Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
I used to work at C and A
Were you the Man at C and A ?
As I remember the song was "nigel wants to go to C&A"
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
There are relatively few outlets left for men of a certain age who hate clothes, hate shopping, possess exactly one suit which they only wear when compelled, only want to buy exactly the same as they had last time which was 20 years ago and are quite content to look like a tramp.
For some extraordinary reason they all went out of business. Every 10 years or so I pop into M&S. With luck the current ensemble will see me out.
Pretty much every man sticks to the style and brands that they liked in their late twenties. It's why we now have punks in old folks homes, and also why twenty-somethings in eighties vox pops dress like old people. The style has aged with them.
In another couple of decades we will have Social care full of tattooed track suit wearing men.
I am sorry you have to be kidding here surely I grew up in the punk era, most of my friends in my late teens early 20's were punks or goths....by forty most of them were wearing conventional gear, normal jeans, polo shirts, casual long sleeved shirts....the number of pillar box red mohicans, tartan bondage trousers and studded leather jackets were nil.
It's why I said late twenties rather than late teens, though perhaps you and your friends were slow developers.
Trump pays tribute to Musk: "One of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it."
"Musk joins a long list of business leaders - whether in the UK, France, Italy or the US - to take on government service and to discover the truth of Buffet's maxim: when a management with a reputation of brilliance takes over a business with a reputation of mediocrity, it is the business that keeps its reputation."
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
But a serious and familiar problem with private sector pensions that we should do something about!
Who can have their pension taken away having earned it? Police officers, IIRC. Anyone else?
Seems to be a potential issue if you're in an employer defined benefit scheme. So local govt, NHS, police, lecturers, teachers...unless they've been transferred to DC scheme Fred the shred will be on an index-linked DB scheme as he was way above glass urinal level. Not many private pensions are index-linked DB
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
From your groin? I had assumed that you would be wearing it on your head.
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
You do have little teeny tiny feet though. So I guess it balances the look out.
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
But a serious and familiar problem with private sector pensions that we should do something about!
Who can have their pension taken away having earned it? Police officers, IIRC. Anyone else?
Seems to be a potential issue if you're in an employer defined benefit scheme. So local govt, NHS, police, lecturers, teachers...unless they've been transferred to DC scheme Fred the shred will be on an index-linked DB scheme as he was way above glass urinal level. Not many private pensions are index-linked DB
My dad has been collecting his index linked pension from a private company for 36 years. They didn't used to be that uncommon, and I am sure lasted longer for the top end of staff.
The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
It’s quality, not quantity, that really counts though.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
There are relatively few outlets left for men of a certain age who hate clothes, hate shopping, possess exactly one suit which they only wear when compelled, only want to buy exactly the same as they had last time which was 20 years ago and are quite content to look like a tramp.
For some extraordinary reason they all went out of business. Every 10 years or so I pop into M&S. With luck the current ensemble will see me out.
Pretty much every man sticks to the style and brands that they liked in their late twenties. It's why we now have punks in old folks homes, and also why twenty-somethings in eighties vox pops dress like old people. The style has aged with them.
In another couple of decades we will have Social care full of tattooed track suit wearing men.
One of my favourite David Mitchell skits was about men going clothes shopping.
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
But a serious and familiar problem with private sector pensions that we should do something about!
Who can have their pension taken away having earned it? Police officers, IIRC. Anyone else?
Seems to be a potential issue if you're in an employer defined benefit scheme. So local govt, NHS, police, lecturers, teachers...unless they've been transferred to DC scheme Fred the shred will be on an index-linked DB scheme as he was way above glass urinal level. Not many private pensions are index-linked DB
I've a friend who was victimised by HR at a car company, HR person was determined to get them dismissed and take their pension away. Very stressful, they were able to hold on long enough with the help of the union and sick leave for a mental breakdown that the HR person moved on. New HR manager offered a settlement immediately.
Evening all Extra poll bonus from BMG today in line with everything we've seen recently Reform holds 7pt lead in latest @BMGResearch poll for @theipaper
Ref 31% Lab 24% Con 18% LDs 13% Grn 9%
Reform leads Labour on handling of economy and cost of living, and leads the Tories on... everything.
The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.
The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.
Evening all Extra poll bonus from BMG today in line with everything we've seen recently Reform holds 7pt lead in latest @BMGResearch poll for @theipaper
Ref 31% Lab 24% Con 18% LDs 13% Grn 9%
Reform leads Labour on handling of economy and cost of living, and leads the Tories on... everything.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
I only remember Burtons as where people went to get their 'court appearance suit' to try and appease the judge.
