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Leader and government approval ratings and voting intention as a guide to general election results –

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  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,866
    Good public service video, it's a shame the BBC have declined.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    Transmission cut by two-thirds in all age groups with just one shot of Pfizer or Oxford/AZN?

    Kaboom.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,720
    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    edited February 2021
    Amazing stone penis discovery!

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-56113457

    EDIT: no, it's not flint
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207

    Transmission cut by two-thirds in all age groups with just one shot of Pfizer or Oxford/AZN?

    Kaboom.
    The light at the end of the tunnel feels a bit closer now
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,588
    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Good news. My parents have had one of each.
  • When I read @IanB2's updates on here this evening I couldn't help but imagine him sat on the floor in his living room playing with a toy rocket whilst giving a running commentary to his mum.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126

    Amazing stone penis discovery!

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-56113457

    EDIT: no, it's not flint

    A "highly significant" and rare carved Roman phallus has been discovered by archaeologists working on finds unearthed during a major road upgrade...

    Archaeologists said it was one of only four known examples of Romano-British millstones decorated this way.


    I love stuff like this - reminds us that people thousands of years ago probably were a lot like us when you get right down to it.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,380
    Charles said:

    isam said:



    A little bit, most LOTOs generally start of with good ratings usually caused by a higher number of DKs.

    There's been only one LOTO who had consistently positive ratings throughout their tenure, most LOTOs who go on to become PM have ups and down.

    He's doing better than most LOTOs at this point in the cycle of leader/satisfaction ratings but meh in VI scores.

    I genuinely don't know how much pandemic era polling can be used to compare to previous eras.

    SKS is looking old, and a bit dull. It is a real pity he stood, Labour did have much better options.

    SKS seems to be following the Tony Blair picture-book on "How to Win a General Election?"

    But, the thrill just isn't there, anymore.

    It is the same moves, the same foreplay as Tony used, but no-one feels really excited by the prospect of precoital activity with a greying, stolid, almost sixty-year old, lawyer.

    Hard not to forget, we could have had Lisa Nandy or Angela Rayner .... as LOTO :)
    Jess Phillips - a mix of Starmer politics and Corbyn passion. I think that is what Labour need
    A perfect package, save the thick Brummie burr. That'll lose 10 Million votes. I speak as someone with a thick Brummie burr.
    She’s one of very few politicians with genuine charisma. You stop and listen when she speaks. I can’t really think of any others among the present crop of whom that’s true.
    You stop and listen. And then think “my God, I didn’t realise it was possible for anyone to be so vulgar and self-obsessed”
    Citation needed
  • Andy_JS said:

    Birmingham has to be the best tourist attraction in the UK.

    You feeling ok mate?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    Andy_JS said:

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Good news. My parents have had one of each.
    I though this was a reply to the stone penis comment, but I see it's actually about even better news.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126

    When I read @IanB2's updates on here this evening I couldn't help but imagine him sat on the floor in his living room playing with a toy rocket whilst giving a running commentary to his mum.

    It's the sort of thing that does inspire childlike wonder and excitement, it's great.
  • IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    One place you’re never going to pass through on the way to somewhere else.
    The Trotters did on their way to Amsterdam.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    Floater said:

    Transmission cut by two-thirds in all age groups with just one shot of Pfizer or Oxford/AZN?

    Kaboom.
    Wait - what did you say Mr Macron?

    What a bloody fool that man is to let ego and pride get in the way of protecting his citizens
    Worst of it is is in additional to putting people's lives at risk for political gamesmanship (he went far beyond the sort of 'insufficient data' type comment), is that sort of thing may well be effective enough given the potentially tight margins for him to simply make sure he gets into the second round of the election against (probably) Le Pen. A few points for getting in some Brit bashing may be worth many deaths.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,443
    Andy_JS said:

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Good news. My parents have had one of each.
    As the AZ is expected to get stronger up to 12 weeks, and most of those jabbed are older, this suggests the overall will be even better, post second dose and sufficient time. A good night.
  • Hope Boris has received the positive report on the vaccines so we are allowed out in May.

    👍
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    kle4 said:

    Charles said:

    isam said:



    A little bit, most LOTOs generally start of with good ratings usually caused by a higher number of DKs.

    There's been only one LOTO who had consistently positive ratings throughout their tenure, most LOTOs who go on to become PM have ups and down.

    He's doing better than most LOTOs at this point in the cycle of leader/satisfaction ratings but meh in VI scores.

    I genuinely don't know how much pandemic era polling can be used to compare to previous eras.

