Newton Abbot to Penzance Newton Abbot to Paignton Exeter to Barnstaple Exeter to Exmouth Okehampton to Crediton Liskeard to Looe Truro to Falmouth St Erth to St Ives
The Newton Abbot-Penzance line is the main line from Paddington so you'll go through Plymouth, Bodmin, Truro and the like all the way down to Penzance.
The Paignton line gives you the opportunity to go down on the steam train to Kingsbridge and catch the ferry (which used to be run by British Rail) across to Dartmouth which has a Station Hotel even though there was never a station or a line.
The Liskeard-Looe line is delightful and the curve out of Liskeard worth the fare on its own.
Truro to Falmouth is nice but you should go all the way through to Falmouth Docks.
The highlight is the St Erth-St Ives branch line. The line follows the edge of the bay and while it's only a short trip it's one of the most scenic journeys. The train crosses the links of the Royal West Cornwall Golf Club and it's not unheard of for a journey to be interrupted by the sound of a golf ball hitting the train.
St Ives Station is a light of former glories but go to the town museum along from the Harbour and there are some wonderful photos taken from the first half of the 20th Century when the station had four platforms and you could get a direct train to Paddington.
The famous art deco style posters from the 1930s extolling Londoners down to the "Cornish Riviera" are works of art in their own right.
You sure about that ? The amount being blown on HS2 surely has to factor in to the overall spending picture.
If anything it strengthens the need for HS2 as it highlights how expensive it is nowadays to do work to increase capacity and speeds on existing lines. Witness also the WCML upgrade debacle.
Heads should roll at the (nationalised) Network Rail over this.
I don't disagree with that, but I still think there's no good explanation for the 400kph specification (other than politicians being able to crow about it).
Because other people are currently building 350km/hr lines, and they're planning 400km/hr ones. The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens.
I also think you overestimate the cost savings that would be made if they went for a lower speed such as 300 km/hr.
But as it happens, I believe it's one of the stronger arguments against HS2 as it stands. The other being Euston ...
"The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens." Doubt it - there's no real way around the aerodynamic inefficiency and noise.
Sealed trains in tunnels filled with hydrogen.
(Note - I don't recommend this solution, which has the odd drawback of its own, but it is a way round the two challenges you mention).
Nah, a vacuum - which is Musk's hyperloop. No need for all the very expensive rail bed, either.
UK band plays to 47,000 Israeli fans in Yarkon Park, brushes off criticism from Israel boycotters
Radiohead returned to Israel for the fourth time, playing to a crowd of some 47,000 fans on Wednesday on a hot and humid Tel Aviv night.
The band came onstage around 8:30 p.m., opening with “Daydreaming” from 2016’s “A Moon Shaped Pool.”
Unlike other bands performing at the outdoor venue, Radiohead did away with the so-called “golden ring” where high-priced tickets are sold closest to the stage, allowing all their fans to get up front, close to the band, if they came early enough.
The latest gem from the Department for International Trade: there is a paper circulating on "A Tariff Schedule for 21st Century Britain".
Now this is not, in itself, a stupid idea. While I personally would like a simple "no tariff" system, revamping tariffs so they match Britain's - rather than French farmers or German carmakers - needs is probably a good idea.
But circulating a paper about possible changing tariffs systems (without actually having a specific proposal for tariffs) 20 months from leaving the EU is bonkers.
Let's imagine you are considering building a factory. You now don't know what the tariffs will be - assuming no FTA - on components you need to import. That's unnecessary additional uncertainty.
Now imagine that you are the Australian government: you care about British tariffs on agricultural and other commodities. Before you enter into FTA negotiations, you want to know British tariffs levels, because that will help you understand the cost/benefit trade-offs.
Longer-term, would it be sensible for Britain to have its own tariff schedule? Yes. Is this a sensible thing to insert into the middle of a discussions with putative trade partners? No. In fact it's utterly insane, and reduces the chances that the British government will successfully conclude trade agreements with other countries in the next 18 months.
The sensible thing to do is to commit to - say - three years using the EU tariff schedule. Alternatively, come out with a new tariff schedule now, today. The worst thing of all is to have a situation where the 21st Century British tariff schedule is announced to be coming, but no one knows exactly what it will contain, or when it will come into force.
And which many talented genius is running the department... ?
You sure about that ? The amount being blown on HS2 surely has to factor in to the overall spending picture.
If anything it strengthens the need for HS2 as it highlights how expensive it is nowadays to do work to increase capacity and speeds on existing lines. Witness also the WCML upgrade debacle.
Heads should roll at the (nationalised) Network Rail over this.
I don't disagree with that, but I still think there's no good explanation for the 400kph specification (other than politicians being able to crow about it).
Because other people are currently building 350km/hr lines, and they're planning 400km/hr ones. The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens.
I also think you overestimate the cost savings that would be made if they went for a lower speed such as 300 km/hr.
But as it happens, I believe it's one of the stronger arguments against HS2 as it stands. The other being Euston ...
"The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens." Doubt it - there's no real way around the aerodynamic inefficiency and noise.
Sealed trains in tunnels filled with hydrogen.
(Note - I don't recommend this solution, which has the odd drawback of its own, but it is a way round the two challenges you mention).
