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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » PB Nighthawks is now open

SystemSystem Posts: 12,179
edited July 2013 in General

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » PB Nighthawks is now open

Whether you’re a poster or whether you’re a lurker, why not post on Nighthawks tonight. It’ll be a Tragedy if some lurkers don’t delurk.

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Comments

  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    Good evening, everyone.

    This weather is vile. Much prefer the cold.

    Mr. T's proving rather entertaining as a Telegraph blogger.
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815

    LISTEN: Gove Passes LBC Exam

    Nick Ferrari did his best to stitch up the Education Secretary with a history and maths test on LBC this morning, but there was never really any danger there:

    http://order-order.com/2013/07/08/listen-gove-passes-lbc-history-test/

    Brilliant examination performance by the Messiah Gove.

    But surely the correct answer to "what do you get when you multiply a half by a quarter" is "a Miliband McLuskeyed".
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888
    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Has Ed resigned yet ?
  • MonikerDiCanioMonikerDiCanio Posts: 5,792
    AveryLP said:

    LISTEN: Gove Passes LBC Exam

    Nick Ferrari did his best to stitch up the Education Secretary with a history and maths test on LBC this morning, but there was never really any danger there:

    http://order-order.com/2013/07/08/listen-gove-passes-lbc-history-test/

    Brilliant examination performance by the Messiah Gove.

    But surely the correct answer to "what do you get when you multiply a half by a quarter" is "a Miliband McLuskeyed".
    They're going to have to pull that stunt on Labour representatives now. I predict revelations of utterly barbaric ignorance.

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950
    Boy George's (tim, that's the 80s pop star, not the Chancellor!) new video was filmed on the Epping Ongar Railway!!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fda06aWNO7s
  • surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549
    41 - 39 voting Yes in London before the first shot is fired in anger for the Yes! campaign.

    Ed, what are you waiting for ? Call the referendum. Now.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,261
    "what do you get when you divide a half by a quarter" would be a better question
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,801
    @AveryLP, @Tykejohnno

    Knowing when Winston was born and the answer to 1/2 * 1/4 are two very different things. The first is trivia - it's as important as who was called lemonade in the splice girls.

    Listening to that clip it seems that Nick Ferrari has the wit of a potato. Why Gove might be interviewed by him has to be a mystery.
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Democratic shifts or changes in voting intention?

    I think you need to consult Dr. Prasannan's publications before answering.

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    If you're after capacity just build the new railway to normal specs!
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

  • TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    'We don't want Churchill being taught to our children', says Welsh MP in curriculum debate

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/413379/We-don-t-want-Churchill-being-taught-to-our-children-says-Welsh-MP-in-curriculum-debate

  • surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549
    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Translates as zero seats for UKIP but no vote will actually be wasted since it will help towards the election of a progressive government.
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Democratic shifts or changes in voting intention?

    I think you need to consult Dr. Prasannan's publications before answering.

    All of that Labour surge comes from one bedsit in Tower Hamlets - postal voters.
  • john_zimsjohn_zims Posts: 3,399
    edited July 2013
    When SeanT got six 'likes' from Tim.

    'My first comment, in June 2011, following some picayune political row, was this:

    “I can't believe you are all falling for this pitiful Tory decoy. What's new here? Everyone knows Gordon Brown was trying to unseat Tony; Brown was just trying to do his job as a politician, and as a morally centred human being, and keep Labour in power.

    “If only Brown had succeeded earlier! Then we wouldn't be faced with this literally homicidal government. For God's sake, Muslims are being kicked in the teeth, GPs are being publicly horsewhipped, and disabled folk are literally having filth smeared across their faces, just so the Bullingdon Tory Boys can have a laugh.”

    To be honest, I thought I might have crossed the line first time, and I would be rumbled as a trolling libertarian immediately. Yet this borderline-psychotic comment got six “recommends” from my fellow Guardian commenters.
  • CarolaCarola Posts: 1,805
    Dave looks like the howling bloke that Morris D uses as an avatar in the photo on the front of the Telegraph.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    Anybody read this story about the Post Office and wrongful prosecutions?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23233573
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,801
    @sunil_prassannn

    Boy George song isn't that bad.

    I'm curious - I've noticed a few posts that suggest you know the odd thing about railways - if you had GBP50b to spend on railways what would you do with it?

    I recently stumbled across the Rand corporation's railway ideas - got anything that radical?

  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
  • surbiton said:

    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Translates as zero seats for UKIP but no vote will actually be wasted since it will help towards the election of a progressive government.
    Progressive, my arse!
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    Miss Carola, his name is Horst, for the record.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950
    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Democratic shifts or changes in voting intention?

    I think you need to consult Dr. Prasannan's publications before answering.

    Oh you mean these?

    http://t.co/rURkWBal4B
    http://t.co/VIluaaHWQN
    http://t.co/rURkWBal4B
    http://t.co/VIluaaHWQN
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    An aside on the education debate:

    it seems that most politicians want to cram in extra stuff (like 'life skills', which is a bloody awful phrase) to be taught at school. Shouldn't some things be taught by parents? You can't expect teachers to give children everything they need to know.
  • surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549
    edited July 2013
    TGOHF said:

    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Democratic shifts or changes in voting intention?