    SKS is looking old, and a bit dull. It is a real pity he stood, Labour did have much better options.

    SKS seems to be following the Tony Blair picture-book on "How to Win a General Election?"

    But, the thrill just isn't there, anymore.

    It is the same moves, the same foreplay as Tony used, but no-one feels really excited by the prospect of precoital activity with a greying, stolid, almost sixty-year old, lawyer.

    Hard not to forget, we could have had Lisa Nandy or Angela Rayner .... as LOTO :)
    Jess Phillips - a mix of Starmer politics and Corbyn passion. I think that is what Labour need
    A perfect package, save the thick Brummie burr. That'll lose 10 Million votes. I speak as someone with a thick Brummie burr.
    She’s one of very few politicians with genuine charisma. You stop and listen when she speaks. I can’t really think of any others among the present crop of whom that’s true.
    You stop and listen. And then think “my God, I didn’t realise it was possible for anyone to be so vulgar and self-obsessed”
    I could do without vulgarity, generally, but self obsession need not be a deal breaker when it comes to a political figure. A lot of them have huge egos.
    I don’t recall any valuable contribution she has made to political life or discourse. Compare Stella Creasy: for some reason she really irritates me (I have know idea why!) but she has had a huge impact on the issues she has chosen to focus on. Jess is just loud and all about ME!
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    kle4 said:

    Amazing stone penis discovery!

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-56113457

    EDIT: no, it's not flint

    A "highly significant" and rare carved Roman phallus has been discovered by archaeologists working on finds unearthed during a major road upgrade...

    Archaeologists said it was one of only four known examples of Romano-British millstones decorated this way.


    I love stuff like this - reminds us that people thousands of years ago probably were a lot like us when you get right down to it.
    Hard evidence that the millworkers of yore liked to bump and grind.
  • DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
  • geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    As a recipient of an AZ jab last week that is excellent news for me, and for every one else who has had or will have the jab. It also helps vindicate the decision to go for the 12 week gap.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,933

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    As a recipient of an AZ jab last week that is excellent news for me, and for every one else who has had or will have the jab. It also helps vindicate the decision to go for the 12 week gap.
    Can you hear the gnashing of teeth from across the channel?
  • DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
    Can you guess why I picked mine?
  • Andy_JS said:

    Birmingham has to be the best tourist attraction in the UK.

    You feeling ok mate?
    Don't provoke him or he'll wheel out the Kipper Tie joke.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    Hope Boris has received the positive report on the vaccines so we are allowed out in May.

    👍

    If the story is accurate then he must also know of it by now.

    I'm still not sure it gets us out of jail any quicker but at least it's one more factor that makes the threat of yet another lockdown come the Autumn more distant. It looks as though it really is all down to whether vaccine escape screws everything up now.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,204
    They are belting on, but my birthday isn't till June !
  • That makes sense in that the NHS know your age, but not if you are a key worker. Simple is sometimes the best way.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,443

    DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
    Can you guess why I picked mine?
    I’m going with an inability to spell...
  • Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    Charles said:

    isam said:



    A little bit, most LOTOs generally start of with good ratings usually caused by a higher number of DKs.

    There's been only one LOTO who had consistently positive ratings throughout their tenure, most LOTOs who go on to become PM have ups and down.

    He's doing better than most LOTOs at this point in the cycle of leader/satisfaction ratings but meh in VI scores.

    I genuinely don't know how much pandemic era polling can be used to compare to previous eras.

    SKS is looking old, and a bit dull. It is a real pity he stood, Labour did have much better options.

    SKS seems to be following the Tony Blair picture-book on "How to Win a General Election?"

    But, the thrill just isn't there, anymore.

    It is the same moves, the same foreplay as Tony used, but no-one feels really excited by the prospect of precoital activity with a greying, stolid, almost sixty-year old, lawyer.

    Hard not to forget, we could have had Lisa Nandy or Angela Rayner .... as LOTO :)
    Jess Phillips - a mix of Starmer politics and Corbyn passion. I think that is what Labour need
    A perfect package, save the thick Brummie burr. That'll lose 10 Million votes. I speak as someone with a thick Brummie burr.
    She’s one of very few politicians with genuine charisma. You stop and listen when she speaks. I can’t really think of any others among the present crop of whom that’s true.
    You stop and listen. And then think “my God, I didn’t realise it was possible for anyone to be so vulgar and self-obsessed”
    I could do without vulgarity, generally, but self obsession need not be a deal breaker when it comes to a political figure. A lot of them have huge egos.
    I don’t recall any valuable contribution she has made to political life or discourse. Compare Stella Creasy: for some reason she really irritates me (I have know idea why!) but she has had a huge impact on the issues she has chosen to focus on. Jess is just loud and all about ME!
    I know what you mean. She has a sarcastic grin/arrogant smile whenever she says something, not helped by her strange voice either, which I don't think translates well on interaction. I've also got the impression she's too earnest and also rather humourless.

