You could not have picked a less apt word than "dystopian". My vision is the very essence of moderation and pragmatism. Indeed what I'm describing is the ONLY viable end outcome from where we are. All the alternatives are terrible.
There is no magic money tree therefore we must live within our means. This dictates a fall in living standards. The hit must be taken by everyone apart from those who are already in poverty or who would be pushed into poverty. And the hit must be progressively harder as we go up the affluence scale.
Now add on a bit of social reform - particularly in education and housing - and some climate change focus and there you have it. Hard Left Social Democracy in action. Nothing to be scared of. I suspect you only don't like it because it's coming from me. Experiment - pretend it's being proposed by Michael Howard.
I see twitter has gone all tin foil hat conspiracy today over Bill Gates....
There have been conspiracy theories about him from the beginning. His warnings about pandemics prove he must be in on it with George Soros, apparently.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
They replayed Life of Brian in the cinema a couple of months ago, that seemed to mostly hold up, though there were some shifts in the audience in the bit about the chap who wanted to be a woman so he could have babies (even though it was comparively progressive), but outside of the very best stuff I can easily believe much of it would be not great.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
70s comedy is infinitely better than the crap they churn out today.
With Ed Davey's Christmas message still unrepentantly talking about stopping Brexit, I realised the game was up.
The Party has some excellent ideas but needs to ditch Brexit and start looking at the bigger picture. The post-coronavirus society is going to be different - how are we going to move from where we were to where we will be? How different will the world of work and retail be in the future?
It's not quite a blank canvass but it requires some different thinking to model Britain in the mid 2020s and beyond. What kind of society and communities do we want? In some ways there is more contact and there is less - the digital world allows communication without the physicality. Ensuring as many people as possible have the technological means to live in that digital world seems one thought.
There's also climate change and air quality - the lack of economic activity has made our air cleaner and clearer. How can we finally create prosperity without environmental damage? It's not just about de-carbonisation but a new economic model where prosperity is less dependent on resource depletion.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
John Cleese agrees with you about Python.
By coincidence I was watching an interview with the Goodies just this morning. One reason for its ageing badly is we have aged too. It was in large part a children's programme.
The problem with such a shamelessly pro-EU stance is it failed completely to recognise the obvious flaws of the EU - lack of accountability, centralisation of power etc - yet these were the same flaws which, as an LD, I had protested against successive Westminster Governments.
The hypocrisy was and is blatant - I've never had an issue with countries working together and there may be areas (environment, transport, crime) where pan-European bodies are vital.
There was an EEC which actively helped the poorer peripheries - the UK benefited from infrastructural largesse and that notion of the richer areas supporting the poorer both nationally and across Europe I can support but the Single Market isn't that - instead it relies on the old adage of compelling the people to move to the money rather than sending the money to help the people.
I voted Leave in 2016 because I thought the EU had lost its way and promises of reform had gone nowhere. A substantial minority of LDs (around 25-30%) agreed with me but they have been silenced by the pro-EU majority within the Party which culminated in Swinson's Revoke policy.
That was for me the final straw - you cannot defend democracy by subverting it. Had the policy been "we'll leave but we'll seek a BINO deal" I could have gone along with that since the referendum was only about leaving not about the terms of our departure. Indeed, I could even have supported a "we'll leave now but campaign to rejoin" - that's coherent though the terms of our renewed membership would have had to have been explicitly laid out.
I applaud your thoughtful approach to continuing your party membership after such a lengthy committment, even if others might come to different conclusions.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Yes Minister/Prime Minister has aged magnificently. Has been forty years since the first episode aired.
PM lounges about in country estate whilst country suffers.
Not is not really fair
It was clearly a joke and I won't apologise for attempts at humour even if they fall flat. Boris, I'm sure, would approve of humour in dark times.
I am sure a certain section of twitter will be bashing out this (not as a joke) shortly. And comparing his situation to some poor sod in a tower block.
Expect conspiracy over the day in which he has risen again. And many jokes about the same.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
John Cleese agrees with you about Python.
Oh. Well I now think Python is unalloyedly brill if that's what the reactionary old twit thinks.
PM lounges about in country estate whilst country suffers.
Not is not really fair
It was clearly a joke and I won't apologise for attempts at humour even if they fall flat. Boris, I'm sure, would approve of humour in dark times.
I am sure a certain section of twitter will be bashing out this (not as a joke) shortly. And comparing his situation to some poor sod in a tower block.
Expert conspiracy over the day in which he has risen again. And many jokes about the same.
It does look very like retreating to a second home. Makes Jenrick unsackable, for starters.
Oh come off it. There is much I feel we can legitimately critique the government on than where a man who was seriously ill in hospital is allowed to recuperate.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
These things have to be in their social context. Comedy rarely ages well. Python was always rather patchy. People remember the good stuff. Character comedy like Fawlty Towers dates better than comedy touching on social issues, even when very gentle like The Goodies.
One thing a developer is very good at is identifying the loopholes in the law
It should be shocking but isnt.
I think after trump the President's power will be stripped so much it will be largely a ceremonial role.
Nah, they'll need the full power to undo everything he did, then a bit more to get things in order, and then all will return to normal.
Supreme Court justices should be time limited though, or at this rate both parties will just start appointing 30 year olds who can be on the court for 60 years.
Trump's America and for that matter contemporary Britain show how fragile systems are that depend on convention, and one or more actors decide to ignore those conventions.
I do think the government is basically screwed. It won't show in polling for quite some time and for now they are still trusted and supported, but the messaging is all there about things that many think we should have done, where our preparations were not as good as others and so on, and unless we end up on the lower scale of deaths - which looks vanishingly unlikely - those messages will hit home once we are out of the worst.
There is more than enough paper trail on the decisions that lead back to the scientific advisers. I don't think the government will suffer for the decisions made in the last few weeks. It's how the government handles the economic fall out that will be the key measure.