Evening all Extra poll bonus from BMG today in line with everything we've seen recently Reform holds 7pt lead in latest @BMGResearch poll for @theipaper
Ref 31% Lab 24% Con 18% LDs 13% Grn 9%
Reform leads Labour on handling of economy and cost of living, and leads the Tories on... everything.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
I only remember Burtons as where people went to get their 'court appearance suit' to try and appease the judge.
There’s still a Burton in France. Similarly mid range clothing.
The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.
Google AI is picking the stories up on 'Would I Lie To You' as fact even when they are lies. Miles Jupp for instance is writing a novel with two detectives Nice and Spicy. Sadly no he isn't.
I thought it was Detective Nicenspicy, and his colleague who has No Name.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
If you've not been, do Luxor and Aswan in Egypt. The sights are incomparable. Cairo is a toilet - do the pyramids and the 2 new museums then move on fast
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
But a serious and familiar problem with private sector pensions that we should do something about!
Who can have their pension taken away having earned it? Police officers, IIRC. Anyone else?
I presume Fred the Shred only agreed to his pension being cut in half because the government could have walked away entirely from an obligation incurred by an effectively bankrupt company, while the government only agreed to pay the other half because disputing it would cost more than it was worth.
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
But a serious and familiar problem with private sector pensions that we should do something about!
Who can have their pension taken away having earned it? Police officers, IIRC. Anyone else?
I presume Fred the Shred only agreed to his pension being cut in half because the government could have walked away entirely from an obligation incurred by an effectively bankrupt company, while the government only agreed to pay the other half because disputing it would cost more than it was worth.
He did agree, eventually:
"On 18 June 2009, RBS stated that following negotiation an agreement was reached between RBS and Goodwin to reduce his pension to £342,500 a year from the £555,000 set in February after he took out an estimated £2.7 million tax-free lump sum. The agreement followed the completion of RBS's internal inquiry into Goodwin's conduct, which found no wrongdoing."
However, had they gone bust, his pension would have been later and smaller: "If the government had not stopped RBS from going bankrupt, his pension would have been paid out of the pension-protection fund and been £28,000 a year, starting at age 65."
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
Today’s photo, the dodgy bar chart from the Green Party leaflet in the Maldon by-election which the LibDems just won, with the Greens back in fourth on 9%.
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
It’s quality, not quantity, that really counts though.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
Jackson the Tailor used to be big in the North East. I remember their shop in the centre of Gateshead.
As a student I knew a fellow housemate who pretty much only wore Jaeger. Early 80s.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
The food is not a highlight, I'll give you that.
I had one of the best seafood meals of my life at the Sicilian place on the Gozo end of the ferry including a sea urchin spaghetti that I still dream of. I was with a local friend, and from the outside looked nothing special. I think a lot that we ate were from the catch of the day menu.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
I used to work at C and A
Were you the Man at C and A ?
As I remember the song was "nigel wants to go to C&A"
Not I. Back in my suit wearing days I preferred bespoke (surprisingly affordable in Yorkshire then, which is sadly no longer the case).
Try Hoi An in Vietnam. Measure today, suit tomorrow - and very affordable if you exclude the airfare!
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Of the suggestions you make, I would do Morocco
But I agree with @carnforth - get the ferry over from Spain. It makes it much more of an adventure - a boat from Europe to Africa! - then head south as far as you can, and feel the sun and the heat rise and rise. Maybe culminate at Essaouira - poetic and wild in the wind
Are these acceptable trainers @TSE 's GAILS branded ones from this morning, something like Mr Chump's branded false-gold Sneakers ("Step Into History. Walk with Trump"), or something else?
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
Plus, the Maltese slaughter appalling numbers of birds migrating on the way to their UK breeding grounds.
Sadly we live in a very badly dressed age. I don't exclude myself from that critique, though I try to dress appropriately and would never wear trainers with a suit.
We have moved from dressing for the pleasure of others to dressing for the pleasure of ourselves.
The weird thing is that the high streets are full of clothes shops while, collectively, the public has never looked worse. When no-one had any money, ie the 50s - everyone looked so much smarter.
I suspect the same could be said of food. The airwaves are dominated by telly-chefs, and again, their are cafes and restaurants everywhere - but the great majority just snack on convenience meals. And everyone looks pasty and overweight.