    That said she has been very impactful. So she's clearly doing something right.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,421
    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    Excellent. They've missed off the Hebrides (excepting Skye, and that no longer counts), Sutherland and 90% of the Highlands.

    I hope everybody else does too.
    They've also missed the east of England: East Anglia. Last summer I did an AMAZING roadtrip with the kidz, from spooky Essex estuaries (Osea island) to quaint, lovely Maldon, through gorgeous Lavenham and poetic Bury St Edmunds, via Constable country, to a few nights in Cambridge (arguably the most beautiful small city in the world, and also, maybe, the most fascinating)

    Eastern England is weirdly neglected. Long may it remain so. Marvellous stuff. And great food all the way.
    The East tends to be conflated in most people's minds with the Fens: a billiard table flat, dull as ditchwater landscape filled with nothing but thousands and thousands of potato and sugar beet fields (although even the Fens have Ely, which is lovely and well worth a day trip if you've never been.) But yes, if that puts a load of potential visitors off then so much the better. More room for the rest of us to breathe.
    I hear amazing things of north Norfolk (never been): genuine sense of wildness, seals on beaches, superb seafood....

    The East is the untouched corner of the UK, tourist-wise. Probably as it has such a bad rep from a few hideous resorts, from Clacton to Yarmouth, whereas most of it is lovely, and in places like Suffolk, stunning.

    Also, one of the sunniest regions in Britain, alongside south Sussex and the Channel Isles.
    Contestants for the sunniest place in the UK are Ventnor, Shanklin, Eastbourne and Torbay, not anywhere in Suffolk.

    The Channel Islands aren’t in “Britain” anyway.
    Oh god. You're such a dick.

    Three of the top ten warmest AND sunniest places in Britain last year:

    Southend
    Cambridge
    Maldon

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/14040885/hottest-and-sunniest-places-in-uk/#:~:text=SHANKLIN – 262.32 hours of sunshine,beaches on the entire island.
    Indeed. I believe the great county of Essex is the driest in England. And parts of it are amongst the sunniest.
    The map on this page is a good illustration:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-extreme-weather/
    All you guys pay taxes that fund the Met Office. You could use the data they publish thanks to those taxes.

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Sunshine_Average_1981-2010_14.gif

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/MaxTemp_Average_1981-2010_14.gif

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Rainfall_Average_1981-2010_14.gif
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Good news, stick to age as the scientists’ models always indicated was best. Shuffling the pack of the middle aged according to occupation will simply complicate things and introduce delay.
  • DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
    Can you guess why I picked mine?
    No.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,600
    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    One place you’re never going to pass through on the way to somewhere else.
    Done that plenty. On the way to Spurn.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
  • Pulpstar said:

    They are belting on, but my birthday isn't till June !
    Oh dear - annoying for you.

    Has the government had some more positive info on supplies? Doing 40-49 must add a couple of million or more to the totals to hit by end of March.
  • Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    In Hull?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,866
    It does seem they are trying to play the numbers game so they everyone just gets it faster than complicated schemes which will lead to loads of unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,091
    edited February 2021

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    edited February 2021

    Cornwall is good. Nice pubs and railways 👍

    Dorset is bloody horrible, please don't think about holidaying here there.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    isam said:



    A little bit, most LOTOs generally start of with good ratings usually caused by a higher number of DKs.

    There's been only one LOTO who had consistently positive ratings throughout their tenure, most LOTOs who go on to become PM have ups and down.

    He's doing better than most LOTOs at this point in the cycle of leader/satisfaction ratings but meh in VI scores.

    I genuinely don't know how much pandemic era polling can be used to compare to previous eras.

    SKS is looking old, and a bit dull. It is a real pity he stood, Labour did have much better options.

    SKS seems to be following the Tony Blair picture-book on "How to Win a General Election?"

    But, the thrill just isn't there, anymore.

    It is the same moves, the same foreplay as Tony used, but no-one feels really excited by the prospect of precoital activity with a greying, stolid, almost sixty-year old, lawyer.