The polls and other indicators show public support for the government in their efforts with 95% agreeing to the lockdown
Despite the media onslaught, especially over testing and PPE, I do believe voters understand that this pandemic has overwhelmed most governments and their common sense knows that the government are doing their best and trusting the science to the extent they shake their heads when more attacks often based on hindsight come from a media seeking to compromise and embarrass those dealing with a near impossible task
And I agree, the real test comes post this early period when the economy has to be handled and the army of NHS and others who frontlined the crisis have to be recognised especially in rising pay and the high earners including CEO's, celebrities, footballers and others should be the target of increasing higher taxes and accountability
This may well be true old chap. In fact, if it was a fair world without devilish advocacy in it straight out of the Book of Job, you would be onto a winner. But every opposition around the world already saying mistakes have been made. Government spokesman already apologising.
There is an alternative argument in which every sitting government, from Mexico to Brazil, Germany to U.K., will take a right Royal hammering for acting on it too slowly. Weren’t prepared. Made mistakes.
God’s intentions may seem cruel at times. Just thinking how we all got here, the preparation required is health secretary asking for items for the contingency, arguing this could happen, and the treasurer handing over the money for the contingency, convinced it could.
Being ready for this was never going to happen, It would always be a failure of imagination to believe this would happen.
PM lounges about in country estate whilst country suffers.
Not is not really fair
It was clearly a joke and I won't apologise for attempts at humour even if they fall flat. Boris, I'm sure, would approve of humour in dark times.
I am sure a certain section of twitter will be bashing out this (not as a joke) shortly. And comparing his situation to some poor sod in a tower block.
Expect conspiracy over the day in which he has risen again. And many jokes about the same.
The cross obviously disintegrated under the weight before it could perform its task.
People with cancer are listed in the extremely vulnerable group by the UK government. As for the distinction between 60 and 70, is that significant for those without preexisting conditions?
So that just leaves 60 to 70 (yes, it is significant and many are likely to have hypertension, diagnosed or undiagnosed), care homes (obvious that they are being left to die) and hypertension.
It's the leftover from the Herd Immunity attempt. Where do people think those extra deaths are going to mostly come from? Great to balance the economy as well, all those people who won't have twenty plus years of a pension to pay for. Whilst they are faffing about repeating the same question over and over, maybe just one journalist could ask why this omission in relation to other countries? It also underlies higher deaths in communities,such as the Afro-Caribbean community, where hypertension is a real issue.
Is it, or is the risk for 60-70 year olds without pre-existing conditions not great enough to justify them staying locked up for 12 weeks? Remember, there's also a cost to someone's health for asking them to isolate themselves for that long.
As for people in care home being left to die. Really?
Should also have mentioned, if someone in that group wants to take the risk then they can do so but those who don't should be given the same backing as the other at risk groups as, at the moment, they are just being abandoned.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
They replayed Life of Brian in the cinema a couple of months ago, that seemed to mostly hold up, though there were some shifts in the audience in the bit about the chap who wanted to be a woman so he could have babies (even though it was comparively progressive), but outside of the very best stuff I can easily believe much of it would be not great.
One of the most ageless sequences in cinema is the ‘‘tis only a flesh wound’ limbless knight in Holy Grail.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Yes Minister/Prime Minister has aged magnificently. Has been forty years since the first episode aired.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
PM lounges about in country estate whilst country suffers.
Not is not really fair
It was clearly a joke and I won't apologise for attempts at humour even if they fall flat. Boris, I'm sure, would approve of humour in dark times.
I am sure a certain section of twitter will be bashing out this (not as a joke) shortly. And comparing his situation to some poor sod in a tower block.
Expect conspiracy over the day in which he has risen again. And many jokes about the same.
The cross obviously disintegrated under the weight before it could perform its task.
I wonder if that might win someone a reprieve or if they'd have to do it three times.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Yes Minister/Prime Minister has aged magnificently. Has been forty years since the first episode aired.
Blackadder, well, Blackadder II and Blackadder Goes Forth, still come across as modern and funny.
I would also say seasons 4-6 of Dad’s Army stand out as remarkably well scripted and acted and therefore keep their humour well.
Part of the problem as well with the Goodies and Monty Python is that most of the humour derived from something completely stupid and unexpected happening. When you know what’s about to happen it’s no longer funny.
I love the story about Dasani, the bottled tap water that Coke tried to bring to the UK market.
They were were told, you know one of the most watched episodes ever of a popular comedy sitcom is based around them bottling tap water, right? And the bottling plant isn't that far away from where it was based. This could be a terrible PR disaster.
Apparently the response was, but that was years ago, nobody will remember it now.
People with cancer are listed in the extremely vulnerable group by the UK government. As for the distinction between 60 and 70, is that significant for those without preexisting conditions?
So that just leaves 60 to 70 (yes, it is significant and many are likely to have hypertension, diagnosed or undiagnosed), care homes (obvious that they are being left to die) and hypertension.
It's the leftover from the Herd Immunity attempt. Where do people think those extra deaths are going to mostly come from? Great to balance the economy as well, all those people who won't have twenty plus years of a pension to pay for. Whilst they are faffing about repeating the same question over and over, maybe just one journalist could ask why this omission in relation to other countries? It also underlies higher deaths in communities,such as the Afro-Caribbean community, where hypertension is a real issue.
Is it, or is the risk for 60-70 year olds without pre-existing conditions not great enough to justify them staying locked up for 12 weeks? Remember, there's also a cost to someone's health for asking them to isolate themselves for that long.
As for people in care home being left to die. Really?
The question is why the UK has acted so differently. The UK is the one going against the norm, so why? The hypertension omission is the real giveaway and 'it's the economy stupid'. The calculation was to let more economically active, yet at risk, people die. It started to work so well that it nearly took out the PM. Imagine if that had been continued? So now, we are waiting to see if these at risk people are not warned about before making a decision to return to work. If they don't issue any such warning, then we really will know if this was the intent all along,
The care homes issue is pretty much global in comparison.
I'm not sure the information you have presented supports the claim that the UK is going against the norm.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
You could not have picked a less apt word than "dystopian". My vision is the very essence of moderation and pragmatism. Indeed what I'm describing is the ONLY viable end outcome from where we are. All the alternatives are terrible.
There is no magic money tree therefore we must live within our means. This dictates a fall in living standards. The hit must be taken by everyone apart from those who are already in poverty or who would be pushed into poverty. And the hit must be progressively harder as we go up the affluence scale.
Now add on a bit of social reform - particularly in education and housing - and some climate change focus and there you have it. Hard Left Social Democracy in action. Nothing to be scared of. I suspect you only don't like it because it's coming from me. Experiment - pretend it's being proposed by Michael Howard.