Nah, a vacuum - which is Musk's hyperloop. No need for all the very expensive rail bed, either.
No just the expensive tubes to keep the vacuum in! Although to be fair to Musk, what he's realized, the basic concept having been around for decades, is that you don't need it to be a hard vacuum at all, which should make it a bit cheaper than previous proposals.
UK band plays to 47,000 Israeli fans in Yarkon Park, brushes off criticism from Israel boycotters
Radiohead returned to Israel for the fourth time, playing to a crowd of some 47,000 fans on Wednesday on a hot and humid Tel Aviv night.
The band came onstage around 8:30 p.m., opening with “Daydreaming” from 2016’s “A Moon Shaped Pool.”
Unlike other bands performing at the outdoor venue, Radiohead did away with the so-called “golden ring” where high-priced tickets are sold closest to the stage, allowing all their fans to get up front, close to the band, if they came early enough.
@SkyNewsBreak: Sir Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after nominations for the post closed without him facing any challengers
Mr. Eagles, that does sound a bit like Philippe Contamine claiming in War in the Middle Ages that heavy cavalry (knights/chevaliers) remained the dominant force on the battlefield throughout the Hundred Years War.
As for Slavs, you might say that about the Greeks of today themselves!
Aristotle was a Greek, but the notion that makes Alexander the Great a Greek is like me claiming to be African because my final year tutor for my dissertation was.
Geographically, most of ancient Macedon is within the current boundaries of Greece. But so what? Was Richard the Lionheart French? Was Canute an Anglo-Saxon? You can't impose modern cartography on the ancient world, unless you're mad.
Suppose Greece conquers all Europe. Would that make Bismarck Greek? Wellington? Napoleon? Charlemagne?
I can understand the desire to claim Alexander as one of your own (indeed, Yorkshire claims God), but that doesn't make it true.
There are some different issues in the southern balkans, to do with modern geography, rather than all this breast beating. A lot of school textbooks in the macedonian republic include the greek area as part of the area to be " redeemed " . The Greeks have had much more success in recent years pointing to this sort of thing, rather than all the historical breast-beating. Likewise there are more people on both sides who aren't idiot nationalists looking for some sort of compromise. In the end it's very likely to end up as "northern macedonia" or something similar, and the greeks having reined in their own ultra elements will end the eu/nato blockade.
Likewise, George Osborne doesn’t appear to be a shining example of public service in action. Fired by May, the former Chancellor tested to the limits how many other jobs and conflicts of interest he could have, before (when concluding there was little chance to oust May anytime soon) standing down at the election. He is now kicking himself for leaving – and spending his days plotting against his one-time colleagues as the editor of the Evening Standard.
Likewise, George Osborne doesn’t appear to be a shining example of public service in action. Fired by May, the former Chancellor tested to the limits how many other jobs and conflicts of interest he could have, before (when concluding there was little chance to oust May anytime soon) standing down at the election. He is now kicking himself for leaving – and spending his days plotting against his one-time colleagues as the editor of the Evening Standard.
@SkyNewsBreak: Sir Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after nominations for the post closed without him facing any challengers
I think the first 10 minutes have gone extremely well.
As for George Osborne, he'd be welcome in the LDs any time. Perhaps he can learn something from Vince Cable (again).
Likewise, George Osborne doesn’t appear to be a shining example of public service in action. Fired by May, the former Chancellor tested to the limits how many other jobs and conflicts of interest he could have, before (when concluding there was little chance to oust May anytime soon) standing down at the election. He is now kicking himself for leaving – and spending his days plotting against his one-time colleagues as the editor of the Evening Standard.
@SkyNewsBreak: Sir Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after nominations for the post closed without him facing any challengers
I think the first 10 minutes have gone extremely well.
As for George Osborne, he'd be welcome in the LDs any time. Perhaps he can learn something from Vince Cable (again).
You sure about that ? The amount being blown on HS2 surely has to factor in to the overall spending picture.
If anything it strengthens the need for HS2 as it highlights how expensive it is nowadays to do work to increase capacity and speeds on existing lines. Witness also the WCML upgrade debacle.
Heads should roll at the (nationalised) Network Rail over this.
I don't disagree with that, but I still think there's no good explanation for the 400kph specification (other than politicians being able to crow about it).
Because other people are currently building 350km/hr lines, and they're planning 400km/hr ones. The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens.
I also think you overestimate the cost savings that would be made if they went for a lower speed such as 300 km/hr.
But as it happens, I believe it's one of the stronger arguments against HS2 as it stands. The other being Euston ...
"The higher speed will probably be state-of-the-art when HS2 opens." Doubt it - there's no real way around the aerodynamic inefficiency and noise.
Sealed trains in tunnels filled with hydrogen.
(Note - I don't recommend this solution, which has the odd drawback of its own, but it is a way round the two challenges you mention).
Nah, a vacuum - which is Musk's hyperloop. No need for all the very expensive rail bed, either.
LOL. The 'bed' (i.e. supports) for hyperloop will be massively expensive, given the insane speeds they're planning. In fact, the only use for Hyperloop is to make Musk's new and patented People Jam.