    Hard not to forget, we could have had Lisa Nandy or Angela Rayner .... as LOTO :)
    Jess Phillips - a mix of Starmer politics and Corbyn passion. I think that is what Labour need
    A perfect package, save the thick Brummie burr. That'll lose 10 Million votes. I speak as someone with a thick Brummie burr.
    She’s one of very few politicians with genuine charisma. You stop and listen when she speaks. I can’t really think of any others among the present crop of whom that’s true.
    You stop and listen. And then think “my God, I didn’t realise it was possible for anyone to be so vulgar and self-obsessed”
    Citation needed
    Couple of interviews I heard.

    But more generally poor judgement. Comparing the Cologne attacks to a night out in Birmingham or saying she’d happily knife Corbin in the front
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    MaxPB said:

    It does seem they are trying to play the numbers game so they everyone just gets it faster than complicated schemes which will lead to loads of unnecessary bureaucracy.
    Positively unBritish.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,204
    MaxPB said:

    It does seem they are trying to play the numbers game so they everyone just gets it faster than complicated schemes which will lead to loads of unnecessary bureaucracy.
    Yes, it's the correct approach thinking things through. They were probably going through by profession and worked out basically it would just be office workers excluded from the pub ! (If vax passports are out) as well as slowing everything down.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,410
    edited February 2021

    That makes sense in that the NHS know your age, but not if you are a key worker. Simple is sometimes the best way.
    Yep.
    Age. Pre-existing conditions. Whether you work for them. These are the things the NHS knows.
    My partner, in Group 2, as a key worker, was delayed till today by only having been recently added to that group. Having to contact her GP. And then having to furnish proof.
    And, as her professional body membership had only just been renewed, waiting for it to arrive in the post.
    All this snarls the system.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
    Can you guess why I picked mine?
    Cos you failed your English O Level?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    Pulpstar said:

    They are belting on, but my birthday isn't till June !
    Oh dear - annoying for you.

    Has the government had some more positive info on supplies? Doing 40-49 must add a couple of million or more to the totals to hit by end of March.
    Everyone in their forties would be more than a couple of million. More like eight or nine million, as a guestimate.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,209
    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    Excellent. They've missed off the Hebrides (excepting Skye, and that no longer counts), Sutherland and 90% of the Highlands.

    I hope everybody else does too.
    They've also missed the east of England: East Anglia. Last summer I did an AMAZING roadtrip with the kidz, from spooky Essex estuaries (Osea island) to quaint, lovely Maldon, through gorgeous Lavenham and poetic Bury St Edmunds, via Constable country, to a few nights in Cambridge (arguably the most beautiful small city in the world, and also, maybe, the most fascinating)

    Eastern England is weirdly neglected. Long may it remain so. Marvellous stuff. And great food all the way.
    The East tends to be conflated in most people's minds with the Fens: a billiard table flat, dull as ditchwater landscape filled with nothing but thousands and thousands of potato and sugar beet fields (although even the Fens have Ely, which is lovely and well worth a day trip if you've never been.) But yes, if that puts a load of potential visitors off then so much the better. More room for the rest of us to breathe.
    I hear amazing things of north Norfolk (never been): genuine sense of wildness, seals on beaches, superb seafood....

    The East is the untouched corner of the UK, tourist-wise. Probably as it has such a bad rep from a few hideous resorts, from Clacton to Yarmouth, whereas most of it is lovely, and in places like Suffolk, stunning.

    Also, one of the sunniest regions in Britain, alongside south Sussex and the Channel Isles.
    Contestants for the sunniest place in the UK are Ventnor, Shanklin, Eastbourne and Torbay, not anywhere in Suffolk.

    The Channel Islands aren’t in “Britain” anyway.
    Oh god. You're such a dick.

    Three of the top ten warmest AND sunniest places in Britain last year:

    Southend
    Cambridge
    Maldon

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/14040885/hottest-and-sunniest-places-in-uk/#:~:text=SHANKLIN – 262.32 hours of sunshine,beaches on the entire island.
    Indeed. I believe the great county of Essex is the driest in England. And parts of it are amongst the sunniest.
    The map on this page is a good illustration:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-extreme-weather/
    All you guys pay taxes that fund the Met Office. You could use the data they publish thanks to those taxes.

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Sunshine_Average_1981-2010_14.gif

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/MaxTemp_Average_1981-2010_14.gif

    https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/climate/averages/maps/uk/8110_1km/Rainfall_Average_1981-2010_14.gif
    Looks like the very same maps that were in the telegraph article I linked earlier.

