I thought the link would show up better than this, apologies. It is John Bercow (I know how much people like him on here) commenting in somewhat unfavorable terms on the subject of Chris Grayling.
Who’s John Bercow?
Who's Chris Grayling?
Doesn’t @HYUFD know him? Or is the other daft bald one?
As I have mentioned many times before...Johnson has little or no qualities of leadership. Having him as PM right now is like putting Private Pike in charge of the D Day landings.
He clearly has at least one quality of leadership which cannot be denied - the quality to get people to follow him - even if what he does with that quality is not what many of us like.
Fair comment
Following and voting are similar but not the same. Many people vote to keep the other lot out. Becoming PM is a bit more important than being able to win a beauty contest for ugly people
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
I am not sure in what context it would have been appropriate for this nurse to offer commentary on Dominic Cummings.
She would have been asked by the journos. And nurses know about, and are very keen on, infection control. There will be specialist public health nurses. Quite legitimate for the head nurse to comment on such issues.
It would have been legitimate for her to speak about infection control, but also fairly basic media training to bat away a question about the personal behaviour of a Government advisor. Speaking on the former does not necessitate failure to do the latter. By the way, if she'd offered full-hearted support to Cummings in response to that question, that would also be innaproproate.
And if she were asked whether doing what Mr C did - but anonymised - was good infection control?
It wouldn't have worked, because they would have been looking for her to judge the essentialness or otherwise of Cummings' travel, which she wasn't in a position to do. Essential travel was allowed. All she would do in that instance would be blandly repeat the official advice.
As I have mentioned many times before...Johnson has little or no qualities of leadership. Having him as PM right now is like putting Private Pike in charge of the D Day landings.
He clearly has at least one quality of leadership which cannot be denied - the quality to get people to follow him - even if what he does with that quality is not what many of us like.
Fair comment
Following and voting are similar but not the same. Many people vote to keep the other lot out. Becoming PM is a bit more important than being able to win a beauty contest for ugly people
No, being a good PM is more important than that, becoming PM absolutely is that. And your distinction between following and voting is unprovable, since it enables you to decide those who vote for him do not follow him, thus making electoral accomplishments irrelevant, which I think is a bit of a mistake when judging political leaders. Obviously some will vote just to keep out the other lot, but they still have to not be offput by you, and we don't know how many fit that description.
Besides which, this wasn't about defending him. It was about noting that, for whatever reason, he gets enough media people backing him, he gets enough politicians backing him, and he gets enough of the public to back him. I don't think that's a good thing, and none of that says anything about the quality of the job he is doing now he has the top job, but drawing arbitrary distinction to avoid acknowledging he does have some level of political quality seems like a mistake to me.
When is the new batman movie being released? My home gets blown up in the opening scenes 😂
I can't understand the logic of Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Frankly does not seem remotely an appropriate pick to me. Seems an even worse pick than George Clooney.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
When is the new batman movie being released? My home gets blown up in the opening scenes 😂
I can't understand the logic of Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Frankly does not seem remotely an appropriate pick to me. Seems an even worse pick than George Clooney.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
How many threads here on Dominic Cummings' road trip?
As I have mentioned many times before...Johnson has little or no qualities of leadership. Having him as PM right now is like putting Private Pike in charge of the D Day landings.
Yet Iain Dale did a phone in on Sunday about Boris’s first year, and almost all of the callers were more positive about him than Iain himself. Obviously it’s a small sample not representative of anything, but it was remarkable nevertheless. Few of them seemed to be paying attention to much other than Brexit, his own recovery from the virus, and the generally challenging times.
In other good news (I'm trying to have a glass half-full day and not dwell on the possibility that the Oxford project might still come to nothing,) a quick trawl of the latest available hospital stats indicates that the number of patients in UK hospitals with the virus is down 22% in a week and still shows no sign of levelling off. Those in ventilator beds are down 25%, with the total number now under 150. Hopefully the uptick in cases we've seen recently is down to intensive testing drives in the remaining hotspots driving up the percentage of total positive tests accounted for by asymptomatic infections, rather than an early indicator of these encouraging trends going into reverse.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
Is there a way to search the PB archives? Tried Google but its not easy finding a result on that.
