3. It wouid send Ryanair bankrupt fast as passengers went to airports that didn’t enforce it and also don’t give a fuck about Ryanair coz they don’t have Ryanair routes
I don't see why it's unenforceable. They just have to make you scan your boarding pass when ordering.
People will just sneak in vodka or gin as water into departures pre security. And neck it. Or take more pills and powders
And other airports abroad won’t enforce it. And airports in general will hate it and tell Ryanair to do one - they make so much money from booze
All they need to do is kick out a few drunken louts before they even get on a plane. As a stern deterrent. Get too lairy and your holiday is cancelled before it even starts
Government by opinion poll is a poor way to conduct policy.
People might just be declaring they don't much care for smoking here, but they don't like the idea of government policing what people do and where they do it either.
It wouldn't surprise me if Starmer mini-polls everything he does. He's a tedious tactical triangulator and, now he no longer has Sunak to triangulate against, he needs to anchor his moves against something.
He's in for a shock. And his tanking government approval ratings already show that.
Well quite. Neither moving Maggie nor banning fags gets me particularly upset, it's the fact that he can't think of anything more interesting and exciting to do to define the mood and aspirations of his government in its first 8 weeks. He'll be introducing COVID testing shortly; winter flu season is on its way and you can't be too careful.
Yes, and I wouldn't move a portrait of Churchill from the Churchill Room, nor one of Attlee from the Attlee Room or one of Thatcher from the Thatcher Room. And neither would their pictures bother me.
But, I'm not Starmer.
But the name Thatcher Room isn't even official. It's not some sort of shrine.
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
This government have nothing in their manifesto and no plan. They have no real mandate due to their low share of the popular vote. To some degree it is like continuity Sunak, it is kind of ok, if things tick along. It is sort of like a conservative government. But then what happens is that they go off on these weird hobby horse excursions, which seem to just come out of nowhere. This is just going to keep happening because they have to find a way to placate the progressive activist element of the labour party. So nothing really changes but misogyny becomes terrorism, smoking is banned absolutely everywhere, low end private schools are boarded up, deplorables are rounded up and banged up in prison for years and outed on vigilante style posts on Linkedin by the Crown Prosecution service etc etc. This is then presented as a plan to defeat the 'snake oil' of right wing populism with 'honesty and delivery'. Of course all it is really doing is securing the rapid extinction of the Labour party, which there feels like an inevitability about. If a European excursion is needed Starmer should be talking to the Danish equivalent Social Democratic Party, not the German one, which is being outpolled by the AfD.
Of all the fish-wrapper stories about Labour today - the painting, Rayner clubbing in Ibiza (*), smoking outdoors - Reeves' is the most interesting one, and perhaps the most troublesome.
If she is right in why that the doctor prioritised her, then imagine being a Jewish patient in that hospital. It was an incredibly naive and stupid thing for her to admit. It needs investigating by the hospital, even if that is fairly pointless, because it is an *incredibly* bad look for them.
If she is wrong, then it is more than a little egocentric of her. "I'm special because I voted correctly, and the good people see that!!!!"
(*) Which I have zero issue with. People need to take holidays sometime...
Of all the fish-wrapper stories about Labour today - the painting, Rayner clubbing in Ibiza (*), smoking outdoors - Phillips' is the most interesting one, and perhaps the most troublesome.
If she is right in why that the doctor prioritised her, then imagine being a Jewish patient in that hospital. It was an incredibly naive and stupid thing for her to admit. It needs investigating by the hospital, even if that is fairly pointless, because it is an *incredibly* bad look for them.
If she is wrong, then it is more than a little egocentric of her. "I'm special because I voted correctly, and the good people see that!!!!"
(*) Which I have zero issue with. People need to take holidays sometime...
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
3. It wouid send Ryanair bankrupt fast as passengers went to airports that didn’t enforce it and also don’t give a fuck about Ryanair coz they don’t have Ryanair routes
I don't see why it's unenforceable. They just have to make you scan your boarding pass when ordering.
They should just breathalyse suspected drinkers at the gate and refuse boarding.
For those unacquainted with super yachts, I am in Tivat on Kotor Bay in Montenegro (on assignment for the gazette) and 500m from Porto Montenegro, which is an insane collision of Italian mafiosi and Russian oligarchs and South American drug lords all eating £200 steaks in absurdly overpriced restaurants with their 19 year old “wives”
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Wait till weed is legalised.
Absolutely no contradiction will be seen in that, whatever.
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
I hope you're being sarcastic, as it won't.
And smoking cannabis around kids should be treated as child abuse. Ditto cigarettes.
For those unacquainted with super yachts, I am in Tivat on Kotor Bay in Montenegro (on assignment for the gazette) and 500m from Porto Montenegro, which is an insane collision of Italian mafiosi and Russian oligarchs and South American drug lords all eating £200 steaks in absurdly overpriced restaurants with their 19 year old “wives”
They come here because it’s “just” outside the EU yet it uses the euro and feels like Monte Carlo etc
Gorgeous part of the world. Been there twice. Been to Kotor and Herceg Novi. Went through Tivat on a coach trip to Lake Skardar. Never got to see the side of Tivat you are seeing. I just want to go back now.
For those unacquainted with super yachts, I am in Tivat on Kotor Bay in Montenegro (on assignment for the gazette) and 500m from Porto Montenegro, which is an insane collision of Italian mafiosi and Russian oligarchs and South American drug lords all eating £200 steaks in absurdly overpriced restaurants with their 19 year old “wives”
First they called Esther McVey a fucking idiot And I did not speak out Because she was a fucking idiot.
