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  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,703
    edited May 2020

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    Its an extremely commonly used site.
    Top 500 sites (admittedly says Alexa) - looks cheap compared to some.

    Tricky to monetise, though.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    edited May 2020

    Inevitable. Kancel Kulture fuck wits.
    Ryan the "common sense plumber" getting some stick from the "intolerant left" there.
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208

    The government will not extend funding to help rough sleepers in England stay off the streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has confirmed.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52637283

    Sad. Accommodating rough sleepers was the one good thing to come out of this horrible epidemic. Even if we might be a bit cynical that the "intractable" problem was solved at least in part the moment those homeless threatened to infect the rest of us.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    Its an extremely commonly used site.
    Ah, that sort of gifs...
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798
    DavidL said:

    Scott_xP said:
    That's...disappointing. But perhaps not too surprising given the evident relaxation over the last week with far more people outside.
    Perhaps if folk had got the (apparently) clear and easy to understand Stay Alert message before the nod and wink to start Conga-ing..
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965
    FF43 said:



    Crucial to note...this new R value estimation.

    "They do not factor in the changes to lockdown announced by the prime minister on Sunday."

    ----

    Also,

    Claims there are now just 24 cases a day in the capital and that it could soon be free of the virus have been slammed. There were in fact 49 people admitted to London hospitals with Covid-19 yesterday and likely hundreds of cases that did not need hospital treatment.

    "I am extremely worried about the media message that London could be coronavirus free in days," said Prof Matt Keeling, from the University of Warwick.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52677194

    In equilibrium, I think. Not a panic situation but the UK can't afford any relaxation at all.
    You mean we don't want to stuff loads of people onto London buses and tube trains, that sort of thing?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,342
    DavidL said:

    The government will not extend funding to help rough sleepers in England stay off the streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has confirmed.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52637283

    Are we ever going to tolerate them returning to the streets? Surely this is one good that has come of this virus.
    A feature on PM suggested it was more complex. Basically it's being off loaded onto councils.
    Which was the situation/problem before.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,706

    DavidL said:

    Scott_xP said:
    That's...disappointing. But perhaps not too surprising given the evident relaxation over the last week with far more people outside.
    Perhaps if folk had got the (apparently) clear and easy to understand Stay Alert message before the nod and wink to start Conga-ing..
    You'll have to take that up with Nicola. She was the one who thought it a bad idea.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    The government will not extend funding to help rough sleepers in England stay off the streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has confirmed.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52637283

    Like the messy quarantine from overseas policy fiasco, this is another disaster waiting to happen.

    In Manchester a lot of these homeless people congregate near the three train stations.

    Just the perfect vector to pole vault R back over 1.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,637
    133k tests 69k tested. BOGOF
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    Yes. Why the government wasted a month to six weeks on getting both in place adequately.
    They didn't. If the government hadn't done anything then PPE would have ran out nationwide and in all locations early on.

    We were using over 50x the normal rate of PPE and never ran out, how you think that is "doing nothing" is beyond me.
    The Prime MInister found the shortage of PPE enraging. I take my lead from him on that assessment.

    The government negligently failed to prepare for a looming pandemic. Perhaps it would have done better if the Prime Minister had bothered to turn up to the Cobra meetings discussing it. Or even decided not to take half of February off as a holiday.
    It is enraging, but that doesn't mean they weren't doing everything they could. And again, despite us using a years worth of PPE every single week we never ran out, but that doesn't make everything perfect and when it comes to PPE anything less than perfection is enraging.

    Is that complicated to understand?
    The knots you tie yourself in get ever tighter.

    I note that not even you this time attempt the amazing contortion of trying to persuade the world that the Prime Minister is simultaneously near-perfect and completely irrelevant to the government's performance.
    Of course not. Our PM is human, he's doing a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. To be honest I think the same likely could have been said if the PM were other PMs I liked like Cameron and Blair, or PMs I disliked like May and Brown.