It was 100% definitely and repeatedly said. I even made a list of big stories from this century, from Blair's petrol crisis through 9/11 through Iraq, through to Brexit and COVID19 itself and was told repeatedly by some here that Cummings story was bigger than them all.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
Is there a way to search the PB archives? Tried Google but its not easy finding a result on that.
It was 100% definitely and repeatedly said. I even made a list of big stories from this century, from Blair's petrol crisis through 9/11 through Iraq, through to Brexit and COVID19 itself and was told repeatedly by some here that Cummings story was bigger than them all.
Someone definitely made a claim that it was the biggest story since whenever because @Sean_F listed what he considers the biggest incidents of the last century.
In other good news (I'm trying to have a glass half-full day and not dwell on the possibility that the Oxford project might still come to nothing,) a quick trawl of the latest available hospital stats indicates that the number of patients in UK hospitals with the virus is down 22% in a week and still shows no sign of levelling off. Those in ventilator beds are down 25%, with the total number now under 150. Hopefully the uptick in cases we've seen recently is down to intensive testing drives in the remaining hotspots driving up the percentage of total positive tests accounted for by asymptomatic infections, rather than an early indicator of these encouraging trends going into reverse.
The cases number is almost certainly due to the carpet bombing of problem areas with Pillar 2 tests. Working on getting hold of the data separated from Pillar 1 for local areas.
Yes - also another number to track, if you are interested is the NHS hotline number data.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
Looks like my 50-1 on Sheff Utd for Top 6 will be a good-ish value loser unfortunately.
Be a travesty if they miss Europa League cos of dodgy goal line technology. On the flip side, getting beaten by this dire Everton side...
Missing Europa League because of dodgy technology is not the worst thing in the world. Europa League is always a mixed bag of a cup to take part in.
There was talk the other day that the failed technology of that game could result in a different club that wasn't even playing then being relegated from the Premier League. That would be a very bitter pill to swallow.
I don't understand why this wasn't started years ago.
Doctor Fox really wasted years in his post pratting around talking about a US trade deal rather than getting on with rolling over pre-existing deals like this.
Looks like my 50-1 on Sheff Utd for Top 6 will be a good-ish value loser unfortunately.
Be a travesty if they miss Europa League cos of dodgy goal line technology. On the flip side, getting beaten by this dire Everton side...
For a side that's massively exceeded expectations this season, their manager seems remarkably keen to fall out with his players. They were poor at Leicester, but it happens. The performance against Chelsea the game before was as good as anything I've seen outside of the Top 2 this season.
My panama only comes out when I am attending the races at Newmarket (July Course) and Goodwood and obviously only if I am slumming it in the Members' Enclosure (known as the Richmond Enclosure on the South Downs).
The original was a Goodwood panama. One Friday evening many moons ago I won four races consecutively and thought, in lieu of a bulging wad of cash, I'd invest in some suitable headgear. Not sure the Newmarket people took kindly to the Goodwood panama but that's another story.
I don't understand why this wasn't started years ago.
Doctor Fox really wasted years in his post pratting around talking about a US trade deal rather than getting on with rolling over pre-existing deals like this.
You can't roll over a single market deal without staying in the single market.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
Same here. My panama usually has a hole in it
My wife keeps asking if I will decorate my Tilley hat with some elephant gun rounds...
I don't understand why this wasn't started years ago.
Doctor Fox really wasted years in his post pratting around talking about a US trade deal rather than getting on with rolling over pre-existing deals like this.
You can't roll over a single market deal without staying in the single market.
We aren't staying in the single market. Get over it.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway negotiate as one.
I wanted us to rejoin EFTA and re-shape it as a free trade counterweight to the EU but they didn't want us. The various members of EFTA all have different relationships with the EU but most are in the Single Market and the EEA.
We've decided to opt out completely from the EEA so the nearest analogy would be Switzerland.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
No one over the age of 18 and who is not in receipt of substantial social security benefits should be allowed to wear bright blue Nike "trainers".
