JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
Spoons has an interesting USP. Their margins are low so they rely on volume sales, oh and dole boys getting pissed at 9 am.
I wouldn’t go into a Wetherspoons if you paid me ! Full of Reform voters !
The £1.43 pint (yes here in London!) is quite a thrill to experience. You feel you're beating the system, being the opposite of a mug. Either that or (equally powerful) a sensation of going back in time. It's perhaps this latter that Reform voters go there looking for.
It's the MVP of pubs. Bit like Wizz Air - they don't pretend to give you other than a chair and get your Gdansk in a couple of hours.
The reason that people go there, is low cost. Too many, the pub has moved out of the casual "lets have a drink, on the spur of the moment" thing - and become the "expensive, planned outing".
I actually like Spoons. It's great to have a few (perfectly decent) pints and change from a tenner. My nearest one is a nice place too. There's nothing grotty about it.
The City ones are getting more and more popular. The other places seem to be chasing madder and madder pricing.
I like visiting the Crosse Keys whenever I'm near Bank station.
If you like the cavernous interior, it's very good. What do you reckon the ceiling height is, in there?
Birmingham's claim to be the second city is purely reliant on a quirk of history whereby more of the conurbation is within the boundaries of Birmingham City Council than is the case for Manchester and Manchester City Council.
I grew up in the 1970s and Birmingham then was without question the second city. Undoubtedly there has been unprecedented decline. Earlier in the week I posted a (very biased against Attlee and Wilson) video which explained the Distribution of Industry Act 1945 and the post war plan to curb investment in full- employment Birmingham in favour of areas of industrial decline like the South Wales coalfields, Lowland Scotland , the North East, North West and South and West Yorkshire.
As a Brummie I can cry in my beer that Birmingham is now an undoubted shite hole, but it remains Britain's second city.
I went to Manchester Uni in the early 70s. Great Uni, especially for Maths, but the city was a dump. It has made huge progress since to become one of Britain's favourite cities.
Purely based on City Boundaries Manchester is only the 8th biggest.
It's the continual land grab of Greater Manchester that has driven the puerile argument.
Salford is the classic example, it's akin the Birmingham adding on Wolverhampton.
Birmingham is the second city Manchester is an area
Just compare the number of Michelin Chefs.
Once Birmingham has its new Sports Quarter within walking distance of the City Centre, it will make Manchester equivalent look dated and old.
I must congratulate the small suburb town of Aston near Sandwell for winning the European equivalent of The Milk Cup, they forget that their big City neighbours qualified in 2011 by qualifying by getting relegated. I hope they enjoyed their first and last trophy for another 44 years.
Got to be a UEFA investigation though, surely a team with 132 toes is always going to beat one with 121 toes.
Birmingham's claim to be the second city is purely reliant on a quirk of history whereby more of the conurbation is within the boundaries of Birmingham City Council than is the case for Manchester and Manchester City Council.
I grew up in the 1970s and Birmingham then was without question the second city. Undoubtedly there has been unprecedented decline. Earlier in the week I posted a (very biased against Attlee and Wilson) video which explained the Distribution of Industry Act 1945 and the post war plan to curb investment in full- employment Birmingham in favour of areas of industrial decline like the South Wales coalfields, Lowland Scotland , the North East, North West and South and West Yorkshire.
As a Brummie I can cry in my beer that Birmingham is now an undoubted shite hole, but it remains Britain's second city.
Birmingham's problem was that it had too many Tories...
Birmingham was very much a city built by one nation Tories like the Chamberlain family. With hindsight the Distribution of Industry Act didn't work for Birmingham although I work on the premise that the idea was Birmingham was self sufficient and could look after itself. I don't think there is necessarily a partisan argument that either Labour or Conservatives killed Birmingham, but if you pushed me I would point out Thatcher's deregulation of the City in 1986 and the subsequent unfettered access for foreign companies to own UK assets didn't help.
Birmingham was a mish mash
The outstanding Quaker led Cadbury family a unique example.
A visit to Bournville village and the museum a real eye opener.
A brand history wrecked by the American corporate greed of Mondelez. Reducing the quality of the chocolate and transferring the production of several lines to Poland being merely the tip of the iceberg of betrayal of the Cadbury Quaker legacy. Fortunately in Northern Europe we have Fazer, still owned by the founding family in Finland and who -according to legend- still produce according to an original British and possibly even Cadbury recipe, and very delicious it is too.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
Yes that's what I was thinking. Against *that* (and therefore them) not for Lab or Con or LD etc. It's another Reform whinge basically. They're always at it.
The letter being shared on social media from Hope not Hate isn't that though. It explicitly says its a two horse race between Labour and Reform UK, only Andy Burnham for Labour can do this, that and the other "good" things, Reform will do all these "bad" things. Their "get out" I guess, is it doesn't say vote Andy Burnham, it says vote for positive change, don't vote for Reform, but the only positive change being described is Andy Burnham.