Likewise, George Osborne doesn’t appear to be a shining example of public service in action. Fired by May, the former Chancellor tested to the limits how many other jobs and conflicts of interest he could have, before (when concluding there was little chance to oust May anytime soon) standing down at the election. He is now kicking himself for leaving – and spending his days plotting against his one-time colleagues as the editor of the Evening Standard.
LOL. The 'bed' (i.e. supports) for hyperloop will be massively expensive, given the insane speeds they're planning. In fact, the only use for Hyperloop is to make Musk's new and patented People Jam.
Apparently, he's trademarked the name "Soylent Green".
@SkyNewsBreak: Sir Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after nominations for the post closed without him facing any challengers
I think the first 10 minutes have gone extremely well.
As for George Osborne, he'd be welcome in the LDs any time. Perhaps he can learn something from Vince Cable (again).
Apart from the fact May looks as though she'd rather be anywhere else, it's as fine an example of political hubris as you could wish to see.
It shows how far we've come in the past 16 months - then Osborne was an MP and Cable wasn't and now Osborne isn't an MP and Cable is.
There are 50% more LD MPs and fewer Conservatives than there were that day (anyone can play with statistics, it's not difficult),
Of more interest, according to Osborne, the LDs wanted to abolish triple lock on pensions and the Conservatives didn't but in 2017 the LDs wanted to keep the triple lock and the Conservatives wanted to abolish it.
@SkyNewsBreak: Sir Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after nominations for the post closed without him facing any challengers
I think the first 10 minutes have gone extremely well.
As for George Osborne, he'd be welcome in the LDs any time. Perhaps he can learn something from Vince Cable (again).
Apart from the fact May looks as though she'd rather be anywhere else, it's as fine an example of political hubris as you could wish to see.
It shows how far we've come in the past 16 months - then Osborne was an MP and Cable wasn't and now Osborne isn't an MP and Cable is.
There are 50% more LD MPs and fewer Conservatives than there were that day (anyone can play with statistics, it's not difficult),
Of more interest, according to Osborne, the LDs wanted to abolish triple lock on pensions and the Conservatives didn't but in 2017 the LDs wanted to keep the triple lock and the Conservatives wanted to abolish it.
Interesting times...
50% more of bugger all...Such they can still all fit in a taxi.
I really don't think installing Mr. tuition fees as leader - unopposed - is a good move by the LD's.
Missed opportunity for a reset.
Good for Labour, though. Hopefully the LD's will succeed in attracting a chunk of the 2016 Remain / 2017 Con vote.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
Are we differentiating between REMAIN voters who are Conservatives and REMAIN voters in general ? Clearly, in winning places like Bath, Oxford West and Twickenham, all of which were I think strong REMAIN areas, the LDs were able to reach some REMAIN voters.
If I remember the numbers, only a third of Conservative voters in 2015 voted REMAIN while only a third of Labour voters voted LEAVE so the REMAIN market isn't as dominated by the Conservatives as some seem to suggest.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
Are we differentiating between REMAIN voters who are Conservatives and REMAIN voters in general ? Clearly, in winning places like Bath, Oxford West and Twickenham, all of which were I think strong REMAIN areas, the LDs were able to reach some REMAIN voters.
If I remember the numbers, only a third of Conservative voters in 2015 voted REMAIN while only a third of Labour voters voted LEAVE so the REMAIN market isn't as dominated by the Conservatives as some seem to suggest.
Both, I think the forced choice between A Tory v Corbyn where Corbyn has a decent chance of becoming PM will force the mind of Tory Remain voters especially.
I really don't think installing Mr. tuition fees as leader - unopposed - is a good move by the LD's.
Missed opportunity for a reset.
Good for Labour, though. Hopefully the LD's will succeed in attracting a chunk of the 2016 Remain / 2017 Con vote.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
He may not be the perfect man, but he's a hell of a lot better placed than Mr 'I can't believe it's not Labour' Student Politics.
I really don't think installing Mr. tuition fees as leader - unopposed - is a good move by the LD's.
Missed opportunity for a reset.
Good for Labour, though. Hopefully the LD's will succeed in attracting a chunk of the 2016 Remain / 2017 Con vote.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
I bow to no-one in my loathing of Vince Cable.
But.
If he doesn't appeal to Pro-Remain Tories, how did he achieve a 9% swing and end up with a 10,000 majority in Twickenham? (Especially as Labour lost jut 1,000 votes.)
I really don't think installing Mr. tuition fees as leader - unopposed - is a good move by the LD's.
Missed opportunity for a reset.
Good for Labour, though. Hopefully the LD's will succeed in attracting a chunk of the 2016 Remain / 2017 Con vote.
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
I bow to no-one in my loathing of Vince Cable.
But.
If he doesn't appeal to Pro-Remain Tories, how did he achieve a 9% swing and end up with a 10,000 majority in Twickenham? (Especially as Labour lost jut 1,000 votes.)
Personal vote returning and a slightly underwhelming Tory MP.
The swing in Twickenham was 9%, in Surbiton it was close to 6%
What a catastrophic error from the government on rail electrification. Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country, they are betting everything on HS2 and ignoring the significant additional costs of bi-modal trains.
