But every other country does this. France is not known for being a new country with identity issues, they fly the flag everywhere ...
France is not a new country, but it's always been worried about its national identity and today it has a massive identity problem. The French are obsessed, to a quite extraordinary degree, by what they perceive as the risk to their language and culture from the English language and American economic, technological and cultural hegemony.
Their insecurity seems to have spread to the UK, except that for some as yet unexplained reason it's EU hegemony which spooks us, despite the fact that we largely shaped its economic policy and English is its principal language.
I'm with the non-flaggers on this. All these flags, except on military and commemorative occasions, are distinctly un-British.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
Golly - these people are obsessed about anything remotely suggesting pride in country. I really don't care a lot about flags either way personally but why is it necessary to sneer at those who do. What on earth are these people frightened of? It really shows a lack of understanding of the feelings of a lot of ordinary folk - you'd think Brexit and the recent election would give these people a clue...
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
100 new scripted titles over the next three years that will “portray lives of people outside of London, for the nations”, including two long-running dramas – one from the north, one from the nations.
Sounds rather patronizing...by central decree, we need special programmes for those funny folk in the North, ee by gum, flat caps and whippets.
Surely the real issue is not whether the BBC reflects the nation, but that viewers are increasingly choosing non-British programmes on non-British services like Netflix, Disney+ and so on. That does not sound to me like a problem that is countered wth more regional production, because it seems people don't really care where the programmes come from as long as they are good. The BBC needs a plan to get a lot more money, to make a lot more high-cost programming, that makes the iPlayer competitive.
American programming is better quality, which hasn't always been the case.
The BBC needs to up its game. Not pander to regional box ticking.
The BBC can't afford to up its game - already it needs Amazon's money for a lot of it's fancier productions.
So all it can do is some regional box ticking while hoping moving outside London results in interesting program ideas that also attracts viewers.
They could afford to up its game by being smarter.
The BBC is a monolith now that is the true "Jack of All Trades" with what follows too.
The BBC should pick some good quality things to concentrate on and work on those, rather than trying to do everything.
Not so easy tho. The US streamers have blitzscaled themselves into gargantuan size, so their revenues are insane
The BBC gets, what, $7bn a year. A lot of money, but with that it has to do everything, the websites, dozens of radio stations, news, (some sport), all the TV channels, various other things like orchestras etc
Netflix's annual revenue in 2019 was TWENTY-FIVE billion dollars. Four times the size of the BBC (and growing fast and further under lockdown). With that, all it has to do is make TV drama, comedy and documentaries. That's it.
God knows how much Apple. Amazon and Disney can plough in, and earn, in time.
This is why Netflix can spend £10m on an episode of drama like The Crown, and it is vastly better than almost anything the BBC pumps out. Netflix gets the best of everything, from actors to directors to writers.
I fear the time has passed when the BBC were able, if they ever were, to compete with this
The most recent excellent TV show the BBC have done is The Office. That was in 2001 and 2002.
No top notch BBC shows since 2002? - C'mon.
Let's see what we can list. I mentioned Bloodlands a minute ago. How about "A Perfect Planet"?
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
Yes, you are right on the two reasons, and as you imply they both indicate insecurity.
Well we have experienced a close-run vote on Scotland seceding (and a threat remains), and we have just left a political bloc where we were a member for 50 years or wherever, so yes we are experiencing insecurity.
Tho, right now, I would guess most nations on earth are experiencing insecurity - especially the USA. They're having a national nervous breakdown.
The one exception is China. She rises, serenely. Cruelly, but serenely.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
Yes, you are right on the two reasons, and as you imply they both indicate insecurity.
In Scotland, it's necessary to indicate which services are administered by which government.
Is it? Is that some legal requirement like the EU flag business?
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
I'm trying not be be patronising here, but I'm surprised we're still getting this after people said the same thing about Matt Hancock.
This is a Government building. You will see frequent images of the Queen, as well as flags, in Government buildings. It's not Robert Jenrick's personal boudoir. See also police stations.
I think it is a reasonable mistake that people thought it was his home. All ministers seem to be required to have a Union flag viable even if they are on a Zoom call from inside their hallway cupboard. It's fucking weird and un-British and it would be interesting to know where the instruction has come from
Yes, we used to leave all this to foreign jonnie countries lacking in taste and trying too hard to prove something. Now we've become one.
Bring back British exceptionalism, I say. Least this bit of it.
Hmm, maybe. I just dislike childish jingoism and this smacks of it. I clearly remember the Union flag on the back of Royal Marines yomping across the Falklands, and then it being hoisted over Port Stanley and feeling proud as punch. I don't want to see said emblem squeezed into some lightweight minister's home office to show how patriotic he is.
That's a good point. Law of diminishing returns.
I dislike this proliferation of flags wherever I see it in the UK.
On my drive south I'm even seeing Yorkshire and Northumberland flags although I can't help feeling there is a bit of self-parodying fun with those to be fair.
I have a St Piran's flag on the boot of my car.