    I think you need to consult Dr. Prasannan's publications before answering.

    All of that Labour surge comes from one bedsit in Tower Hamlets - postal voters.
    There are more postal voters than in Bexley than in Tower Hamlets. In fact, TH ranks very poorly in the PV stakes. It's all a myth propagated by PBTories.
  • From the 1st article TSE has highlighted, McCluskey issues a clear threat. " Only a return to New Labour could split the movement apart."

    New Labour and the lefties in Unite are two separate parties in all but name.
  • SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    May I just make the observation that right now, politics is utter crap v Sport.

    Our "benefactor" Mr Murdoch is running Ashes reruns on SSP2 in advance of the Ashes series (bloody marvellous it is too) and Murray won Wimbledon (and therefore is forever British).

    tim can try and has tried to "distract" people from whatever he might deem the most damaging story for Labour on any given day, but frankly most voters couldn't give a tuppeny or even a thruppeny toss.

    The fact remains that ED is CRAP, whatever Sunil might allude to, (even mischievously) ;)
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888

    Anybody read this story about the Post Office and wrongful prosecutions?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23233573

    Absolutely hideous. And it is a story that will be remarkably common in many industries, not just the post office.

    Software is hard, and consumer businesses rarely put enough money into it - either from the programmer's end or the analysis end of the process. Worse, they keep on with the same software even when the business changes.

    I've made some money from that in the past. Firefighting's profitable ;-)
  • Anybody read this story about the Post Office and wrongful prosecutions?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23233573



    I've made some money from that in the past. Firefighting's profitable ;-)
    No it ain't!

  • TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Are thing looking up for Britain? - video

    David Cameron may have more grounds for optimism when the IMF publishes its latest forecast for UK growth tomorrow.

    http://www.channel4.com/news/are-thing-looking-up-for-britain-video
  • MonikerDiCanioMonikerDiCanio Posts: 5,792
    surbiton said:

    TGOHF said:

    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    @LordAshcroft: YouGov's London poll compared to the General Election 2010.
    CON 29 -5.5
    LAB 48 +11.4
    LibD 9 -13.1
    UKIP 10 +8.3

    Democratic shifts or changes in voting intention?

    I think you need to consult Dr. Prasannan's publications before answering.

    All of that Labour surge comes from one bedsit in Tower Hamlets - postal voters.
    There are more postal voters than in Bexley than in Tower Hamlets. In fact, TH ranks very poorly in the PV stakes. It's all a myth propagated by PBTories.
    From the notorious PBTory mouthpiece " The Guardian " ;

    " In London the Metropolitan police have received 28 complaints across 12 boroughs and launched five investigations – one in Ealing and four in Tower Hamlets, which has a history of problems with electoral fraud. In Tower Hamlets the allegations are understood to relate to the registration of up to 10 "ghost voters" at single addresses where the residents have no knowledge of the names on the electoral roll. George Galloway's Respect party has complained that opponents are interfering with postal voters."
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,801

    The question Ed Miliband has to answer: whose side are you on?

    Labour are and will always be about themselves. Ed put himself before his brother, and yet I'm sure that he'd say there is nothing to choose between their policies. Gordo wanted power beyond everything else - he never stopped to think about whether he might be able to handle the job. Tony Benn wanted above all his ideas to be played out. No matter the fate of the country.

    Why ask Ed a question to which we already now the answer? There's a better question and a better answer. and they don't involve Labour.

  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @nicholaswatt
    Tories will declare victory when Theresa May tells MPs the coalition has agreed to abandon 98 of 133 EU criminal justice measures

    Tories, talking to the Nation.

    Labour, fighting amongst themselves

    @PickardJE: Has anyone ever used the political headline "Division of Labour" and if not, why not?
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Hugo Rifkind in The Times on the misery of Nationalism. Excellent stuff
    There has always been something of the door-to-door salesman about Alex Salmond. You’d invite him for dinner and he’d try to sell you an encyclopaedia. Hence it being no great surprise to see the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party on Sunday afternoon, just after Andy Murray’s victory, waving around a Saltire flag the size of a double duvet behind David Cameron.

    It can’t have been a spur of the moment thing, that’s what you’ve got to remember. He’d packed it into a bag when he left his house in Edinburgh. Possibly he’d been carrying it around all day. If Novak Djokovic had won he’d have quietly carried it home and we’d never have known.

    This is what nationalism does. I don’t just mean Scottish nationalism. I mean nationalism of any sort. It’s a tic, an itch, an obsessive compulsive disorder. Like any sort of addiction, it sucks the joy out of everything else.
    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/hugorifkind/article3811601.ece
  • CarolaCarola Posts: 1,805

    Miss Carola, his name is Horst, for the record.