Thank goodness mine are Adidas
Brightly coloured running shoes with a flash, three stripes or any other design are unacceptable footwear for the older man, and Cummings is no spring chicken.
A stout pair of Barker or John White brogues are perfect leisure footwear as opposed to the formality of a black oxford. Cummings knows this.
I don't understand why this wasn't started years ago.
Doctor Fox really wasted years in his post pratting around talking about a US trade deal rather than getting on with rolling over pre-existing deals like this.
You can't roll over a single market deal without staying in the single market.
We aren't staying in the single market. Get over it.
You're the one saying we should roll it over. Get with it.
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
Same here. My panama usually has a hole in it
My wife keeps asking if I will decorate my Tilley hat with some elephant gun rounds...
It would muddy the water a little, I guess, when they come to compare both sets of holes with her bullet collection?
Starmer should be asking questions about the thousands of people who have died or are projected to die due to delayed/cancelled NHS treatment because of the lockdown and the political decision to 'protect the NHS'. That is the true scandal, not some muppet swanning off to Durham.
Starmer should be asking questions about the thousands of people who have died or are projected to die due to delayed/cancelled NHS treatment because of the lockdown and the political decision to 'protect the NHS'. That is the true scandal, not some muppet swanning off to Durham.
In other good news (I'm trying to have a glass half-full day and not dwell on the possibility that the Oxford project might still come to nothing,) a quick trawl of the latest available hospital stats indicates that the number of patients in UK hospitals with the virus is down 22% in a week and still shows no sign of levelling off. Those in ventilator beds are down 25%, with the total number now under 150. Hopefully the uptick in cases we've seen recently is down to intensive testing drives in the remaining hotspots driving up the percentage of total positive tests accounted for by asymptomatic infections, rather than an early indicator of these encouraging trends going into reverse.
The cases number is almost certainly due to the carpet bombing of problem areas with Pillar 2 tests. Working on getting hold of the data separated from Pillar 1 for local areas.
Yes - also another number to track, if you are interested is the NHS hotline number data.
What this shows is the number of calls about COVID19
It is my understanding that the monitoring teams have found this data extremely useful as an early warning signal of problems in an area.
Yes, I'm also given to understand (purely from what I've read) that the 111 stats have come in useful: first indicator of illness spreading, before patients start calling for ambulances and the hospitals begin to fill.
Starmer should be asking questions about the thousands of people who have died or are projected to die due to delayed/cancelled NHS treatment because of the lockdown and the political decision to 'protect the NHS'. That is the true scandal, not some muppet swanning off to Durham.
Don't hold your breath.
Oh I'm not - given that we passed through the looking glass some time ago.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Does anyone not look at that and think "what a twat"? Even his wife must think it.
I am sure I have gone out wearing similar in the past (probably a panama abd definitely not in town)
I am of an age where I do not care what I look like, I wear shorts in mid winter, have clothes 20 years old, and enough clothes to last my lifetime. I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
Same here. My panama usually has a hole in it
My wife keeps asking if I will decorate my Tilley hat with some elephant gun rounds...
It would muddy the water a little, I guess, when they come to compare both sets of holes with her bullet collection?
I've tried explaining multiple times that the bearer for each gun carries the spare ammo....
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
I am slightly cheered.
Sounds mixed. The students are a little underconsidered as part of the C London economy. Probably because there is no defined "campus." Am headed to Newcastle quayside tomorrow for the first time in 5 months in the Toon. Will report back if sober enough.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Probably works quite well as a loyalty test.
If you say to him "Dom, you look and sound like an utter plonker", or even "Dom, go and put a shirt and tie on", you are obviously fit only to be cast into the outer darkness.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
Is there a way to search the PB archives? Tried Google but its not easy finding a result on that.
It was 100% definitely and repeatedly said. I even made a list of big stories from this century, from Blair's petrol crisis through 9/11 through Iraq, through to Brexit and COVID19 itself and was told repeatedly by some here that Cummings story was bigger than them all.