    I am very glad our PM is not someone like Trump across the pond. Now that is truly enraging and shows someone truly negligent.
    Donald Trump was at least aware of the virus in February.
    As was Johnson, who had his government making decisions via the relevant Secretary of State in COBR - while Trump was calling it a hoax.

    If you honestly think calling it a hoax is better then you're so far devoid from reality its ridiculous!
    Boris Johnson was so on top of it that in March he was stressing the importance of continuing to shake hands, even in a hospital with Covid-19 patients.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    dixiedean said:

    They really ought to get an MC and some walk on music for these conferences.
    Here he is ! The vanquisher of viruses... The epitome of epidemiology!

    The tit of testing!
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,342
    dixiedean said:

    They really ought to get an MC and some walk on music for these conferences.
    Here he is ! The vanquisher of viruses... The epitome of epidemiology!

    Walks on to Joy Division's Transmission?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798
    edited May 2020
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Scott_xP said:
    That's...disappointing. But perhaps not too surprising given the evident relaxation over the last week with far more people outside.
    Perhaps if folk had got the (apparently) clear and easy to understand Stay Alert message before the nod and wink to start Conga-ing..
    You'll have to take that up with Nicola. She was the one who thought it a bad idea.
    Outside dimwits and extreme libertarians with a WWII fetish and a terpsichorean bent, I assumed everyone thought Conga-ing was a bad idea.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,637
    Hancock the man who thinks getting you your Christmas wrapping paper by the following February is an amazing achievement
    Dirty laundry.

    Should put the skids under Trump!
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    They really ought to get an MC and some walk on music for these conferences.
    Here he is ! The vanquisher of viruses... The epitome of epidemiology!

    Walks on to Joy Division's Transmission?
    Language Is A Virus by Laurie Anderson.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965

    133k tests 69k tested. BOGOF

    Beach Boys cover version:

    And we're goin' to Swab Test, 'cause it's two to one
    You know we're goin' to Swab Test, gonna have some fun
    You know we're goin' to Swab Test, 'cause it's two to one
    You know we're goin' to Swab Test, gonna have some fun, now
    Two tests for every boy
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798
    kinabalu said:

    Inevitable. Kancel Kulture fuck wits.
    Ryan the "common sense plumber" getting some stick from the "intolerant left" there.
    Given its ubiquity on here, henceforth the Staines vehicle shall be known as Go-to Guido.
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    They really ought to get an MC and some walk on music for these conferences.
    Here he is ! The vanquisher of viruses... The epitome of epidemiology!

    Walks on to Joy Division's Transmission?
    Language Is A Virus by Laurie Anderson.
    Or

    Shake The Disease by Depeche Mode.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301
    One for the collection in which tweets have aged badly.

    https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1165989638827323393
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798

    One for the collection in which tweets have aged badly.

    https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1165989638827323393

    Did many bang one out for Nadine?
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    kinabalu said:

    Inevitable. Kancel Kulture fuck wits.
    Ryan the "common sense plumber" getting some stick from the "intolerant left" there.
    The backbone of England, who will make it very hard indeed for a human rights lawyer to enter No. 10 (other than as a guest for tea, of course!).
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965

    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    They really ought to get an MC and some walk on music for these conferences.
    Here he is ! The vanquisher of viruses... The epitome of epidemiology!

    Walks on to Joy Division's Transmission?
    Language Is A Virus by Laurie Anderson.
    Peggy Lee: Fever
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    edited May 2020

    Pulpstar said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Hopefully it'll mean we're at or near the top of the queue for one of them should one come good.
    Well if the PC police have their way we will be back of the queue...too white, too rich, too male...
    Let it go, Francis, let it go. It was just an obscure little opinion piece about Oxford being a breeding ground for a certain type of class-based sense of superiority and entitlement.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    You omitted our close ally France commandeering the large PPE order the NHS placed well before this thing got out of control - but the EU leapt to the rescue
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,210
    I read this yesterday, it might even have been posted on here. Basically if R is higher in care homes, and cases are falling iboth in care homes and in the community, but faster in the community, then overall R will rise, despite it being all round good news https://unherd.com/2020/05/what-the-headline-covid-figures-dont-tell-you/
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,637

    One for the collection in which tweets have aged badly.

    https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1165989638827323393

    Did many bang one out for Nadine?
    Has Boris banged one out?
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    A website full of other people's GIFs.