    Ooh. Just clicked on Horst and I take it back. He looks all evilly. Dave looks like he's just been goosed.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,313
    I see Clegg got to meet Murray too, will Farage, Lucas and Galloway and Leanne Wood demand an audience too to ensure fairness, after all he has already met Cameron, Miliband, Salmond and the DPM post-victory!
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151561771804092&set=a.136716249091.108848.6085639091&type=1&theater
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Also in The Times
    If the pre-briefing is to be believed, he will propose a radical reshaping of the relationship between his party and the trade unions. There will be open primaries, involving registered supporters as well as party members, to choose Labour’s candidate for London Mayor — a crucial watering down of the influence of Unite and other affiliated organisations, who have in the past controlled 50 per cent of the votes. Parliamentary candidates in some constituencies will also be chosen by interested local residents as well as the party faithful — an admirable reintroduction of democracy into a process that has been tainted by recent events.

    At the same time, in a move that could turn out to be even more significant, union members will have to opt in to Labour affiliation rather than opting out as they do at present. The devil will be in the detail but this apparently technical change could be revolutionary. It indicates a shift from automatic enrolment to individual membership, which has huge implications — both for Labour’s finances and for the balance of power within the party.
    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/rachelsylvester/article3811611.ece

    That would be the opt in that Len has already briefed about
    Switching to an "opt-in" for the political levy wouldn't work – it would require Labour to unite with the Tories to change the law, would debilitate unions' ability to speak for our members and would further undermine unions' status as voluntary, and self-governing, organisations.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/08/labour-real-selection-scandal-unions
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
    I'm glad you mentioned the GCR, a potentially useful north-south route ripped up by Beeching's short-sightedness!

    Broad gauge, as you probably know, endures in India and Ireland, though the respective gauges are rather less than Brunel, 5ft 6 and 5ft 3 respectively.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888

    Anybody read this story about the Post Office and wrongful prosecutions?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23233573

    I've made some money from that in the past. Firefighting's profitable ;-)
    No it ain't!

    Sorry, you are absolutely right. I call some of what I do/did 'firefighting', but it should not really be called that - we hardly risk our lives to save others.

    But I don't like the semi-alternative term 'Tiger Team' either.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_team

    A definition of the computer use of the term 'firefighting':
    http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/firefighting

    I can understand why you don't like it.
  • TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Guido Fawkes ✔ @GuidoFawkes

    If Ed gets the unions to swallow a REAL opt in, I'll kiss @OwenJones84s arse.

  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,661
    Talking of trolling, when SeanT wrote on here he wanted to kill me because I was a filthy leftie he got 24 likes. Puts those 6 from the Grauniad in the shade. And with a much smaller readership. You know who you are.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    Miss Carola, there's a full image here [bottom of the page]: http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/book-stuff.html

    It goes to a mega-sized image if you click it. I think Horst's rather more ripped than Cameron. [And he's not evil. Just a bit short-tempered and violent].
  • CarolaCarola Posts: 1,805

    Miss Carola, there's a full image here [bottom of the page]: http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/book-stuff.html

    It goes to a mega-sized image if you click it. I think Horst's rather more ripped than Cameron. [And he's not evil. Just a bit short-tempered and violent].

    Blimey. He looks like this just happened to him ;)

    https://twitter.com/mushenska/status/354338448720662530/photo/1
  • FensterFenster Posts: 2,115
    edited July 2013

    'We don't want Churchill being taught to our children', says Welsh MP in curriculum debate

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/413379/We-don-t-want-Churchill-being-taught-to-our-children-says-Welsh-MP-in-curriculum-debate

    Bryant should spend less time camping it up in his y-fronts and bitching on twitter and more time trying to bring jobs to his constituency. It must be among the laziest constituencies in Britain, and to think that only 30-40 years ago it was full of extremely hard working miners. I know they suffered but boy, do they think the world owes them a favour.

    The only growth industries in the Rhondda are meow, steroids and tanning salons.

    And I'd bet 75% of the people in Porth don't even know who Bryant is.

  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,838
    Blimey, Miss Carola, that's quite the plum story you've found!

    [Also, pain was what I was after for that cover, so I'm glad it came across that way].
  • Anybody read this story about the Post Office and wrongful prosecutions?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23233573

    I've made some money from that in the past. Firefighting's profitable ;-)
    No it ain't!

    Sorry, you are absolutely right. I call some of what I do/did 'firefighting', but it should not really be called that - we hardly risk our lives to save others.

    But I don't like the semi-alternative term 'Tiger Team' either.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_team

    A definition of the computer use of the term 'firefighting':
    http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/firefighting

    I can understand why you don't like it.
    I was joking, mate, I'm not that pompous an arse! Anyway, £28,199 a year seems to fund my lifestyle, so I guess it's profitable enough for me.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,225
    Hilariously offensive comments often get a great many likes, it [fortunately] does not always imply agreement with the literal contents, or even the entire extent of the tone if it is at least entertaining.
  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    surbiton said:

    41 - 39 voting Yes in London before the first shot is fired in anger for the Yes! campaign.

    Ed, what are you waiting for ? Call the referendum. Now.

    Presumably London is easily the most europhile region in the UK though.

  • john_zimsjohn_zims Posts: 3,399
    @Tykejohnno

    'The question Ed Miliband has to answer: whose side are you on?'