I call it dystopian because I don't believe it would end up as you think but instead end up the way I described. I don't want to live in a country that would end up like that. The left always promises a fairer more equal society but insteads reruns animal farm
What comedy from years ago that was popular at the time remains funny today?
Steptoe and Son (though a lot of it is bleak, it's Beckett with a laugh track). Dad's Army, obviously. Morecambe and Wise. Tommy Cooper. Porridge. Most stuff from the nineties on still works fine.
That is not what happened in 2010. First, it was not necessary to have a formal coalition at all, rather than, say, a confidence and supply agreement, as between the Conservatives and DUP in 2017, or something like the 1970s Lib-Lab pact.
But in the coalition negotiations, the LibDems did not need to concede on student fees and loans. The Conservatives did not regard this as their key policy. The LibDems could have asked for one of the great offices of state. Instead it chose as its main demand a referendum it promptly lost, on a policy designed to keep itself in power.
As I'm no longer bound by Party loyalty, I don't have to defend Nick Clegg but your recollection is blessed by hindsight.
That weekend it looked as though the financial markets were going to crash and Greece was going to go up in flames. The clamour from everyone everywhere was for there to be a stable Government - the pressure on both Conservative and LD negotiators from the civil service and media was intense.
The Conservatives refused point blank to give any of the three big offices to the LDs - Cameron had made too many promises to Hague, Osborne and May and had he been forced to drop or demote any one of them he would have created a major enemy for the future.
Where I do agree is on the AV referendum - AV was and never has been LD policy - it is in many ways worse than FPTP. The Conservatives wouldn't even have STV on a ballot paper because they knew IF it were adopted they would never be able to form a majority Government again (no one could have foreseen 55% poll ratings in 2020 to be fair).
The problem was Clegg and Huhne thought they had to throw the Party a bone on electoral reform but AV was worse than nothing. I think some form of proportionality for local elections would have been acceptable to the Conservatives but they would never have budged on Westminster elections.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
The ICU was ultra precautionary. This is pretty clear.
Not all ICU admissions require ventilation. Circulatory and renal support are also needed in Covid 19. In the ICU reports 17% didn't need advanced respiratory support.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
I'd still hold a place in my funny bone for Mel Brooks, almost entirely for The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein of course.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
Is it true that everyone who died from coronavirus was on a ventilator immediately prior?
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
The ICU was ultra precautionary. This is pretty clear.
Not all ICU admissions require ventilation. Circulatory and renal support are also needed in Covid 19. In the ICU reports 17% didn't need advanced respiratory support.
What comedy from years ago that was popular at the time remains funny today?
Fawlty?
Yes, Fawlty Towers can still be good. Strange to think that at the time its comedic peer was proclaimed to be 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em' - I bet that's a bit painful to re-watch now.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
I love the story about Dasani, the bottled tap water that Coke tried to bring to the UK market.
They were were told, you know one of the most watched episodes ever of a popular comedy sitcom is based around them bottling tap water, right? And the bottling plant isn't that far away from where it was based. This could be a terrible PR disaster.
Apparently the response was, but that was years ago, nobody will remember it now.
LOL! Did that actually happen (the anecdote, I know Dasani happened), or is that just a legend?
Man about the House is still perceptive and humourous.
My two favourite 70s comedies are Fawlty Towers and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin - the first series is sublime and while the second series had its moments the quality just wasn't there. The first three or four episodes of the first series of Perrin are brilliant and Leonard Rossiter just awesome in the title role.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
There are other ways of being seriously ill with this disease as others have pointed out. Why do you refuse to accept that your way isn't the only way?
No, you're describing a society that will be moderately prosperous, extremely levelled-down, and minimally free. Be honest about it.
I'd still like to see a fully worked-out explanation of why my response to a purely exogenous shock would not be preferable to colossal tax rises or weapons-grade austerity, but if the magic money tree is out, then it looks like it'll soon be time for Cut Hard 2: Cut Harder With A Vengeance...
Nonsense. I'm describing something viable and perfectly civilized. The best way forward from here. I'm afraid you have your head in the sand. You are also, if you're not very careful, at risk of losing your intellectual integrity.
Now I don't know how old you are, but that can be painful.
Can it get anymore vomit inducing , character has nothing to do with it . Looks like the politburo have ordered the BBC to milk this . Just waiting for the doves and gospel choir to show up !
Can it get anymore vomit inducing , character has nothing to do with it . Looks like the politburo have ordered the BBC to milk this . Just waiting for the doves and gospel choir to show up !
I love the story about Dasani, the bottled tap water that Coke tried to bring to the UK market.
They were were told, you know one of the most watched episodes ever of a popular comedy sitcom is based around them bottling tap water, right? And the bottling plant isn't that far away from where it was based. This could be a terrible PR disaster.
Apparently the response was, but that was years ago, nobody will remember it now.
LOL! Did that actually happen (the anecdote, I know Dasani happened), or is that just a legend?
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
I'd still hold a place in my funny bone for Mel Brooks, almost entirely for The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein of course.
And Some Like It Hot.
I rewatched Airplane the other day, and perhaps it's over-exposure but it didn't seem as funny as I thought it was.
More seriously, I have a terrible suspicion that Bowie is not quite as good as I thought he was. Over messagey with very trite messages.
What comedy from years ago that was popular at the time remains funny today?
Steptoe and Son (though a lot of it is bleak, it's Beckett with a laugh track). Dad's Army, obviously. Morecambe and Wise. Tommy Cooper. Porridge. Most stuff from the nineties on still works fine.
Most of those are fairly dire if you watch them now with a critical eye, rather than suffused with nostalgia
That said, Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper were both outright comic geniuses
A lot is down to changing social mores. A lot of comedy relates to situations that they have to get out of. A lot of those situations are now normal.
I watched A Taste of Honey at the theatre earlier this year, but the shock value of a pregnant schoolgirl, from a casual affair with a black sailor living with a gay student and feckless mother has pretty much gone. The themes and characters remain good, but it really was a different world.