Did you call out anyone for calling Brexiteers Nazis over the last few years?
It's amazing he still hasn't rechannelled his anger yet, even though we have a crypto-socialist government in charge now, and we're getting closer to the EU.
@MattW Just to respond to some comments you made a few days ago about EPC's. I have a bit of professional awareness about these. My objection is to the one size fits all system. Perhaps this is inevitable but buildings, particularly those over 100 years old are very complex. Imposing these solutions is going to be disruptive and in many cases ineffective and counterproductive. I understand though that people may see it differently where there isn't this issue of building preservation coming in to play. Also some crudeness will come in to play when trying to devise a workable system to improve basic building standards in rented accommodation.
The UK is not the only example of these standards having perverse impacts. Our house in Finland is over 100 years old and was written off by all the surveyors as effectively zero value. But there is nothing wrong with it. The insulation is ok, the bills are the same as any other house. We just had the metal roof reconditioned, over 100 years old, no holes in it - newer roofs have a circa 20 year design life. We have asked over and over again why people think there is a problem with it and all they can come up with is something about it 'not being up to spec'. We've gone on to have all the pipes and painting done, installed 2x inverter heat pumps and there is no reason why it wouldn't last for another hundred years, the bills and energy use is not that different to a newbuild.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for Meade And there was no one left To speak out for me
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
If you are talking about @Leon then I am pleased to see him posting again as he makes a unique contribution to this amazing forum, even if he upsets some
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for Meade And there was no one left To speak out for me
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
I hope you're being sarcastic, as it won't.
And smoking cannabis around kids should be treated as child abuse. Ditto cigarettes.
Yes I am. Prohibition doesn't work.
You can get vapes that eliminate the smell though. It's what I would use.
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me
I actually got messages from PB-ers saying “please come back it’s so boring now”. True story
So I had a look and you were all talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations and it seemed normal if a bit dull. Then I checked 4 days later and you were STILL talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations
On the other hand, it did seem quite calm and soothing
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Depends I quite often avoid pubs where smokers are outside because I don't want to suffer their smoking..
The hideous 'sweet' smell of vapes on the High Street is much more of an issue atm for me.
Incidentally, people in our village are complaining that neighbours are smoking cannabis outside in the street and garden, and it is coming in through open windows (because of summer...).
Need to make Cannabis illegal. That'll sort it out.
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me
She's comparing a smoking ban to the murder of six million Jews, I mean anyone who thinks that lacks the intelligence God gave pistachio nuts.
Where's her common sense?
The Jess Philips story is MUCH more disturbing. She’s happily admitting that pro Palestinian people get preferential treatment on the NHS. And she doesn’t even seem embarrassed by it
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
Our policing is done by consent, fewer and fewer are consenting. That gets to critical mass and the goverment have a problem. Many people I know and I include myself will not cooperate at all with the police. We won't say a word without a solicitor present even if we are the victim.....something NightJack recommended
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
I actually got messages from PB-ers saying “please come back it’s so boring now”. True story
So I had a look and you were all talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations and it seemed normal if a bit dull. Then I checked 4 days later and you were STILL talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations
On the other hand, it did seem quite calm and soothing
If I had known that I would have sent a message its so much better with out you please stay away
I actually got messages from PB-ers saying “please come back it’s so boring now”. True story
So I had a look and you were all talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations and it seemed normal if a bit dull. Then I checked 4 days later and you were STILL talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations
On the other hand, it did seem quite calm and soothing
If I had known that I would have sent a message its so much better with out you please stay away
Truth is he has found no other audience so he has come back like new variant covid
I stand by my prior observation that - alongside Ukraine - the women of Montenegro are the most beautiful in the world. Rebecca West mentions the beauty of the Montenegrins in “Black Lamb, Grey Falcon”
Indeed the Montenegrins might just win because they are cheerier and smiliier. God knows why the Ukrainians are so bloody gloomy and grim faced they should get over it
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me
She's comparing a smoking ban to the murder of six million Jews, I mean anyone who thinks that lacks the intelligence God gave pistachio nuts.
Where's her common sense?
The Jess Philips story is MUCH more disturbing. She’s happily admitting that pro Palestinian people get preferential treatment on the NHS. And she doesn’t even seem embarrassed by it
She should be sacked by Monday
Esther mc veys tweet is just bad taste
The "dumb as a rock" epithet for Kamala Harris (copyright far right twitter) would work well here for Esther McVey.
I stand by my prior observation that - alongside Ukraine - the women of Montenegro are the most beautiful in the world. Rebecca West mentions the beauty of the Montenegrins in “Black Lamb, Grey Falcon”
Indeed the Montenegrins might just win because they are cheerier and smiliier. God knows why the Ukrainians are so bloody gloomy and grim faced they should get over it
Wow the ukrainians are gloomy and grim faced and should get over it....you don't think that might be a little to do with your boyfriend trying to invade their country causing lots of deaths, rape and torture.....perhaps you should get a time machine back to the 1940's in belsen and tell all those jewish people to cheer up to?
Our policing is done by consent, fewer and fewer are consenting. That gets to critical mass and the goverment have a problem. Many people I know and I include myself will not cooperate at all with the police. We won't say a word without a solicitor present even if we are the victim.....something NightJack recommended
In some jurisdictions, e.g the US, juries are forbidden from drawing inference from post-arrest silence. It must not be mentioned in court.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
Lots of people are rediscovering exactly what Labour governments are like.