Yes, quite.
I think @Sean_F put it well the other day when he highlighted the decline of menswear departments in M&S, Debenhams and the like as one reason men are so terribly dressed nowadays.
We see the balance of it on here, where they seemingly don't give a shit about looking like shit.
The demise of C & A in the UK was the fulcrum point.*
* I was upset when Austin Reed failed.
There used to be a huge range of poor menswear retailers.
John Collier - the window to watch Burton - (who knows)
I can't recall the names of the others. They'd turn you away though if you were young and scruffy.
Jackson the Tailor used to be big in the North East. I remember their shop in the centre of Gateshead.
As a student I knew a fellow housemate who pretty much only wore Jaeger. Early 80s.
I had a Jaeger suit. They were lower middle class.
These days I shop at Jeff Banks for shirts and trousers etc, or the M&S outlet.
I've no idea where that puts me on the PB scale.
I did enjoy the small, specialist shops in the City when I worked there.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Be careful with the eastern Mediterranean. So long as summer weather continues into autumn, it’s fine and pleasant, but once the season breaks, it can be surprisingly unpleasant. The tourist ferry schedules provide a guide as to when the season is expected to end, but over recent years everything has got more unpredictable.
Trump pays tribute to Musk: "One of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it."
"Musk joins a long list of business leaders - whether in the UK, France, Italy or the US - to take on government service and to discover the truth of Buffet's maxim: when a management with a reputation of brilliance takes over a business with a reputation of mediocrity, it is the business that keeps its reputation."
That's a very generous analysis of the shitshow he conducted.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
Plus, the Maltese slaughter appalling numbers of birds migrating on the way to their UK breeding grounds.
Fuckers.
They got a special exemption when they joined the EU. At least they shoot them -- unlike the french, who catch them with glue traps.
Trump pays tribute to Musk: "One of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it."
"Musk joins a long list of business leaders - whether in the UK, France, Italy or the US - to take on government service and to discover the truth of Buffet's maxim: when a management with a reputation of brilliance takes over a business with a reputation of mediocrity, it is the business that keeps its reputation."
That's a very generous analysis of the shitshow he conducted.
Musk should be in prison frankly, but it's unlikely he ever will be.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Malta's a delight. If you have the funds, five days at the Phonecia in Valletta, five days at the Kempinski on Gozo. If not, the same places but cheaper hotels. Mentally deduct half a star from any hotel rating you see.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
Malta is not a delight. Overdeveloped, overcrowded, and quite poor food
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
Plus, the Maltese slaughter appalling numbers of birds migrating on the way to their UK breeding grounds.
Fuckers.
They got a special exemption when they joined the EU. At least they shoot them -- unlike the french, who catch them with glue traps.
Then eat them whole, drooling blood bones and guts, while hiding their shameful heads with napkins
I really think Labour runs the risk of becoming irrelevant if they do too many of these u-turns. Either stick with it or don’t make the calls in the first place.
I wish they’d burned the political capital on something else, like properly reforming the planning system.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Be careful with the eastern Mediterranean. So long as summer weather continues into autumn, it’s fine and pleasant, but once the season breaks, it can be surprisingly unpleasant. The tourist ferry schedules provide a guide as to when the season is expected to end, but over recent years everything has got more unpredictable.
I agree on this. Eastern Med weather tends to turn, suddenly, in mid-late October and it can be quite depressing, if you've spent hard money looking for sun. Personally, I wouldn't risk it if pleasant weather is a major demand
Even the Roman/Greek ruins lack something if its drizzling and grey
@TimS could go further east and see the Tas Tepeler - Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe and Sayburc, and also Sogmatar and Harran and the like, the entire area around Sanliurfa, Mardin, Gaziantep. Wild
In October the weather will be ideal. Dry and sunny and about 25C (it is unbearably hot in summer). Likely the archaeologists will be digging, live, in front of you - you may see a world changing artefact or rock frieze emerging as you watch
Not great for a family seeking beach fun, but for anyone interested in archaeology and human history it is a trip which will change your life and you will never ever forget it. And for adventure you can always hire a car and drive up into the Anatolian mountains (it will be cold but very dramatic)
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
For years my dad insisted that they had only made 50 or 60 episodes. (This was before the internet, so not easy to cheek). I spent years watching episode after episode without seeing repeats before I realised the old fool was wrong…
This is an account which reposts the life experiences of women in conservative Islamic countries. It is heartbreaking
An example
“I am a 27-year-old Saudi woman, forced to wear a double-layered niqab that allows me to see only with half of one eye. But that’s not all — I’m also forced to stay at home and serve, with the full approval of both society and my family. No one sees anything wrong with this.