    Interesting article with an excellent example of Labour's policy to reduce standards in schools to the lowest common denominator.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,225
    I wonder how long it'll be before the latest Ed M stuff blows over? After months of Cameron suffering sniping comments all over the web and beyond, I think a lot of Tories are yearning for the halcyon days of 'Ed M is doomed in 3 months' from late 2010 (or was it 2011?).
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
    I'm glad you mentioned the GCR, a potentially useful north-south route ripped up by Beeching's short-sightedness!

    Broad gauge, as you probably know, endures in India and Ireland, though the respective gauges are rather less than Brunel, 5ft 6 and 5ft 3 respectively.
    Yes, closing the majority of the GCR was perhaps Beeching's biggest mistake. A newer railway line, designed to a wider loading gauge allowing more (although not all) continental services over slighter gradients.

    The builder, Watkins, chose a continental loading gauge because he thought it would be useful to take Channel Tunnel traffic in 1899. That is visionary. :-)

    Shame BR closed it 25 years before the tunnel opened. It would have saved us a great deal of bother now. And it is not really Beeching's fault: under the guidelines given to him, the GCR was a goner. BR and the politicians could have chosen to ignore him, as they did with other lines.

    It would be interesting to see how much reopening the entire line would cost, including through Nottingham and Leicester, and compare to the cost of HS2. Would it be cheaper if you tunnelled under the built-up areas and had underground stations?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,801
    tim said:

    Anyone wondering what Frankie Howerds sex face was like(?)

    What can one say? Other than no.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    It's not open primaries
    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
    I'm glad you mentioned the GCR, a potentially useful north-south route ripped up by Beeching's short-sightedness!

    Broad gauge, as you probably know, endures in India and Ireland, though the respective gauges are rather less than Brunel, 5ft 6 and 5ft 3 respectively.
    Yes, closing the majority of the GCR was perhaps Beeching's biggest mistake. A newer railway line, designed to a wider loading gauge allowing more (although not all) continental services over slighter gradients.

    The builder, Watkins, chose a continental loading gauge because he thought it would be useful to take Channel Tunnel traffic in 1899. That is visionary. :-)

    Shame BR closed it 25 years before the tunnel opened. It would have saved us a great deal of bother now. And it is not really Beeching's fault: under the guidelines given to him, the GCR was a goner. BR and the politicians could have chosen to ignore him, as they did with other lines.

    It would be interesting to see how much reopening the entire line would cost, including through Nottingham and Leicester, and compare to the cost of HS2. Would it be cheaper if you tunnelled under the built-up areas and had underground stations?
    I know you don't like me teasing you about HS2, but at least the GCR served the big cities, rather than the planned new high speed route running between them - with those "parkway" sttions in the middle of nowhere!
  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536
    tim said:

    @PaulGoodmanCH: If Miliband goes for open primary selections for Parliamentary candidates, his choice will pose an question for the Tories: And You?

    @DouglasCarswell: @PaulGoodmanCH Proper primaries - not caucuses - would be excellent. I would applaud and demand we emulate.

    Like the sound of this package - although we'll need to see the detail. I'd want to vote in the primaries so I'd register - would be the first time in my life I had any official affiliation. Interesting development.

  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    tim said:

    London Primary, Alan Johnson looks a better bet than he did this morning.

    Let poor postie retire. He's done his rounds.

  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,405
    surbiton said:

    41 - 39 voting Yes in London before the first shot is fired in anger for the Yes! campaign.

    Ed, what are you waiting for ? Call the referendum. Now.

    Fortunately, London is not remotely typical of the UK, politically.

  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536
    kle4 said:

    I wonder how long it'll be before the latest Ed M stuff blows over? After months of Cameron suffering sniping comments all over the web and beyond, I think a lot of Tories are yearning for the halcyon days of 'Ed M is doomed in 3 months' from late 2010 (or was it 2011?).

    There's too much noise about anyway for it to get much general traction - tennis, the Lions, the Ashes, sunshine. That said, the primaries idea may be a consequence and sounds potentially exciting. Anything that improves normal people's chances of going into politics has got to be good.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,888

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
    I'm glad you mentioned the GCR, a potentially useful north-south route ripped up by Beeching's short-sightedness!

    Broad gauge, as you probably know, endures in India and Ireland, though the respective gauges are rather less than Brunel, 5ft 6 and 5ft 3 respectively.
    Yes, closing the majority of the GCR was perhaps Beeching's biggest mistake. A newer railway line, designed to a wider loading gauge allowing more (although not all) continental services over slighter gradients.

    The builder, Watkins, chose a continental loading gauge because he thought it would be useful to take Channel Tunnel traffic in 1899. That is visionary. :-)

    Shame BR closed it 25 years before the tunnel opened. It would have saved us a great deal of bother now. And it is not really Beeching's fault: under the guidelines given to him, the GCR was a goner. BR and the politicians could have chosen to ignore him, as they did with other lines.

    It would be interesting to see how much reopening the entire line would cost, including through Nottingham and Leicester, and compare to the cost of HS2. Would it be cheaper if you tunnelled under the built-up areas and had underground stations?
    I know you don't like me teasing you about HS2, but at least the GCR served the big cities, rather than the planned new high speed route running between them - with those "parkway" sttions in the middle of nowhere!
    You have a good point in that, but the costs of taking it through the cities would be massive. As a native of Derby I hate to say it, but a tunnel under Nottingham and a station in the centre *may* make more sense. But that is just pure guesswork, and the costings would be vital. But they are doing it with Crossrail, albeit not on a high-speed line.