I think, electorally, Boris is quite lucky as things stand. He now has perfect cover to act as the soft left politician he probably is, can increase taxes to pay off the debt uncultured by locking us up, which people seem ok with, and increase spending to satisfy the Brexit voters motivated by £350m per week for the NHS. If Tories don’t like it, the other parties will be further to the left, with higher taxes, so they’ve nowhere to go.
Thing is I expect your world to end up as everyone moderately poor, private sector workers deemed second class compared to public sector workers, and pretty damn unfree after all labour never saw a database it didn't like and which party brought in the idea of id cards etc. The left has always been about controlling what people do and say it is built into your genes.
I can do no more. You're bringing your own baggage to it. Therefore unpersuadable.
No, you're describing a society that will be moderately prosperous, extremely levelled-down, and minimally free. Be honest about it.
I'd still like to see a fully worked-out explanation of why my response to a purely exogenous shock would not be preferable to colossal tax rises or weapons-grade austerity, but if the magic money tree is out, then it looks like it'll soon be time for Cut Hard 2: Cut Harder With A Vengeance...
Nonsense. I'm describing something viable and perfectly civilized. The best way forward from here. I'm afraid you have your head in the sand. You are also, if you're not very careful, at risk of losing your intellectual integrity.
Now I don't know how old you are, but that can be painful.
Intellectual integrity was vital to my old life in academia. But I'd sacrifice it a hundred times over to avoid the hellworld you're describing. Things will get very dark indeed if that's the only alternative, because people aren't going to go willingly...
IDS is wrong again. Hydrogen may be good for heavy lorries, but battery is the best option for cars. China makes most batteries because China makes the most electric cars - and should be congratulated for that. However to say they have won the battery race is completely wrong, there is plenty of room for improvement. In any case Tesla is several years ahead of everyone else on electic car batteries. https://energypost.eu/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-competitive-hydrogen-fuel-cell-expert/
Hydrogen cars are a better option for those without the ability to have a charger at home.
There are 15 Hydrogen filling stations in the UK. Very convenient.
15 so far. There was a time when there were 15 offering petrol.
And fast charge EV facilities make the electricity grid fall over without major expenditure on reinforcement.
The world is already changing.... Tesla, for example, is already installing battery storage at a number of their charging sites. This is because they can purchase electricity gradually over time, at the cheapest rates, using this.
Interestingly, there has been interest in the power sector in this - if we have thousand of charging stations scattered around with megawatts of storage (3MWh costs £600,000 at the moment), then using that storage capacity for grid stability become interesting. As in paying for extra capacity for storage at said sites.....
Putting in battery storage at the 'filling station' evens out power load but at significant cost for all those extra batteries. An electrolyser and pressure vessel full of hydrogen also evens out the power load. Which is better? Someone needs to pay my employer to answer that.
You need to factor in the cost of a hydrogen storage tank. Maintenance of same. The complete rebuilding of everything in a wide radius to deal with safety rules for storage of hydrogen*. Also will you be allowed one in the locality you want one in? - BLEVs are entertaining. For those over the horizon.
*The safety rules for hydrogen are written, not in blood exactly. More the tiny fragments of those who forgot rule 1** of fun stuff. **Rule 1 - Fun stuff can be safe. Providing you remember how insanely dangerous it is.
The reason I know a fair bit, is that I worked for a company that looked quite hard at going into the hydrogen fuel business. Even operated a few sites.
Interesting stuff.
I wouldn't anticipate liquid hydrogen storage, so you can eliminate the BLEVE risk. And burying the tanks, like we do with petrol, takes away a lot of the risk from external impact. But yes, a lot of the safety stuff that applies to hydrogen on an oil refinery or ammonia plant needs to be reviewed and adapted to smaller scale facilities for road or rail refuelling.
I'm dipping out at this point to sit in the garden. I started reading War and Peace yesterday, and while I got through over 100 pages, that is less than 10% of the book! Laters...
Can it get anymore vomit inducing , character has nothing to do with it . Looks like the politburo have ordered the BBC to milk this . Just waiting for the doves and gospel choir to show up !
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Theres Something About Mary is still as funny as the first time I saw it. That’s only just over 20 years ago though
Only Fools And Horses second series, from 1982 I think, still makes me laugh, but a lot of it is not PC
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Yes Minister/Prime Minister has aged magnificently. Has been forty years since the first episode aired.
Blackadder remains very good.
Agree with both of those - some of the Young Ones episodes are still brilliant too if not to many people's taste
People with cancer are listed in the extremely vulnerable group by the UK government. As for the distinction between 60 and 70, is that significant for those without preexisting conditions?
So that just leaves 60 to 70 (yes, it is significant and many are likely to have hypertension, diagnosed or undiagnosed), care homes (obvious that they are being left to die) and hypertension.
It's the leftover from the Herd Immunity attempt. Where do people think those extra deaths are going to mostly come from? Great to balance the economy as well, all those people who won't have twenty plus years of a pension to pay for. Whilst they are faffing about repeating the same question over and over, maybe just one journalist could ask why this omission in relation to other countries? It also underlies higher deaths in communities,such as the Afro-Caribbean community, where hypertension is a real issue.
Is it, or is the risk for 60-70 year olds without pre-existing conditions not great enough to justify them staying locked up for 12 weeks? Remember, there's also a cost to someone's health for asking them to isolate themselves for that long.
As for people in care home being left to die. Really?
The question is why the UK has acted so differently. The UK is the one going against the norm, so why? The hypertension omission is the real giveaway and 'it's the economy stupid'. The calculation was to let more economically active, yet at risk, people die. It started to work so well that it nearly took out the PM. Imagine if that had been continued? So now, we are waiting to see if these at risk people are not warned about before making a decision to return to work. If they don't issue any such warning, then we really will know if this was the intent all along,
The care homes issue is pretty much global in comparison.
I'm not sure the information you have presented supports the claim that the UK is going against the norm.
Well it's going against the European Centre for Disease Control (and, yes, we are still included in their research).
Thing is I expect your world to end up as everyone moderately poor, private sector workers deemed second class compared to public sector workers, and pretty damn unfree after all labour never saw a database it didn't like and which party brought in the idea of id cards etc. The left has always been about controlling what people do and say it is built into your genes.
I can do no more. You're bringing your own baggage to it. Therefore unpersuadable.