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
Afternoon all. Not been following much the last 48 hours as I have been otherwise occupied with tests. I am happy to report that the tests, whilst very uncomfortable, have shown no signs of the dreaded cancer and there will be further examinations to see if I have kidney stones. Needless to say my mood is several storeys higher than it was this time yesterday.
Some observations on the NHS.
First the bad. The system somehow managed to book me in for the same cytoscopy in 3 different occasions at two different hospitals. All were sent to me on the same day with one of them, posted on the 13th July, delivered at 1pm on 14th July for an appointment at 2pm that same day at a hospital 30 miles away (please arrive no later than half an hour before you appointment). Needless to say I didn't make that one.
So organisationally complete rubbish and with the concern that this is wasted resources and might also cause upset and confusion for older or more vulnerable patients.
And of course the good. The staff at the Treatment centre at Queens in Nottingham were fantastic. Clearly understood the sorts of fears and concerns that patients have when they go for these tests and went out of their way to be as supportive and reassuring as possible. The Nigerian nurse who had the dubious pleasure of holding my nether regions managed to be completely disarming, making me feel utterly at home as if we were having a coffee. No mean feat given my state of mind at the time. The whole process, though of course not pleasant, was made infinitely easier by the attitude of everyone I met.
So really the message is, unsurprisingly, a confirmation of what I have always believed. The NHS is kept afloat by brilliant frontline people going way beyond the call of duty to make it work for the patients but the whole system is let down by.... well, the system. Both patients and health professionals deserve much better.
And on the subject of Nigerians, can I repeat Isam's posting on the last thread about the excellent maiden speech given by Kemi Badenoch yesterday.
What a catastrophic error from the government on rail electrification. Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country, they are betting everything on HS2 and ignoring the significant additional costs of bi-modal trains.
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
"Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country"
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
It appears a number of bbc bods are volunteering their salaries on twitter. I sense they aren't happy bunnies and their agents will have been getting some angry phone calls.
Chris mason on £60k a year must be thinking f##k me the bbc have been taking the piss out of me.
It does appear the bbc pay scale for factual programmes is the more male and more of an ignorant pillock you are the higher your pay.
Not always. Clearly number of women above £150k has to improve. But within women, Moira Stewart on £150k+ , yet Kuenssberg on £200k.
Who is Alex Jones ?
Jeremy Vine is the other odd one out. Humphrys can be justified on years of service. But the differential between him and Mishal Hussain and Montague difficult to sustain.
Afternoon all. Not been following much the last 48 hours as I have been otherwise occupied with tests. I am happy to report that the tests, whilst very uncomfortable, have shown no signs of the dreaded cancer and there will be further examinations to see if I have kidney stones. Needless to say my mood is several storeys higher than it was this time yesterday.
Some observations on the NHS.
First the bad. The system somehow managed to book me in for the same cytoscopy in 3 different occasions at two different hospitals. All were sent to me on the same day with one of them, posted on the 13th July, delivered at 1pm on 14th July for an appointment at 2pm that same day at a hospital 30 miles away (please arrive no later than half an hour before you appointment). Needless to say I didn't make that one.
So organisationally complete rubbish and with the concern that this is wasted resources and might also cause upset and confusion for older or more vulnerable patients.
And of course the good. The staff at the Treatment centre at Queens in Nottingham were fantastic. Clearly understood the sorts of fears and concerns that patients have when they go for these tests and went out of their way to be as supportive and reassuring as possible. The Nigerian nurse who had the dubious pleasure of holding my nether regions managed to be completely disarming, making me feel utterly at home as if we were having a coffee. No mean feat given my state of mind at the time. The whole process, though of course not pleasant, was made infinitely easier by the attitude of everyone I met.
So really the message is, unsurprisingly, a confirmation of what I have always believed. The NHS is kept afloat by brilliant frontline people going way beyond the call of duty to make it work for the patients but the whole system is let down by.... well, the system. Both patients and health professionals deserve much better.
And on the subject of Nigerians, can I repeat Isam's posting on the last thread about the excellent maiden speech given by Kemi Badenoch yesterday.
Delighted to hear your good news. What a relief it must be.
I wonder if the NHS staff go the extra mile because they have bought into the NHS ethos. They believe in what the NHS stands for so they will do all they can to make it work, even when it doesn't. The undoubted reforms the system needs must at least explore that as a possibility. If it is ignored, whatever comes next may not be as good as what we have now.
Afternoon all. Not been following much the last 48 hours as I have been otherwise occupied with tests. I am happy to report that the tests, whilst very uncomfortable, have shown no signs of the dreaded cancer and there will be further examinations to see if I have kidney stones. Needless to say my mood is several storeys higher than it was this time yesterday.
Some observations on the NHS.
First the bad. The system somehow managed to book me in for the same cytoscopy in 3 different occasions at two different hospitals. All were sent to me on the same day with one of them, posted on the 13th July, delivered at 1pm on 14th July for an appointment at 2pm that same day at a hospital 30 miles away (please arrive no later than half an hour before you appointment). Needless to say I didn't make that one.
So organisationally complete rubbish and with the concern that this is wasted resources and might also cause upset and confusion for older or more vulnerable patients.