If this is the line we are allowing to be trend, that is getting very close to American PAC type activity before the Citizen United case blew up in the face of those who brought it. The Citizen United cased did the opposite of what the people bringing it wanted, they already thought the sort of thing Hope Not Hate letter did was over the line, where in the US you could have similar organisations on the left and right say there is this big issue in this election, candidate A stands for it, yeahhhhhh, candidate B stands against it, boooooo, but never said "Vote Candidate A", but just to make clear Candidate B is really bad.
HNH's mission statement is to combat the organised far right in all its forms, the policies that give succour to it, in the places most susceptible.
Hence the letter. Ok, so Reform don't like it. That's understandable. But, you know, diddums. If it's illegal they know what to do. I doubt it is but of course I could be wrong. In any case it's hardly one step away from superPACs.
Tbh I rarely see merit in 'slippery slope' arguments. In my experience it's often a technique employed to mask partisanship on the issue at hand.
If that really is their mission statement it’s not clear to me that they should be a charity at all
I don't think that is the mission statement of the Charitable Trust.
Hope not Hate limited isn't a charity, so the entire thread has set off on a false premise. There is a linked charitable arm but that doesn't campaign
Yes, that is correct. Hope Not Hate is a limited company (like Reform). The charity that had the same name changed its name to Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust.
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
The Miami Herald has learned that Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, testified yesterday that she was sexually assaulted by former Miami Beach mayor and former Fla (Democratic) gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine. https://x.com/jkbjournalist/status/2057848669987041480
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
I think they are organised as is common for charities with a subsidiary that *can* campaign. They have Hope not Hate Limited, which is a private company, and HOPE unlimited Charitable Trust.
It's a similar pattern to how charities have commercial companies for their shops.
Except completely different.
I disagree. The comparison is setting up an organisation as allowed by law to meet desired objectives. I've long been critical of the tax advantages afforded charity shops, but that's the law, so I have to accept it.
That they have just come out of a Charity Commission Compliance Enquiry suggests that it is OK under the law as it stands.
The Spectator have been gnawing on this bone for several years, and have not laid much of a finger on them. HNH output is all based on research and data which is published, so if they are incompetent or under-lawyered there is plenty of opportunity to sue. I can understand by those who do not like them for political reasons get frustrated.
Yes, perhaps I should go around calling other posters the c word and discussing things rhyming with booming bangs, but expect to remain un-banned because these actions are committed by my campaigning arm, Luckyguy1983 Ltd., which has absolutely nothing to do with me.
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
I think they are organised as is common for charities with a subsidiary that *can* campaign. They have Hope not Hate Limited, which is a private company, and HOPE unlimited Charitable Trust.
It's a similar pattern to how charities have commercial companies for their shops.
Except completely different.
I disagree. The comparison is setting up an organisation as allowed by law to meet desired objectives. I've long been critical of the tax advantages afforded charity shops, but that's the law, so I have to accept it.
That they have just come out of a Charity Commission Compliance Enquiry suggests that it is OK under the law as it stands.
The Spectator have been gnawing on this bone for several years, and have not laid much of a finger on them. HNH output is all based on research and data which is published, so if they are incompetent or under-lawyered there is plenty of opportunity to sue. I can understand by those who do not like them for political reasons get frustrated.
Yes, perhaps I should go around calling other posters the c word and discussing things rhyming with booming bangs, but expect to remain un-banned because these actions are committed by my campaigning arm, Luckyguy1983 Ltd., which has absolutely nothing to do with me.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
Yes that's what I was thinking. Against *that* (and therefore them) not for Lab or Con or LD etc. It's another Reform whinge basically. They're always at it.
The letter being shared on social media from Hope not Hate isn't that though. It explicitly says its a two horse race between Labour and Reform UK, only Andy Burnham for Labour can do this, that and the other "good" things, Reform will do all these "bad" things. Their "get out" I guess, is it doesn't say vote Andy Burnham, it says vote for positive change, don't vote for Reform, but the only positive change being described is Andy Burnham.
If this is the line we are allowing to be trend, that is getting very close to American PAC type activity before the Citizen United case blew up in the face of those who brought it. The Citizen United cased did the opposite of what the people bringing it wanted, they already thought the sort of thing Hope Not Hate letter did was over the line, where in the US you could have similar organisations on the left and right say there is this big issue in this election, candidate A stands for it, yeahhhhhh, candidate B stands against it, boooooo, but never said "Vote Candidate A", but just to make clear Candidate B is really bad.
HNH's mission statement is to combat the organised far right in all its forms, the policies that give succour to it, in the places most susceptible.
Hence the letter. Ok, so Reform don't like it. That's understandable. But, you know, diddums. If it's illegal they know what to do. I doubt it is but of course I could be wrong. In any case it's hardly one step away from superPACs.