    Quite a stunning achievement for a website based on blatant copyright infringement.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    MattW said:

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    Its an extremely commonly used site.
    Top 500 sites (admittedly says Alexa) - looks cheap compared to some.

    Tricky to monetise, though.
    It was always a feature to be purchased by a big player rather than a functioning business.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,456
    Alistair said:

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    A website full of other people's GIFs.

    Quite a stunning achievement for a website based on blatant copyright infringement.
    Well to be fair, that is what YouTube was for a long time.
  • AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900
    ABZ said:


    The number of tests for yesterday includes ~27K Pillar 4 tests (the sampling to get an understanding of the national prevalence) though, so that impacts how they should be interpreted: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

    Really does mess up the stats, those 27k count as non-persons :-)
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    One for the collection in which tweets have aged badly.

    https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1165989638827323393

    Did many bang one out for Nadine?
    Thanks for that mental image.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,599

    The government will not extend funding to help rough sleepers in England stay off the streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has confirmed.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52637283

    Whatever it takes.......



    for two months, then back to normal.......
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965
    Hancock talking through his Rs
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    DavidL said:

    Scott_xP said:
    First it was for arrival by air.....that lasted a few hours before it became all forms of transport.

    Have they confirmed what quarantine is yet? Is it just dont go out but we wont check?
    No they've said the details will be announced by the end of the month I think.
    The end of the month. This is just embarrassing. I really don't understand the thinking behind this at all. If we had brought in mandatory quarantine in February for those coming back from the ski slopes or from Madrid we would almost certainly not be where we are.
    Guernsey introduced selective self quarantine in early March, then absolute quarantine for all arrivals from the 19th. It has now had two weeks without a new case and only 7 active cases remaining. It also has the UK equivalent of 35,000 Track n'Trace people already trained vs the 18,000 the UK is starting to recruit.

    Yes, its a lot easier in a small jurisdiction - but why the UK has persisted in this non-quarantine of arrivals strikes me as "too clever by half".
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    kinabalu said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Hopefully it'll mean we're at or near the top of the queue for one of them should one come good.
    Well if the PC police have their way we will be back of the queue...too white, too rich, too male...
    Let it go, Francis, let it go. It was just an obscure little opinion piece about Oxford being a breeding ground for a certain type of class-based sense of superiority and entitlement.
    This is a quote from it: 'If my university is the first to develop the vaccine, I’m worried that it will be used as it has been in the past, to fulfil its political, patriotic function as proof of British excellence.'

    Utterly hateful and stupid - the modern left at its absolute worst.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528

    Christ alive, $400 million for a website full of gifs...

    Facebook is buying Giphy and integrating it with Instagram

    https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21259965/facebook-giphy-gif-acquisition-buy-instagram-integration-cost

    No wonder why they're getting rid of the porn.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947

    kinabalu said:

    Inevitable. Kancel Kulture fuck wits.
    Ryan the "common sense plumber" getting some stick from the "intolerant left" there.
    The backbone of England, who will make it very hard indeed for a human rights lawyer to enter No. 10 (other than as a guest for tea, of course!).
    I refuse to believe we are a nation of "common sense plumbers". Or even of common sense "gas engineers"- to go with how Ryan identifies to the adoring Nick Ferrari there.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,456
    edited May 2020

    I read this yesterday, it might even have been posted on here. Basically if R is higher in care homes, and cases are falling iboth in care homes and in the community, but faster in the community, then overall R will rise, despite it being all round good news https://unherd.com/2020/05/what-the-headline-covid-figures-dont-tell-you/
    That's an interesting article about Simpson’s paradox. Well worth a read. Not that Piers Morgan will before blurting out his usual half understood outrage.