And of course the good. The staff at the Treatment centre at Queens in Nottingham were fantastic. Clearly understood the sorts of fears and concerns that patients have when they go for these tests and went out of their way to be as supportive and reassuring as possible. The Nigerian nurse who had the dubious pleasure of holding my nether regions managed to be completely disarming, making me feel utterly at home as if we were having a coffee. No mean feat given my state of mind at the time. The whole process, though of course not pleasant, was made infinitely easier by the attitude of everyone I met.
So really the message is, unsurprisingly, a confirmation of what I have always believed. The NHS is kept afloat by brilliant frontline people going way beyond the call of duty to make it work for the patients but the whole system is let down by.... well, the system. Both patients and health professionals deserve much better.
And on the subject of Nigerians, can I repeat Isam's posting on the last thread about the excellent maiden speech given by Kemi Badenoch yesterday.
I've been with my partner to the Treatment Centre at Queens. Found it to be modern, professionally run, timely and very good. The building is light, airy and well-designed and we weren't sitting around for hours waiting.
Privately run centre (by Circle) with an NHS acute services contract. All very Blair, but I have no complaints from what I have seen of the results of this private-public joint working.
Both, I think the forced choice between A Tory v Corbyn where Corbyn has a decent chance of becoming PM will force the mind of Tory Remain voters especially.
Yes, I do think the more Corbyn appears as though he might win the more Conservatives are likely to turn out to prevent that.
Were the Conservatives facing a more moderate Labour Party and leader they would be in a whole heap of trouble.
It appears a number of bbc bods are volunteering their salaries on twitter. I sense they aren't happy bunnies and their agents will have been getting some angry phone calls.
Chris mason on £60k a year must be thinking f##k me the bbc have been taking the piss out of me.
It does appear the bbc pay scale for factual programmes is the more male and more of an ignorant pillock you are the higher your pay.
Not always. Clearly number of women above £150k has to improve. But within women, Moira Stewart on £150k+ , yet Kuenssberg on £200k.
Who is Alex Jones ?
Jeremy Vine is the other odd one out. Humphrys can be justified on years of service. But the differential between him and Mishal Hussain and Montague difficult to sustain.
What a catastrophic error from the government on rail electrification. Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country, they are betting everything on HS2 and ignoring the significant additional costs of bi-modal trains.
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
"Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country"
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
Even having tripled, the cost of electrifying the GWR is still less than 10% of the cost of HS2, which will no doubt escalate further. No other European country is so myopic as to invest serious money in high speed diesel trains, rather than investing in electrification with all its direct and indirect benefits.
It is not a 'lie' that HS2 money could be spent on other schemes; it's a bizarre false choice imposed by the politicians.
We have been underinvesting in transport infrastructure while hosing away money on white elephants since the 1950s. When will we learn?
Afternoon all. Not been following much the last 48 hours as I have been otherwise occupied with tests. I am happy to report that the tests, whilst very uncomfortable, have shown no signs of the dreaded cancer and there will be further examinations to see if I have kidney stones. Needless to say my mood is several storeys higher than it was this time yesterday.
Some observations on the NHS.
First the bad. The system somehow managed to book me in for the same cytoscopy in 3 different occasions at two different hospitals. All were sent to me on the same day with one of them, posted on the 13th July, delivered at 1pm on 14th July for an appointment at 2pm that same day at a hospital 30 miles away (please arrive no later than half an hour before you appointment). Needless to say I didn't make that one.
So organisationally complete rubbish and with the concern that this is wasted resources and might also cause upset and confusion for older or more vulnerable patients.
And of course the good. The staff at the Treatment centre at Queens in Nottingham were fantastic. Clearly understood the sorts of fears and concerns that patients have when they go for these tests and went out of their way to be as supportive and reassuring as possible. The Nigerian nurse who had the dubious pleasure of holding my nether regions managed to be completely disarming, making me feel utterly at home as if we were having a coffee. No mean feat given my state of mind at the time. The whole process, though of course not pleasant, was made infinitely easier by the attitude of everyone I met.
So really the message is, unsurprisingly, a confirmation of what I have always believed. The NHS is kept afloat by brilliant frontline people going way beyond the call of duty to make it work for the patients but the whole system is let down by.... well, the system. Both patients and health professionals deserve much better.
And on the subject of Nigerians, can I repeat Isam's posting on the last thread about the excellent maiden speech given by Kemi Badenoch yesterday.
What a catastrophic error from the government on rail electrification. Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country, they are betting everything on HS2 and ignoring the significant additional costs of bi-modal trains.
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
"Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country"
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
Even having tripled, the cost of electrifying the GWR is still less than 10% of the cost of HS2, which will no doubt escalate further. No other European country is so myopic as to invest serious money in high speed diesel trains, rather than investing in electrification with all its direct and indirect benefits.
It is not a 'lie' that HS2 money could be spent on other schemes; it's a bizarre false choice imposed by the politicians.
We have been underinvesting in transport infrastructure while hosing away money on white elephants since the 1950s. When will we learn?
We are investing in electrification. It's just that the people doing the work have rather mucked up. Witness also the West Coast upgrade, which took much longer than expected, was about ten times over cost, and didn't deliver many of the promised advantages. I think one of the northern schemes isn't gong well, either.