Tbh I rarely see merit in 'slippery slope' arguments. In my experience it's often a technique employed to mask partisanship on the issue at hand.
If that really is their mission statement it’s not clear to me that they should be a charity at all
Looks like a good cause to me. Certainly beats Eton College on the 'benefiting society' front. Anyway they are, so it's presumably passed the test.
But opinion noted. I'll put you down for zero pounds.
A good cause doesn’t equal a charity.
And Eton does a huge amount outside of the school that it is best known for
I guess 'good' can be subjective other than with slam dunk things like Battersea cats and dogs.
Anycase, regardless of our (unaligned) views both Eton and HNH are charities. They both pass whatever our test is.
On income from donations, you'll be pleased to hear, Eton wins by a factor of ten.
well, since it has been running since 1440, and Battersea Dogs Home only in 1860, they have had a lot longer to collect donations... the miracle of compound interest will do alot.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
Andy, God of the North faces a challenging battle with Nigel, God of Beer and Brexit with Kemi, God of Aggression coming up strong and Zack, God of the Spaced Out starting to fade. Ed, God of Comedians and Silly Stunts has to be careful to avoid a fall
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
Spoons has an interesting USP. Their margins are low so they rely on volume sales, oh and dole boys getting pissed at 9 am.
I wouldn’t go into a Wetherspoons if you paid me ! Full of Reform voters !
I doubt the 9.00am drinkers vote.
I hear one can buy a pint and a full English breakfast or a pint and a curry for mere pennies depending on the time of day.
Sounds vile.
It's quite nice actually.
Wetherspoons are a net plus for the nation. Some great buildings in use, reliable food and drink. Especially if you're on the move and in a bit of a hurry you know you'll be fine at a Wetherspoons.
Shame the owner is a prick, and he behaved badly over something during Covid I hazily recall, but nobody's perfect.
Wait: do some people really think Restore has a 7% chance of most seats?
That's insane.
Some people is probably one person (with money and an agenda)
I think it could be a relatively numerous group of terminally online far-right supporters. The sort of people who buy meme stocks and coins could easily be attracted to the idea of betting on Restore to win most seats on betfair.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
Andy, God of the North faces a challenging battle with Nigel, God of Beer and Brexit with Kemi, God of Aggression coming up strong and Zack, God of the Spaced Out starting to fade. Ed, God of Comedians and Silly Stunts has to be careful to avoid a fall
Remember that decade when the government relocated to Mount Olympus whilst Parliament was being refurbished?
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
Andy, God of the North faces a challenging battle with Nigel, God of Beer and Brexit with Kemi, God of Aggression coming up strong and Zack, God of the Spaced Out starting to fade. Ed, God of Comedians and Silly Stunts has to be careful to avoid a fall
Young @Leon_VotedForStarmer here talks about his strong feelings of noom as he surveys the world. It's more doom for me. Particularly the rise of Burnham feels badly wrong. It nags at some deep caveman like feeling. Run away it says, and run fast.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
Andy, God of the North faces a challenging battle with Nigel, God of Beer and Brexit with Kemi, God of Aggression coming up strong and Zack, God of the Spaced Out starting to fade. Ed, God of Comedians and Silly Stunts has to be careful to avoid a fall
Unusually straight for Delphi, usually you get something a bit more cryptic!
The Miami Herald has learned that Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, testified yesterday that she was sexually assaulted by former Miami Beach mayor and former Fla (Democratic) gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine. https://x.com/jkbjournalist/status/2057848669987041480
Is she a reliable witness? Does whiff of her potential complicity in Epstein's crimes being overlooked in return for a favour.
We had an amazing day trip to Delphi as we come to the end of our week in Athens. Fascinating to see the theatre, stadium, Temple of Apollo and where the prophetess announced her oracles. A key site in Greek mythology and allegedly established by Zeus of course
Did the Oracle at Delphi give any hints on the next UK GE?
Andy, God of the North faces a challenging battle with Nigel, God of Beer and Brexit with Kemi, God of Aggression coming up strong and Zack, God of the Spaced Out starting to fade. Ed, God of Comedians and Silly Stunts has to be careful to avoid a fall
Unusually straight for Delphi, usually you get something a bit more cryptic!
Tories as stagnant as week old tea in the polls despite their wonderful performances in Local and Devolved Elections... Not
Dozens of staff members at the University of Nottingham have taken to the picket line ahead of a 61-day strike over drastic cuts to the workforce. The initial day of industrial action on Friday (May 22) comes before University and College Union members are proposing to strike for 61 days from Monday, June 1, to Friday, July 31.
The strike action was called by the union as the university plans to cut more than 700 jobs and shut down more than 40 degree courses, including modern languages and music.
They plan to slash the department that gave the world MRI scanners.
Madness for UK plc.