No I am bringing history to it the whole basis of the left is the state knows best, that is not freedom, best how the money you earn should be spent, best how you should act and think, best about what you should be allowed to do. All ruled by the "correct thinking" politburo at the top. I don't see why you don't just be honest about it.
You advocate this because you think it would be best for is if only we were not too stupid to see it so you kindly lefties must take over and give us whats best for us even though we keep telling you we want no part of your vision.
I love the story about Dasani, the bottled tap water that Coke tried to bring to the UK market.
They were were told, you know one of the most watched episodes ever of a popular comedy sitcom is based around them bottling tap water, right? And the bottling plant isn't that far away from where it was based. This could be a terrible PR disaster.
Apparently the response was, but that was years ago, nobody will remember it now.
LOL! Did that actually happen (the anecdote, I know Dasani happened), or is that just a legend?
Tom Scott tells the Dasani (and Peckham Spring) story in an excellent 10-minute Youtube video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD79NZroV88
Thanks, I enjoyed that. I was more wondering about the warning. Sounds believable though!
I think, electorally, Boris is quite lucky as things stand. He now has perfect cover to act as the soft left politician he probably is, can increase taxes to pay off the debt uncultured by locking us up, which people seem ok with, and increase spending to satisfy the Brexit voters motivated by £350m per week for the NHS. If Tories don’t like it, the other parties will be further to the left, with higher taxes, so they’ve nowhere to go.
People with cancer are listed in the extremely vulnerable group by the UK government. As for the distinction between 60 and 70, is that significant for those without preexisting conditions?
So that just leaves 60 to 70 (yes, it is significant and many are likely to have hypertension, diagnosed or undiagnosed), care homes (obvious that they are being left to die) and hypertension.
It's the leftover from the Herd Immunity attempt. Where do people think those extra deaths are going to mostly come from? Great to balance the economy as well, all those people who won't have twenty plus years of a pension to pay for. Whilst they are faffing about repeating the same question over and over, maybe just one journalist could ask why this omission in relation to other countries? It also underlies higher deaths in communities,such as the Afro-Caribbean community, where hypertension is a real issue.
Is it, or is the risk for 60-70 year olds without pre-existing conditions not great enough to justify them staying locked up for 12 weeks? Remember, there's also a cost to someone's health for asking them to isolate themselves for that long.
As for people in care home being left to die. Really?
The question is why the UK has acted so differently. The UK is the one going against the norm, so why? The hypertension omission is the real giveaway and 'it's the economy stupid'. The calculation was to let more economically active, yet at risk, people die. It started to work so well that it nearly took out the PM. Imagine if that had been continued? So now, we are waiting to see if these at risk people are not warned about before making a decision to return to work. If they don't issue any such warning, then we really will know if this was the intent all along,
The care homes issue is pretty much global in comparison.
I'm not sure the information you have presented supports the claim that the UK is going against the norm.
Well it's going against the European Centre for Disease Control (and, yes, we are still included in their research).
Aren't we talking about policy decisions made by national governments?
I think, electorally, Boris is quite lucky as things stand. He now has perfect cover to act as the soft left politician he probably is, can increase taxes to pay off the debt uncultured by locking us up, which people seem ok with, and increase spending to satisfy the Brexit voters motivated by £350m per week for the NHS. If Tories don’t like it, the other parties will be further to the left, with higher taxes, so they’ve nowhere to go.
I was musing this morning as to whether his near-death experience will have an impact. Most of us aren't confronted with our own mortality so starkly and I can't believe it won't change him in some way.
Having already primed the economy with stimulus in advance of us leaving the EU I'm not sure there's much else he can or should do. There will probably be spending cuts down the road from which the NHS will be excluded and there may be more appetite for tax rises especially increasing the take from the very wealthy (who I know already pay a lot in tax).
I begin to suspect having waited all my time for a liberal Prime Minister and having been conned a couple of times I might just be getting the real thing this time - we'll see.
From the evidence of what the left do and propose this is what I believe. They have no interest in helping the poor they would rather have them reliant on state handouts so they can use it to buy votes. People being self sufficient threatens the left's ideal of a socialist dystopia.
This is paranoia. It's the equivalent of tories eat babies.
If (also on the BBC News), the UK is set to become the worst affected European country, what will that mean for the Cons in four years' time and what benefit will SKS be able to gain while avoiding "distasteful" accusations?
I think there will be a real risk of the Cons attracting an "incompetent" tag. Yes they listened to the experts but they are in charge and accountable and responsible.
Then again, four years is a lot of events away. Plenty could transpire within that time.
But I might be a backer of Lab Next General Election, albeit it is only 2.38 (bf) and ties up money for ages for a relatively modest annual return.
IDS is wrong again. Hydrogen may be good for heavy lorries, but battery is the best option for cars. China makes most batteries because China makes the most electric cars - and should be congratulated for that. However to say they have won the battery race is completely wrong, there is plenty of room for improvement. In any case Tesla is several years ahead of everyone else on electic car batteries. https://energypost.eu/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-competitive-hydrogen-fuel-cell-expert/
Hydrogen cars are a better option for those without the ability to have a charger at home.
There are 15 Hydrogen filling stations in the UK. Very convenient.
15 so far. There was a time when there were 15 offering petrol.
And fast charge EV facilities make the electricity grid fall over without major expenditure on reinforcement.
The world is already changing.... Tesla, for example, is already installing battery storage at a number of their charging sites. This is because they can purchase electricity gradually over time, at the cheapest rates, using this.
Interestingly, there has been interest in the power sector in this - if we have thousand of charging stations scattered around with megawatts of storage (3MWh costs £600,000 at the moment), then using that storage capacity for grid stability become interesting. As in paying for extra capacity for storage at said sites.....
Putting in battery storage at the 'filling station' evens out power load but at significant cost for all those extra batteries. An electrolyser and pressure vessel full of hydrogen also evens out the power load. Which is better? Someone needs to pay my employer to answer that.
You need to factor in the cost of a hydrogen storage tank. Maintenance of same. The complete rebuilding of everything in a wide radius to deal with safety rules for storage of hydrogen*. Also will you be allowed one in the locality you want one in? - BLEVs are entertaining. For those over the horizon.