    Related / Similar to Simpsons paradox, is Berkson's paradox

    https://youtu.be/FUD8h9JpEVQ
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,456
    edited May 2020
    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301
    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    edited May 2020
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Why would anyone want to go to the South of France for a holiday when the UK has Blackpool, Cleethorpes, and Southend-on-Sea?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    Just wait until the prosecco makers flex their muscles.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,209

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    :D:D:D
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,593

    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    Yes. Why the government wasted a month to six weeks on getting both in place adequately.
    They didn't. If the government hadn't done anything then PPE would have ran out nationwide and in all locations early on.

    We were using over 50x the normal rate of PPE and never ran out, how you think that is "doing nothing" is beyond me.
    The Prime MInister found the shortage of PPE enraging. I take my lead from him on that assessment.

    The government negligently failed to prepare for a looming pandemic. Perhaps it would have done better if the Prime Minister had bothered to turn up to the Cobra meetings discussing it. Or even decided not to take half of February off as a holiday.
    It is enraging, but that doesn't mean they weren't doing everything they could. And again, despite us using a years worth of PPE every single week we never ran out, but that doesn't make everything perfect and when it comes to PPE anything less than perfection is enraging.

    Is that complicated to understand?
    The knots you tie yourself in get ever tighter.

    I note that not even you this time attempt the amazing contortion of trying to persuade the world that the Prime Minister is simultaneously near-perfect and completely irrelevant to the government's performance.
    Of course not. Our PM is human, he's doing a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. To be honest I think the same likely could have been said if the PM were other PMs I liked like Cameron and Blair, or PMs I disliked like May and Brown.

    I am very glad our PM is not someone like Trump across the pond. Now that is truly enraging and shows someone truly negligent.

    I'd put Johnson's performance at the lower end of the rational responses to covid-19 aong with Pedro Sanchez of Spain. Both have made egregious errors that have made the situations in their countries worse. But Trump and Bolsonaro are way off the scale lunatic.

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    When will the EU realise we've left?
    I think they know that, with Boris Johnson putting a border down the Irish Sea and effectively giving up Norn Iron to the EU you can't blame the EU for thinking Boris Johnson's a terrible negotiator.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274
    edited May 2020
    Boris has higher favourables than Starmer but also higher disapprovals
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    edited May 2020

    kinabalu said:

    Inevitable. Kancel Kulture fuck wits.
    Ryan the "common sense plumber" getting some stick from the "intolerant left" there.
    Given its ubiquity on here, henceforth the Staines vehicle shall be known as Go-to Guido.
    We do seem to be seeing it rather more than we used to. I'm guessing it must have upped its game. Although whenever I take a shufti it is not apparent to me that such is the case.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,593
    Let's just get on with it. It's silly to carry on with the negotiation pretence. Neither side wants a deal enough to do one. Both clearly think that they are going to be OK without one. So let's find out. That will at least get us to the next phase quicker.

  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,661
    The UK is taking its chips off the table. EU can keep their cards and have ours too.
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208

    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    Yes. Why the government wasted a month to six weeks on getting both in place adequately.
    They didn't. If the government hadn't done anything then PPE would have ran out nationwide and in all locations early on.

    We were using over 50x the normal rate of PPE and never ran out, how you think that is "doing nothing" is beyond me.
    The Prime MInister found the shortage of PPE enraging. I take my lead from him on that assessment.

    The government negligently failed to prepare for a looming pandemic. Perhaps it would have done better if the Prime Minister had bothered to turn up to the Cobra meetings discussing it. Or even decided not to take half of February off as a holiday.
    It is enraging, but that doesn't mean they weren't doing everything they could. And again, despite us using a years worth of PPE every single week we never ran out, but that doesn't make everything perfect and when it comes to PPE anything less than perfection is enraging.

    Is that complicated to understand?
    The knots you tie yourself in get ever tighter.