I have a Brit's instinctive, emotional dislike of jingoism, but it is the excessiveness of flag waving rather than the fact of flag waving I most dislike. Indeed, on an intellectual level I think the UK does itself a disservice by not being more positive about its national identity and not using it as much as it could to drive unity and national success.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Good move by Biden, especially wrt Mexico and given that the US won't authorise AZ until at least the third or fourth week of April I doubt that this will be an issue for their programme.
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
Yes, you are right on the two reasons, and as you imply they both indicate insecurity.
In Scotland, it's necessary to indicate which services are administered by which government.
Frankly, I'd have thought that, given the SNP's performance in education, health, and most recently justice, they'd be better advised to try to conceal which services are administered by which government
Good move by Biden, especially wrt Mexico and given that the US won't authorise AZ until at least the third or fourth week of April I doubt that this will be an issue for their programme.
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
One of the BBCs huge problems is that, along with so much media, it has forgotten what news is. Others have the excuse of lack of resource, but the BBC has experts all over the world and at home and doesn't use them. The BBC increasingly treats news (hard, reliable reporting as to what is actually occurring), discussion, opinion and magazine/feature type stuff as entirely interchangeable and the same.
One tiny example. There has been a conflict in Syria for 10 years and it is terrible. The BBC is better at reporting that individuals caught up in this are, unsurprisingly, battered, bruised, traumatised, injured and dead as a consequence than reporting who are the forces engaged, what are they doing, how are they led, which other forces back them, what are their tactics, how are they armed, what is the progress of which group, what are their aims - in other words factual reporting on events in the world. This is the thing they are conspicuously resourced and trusted to do and they are failing.
If I was a zillionaire. one the things I would fund is a news site that combined a wiki with a on going story "threads" - many stories are continuous (such as Syria) and need to be linked to a great deal of background information.
What is surprising, is that the BBC online content isn't more interlinked and indexed..
Was not BBC online news deliberately hamstrung as UK newspapers were claiming it had become unfair competition for them ?
If I was the BBC, I would be asking how they can have 9.5m "subscribers" on for the BBC News YouTube, but most of their videos struggle to get more than 100k views, many low 10ks. For YouTube that is just pathetic for even medium sized channels, let alone one with nearly 10m "subscribers".
It perhaps suggests that people don't think their content is as world class as they like to think. Compare to somebody like Tom Scott or Wendover productions, who we like on here, 1m+ every video. And they are just one bloke with a camera / computer deciding to talk about things they find interesting.
The ought to invite Ros Atkins to be their main newsreader.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
Yes, you are right on the two reasons, and as you imply they both indicate insecurity.
In Scotland, it's necessary to indicate which services are administered by which government.
Is it? Is that some legal requirement like the EU flag business?
Given the chronic confusion about the matter, some clear branding was pretty vital for people to understand what was what.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
The pointless "suspension" in the AZ roll out, sending antivax memes all around the world, will go down as one of the worst unforced errors in the history of global public health. Insanely stupid.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
That guy who partially cashed out will be breathing a big relief now.
Wonder if he was rooting for it? OTOH 50k richer if it won. BOTOH the loss validates the partial cash out.
We've all been there (not for the sums involved). My guess is rooting against.
Yes think I would have been - although pure financial rationality says you want it to win.
What was the story here?
Bloke did a £5 acca bet on the horses and the 1st 4 legs came in, 5th and final running today and he had the fav. Stood to get £500k if it won, zilch if it didn't. Before the race he did a deal with the bookie. Traded his £500k vs Nil position for a £300k if it won vs £250k if it lost position. It lost. He won £250k.
I think the article said £322k, or about £72k more... seemed to be picked deliberately to be enough to be rooting for the win.
I have to say pretty big balls on the guy to let the fourth leg ride, which was something like £2,400 @ 25/1. He deserves it.
He was probably a big punter. One always hopes, with these stories, that it's someone who just bets small amounts as recreation but usually it isn't.
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
I am not complaining, I am just stating that I think it looks fucking stupid for ministers to have them in their living rooms and studies (and yes Leon you have made the point about Jenrick, at least twice).
If foreign leaders want to wear a Mankini in the stars and stripes or EU flag I'd just think it is funny, but they are not coming on my TV as a member of my country's government, so you are right I don't give two hoots.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
The pointless "suspension" in the AZ roll out, sending antivax memes all around the world, will go down as one of the worst unforced errors in the history of global public health. Insanely stupid.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
What a catastrophe
I just cannot see how UVDL Merkel or Macron can ever have any creditability again
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
The pointless "suspension" in the AZ roll out, sending antivax memes all around the world, will go down as one of the worst unforced errors in the history of global public health. Insanely stupid.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
What a catastrophe
Yep.
Carry on vaccinating, you idiots, whilst checking the data thoroughly.
There would have to be 100s of deadly blood clots a day to be more of an emergency than covid.
But every other country does this. France is not known for being a new country with identity issues, they fly the flag everywhere ...
France is not a new country, but it's always been worried about its national identity and today it has a massive identity problem. The French are obsessed, to a quite extraordinary degree, by what they perceive as the risk to their language and culture from the English language and American economic, technological and cultural hegemony.
Their insecurity seems to have spread to the UK, except that for some as yet unexplained reason it's EU hegemony which spooks us, despite the fact that we largely shaped its economic policy and English is its principal language.