*The safety rules for hydrogen are written, not in blood exactly. More the tiny fragments of those who forgot rule 1** of fun stuff. **Rule 1 - Fun stuff can be safe. Providing you remember how insanely dangerous it is.
The reason I know a fair bit, is that I worked for a company that looked quite hard at going into the hydrogen fuel business. Even operated a few sites.
Interesting stuff.
I wouldn't anticipate liquid hydrogen storage, so you can eliminate the BLEVE risk. And burying the tanks, like we do with petrol, takes away a lot of the risk from external impact. But yes, a lot of the safety stuff that applies to hydrogen on an oil refinery or ammonia plant needs to be reviewed and adapted to smaller scale facilities for road or rail refuelling.
I'm dipping out at this point to sit in the garden. I started reading War and Peace yesterday, and while I got through over 100 pages, that is less than 10% of the book! Laters...
It is excellent (whereas I have never made it more than half way through Anna K). You are allowed to skip the boring essays about history not being about whatever it is not about.
Suspect this may not get much traction here but the notion of the prize money being used to support others in the racing industry such as farriers, vets and valets may not be dismissed so easily.
From the evidence of what the left do and propose this is what I believe. They have no interest in helping the poor they would rather have them reliant on state handouts so they can use it to buy votes. People being self sufficient threatens the left's ideal of a socialist dystopia.
This is paranoia. It's the equivalent of tories eat babies.
No country which is left to the extent you want has avoided it. Even the centre left democracies in europe such as sweden are moving rightward. Your politics is being rejected.
The NHS app being developed for contact tracing (I believe it is going to be very similar to the US one). It will be voluntary and only use bluetooth.
Shakes head.
I think it would be difficult to compel people to use such a thing.
It is why we need the debate over what level of state surveillance (while we have the issue of CV) is appropriate. These apps won't really do much, especially if it voluntary and only uses bluetooth.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Theres Something About Mary is still as funny as the first time I saw it. That’s only just over 20 years ago though
Only Fools And Horses second series, from 1982 I think, still makes me laugh, but a lot of it is not PC
BlackAdder II Has aged well, 35 years old ish
Fawlty Towers
I was going back further (I should have made that clear)
I’m trying to think of comedy from any time before world war 2 that still works. That can actually make you lol.
It’s very hard. Wodehouse is definitely one. Laurel & Hardy also, occasionally?
I used to sniff at Chaplin but, having watched the films recently, have reversed my opinion. A lot of sentimentality in there (and what's wrong with that) but also a lot of humour. If we are going back then Plautus was really funny and the basis of much modern comedy. Greek comedy doesn't work, though, as it's a lot of in jokes that refer to specific figures and society of the time.
IDS is wrong again. Hydrogen may be good for heavy lorries, but battery is the best option for cars. China makes most batteries because China makes the most electric cars - and should be congratulated for that. However to say they have won the battery race is completely wrong, there is plenty of room for improvement. In any case Tesla is several years ahead of everyone else on electic car batteries. https://energypost.eu/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-competitive-hydrogen-fuel-cell-expert/
Hydrogen cars are a better option for those without the ability to have a charger at home.
There are 15 Hydrogen filling stations in the UK. Very convenient.
15 so far. There was a time when there were 15 offering petrol.
And fast charge EV facilities make the electricity grid fall over without major expenditure on reinforcement.
The world is already changing.... Tesla, for example, is already installing battery storage at a number of their charging sites. This is because they can purchase electricity gradually over time, at the cheapest rates, using this.
Interestingly, there has been interest in the power sector in this - if we have thousand of charging stations scattered around with megawatts of storage (3MWh costs £600,000 at the moment), then using that storage capacity for grid stability become interesting. As in paying for extra capacity for storage at said sites.....
Putting in battery storage at the 'filling station' evens out power load but at significant cost for all those extra batteries. An electrolyser and pressure vessel full of hydrogen also evens out the power load. Which is better? Someone needs to pay my employer to answer that.
You need to factor in the cost of a hydrogen storage tank. Maintenance of same. The complete rebuilding of everything in a wide radius to deal with safety rules for storage of hydrogen*. Also will you be allowed one in the locality you want one in? - BLEVs are entertaining. For those over the horizon.
*The safety rules for hydrogen are written, not in blood exactly. More the tiny fragments of those who forgot rule 1** of fun stuff. **Rule 1 - Fun stuff can be safe. Providing you remember how insanely dangerous it is.
The reason I know a fair bit, is that I worked for a company that looked quite hard at going into the hydrogen fuel business. Even operated a few sites.
Interesting stuff.
I wouldn't anticipate liquid hydrogen storage, so you can eliminate the BLEVE risk. And burying the tanks, like we do with petrol, takes away a lot of the risk from external impact. But yes, a lot of the safety stuff that applies to hydrogen on an oil refinery or ammonia plant needs to be reviewed and adapted to smaller scale facilities for road or rail refuelling.
I'm dipping out at this point to sit in the garden. I started reading War and Peace yesterday, and while I got through over 100 pages, that is less than 10% of the book! Laters...
You're going to store gaseous hydrogen under pressure? The tanks for that are not cheap either and demand very expensive maintenance.
I will enjoy reading your safety case. We were told, carefully and specifically, that this would never be allowed within miles of a built area. Burying the tanks partially helps - but then you are dealing with an FAE in the event of failure.
Thing is I expect your world to end up as everyone moderately poor, private sector workers deemed second class compared to public sector workers, and pretty damn unfree after all labour never saw a database it didn't like and which party brought in the idea of id cards etc. The left has always been about controlling what people do and say it is built into your genes.
I can do no more. You're bringing your own baggage to it. Therefore unpersuadable.
It’s startling to see so many politics experts have transitioned seamlessly to being medical and epidemiology experts. With a bad case of, “We must immediately do everything that I always wanted to do, because COVID”.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Theres Something About Mary is still as funny as the first time I saw it. That’s only just over 20 years ago though
Only Fools And Horses second series, from 1982 I think, still makes me laugh, but a lot of it is not PC
BlackAdder II Has aged well, 35 years old ish
Fawlty Towers
I was going back further (I should have made that clear)
I’m trying to think of comedy from any time before world war 2 that still works. That can actually make you lol.
It’s very hard. Wodehouse is definitely one. Laurel & Hardy also, occasionally?