You can sometimes use a simple Google search to find things on PB.
I don't recall anyone saying Cummings was bigger than Brexit, Iraq or 9/11. I remember people saying it was this Government's Black Wednesday - and that is still to be seen
I am not sure in what context it would have been appropriate for this nurse to offer commentary on Dominic Cummings.
She would have been asked by the journos. And nurses know about, and are very keen on, infection control. There will be specialist public health nurses. Quite legitimate for the head nurse to comment on such issues.
It would have been legitimate for her to speak about infection control, but also fairly basic media training to bat away a question about the personal behaviour of a Government advisor. Speaking on the former does not necessitate failure to do the latter. By the way, if she'd offered full-hearted support to Cummings in response to that question, that would also be innaproproate.
And if she were asked whether doing what Mr C did - but anonymised - was good infection control?
It wouldn't have worked, because they would have been looking for her to judge the essentialness or otherwise of Cummings' travel, which she wasn't in a position to do. Essential travel was allowed. All she would do in that instance would be blandly repeat the official advice.
Essential travel was strictly forbidden for those who were down with the bug, and their family/household. Which we are told was what Mr Cummings believed right from the start.
One would imagine that the Government's imperatives relate more to the economy than health.
I've thought from early on that the consequences of lockdown would kill more people than the virus; however, that argument will almost certainly never be resolved, despite keeping various academics employed in analysis of said consequences for a very long time.
I don't recall anyone saying Cummings was bigger than Brexit, Iraq or 9/11. I remember people saying it was this Government's Black Wednesday - and that is still to be seen
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
Cummings always dresses like that and today he has added a hat, probably because he is bald and it is sunny. The stick is to round up dead cats for tomorrow's release of the Russia report.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
Cummings always dresses like that and today he has added a hat, probably because he is bald and it is sunny. The stick is to round up dead cats for tomorrow's release of the Russia report.
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
I am slightly cheered.
Mayfair's an odd district. Offices and very rich. Strong middle eastern contingent, but mainly just the rich element.
I can tell you that Edgeware Road which is perhaps more representative of the middle eastern Londoners generally (albeit still the rich end) seems in a healthy state. I can also report an aura of astonishing good-will in the area that pervades all of this. Everyone in the shops as customers or staff are pretty damned happy about the newfound respect that everyone is showing for everyone else. People are saying 'thank you' and meaning it for all the little services that were previously ignored.
People though will judge Boris and his government on how covid and the economic crisis works out, nothing more nothing less
Absolutely 100% agreed.
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Can you point to where people were saying that on PB?
Is there a way to search the PB archives? Tried Google but its not easy finding a result on that.
It was 100% definitely and repeatedly said. I even made a list of big stories from this century, from Blair's petrol crisis through 9/11 through Iraq, through to Brexit and COVID19 itself and was told repeatedly by some here that Cummings story was bigger than them all.
You can sometimes use a simple Google search to find things on PB.
On the occasions that I was on here I didn't notice anyone making such assertions. Of course it is not as big as any of those (with the exception of the petrol crisis). It was, however, and remains, a very big story. The bigger story is that Johnson is so inept that he could let a person of such terrible character and poor judgement so close to power. It will eventually backfire on them both.
I guess the reason why it is not a big story for you Philip is that perhaps you are OK with people being thoroughly dishonest and ignoring the rules that everyone abides by, as long as such people are aligned with your very right wing view of the world. If it had been Kier Starmer doing such a thing you would no doubt say it was a bigger story than any the afore mentioned.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
You show astounding amounts of naivete at times.
Selectively credulous perhaps.
Yes, that's more accurate. A positively Nelsonian approach to seeing (& not seeing) what you want to.
I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I judge by their actions not their assumed motives
His flamboyance and attention seeking is an action you have decided to ignore in taking your view on this however.
You may well be right on this occasion, but it's not ignoring assumed motive to ignore that he leaks, he speaks and acts provocatively, and he seeks feeds media attention, and therefore there may be a connection here.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
Cummings always dresses like that and today he has added a hat, probably because he is bald and it is sunny. The stick is to round up dead cats for tomorrow's release of the Russia report.