    However, I would point out to you the history of the Metropolitan Railway. A railway line was built, and then housing soon followed (AFAICR the railway company was actually prohibited from building housing). Much of the northwestern suburbs of London owe their existence to the railway. And the railway came first.

    And Toton isn't the middle of nowhere. I have family living near there!
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited July 2013
    tim said:

    Scott_P said:

    It's not open primaries

    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics
    Sensible stuff.

    Now Scott, have you an opinion on supporting the coalition agreement on this or are you waiting to post "weak weak weak" again?

    What the country wants Ed Miliband to announce are policies to oppose the Coalition Government.

    So what does he do?

    Agree with all the Coalition's key policies and declare war on his own party. The only policies he will announce tomorrow are those which are designed to undermine the power of his paymasters.

    And why?

    Just to rid himself of perceived weakness.

    Some leadership, tim.

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    Yawn. Another HS2 = white elephant claim.

    It's a good job no-one said that to Brunel 150 years ago (*), or the government before they started the Preston by-pass.

    (*) Not many investors made a fortune out of Brunel's schemes. But most of those schemes still advantage us 150 years later. Just don't mention his locomotives...

    Or his railway gauge :)

    I can understand the 7 foot. It makes sense that a wider gauge will lead to more stability and allow bigger boilers and therefore more power. What I don't get is the quarter inch. Why the f did he choose 7ft 1/4 inch as a gauge instead of just 7 foot?

    As for your earlier reply: a new railway built to 'normal specs' (whatever they may be) will not help much for the reasons I have given before. It would be just as costly (if not more) and require many more interconnections with the existing network to create the paths. Look up the history of the GCR and some of the reasons it was closed for more information.
    I'm glad you mentioned the GCR, a potentially useful north-south route ripped up by Beeching's short-sightedness!

    Broad gauge, as you probably know, endures in India and Ireland, though the respective gauges are rather less than Brunel, 5ft 6 and 5ft 3 respectively.
    Yes, closing the majority of the GCR was perhaps Beeching's biggest mistake. A newer railway line, designed to a wider loading gauge allowing more (although not all) continental services over slighter gradients.

    The builder, Watkins, chose a continental loading gauge because he thought it would be useful to take Channel Tunnel traffic in 1899. That is visionary. :-)

    Shame BR closed it 25 years before the tunnel opened. It would have saved us a great deal of bother now. And it is not really Beeching's fault: under the guidelines given to him, the GCR was a goner. BR and the politicians could have chosen to ignore him, as they did with other lines.

    It would be interesting to see how much reopening the entire line would cost, including through Nottingham and Leicester, and compare to the cost of HS2. Would it be cheaper if you tunnelled under the built-up areas and had underground stations?
    I know you don't like me teasing you about HS2, but at least the GCR served the big cities, rather than the planned new high speed route running between them - with those "parkway" sttions in the middle of nowhere!
    You have a good point in that, but the costs of taking it through the cities would be massive. As a native of Derby I hate to say it, but a tunnel under Nottingham and a station in the centre *may* make more sense. But that is just pure guesswork, and the costings would be vital. But they are doing it with Crossrail, albeit not on a high-speed line.

    However, I would point out to you the history of the Metropolitan Railway. A railway line was built, and then housing soon followed (AFAICR the railway company was actually prohibited from building housing). Much of the northwestern suburbs of London owe their existence to the railway. And the railway came first.

    And Toton isn't the middle of nowhere. I have family living near there!
    But the Met wasn't a high speed line was it? A local line for local people :)

    BTW
    Q. Oldest railway forming part of the current Underground network?

    A. 1856 between Leyton and just south of Loughton stations on the Central line - opened by the Eastern Counties Railway.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    Paxman on Newsnight: civil war in Egypt beckons.
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    I'm all in favour of primaries, so if Ed Miliband is going down that route, it's a good thing. It should be noted that Boris Johnson was selected for the 2008 mayoral election by an open primary, so it's not anything new for Londoners:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7014739.stm

    Levels of public participation were, however, fairly anaemic.

    One word of warning - we've already had several about-faces in the last week from Ed Miliband. It's probably worth waiting until the speech has been delivered before taking too strong a view on his proposals either way.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,661
    SeanT said:

    Talking of trolling, when SeanT wrote on here he wanted to kill me because I was a filthy leftie he got 24 likes. Puts those 6 from the Grauniad in the shade. And with a much smaller readership. You know who you are.

    I don't believe I ACTUALLY said I wanted to kill you. If I recall correctly, I claimed indifference to your unfortunate and maybe imminent death, should it occur. This was indeed wanky of me, but it wasn't quite homicidal.

    The lefty reaction to my spoof Guardian commenter blog has been v revealing. I've had endless tweets from lefties saying I was lying, and I'd fabricated the comments. When I proved I wasn't, they were still weirdly outraged, without ever being able to articulate quite why.

    I suspect they are embarrassed. Good.