I'm with the non-flaggers on this. All these flags, except on military and commemorative occasions, are distinctly un-British.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
The flags are on point with what they tried (if you recall) to brand as "The People's Government".
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
I am not complaining, I am just stating that I think it looks fucking stupid for ministers to have them in their living rooms and studies (and yes Leon you have made the point about Jenrick, at least twice).
If foreign leaders want to wear a Mankini in the stars and stripes or EU flag I'd just think it is funny, but they are not coming on my TV as a member of my country's government, so you are right I don't give two hoots.
But they are still seen on TV screens, yet no mention of it. It's not unusual for prominent figures in politics to be seen next to their flag. Suggesting the UK is somehow unusual in this regard is ridiculous.
Such prescience then, since Yaxley Lennon is most definitely a donation appropriating, racist c***.
I remember some diddy on here praising him and the EDL as fine if slightly misguided patriots. Probably would have been about 5 years ago.
It was a genuine question. I was wondering why you brought him up, I didn't realise he was in the news. I have just checked and seen he's been a twat, again, tho this is not exactly "news"
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
I am not complaining, I am just stating that I think it looks fucking stupid for ministers to have them in their living rooms and studies (and yes Leon you have made the point about Jenrick, at least twice).
If foreign leaders want to wear a Mankini in the stars and stripes or EU flag I'd just think it is funny, but they are not coming on my TV as a member of my country's government, so you are right I don't give two hoots.
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
I am not complaining, I am just stating that I think it looks fucking stupid for ministers to have them in their living rooms and studies (and yes Leon you have made the point about Jenrick, at least twice).
If foreign leaders want to wear a Mankini in the stars and stripes or EU flag I'd just think it is funny, but they are not coming on my TV as a member of my country's government, so you are right I don't give two hoots.
And yet you're going on and on and on and on about it....
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Sturgeon still finding it difficult to entirely bury Salmond-Gate despite best efforts. Latest update from Rev Campbell. It's the cover-up that kills you...
Probably good news for the SNP that damage has been contained.
That poll would see the SNP on 64 seats ie short of the 65 needed for a majority and thus allow Boris to easily dismiss Sturgeon's calls for indyref2 which he certainly will
In 2016, 180 switched votes in two constituences would have secured an SNP majority, both Labour held.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
The pointless "suspension" in the AZ roll out, sending antivax memes all around the world, will go down as one of the worst unforced errors in the history of global public health. Insanely stupid.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
What a catastrophe
Yep.
Carry on vaccinating, you idiots, whilst checking the data thoroughly.
There would have to be 100s of deadly blood clots a day to be more of an emergency than covid.
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
Such prescience then, since Yaxley Lennon is most definitely a donation appropriating, racist c***.
I remember some diddy on here praising him and the EDL as fine if slightly misguided patriots. Probably would have been about 5 years ago.
It was a genuine question. I was wondering why you brought him up, I didn't realise he was in the news. I have just checked and seen he's been a twat, again, tho this is not exactly "news"
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Shield is good...more recent along similar lines, Snowfall.
But every other country does this. France is not known for being a new country with identity issues, they fly the flag everywhere ...
France is not a new country, but it's always been worried about its national identity and today it has a massive identity problem. The French are obsessed, to a quite extraordinary degree, by what they perceive as the risk to their language and culture from the English language and American economic, technological and cultural hegemony.
Their insecurity seems to have spread to the UK, except that for some as yet unexplained reason it's EU hegemony which spooks us, despite the fact that we largely shaped its economic policy and English is its principal language.
I'm with the non-flaggers on this. All these flags, except on military and commemorative occasions, are distinctly un-British.
Actually, I will cede that there has lately been a proliferation of Union flags on show
There are two reasons.
Firstly, Scotland. Sturgeon uses the saltire everywhere and anywhere she can. likewise the SNP govt and civil service, she is trying to brand her way to indy. It is not entirely ineffective, the UKG has noticed this and is responding in kind
Secondly, Brexit. The government wants to reassert national identity now we are independent again, and the patriotic gesture goes down well with the troops. Brexiteers like the flag, notice the ones complaining on this site are all twattish Remainers. Unsurprising
The flags are on point with what they tried (if you recall) to brand as "The People's Government".
Thank heavens that didn't stick.
The flags represent the country and it is standard for all nations around the world to do the same thing.
It is standard to do so for a very good reason too. Maybe you should consider why the French, Europeans, Americans and everyone else do the same thing?
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Sturgeon still finding it difficult to entirely bury Salmond-Gate despite best efforts. Latest update from Rev Campbell. It's the cover-up that kills you...
Since he is based in Bristol, and his blog is on a Yank-jurisdiction domain, it is possible he will be difficult to close down. Though that is a little blunt.
I haven't traced his isp, mind.
I'm afraid I just lost my temper slightly with comedy Dave. Regrettable.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
My wife got hers today. They told her they are seeing lots of cancellations now. Good job we're through the vulnerable.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Shield is good...more recent along similar lines, Snowfall.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
My wife got hers today. They told her they are seeing lots of cancellations now. Good job we're through the vulnerable.