@MattW Just to respond to some comments you made a few days ago about EPC's. I have a bit of professional awareness about these. My objection is to the one size fits all system. Perhaps this is inevitable but buildings, particularly those over 100 years old are very complex. Imposing these solutions is going to be disruptive and in many cases ineffective and counterproductive. I understand though that people may see it differently where there isn't this issue of building preservation coming in to play. Also some crudeness will come in to play when trying to devise a workable system to improve basic building standards in rented accommodation.
The UK is not the only example of these standards having perverse impacts. Our house in Finland is over 100 years old and was written off by all the surveyors as effectively zero value. But there is nothing wrong with it. The insulation is ok, the bills are the same as any other house. We just had the metal roof reconditioned, over 100 years old, no holes in it - newer roofs have a circa 20 year design life. We have asked over and over again why people think there is a problem with it and all they can come up with is something about it 'not being up to spec'. We've gone on to have all the pipes and painting done, installed 2x inverter heat pumps and there is no reason why it wouldn't last for another hundred years, the bills and energy use is not that different to a newbuild.
I concur with most of that; my view is that a normal EPC which is designed to be cheap and available for all at £50 (vs the £300-400 it costs for a full one as required eg for a self-build with the Planning Application, which is a design model validated after the build) has met the basic need for perhaps 90% of properties. And that is what we needed, rather than a Grand Complication.
(For others the method for the full one is called SAP “Standard Assessment Procedure”, and the one for the EPC is RD-SAP Reduced Data “Standard Assessment Procedure”.)
As I see it EPC is OK for traditionally built properties and many others - I have seen eg Passive Houses scoring a C - and is pretty reliable for these, especially for comparison even if the technical data is off. It falls down on real detail such as heat loss via ventilation and air leaks, but that is Reduced Data for you.
The full transparency of everything has been really good here (eg Germany did not even publish them when I last looked), and comparisons have made a real difference to awareness in practice so that EPC level now impacts purchase and rental price; we have been way ahead on that. A 'standard' method across Europe has been very valuable.
I think in general regulation of rentals via these has been a real boon, even if my purist head would like something more complex / accurate. It's what we have and it has done much of the job we needed.
The thing that most concerns me is the assumptions they make, which means that when I renovate a property I have to maintain a photographic evidence file. When I renovate I aim high enough to be able to absorb any new quirks in the formula that may emerge.
In most cases I think a full SAP can be done if needed, and for rental regs we have exemptions available for uneconomic improvements or listed buildings.
For the first renovation I did I got hold of a copy of the RD-SAP software and built my own model, to understand the quirks.
Our policing is done by consent, fewer and fewer are consenting. That gets to critical mass and the goverment have a problem. Many people I know and I include myself will not cooperate at all with the police. We won't say a word without a solicitor present even if we are the victim.....something NightJack recommended
In some jurisdictions, e.g the US, juries are forbidden from drawing inference from post-arrest silence. It must not be mentioned in court.
Silence should never be used as evidence in any proper court of law, the prosecution should have to prove guilt on the available evidence
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for Meade And there was no one left To speak out for me
They came for Eamonn Holmes and I think I’m right in saying I applauded They came for the fire-eaters, but I wasn’t a fire-eater so I did nothing They came for Dani Behr, I said she’s over there, behind the wardrobe
Of all the fish-wrapper stories about Labour today - the painting, Rayner clubbing in Ibiza (*), smoking outdoors - Reeves' is the most interesting one, and perhaps the most troublesome.
If she is right in why that the doctor prioritised her, then imagine being a Jewish patient in that hospital. It was an incredibly naive and stupid thing for her to admit. It needs investigating by the hospital, even if that is fairly pointless, because it is an *incredibly* bad look for them.
If she is wrong, then it is more than a little egocentric of her. "I'm special because I voted correctly, and the good people see that!!!!"
(*) Which I have zero issue with. People need to take holidays sometime...
I think that is a big story in that Starmer will make an example of him.
To be fair, one of my former landlords had no idea how much of an arsehole the letting agent was being to us, and recompensed us generously once she became aware.
But ultimately it's your responsibility as a landlord to check up on these things, easily done by having a quick look through Google reviews as a start. He will have to work very hard to convince the whips that he had no idea.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
No, I didn't vote for them either but I'm enjoying all the Conservative inclined on here go steadily unhinged now we have a Labour Government for the first time in nearly a decade and a half.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
Lots of people are rediscovering exactly what Labour governments are like.
Some of us never forgot.
To be fair, quite a few trade union members are on the Bolly now. (The peasants!)
It's odd that the now truly unpopular Blair has been the only leader to actually be able to deliver some semblance of sensible government in Labour colours. (Mainly of course based on Major's little discussed economic boom)
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
Lots of people are rediscovering exactly what Labour governments are like.
Some of us never forgot.
We should have a prediction competition on here on 'What taxes will Rachel increase, by how much and any new taxes'
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
That's highly likely, though if you're suggesting that the Government is about to be torched by the wrath of the chain smokers then you're somewhat wide of the mark. Smoking's an utterly filthy habit that also inflicts ruinous expense on the country, through the need to deal with the addicts in our clapped out healthcare system as they fall ill. You're likely to find at least as many people who hate the choking stench of bloody cigarettes and are delighted not to have to suffer the anti-social habit in a wider variety of places as are up in arms about having their freedom to use the things in public further curtailed.