    I note that not even you this time attempt the amazing contortion of trying to persuade the world that the Prime Minister is simultaneously near-perfect and completely irrelevant to the government's performance.
    Of course not. Our PM is human, he's doing a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. To be honest I think the same likely could have been said if the PM were other PMs I liked like Cameron and Blair, or PMs I disliked like May and Brown.

    I am very glad our PM is not someone like Trump across the pond. Now that is truly enraging and shows someone truly negligent.

    I'd put Johnson's performance at the lower end of the rational responses to covid-19 aong with Pedro Sanchez of Spain. Both have made egregious errors that have made the situations in their countries worse. But Trump and Bolsonaro are way off the scale lunatic.

    I think Johnson is sincere in wanting to do the right thing on Covid-19. It's the first time in my experience Johnson has been sincere on anything. Credit where it's due.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,401
    HYUFD said:

    Boris has higher favourables than Starmer but also higher disapprovals

    FL not looking good for Trump there.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    When will the EU realise we've left?
    I think they know that, with Boris Johnson putting a border down the Irish Sea and effectively giving up Norn Iron to the EU you can't blame the EU for thinking Boris Johnson's a terrible negotiator.
    He has allowed the Germans to annex part of the UK without a shot being fired.

    And he thinks he's the new Winston Churchill. The irony of it. And the shame.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798
    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    Yes. Why the government wasted a month to six weeks on getting both in place adequately.
    They didn't. If the government hadn't done anything then PPE would have ran out nationwide and in all locations early on.

    We were using over 50x the normal rate of PPE and never ran out, how you think that is "doing nothing" is beyond me.
    The Prime MInister found the shortage of PPE enraging. I take my lead from him on that assessment.

    The government negligently failed to prepare for a looming pandemic. Perhaps it would have done better if the Prime Minister had bothered to turn up to the Cobra meetings discussing it. Or even decided not to take half of February off as a holiday.
    It is enraging, but that doesn't mean they weren't doing everything they could. And again, despite us using a years worth of PPE every single week we never ran out, but that doesn't make everything perfect and when it comes to PPE anything less than perfection is enraging.

    Is that complicated to understand?
    The knots you tie yourself in get ever tighter.

    I note that not even you this time attempt the amazing contortion of trying to persuade the world that the Prime Minister is simultaneously near-perfect and completely irrelevant to the government's performance.
    Of course not. Our PM is human, he's doing a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. To be honest I think the same likely could have been said if the PM were other PMs I liked like Cameron and Blair, or PMs I disliked like May and Brown.

    I am very glad our PM is not someone like Trump across the pond. Now that is truly enraging and shows someone truly negligent.

    I'd put Johnson's performance at the lower end of the rational responses to covid-19 aong with Pedro Sanchez of Spain. Both have made egregious errors that have made the situations in their countries worse. But Trump and Bolsonaro are way off the scale lunatic.

    I think Johnson is sincere in wanting to do the right thing on Covid-19. It's the first time in my experience Johnson has been sincere on anything. Credit where it's due.
    Most people aren't very good at something when they try it for the first time.
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    edited May 2020
    When will the EU realise we've left? I don't think that's the problem. The EU is acting defensively and Brexiteers won't take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions and blame the EU/Remainers instead. Both those things were baked in from the get-go.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    When will the EU realise we've left?
    I think they know that, with Boris Johnson putting a border down the Irish Sea and effectively giving up Norn Iron to the EU you can't blame the EU for thinking Boris Johnson's a terrible negotiator.
    Virtually no-one cares about the negotiations with the EU anymore, because the economy is going to be completely destroyed by having to deal with Covid-19 for the next 500 years, relative to which all the effects of Brexit will register as a mere pinprick. Indeed, the Plague is the perfect Brexit fallout shield for the Prime Minister, since any negative consequences of Brexit can be explained away as actually the fault of the virus, and the electorate will be suffering too much already to be bothered to argue the toss. The few people left who care about the European question one way or the other will stick to their sides of the argument and nobody's opinion will be swayed.