Got mine today.
No evidence of any cancellations from looking at the sheets where the names were being crossed off.
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Sturgeon still finding it difficult to entirely bury Salmond-Gate despite best efforts. Latest update from Rev Campbell. It's the cover-up that kills you...
It's amazing all the Unionist who appear to have subscriptions to the National, have become doughty defenders of Salmond and are regular drinkers of the Bath water. The world has become strange indeed.
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Sturgeon still finding it difficult to entirely bury Salmond-Gate despite best efforts. Latest update from Rev Campbell. It's the cover-up that kills you...
It's amazing all the Unionist who appear to have subscriptions to the National, have become doughty defenders of Salmond and are regular drinkers of the Bath water. The world has become strange indeed.
Is Salmond selling his bath water on OnlyFans like?
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I feel very sorry for the many sane doctors in the EU who had to pause and throw away vaccines which they knew were safe, and which they knew would save lives during a terrible plague.
Regarding the flag issue, two points. Firstly, I think that whatever our thoughts on the prominent display of the Union flag (personally I'm all for it obvs.), when our attention is called to something, we notice it more. It's highly possible that there are only a few more flags dotted around, but because there have been stories about Boris and Starmer wrapping themselves in the flag, we notice them more.
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
Yes, I'm getting tired of all these shows that feature extreme violence dished out to young women. It's becoming a cliche.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I reckon tens of thousands around the world will now refuse the AZ jab. The "suspension" has been global news, and now millions of people associate AZ with "death by blood clot"
That means, yes, thousands will die, who would have lived. That's how bad it is. And not a single person will resign
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
Yes, I'm getting tired of all these shows that feature extreme violence dished out to young women. It's becoming a cliche.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
I've never seen a picture of the Queen on the wall in any building, no. I'd think it was weird, even if it was a police station.
Just odd.
Not that it justifies a sneering attitude but it is very old fashioned.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Shield is good...more recent along similar lines, Snowfall.
Thanks will look it out.
When you decide you might like something non-serious to watch, I'll recommend stuff. I'll leave recomnending a course of improving viewing to your fellow masochists.
I assume 20 year-olds inhabit a hermetically sealed portion of the country so they don't have to interact with anyone else?
The logic goes like this:
- I don't like these restrictions - Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit - I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
Sturgeon still finding it difficult to entirely bury Salmond-Gate despite best efforts. Latest update from Rev Campbell. It's the cover-up that kills you...
It's amazing all the Unionist who appear to have subscriptions to the National, have become doughty defenders of Salmond and are regular drinkers of the Bath water. The world has become strange indeed.
Is Salmond selling his bath water on OnlyFans like?
Pretty sure there'd be a market..
But I meant Wings over Scotland, resident in Bath.
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
The pointless "suspension" in the AZ roll out, sending antivax memes all around the world, will go down as one of the worst unforced errors in the history of global public health. Insanely stupid.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
What a catastrophe
I just cannot see how UVDL Merkel or Macron can ever have any creditability again
Utterly shocking
You couldn't see how Dick and Khan survived the police handling of the Sarah Everard riot on Saturday either. Any news on either?
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I feel very sorry for the many sane doctors in the EU who had to pause and throw away vaccines which they knew were safe, and which they knew would save lives during a terrible plague.
Reason not to panic about case data and the rise in the R value we've got coming:
Cases in adults are still falling WoW, cases in kids are growing but that is down to the huge increase in testing IMO rather than actually increasing cases.
My issue with these flags is that I fear we're headed for the American route of displaying flags outside our houses.
Now I love the Union Jack, Cross of Saint George, and White Rose however as my friend who lived in America for a few years said, during windy nights these flags make a bloody racket.
We're about where India were at the same point so I wouldnt write us off yet. Although Bairstow and Stokes are going to have to start picking up the ball soonish.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
Yes, I'm getting tired of all these shows that feature extreme violence dished out to young women. It's becoming a cliche.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
I haven't found a really good new TV series for months. The Bug has put a pause, maybe even a stop, on TV's Golden Age
At the moment I am just about getting by with Barbaren, a German series about the Roman occupation of Teutonia. It's like Vikings or The Last Kingdom, but in German and ... not as good. But it's definitely watchable
EMA "Safe & effective vaccine, not associated with blood clots"
Unsurprising. Now it's time for all of these idiot politicians to unblock using it and get cracking. This third wave in Europe looks absolutely disastrous.
My wife got hers today. They told her they are seeing lots of cancellations now. Good job we're through the vulnerable.
Got mine today.
No evidence of any cancellations from looking at the sheets where the names were being crossed off.
Rishi Sunak was there filming another video.
There we go then- problem solved.
Get the Dishy One to promise PAs at vaccination sites. People will flock to them, if only for the chance to touch the hem of his garments.
That guy who partially cashed out will be breathing a big relief now.
Wonder if he was rooting for it? OTOH 50k richer if it won. BOTOH the loss validates the partial cash out.
We've all been there (not for the sums involved). My guess is rooting against.
Yes think I would have been - although pure financial rationality says you want it to win.
What was the story here?