    Suffolk isn’t leaping out of that sunshine map, for sure.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,209
    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Careful guys, you will be catching my optimism soon :smile:

    Think about that: this means that as we keep vaccinating, we could well see CV19 disappear from the UK - to all intents and purposes - in just six to ten weeks.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    In Hull?
    😂

    In the Wallace
  • dixiedean said:

    That makes sense in that the NHS know your age, but not if you are a key worker. Simple is sometimes the best way.
    Yep.
    Age. Pre-existing conditions. Whether you work for them. These are the things the NHS knows.
    My partner, in Group 2, as a key worker, was delayed till today by only having been recently added to that group. Having to contact her GP. And then having to furnish proof.
    And, as her professional body membership had only just been renewed, waiting for it to arrive in the post.
    All this snarls the system.
    Health and care workers can book themselves in on the NHS website.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,091
    edited February 2021

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be the ones getting done.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    Is it this one?

    image
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be getting done.
    And it’s politically easier. All that has happened with group six is that the politicians are besieged with tons of requests for additional groups with special needs to be added to it.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
  • IanB2 said:

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be getting done.
    And it’s politically easier. All that has happened with group six is that the politicians are besieged with tons of requests for additional groups with special needs to be added to it.
    Have labour now quietly dropped their do the teachers ?
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,486

    Transmission cut by two-thirds in all age groups with just one shot of Pfizer or Oxford/AZN?

    Kaboom.
    Amazing scoop by the Torygraph

    And Kaboom indeed!
  • Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    In Hull?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be the ones getting done.
    Quite. I think going by age has to be the way to go though. Nearly everybody is registered with a GP practice, who will know their age; the practices will not necessarily know their patients' jobs, caring responsibilities, BMI, genetic pre-disposition to covid, etc.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    Is it this one?

    image
    Isn’t that in the Huntington?

    https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs_Susanna_Hoare_and_Child.jpg

  • MaxPB said:

    It does seem they are trying to play the numbers game so they everyone just gets it faster than complicated schemes which will lead to loads of unnecessary bureaucracy.
    That's exactly the right thing to do. We could waste weeks faffing about on priorities, but it's much better to keep it simple and just keep jabbing.
    Correct yes let's get on with it. It's the only way out. We can get both doses done by summer. July to avoid a further debate on here re seasons 😊
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,477
    Charles said:

    Charles said:

    isam said:



    A little bit, most LOTOs generally start of with good ratings usually caused by a higher number of DKs.

    There's been only one LOTO who had consistently positive ratings throughout their tenure, most LOTOs who go on to become PM have ups and down.

    He's doing better than most LOTOs at this point in the cycle of leader/satisfaction ratings but meh in VI scores.

    I genuinely don't know how much pandemic era polling can be used to compare to previous eras.

    SKS is looking old, and a bit dull. It is a real pity he stood, Labour did have much better options.

    SKS seems to be following the Tony Blair picture-book on "How to Win a General Election?"

    But, the thrill just isn't there, anymore.

    It is the same moves, the same foreplay as Tony used, but no-one feels really excited by the prospect of precoital activity with a greying, stolid, almost sixty-year old, lawyer.

    Hard not to forget, we could have had Lisa Nandy or Angela Rayner .... as LOTO :)
    Jess Phillips - a mix of Starmer politics and Corbyn passion. I think that is what Labour need
    A perfect package, save the thick Brummie burr. That'll lose 10 Million votes. I speak as someone with a thick Brummie burr.
    She’s one of very few politicians with genuine charisma. You stop and listen when she speaks. I can’t really think of any others among the present crop of whom that’s true.
    You stop and listen. And then think “my God, I didn’t realise it was possible for anyone to be so vulgar and self-obsessed”
    Citation needed
    Couple of interviews I heard.

    But more generally poor judgement. Comparing the Cologne attacks to a night out in Birmingham or saying she’d happily knife Corbin in the front
    Yes, that was grossly thoughtless and insensitive.


    To anyone who's ever been out in Birmingham.




    *joking - I've never even been for a night out in Birmingham.

  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    edited February 2021
    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I've never heard it called that before!

    I hope she didn't lead you up the alley.
  • rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Careful guys, you will be catching my optimism soon :smile:

    Think about that: this means that as we keep vaccinating, we could well see CV19 disappear from the UK - to all intents and purposes - in just six to ten weeks.
    Unfortunately nobody appears to have told SAGE judging by comments about massive surges in July and lockdown needed until god knows when in the late summer or autumn.