Network Rail is brilliant at some things: maintenance and renewals generally go well, and much of heavy rail's unprecedented safety record over the last ten years is down to their work.
But I don't want to give them a blank cheque on electrification, especially after they've monumentally mucked up a similar project.
Edit: an you mean the cost so far. I'm far from convinced that NR have a handle on the costs even now, and that's part of the problem.
"Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country"
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
Even having tripled, the cost of electrifying the GWR is still less than 10% of the cost of HS2, which will no doubt escalate further. No other European country is so myopic as to invest serious money in high speed diesel trains, rather than investing in electrification with all its direct and indirect benefits.
It is not a 'lie' that HS2 money could be spent on other schemes; it's a bizarre false choice imposed by the politicians.
We have been underinvesting in transport infrastructure while hosing away money on white elephants since the 1950s. When will we learn?
We are investing in electrification. It's just that the people doing the work have rather mucked up. Witness also the West Coast upgrade, which took much longer than expected, was about ten times over cost, and didn't deliver many of the promised advantages. I think one of the northern schemes isn't gong well, either.
Network Rail is brilliant at some things: maintenance and renewals generally go well, and much of heavy rail's unprecedented safety record over the last ten years is down to their work.
But I don't want to give them a blank cheque on electrification, especially after they've monumentally mucked up a similar project.
Edit: an you mean the cost so far. I'm far from convinced that NR have a handle on the costs even now, and that's part of the problem.
What I don't get is, many of the problems they have encountered should have been known before they started the project. One problem they have is the Steventon level crossing west of Didcot. There is a bridge just down the track which would have to be rebuilt - at great expense - to enable the wires to be high enough over the level crossing. I've heard it suggested that they might not both and let the trains coast through that section of track!
What a catastrophic error from the government on rail electrification. Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country, they are betting everything on HS2 and ignoring the significant additional costs of bi-modal trains.
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
"Rather than support schemes which will benefit people across the country"
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
Even having tripled, the cost of electrifying the GWR is still less than 10% of the cost of HS2, which will no doubt escalate further. No other European country is so myopic as to invest serious money in high speed diesel trains, rather than investing in electrification with all its direct and indirect benefits.
It is not a 'lie' that HS2 money could be spent on other schemes
Both, I think the forced choice between A Tory v Corbyn where Corbyn has a decent chance of becoming PM will force the mind of Tory Remain voters especially.
Do you think if push came to shove Vince Cable would support a minority Jeremy Corbyn-led Government ?
Sir Vince gives the Lib Dems gravitas in a way no one else does, and that's been the problem for the Lib Dems in recent years, they haven't gotten enough coverage.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
Are we differentiating between REMAIN voters who are Conservatives and REMAIN voters in general ? Clearly, in winning places like Bath, Oxford West and Twickenham, all of which were I think strong REMAIN areas, the LDs were able to reach some REMAIN voters.
If I remember the numbers, only a third of Conservative voters in 2015 voted REMAIN while only a third of Labour voters voted LEAVE so the REMAIN market isn't as dominated by the Conservatives as some seem to suggest.
Both, I think the forced choice between A Tory v Corbyn where Corbyn has a decent chance of becoming PM will force the mind of Tory Remain voters especially.
Latest YG suggests that the proportion of Tory remainers has dropped to 24% now.
Both, I think the forced choice between A Tory v Corbyn where Corbyn has a decent chance of becoming PM will force the mind of Tory Remain voters especially.
Do you think if push came to shove Vince Cable would support a minority Jeremy Corbyn-led Government ?
On a confidence and supply basis I think so.
Mike thought the Lib Dems wouldn't go into a future coalition with any party until they were on 35 MPs plus.
What I don't get is, many of the problems they have encountered should have been known before they started the project. One problem they have is the Steventon level crossing west of Didcot. There is a bridge just down the track which would have to be rebuilt - at great expense - to enable the wires to be high enough over the level crossing. I've heard it suggested that they might not both and let the trains coast through that section of track!
ISTR that's not the only place where such 'coasting' happens: it's done in similar places across the network. They plan for such obstacles to be used as neutral sections (which are required every so often), and this allows them to have a much narrower bridge-catenary gap. So it might be fine and dandy, if I'm remembering correctly.
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
People called for Corbyn in June. Just not enough of them...
What I don't get is, many of the problems they have encountered should have been known before they started the project. One problem they have is the Steventon level crossing west of Didcot. There is a bridge just down the track which would have to be rebuilt - at great expense - to enable the wires to be high enough over the level crossing. I've heard it suggested that they might not both and let the trains coast through that section of track!
ISTR that's not the only place where such 'coasting' happens: it's done in similar places across the network. They plan for such obstacles to be used as neutral sections (which are required every so often), and this allows them to have a much narrower bridge-catenary gap. So it might be fine and dandy, if I'm remembering correctly.
Even after his disclaimer, Jacob Rees-Mogg was last matched at 10.5 for next PM and is currently available to lay for next Conservative leader at 9.4. Conservative bettors seem to be having a collective nervous breakdown.
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
Starmer negotiating Brexit would be a big plus. It would be a far better outcome.