Bloke did a £5 acca bet on the horses and the 1st 4 legs came in, 5th and final running today and he had the fav. Stood to get £500k if it won, zilch if it didn't. Before the race he did a deal with the bookie. Traded his £500k vs Nil position for a £300k if it won vs £250k if it lost position. It lost. He won £250k.
I think the article said £322k, or about £72k more... seemed to be picked deliberately to be enough to be rooting for the win.
I have to say pretty big balls on the guy to let the fourth leg ride, which was something like £2,400 @ 25/1. He deserves it.
He was probably a big punter. One always hopes, with these stories, that it's someone who just bets small amounts as recreation but usually it isn't.
But, yes, either way, good for him.
His use of the phrase "the field" gives him away as a seasoned punter, at least.
But he was unaware of Betfair's maximum payout, so perhaps not professional.
Incidentally I did the maths wrong. It was actually £3,575 @ 25/1 on the fourth leg.
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I reckon tens of thousands around the world will now refuse the AZ jab. The "suspension" has been global news, and now millions of people associate AZ with "death by blood clot"
That means, yes, thousands will die, who would have lived. That's how bad it is. And not a single person will resign
That's really pretty bad. Make a joke, sure, yay, sense of humour.
But one, it just isn't funny, it's odd.
And, two, the sneering tone? And the woman sneering at the picture of the Queen? And the nervous sneering chortles in the studio.
Fuck the BBC.
Every time something like this happens, the BBC dies a bit more. It is determined to drive itself over a cliff.
It is a bit weird though. What kind of person has a picture of the Queen on the wall?
He's not at home, he's in an office (in Whitehall?). I imagine loads of government offices have flags and pix of the Queen, it's normal.
It is also normal for politicians to appear with the flag behind them, in all nations. Sturgeon does it all the time, note. The EU has about 300 flags and motifs in every shot. France, America, they all do it.
But the one that gets sneered at is the Union Jack. They would never sneer at any other, least of all, perhaps, a Scottish or Welsh flag.
It is vastly trivial, but it is one more tiny brick in the tomb the BBC is hastily building for itself.
I'm also struck by the assumption that everyone shares their views - that anyone watching the BBC would find it laughably gauche to be associated with the union flag and/or the queen. I can imagine how you might put a case that it is. But you wouldn't expect a national broadcaster to necessarily expect its audience to start from that point of view.
Exactly. It is a brief moment, yet it is one of the purest examples of metropolitan sneering and London bubblethink that I've seen.
The BBC forgets that it is mainly watched by the middle aged and the old in the provinces. A conservative audience. It has already been abandoned by the young and urban.
So it does its best to alienate the dwindling viewers it still has? Genius.
Leaving aside the flag debate, BBC critics tend to overstate the absence of the younger audience. It's declined, but still 2.5 hours a week in the 18-34 age group, with 56% of young viewers watching it at some time during the week. (For comparison, the 55+ age group are 13 hours and 92%). iplayer watching (which in my circle is the preferred mechanism for younger people) has gone through the roof at 3.5 billion, or a programme a week for everyone in Britain of any age, including infants.
It's still a huge drop tho. When I were a lad the whole family watched the BBC, and we watched LOTS. 3 hours a day on average? Even in my 20s I watched 1-2 hours a day, average, I'd guess. Some days none but other days many hours - especially sports, news, documentaries and comedy
This probably did not change until the internet really kicked in. Now my consumption is minimal. I don't listen to BBC radio, I have largely stopped using the BBC website as it is so dumbed down
I watch quite lot of other TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, some Sky (sports mainly), Youtube.
But overall my TV consumption is down, in all forms, and the BBC is the most reduced.
Well I am right of centre, but I think (and have mentioned it before) that ministers having Union flags in their study or sitting room is just ridiculous. As a patriot I would say it is very un-British. I wish they would stop. By all means have them in press centres, but their study? ffs! Let people from banana republics wrap themselves in flags (and English and Scottish nationalists if they must), but British ministers need to be a bit more grown up. The breakfast presenter (Charlie State?) just said what a number of us think. I am not from the "metropolitan elite", far from it. Well done Charlie.
No comment on the EU teleconferences where there seems to be a competition amongst the participants about who can have the most EU flags in their office/study?
If I recall correctly you are not a great fan of the EU, so it is perhaps surprising you think that we should follow their lead on this. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I was brought up with the notion that if you are confident of something you didn't feel the need to "wear it on your sleeve".
No, I just find it funny those that complain about seeing the UK flag don't give two hoots about others doing the same.
Not all of us. I don't like flags, whether they're British, Scottish, French or whatever. Symbols of nationalism, and to be used sparingly. (I make an exception for the Red Flag, of course ).
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
Yes, I'm getting tired of all these shows that feature extreme violence dished out to young women. It's becoming a cliche.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
Only just caught up with Mindhunter which I realise is quite old, and does have the odd rotting corpse. Very nicely shot, good acting and some cracking toons. I thought the serial killing thing had been done to death (as it were) and it doesn't usually interest me that much, but this was good.