    Personally, I suspect the overall public consensus which has held pretty well so far will collapse once it is clear there has been sufficient vaccination to protect the vulnerable and stop hospitals breaking down. Even if they keep the pubs shut people will be meeting at each others houses.

    Can't see any kind of serious lockdown lasting beyond Easter to be honest.
  • Charles said:

    DougSeal said:

    My wife just asked me “why do you go by Doug Seal on that stupid forum”. I had to confess I don’t remember.

    I started with mine because Casino Royale was in the cinemas at the time, and I was a massive fan, and I also felt it was appropriate for a gambling forum.

    I must confess, after so much time, it's now almost become a second nickname.

    Which is seriously weird, when you think about it.
    Can you guess why I picked mine?
    Cos you failed your English O Level?
    As in both actually...
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,477

    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I've never heard it called that before!
    Let's draw a veil over whether it was down town.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be the ones getting done.
    Quite. I think going by age has to be the way to go though. Nearly everybody is registered with a GP practice, who will know their age; the practices will not necessarily know their patients' jobs, caring responsibilities, BMI, genetic pre-disposition to covid, etc.
    Possibly yesterday’s news has people visiting the NHS BMI calculator feeding in mistyped data?
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,720
      
    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I was approached by a fellow in Tallin in '92 who said "Psst look in here, yours for 5 dollars", opening a plastic bag containing a Russian officer's peaked hat.

  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    IanB2 said:

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be the ones getting done.
    Quite. I think going by age has to be the way to go though. Nearly everybody is registered with a GP practice, who will know their age; the practices will not necessarily know their patients' jobs, caring responsibilities, BMI, genetic pre-disposition to covid, etc.
    Possibly yesterday’s news has people visiting the NHS BMI calculator feeding in mistyped data?
    Done it myself (but mainly because I didn't like the first result ☹️)
  • Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I assume 'the old town' is some sort of slang.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    Charles said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    Is it this one?

    image
    Isn’t that in the Huntington?

    https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs_Susanna_Hoare_and_Child.jpg

    Yes, it is.

    The Reynolds of your ancestors is actually rather lovely.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,221

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    Is it this one?
    The dead lobster.

  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I assume 'the old town' is some sort of slang.
    Nah. Didn’t want to take advantage of her. So she showed me around town for 30 minutes to earn her bus fare.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    If you want to contemplate world class art in solitude then the Wallace Collection is great.

    Have you ever been to Hull ?
    There’s a painting there that’s the spitting image of me as a kid
    Is it this one?

    image
    Isn’t that in the Huntington?

    https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs_Susanna_Hoare_and_Child.jpg

    Yes, it is.

    The Reynolds of your ancestors is actually rather lovely.
    Huntington, Frick, Wallace and Jacquemart-André are my top 4 museums
  • Charles said:

    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I assume 'the old town' is some sort of slang.
    Nah. Didn’t want to take advantage of her. So she showed me around town for 30 minutes to earn her bus fare.
    :) You are a scholar and a gentleman, Sir!
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    IanB2 said:

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Yes, it is more the JVCI are likely to recommend just sticking to doing by age, if the government accept that, go with a wider age range, and vaccine roll out carries on at or above current pace, then at the end of March people in the 40-49 bracket will start to be invited to get jabbed.

    So it is more realisticly at the start of April, people nearly 50 will be getting done.
    And it’s politically easier. All that has happened with group six is that the politicians are besieged with tons of requests for additional groups with special needs to be added to it.
    This is a very good point, of course. Trying to sort all the under 50s into order by special pleading status would be very complicated and lead to a huge amount of outraged moaning. Think that PC Plod should go first? Are they really at more risk than a supermarket cashier? Debatable in the case of the rank and file; certainly not in the case of deskbound senior officers, who are in no more danger from it than anybody else who still has to travel to work rather than work from home. Or what about bus drivers, about whom there was much angst (and some real evidence of higher death rates) earlier in the pandemic? Now that public transport has largely emptied out and they're shielded behind protective screens, perhaps no longer such a high priority as employees of abattoirs and other food processing businesses, which have been implicated in many clusters? Or even those working in the garment industry?

    Ultimately, if the NHS can get the jabs done quickly enough then, with the key clinically vulnerable groups having already been identified and bumped up the list, the sheer time and effort taken to sort the rest of the under 50s by risk criteria could well lead to more people being hospitalised with Covid than simply trying to ram them through the system as quickly as humanly possible.