Even though driving is legally allowed now, it remains forbidden within my family.
My outings are limited to hospital visits and shopping for clothes twice a year during the two Eids. Days have become indistinguishable to me — I can’t tell what day it is unless I look at a calendar.
I wake up and cook lunch for the family (they consider themselves lenient for letting me sleep in while my mother prepares breakfast). The rest of my day is spent within four walls.
I’ve lost contact with my friends because I’m unable to go out. I literally have nothing to talk about — there are no events in my life. I haven’t truly lived. My childhood and teenage memories all happened within the walls of our home. There’s nothing to tell.
I can’t even form new relationships. My social skills have vanished because of being confined for so long. I suffer from social anxiety — I can’t talk to strangers without my voice trembling.
Only when my family travels do I sneak out to a café or mall — those are the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
I’m ashamed of myself and my life. I don’t want to die — I just want to live.”💔
A source with knowledge of the prison told MailOnline the attacker used a flick-knife brought in by a drone.
The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard They said drones were a 'real issue' at the prison and warned an officer 'would be killed' if the problem was not resolved.
'This happened this morning - a flick-knife got in and a prisoner stabbed an officer,' the source said. 'The governor isn't stopping the drones coming in - they are dropping items to prisoners in their cells.
Jenrick's already on the case according to Sky
Will he be solving it or just using it for self promotion?
I'm not sure who BobbyJ sounds like *, but he "summoned a Minister to tell him what the urgent problem was", who had been in office for 6 months, without mentioning the previous 14 years or what he had done when he was a Minister to alert his fellow minister.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘I summoned the prisons minister in January to warn this exact incident would happen unless they took urgent action.
God that man is a posturing twat.
* It needs to be a minor character from an 70s TV programme set in the 50s - possible Steptoe and Son's rent collector.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
This is an account which reposts the life experiences of women in conservative Islamic countries. It is heartbreaking
An example
“I am a 27-year-old Saudi woman, forced to wear a double-layered niqab that allows me to see only with half of one eye. But that’s not all — I’m also forced to stay at home and serve, with the full approval of both society and my family. No one sees anything wrong with this.
Even though driving is legally allowed now, it remains forbidden within my family.
My outings are limited to hospital visits and shopping for clothes twice a year during the two Eids. Days have become indistinguishable to me — I can’t tell what day it is unless I look at a calendar.
I wake up and cook lunch for the family (they consider themselves lenient for letting me sleep in while my mother prepares breakfast). The rest of my day is spent within four walls.
I’ve lost contact with my friends because I’m unable to go out. I literally have nothing to talk about — there are no events in my life. I haven’t truly lived. My childhood and teenage memories all happened within the walls of our home. There’s nothing to tell.
I can’t even form new relationships. My social skills have vanished because of being confined for so long. I suffer from social anxiety — I can’t talk to strangers without my voice trembling.
Only when my family travels do I sneak out to a café or mall — those are the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
I’m ashamed of myself and my life. I don’t want to die — I just want to live.”💔
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
I would agree with your last sentence were it not for conscription: conscripts get to complain (and so mythologise) even if the war was unjust.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
I would agree with your last sentence were it not for conscription: conscripts get to complain (and so mythologise) even if the war was unjust.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
I would agree with your last sentence were it not for conscription: conscripts get to complain (and so mythologise) even if the war was unjust.
No soldier gets to choose where they get sent, conscript or regular volunteer.
A lot of ex military seem very unconvinced that what they did was just, or even had any point at all.Their motivation is usually duty to fellow soldiers rather than the putative cause.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
Yes. Korea - unlike Vietnam - was genuinely a "just war". Ask South Koreans how grateful they feel about not being North Korean. Try and do likewise, in Pyongyang.... but of course you cannot. QED
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
The show is set in Korea, but clearly arises out of the American experience of Vietnam. In the Seventies it was all too raw to make a show set in Vietnam with such anti-war attitudes.
ABC did a show set in a US hospital in Vitnam from 1988-91 called China Beach, but that was more distant in time from the actual war.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
The show is set in Korea, but clearly arises out of the American experience of Vietnam. In the Seventies it was all too raw to make a show set in Vietnam with such anti-war attitudes.