A monumental error, that has probably already killed people, and will carry on killing people, as antivaxxery persists, or even grows, thanks to this moronic blunder
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
On the radio the other day there was a Doctor representing the "German Intensive Care Doctors Union", something like that, he estimated the pause would cause hundreds of deaths in Germany alone. Just the pause mind, not the vaccine hesitancy and refusal that will inevitably result from the panic.
I feel very sorry for the many sane doctors in the EU who had to pause and throw away vaccines which they knew were safe, and which they knew would save lives during a terrible plague.
Awful. Tragic.
Border line criminal frankly.
There was a great quote about this.
"While it's easy to scare people, it's very hard to unscare them," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
My issue with these flags is that I fear we're headed for the American route of displaying flags outside our houses.
Now I love the Union Jack, Cross of Saint George, and White Rose however as my friend who lived in America for a few years said, during windy nights these flags make a bloody racket.
So I say no to Flag Onanism.
Count yourself lucky you don't live in Scotland - it has reached epidemic proportions. Sea of saltires, few EU flags following our departure, and the odd plucky UJ. You may as well just wipe £10,000 off the price of your property.
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
I've never seen a picture of the Queen on the wall in any building, no. I'd think it was weird, even if it was a police station.
Just odd.
Not that it justifies a sneering attitude but it is very old fashioned.
You've never been in a court room? Or any building along Whitehall? Or any kind of military building? You've avoided the inns of court, formal council offices, many police stations, every single British Embassy, every office of the British Council, so you actually live underground? It would explain much
Deaths still trending down, despite increase in testing:
Ha, I don't think we need to test for deaths!
I know what you mean though. Actually that's very encouraging because the fall in positives tests has accelerated slightly. We might yet avoid getting a + sign on the dashboard, which should help keep the Zerocovidians at bay.
A pensioner has been given a Covid breach warning by police after having a socially-distanced cup of tea in her communal garden.
The 82-year-old was visited by police after she had been reported for drinking tea outside with neighbours from her sheltered housing complex.
The woman, from Charlton Kings, was watching television in bed when there was a knock at the door at 9.45pm.
The pensioner's daughter Lesley Magovern, 56, from Cheltenham said: “My mother heard a knock at the door and it was very late and she wondered really who it could be.
'She was quite frightened'
"My mother is quite deaf and she asked who it was and she thought the voice said ‘It’s me’. Then mother assumed it was in fact me and she then opened the door.
“There were two officers stood there, a man and a woman with masks on and they asked if they could come in and speak to her.
"They did not show her any identification so she just trusted the uniform and she was quite frightened. My mother has never been in trouble with the police in her life.”
The residents all share a communal garden and her mother moved in just before lockdown.
Mrs Magovern said: “I can not believe the police travelled from Gloucester to Charlton Kings so late for something so ridiculous.
“When they were there, they told mother if it were to happen again she would be fined. Then they asked her to provide identification so she was rooting around trying to find some.
"Finally she ended up showing them an out of date drivers licence as that is all she had.”
The officers that visited Mrs Palmer are part of Gloucestershire Police's Covid response team.
A force spokesperson said: “An officer has spoken to the complainant and an explanation was provided in response to concerns raised. She was content with this and the matter has been resolved.
100 new scripted titles over the next three years that will “portray lives of people outside of London, for the nations”, including two long-running dramas – one from the north, one from the nations.
Sounds rather patronizing...by central decree, we need special programmes for those funny folk in the North, ee by gum, flat caps and whippets.
Surely the real issue is not whether the BBC reflects the nation, but that viewers are increasingly choosing non-British programmes on non-British services like Netflix, Disney+ and so on. That does not sound to me like a problem that is countered wth more regional production, because it seems people don't really care where the programmes come from as long as they are good. The BBC needs a plan to get a lot more money, to make a lot more high-cost programming, that makes the iPlayer competitive.
American programming is better quality, which hasn't always been the case.
The BBC needs to up its game. Not pander to regional box ticking.
The BBC can't afford to up its game - already it needs Amazon's money for a lot of it's fancier productions.
So all it can do is some regional box ticking while hoping moving outside London results in interesting program ideas that also attracts viewers.
They could afford to up its game by being smarter.
The BBC is a monolith now that is the true "Jack of All Trades" with what follows too.
The BBC should pick some good quality things to concentrate on and work on those, rather than trying to do everything.
Not so easy tho. The US streamers have blitzscaled themselves into gargantuan size, so their revenues are insane
The BBC gets, what, $7bn a year. A lot of money, but with that it has to do everything, the websites, dozens of radio stations, news, (some sport), all the TV channels, various other things like orchestras etc
Netflix's annual revenue in 2019 was TWENTY-FIVE billion dollars. Four times the size of the BBC (and growing fast and further under lockdown). With that, all it has to do is make TV drama, comedy and documentaries. That's it.
God knows how much Apple. Amazon and Disney can plough in, and earn, in time.
This is why Netflix can spend £10m on an episode of drama like The Crown, and it is vastly better than almost anything the BBC pumps out. Netflix gets the best of everything, from actors to directors to writers.
I fear the time has passed when the BBC were able, if they ever were, to compete with this
The most recent excellent TV show the BBC have done is The Office. That was in 2001 and 2002.