Oh I didn't think there was anything particularly unique about his get up today. I just think the motive for his general approach is tied in with his faux-rebellious take on things.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
Cummings always dresses like that and today he has added a hat, probably because he is bald and it is sunny. The stick is to round up dead cats for tomorrow's release of the Russia report.
Oh I didn't think there was anything particularly unique about his get up today. I just think the motive for his general approach is tied in with his faux-rebellious take on things.
Spot on. He is just the right wing version of Jeremy Corbyn. The sort of person who bores everyone in Sixth Form to try and sound clever and has never grown out of the habit.
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
I am slightly cheered.
Mayfair's an odd district. Offices and very rich. Strong middle eastern contingent, but mainly just the rich element.
I can tell you that Edgeware Road which is perhaps more representative of the middle eastern Londoners generally (albeit still the rich end) seems in a healthy state. I can also report an aura of astonishing good-will in the area that pervades all of this. Everyone in the shops as customers or staff are pretty damned happy about the newfound respect that everyone is showing for everyone else. People are saying 'thank you' and meaning it for all the little services that were previously ignored.
The City and Canary Wharf are particularly empty according to various reports.
Rifkind probably had it right at the weekend - it was withheld not because of its contents, but because most of the work on it had been done by Grieve and Boris was being petty and spiteful.
I don't recall anyone saying Cummings was bigger than Brexit, Iraq or 9/11. I remember people saying it was this Government's Black Wednesday - and that is still to be seen
People on here said it was the biggest story of the 21st century
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
It is. He went to public school, has wealthy parents, went to Oxford, married a rich journalist whose father lives in a castle. He knows how posh people dress and behave. He deliberately dresses as a slob, or in clothes like the picture, not to dress down, but rather because he can. It is a deliberate statement of his contrived, contrarian persona. He dresses in a way that no working class, or middle class person could. He thereby establishes his superiority, like a lion pissing on a tree.
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
I am slightly cheered.
Mayfair's an odd district. Offices and very rich. Strong middle eastern contingent, but mainly just the rich element.
I can tell you that Edgeware Road which is perhaps more representative of the middle eastern Londoners generally (albeit still the rich end) seems in a healthy state. I can also report an aura of astonishing good-will in the area that pervades all of this. Everyone in the shops as customers or staff are pretty damned happy about the newfound respect that everyone is showing for everyone else. People are saying 'thank you' and meaning it for all the little services that were previously ignored.
The City and Canary Wharf are particularly empty according to various reports.
Makes sense. Very heavily reliant on commuters. Not particularly attractive, for the most part, to whatever is left of the out-of-town tourist and shopping traffic. Small resident population.
Parody account of Sir Keir, looks like it's attacking him from the left.
The problem with attacking this impression of Diane Abbott for being racist is that the voice being impersonated could be of any race, it just sounds like an southern English accent;I wouldn't you could tell the colour of Abbott's skin from her voice. If Jan Ravens had done a Jim Davidson-esque "Chalky", which sounded nothing like DA, getting sums wrong, that would have been a racist impression in my opinion. What the extreme left are doing is making absolutely everyone a racist except themselves
I don't recall anyone saying Cummings was bigger than Brexit, Iraq or 9/11. I remember people saying it was this Government's Black Wednesday - and that is still to be seen
Apparently not to many people were affected directly by 9/11, Brexit or Iraq which is why Cummings was the bigger story. I kid you not.
I said that not so many people in the UK were affected by 9/11 or the Iraq war, and that not so many people yet have been affected by Brexit, but everyone in the UK has been affected by the lockdown that Dom decided didn't apply to him. That is why Dom-gate will have a bigger impact on the Tories' re-election chances.
At least until the post-Brexit economic meltdown that's about to destroy the UK takes hold from 1/1/2021 that is.