Been hearing rumours all week. Chemistry looking to cut academic staff by 30%! There is only so much recruiting overseas students over home can do. One thing I had heard was that the Uni had acquired an expensive extra bit of campus that isn't paying its way. How true that is I have no idea.
I've heard the same. Poor investment decisions in a new/refurbished campus.
Don’t worry. Incompetence is rife in the private sector too. Wife’s company sold 4 years ago for £1.3 bn has been resold for £0.7 bn. Fundamentals didn’t change just the PE bubble.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Its often the way with these things. I have been involved in Athena Swann for many years. If you don't know it started out looking at barriers to female success in academia, aiming at things like a culture of working long hours (not conducive to childcare), and many other things (women taking career breaks to look after/raise offspring). Its morphed into a wider look at work culture but all too often its still just about women. I asked a question once about the gender imbalance on the pharmacy course (it heavily skews female) and whether we should be worried or look into the reasons.
Fell on rather stony ground.
Ok but I don't think there's an obligation for campaigning groups to widen their activities beyond what they want to concentrate on.
No, but its the hypocrisy that amuses more, me than anything else.
I don't know about that.
Say I form an org to fight antisemitism. Our mission is to detect, call out and condemn it wherever it rears its head. So we do that with laser focus and we don't comment on any other types of racism.
Is that hypocritical of us? I don't think so.
No. The aim and focus is clearly stated.
But when you state that you are against hate and racism but ignore hate and racism directed at Jews then, yes, people are entitled to call out your hypocrisy and one-eyed approach to your mission.
It says on their website, “At HOPE not hate, our mission is to work tirelessly to expose and oppose far-right extremism.” They report on anti-Semitism by far right extremists
But not, presumably, by Green party members chanting "From the River to the Sea"?
Green Party members are not, usually, far right extremists. HNH have their mission, they carry out their mission. It’s like complaining that the RSPB does nothing for squirrels.
No they’re far left Jew haters now they’ve onboarded lots of the old Labour left.
Oddly enough HNH are less vocal on that.
Excusing HNH simply because you approve of their political target is one take I guess
I am not excusing HNH. What I’m saying is that if you want to support squirrels, don’t give money to the RSPB.
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
JD Wetherspoon is set to open its first ever pub in London’s Theatreland district, with a new West End mega-boozer taking over part of what was once the Trocadero.
The pub will be known as Piccadilly Hall, named in tribute to the original Piccadilly/Pikadilly Hall – the 17th century mansion that gave its name to Piccadilly Circus. It will open at 30 Shaftesbury Avenue – most recently home to the now-shuttered Coyote Ugly bar.
Spoons has an interesting USP. Their margins are low so they rely on volume sales, oh and dole boys getting pissed at 9 am.
I wouldn’t go into a Wetherspoons if you paid me ! Full of Reform voters !
I doubt the 9.00am drinkers vote.
I hear one can buy a pint and a full English breakfast or a pint and a curry for mere pennies depending on the time of day.
Sounds vile.
I've visited something like 841 different Spoons over the past 30 years or so.
The (cask) beer varies quite a lot between pubs and indeed regions - it's much better in areas where they have supply agreements at a local level with good breweries, in addition to the nationwide beer list.
I wouldn't eat most Wetherfood because it really is pretty vile these days. However the breakfasts and curries are among the 'least bad' options. And undeniably good value.
Dozens of staff members at the University of Nottingham have taken to the picket line ahead of a 61-day strike over drastic cuts to the workforce. The initial day of industrial action on Friday (May 22) comes before University and College Union members are proposing to strike for 61 days from Monday, June 1, to Friday, July 31.
The strike action was called by the union as the university plans to cut more than 700 jobs and shut down more than 40 degree courses, including modern languages and music.
They plan to slash the department that gave the world MRI scanners.
Madness for UK plc.
Been hearing rumours all week. Chemistry looking to cut academic staff by 30%! There is only so much recruiting overseas students over home can do. One thing I had heard was that the Uni had acquired an expensive extra bit of campus that isn't paying its way. How true that is I have no idea.
I've heard that its ridiculously easy to get offered a place to study chemistry at a lower ranked uni. Like most students on the course got a C or less at A level. They're failing but the uni waves them through for the money.
Dozens of staff members at the University of Nottingham have taken to the picket line ahead of a 61-day strike over drastic cuts to the workforce. The initial day of industrial action on Friday (May 22) comes before University and College Union members are proposing to strike for 61 days from Monday, June 1, to Friday, July 31.
The strike action was called by the union as the university plans to cut more than 700 jobs and shut down more than 40 degree courses, including modern languages and music.
They plan to slash the department that gave the world MRI scanners.
Madness for UK plc.
Been hearing rumours all week. Chemistry looking to cut academic staff by 30%! There is only so much recruiting overseas students over home can do. One thing I had heard was that the Uni had acquired an expensive extra bit of campus that isn't paying its way. How true that is I have no idea.