    Northern Ireland is a pain in the arse for the Government and they'd doubtless be relieved if it went.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,593
    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Essentially everyone with a serious approach to this.

    "Waste everything except time"
    So, talk to me about the government's approach to testing and to PPE then.
    Well, once upon a time the UK was the factory of the world and when we were we invented something called free trade and comparative advantage which seemed to be good things (as indeed they were for us at that time).

    Unfortunately we are no longer the factory of the world but we have remained wedded to free trade policies even when these have resulted in us running trade deficits for decades and the loss of manufacturing capacity here in the UK.

    When we have an urgent need for PPE, along with everybody else, we find that getting this from our own much diminished manufacturing base is very difficult and needs a lot of gearing up. We also find that a lot of spivs and rather doubtful "traders" want to sell us a load of junk at a premium price. And so we end up taking a while to source PPE.

    Was there something else you wanted to know?
    Yes. Why the government wasted a month to six weeks on getting both in place adequately.
    They didn't. If the government hadn't done anything then PPE would have ran out nationwide and in all locations early on.

    We were using over 50x the normal rate of PPE and never ran out, how you think that is "doing nothing" is beyond me.
    The Prime MInister found the shortage of PPE enraging. I take my lead from him on that assessment.

    The government negligently failed to prepare for a looming pandemic. Perhaps it would have done better if the Prime Minister had bothered to turn up to the Cobra meetings discussing it. Or even decided not to take half of February off as a holiday.
    It is enraging, but that doesn't mean they weren't doing everything they could. And again, despite us using a years worth of PPE every single week we never ran out, but that doesn't make everything perfect and when it comes to PPE anything less than perfection is enraging.

    Is that complicated to understand?
    The knots you tie yourself in get ever tighter.

    I note that not even you this time attempt the amazing contortion of trying to persuade the world that the Prime Minister is simultaneously near-perfect and completely irrelevant to the government's performance.
    Of course not. Our PM is human, he's doing a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. To be honest I think the same likely could have been said if the PM were other PMs I liked like Cameron and Blair, or PMs I disliked like May and Brown.

    I am very glad our PM is not someone like Trump across the pond. Now that is truly enraging and shows someone truly negligent.

    I'd put Johnson's performance at the lower end of the rational responses to covid-19 aong with Pedro Sanchez of Spain. Both have made egregious errors that have made the situations in their countries worse. But Trump and Bolsonaro are way off the scale lunatic.

    I think Johnson is sincere in wanting to do the right thing on Covid-19. It's the first time in my experience Johnson has been sincere on anything. Credit where it's due.

    I completely agree. He is a sincere and rational actor with regards to covid-19, but this crisis is exposing his significant limitations.

  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274

    When will the EU realise the UK holds all the cards?
    When will the EU realise we've left?
    I think they know that, with Boris Johnson putting a border down the Irish Sea and effectively giving up Norn Iron to the EU you can't blame the EU for thinking Boris Johnson's a terrible negotiator.
    Northern Ireland is staying in a Customs Union and part of the single market, it is not staying in the EU nor is it leaving the UK
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749
    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    A 6 point Biden lead in Florida is Trump Toast level of lead. Absolute smashing.

    I'll believe it when I see it.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,599

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    Alistair said:

    A 6 point Biden lead in Florida is Trump Toast level of lead. Absolute smashing.

    I'll believe it when I see it.

    4 Nov - :smile:
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    HYUFD said:

    Boris has higher favourables than Starmer but also higher disapprovals

    FL not looking good for Trump there.
    If that is accurate then the GOP would be better off finding some way to force Trump out before November rather than carrying on.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 39,593
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades

    Do you think we'll be able to have UK holidays this year? I am still doubtful. A spike when a lot of people are in places where there are not many hospitals - Cornwall, the Lake District, etc - could be brutal.

  • sarissasarissa Posts: 1,982

    eristdoof said:

    Mortimer said:

    Lockdown is over in Whitstable.