No it’s how someone who doesn’t care what he looks like dresses when he wants to go for a long walk in the sun
Sun hat: check Comfortable shoes: check Walking stick: check
Yeah right. The slovenly dress, the reported frequent cursing and 'shocking' statements, the obvious leaks to ensure stories stay on him and his words, it all fits the image of a childish rebel, someone who so doesn't care what others think that they feel the need to demonstrate how they don't care what others think all the time, which is to say they clearly do care what others think.
It's a fine line, to be sure, and opinions will vary, but like art and pornography I think most can tell the difference even when hard to quantify it sometimes.
I have been trying to think what is the inspiration for Cummings' strange garb and I have decided that it is Donatello's David. Perhaps he sees himself as a modern day David slaying the Giant of the liberal elite?
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Were he merely often sloppily dressed I'd think nothing of it, many are including me, but combine it with his needy, attention seeking language and provocative approach to things and it says to me the dress is a part of it.
It is. He went to public school, has wealthy parents, went to Oxford, married a rich journalist whose father lives in a castle. He knows how posh people dress and behave. He deliberately dresses as a slob, or in clothes like the picture, not to dress down, but rather because he can. It is a deliberate statement of his contrived, contrarian persona. He dresses in a way that no working class, or middle class person could. He thereby establishes his superiority, like a lion pissing on a tree.
I maintain that there should be an award for the best trailer, with a special category for where the film turns out to be really bad.
Rogue One
Almost none of the trailer made it into the film
Just watched Rogue One again. I maintain that it's a great film, better than any of the main sequence sequel trilogy. I'd even go so far as to say it is perhaps the best Star Wars film other than the original.
Comments
This is what I was saying - to much ridicule - when the Cummings story was dominating the news and while people here were claiming it was "the biggest story of the century so far". Bigger than Brexit, the Iraq War and 9/11.
Interesting snippet at the end of Sid Lowe's piece:
This has been Lionel Messi’s worst season in years. He has scored 25 goals and provided 22 assists.
Also features the gorgeous R-Patz as Batman.
Besides which, this wasn't about defending him. It was about noting that, for whatever reason, he gets enough media people backing him, he gets enough politicians backing him, and he gets enough of the public to back him. I don't think that's a good thing, and none of that says anything about the quality of the job he is doing now he has the top job, but drawing arbitrary distinction to avoid acknowledging he does have some level of political quality seems like a mistake to me.
It's self comforting, but unhelpful.
https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1285217426142040064
My god, Oxford is even behind JCL universities formed in the 20th century.
"Should Nick Cannon be cancelled?
His anti-Semitism is vile. But forcing him out of polite society is not the answer.
HANA CHELACHE"
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/20/should-nick-cannon-be-cancelled/
It was 100% definitely and repeatedly said. I even made a list of big stories from this century, from Blair's petrol crisis through 9/11 through Iraq, through to Brexit and COVID19 itself and was told repeatedly by some here that Cummings story was bigger than them all.
Yes - also another number to track, if you are interested is the NHS hotline number data.
https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/nhs-pathways
What this shows is the number of calls about COVID19
It is my understanding that the monitoring teams have found this data extremely useful as an early warning signal of problems in an area.
I could of course afford the latest in fashion, but that is not me.
On the flip side, getting beaten by this dire Everton side...
There was talk the other day that the failed technology of that game could result in a different club that wasn't even playing then being relegated from the Premier League. That would be a very bitter pill to swallow.
Doctor Fox really wasted years in his post pratting around talking about a US trade deal rather than getting on with rolling over pre-existing deals like this.
The original was a Goodwood panama. One Friday evening many moons ago I won four races consecutively and thought, in lieu of a bulging wad of cash, I'd invest in some suitable headgear. Not sure the Newmarket people took kindly to the Goodwood panama but that's another story.
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway negotiate as one.
We've decided to opt out completely from the EEA so the nearest analogy would be Switzerland.
A stout pair of Barker or John White brogues are perfect leisure footwear as opposed to the formality of a black oxford. Cummings knows this.
So, today, I went for a ten mile walk all the way around the West End then up to King's X. Just to see how bad things are.
Conclusion? Very bad in places, but there are grounds for optimism.
