to be ergonomic - fitted to the people working there. Not the people fitted to the workplace.
(For the record, they don’t. In fact quite a lot of pubs near me are cashless)
This is an example of a clip-on-cycle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6X_jfhkFkY
This is a review of a Mountain Trike all terrain wheelchair, as used by my friend in York. Amazing thing - crossover from Mountain Bike technology to wheelchairs. This is the eAssist version; there are also manual and electric only versions. These are not very cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltauLmYK2mE
I don’t have carers now; the company went out of business and anyway I’m getting more mobile.
Of course, centralising the control of into the DfT would be equally disastrous, so I propose having StateCo be owned by the Government but run independently of it.
Properly done, it is productive. For some things, some of the time.
For example, when new people join the team - how is that handled?
Sending everyone home with a laptop is to WFH what giving everyone a small fire extinguisher is to fire fighting. Almost nothing.
It felt like a recommended practice.
I didn’t say the ONS would regret it. I said the staff would.
I never said I was against WFH. I work from one day a week.
Bit unfair to @tlg86
For team meetings, personally I think in person can work better depending on the task at hand but for other things I think it's fairly marginal. For example for technical refinement I find the in-person approach more useful. But if we're just discussing more high level work or people are remote anyway, it's what people prefer.
It is heavily team and business dependant I agree about that. But in general I tend to think people know how they work best until they prove they don't then some management is requirement. But I tend to trust people until they break it - so far that's worked for the people I've managed.
Raise the Titanic (1980)
Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTJJDDwb8Xk
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raise_the_Titanic_(film)
John Barry Score (excerpt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu4Xc8jAT3I
Review (seems fair): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsBplYNOnc
My review
Reasonable British thriller of the period, it's not bad, although it has its boring bits. The plot revolves around raising the Titanic to retrieve the only known stocks of an ore vital to a Cold War weapon. It's understated (hence the boring bits). In appearance it is very basic and looks like a television episode, a disadvantage it shares with its contemporaries North Sea Hijack! (1980), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Meteor (1979). I keep banging on about Moonraker (1979) being the peak of the British special effects and it was: other films began a long decline and it show here here and there. But it overcomes its disadvantages in two notable cases: the raising scene and the score, both of which are brilliant.
It didn't flop because it was bad, it flopped because it's budget was too much for its natural audience. Well worth watching on a slow Sunday afternoon with some whiskey in one hand and PB in the other.
This, historically, ends badly.
And the odd thing is: the railways are probably more centralised now than they have been since the 1960s. Yes, there are 'private' companies running things; but these are often analogous to some of the structures that existed under BR. But nowadays, the DfT and treasury hold the purse strings far tighter than they did in the 70s and 80s.
Back in the 70s, BR might have an idea: "Let's build a High Speed Train!". They would work out costs, and perhaps even develop prototypes out of their own funding. Then they would approach the government (i.e. treasury) with the begging bowl, and they would say yay or nay.
Nowadays - and this is an invention of the last 15 years or so - the DfT specify exactly what train companies / ROSCOs will buy. Before, BR would decide and ask the government for money. Projects are driven centrally, and not by the railways.
And going back to the remarkable success of Lothian Buses, I'm convinced that the lack of meddling from councillors from the various councils they serve (hat tip @Carnyx ) is part of the reason it works so well.
For some time they were not "too big to fail" - the councils could not prop them up if they ran out of cash, nor direct their operations. So you ended up with a lean independent business that focussed on survival rather than profit or local politics, and therefore provided a coherent, high quality transport network.
And you can of course have several mobility aids for different circumstances. I have one marvellous acquaintance who uses an e-Brompton to get places, and tows her manual wheelchair behind it like a trailer to use when she gets there.
That e-Assist Mountain Trike is just under £7k. But really good if you will use it for what it is good at.
My friend created havoc for National Rail when they were trying to avoid putting ramped footpath-level-crossing-replacement bridges in because "disabled people can never get there". So he made a video of himself getting there.
Clip on e-cycles are generally £2.5k -> £5k.
The Director of Wheels for Wellbeing, Isabelle Clements, has been using one for decades and found it transformative. Here she is presenting her story. 4 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ytITvlOtwE
Really wishing that this works well for you, whatever you do.
It's a mistake, because the people must retain the ability to remove the government (yes I know the UK doesn't do that directly) by election, the ultimate feedback loop.
That said, the state is just as much a fictitious person as Tesco.
I think that article will prove to be entirely accurate.
https://www.newsweek.com/israel-gaza-hamas-temple-mount-islam-jews-jerusalem-red-heifers-jerusalem-religion-1886787
For an idea of the scale of the issue:
834 quangos, comprising of:
192 executive NDPBs;
141 public corporations;
428 advisory NDPBs;
36 tribunal NDPBs;
3 nationalised industries;
23 central NHS bodies.
This is not, as we shall show, a full list.
That was back in 2002.
https://www.democraticaudit.com/our-work/quangos/quangos-and-quangocrats/
If something is to be nationalised, let it be clearly run by a Government department with an elected Minister (or Lord Cameron) in charge, who ultimately has the power and the accountability.