    Just been out to the supermarket for the first time in week:

    - Streets heaving with people enjoying themsleves like it's a normal summer Friday afternoon.
    - I was the only one wearing a mask.
    - No limit on the number of people in Sainsbury's, and no one social distancing.
    - All restaurants and takeaways open for takeaway. Long queues and barely any social distancing.

    Meanwhile, everyone's on furlough and the economy's going down the shitter,

    What a complete farce.

    Its like the behavioural scientists known a thing or two when they said people won't stick to a full lockdown for extended periods of time.
    Just didn't see the masks ever taking off, to be honest. Spotted 1 (!) today whilst walking the dog for 5mi, which was correctly worn - it was a proper full on gas mask. About 7 or 8 worn incorrectly, mostly as chin guards.

    Lots of people fingering them to answer phone etc. Honestly, I can see why the government aren't going to push this one - its so not ingrained in our culture
    If you are outside and more than a few metres away from everyone else, then there is no need to cover your mouth and nose. By wearing it as a "chin guard" you can put the mask in its proper place in half a second when someone gets a bit nearer.
    The problem is all that fiddling with it risks cross infection.
    Remove it using only the ear loops, put it a in disposable bag and microwave it after 3-4 hours use to use again - job done.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,598

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Why would anyone want to go to the South of France for a holiday when the UK has Blackpool, Cleethorpes, and Southend-on-Sea?
    The UK has many places which are well worth visiting, just not Blackpool. Why pick the worst?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades
    You have a blind spot

    The North Wales coast and Snowdonia attract over one million visitors a year
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,555

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades

    Do you think we'll be able to have UK holidays this year? I am still doubtful. A spike when a lot of people are in places where there are not many hospitals - Cornwall, the Lake District, etc - could be brutal.

    If everyone who would have gone abroad goes to Cornwall (etc) 2m distancing will not be a thing.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,555

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades
    You have a blind spot

    The North Wales coast and Snowdonia attract over one million visitors a year
    ☂️
  • sarissasarissa Posts: 1,982
    DavidL said:

    League 2 ends season

    I'm worried Tranmere are going to be relegated and was quite confident we weren't going to be without this. League One, we're in the drop zone by 3 points but with a game in hand and an inferior goal difference. But we'd just won the last 3 games in a row and were getting into some good form so looked like climbing out of the drop zone. Another week or two let alone to the end of the season we could quite easily have climbed out of the drop zone.
    In Scotland they used points per game which means that you would get some advantage from the game in hand but perhaps not enough.
    As Patrick Thistle will testify
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    kinabalu said:

    Alistair said:

    A 6 point Biden lead in Florida is Trump Toast level of lead. Absolute smashing.

    I'll believe it when I see it.

    4 Nov - :smile:
    Hey, I am not just on the Trump is Going to Lose train I am the Conductor. But Florida by 6 would be a monstrous win in modern terms.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749
    edited May 2020

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Yes they do and are hopeful that from July on we will see an easing of restrictions
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274
    edited May 2020

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    I agree, my partner and I are planning a staycation in August.

    There will likely be more UK tourists visiting English seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall, the Lake District etc this summer than for decades
    You have a blind spot

    The North Wales coast and Snowdonia attract over one million visitors a year
    If nobody is going to Spain this year they could be up to 5 million visitors this year, taking into account the extra visitors exercising there now too
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,274
    edited May 2020

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Nope, restaurants and hotels are due to reopen in July provided the R stays under 1 and their owners need the money after lockdown
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301
    edited May 2020
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Nope, restaurants and hotels are due to reopen in July provided the R stays under 0
    You're expecting R to go minus?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Nope, restaurants and hotels are due to reopen in July provided the R stays under 0
    Stays under 0 ?
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,599

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Nope, restaurants and hotels are due to reopen in July provided the R stays under 0
    You're expecting R to go minus?
    To be fair, it is more likely than some of his suggestions.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    There are many wonderful places throughout the UK to visit and enjoy a holiday