No top notch BBC shows since 2002? - C'mon.
Let's see what we can list. I mentioned Bloodlands a minute ago. How about "A Perfect Planet"?
for the mandatory Scottish input, I submit Guilt from last year.
Reason not to panic about case data and the rise in the R value we've got coming:
Cases in adults are still falling WoW, cases in kids are growing but that is down to the huge increase in testing IMO rather than actually increasing cases.
Yes, it's my old drone about the difference between positive tests and actual cases.
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Shield is good...more recent along similar lines, Snowfall.
Thanks will look it out.
When you decide you might like something non-serious to watch, I'll recommend stuff. I'll leave recomnending a course of improving viewing to your fellow masochists.
haha thanks always happy to have recommendations. And def on not serious stuff.
Recent non-serious viewing list (now complete apart from P&R): Modern Family, Schitt's Creek, Parks & Recs
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
I've never seen a picture of the Queen on the wall in any building, no. I'd think it was weird, even if it was a police station.
Just odd.
Not that it justifies a sneering attitude but it is very old fashioned.
You've never been in a court room? Or any building along Whitehall? Or any kind of military building? You've avoided the inns of court, formal council offices, many police stations, every single British Embassy, every office of the British Council, so you actually live underground? It would explain much
I would imagine many normal law abiding people have never been in any of those.
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
I've never seen a picture of the Queen on the wall in any building, no. I'd think it was weird, even if it was a police station.
Just odd.
Not that it justifies a sneering attitude but it is very old fashioned.
You've never been in a court room? Or any building along Whitehall? Or any kind of military building? You've avoided the inns of court, formal council offices, many police stations, every single British Embassy, every office of the British Council, so you actually live underground? It would explain much
I have been in a court room but I don't recall seeing a portrait of the Queen.
The rest of your post is meaningless twaddle. Why on earth would I have been in Whitehall, a police station, or in a British Embassy?
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Don't know many of those. Quite a lot of my favourites are quite old, and I only discovered in retrospect - I Claudius for example I recall as a child, but didn't appreciate. The Pallisers, March of Eagles, Barchester Chronicles, Tinker Tailor, etc.
Then come the likes of Breaking Bad and the West Wing - not sure I will ever plan to rewatch them though.
The Wire I re-watch every 4 or 5 years, much as I re-read the novels of Patrick O'Brian (which takes a while!).
Reason not to panic about case data and the rise in the R value we've got coming:
Cases in adults are still falling WoW, cases in kids are growing but that is down to the huge increase in testing IMO rather than actually increasing cases.
Quite - just got some new graphs on the way for that....
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
There does seem to be something of a lack of good TV recently. but it's great that we can now all dig up the best of past years. I really don't watch TV much at all, but over lockdown I've watched all the 'all creatures great and small' series. Not great, but a decent comfort-blanket type watch.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
Yes - that is a great one. The old one. There is only one Siegfried and that is Robert Hardy.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
Can anyone convince me to persevere with either Ratched or Bates Motel.
Trying to find something serious to watch, ideally which doesn't involve a rotting corpse unearthed in the first five minutes.
Yes, I'm getting tired of all these shows that feature extreme violence dished out to young women. It's becoming a cliche.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
Only just caught up with Mindhunter which I realise is quite old, and does have the odd rotting corpse. Very nicely shot, good acting and some cracking toons. I thought the serial killing thing had been done to death (as it were) and it doesn't usually interest me that much, but this was good.
Comments
Tho, right now, I would guess most nations on earth are experiencing insecurity - especially the USA. They're having a national nervous breakdown.
The one exception is China. She rises, serenely. Cruelly, but serenely.
I have a Brit's instinctive, emotional dislike of jingoism, but it is the excessiveness of flag waving rather than the fact of flag waving I most dislike. Indeed, on an intellectual level I think the UK does itself a disservice by not being more positive about its national identity and not using it as much as it could to drive unity and national success.
I've been mulling 'I Claudius' as my next thing, but I can't decide weather to re-read the books or watch the TV series. (My 2nd favourite TV series, only beaten by 'The Wire')
The BBC still does do a lot of good things - not complaining.
- I don't like these restrictions
- Therefore they are either unnecessary, do not work, or the cost outweighs the benefit
- I will therefore spend an entire year handwaving and ignoring reality to argue each of the above in turn.
I mean, even us humble punters on PB knew it was ridiculous. MY daughter's seven week old beagle-collie puppy "Bramble" knew it was ridiculous. It was FECKING OBVIOUS it was ridiculous. At the most they should have announced a quiet investigation AND CARRIED ON VACCINATING
What a catastrophe
But, yes, either way, good for him.
If foreign leaders want to wear a Mankini in the stars and stripes or EU flag I'd just think it is funny, but they are not coming on my TV as a member of my country's government, so you are right I don't give two hoots.
I remember some diddy on here praising him and the EDL as fine if slightly misguided patriots. Probably would have been about 5 years ago.
Utterly shocking
Carry on vaccinating, you idiots, whilst checking the data thoroughly.
There would have to be 100s of deadly blood clots a day to be more of an emergency than covid.