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
Is it true that everyone who died from coronavirus was on a ventilator immediately prior?
A very good friend of mine died from coronavirus last night. She was admitted to hospital ten days ago into HDU on oxygen and CPAP but not a ventilator.
The experience of my 6ish months in the LibDems was that they don't have a clue who they are or what they are about. Before the election there was a focus - Stop Brexit - and a focal point in the form of the very peppy JoSwinsonI'mYourNextPrimeMinister. Sadly in a Brexit election the LibDems weren't believable as a stop Brexit alternative to the complete Brexit Tories and Labour refused to play ball. Add in the Horror concept that was "Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister" and we know what happened next.
After the election? An absolute void. With Brexit lost and the leader gone I started looking at what the party I had joined was, and found strident similar questions being asked by long-standing members. I still absolutely believe that parties win from the centre and that more cross-party working is needed, but sadly for the LibDems I don't know what role they have to play. Almost all of the people I met were nice, but almost all of them were also wet. The party locally to me wouldn't know how to organise their way out of a paper bag, and nationally the lack of a permanent leader for such a long period really is going to damage them significantly.
Great systems though. They know how to build online resources and make them simple to use...
The NHS app being developed for contact tracing (I believe it is going to be very similar to the US one). It will be voluntary and only use bluetooth.
Shakes head.
I think it would be difficult to compel people to use such a thing.
It is why we need the debate over what level of state surveillance (while we have the issue of CV) is appropriate. These apps won't really do much, especially if it voluntary and only uses bluetooth.
I wonder what fraction of people will actually install/use it. I thought bluetooth would be ideal for this as it's short range only.
From deaths door to recovery in a few days ! If he was that ill he’d have been on a ventilator and the Mail on Sunday can now stop its hyperbole .
Are you a doctor and how many days ill if you know so much
I’m glad he’s recovered quickly but the level of hyperbole by some of the press has been ridiculous. He clearly wasn’t close to death otherwise he’d have been on a ventilator . That’s my point !
You have no way of knowing that
Only those close to death go on a ventilator. Johnson didn’t need that and not sure why you refuse to accept that medical fact .
Is it true that everyone who died from coronavirus was on a ventilator immediately prior?
A very good friend of mine died from coronavirus last night. She was admitted to hospital ten days ago into HDU on oxygen and CPAP but not a ventilator.
I think, electorally, Boris is quite lucky as things stand. He now has perfect cover to act as the soft left politician he probably is, can increase taxes to pay off the debt uncultured by locking us up, which people seem ok with, and increase spending to satisfy the Brexit voters motivated by £350m per week for the NHS. If Tories don’t like it, the other parties will be further to the left, with higher taxes, so they’ve nowhere to go.
I was musing this morning as to whether his near-death experience will have an impact. Most of us aren't confronted with our own mortality so starkly and I can't believe it won't change him in some way.
Having already primed the economy with stimulus in advance of us leaving the EU I'm not sure there's much else he can or should do. There will probably be spending cuts down the road from which the NHS will be excluded and there may be more appetite for tax rises especially increasing the take from the very wealthy (who I know already pay a lot in tax).
I begin to suspect having waited all my time for a liberal Prime Minister and having been conned a couple of times I might just be getting the real thing this time - we'll see.
As I said way up thread, with the change in the zeitgeist brought about by the clean air and reduced consumerism of Covid-19, I can see Boris really running with the Green Industrial Revolution.
I used to love the Goodies, but it aged very badly. It is barely watchable now.
Same here. A philosophical conundrum: was it always crap but we liked crap back then, or was it good back than but became crap over time?
It's an odd one, 70's music (& arguably film) becomes greater as time marches on while 70s comedy looks increasingly awful. Heresy, but I even find Python a bit not-in-a-good-way embarrassing on occasion.
Almost all comedy ages badly.
Shakespeare. Chaplin. Hancock’s half hour of yawning. Dreadful.
In fact it’s difficult to find exceptions to this rule. The only one I can think of is Wodehouse, who is still lol funny eighty years later. Any others?
Theres Something About Mary is still as funny as the first time I saw it. That’s only just over 20 years ago though
Only Fools And Horses second series, from 1982 I think, still makes me laugh, but a lot of it is not PC
BlackAdder II Has aged well, 35 years old ish
Fawlty Towers
I was going back further (I should have made that clear)
I’m trying to think of comedy from any time before world war 2 that still works. That can actually make you lol.
It’s very hard. Wodehouse is definitely one. Laurel & Hardy also, occasionally?
I used to sniff at Chaplin but, having watched the films recently, have reversed my opinion. A lot of sentimentality in there (and what's wrong with that) but also a lot of humour. If we are going back then Plautus was really funny and the basis of much modern comedy. Greek comedy doesn't work, though, as it's a lot of in jokes that refer to specific figures and society of the time.
The NHS app being developed for contact tracing (I believe it is going to be very similar to the US one). It will be voluntary and only use bluetooth.
Shakes head.
I think it would be difficult to compel people to use such a thing.
It is why we need the debate over what level of state surveillance (while we have the issue of CV) is appropriate. These apps won't really do much, especially if it voluntary and only uses bluetooth.
I wonder what fraction of people will actually install/use it. I thought bluetooth would be ideal for this as it's short range only.
A lot of people however never turn bluetooth on their phone on. I know I am one of them but then I only have my mobile either at home or at work I don't take it with me when I go out shopping or to a bar or restaurant
Can it get anymore vomit inducing , character has nothing to do with it . Looks like the politburo have ordered the BBC to milk this . Just waiting for the doves and gospel choir to show up !
This why we're going to abolish it
Good luck with that in terms of older people who tend to vote Tory ! It’s a vote loser and the government will regret that . Pissing of your key base of voters won’t end well .
Mr. Paul, there's a Roman joke about an idiot (I forget his name) who tries to reassure his panicking slaves as the ship they're on is about to capsize by telling them he's freed them in his will.
Comments
There is no magic money tree therefore we must live within our means. This dictates a fall in living standards. The hit must be taken by everyone apart from those who are already in poverty or who would be pushed into poverty. And the hit must be progressively harder as we go up the affluence scale.