The essential problem with the Government, and what's going to do for it if Starmer isn't very careful, is that it represents - in the fiscal dimension - continuity Conservatism. It was elected on a platform of renewed austerity, it's going to deliver renewed austerity, and the various Labour rampers from before the election who insisted that we were getting a real alternative and bright, sunlit uplands are going to be made to look very silly. That doesn't mean that Labour isn't a distinct improvement from what came before - the party doesn't spend all its team ripping itself to pieces over culture wars trivia, ministers show promising early signs of basic competence, and it displays at least a passing interest in the welfare and interests of people under the age of 65 - but nonetheless the public are utterly exhausted of paying more to get less and repeated false claims of jam tomorrow, and the strategy of blaming Sunak and Truss for everything is unlikely to work beyond the next few months, and another long, wet, miserable Winter whilst taxes go up and public services continue to crumble at the same time. If Labour isn't behind in the polls by Christmas then it will be down to the outright toxicity of the opposition, rather than any achievements which it might be able to claim.
Clearly the new Government is betting the farm on economic growth riding to the rescue and providing the tax revenues needed to, at a minimum, make decent progress on repairing the knackered health service and alleviating poverty before the next election. If they are still exhorting us to more blood, toil, tears and sweat, and to be patient until about 2050 or something, come that point then God help them.
I stand by my prior observation that - alongside Ukraine - the women of Montenegro are the most beautiful in the world. Rebecca West mentions the beauty of the Montenegrins in “Black Lamb, Grey Falcon”
Indeed the Montenegrins might just win because they are cheerier and smiliier. God knows why the Ukrainians are so bloody gloomy and grim faced they should get over it
Wow the ukrainians are gloomy and grim faced and should get over it....you don't think that might be a little to do with your boyfriend trying to invade their country causing lots of deaths, rape and torture.....perhaps you should get a time machine back to the 1940's in belsen and tell all those jewish people to cheer up to?
Hasn’t crossed your mind that I might be somewhat tongue in cheek? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ME THAT QUICKLY??
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
Of all the fish-wrapper stories about Labour today - the painting, Rayner clubbing in Ibiza (*), smoking outdoors - Reeves' is the most interesting one, and perhaps the most troublesome.
If she is right in why that the doctor prioritised her, then imagine being a Jewish patient in that hospital. It was an incredibly naive and stupid thing for her to admit. It needs investigating by the hospital, even if that is fairly pointless, because it is an *incredibly* bad look for them.
If she is wrong, then it is more than a little egocentric of her. "I'm special because I voted correctly, and the good people see that!!!!"
(*) Which I have zero issue with. People need to take holidays sometime...
I think that is a big story in that Starmer will make an example of him.
To be fair, one of my former landlords had no idea how much of an arsehole the letting agent was being to us, and recompensed us generously once she became aware.
But ultimately it's your responsibility as a landlord to check up on these things, easily done by having a quick look through Google reviews as a start. He will have to work very hard to convince the whips that he had no idea.
Also interesting that the BBC are picking through Labour MP backgrounds. Could be some fun scandals to come given we've rather exhausted the Tory supply after 14 years.
Our policing is done by consent, fewer and fewer are consenting. That gets to critical mass and the goverment have a problem. Many people I know and I include myself will not cooperate at all with the police. We won't say a word without a solicitor present even if we are the victim.....something NightJack recommended
In some jurisdictions, e.g the US, juries are forbidden from drawing inference from post-arrest silence. It must not be mentioned in court.
Silence should never be used as evidence in any proper court of law, the prosecution should have to prove guilt on the available evidence
Our policing is done by consent, fewer and fewer are consenting. That gets to critical mass and the goverment have a problem. Many people I know and I include myself will not cooperate at all with the police. We won't say a word without a solicitor present even if we are the victim.....something NightJack recommended
In some jurisdictions, e.g the US, juries are forbidden from drawing inference from post-arrest silence. It must not be mentioned in court.
Silence should never be used as evidence in any proper court of law, the prosecution should have to prove guilt on the available evidence
English law is currently in the middle. Previously silence in interviews could be of no evidential relevance; now silence is not evidence of anything specific but a jury may use it as part of the totality which assists them in deciding if the defendant is guilty.
Usually silence is still best, saying something like 'I am not answering questions at this stage on legal advice; I shall make a full statement to you once any case against me has been fully disclosed as I am completely innocent of any crime. Until I know the case against me I can't really help you can I?' so that the jury hears a reasoned account of your silence.
However I’d really like to see Ms Cyclefree posting again.
And I’m happy(ish) with the Labour government, my reservation so far being Winter Fuel Allowance. Mrs C and I don’t really need it but we’re aware that people do, and we think the Government has handled the issue badly.
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for Meade And there was no one left To speak out for me
They came for Eamonn Holmes and I think I’m right in saying I applauded They came for the fire-eaters, but I wasn’t a fire-eater so I did nothing They came for Dani Behr, I said she’s over there, behind the wardrobe
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle for the right of an Englishman to have a fag with his pint if he's outside. It is an ideal I hope to live to see preserved. But if needs be it's an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
The company I worked for at the time of 9/11 had a 'wow room', which displayed our products in what was actually a waiting room. I was on a bulletin board (Mono, for those that care/remember), when a poster said that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I went into the wow room, which had many TVs in, and turned the TVs onto live news. I therefore saw the second plane crash happen essentially all around me.