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
Starmer negotiating Brexit would be a big plus. It would be a far better outcome.
Starmer's negociation would have us paying double for the same set up as now but we'd get a badge that says "Not in EU, honest !".
Small matter of Labour's leader fundamentally disagreeing with him too.
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
Starmer negotiating Brexit would be a big plus. It would be a far better outcome.
Starmer's negociation would have us paying double for the same set up as now but we'd get a badge that says "Not in EU, honest !".
Small matter of Labour's leader fundamentally disagreeing with him too.
Corbyn would give Starmer a fairly free hand. Immigration is not such a shibboleth to Labour, so concessions in that area would get a much more constructive approach elsewhere on trade and other issues.
Fox and Davis on the news. They're seriously embarrassing. Time for the Tories to call it a day. I don't rate him at all but the time has come to call for Corbyn
Starmer negotiating Brexit would be a big plus. It would be a far better outcome.
Starmer's negociation would have us paying double for the same set up as now but we'd get a badge that says "Not in EU, honest !".
Small matter of Labour's leader fundamentally disagreeing with him too.
The Tory headbangers and the Labour leadership agree with 20-30% of the country on crashing out of the EU. Rather as we crashed out of the ERM 25 years ago. That was disastrous for 5-10 years; this action will be disastrous for rather longer.
The other 70-80% incl. Remainers like me would settle for 'Norway without the fjords', 'half in half out', or whatever you call it.
What I don't get is, many of the problems they have encountered should have been known before they started the project. One problem they have is the Steventon level crossing west of Didcot. There is a bridge just down the track which would have to be rebuilt - at great expense - to enable the wires to be high enough over the level crossing. I've heard it suggested that they might not both and let the trains coast through that section of track!
ISTR that's not the only place where such 'coasting' happens: it's done in similar places across the network. They plan for such obstacles to be used as neutral sections (which are required every so often), and this allows them to have a much narrower bridge-catenary gap. So it might be fine and dandy, if I'm remembering correctly.
Comments
The Paignton line gives you the opportunity to go down on the steam train to Kingsbridge and catch the ferry (which used to be run by British Rail) across to Dartmouth which has a Station Hotel even though there was never a station or a line.
The Liskeard-Looe line is delightful and the curve out of Liskeard worth the fare on its own.
Truro to Falmouth is nice but you should go all the way through to Falmouth Docks.
The highlight is the St Erth-St Ives branch line. The line follows the edge of the bay and while it's only a short trip it's one of the most scenic journeys. The train crosses the links of the Royal West Cornwall Golf Club and it's not unheard of for a journey to be interrupted by the sound of a golf ball hitting the train.
St Ives Station is a light of former glories but go to the town museum along from the Harbour and there are some wonderful photos taken from the first half of the 20th Century when the station had four platforms and you could get a direct train to Paddington.
The famous art deco style posters from the 1930s extolling Londoners down to the "Cornish Riviera" are works of art in their own right.
(A tactic which didn't end well for Nixon.)
If only Sessions hadn't recused himself....
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/20/trump-goes-off-script-fumes-about-sessions-russia-240743
(edit... Is this story what Yokel was on about last night ??)
No need for all the very expensive rail bed, either.
UK band plays to 47,000 Israeli fans in Yarkon Park, brushes off criticism from Israel boycotters
Radiohead returned to Israel for the fourth time, playing to a crowd of some 47,000 fans on Wednesday on a hot and humid Tel Aviv night.
The band came onstage around 8:30 p.m., opening with “Daydreaming” from 2016’s “A Moon Shaped Pool.”
Unlike other bands performing at the outdoor venue, Radiohead did away with the so-called “golden ring” where high-priced tickets are sold closest to the stage, allowing all their fans to get up front, close to the band, if they came early enough.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/defying-calls-from-bds-activists-radiohead-rocks-tel-aviv/
This whole thing is quite ridiculous, loads of major bands play in Israel every year and one of the band members is married to an Israeli.
That'd certainly liven things up around here, gossip-wise.
I do agree it should be solvable. But we'll see.
Mr. P, cheers for posting that.
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/07/in-defeat-theresa-may-has-done-what-david-cameron-couldnt/
As for George Osborne, he'd be welcome in the LDs any time. Perhaps he can learn something from Vince Cable (again).
What a strategic blunder.
Whilst he respects the vote, his version of Brexit would not appeal to the hardcore leavers in the party so he wouldn't be PM.
https://twitter.com/RichardBurgon/status/888056067132993536
.....
Hopefully a long way in the future. A Corbyn government would be a ****ing disaster.
Sounds like I'm just going to have to settle for Quentin Letts being silly which - frankly - isn't exactly news.
Missed opportunity for a reset.
Good for Labour, though. Hopefully the LD's will succeed in attracting a chunk of the 2016 Remain / 2017 Con vote.
It shows how far we've come in the past 16 months - then Osborne was an MP and Cable wasn't and now Osborne isn't an MP and Cable is.
There are 50% more LD MPs and fewer Conservatives than there were that day (anyone can play with statistics, it's not difficult),
Of more interest, according to Osborne, the LDs wanted to abolish triple lock on pensions and the Conservatives didn't but in 2017 the LDs wanted to keep the triple lock and the Conservatives wanted to abolish it.