I've heard the same. Poor investment decisions in a new/refurbished campus.
Don’t worry. Incompetence is rife in the private sector too. Wife’s company sold 4 years ago for £1.3 bn has been resold for £0.7 bn. Fundamentals didn’t change just the PE bubble.
Dozens of staff members at the University of Nottingham have taken to the picket line ahead of a 61-day strike over drastic cuts to the workforce. The initial day of industrial action on Friday (May 22) comes before University and College Union members are proposing to strike for 61 days from Monday, June 1, to Friday, July 31.
The strike action was called by the union as the university plans to cut more than 700 jobs and shut down more than 40 degree courses, including modern languages and music.
They plan to slash the department that gave the world MRI scanners.
Madness for UK plc.
Been hearing rumours all week. Chemistry looking to cut academic staff by 30%! There is only so much recruiting overseas students over home can do. One thing I had heard was that the Uni had acquired an expensive extra bit of campus that isn't paying its way. How true that is I have no idea.
I've heard the same. Poor investment decisions in a new/refurbished campus.
Don’t worry. Incompetence is rife in the private sector too. Wife’s company sold 4 years ago for £1.3 bn has been resold for £0.7 bn. Fundamentals didn’t change just the PE bubble.
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
Must be time for the annual stories of "but who wil pick the strawberries".....
Thats easy, robots or stop eating them
Terminator 7 synopsis.
Humanity under the yoke of the killer strawberry pickers.
Joking aside, the robots are here.
The ones for picking raspberries do a better job than humans.
The biggest barrier to adoption is the near religious belief in some companies that cheap labour, not investment is the answer to everything.
The other problem, presumably, being that the machines only get used for a few days a year for each fruit farm. There's probably really good money to be made with a leasing business.
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
I expect Burnham to walk it in Makerfield. Especially considering who Reform have chosen as their candidate. If he wins then its a coronation and politics changes. Labour winning is perfectly possible.
If he loses? Well then it gets very funny very quickly. If Labour can't win in the red wall with Burnham then they can't win there at all. It would take endless Kirklees council shenanigans to get the voters up to speed with why vote for these useless wankers to stop Reform winning the election.
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
CEO of Standard Chartered forced to apologise after saying his company aimed to replace ‘lower value human capital’ with AI earlier this week. He says the bank will try and help those workers transition to higher value roles
Apologising in these situations is just insulting and they shouldn't bother - it's just saying the quiet part out loud, no one is fooled by an apology and it is not as though they are going to suddenly change their goals here.
Heh. Fun in the Sun. GB News are trying to kill their audience with heart attacks.
GBNews have picked up the travel scheme I mentioned on Wednesday (?) in Oxfordshire, "Quiet Lanes", which turns small duplicate country lanes where an alternative exists, into routes for non-motorised modes and access, with modal filters and 20mph speed limits.
But they haven't told them that there are only 10 lanes on the pilot, and that this should take cyclists and walkers off the main route by creating the alternative mode networks we should have had in place 50 years ago.
So they are gubbing away about insurance, road tax, "roads were made for vehicles" (no, they weren't), and all the rest, in the comments.
Must be time for the annual stories of "but who wil pick the strawberries".....
Thats easy, robots or stop eating them
Terminator 7 synopsis.
Humanity under the yoke of the killer strawberry pickers.
Joking aside, the robots are here.
The ones for picking raspberries do a better job than humans.
The biggest barrier to adoption is the near religious belief in some companies that cheap labour, not investment is the answer to everything.
The other problem, presumably, being that the machines only get used for a few days a year for each fruit farm. There's probably really good money to be made with a leasing business.
It's the same economics as any other harvest mechanisation. Sometimes buy, sometimes rent.
Plus lots of such fruit is grown in greenhouses, to extend the season.
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
Spain in 1968, family package holiday. Also the first time my parents went abroad. We flew and my abiding memory is my ears hurting so much with the pressure change that I cried.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
He’s still wanting to give the WASPI leeches £10 Billion though.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
Let's not elect a party with well documented links to Putin then.
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
He’s still wanting to give the WASPI leeches £10 Billion though.
Hopefully when he is actually running the country he will be persuaded, as the current government has been (on and off) that it is simply unaffordable. Without needing to get into that it is bloody ridiculous.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
Yes that's what I was thinking. Against *that* (and therefore them) not for Lab or Con or LD etc. It's another Reform whinge basically. They're always at it.
The letter being shared on social media from Hope not Hate isn't that though. It explicitly says its a two horse race between Labour and Reform UK, only Andy Burnham for Labour can do this, that and the other "good" things, Reform will do all these "bad" things. Their "get out" I guess, is it doesn't say vote Andy Burnham, it says vote for positive change, don't vote for Reform, but the only positive change being described is Andy Burnham.