ABC did a show set in a US hospital in Vitnam from 1988-91 called China Beach, but that was more distant in time from the actual war.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
The Azores
Coming back to this rather late, but just to say do not go to the Azores in October. Just don’t.
I went for a week in October half term a few years ago. Stayed in a beautiful house right in the middle of sete cidades, on a causeway between the 2 caldera lakes. It pissed down with rain and blew a gale all week.
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Of the suggestions you make, I would do Morocco
But I agree with @carnforth - get the ferry over from Spain. It makes it much more of an adventure - a boat from Europe to Africa! - then head south as far as you can, and feel the sun and the heat rise and rise. Maybe culminate at Essaouira - poetic and wild in the wind
Thanks everyone for the counsel. The family consensus is Morocco. We’ll start either in Andalucia (flight to Jerez) and get the ferry, indulging in our first world privilege to do the reverse trip to that which so many thousands of the destitute and oppressed attempt in the other direction, or in Tangier which I’ve fancied visiting for a while. Then the TGV to Marrakech via Casablanca, then do a drive round the Atlas and desert. We’ve done that bit before - and Essaouira - before children, but enough time has elapsed and our youngest will find it exotic (the eldest may have started his gap year in Namibia by then).
The one problem with a holiday in late October is harvest. If it’s a warm year we’ll have the grapes in by half term and the timing is perfect. If not, then I may need to cancel. So I’ll leave it a couple of months to book I think.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
Yes. Korea - unlike Vietnam - was genuinely a "just war". Ask South Koreans how grateful they feel about not being North Korean. Try and do likewise, in Pyongyang.... but of course you cannot. QED
Well, it was also an extraordinarily bloody civil war, which became an extraordinarily bloody war between the US and China. Neither of the original two superpowers confronting each other - Russia and the US - really wanted to be directly involved. And the only reason it was north versus south (as opposed to a straight civil war) was their respective occupations facing each other.
And of course both north and south ended up as dictatorships for rather a long time.
It's a lot more clearcut to retroactively justify now than it seemed at the time.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
The show is set in Korea, but clearly arises out of the American experience of Vietnam. In the Seventies it was all too raw to make a show set in Vietnam with such anti-war attitudes.
ABC did a show set in a US hospital in Vitnam from 1988-91 called China Beach, but that was more distant in time from the actual war.
Oh, I'm aware. But it is set in Korea, so it's a bit more of a hot mess - which has given a very odd view of the forgotten war to countless millions of people - than a simple Vietnam parable.
I rewatched a bit of M*A*S*H the other night. It's on most nights on one of the back channels.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
It comes from a slower time when they liked to mix comedy and drama and you could go a couple of minutes without a laugh. My parents watch it every night and don't seem to mind.
It was a long show, from the anti-establishment men behaving badly of the 1970s to the schmaltz of the Reagan years, tracing the recovery from the psychological traumas of Vietnam.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
That's really not the story of Korea, though.
Yes. Korea - unlike Vietnam - was genuinely a "just war". Ask South Koreans how grateful they feel about not being North Korean. Try and do likewise, in Pyongyang.... but of course you cannot. QED
Well, it was also an extraordinarily bloody civil war, which became an extraordinarily bloody war between the US and China. Neither of the original two superpowers confronting each other - Russia and the US - really wanted to be directly involved. And the only reason it was north versus south (as opposed to a straight civil war) was their respective occupations facing each other.
And of course both north and south ended up as dictatorships for rather a long time.
It's a lot more clearcut to retroactively justify now than it seemed at the time.
Korea also set a lot of the rules for the Cold War. Which probably stopped it going hot.
The court rulings against him have driven him mad & he is now lashing out.
The Steel tariffs aren't covered by the rulings & have been previously judged by the courts to be within presidential authority.
He's like a toddler who has had a dangerous toy taken away by a parent. He has now grabbed another toy & is rolling around on the floor having a tantrum.
I don't consider myself properly dressed without a frankly enormous codpiece, mirroring the excessive size of my penis
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
"The former RBS chief executive, who was sacked as part of a non-negotiable condition of the state rescue, originally walked away with a £16m pension pot that paid out about £700,000 a year. But public outrage forced Goodwin and the bank to halve those payouts to £342,500 a year.
However, after nearly two decades, an agreement that linked his payouts to the rate of inflation has pushed that figure ever-closer to the original sum."