Interesting times...
Probably a little overblown there, apologies.
As for your last point, you really don't understand Remain Tories, Sir Vince Cable is absolutely the wrong man to appeal to the Remain Tories.
If I remember the numbers, only a third of Conservative voters in 2015 voted REMAIN while only a third of Labour voters voted LEAVE so the REMAIN market isn't as dominated by the Conservatives as some seem to suggest.
Russia says in talks with U.S. to create cyber security working group:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-us-cyber-idUSKBN1A5188
It will also have the approval of the POTUS.
But.
If he doesn't appeal to Pro-Remain Tories, how did he achieve a 9% swing and end up with a 10,000 majority in Twickenham? (Especially as Labour lost jut 1,000 votes.)
The swing in Twickenham was 9%, in Surbiton it was close to 6%
I think I'd abstain if we had another election in the autumn. What a shower.
Some observations on the NHS.
First the bad. The system somehow managed to book me in for the same cytoscopy in 3 different occasions at two different hospitals. All were sent to me on the same day with one of them, posted on the 13th July, delivered at 1pm on 14th July for an appointment at 2pm that same day at a hospital 30 miles away (please arrive no later than half an hour before you appointment). Needless to say I didn't make that one.
So organisationally complete rubbish and with the concern that this is wasted resources and might also cause upset and confusion for older or more vulnerable patients.
And of course the good. The staff at the Treatment centre at Queens in Nottingham were fantastic. Clearly understood the sorts of fears and concerns that patients have when they go for these tests and went out of their way to be as supportive and reassuring as possible. The Nigerian nurse who had the dubious pleasure of holding my nether regions managed to be completely disarming, making me feel utterly at home as if we were having a coffee. No mean feat given my state of mind at the time. The whole process, though of course not pleasant, was made infinitely easier by the attitude of everyone I met.
So really the message is, unsurprisingly, a confirmation of what I have always believed. The NHS is kept afloat by brilliant frontline people going way beyond the call of duty to make it work for the patients but the whole system is let down by.... well, the system. Both patients and health professionals deserve much better.
And on the subject of Nigerians, can I repeat Isam's posting on the last thread about the excellent maiden speech given by Kemi Badenoch yesterday.
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/07/kemi-badenoch-from-african-immigrant-to-essex-mp-ive-lived-the-british-dream/
There are already lots of rail upgrade schemes going on around the country. Wessex, Northern Rail, EGIP, TransPennine, etc, etc are the big schemes, with lots of smaller ones as well. Billions are being spent.
*Some* of the electrification have been cancelled because Network Rail could not get a grip on either budget or timescales, despite several attempts. What would you have the government do? Write Network Rail a blank cheque?
It's a lie that money saved in cancelling HS2 would be spent on the rest of the network. It won't. And even if it did, Network Rail might just end up pi**ing the money up against the wall, as they've done with the GW electrification, and was done with the WCML Upgrade.
Glad to hear it's not the big C, and hope you get full answers soon.
Who is Alex Jones ?
Jeremy Vine is the other odd one out. Humphrys can be justified on years of service. But the differential between him and Mishal Hussain and Montague difficult to sustain.
Just imagine Farron dancing to Relax.
I wonder if the NHS staff go the extra mile because they have bought into the NHS ethos. They believe in what the NHS stands for so they will do all they can to make it work, even when it doesn't. The undoubted reforms the system needs must at least explore that as a possibility. If it is ignored, whatever comes next may not be as good as what we have now.
https://twitter.com/dailymailuk/status/888074333679177728
I've been with my partner to the Treatment Centre at Queens. Found it to be modern, professionally run, timely and very good. The building is light, airy and well-designed and we weren't sitting around for hours waiting.
Privately run centre (by Circle) with an NHS acute services contract. All very Blair, but I have no complaints from what I have seen of the results of this private-public joint working.
Were the Conservatives facing a more moderate Labour Party and leader they would be in a whole heap of trouble.
who earns more
It is not a 'lie' that HS2 money could be spent on other schemes; it's a bizarre false choice imposed by the politicians.
We have been underinvesting in transport infrastructure while hosing away money on white elephants since the 1950s. When will we learn?
Network Rail is brilliant at some things: maintenance and renewals generally go well, and much of heavy rail's unprecedented safety record over the last ten years is down to their work.
But I don't want to give them a blank cheque on electrification, especially after they've monumentally mucked up a similar project.
Edit: an you mean the cost so far. I'm far from convinced that NR have a handle on the costs even now, and that's part of the problem.
Mike thought the Lib Dems wouldn't go into a future coalition with any party until they were on 35 MPs plus.
The ongoing EGIP electrification scheme got hit by the EU, of all things:
https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/02/24/egip-electrification-clearance-woes/
Odd that isn't mentioned in this article.
But satisfaction ratings are a better pointer.
Small matter of Labour's leader fundamentally disagreeing with him too.
The other 70-80% incl. Remainers like me would settle for 'Norway without the fjords', 'half in half out', or whatever you call it.
Blair conceded half the rebate and constructively got where with the CAP?
https://twitter.com/ariehkovler/status/888091542233247745