    Of course the BTL comments on any other paper are equally nuts and spoofable, but none of these communities have quite the amour propre and pompousness of the Guardian guys. Which makes it such fun to tease them.

    You may be right - what I do remember is that involved my death in some way. You had the good grace to apologise, though what you wrote did not really bother me too much - this is just an internet message board after all. What got me was all the likes!!

    I suspect the joy you got on CiF is equal to the joy Tim gets on here when he's on a roll. There's nothing like deflating the balloons of your political enemies.

  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    edited July 2013
    22 year-old Vicky Fowler has been selected for Labour in Nuneaton, the party's number 38 target seat:

    http://www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/News/Vicky-Fowler-is-the-Labour-parliamentary-candidate-20130708163751.htm
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,661
    I'll believe the primaries idea when I see it in action. But if Ed delivers on that it will be some achievement. I would certainly register too.
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Open primaries for Labour - does that mean Unison get to stuff the ballot too ??

    Damp squib incoming.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,661
    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    Scott_P said:

    It's not open primaries

    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics
    Sensible stuff.

    Now Scott, have you an opinion on supporting the coalition agreement on this or are you waiting to post "weak weak weak" again?
    What the country wants Ed Miliband to announce are policies to oppose the Coalition Government.

    So what does he do?

    Agree with all the Coalition's key policies and declare war on his own party. The only policies he will announce tomorrow are those which are designed to undermine the power of his paymasters.

    And why?

    Just to rid himself of perceived weakness.

    Some leadership, tim.



    Some achievement if it happens. What was that about trusting the British people?

  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Can anyone think of a large organisation that would be in a position to sign a large number of "Labour Voters" in a constituency ??? Sounds like the current scheme without Unite having to write a cheque for votes.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950
    Andy_JS said:

    22 year-old Vicky Fowler has been selected for Labour in Nuneaton, the party's number 38 target seat:

    http://www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/News/Vicky-Fowler-is-the-Labour-parliamentary-candidate-20130708163751.htm

    At least it wasn't Vicky Pollard!

  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536
    TGOHF said:

    Open primaries for Labour - does that mean Unison get to stuff the ballot too ??

    Damp squib incoming.

    We need to see the detail --- it could be a good development for politics in general.

  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    edited July 2013
    Most important news of the day:

    Rod Richards has joined UKIP.

    http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/comeback-speculation-mounts-rod-richards-4888041

    Richards took over as MP for Clwyd North West in 1992 after the retirement of Sir Anthony Meyer, the man who ran as a stalking horse against Margaret Thatcher in 1989.
  • I like the sound of open primaries. I'd register to vote in them. Will our politicians be brave enough, though?
    As antifrank, once again, astutely notes, there is plenty of scope for obfuscation!
  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536
    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    Scott_P said:

    It's not open primaries

    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics

    Sensible stuff.

    Now Scott, have you an opinion on supporting the coalition agreement on this or are you waiting to post "weak weak weak" again?
    What the country wants Ed Miliband to announce are policies to oppose the Coalition Government.

    So what does he do?

    Agree with all the Coalition's key policies and declare war on his own party. The only policies he will announce tomorrow are those which are designed to undermine the power of his paymasters.

    And why?

    Just to rid himself of perceived weakness.

    Some leadership, tim.



    It's probably worth waiting to see the detail before you turn on the auto-rebuttal machine. It may have good consequences for your party too - if you get more Wollastons and fewer Hunts.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    I must be getting on a bit because Vicky Fowler really does look like a sixth-former.
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 4,551
    TGOHF said:

    Can anyone think of a large organisation that would be in a position to sign a large number of "Labour Voters" in a constituency ??? Sounds like the current scheme without Unite having to write a cheque for votes.

    Presumably that's why Miliband wants access to the list of Labour-levy-paying union members, so all candidates can send them literature (as well as giving Labour the chance to send them begging letters).

  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Off topic, and since this is Nighthawks, when pbers are occasionally more friendly to each other, I have a request for suggestions.

    I'm at a stage in my life when I feel that I have achieved pretty much all that I want to achieve in my chosen career and I fancy branching out in different directions. The skills I'd like tested more are those which would involve me using my deductive abilities, lateral thinking, my ability to explain complex ideas clearly and strategic planning skills.

    I've got that far in my thought processes, but I'm now trying to compile a list of possibilities that might fit the bill. So I thought I would crowd-source this part of the problem.

    So, any ideas?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    @Tim

    Which Tory is that?
  • old_labourold_labour Posts: 3,238
    She was "born and bred in Nuneaton". A local candidate for local people!
    kle4 said:

    I wonder how long it'll be before the latest Ed M stuff blows over? After months of Cameron suffering sniping comments all over the web and beyond, I think a lot of Tories are yearning for the halcyon days of 'Ed M is doomed in 3 months' from late 2010 (or was it 2011?).

    Andy_JS said:

    22 year-old Vicky Fowler has been selected for Labour in Nuneaton, the party's number 38 target seat:

    http://www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/News/Vicky-Fowler-is-the-Labour-parliamentary-candidate-20130708163751.htm

    At least it wasn't Vicky Pollard!