A day or so later, I was asked to announce the couple of minutes silence that was held outside the company. I have zero idea why I, rather than a more senior manager was asked, but it is something I will always remember with sadness.
BERMAN: Last night you posted a clip from Ms Teen US 2007 -- Caitlin Upton. When you posted that, were you aware she thought about committing suicide for the attention that received?
For those unacquainted with super yachts, I am in Tivat on Kotor Bay in Montenegro (on assignment for the gazette) and 500m from Porto Montenegro, which is an insane collision of Italian mafiosi and Russian oligarchs and South American drug lords all eating £200 steaks in absurdly overpriced restaurants with their 19 year old “wives”
They come here because it’s “just” outside the EU yet it uses the euro and feels like Monte Carlo etc
Gorgeous part of the world. Been there twice. Been to Kotor and Herceg Novi. Went through Tivat on a coach trip to Lake Skardar. Never got to see the side of Tivat you are seeing. I just want to go back now.
Granddaughters Two and Three, both attractive 18 year olds are currently headed towards the Adriatic region. I look forward to their Instagram photos with a mixture of trepidation and interest. As do their parents.
I actually got messages from PB-ers saying “please come back it’s so boring now”. True story
So I had a look and you were all talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations and it seemed normal if a bit dull. Then I checked 4 days later and you were STILL talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations
On the other hand, it did seem quite calm and soothing
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
Top and second income decile Tory seats might be middle England, but they are not median England.
The second decile specifically returned a small Tory absolute majority in their 65 seats. In 2024, after all that went before. You are in a much more niche bubble than you care to imagine because your second decile type political soulmates like Marquee, MaxPB, Sean F etc. are much more common on here than in real life.
And Labour played the median, putting over 6% on their median constituency vote share, whilst only 1.6% on their national vote share. Which means your mile wide inch deep claim is not quite true - yes, it's a mile wide, but it's a good foot or two deep at the key point - more shallow end of the main pool than paddling pool.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
Here's my summary of the LAB government so far:
It's shyte! 👿
It's amazing how many Tories have taken such a dislike to the Labour Government - yeah, right.
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
I truly admire how you are working through this. Just bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.
Back at ya.
Nope.. Catastrophic Tory defeat has been baked in for the last 3 years. SKS failure to live up to low expectations is still news.
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
The company I worked for at the time of 9/11 had a 'wow room', which displayed our products in what was actually a waiting room. I was on a bulletin board (Mono, for those that care/remember), when a poster said that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I went into the wow room, which had many TVs in, and turned the TVs onto live news. I therefore saw the second plane crash happen essentially all around me.
A day or so later, I was asked to announce the couple of minutes silence that was held outside the company. I have zero idea why I, rather than a more senior manager was asked, but it is something I will always remember with sadness.
Ah, mono, those were the days...
I was in Cambridge that day with a friend from Oop North. At the time I was subscribed to a service with my mobile network that sent text messages for breaking news - the first message I got on it was along the lines of "second plane hits Twin Towers, terrorism suspected", and my immediate reaction was "thank you, Sherlock" (I was very young). I wasn't planning on taking my Walkman with me (because, you know, I was supposed to spend all day being sociable with my friend) but for some reason I did, and spent most of the day resenting the weight I was dragging with me - but I was glued to it the rest of the day as we travelled home.
Just passed The Cricketeers. A popular pub, near Petersfield.
Massive blackboard sign on the main road outside. It reads: "Watch out, the fun police are out to get you."
Cut-through. This government might plumb new depths of unpopularity. And rapidly.
That's highly likely, though if you're suggesting that the Government is about to be torched by the wrath of the chain smokers then you're somewhat wide of the mark. Smoking's an utterly filthy habit that also inflicts ruinous expense on the country, through the need to deal with the addicts in our clapped out healthcare system as they fall ill. You're likely to find at least as many people who hate the choking stench of bloody cigarettes and are delighted not to have to suffer the anti-social habit in a wider variety of places as are up in arms about having their freedom to use the things in public further curtailed.
The essential problem with the Government, and what's going to do for it if Starmer isn't very careful, is that it represents - in the fiscal dimension - continuity Conservatism. It was elected on a platform of renewed austerity, it's going to deliver renewed austerity, and the various Labour rampers from before the election who insisted that we were getting a real alternative and bright, sunlit uplands are going to be made to look very silly. That doesn't mean that Labour isn't a distinct improvement from what came before - the party doesn't spend all its team ripping itself to pieces over culture wars trivia, ministers show promising early signs of basic competence, and it displays at least a passing interest in the welfare and interests of people under the age of 65 - but nonetheless the public are utterly exhausted of paying more to get less and repeated false claims of jam tomorrow, and the strategy of blaming Sunak and Truss for everything is unlikely to work beyond the next few months, and another long, wet, miserable Winter whilst taxes go up and public services continue to crumble at the same time. If Labour isn't behind in the polls by Christmas then it will be down to the outright toxicity of the opposition, rather than any achievements which it might be able to claim.
Clearly the new Government is betting the farm on economic growth riding to the rescue and providing the tax revenues needed to, at a minimum, make decent progress on repairing the knackered health service and alleviating poverty before the next election. If they are still exhorting us to more blood, toil, tears and sweat, and to be patient until about 2050 or something, come that point then God help them.