Now add on a bit of social reform - particularly in education and housing - and some climate change focus and there you have it. Hard Left Social Democracy in action. Nothing to be scared of. I suspect you only don't like it because it's coming from me. Experiment - pretend it's being proposed by Michael Howard.
With Ed Davey's Christmas message still unrepentantly talking about stopping Brexit, I realised the game was up.
The Party has some excellent ideas but needs to ditch Brexit and start looking at the bigger picture. The post-coronavirus society is going to be different - how are we going to move from where we were to where we will be? How different will the world of work and retail be in the future?
It's not quite a blank canvass but it requires some different thinking to model Britain in the mid 2020s and beyond. What kind of society and communities do we want? In some ways there is more contact and there is less - the digital world allows communication without the physicality. Ensuring as many people as possible have the technological means to live in that digital world seems one thought.
There's also climate change and air quality - the lack of economic activity has made our air cleaner and clearer. How can we finally create prosperity without environmental damage? It's not just about de-carbonisation but a new economic model where prosperity is less dependent on resource depletion.
Well I now think Python is unalloyedly brill if that's what the reactionary old twit thinks.
There is an alternative argument in which every sitting government, from Mexico to Brazil, Germany to U.K., will take a right Royal hammering for acting on it too slowly. Weren’t prepared. Made mistakes.
God’s intentions may seem cruel at times. Just thinking how we all got here, the preparation required is health secretary asking for items for the contingency, arguing this could happen, and the treasurer handing over the money for the contingency, convinced it could.
Being ready for this was never going to happen, It would always be a failure of imagination to believe this would happen.
I'll have to rewatch Friends, though I'm told it's unwoke.
I would also say seasons 4-6 of Dad’s Army stand out as remarkably well scripted and acted and therefore keep their humour well.
Part of the problem as well with the Goodies and Monty Python is that most of the humour derived from something completely stupid and unexpected happening. When you know what’s about to happen it’s no longer funny.
They were were told, you know one of the most watched episodes ever of a popular comedy sitcom is based around them bottling tap water, right? And the bottling plant isn't that far away from where it was based. This could be a terrible PR disaster.
Apparently the response was, but that was years ago, nobody will remember it now.
That weekend it looked as though the financial markets were going to crash and Greece was going to go up in flames. The clamour from everyone everywhere was for there to be a stable Government - the pressure on both Conservative and LD negotiators from the civil service and media was intense.
The Conservatives refused point blank to give any of the three big offices to the LDs - Cameron had made too many promises to Hague, Osborne and May and had he been forced to drop or demote any one of them he would have created a major enemy for the future.
Where I do agree is on the AV referendum - AV was and never has been LD policy - it is in many ways worse than FPTP. The Conservatives wouldn't even have STV on a ballot paper because they knew IF it were adopted they would never be able to form a majority Government again (no one could have foreseen 55% poll ratings in 2020 to be fair).
The problem was Clegg and Huhne thought they had to throw the Party a bone on electoral reform but AV was worse than nothing. I think some form of proportionality for local elections would have been acceptable to the Conservatives but they would never have budged on Westminster elections.
I rewatched Phoenix Nights the other week, it is 20 years old. It kinda of still funny. Does the UK office still work?
I can't think of much more recent stuff that I would bother to watch. Feels like for so many years, just become dominated by crap panel shows.
I'm adding India and Nigeria to keep an eye on third world countries
Now I don't know how old you are, but that can be painful.
I hate this virus.
[Isam: sorry, just saw you beat me to it]
Can it get anymore vomit inducing , character has nothing to do with it . Looks like the politburo have ordered the BBC to milk this . Just waiting for the doves and gospel choir to show up !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD79NZroV88
I rewatched Airplane the other day, and perhaps it's over-exposure but it didn't seem as funny as I thought it was.
More seriously, I have a terrible suspicion that Bowie is not quite as good as I thought he was. Over messagey with very trite messages.
Shakes head.
I watched A Taste of Honey at the theatre earlier this year, but the shock value of a pregnant schoolgirl, from a casual affair with a black sailor living with a gay student and feckless mother has pretty much gone. The themes and characters remain good, but it really was a different world.
I wouldn't anticipate liquid hydrogen storage, so you can eliminate the BLEVE risk. And burying the tanks, like we do with petrol, takes away a lot of the risk from external impact. But yes, a lot of the safety stuff that applies to hydrogen on an oil refinery or ammonia plant needs to be reviewed and adapted to smaller scale facilities for road or rail refuelling.
I'm dipping out at this point to sit in the garden. I started reading War and Peace yesterday, and while I got through over 100 pages, that is less than 10% of the book! Laters...
Only Fools And Horses second series, from 1982 I think, still makes me laugh, but a lot of it is not PC
BlackAdder II Has aged well, 35 years old ish
Fawlty Towers
You advocate this because you think it would be best for is if only we were not too stupid to see it so you kindly lefties must take over and give us whats best for us even though we keep telling you we want no part of your vision.
Having already primed the economy with stimulus in advance of us leaving the EU I'm not sure there's much else he can or should do. There will probably be spending cuts down the road from which the NHS will be excluded and there may be more appetite for tax rises especially increasing the take from the very wealthy (who I know already pay a lot in tax).
I begin to suspect having waited all my time for a liberal Prime Minister and having been conned a couple of times I might just be getting the real thing this time - we'll see.
Maybe we should be begging the King of the Potato People for help.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/international/owners-in-ontario-able-to-access-unused-prize-money-to-help-pay-for-their-horses/431504
Suspect this may not get much traction here but the notion of the prize money being used to support others in the racing industry such as farriers, vets and valets may not be dismissed so easily.
I will enjoy reading your safety case. We were told, carefully and specifically, that this would never be allowed within miles of a built area. Burying the tanks partially helps - but then you are dealing with an FAE in the event of failure.
After the election? An absolute void. With Brexit lost and the leader gone I started looking at what the party I had joined was, and found strident similar questions being asked by long-standing members. I still absolutely believe that parties win from the centre and that more cross-party working is needed, but sadly for the LibDems I don't know what role they have to play. Almost all of the people I met were nice, but almost all of them were also wet. The party locally to me wouldn't know how to organise their way out of a paper bag, and nationally the lack of a permanent leader for such a long period really is going to damage them significantly.
Great systems though. They know how to build online resources and make them simple to use...