First: Marylebone (mainly the High Street). This luxe area was never gonna look too run down and it doesn't. But at least one in ten restaurants/shops look like they've gone for good, and at least 30% are still closed so who knows. But it wasn't deserted, on this lovely sunny day, there were quite a few drinkers, shoppers, it was like a nice Sunday
Down to Oxford Street, via St Christopher's Place: about the same. A quiet Sunday. Nearly all shops and cafes open. A general sense of relief and anticipation.
Mayfair was dead quiet. Bond Street was desolate. Not enough foreign tourists? No Arabs, no Chinese.
By contrast Soho, from Carnaby to Old Compton Street, was positively hopping. A carnival vibe. All the streets laid with tables, lots of drinkers, most pubs open, some doing a roaring trade. Real buzz.
Covent Garden was less good. Around the Market there were some nice vibes - impromptu beer gardens - in the streets beyond, much is closed. They really need the Opera House, the museums and the theatres to reopen soon.
Holborn and Bloomsbury were quiet, but not eerily so. Not like lockdown.
Finally, and this was my biggest test: the new King's Cross development. I was expecting the worst here, as it relies entirely on students, tourists, people on the eurostar, and yet it was modestly rocking. The bars were full, you couuldn't get a table, at least half the restaurants have reopened, some are doing a bustling takeaway trade.
Nearly all the customers seemed to be foreign. Where did they come from?
I dunno.
In conclusion, west central London and mid London have suffered, and are still struggling but it could be a lot worse. It is not dystopia.
Next time I will have to go look at east Central London, the City, Shoreditch, Borough, etc.
I am slightly cheered.
Or perhaps his eyesight is still wonky and he doesn't realise what a plonker he looks.
Am headed to Newcastle quayside tomorrow for the first time in 5 months in the Toon.
Will report back if sober enough.
If you say to him "Dom, you look and sound like an utter plonker", or even "Dom, go and put a shirt and tie on", you are obviously fit only to be cast into the outer darkness.
Research shines a light on the reasons why the Government has been keen to lift lockdown, in spite of experts claiming it happened too soon"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/19/lockdown-may-cost-200k-lives-government-report-shows/
A positively Nelsonian approach to seeing (& not seeing) what you want to.
I've thought from early on that the consequences of lockdown would kill more people than the virus; however, that argument will almost certainly never be resolved, despite keeping various academics employed in analysis of said consequences for a very long time.
Apparently not to many people were affected directly by 9/11, Brexit or Iraq which is why Cummings was the bigger story. I kid you not.
I can tell you that Edgeware Road which is perhaps more representative of the middle eastern Londoners generally (albeit still the rich end) seems in a healthy state. I can also report an aura of astonishing good-will in the area that pervades all of this. Everyone in the shops as customers or staff are pretty damned happy about the newfound respect that everyone is showing for everyone else. People are saying 'thank you' and meaning it for all the little services that were previously ignored.
I guess the reason why it is not a big story for you Philip is that perhaps you are OK with people being thoroughly dishonest and ignoring the rules that everyone abides by, as long as such people are aligned with your very right wing view of the world. If it had been Kier Starmer doing such a thing you would no doubt say it was a bigger story than any the afore mentioned.
You may well be right on this occasion, but it's not ignoring assumed motive to ignore that he leaks, he speaks and acts provocatively, and he seeks feeds media attention, and therefore there may be a connection here.
Almost none of the trailer made it into the film
The problem with attacking this impression of Diane Abbott for being racist is that the voice being impersonated could be of any race, it just sounds like an southern English accent;I wouldn't you could tell the colour of Abbott's skin from her voice. If Jan Ravens had done a Jim Davidson-esque "Chalky", which sounded nothing like DA, getting sums wrong, that would have been a racist impression in my opinion. What the extreme left are doing is making absolutely everyone a racist except themselves
https://twitter.com/TheBeigeSirKeir/status/1285164805905620995?s=20
At least until the post-Brexit economic meltdown that's about to destroy the UK takes hold from 1/1/2021 that is.