The Guardian's understanding of inflation.
Is that the CPI, RPI or the inflated sense of his own importance?
This is an account which reposts the life experiences of women in conservative Islamic countries. It is heartbreaking
An example
“I am a 27-year-old Saudi woman, forced to wear a double-layered niqab that allows me to see only with half of one eye. But that’s not all — I’m also forced to stay at home and serve, with the full approval of both society and my family. No one sees anything wrong with this.
Even though driving is legally allowed now, it remains forbidden within my family.
My outings are limited to hospital visits and shopping for clothes twice a year during the two Eids. Days have become indistinguishable to me — I can’t tell what day it is unless I look at a calendar.
I wake up and cook lunch for the family (they consider themselves lenient for letting me sleep in while my mother prepares breakfast). The rest of my day is spent within four walls.
I’ve lost contact with my friends because I’m unable to go out. I literally have nothing to talk about — there are no events in my life. I haven’t truly lived. My childhood and teenage memories all happened within the walls of our home. There’s nothing to tell.
I can’t even form new relationships. My social skills have vanished because of being confined for so long. I suffer from social anxiety — I can’t talk to strangers without my voice trembling.
Only when my family travels do I sneak out to a café or mall — those are the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
I’m ashamed of myself and my life. I don’t want to die — I just want to live.”💔
It makes me despair that we blithely import this culture into the UK
They are no better than slave societies, but the slavery is done by gender
Yes and not only are women restricted in terms of career and expected to stay home (and while I am all for stay at home mothers it shouldn't be compulsory). LGBT activity is illegal too with fines, prison, floggings and even capital punishment still maintained in Saudi law for same sex relations
Travel question, where I think I know the answer but want validation.
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Of the suggestions you make, I would do Morocco
But I agree with @carnforth - get the ferry over from Spain. It makes it much more of an adventure - a boat from Europe to Africa! - then head south as far as you can, and feel the sun and the heat rise and rise. Maybe culminate at Essaouira - poetic and wild in the wind
Thanks everyone for the counsel. The family consensus is Morocco. We’ll start either in Andalucia (flight to Jerez) and get the ferry, indulging in our first world privilege to do the reverse trip to that which so many thousands of the destitute and oppressed attempt in the other direction, or in Tangier which I’ve fancied visiting for a while. Then the TGV to Marrakech via Casablanca, then do a drive round the Atlas and desert. We’ve done that bit before - and Essaouira - before children, but enough time has elapsed and our youngest will find it exotic (the eldest may have started his gap year in Namibia by then).
The one problem with a holiday in late October is harvest. If it’s a warm year we’ll have the grapes in by half term and the timing is perfect. If not, then I may need to cancel. So I’ll leave it a couple of months to book I think.
Jerez is a bit run down (sherry crisis on about year 40), but a good cathedral, and a city centre full of sherry bars where locals mix happily with (mostly spanish) tourists. If you can make it out to Cadiz, do - it's a very special place.
What are the chances of me “getting lucky” so often?
Not very high. This would indicate that my local Marks and Sparks is being hit several times a day - every single day. Robert Jenrick is on to a winner with his campaigns
I see that Jenrick's fare dodging video is now on almost 14 million views.
The court rulings against him have driven him mad & he is now lashing out.
The Steel tariffs aren't covered by the rulings & have been previously judged by the courts to be within presidential authority.
He's like a toddler who has had a dangerous toy taken away by a parent. He has now grabbed another toy & is rolling around on the floor having a tantrum.
If you were someone who operated a business in the United States, how would you cope with the constant changing of tariffs on a weekly basis?
I assume economic indicators in the next few weeks are going to start to reveal (if they are allowed to be published, I'm still expecting tractor stats soon) the US economy in freefall......
This is an account which reposts the life experiences of women in conservative Islamic countries. It is heartbreaking
An example
“I am a 27-year-old Saudi woman, forced to wear a double-layered niqab that allows me to see only with half of one eye. But that’s not all — I’m also forced to stay at home and serve, with the full approval of both society and my family. No one sees anything wrong with this.
Even though driving is legally allowed now, it remains forbidden within my family.
My outings are limited to hospital visits and shopping for clothes twice a year during the two Eids. Days have become indistinguishable to me — I can’t tell what day it is unless I look at a calendar.
I wake up and cook lunch for the family (they consider themselves lenient for letting me sleep in while my mother prepares breakfast). The rest of my day is spent within four walls.