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950
    tim said:

    Bobajob said:

    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    Scott_P said:

    It's not open primaries

    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics

    Sensible stuff.

    Now Scott, have you an opinion on supporting the coalition agreement on this or are you waiting to post "weak weak weak" again?
    What the country wants Ed Miliband to announce are policies to oppose the Coalition Government.

    So what does he do?

    Agree with all the Coalition's key policies and declare war on his own party. The only policies he will announce tomorrow are those which are designed to undermine the power of his paymasters.

    And why?

    Just to rid himself of perceived weakness.

    Some leadership, tim.

    It's probably worth waiting to see the detail before you turn on the auto-rebuttal machine. It may have good consequences for your party too - if you get more Wollastons and fewer Hunts.
    More Wollastons and fewer Hunts is what scares the crap out of the Chumocracy.

    So who is Labour's Wollaston then?
  • tim said:

    Vile Tory being humiliated by Paxman over the bedroom tax


    More surprising

    @DPJHodges: If Ed follows through with what's being trailed, it will make Blair's Clause 4 moment look like a resolution of the Tufty Club. Big moment.

    That's Dan Hodges you're retweeting, mate.
  • RichardNabaviRichardNabavi Posts: 3,413
    edited July 2013
    If ever you needed proof that some senior Labour politicians are stark, staring, incontrovertible loons - and nasty ones at that - you really couldn't do better than to study today's words of Chris Bryant on Churchill:

    Mr Bryant told the Commons: "There's only one constituency in the land where Winston Churchill was never ever welcome, including after the Second World War, namely the Rhondda.

    "So I am delighted this curriculum, which bizarrely only insists on one politician being studied in the whole of the history of the 20th century, namely Winston Churchill, will not apply in Wales or in the Rhondda."


    So, we'd better airbrush out of history Mao, Stalin, and Hitler too, presumably, since I imagine even the loony and offensive Chris Bryant is not loony and offensive enough to think these gentlemen would be welcome in the Rhondda. (At least, I hope I'm right on that). So that's the Second World War and the Cold War pretty ruled out as subjects Welsh children can be taught. It's certainly a novel view of what matters in history - the personal popularity of individuals in the Rhondda.
  • RichardNabaviRichardNabavi Posts: 3,413
    antifrank said:

    Off topic, and since this is Nighthawks, when pbers are occasionally more friendly to each other, I have a request for suggestions.

    I'm at a stage in my life when I feel that I have achieved pretty much all that I want to achieve in my chosen career and I fancy branching out in different directions. The skills I'd like tested more are those which would involve me using my deductive abilities, lateral thinking, my ability to explain complex ideas clearly and strategic planning skills.

    I've got that far in my thought processes, but I'm now trying to compile a list of possibilities that might fit the bill. So I thought I would crowd-source this part of the problem.

    So, any ideas?

    Policy adviser to Ed Miliband?
  • BobajobBobajob Posts: 1,536
    tim said:

    Vile Tory being humiliated by Paxman over the bedroom tax


    More surprising

    @DPJHodges: If Ed follows through with what's being trailed, it will make Blair's Clause 4 moment look like a resolution of the Tufty Club. Big moment.

    Worrying.

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,950

    She was "born and bred in Nuneaton". A local candidate for local people!

    kle4 said:

    I wonder how long it'll be before the latest Ed M stuff blows over? After months of Cameron suffering sniping comments all over the web and beyond, I think a lot of Tories are yearning for the halcyon days of 'Ed M is doomed in 3 months' from late 2010 (or was it 2011?).

    Andy_JS said:

    22 year-old Vicky Fowler has been selected for Labour in Nuneaton, the party's number 38 target seat:

    http://www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/News/Vicky-Fowler-is-the-Labour-parliamentary-candidate-20130708163751.htm

    At least it wasn't Vicky Pollard!

    "Epping Ongar Railway - London's Local Line"

  • antifrank said:

    Off topic, and since this is Nighthawks, when pbers are occasionally more friendly to each other, I have a request for suggestions.

    I'm at a stage in my life when I feel that I have achieved pretty much all that I want to achieve in my chosen career and I fancy branching out in different directions. The skills I'd like tested more are those which would involve me using my deductive abilities, lateral thinking, my ability to explain complex ideas clearly and strategic planning skills.

    I've got that far in my thought processes, but I'm now trying to compile a list of possibilities that might fit the bill. So I thought I would crowd-source this part of the problem.

    So, any ideas?

    Next Dr Who?

  • old_labourold_labour Posts: 3,238
    Is Lichfield worth visiting for the day? I have a cheap Chiltern Railways ticket to Birmingham, but I thought I'd go on from there to have a look around Lichfield instead especially if it is a warm day.
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited July 2013
    Bobajob said:

    AveryLP said:

    tim said:

    Scott_P said:

    It's not open primaries

    In his second major reform he will propose US-style primaries for parliamentary and mayoral posts in which registered supporters, as well as full party members, are able to vote.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jul/08/ed-miliband-labour-politics

    Sensible stuff.

    Now Scott, have you an opinion on supporting the coalition agreement on this or are you waiting to post "weak weak weak" again?
    What the country wants Ed Miliband to announce are policies to oppose the Coalition Government.