Labour are going to get destroyed on migration/asylum, because they have no answers and they are emotionally incapable of addressing the issue rigorously. Unless Starmer gets a Falklands-style miracle, he will be one term and gone
His polling is already down the toilet and it’s been TWO MONTHS
Maybe he and Starmer could both give each other a reach around.
Wait a second… how would that even work?!
Double joints. Or mirrors.
From my teenage years
Big bottle of Coke, hip flask sized bottle of vodka/Jack Daniels, merge the two.... Walk into Reading festival etc* with a smile, carrying Coke bottle.
*Seem to recall that it was John Major's government who made it a legal requirement to allow soft drinks into venues - there were some nasty dehydration incidents, with venues charging even for tap water.
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
The company I worked for at the time of 9/11 had a 'wow room', which displayed our products in what was actually a waiting room. I was on a bulletin board (Mono, for those that care/remember), when a poster said that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I went into the wow room, which had many TVs in, and turned the TVs onto live news. I therefore saw the second plane crash happen essentially all around me.
A day or so later, I was asked to announce the couple of minutes silence that was held outside the company. I have zero idea why I, rather than a more senior manager was asked, but it is something I will always remember with sadness.
Ah, mono, those were the days...
I was in Cambridge that day with a friend from Oop North. At the time I was subscribed to a service with my mobile network that sent text messages for breaking news - the first message I got on it was along the lines of "second plane hits Twin Towers, terrorism suspected", and my immediate reaction was "thank you, Sherlock" (I was very young). I wasn't planning on taking my Walkman with me (because, you know, I was supposed to spend all day being sociable with my friend) but for some reason I did, and spent most of the day resenting the weight I was dragging with me - but I was glued to it the rest of the day as we travelled home.
I was just getting ready to go to uni for the first time. I was upstairs packing, put my TV on to check the cricket scores, and saw the plane hit the second tower.
For those unacquainted with super yachts, I am in Tivat on Kotor Bay in Montenegro (on assignment for the gazette) and 500m from Porto Montenegro, which is an insane collision of Italian mafiosi and Russian oligarchs and South American drug lords all eating £200 steaks in absurdly overpriced restaurants with their 19 year old “wives”
They come here because it’s “just” outside the EU yet it uses the euro and feels like Monte Carlo etc
Gorgeous part of the world. Been there twice. Been to Kotor and Herceg Novi. Went through Tivat on a coach trip to Lake Skardar. Never got to see the side of Tivat you are seeing. I just want to go back now.
Granddaughters Two and Three, both attractive 18 year olds are currently headed towards the Adriatic region. I look forward to their Instagram photos with a mixture of trepidation and interest. As do their parents.
Hope they have a great time
Kotor Bay, besides having beautiful women, must be one of THE most beautiful places on earth
I cannot think of anywhere on the Med that matches it, apart from Pelion in Greece (which is also spectacular)
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
From her screwing in the tabloids, to screwing over the tabloids.
Maybe he and Starmer could both give each other a reach around.
Wait a second… how would that even work?!
Double joints. Or mirrors.
From my teenage years
Big bottle of Coke, hip flask sized bottle of vodka/Jack Daniels, merge the two.... Walk into Reading festival etc* with a smile, carrying Coke bottle.
*Seem to recall that it was John Major's government who made it a legal requirement to allow soft drinks into venues - there were some nasty dehydration incidents, with venues charging even for tap water.
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me
She's comparing a smoking ban to the murder of six million Jews, I mean anyone who thinks that lacks the intelligence God gave pistachio nuts.
Where's her common sense?
The Jess Philips story is MUCH more disturbing. She’s happily admitting that pro Palestinian people get preferential treatment on the NHS. And she doesn’t even seem embarrassed by it
On Starmer, I have also noticed a huge lack of enthusiasm from my lefty friends. The really lefty ones actively dislike him, “fucking Tory, robbing the old, austerity all over again”, and the Blairite centrists seem…. Disappointed. It’s all shrugs and “meh” and “maybe it will get better, but I dunno”
I guess you could argue that this is good. He will benefit from low expectations, and that could be true
However, it’s also become quickly apparent that he is very easy to dislike. The thin, pursed disapproving lips. The puritanical Wokeness which he seems to actively promote. The total lack of any sense of humour at all, like a prototype robot made of 60 year old spam
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
The company I worked for at the time of 9/11 had a 'wow room', which displayed our products in what was actually a waiting room. I was on a bulletin board (Mono, for those that care/remember), when a poster said that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I went into the wow room, which had many TVs in, and turned the TVs onto live news. I therefore saw the second plane crash happen essentially all around me.
A day or so later, I was asked to announce the couple of minutes silence that was held outside the company. I have zero idea why I, rather than a more senior manager was asked, but it is something I will always remember with sadness.
Ah, mono, those were the days...
I was in Cambridge that day with a friend from Oop North. At the time I was subscribed to a service with my mobile network that sent text messages for breaking news - the first message I got on it was along the lines of "second plane hits Twin Towers, terrorism suspected", and my immediate reaction was "thank you, Sherlock" (I was very young). I wasn't planning on taking my Walkman with me (because, you know, I was supposed to spend all day being sociable with my friend) but for some reason I did, and spent most of the day resenting the weight I was dragging with me - but I was glued to it the rest of the day as we travelled home.
I was in Cambridge on that day too. I wonder how close we were in proximity...
Incidentally, I vaguely knew Dave Brownlee, who wrote Mono. A 'scientific' concept was created about him that was called the 'Dave Decay Curve'; and he posited that it was possible to walk from (what is now) the Silicon Roundabout to Stepney in half an hour...