Just goes from chaos to chaos
Thank heavens that didn't stick.
The Wire #1 for me also (although then in no particular order Sopranos, West Wing, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Black Mirror then, also in no particular order Fargo (the series), the Good Wife, Succession, Better Call Saul).
Was thinking of trying The Shield and/or Homicide: Life on the Streets?
https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-first-minister-is-a-liar/
In 2016, 180 switched votes in two constituences would have secured an SNP majority, both Labour held.
I mean is anyone actually at work, as in in the office?
Will anyone resign? Will anyone even say Oops, sorry - to their own people, and to the other, sane parts of the world?
It is standard to do so for a very good reason too. Maybe you should consider why the French, Europeans, Americans and everyone else do the same thing?
I haven't traced his isp, mind.
I'm afraid I just lost my temper slightly with comedy Dave. Regrettable.
No evidence of any cancellations from looking at the sheets where the names were being crossed off.
Rishi Sunak was there filming another video.
Awful. Tragic.
Secondly, what's odd about the BBC response isn't the sneering at the flag, it's the sheer stupidity. Have they never seen a Government department building before? Have they never been to a police station, countil building etc., and seen that more often than not there's a picture of the Queen? I mean it would be nice if they didn't hate the country that pays their wages, but I'd settle at this point for them to have two brain cells to rub together.
The Investigation was a recent scandi series (based on the submarine case) that took a whole new tack. It was done purely from the viewpoint of the police and the family of the victim. It never showed the murder. And it never showed the perp. In fact the perp was not even named. There was no exploitative glorification of the crime or the criminal (like you so often get, e.g. The Serpent). It was a celebration of the victim and of the low key, dogged policework which eventually got the result.
Very refreshing and original. Still tense. Still fascinating. Did not need all the 'formula' stuff.
That means, yes, thousands will die, who would have lived. That's how bad it is. And not a single person will resign
Just odd.
Not that it justifies a sneering attitude but it is very old fashioned.
But I meant Wings over Scotland, resident in Bath.
Cases in adults are still falling WoW, cases in kids are growing but that is down to the huge increase in testing IMO rather than actually increasing cases.
Now I love the Union Jack, Cross of Saint George, and White Rose however as my friend who lived in America for a few years said, during windy nights these flags make a bloody racket.
So I say no to Flag Onanism.
At the moment I am just about getting by with Barbaren, a German series about the Roman occupation of Teutonia. It's like Vikings or The Last Kingdom, but in German and ... not as good. But it's definitely watchable
Get the Dishy One to promise PAs at vaccination sites. People will flock to them, if only for the chance to touch the hem of his garments.
But he was unaware of Betfair's maximum payout, so perhaps not professional.
Incidentally I did the maths wrong. It was actually £3,575 @ 25/1 on the fourth leg.
(I make an exception for the Red Flag, of course
Edit: and yes, The Investigation was good.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/03/16/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-europe-us-experts-coronavirus/4714377001/
https://twitter.com/DaveHarrisonBBC/status/1372544957249118209
I know what you mean though. Actually that's very encouraging because the fall in positives tests has accelerated slightly. We might yet avoid getting a + sign on the dashboard, which should help keep the Zerocovidians at bay.
That's amusing.
A pensioner has been given a Covid breach warning by police after having a socially-distanced cup of tea in her communal garden.
The 82-year-old was visited by police after she had been reported for drinking tea outside with neighbours from her sheltered housing complex.
The woman, from Charlton Kings, was watching television in bed when there was a knock at the door at 9.45pm.
The pensioner's daughter Lesley Magovern, 56, from Cheltenham said: “My mother heard a knock at the door and it was very late and she wondered really who it could be.
'She was quite frightened'
"My mother is quite deaf and she asked who it was and she thought the voice said ‘It’s me’. Then mother assumed it was in fact me and she then opened the door.
“There were two officers stood there, a man and a woman with masks on and they asked if they could come in and speak to her.
"They did not show her any identification so she just trusted the uniform and she was quite frightened. My mother has never been in trouble with the police in her life.”
The residents all share a communal garden and her mother moved in just before lockdown.
Mrs Magovern said: “I can not believe the police travelled from Gloucester to Charlton Kings so late for something so ridiculous.
“When they were there, they told mother if it were to happen again she would be fined. Then they asked her to provide identification so she was rooting around trying to find some.
"Finally she ended up showing them an out of date drivers licence as that is all she had.”
The officers that visited Mrs Palmer are part of Gloucestershire Police's Covid response team.
A force spokesperson said: “An officer has spoken to the complainant and an explanation was provided in response to concerns raised. She was content with this and the matter has been resolved.
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-03-18/pensioner-given-covid-breach-warning-over-socially-distanced-cup-of-tea
Recent non-serious viewing list (now complete apart from P&R): Modern Family, Schitt's Creek, Parks & Recs
The rest of your post is meaningless twaddle. Why on earth would I have been in Whitehall, a police station, or in a British Embassy?
Then come the likes of Breaking Bad and the West Wing - not sure I will ever plan to rewatch them though.
The Wire I re-watch every 4 or 5 years, much as I re-read the novels of Patrick O'Brian (which takes a while!).