    Furthermore and very selfish 14 day quarantine preventing UK holidaymakers going to Spain, Italy, Portugal and boosting UK staycations is maybe very important to the UK leisure industry this year
    People in UK holiday towns at the moment dont want visitors this year, restaurants are closed, so hardly going to be a great holiday. Waiting for 2022 is sadly best.
    Nope, restaurants and hotels are due to reopen in July provided the R stays under 0
    You're expecting R to go minus?
    To be fair, it is more likely than some of his suggestions.
    When Jesus was healing the sick I guess R was a minus figure?

    Lord knows what it was when he had his interaction with Lazarus.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,578

    League 2 ends season

    Non-league "National League" (ex-Conference) already voted to end the season a couple of weeks ago.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,427
    edited May 2020
    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
    Honestly, going to shitholes makes you appreciate the best places even more.

    Like the time I had to stay in a Premier Inn.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,578

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Why would anyone want to go to the South of France for a holiday when the UK has Blackpool, Cleethorpes, and Southend-on-Sea?
    Ubergeeks like yours truly will point out that Blackpool has an extensive tram line, Cleethorpes rail station is almost directly on the beach, and that Southend has both a narrow-gauge pier railway and a clifftop funicular!
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749
    edited May 2020

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
    My sister had a flat in Whitley Bay in the late fifties
  • YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382

    League 2 ends season

    Non-league "National League" (ex-Conference) already voted to end the season a couple of weeks ago.
    Will York City get promoted then ?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Why would anyone want to go to the South of France for a holiday when the UK has Blackpool, Cleethorpes, and Southend-on-Sea?
    Ubergeeks like yours truly will point out that Blackpool has an extensive tram line, Cleethorpes rail station is almost directly on the beach, and that Southend has both a narrow-gauge pier railway and a clifftop funicular!
    My usual train for commuting was the Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport service.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,427

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
    My sister had a flat in Whitley Bay in the late fifties
    It’s now slowly turning into a nice commuter town for Newcastle, but a holiday destination it is not!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586

    The government will not extend funding to help rough sleepers in England stay off the streets amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has confirmed.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52637283

    Whatever it takes.......



    for two months, then back to normal.......
    With the appearance of Summer, all our usual types are back on their pitches, already.

    I shall ask tomorrow why they are back.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,503
    HYUFD said:

    Boris has higher favourables than Starmer but also higher disapprovals

    Historically, don't knows tend to break for disapprove in the end, offering a cautionary note for Starmer. But equally leader-in-a-crisis rating tend to melt.
  • YorkcityYorkcity Posts: 4,382

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
    Honestly, going to shitholes makes you appreciate the best places even more.

    Like the time I had to stay in a Premier Inn.
    Premier Inns are fine , better than Travellodge.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586
    kinabalu said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Apparently the UK is part funding 24 different vaccine approaches.

    Hopefully it'll mean we're at or near the top of the queue for one of them should one come good.
    Well if the PC police have their way we will be back of the queue...too white, too rich, too male...
    Let it go, Francis, let it go. It was just an obscure little opinion piece about Oxford being a breeding ground for a certain type of class-based sense of superiority and entitlement.
    No, it was the usual self-hating-but-not-actually-me nonsense.

    I am reminded of the Canadian Green vs US General on missile defence.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,749

    HYUFD said:

    If the UK aren't going to exempt the French, I presume the French won't reciprocate, so no holidays in the South of France for anybody thinking they were going to....Outraged of Oxford will soon be writing to the Guardian about this.

    Never mind, there is always Blackpool or Southend
    Imagine thinking that Blackpool or Southend are good places to go on holiday. :D Next you’ll be suggesting Whitley Bay!
    My sister had a flat in Whitley Bay in the late fifties
    It’s now slowly turning into a nice commuter town for Newcastle, but a holiday destination it is not!
    To be honest when my sister lived there is was quite popular but that was over 60 years ago
This discussion has been closed.