If this is the line we are allowing to be trend, that is getting very close to American PAC type activity before the Citizen United case blew up in the face of those who brought it. The Citizen United cased did the opposite of what the people bringing it wanted, they already thought the sort of thing Hope Not Hate letter did was over the line, where in the US you could have similar organisations on the left and right say there is this big issue in this election, candidate A stands for it, yeahhhhhh, candidate B stands against it, boooooo, but never said "Vote Candidate A", but just to make clear Candidate B is really bad.
HNH's mission statement is to combat the organised far right in all its forms, the policies that give succour to it, in the places most susceptible.
Hence the letter. Ok, so Reform don't like it. That's understandable. But, you know, diddums. If it's illegal they know what to do. I doubt it is but of course I could be wrong. In any case it's hardly one step away from superPACs.
Tbh I rarely see merit in 'slippery slope' arguments. In my experience it's often a technique employed to mask partisanship on the issue at hand.
When Reform reach power they must prohibit quasi-political "charities" like HNH and fiercely prosecute anyone involved with them
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
He’s still wanting to give the WASPI leeches £10 Billion though.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
I cannot imagine the Belarussian authorities are particularly keen to be used as a human shield and distraction by Russia, even if they are by necessity tied at the hip.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
Oh dear, I will need to cancel my holidays to Gomel. Their loss
Do they still have that bald Putin puppet in charge or has his son taken over
The British army is fully with fancy dress outfits for prancing around at Horse Guards for three upcoming Saturdays.
A bearskin hat cost £2000. An Octopus interceptor drone, made in the UK, costs £2000.
A new suit adds something beyond its cost. I imagine a bearskin hat does the same.
These troops get to be a bit dramatic, but they'll fight better for it.
They get to shout at American Tourists taking photographs.
Or so Youtube says.
You can always trust Youtube. It showed me a post from an american channel saying the GOP and Dems are both liberals, with the GOP centre left and the Dems far left, and I am sure that is totally right.
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
He’s still wanting to give the WASPI leeches £10 Billion though.
Hopefully when he is actually running the country he will be persuaded, as the current government has been (on and off) that it is simply unaffordable. Without needing to get into that it is bloody ridiculous.
Politicians should not have indulged these people and made them out to be victims when they are anything but.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
Oh dear, I will need to cancel my holidays to Gomel. Their loss
Do they still have that bald Putin puppet in charge or has his son taken over
Lukashenko is surprisingly not that old considering how long he has been there. Youngster probably has to wait another decade or more.
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
He’s still wanting to give the WASPI leeches £10 Billion though.
Hopefully when he is actually running the country he will be persuaded, as the current government has been (on and off) that it is simply unaffordable. Without needing to get into that it is bloody ridiculous.
Politicians should not have indulged these people and made them out to be victims when they are anything but.
My sympathy ran out a long time ago. The level of being informed they insist was required would basically mean governments can never change things, to pick just one point.
The British army is fully with fancy dress outfits for prancing around at Horse Guards for three upcoming Saturdays.
A bearskin hat cost £2000. An Octopus interceptor drone, made in the UK, costs £2000.
A new suit adds something beyond its cost. I imagine a bearskin hat does the same.
These troops get to be a bit dramatic, but they'll fight better for it.
They get to shout at American Tourists taking photographs.
Or so Youtube says.
American tourists have improved. They're no longer the thudding clowns they once were.
I wander around London quite a lot, and really the Americans aren't an issue. The French and Italians seem to want to ride escalators to the top and then stop. The Russians (or perhaps Ukranian-not-so-patriots) want to talk loudly. The Arabs and the like have become ridiculous in their convoys - the icebreaker male in front who will totally ignore any idea of politeness when it comes to pavement etiquette and then a fleet of shrouded women who simply drag ones soul down.
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
Spain in 1968, family package holiday. Also the first time my parents went abroad. We flew and my abiding memory is my ears hurting so much with the pressure change that I cried.
Ditto, although maybe a couple of years earlier. My dad refused to go abroad. We finally convinced him. It was a disaster. Rained all day in Benidorm. The food was awful. Surprised we ever went again. I think I stopped going with them when I hit 14.
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
Spain in 1968, family package holiday. Also the first time my parents went abroad. We flew and my abiding memory is my ears hurting so much with the pressure change that I cried.
It wasn't my first trip abroad [that was Germany, when I was a baby, because my grandparents lived there at the time], but my first memory of going abroad was similar to yours. Spain, ear pain. I wasn't desperately impressed. It was a bit grotty and tge beaches were not a patch on those in Devon or Scotland, with no opportunities to build sandcastles or dam streams or do anything else which makes a trip to the beach worthwhile.