I’ve lost contact with my friends because I’m unable to go out. I literally have nothing to talk about — there are no events in my life. I haven’t truly lived. My childhood and teenage memories all happened within the walls of our home. There’s nothing to tell.
I can’t even form new relationships. My social skills have vanished because of being confined for so long. I suffer from social anxiety — I can’t talk to strangers without my voice trembling.
Only when my family travels do I sneak out to a café or mall — those are the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
I’m ashamed of myself and my life. I don’t want to die — I just want to live.”💔
It makes me despair that we blithely import this culture into the UK
They are no better than slave societies, but the slavery is done by gender
Yes and not only are women restricted in terms of career and expected to stay home (and while I am all for stay at home mothers it shouldn't be compulsory). LGBT activity is illegal too with fines, prison, floggings and even capital punishment still maintained in Saudi law for same sex relations
Posie Parker doesn't care about the T part of LGBT being illegal.
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn8T9M-6ktw&t=2s
At first - TBH - it caused a bit of a stir in Camden, my enormous codpiece. But now the locals regard it with a suitably wry respect:, this bejewlled silk-and-pealn representation of my phallus protruding aalmost a yard from my groin, and I've noticed that many of my neighbours move away when they see me, out of respect. Strangers likewise step back, in honour of my symbolic girth
Fred the shred will be on an index-linked DB scheme as he was way above glass urinal level.
Not many private pensions are index-linked DB
The State Department plans to create an "Office of Remigration" in a sweeping reorganization drive tied to the Trump administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants, a department official told Axios Thursday.
"I'd like the clothes I'm in now, only newer."
10 days in October half term. Somewhere with decent weather. Not Italy or Greece. Maximum 5 hours.
So far I am down to a shortlist of: Egypt (Cairo), Turkey, Malta, Morocco, La Palma or El Hierro.
I am edging towards either Ankara to the Antalya coast via Cappadocia, or Tangier to Agadir via the Atlas.
Strong recommendations or warnings welcome.
Ankara isn't that exciting though so don't plan to spend long there - personally I would bypass it.
For Morocco, it's fun to start in Andalucia (been to Granada for the Alhambra? Cadiz? Seville? Jerez?) and take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.
"On 18 June 2009, RBS stated that following negotiation an agreement was reached between RBS and Goodwin to reduce his pension to £342,500 a year from the £555,000 set in February after he took out an estimated £2.7 million tax-free lump sum. The agreement followed the completion of RBS's internal inquiry into Goodwin's conduct, which found no wrongdoing."
However, had they gone bust, his pension would have been later and smaller: "If the government had not stopped RBS from going bankrupt, his pension would have been paid out of the pension-protection fund and been £28,000 a year, starting at age 65."
The history in Valletta is properly interesting, the Caravaggio is ace,. the megaliths on Gozo are compelling. But that's, what, three days?
In late October the weather can easily be cool or damp, which rules out beach fun, and without beaches Malta is pretty boring
"Hot Lips" Houlihan is no more.
I think this is it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7AiHV6c4PyLoKASKA
But I agree with @carnforth - get the ferry over from Spain. It makes it much more of an adventure - a boat from Europe to Africa! - then head south as far as you can, and feel the sun and the heat rise and rise. Maybe culminate at Essaouira - poetic and wild in the wind
Fuckers.
These days I shop at Jeff Banks for shirts and trousers etc, or the M&S outlet.
I've no idea where that puts me on the PB scale.
I did enjoy the small, specialist shops in the City when I worked there.
Elon Musk tripping balls in the White House.
https://x.com/shannonrwatts/status/1928529854183407998
Tsk
I wish they’d burned the political capital on something else, like properly reforming the planning system.
It was massive at the time but hasn't aged well. The film even less so.
RIP though.
Even the Roman/Greek ruins lack something if its drizzling and grey
@TimS could go further east and see the Tas Tepeler - Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe and Sayburc, and also Sogmatar and Harran and the like, the entire area around Sanliurfa, Mardin, Gaziantep. Wild
In October the weather will be ideal. Dry and sunny and about 25C (it is unbearably hot in summer). Likely the archaeologists will be digging, live, in front of you - you may see a world changing artefact or rock frieze emerging as you watch
Not great for a family seeking beach fun, but for anyone interested in archaeology and human history it is a trip which will change your life and you will never ever forget it. And for adventure you can always hire a car and drive up into the Anatolian mountains (it will be cold but very dramatic)
An example
“I am a 27-year-old Saudi woman, forced to wear a double-layered niqab that allows me to see only with half of one eye. But that’s not all — I’m also forced to stay at home and serve, with the full approval of both society and my family. No one sees anything wrong with this.