Comments
And other airports abroad won’t enforce it. And airports in general will hate it and tell Ryanair to do one - they make so much money from booze
All they need to do is kick out a few drunken louts before they even get on a plane. As a stern deterrent. Get too lairy and your holiday is cancelled before it even starts
Problem solved
https://www.portomontenegro.com/
They come here because it’s “just” outside the EU yet it uses the euro and feels like Monte Carlo etc
Absolutely no contradiction will be seen in that, whatever.
And smoking cannabis around kids should be treated as child abuse. Ditto cigarettes.
https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/montenegro-hails-extremely-important-british-travel-agents
I wonder if they have nice well-marked hiking trails and, if so, whether there is a good moderate season.
Should this not be Room 101 not Room 301?
The folder seems to say Seoul Guest so I was going with South Korea, but the Palm Trees perhaps say Torquay.
Dodgy money and palm trees? North Cyprus, Jersey, or Mar-a-Lago. Or the ME.
The UK is not the only example of these standards having perverse impacts. Our house in Finland is over 100 years old and was written off by all the surveyors as effectively zero value. But there is nothing wrong with it. The insulation is ok, the bills are the same as any other house. We just had the metal roof reconditioned, over 100 years old, no holes in it - newer roofs have a circa 20 year design life. We have asked over and over again why people think there is a problem with it and all they can come up with is something about it 'not being up to spec'. We've gone on to have all the pipes and painting done, installed 2x inverter heat pumps and there is no reason why it wouldn't last for another hundred years, the bills and energy use is not that different to a newbuild.
"An explosion at a munitions factory in Troisdorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, left two men seriously injured, APA reports citing German media.
Police and firefighters are responding with a large-scale operation, and rescue helicopters are reportedly on the scene."
https://en.apa.az/europe/munitions-factory-explosion-in-germany-leaves-two-men-seriously-injured-446700
Edit: and, on checking, Mann. THere is even an introduced species whose vernacular name is Manx Palm.
I am not phased by Starmer removing Thatcher's portrait and support the smoking ban
However, Starmer and Reeves mean testing the WFA was a complete surprise, and whilst the merits are obvious (as a pensioner I do not need it but very many more pensioners do) but the optics and politics of doing it at the same time as awarding well paid train drivers an inflation busting pay rise are terrible
Starmer courting the EU is sensible and much on the same lines as Sunak before him, but going from improving our relationship with the EU to seeking to re-join is a huge leap and many years away
Starmer and labour are following a pattern of authoritarian government and certainly influenced by the unions, especially with Rayners 'workers rights' and frankly I have not seen anything to improve growth, even their planning and housebuilding proposals
The measures Starmers has announced seem to have public approval, and yet his approval ratings are falling and it remains to be seen just what happens to the governments popularity after the October statement
Early days, but on the big issues I remain underwhelmed by Starmer and his doom and gloom, with more to follow, attitude to the UK when in fact the economy is performing well at present, but then that is Sunak and Hunts legacy
It's shyte! 👿
Leon is BACK!
It should be all of (fx: checks watch...) two days.
You can get vapes that eliminate the smell though. It's what I would use.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/labour-cut-defence-projects-autumn-statement-trump-pfvpj8p23
So I had a look and you were all talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations and it seemed normal if a bit dull. Then I checked 4 days later and you were STILL talking about Welsh speed limits and housing regulations
On the other hand, it did seem quite calm and soothing
Aren’t they meant to be the poor ex commie easterners that lost the Cold War?
She should be sacked by Monday
Esther mc veys tweet is just bad taste
Attacking a Labour Government is so much easier than having to defend a Conservative administration which in the end went down to the biggest defeat in the party's history but there you go.
Indeed the Montenegrins might just win because they are cheerier and smiliier. God knows why the Ukrainians are so bloody gloomy and grim faced they should get over it
Some of us never forgot.
(For others the method for the full one is called SAP “Standard Assessment Procedure”, and the one for the EPC is RD-SAP Reduced Data “Standard Assessment Procedure”.)
As I see it EPC is OK for traditionally built properties and many others - I have seen eg Passive Houses scoring a C - and is pretty reliable for these, especially for comparison even if the technical data is off. It falls down on real detail such as heat loss via ventilation and air leaks, but that is Reduced Data for you.
The full transparency of everything has been really good here (eg Germany did not even publish them when I last looked), and comparisons have made a real difference to awareness in practice so that EPC level now impacts purchase and rental price; we have been way ahead on that. A 'standard' method across Europe has been very valuable.
I think in general regulation of rentals via these has been a real boon, even if my purist head would like something more complex / accurate. It's what we have and it has done much of the job we needed.
The thing that most concerns me is the assumptions they make, which means that when I renovate a property I have to maintain a photographic evidence file. When I renovate I aim high enough to be able to absorb any new quirks in the formula that may emerge.
In most cases I think a full SAP can be done if needed, and for rental regs we have exemptions available for uneconomic improvements or listed buildings.
For the first renovation I did I got hold of a copy of the RD-SAP software and built my own model, to understand the quirks.
Tx for the reply.
https://x.com/MrPMHarrison/status/1829422300124332542/photo/1
https://halfmanhalfbiscuit.uk/four-lads-who-shook-the-wirral-1998/turn-blind-eye/
They came for Eamonn Holmes and I think I’m right in saying I applauded
They came for the fire-eaters, but I wasn’t a fire-eater so I did nothing
They came for Dani Behr, I said she’s over there, behind the wardrobe
To be fair, one of my former landlords had no idea how much of an arsehole the letting agent was being to us, and recompensed us generously once she became aware.