Just had Late Spring Drinks with an old mate, a mildly famous photographer
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
Oh dear, I will need to cancel my holidays to Gomel. Their loss
Do they still have that bald Putin puppet in charge or has his son taken over
Lukashenko is surprisingly not that old considering how long he has been there. Youngster probably has to wait another decade or more.
Just checked, eldest son around 50, potential to replace one ageing head of state with another. I stand corrected, not completely bald, there is a ridiculous combover there
There was one of the -stans, can't remember if it was Tajiki- or Turkmeni- which had a long standing President, but I think he is out now. Leon has probably been there, from memory it has a lot of fancy gold statues of political leaders
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
My grandparents moved to Vienna the year I was born, so my first foreign country visit was very likely to Austria, and I almost certainly don't remember it.
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
Spain in 1968, family package holiday. Also the first time my parents went abroad. We flew and my abiding memory is my ears hurting so much with the pressure change that I cried.
It wasn't my first trip abroad [that was Germany, when I was a baby, because my grandparents lived there at the time], but my first memory of going abroad was similar to yours. Spain, ear pain. I wasn't desperately impressed. It was a bit grotty and tge beaches were not a patch on those in Devon or Scotland, with no opportunities to build sandcastles or dam streams or do anything else which makes a trip to the beach worthwhile.
My first holiday would have been loaded up in a (non-A/C) car and driven through Europe via the Chunnel until the half-way point, at which point we turned around and came back.
Vaguely remember going to Elba and liking the Tiramsu, not realising it had booze in it. The engine overheating so we had to have the heater on in the car.
Also went to Andorra, and a miserable Swiss hotel owner overlooking lake Garda in Switzerland where you couldn't hang laundry on the balcony by law. Which even as a 5 year old I found hilarious and probably caused some of my libertarianism.
A German hotel which was resplendent with the owner's war photos (featuring him in Nazi uniform). When we went a couple of years later, he'd clearly retired and his kids had hidden them.
Every trip consisted of eating frazzles in the back of a very hot car.
What was the first foreign country you ever visited? For me, I think it was the Netherlands.
Apparently I want to Palma Majorca as a baby but I Have no memory of it. I do remember going to Norway camping by ferry in 1969 and still have a pewter viking ship as a memento from the trip.
It was quite an ambitious road trip via Sweden and Denmark afterwards in a P6 Rover with roofrack. I remember being impressed with the Tivoli gardens too
Must be time for the annual stories of "but who wil pick the strawberries".....
Thats easy, robots or stop eating them
Terminator 7 synopsis.
Humanity under the yoke of the killer strawberry pickers.
Joking aside, the robots are here.
The ones for picking raspberries do a better job than humans.
The biggest barrier to adoption is the near religious belief in some companies that cheap labour, not investment is the answer to everything.
The other problem, presumably, being that the machines only get used for a few days a year for each fruit farm. There's probably really good money to be made with a leasing business.
Most fruit farms are going to be trying to stagger when their fruit ripens so that they have fruit to sell for as long as possible.
The local strawberry farm to us sells strawberries in the local supermarkets for about three months of the year. I'm surprised that you'd think a fruit farm would only be harvesting for a few days a year.
Comments
Humanity under the yoke of the killer strawberry pickers.
It's the continual land grab of Greater Manchester that has driven the puerile argument.
Salford is the classic example, it's akin the Birmingham adding on Wolverhampton.
Birmingham is the second city
Manchester is an area
Just compare the number of Michelin Chefs.
Once Birmingham has its new Sports Quarter within walking distance of the City Centre, it will make Manchester equivalent look dated and old.
I must congratulate the small suburb town of Aston near Sandwell for winning the European equivalent of The Milk Cup, they forget that their big City neighbours qualified in 2011 by qualifying by getting relegated. I hope they enjoyed their first and last trophy for another 44 years.
Got to be a UEFA investigation though, surely a team with 132 toes is always going to beat one with 121 toes.
"Douglas Carswell🇬🇧🇺🇸
@DouglasCarswell
Judge Nicholas Rowland needs dealing with. Until judges like him are removed from the bench, the state lacks legitimacy"
https://x.com/DouglasCarswell/status/2057590915217100932
https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/regulator-closes-case-after-hope-not-hate-charity-changes-name.html
The ones for picking raspberries do a better job than humans.
The biggest barrier to adoption is the near religious belief in some companies that cheap labour, not investment is the answer to everything.
I hear one can buy a pint and a full English breakfast or a pint and a curry for mere pennies depending on the time of day.
Sounds vile.
Ref 26% (+1)
Lab 17% (+2)
Con 17% (-2)
Grn 17% (-1)
LD 13% (nc)
Others 5% (nc)
https://x.com/PolliticsUK/status/2057848868998373645
https://x.com/jkbjournalist/status/2057848669987041480
LibDem 2190
Reform 1164
Green 1011
Tory 656
LD hold
Shame the owner is a prick, and he behaved badly over something during Covid I hazily recall, but nobody's perfect.