Even though driving is legally allowed now, it remains forbidden within my family.
My outings are limited to hospital visits and shopping for clothes twice a year during the two Eids. Days have become indistinguishable to me — I can’t tell what day it is unless I look at a calendar.
I wake up and cook lunch for the family (they consider themselves lenient for letting me sleep in while my mother prepares breakfast). The rest of my day is spent within four walls.
I’ve lost contact with my friends because I’m unable to go out. I literally have nothing to talk about — there are no events in my life. I haven’t truly lived. My childhood and teenage memories all happened within the walls of our home. There’s nothing to tell.
I can’t even form new relationships. My social skills have vanished because of being confined for so long. I suffer from social anxiety — I can’t talk to strangers without my voice trembling.
Only when my family travels do I sneak out to a café or mall — those are the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
I’m ashamed of myself and my life.
I don’t want to die — I just want to live.”💔
https://x.com/ThePosieParker/status/1928390506578678259
It makes me despair that we blithely import this culture into the UK
They are no better than slave societies, but the slavery is done by gender
For PB's "Imane Khelif is a woman" contingent.
What a show.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘I summoned the prisons minister in January to warn this exact incident would happen unless they took urgent action.
God that man is a posturing twat.
* It needs to be a minor character from an 70s TV programme set in the 50s - possible Steptoe and Son's rent collector.
Americans love making films about how traumatised they were by invading foreign parts and killing people.
https://x.com/nigel_farage/status/1928561804851937284?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029395
The eight stages that mark a relationship’s transformation to murder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sajngb0W6I&rco=1
A lot of ex military seem very unconvinced that what they did was just, or even had any point at all.Their motivation is usually duty to fellow soldiers rather than the putative cause.
Doesn’t exactly bode well for Farage does it?
Note...I can do smart and sophificated when required (honest)....
ABC did a show set in a US hospital in Vitnam from 1988-91 called China Beach, but that was more distant in time from the actual war.
@Acyn
Trump announces increase of 25% on steel tariffs: We’re doubling it to 50%
I went for a week in October half term a few years ago. Stayed in a beautiful house right in the middle of sete cidades, on a causeway between the 2 caldera lakes. It pissed down with rain and blew a gale all week.
Only go to the Azores in July or August.
The one problem with a holiday in late October is harvest. If it’s a warm year we’ll have the grapes in by half term and the timing is perfect. If not, then I may need to cancel. So I’ll leave it a couple of months to book I think.
Neither of the original two superpowers confronting each other - Russia and the US - really wanted to be directly involved. And the only reason it was north versus south (as opposed to a straight civil war) was their respective occupations facing each other.
And of course both north and south ended up as dictatorships for rather a long time.
It's a lot more clearcut to retroactively justify now than it seemed at the time.
But it is set in Korea, so it's a bit more of a hot mess - which has given a very odd view of the forgotten war to countless millions of people - than a simple Vietnam parable.
The Steel tariffs aren't covered by the rulings & have been previously judged by the courts to be within presidential authority.
He's like a toddler who has had a dangerous toy taken away by a parent. He has now grabbed another toy & is rolling around on the floor having a tantrum.
Percy: (bows) Certainly, My Lord. Hat, My Lord?
Edmund: Trojan, I think.
Percy: Boots, My Lord?
Edmund: The Italian.
Percy: …and codpiece, My Lord?
Edmund: Well, let’s go for the Black Russian, shall we? It always terrifies the clergy! (laughs ridiculously)
2028 DEM Presidential Polling:
Buttigieg: 32%
AOC: 19%
Harris: 17%
Booker: 10%
Newsom: 7%
Shapiro: 5%
Whitmer: 4%
AtlasIntel / May 27, 2025
https://x.com/USA_Polling/status/1928517310848909809
On that bombshell, I bid you goodnight.
Premier inns are just too cheap and too standardized
https://x.com/RobertJenrick/status/1927993574626406634
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c249g14v1jyo
"King Charles gifted Rolls-Royce as coronation present"
I assume economic indicators in the next few weeks are going to start to reveal (if they are allowed to be published, I'm still expecting tractor stats soon) the US economy in freefall......