    So what does he do?

    Agree with all the Coalition's key policies and declare war on his own party. The only policies he will announce tomorrow are those which are designed to undermine the power of his paymasters.

    And why?

    Just to rid himself of perceived weakness.

    Some leadership, tim.

    It's probably worth waiting to see the detail before you turn on the auto-rebuttal machine. It may have good consequences for your party too - if you get more Wollastons and fewer Hunts.


    Miliband is activating a dormant fault-line in his party's internal structures. Like the curators of Iceland's geysers he is pouring soap into the depths in order to satisfy onlookers with a temporary burst of spuma.

    The proper way to handle internal process - the way a confident leader in control of his party and destiny would do it - is to negotiate in backrooms with key stakeholders. When a deal has been reached it can be announced with realised public benefits trumpeted.

    Instead, Miliband has decided to negotiate with his paymasters adversarially through the media. He is hoping to be portrayed as a valiant and strong crusader for freedom and justice.

    Will the media play his game? Never.

    All he will achieve is to convert distant friends into lifelong enemies and weaken his sources of financial and political support.

    And as he does it, he will both expose his party and leadership to media mockery and detract public attention away from his primary task of opposition. His job is to hold the Coalition government to account and offer the British people an electable alternative. By opening a second front against the Unions he is writing his own suicide note.

    Scratching one's navel in public is an activity only undertaken by very long term oppositions.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    edited July 2013

    Is Lichfield worth visiting for the day? I have a cheap Chiltern Railways ticket to Birmingham, but I thought I'd go on from there to have a look around Lichfield instead especially if it is a warm day.

    I certainly think so but I'm a bit biased of course.

    You can visit both the Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin houses, and a statue of the captain of the Titanic is proudly on display in the city gardens. And Lichfield cathedral is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires:

    http://www.samueljohnsonbirthplace.org.uk/

    http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/stoke/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8864000/8864652.stm

    http://www.visitlichfield.co.uk/content/lichfield-cathedral
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    @RichardNabavi One can't make bricks without straw.

    @TwistedFireStopper In my head I'd be Tom Baker, but in actuality I'd be worse than Colin Baker.
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    How many primaries ? 650.?

    When ? For 2015 ? Doubt it.

    2020 - mind the long grass...
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    A curious tweet from Paul Waugh:

    "Govt has changed next Monday's Commons business but won't say why. Rumours of fresh move on party funding in unions/lobbying bill"
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    antifrank said:

    Off topic, and since this is Nighthawks, when pbers are occasionally more friendly to each other, I have a request for suggestions.

    I'm at a stage in my life when I feel that I have achieved pretty much all that I want to achieve in my chosen career and I fancy branching out in different directions. The skills I'd like tested more are those which would involve me using my deductive abilities, lateral thinking, my ability to explain complex ideas clearly and strategic planning skills.

    I've got that far in my thought processes, but I'm now trying to compile a list of possibilities that might fit the bill. So I thought I would crowd-source this part of the problem.

    So, any ideas?

    Grow a moustache and buy a pillar box red Jaguar F type?

  • old_labourold_labour Posts: 3,238
    Thanks, I'll give it a visit. A smallish town with interesting things to see would be good if it is warm and would make a pleasant change from the big city.
    Andy_JS said:

    Is Lichfield worth visiting for the day? I have a cheap Chiltern Railways ticket to Birmingham, but I thought I'd go on from there to have a look around Lichfield instead especially if it is a warm day.

    I certainly think so but I'm a bit biased of course.

    You can visit both the Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin houses, and a statue of the captain of the Titanic is proudly on display in the city gardens. And Lichfield cathedral is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires:

    http://www.samueljohnsonbirthplace.org.uk/

    http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/stoke/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8864000/8864652.stm

    http://www.visitlichfield.co.uk/content/lichfield-cathedral
  • RichardNabaviRichardNabavi Posts: 3,413
    antifrank said:

    @RichardNabavi One can't make bricks without straw.

    That's where the lateral thinking bit comes in.
  • RichardNabaviRichardNabavi Posts: 3,413
    edited July 2013
    Ed's too late, isn't he? It would have been a great 'Clause 4' moment if he'd come up with ideas for Refounding Labour [ahem] in the months after becoming leader. Doing so in what is transparently a panic reaction to Falkirk is unlikely to do him much good, but with a bit of luck will severely damage the party's finances.
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633

    Ed's too late, isn't he? It would have been a great 'Clause 4' moment if he'd come up with ideas for Refounding Labour [ahem] in the months after becoming leader. Doing so in what is transparently a panic reaction to Falkirk is unlikely to do him much good, but with a bit of luck will severely damage the party's finances.

    Hence wont come until 2015 or never.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,674
    I was amazed to find out the other day that there's such a thing as the Lichfield Gospel Choir and even more amazingly that the director of it is the star of Glastonbury Laura Mvula. She was doing a concert there this evening:

    http://www.lichfieldfestival.org/blog/2013/04/laura-mvula/

    http://basedhere.com/Lichfield/Lichfield-Gospel-Choir
This discussion has been closed.