Let's hope I'm wrong.
Does whiff of her potential complicity in Epstein's crimes being overlooked in return for a favour.
Alfrick, Leigh & Rushwick (Malvern Hills):
LibDem: 25.8% (+10.6)
CON: 22.3% (+3.2)
RFM: 19.4% (New)
Ind: 16.9% (New)
GRN: 10.8% (New)
Ind: 4.7% (New)
No Ind (-65.6) as previous.
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Localist Independent.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98rqld1j3yo
The (cask) beer varies quite a lot between pubs and indeed regions - it's much better in areas where they have supply agreements at a local level with good breweries, in addition to the nationwide beer list.
I wouldn't eat most Wetherfood because it really is pretty vile these days. However the breakfasts and curries are among the 'least bad' options. And undeniably good value.
He will shortly step down. Then in a few months find a new job with a golden hello.
To go with his golden goodbye from Standard.
One controlling factor on the damage done by banana republic regimes is incompetence.
What happens if they appoint someone who can do the job, rather than prance around like a TikTok Influencer shouting "look at me"?
GBNews have picked up the travel scheme I mentioned on Wednesday (?) in Oxfordshire, "Quiet Lanes", which turns small duplicate country lanes where an alternative exists, into routes for non-motorised modes and access, with modal filters and 20mph speed limits.
But they haven't told them that there are only 10 lanes on the pilot, and that this should take cyclists and walkers off the main route by creating the alternative mode networks we should have had in place 50 years ago.
So they are gubbing away about insurance, road tax, "roads were made for vehicles" (no, they weren't), and all the rest, in the comments.
https://www.gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/oxfordshire-drivers-roads-quiet-lanes-plan-cycling-walking
Plus lots of such fruit is grown in greenhouses, to extend the season.
He's back this week from ten days in Belarus. He reports a lot of hostility to the West, NATO, all of us. Especially the Poles. There are posters denouncing Polish depravity, Pride marches, &c
Says the sentiment seems honest and widespread, but who knows in a dictatorship
They are being prepped for war, with NATO
Burnham has turned on the following this week
Accepts immigration has to fall and endorses Mahmood 's policies as does Kemi
Confirms he will stick to the fiscal rules
Accepts single space ruling
No PR this Parliament
When you want the top job reality crosses your path and it is either pragmatic or I have principles but I can change them
I have watched Burnham operate in Manchester and he gets things done by being collegiate and working across politics and business
If he wins and carries this into government, we may well see difficult policies like the triple lock and paying for care discused and agreed across the parties for the better good
If might well be just a hope, but if one person could do it it would be Burnham
These troops get to be a bit dramatic, but they'll fight better for it.
Or so Youtube says.
Do they still have that bald Putin puppet in charge or has his son taken over
I wander around London quite a lot, and really the Americans aren't an issue. The French and Italians seem to want to ride escalators to the top and then stop. The Russians (or perhaps Ukranian-not-so-patriots) want to talk loudly. The Arabs and the like have become ridiculous in their convoys - the icebreaker male in front who will totally ignore any idea of politeness when it comes to pavement etiquette and then a fleet of shrouded women who simply drag ones soul down.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2p4g86x0vo
I wasn't desperately impressed. It was a bit grotty and tge beaches were not a patch on those in Devon or Scotland, with no opportunities to build sandcastles or dam streams or do anything else which makes a trip to the beach worthwhile.
There was one of the -stans, can't remember if it was Tajiki- or Turkmeni- which had a long standing President, but I think he is out now. Leon has probably been there, from memory it has a lot of fancy gold statues of political leaders
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/22/us/trump-news?smid=url-share
She’s standing down to support his battle
Vaguely remember going to Elba and liking the Tiramsu, not realising it had booze in it. The engine overheating so we had to have the heater on in the car.
Also went to Andorra, and a miserable Swiss hotel owner overlooking lake Garda in Switzerland where you couldn't hang laundry on the balcony by law. Which even as a 5 year old I found hilarious and probably caused some of my libertarianism.
A German hotel which was resplendent with the owner's war photos (featuring him in Nazi uniform). When we went a couple of years later, he'd clearly retired and his kids had hidden them.
Every trip consisted of eating frazzles in the back of a very hot car.
But you can't buy memories like that.
https://x.com/duncanrobinson/status/2057772859842240556?s=61
https://x.com/duncanrobinson/status/2057772859842240556?s=61
It was quite an ambitious road trip via Sweden and Denmark afterwards in a P6 Rover with roofrack. I remember being impressed with the Tivoli gardens too
The local strawberry farm to us sells strawberries in the local supermarkets for about three months of the year. I'm surprised that you'd think a fruit farm would only be harvesting for a few days a year.
Red Arrows will have 7 instead of 9 Aircraft most displays until 2030 to conserve out dated Hawk engines.