But ultimately it's your responsibility as a landlord to check up on these things, easily done by having a quick look through Google reviews as a start. He will have to work very hard to convince the whips that he had no idea.
It's odd that the now truly unpopular Blair has been the only leader to actually be able to deliver some semblance of sensible government in Labour colours. (Mainly of course based on Major's little discussed economic boom)
More cuts and a merger with Channel 4: the BBC contemplates its radical future
The essential problem with the Government, and what's going to do for it if Starmer isn't very careful, is that it represents - in the fiscal dimension - continuity Conservatism. It was elected on a platform of renewed austerity, it's going to deliver renewed austerity, and the various Labour rampers from before the election who insisted that we were getting a real alternative and bright, sunlit uplands are going to be made to look very silly. That doesn't mean that Labour isn't a distinct improvement from what came before - the party doesn't spend all its team ripping itself to pieces over culture wars trivia, ministers show promising early signs of basic competence, and it displays at least a passing interest in the welfare and interests of people under the age of 65 - but nonetheless the public are utterly exhausted of paying more to get less and repeated false claims of jam tomorrow, and the strategy of blaming Sunak and Truss for everything is unlikely to work beyond the next few months, and another long, wet, miserable Winter whilst taxes go up and public services continue to crumble at the same time. If Labour isn't behind in the polls by Christmas then it will be down to the outright toxicity of the opposition, rather than any achievements which it might be able to claim.
Clearly the new Government is betting the farm on economic growth riding to the rescue and providing the tax revenues needed to, at a minimum, make decent progress on repairing the knackered health service and alleviating poverty before the next election. If they are still exhorting us to more blood, toil, tears and sweat, and to be patient until about 2050 or something, come that point then God help them.
I learnt that news from a Mail on Sunday headline. 9/11 was the first big bit of news I first got off the internet. It said Terrorists fly plane into building in US and I pictured a Cessna flying into a wooden Midwest church or bank sort of thing.
Usually silence is still best, saying something like 'I am not answering questions at this stage on legal advice; I shall make a full statement to you once any case against me has been fully disclosed as I am completely innocent of any crime. Until I know the case against me I can't really help you can I?' so that the jury hears a reasoned account of your silence.
However I’d really like to see Ms Cyclefree posting again.
And I’m happy(ish) with the Labour government, my reservation so far being Winter Fuel Allowance. Mrs C and I don’t really need it but we’re aware that people do, and we think the Government has handled the issue badly.
A day or so later, I was asked to announce the couple of minutes silence that was held outside the company. I have zero idea why I, rather than a more senior manager was asked, but it is something I will always remember with sadness.
BERMAN: Last night you posted a clip from Ms Teen US 2007 -- Caitlin Upton. When you posted that, were you aware she thought about committing suicide for the attention that received?
JD VANCE: No, certainly not.
B: Would you like to apologize?
V: I'm not going to apologize
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1829510846885622191
Misogyny off the scale, with this ticket.
As do their parents.
The second decile specifically returned a small Tory absolute majority in their 65 seats. In 2024, after all that went before. You are in a much more niche bubble than you care to imagine because your second decile type political soulmates like Marquee, MaxPB, Sean F etc. are much more common on here than in real life.
And Labour played the median, putting over 6% on their median constituency vote share, whilst only 1.6% on their national vote share. Which means your mile wide inch deep claim is not quite true - yes, it's a mile wide, but it's a good foot or two deep at the key point - more shallow end of the main pool than paddling pool.
I was in Cambridge that day with a friend from Oop North. At the time I was subscribed to a service with my mobile network that sent text messages for breaking news - the first message I got on it was along the lines of "second plane hits Twin Towers, terrorism suspected", and my immediate reaction was "thank you, Sherlock" (I was very young). I wasn't planning on taking my Walkman with me (because, you know, I was supposed to spend all day being sociable with my friend) but for some reason I did, and spent most of the day resenting the weight I was dragging with me - but I was glued to it the rest of the day as we travelled home.
His polling is already down the toilet and it’s been TWO MONTHS
Big bottle of Coke, hip flask sized bottle of vodka/Jack Daniels, merge the two.... Walk into Reading festival etc* with a smile, carrying Coke bottle.
*Seem to recall that it was John Major's government who made it a legal requirement to allow soft drinks into venues - there were some nasty dehydration incidents, with venues charging even for tap water.
This is traditionally associated in the explosives industry with RUDs.
Kotor Bay, besides having beautiful women, must be one of THE most beautiful places on earth
I cannot think of anywhere on the Med that matches it, apart from Pelion in Greece (which is also spectacular)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Leah_Betts
This was a huge story at the time.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyg1j0lv1go
I guess you could argue that this is good. He will benefit from low expectations, and that could be true
However, it’s also become quickly apparent that he is very easy to dislike. The thin, pursed disapproving lips. The puritanical Wokeness which he seems to actively promote. The total lack of any sense of humour at all, like a prototype robot made of 60 year old spam
Incidentally, I vaguely knew Dave Brownlee, who wrote Mono. A 'scientific' concept was created about him that was called the 'Dave Decay Curve'; and he posited that it was possible to walk from (what is now) the Silicon Roundabout to Stepney in half an hour...