    I now feel slightly more confident that the special pleaders have indeed been told where to go, which probably gets yours truly a good couple of months closer to being lanced. This is pleasing.
  • rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Careful guys, you will be catching my optimism soon :smile:

    Think about that: this means that as we keep vaccinating, we could well see CV19 disappear from the UK - to all intents and purposes - in just six to ten weeks.
    Unfortunately nobody appears to have told SAGE judging by comments about massive surges in July and lockdown needed until god knows when in the late summer or autumn.

    Personally, I suspect the overall public consensus which has held pretty well so far will collapse once it is clear there has been sufficient vaccination to protect the vulnerable and stop hospitals breaking down. Even if they keep the pubs shut people will be meeting at each others houses.

    Can't see any kind of serious lockdown lasting beyond Easter to be honest.
    1) Those who have been vaccinated
    2) Those who have had covid
    3) The young at minimal risk
    4) Lockdown sceptics

    Tipping point will come in the spring.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,468
    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history along makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    I have been just reading a book about Gomme, Charles II's engineer, and his design of the Citadel at Plymouth. I want to go back and have a look. But I never got past the MBA aquarium, the first time I visited, watching the baby cuttelfish camouflage themselves like chameleons, and John Dory rotate about its lateral axis to be fed, and flushing white with pleasure, so there we are.

    Crownhill Fort too. Palmerston foll, in superb order.
    Plymouth reminds me a bit of Naples. Because it has this bad reputation people avoid it, so you can enjoy it without crowds of tourists. Yet Naples is superb, one of my favourite "neglected big cities" in Europe, maybe my TOP favourite.

    Even before lockdown you could go to the Capodimonte museum and confront a world class Caravaggio and you'd be the only person in the room. Unthinkable anywhere else. All the trippers have been scared away by tales of theft and the Camorra.

    Likewise the Royal William Victualling Yards in Plymouth. A magnificent piece of high imperial maritime architecture. First drawer stuff. Barely visited. Even before Ye Plague you could visit on a sunny spring day and be almost alone. Because Plymouth is perceived as "grotty"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_William_Victualling_Yard
    Making me homesick. My home town, born in the parish of the saint of lost causes.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,209
    edited February 2021
    Charles said:

    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    Leon said:

    Carnyx said:

    IanB2 said:

    Global travel site Big 7 Travel has released the official 2021 list of the ’25 Best UK Staycations’; the top ten, in order:

    Cornwall – England
    The Lake District – England
    Yorkshire Dales – England
    Edinburgh – Scotland
    Loch Lomond – Scotland
    Isle of Wight – England
    Norfolk Broads – England
    Bath – England
    Ballycastle – Northern Ireland
    Manchester – England

    6. Isle of Wight

    This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture and rich prehistoric history. One of the island’s biggest claims to fames is its plethora of fossils that have led to the discovery of more than 25 different dinosaurs that called Isle of Wight home in their day. For more recent history, there’s Queen Victoria’s royal former residence and Italian Renaissance dream in East Cowes, the Osborne House. And for a break from the tranquil sandy beaches, head to The Needles rock formation off the west end of the island.


    11 - Cotswolds
    12 - Snowdonia
    13 - Scilly Isles
    14 - Anglesey
    15 - London (!)
    16 - N Yorks moors
    17 - Pembroke coast
    18 - Orkney
    19 - Brighton
    20 - Skye
    21 - Norwich (?)
    22 - Inverness
    23 - Cardiff
    24 - Derry
    25 - Oxford

    No York ?

    Not only a historic city filled with pubs, shops, restaurants and museums but close to both the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors.

    But isn't the list a bit predictable and likely to be both busy and expensive this year ?

    What we need is a list of cheap, unfashionable places which have enough nice restaurants and are within easy reach of pretty places.

    Not necessarily for a whole week but a few days here and a few days there.
    They missed out the whole of Devon for a start: try anything there (except Plymouth which is a dump).
    Not fair. Although the dockyard was badly blitzed in WW2 and doesn't compare to Portsmouth or Chatham for C18/C19 stuff. The Royal William Victualling Yard, Crownill Fort, and some of the sea coast are a treat.
    Huzzah. A fellow fan. Plymouth is fucking incredible. Seedy, grotty, muscly, and all that, yet AT THE SAME TIME, superbly historic, with amazing architecture, wonderful views, incredible topography, Dartmoor meeting the suburbs, the mighty Tamar dividing everything, and the oldest regular ferry in the world.

    We Brits tend to overlook what we have. Plymouth is a peerless example. Its history alone makes it world class, but there is so much more.