I don’t think it’s really on to call a lady ‘mate’ when you’ve never met them and it’s in an online forum, especially one where the predominant demographic is men, most of whom are 50+ (being generous).
xx
I would imagine the ONS is not dissimilar.
Three world religions, or their more fanatical followers and fringes, believing that the Temple Mount was intended by God specifically for them.
Christian Fundamentalists in the U.S. are promoting the Israeli view for their own ends, as are wealthy radical Islamists outside Palestine.
This is the real story underlying the atrocities committed by both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and two peoples increasingly driven by fanaticism ; not the moderate face Israel likes to present to the West, or the solely resistance status sometimes presented by Hamas.
But that doesn't get the Tories of the hook for being utterly shit.
* AEP excepted.
I take the point that some organisations should have a quasi-independent stance, but their leadership should be held strictly accountable for failure and their workings subjected to rigorous checking and debate. Instead, the words of the OBR have become holy writ, despite them never having issued anything like an accurate forecast, and the Bank of England is effectively running the economy from Threadneedle Street despite its utter failure in its central task of controlling inflation, long before Ukraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pSbgJzCPUw
*Of your message.
At least an independent body can be put in charge of both, and will be responsible for the net effect of any actions.
In London TfL and the mayor have the whole profit and loss account, so have the incentive to keep their services running, and also to expand the network where it can be done profitably.
This is actually happening.
Imagine if every working person in the country refused to actually go into their place of work as required.
If this was the private sector they would be out of the door. Gentle reminder to the staff who think they are above going into work - the taxpayer pays your wages, the same taxpayer who actually turns up at work every day.
Why are you so different?
https://twitter.com/LeeAndersonMP_/status/1776500467800965164
When Lee made the comments which got him suspended from the Tory party he was… working remotely
https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1776556263670751519
The Elements of Statistical Learning by Trevor Hastie et al. costs £43.49 for the Kindle edition and £51.84 hardcover
Real Analysis by John M. Howie costs £20.79 for the Kindle edition, and £24.95 paperback
The issue is the lack of transparency, with books being replaced by ebooks without warning, announcement, or discussion. This raises many issues as ebooks cannot be lent to or consulted by everyone due to licencing limitations, and they will probably be lost over time due to technological obsolescence, whereas printed books easily last for centuries.
Watching it from the Pavillion. He’s just passed his third century with a grinding run rate of 311 off 396 balls. Apparently he’s got a quadruple century before yet never been selected for England.
God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent.
Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come.
I pray that our country listens. 🙏
https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1776282144416972941
Backed, with one stake split between them, Norris and Sainz each way at 16 each.
https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2024/04/japan-pre-race-2024.html
- The ONS produces the figures
- The OSR oversees the ONS and the figures
- The GSS oversees ("badges") the statisticians
- The Statistics Authority oversees everybody
I take your point about the OBR, but they are economists so stats folk just point and laugh at them, whilst being jealous at the fact they get paid more and held to account less.https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/
OR is it 'take care" = "because you are such a serious risk to yourself and others"?
Either way, delighted to hear that you are on the mend, Okie! (To deploy a chummy diminutive.)
England curiously overlooked him nearly a decade ago, then he got half a chance of selection in 2017, and picked up a hamstring injury. And continued to be overlooked.
One of the might have beens.
But - when you consider Pietersen, Broad and Anderson have all had long careers there must have been more to it than that.
"It would've been cheaper to lower the Atlantic..."
It’s now -£32 per Mwh
I’m not sure why we have a system that obliges charging us £310 whatever the weather.
https://grid.iamkate.com/
Have rarely if ever used lady ever since.
The ONS workers are looking at striking because they don’t want to spend any of their working time in the office. They are being asked to work in the office 2 days a week.
I cannot see what is wrong with what Anderson is saying. He spends plenty of time in Parliament and time working in his constituency. Effectively the same mixed model being asked of the ONS staff.
The therapeutic benefits of psychoactive fungi are certainly an interesting part of the book, but there’s a whole lot more in there too.
To be blunt, under the new electoral system (which many voters will not be aware of) a vote for the Lib Dem mayoral candidate, as compared with a vote for Sadiq Khan, is equivalent to half a vote for Susan Hall. The Lib Dems would be far better advised to concentrate their London campaign on Assembly votes, rather than campaigning for mayoral votes that - in the circumstances - amount to half-Tory votes by proxy.
The story began March 22, when a group called Behind Enemy Lines organized a protest near Chicago’s City Hall. The group says its purpose is to “stop the U.S.-Israel War Machine” and keep “Genocide Joe” Biden out of Chicago. For the solemn moral occasion, the group organized a protest in which a veteran burned an American flag and Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez spoke afterward behind the charred remnants."
source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinion-welcome-to-chicago-democrats/ar-BB1l5L2g?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=8a395189648443cbb209444f5e4dac36&ei=109
I would not be surprised if that decision alone costs Biden 1 percent of the popular vote.
(But I may be judging too much from my own experience, since I was living in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic convention. Which was not a success. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_United_States_presidential_election#Democratic_Party_nomination )
The European F-16 coalition aims for the first deliveries of 24 Ukrainian F-16s to start this summer, with Danish-supplied F-16s delivered first, followed by the Dutch-supplied ones.
Per Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren in an interview with Ukrinform.
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1776620897555693754