    And because it is a bit gritty, it hasn't been turned into St Ives or St Tropez or Nice or Tallinn.
    Aah, Tallinn. Where as a naive 20 year old I was propositioned by a young mother, still in milk, and needing to earn some money to pay for her bus ride home
    :hushed:
    I'd reserve that expression depending on how Charles responded to the proposition, which I note he conveniently left out...
    She gave me a very nice guided tour of the old town
    I've not heard it described as that before.

    Edit to add: I see about five other posters made that joke before me.
  • Since it's a quiet night, may I ask a question?

    Had the Pfizer jab two weeks ago. Been feeling terribly tired recently. Is it a side-effect, or am I just getting old?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,209

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Some over 40s have been vaccinated already!
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,221
    Novavax Announces Memorandum of Understanding with Gavi for Cumulative Supply to COVAX Facility of 1.1 Billion Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine
    http://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-announces-memorandum-understanding-gavi-cumulative
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,673
    rcs1000 said:

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Some over 40s have been vaccinated already!
    Lol! Yes indeed - my imprecision.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,204
    rcs1000 said:

    As a fortysomething, that sounds fantastic.

    Unfortunately, however, when things seem too good to be true they usually are.
    In the article, there are lots of coulds, maybes and ifs....
    Plus the headline implies all over-40s will be done by end of March when the article actually means some over-40s will be vaccinated by then.
    Some over 40s have been vaccinated already!
    How is California's rollout going ?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,866
    Nigelb said:

    Novavax Announces Memorandum of Understanding with Gavi for Cumulative Supply to COVAX Facility of 1.1 Billion Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine
    http://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-announces-memorandum-understanding-gavi-cumulative

    Great news, hopefully UK manufacturing will contribute to that effort this year and next.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,125

    Talking about the AIDS in the 1980s, if you've not watched It's A Sin then do so, powerful TV and a rocking soundtrack as well.

    Genuinely moving throughout.

    Have watched 2 episodes so far. Cried with each one.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    edited February 2021

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    Just one dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines appears to cut Covid transmissions and infections by two-thirds according to the first "real world data" examining their impact.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/18/exclusive-covid-jabs-data-can-pave-way-freedom/

    Careful guys, you will be catching my optimism soon :smile:

    Think about that: this means that as we keep vaccinating, we could well see CV19 disappear from the UK - to all intents and purposes - in just six to ten weeks.
    Unfortunately nobody appears to have told SAGE judging by comments about massive surges in July and lockdown needed until god knows when in the late summer or autumn.

    Personally, I suspect the overall public consensus which has held pretty well so far will collapse once it is clear there has been sufficient vaccination to protect the vulnerable and stop hospitals breaking down. Even if they keep the pubs shut people will be meeting at each others houses.

    Can't see any kind of serious lockdown lasting beyond Easter to be honest.
    It's hard to tell. Most of the population has been remarkably compliant so far (although I recall reading that Burnham's deputy in charge of policing in Manchester has said that there are increasing numbers of house parties being held, and that people are getting more confrontational with the police as well.) There are also still a lot of scared people out there, and many authoritarian types who are enjoying the pandemic because it gives them the opportunity to look down their noses at people who are suffering through all of this and condemn them if they stray from the rules as a result.

    I think that most people probably will continue to wear this bullshit for a while into the Spring, but if the Government goes off in pursuit of very low case numbers after people have pretty well stopped dying then people will start to seriously question what the Government is playing at. That is, the Government might, under pressure from the masks-until-the-end-of-time faction of SAGE and their doom-laden models, still try to engage in a slow creep unlocking - schools, wait a month, gyms, wait a month, shops, wait a month, etc, etc. But the public will expect both care home visits and family meet-ups in general to be restored once the over 50s are all done and have had their three weeks to build immunity, and I think if we've not got the pubs and restaurants back by the time the hospitalisation and death figures are down to last Summer's levels then there will be ructions.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    Since it's a quiet night, may I ask a question?

    Had the Pfizer jab two weeks ago. Been feeling terribly tired recently. Is it a side-effect, or am I just getting old?

    Two weeks seems a long time. My neighbour had her jab on Tuesday and she didn’t wake up this morning until nearly 11 am. So tiredness is clearly a thing.
  • Since it's a quiet night, may I ask a question?

    Had the Pfizer jab two weeks ago. Been feeling terribly tired recently. Is it a side-effect, or am I just getting old?

    My diagnosis is, you are coming down with "restless geezer" syndrome.
This discussion has been closed.