If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of devolution.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
Actually a couple of months ago the Russian statistical authority did more or less say "All those other excess deaths? COVID-19." It's not quite the Kremlin, but at least some parts of the Russian government are being honest.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of the Convention.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
I think he’s talking about the earlier cross-political and indeed cross-society convention that reported in 1995, which is what Labour used as the basis for its devolutionary blueprint.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of the Convention.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
I think he’s talking about the earlier cross-political and indeed cross-society convention that reported in 1995, which is what Labour used as the basis for its devolutionary blueprint.
So, before they had a landslide majority.
Yes the "cross-political" convention that excluded Tories, excluded the SNP. 🙄
So a Labour/Lib-Dem fudge. That could have been replaced with a Labour fudge. There was nothing representative about it.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of devolution.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
No I am talking about the Convention, so a cheap, but irrelevant jibe. In fact I think both Labour and the Lib Dems will recover in this election in any event. The Alba/SNP bitterness is turning what should have been an electoral ploy into an effective split in the Nationalist camp, while also alienating the Greens. Meanwhile the Tories have no potential coalition partners, so I think the best guess is an SNP Minority, but I could see things going badly wrong for the SNP if the Alba voters don´t play ball in the constituencies.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of the Convention.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
I think he’s talking about the earlier cross-political and indeed cross-society convention that reported in 1995, which is what Labour used as the basis for its devolutionary blueprint.
So, before they had a landslide majority.
Yes the "cross-political" convention that excluded Tories, excluded the SNP. 🙄
So a Labour/Lib-Dem fudge. That could have been replaced with a Labour fudge. There was nothing representative about it.
AIUI they weren’t excluded, they just didn’t take part. Although the government trying to cut off its funding probably didn’t endear them to the Tories.
The fact is however that when what they came up with was put to the vote it got as near as bugger it 75% of the vote on a 60% turnout, so it’s difficult to argue their conclusions were unrepresentative.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of devolution.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
No I am talking about the Convention, so a cheap, but irrelevant jibe. In fact I think both Labour and the Lib Dems will recover in this election in any event. The Alba/SNP bitterness is turning what should have been an electoral ploy into an effective split in the Nationalist camp, while also alienating the Greens. Meanwhile the Tories have no potential coalition partners, so I think the best guess is an SNP Minority, but I could see things going badly wrong for the SNP if the Alba voters don´t play ball in the constituencies.
Not an irrelevant jibe. The "Convention" was a joke that was a Labour/Lib-Dem fudge. It wasn't backed by the Tories, it wasn't backed by the SNP. So saying "the Convention backed this" is just a case of saying that Labour + Lib Dems backed it.
What makes the Lib Dems so important as to be listened to while the SNP and Tories were ignored by the Convention? It wasn't winning elections that gave them power.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
It's cold, it's wet. it's windy here, it's darker than yesterday despite the clock change. I'm sick of working from home on my own for a year, I still don't really see much meaningful end to lockdown (Scotland flavour) and I'm not afraid to admit I'm feeling fucking miserable.
If it wasn't for the fun with Alba, the first F1 race of the season and the snooker I think I'd be happy to be repeatedly smashed in the face with a cricket bat.
It's cold, it's wet. it's windy here, it's darker than yesterday despite the clock change. I'm sick of working from home on my own for a year, I still don't really see much meaningful end to lockdown (Scotland flavour) and I'm not afraid to admit I'm feeling fucking miserable.
If it wasn't for the fun with Alba, the first F1 race of the season and the snooker I think I'd be happy to be repeatedly smashed in the face with a cricket bat.
Hah. Glad I'm not alone
I woke up in a terrible mood - like yours. Just one of those lockdown dips that leap out at you, and the Black Dog pins you to the floor. Often for no reason. Tho today the dreary, perpetually grey weather has not helped.
In the end I had a nice day - family, cooking, new puppy, wine - but now I dip again. The extended evening light just reveals the bleakness further into the night.
Hopefully next week's sun will boost everyone. We need it.
It's cold, it's wet. it's windy here, it's darker than yesterday despite the clock change. I'm sick of working from home on my own for a year, I still don't really see much meaningful end to lockdown (Scotland flavour) and I'm not afraid to admit I'm feeling fucking miserable.
If it wasn't for the fun with Alba, the first F1 race of the season and the snooker I think I'd be happy to be repeatedly smashed in the face with a cricket bat.
Do something physical. Then open the best bottle of wine in your house.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of the Convention.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
I think he’s talking about the earlier cross-political and indeed cross-society convention that reported in 1995, which is what Labour used as the basis for its devolutionary blueprint.
So, before they had a landslide majority.
Yes the "cross-political" convention that excluded Tories, excluded the SNP. 🙄
So a Labour/Lib-Dem fudge. That could have been replaced with a Labour fudge. There was nothing representative about it.
AIUI they weren’t excluded, they just didn’t take part. Although the government trying to cut off its funding probably didn’t endear them to the Tories.
The fact is however that when what they came up with was put to the vote it got as near as bugger it 75% of the vote on a 60% turnout, so it’s difficult to argue their conclusions were unrepresentative.
The referendum was based on the whole lot that was put together, not every individual element like the Labour/Lib Dem attempted fudge of the voting system.
Its worth noting that when voting system alone was voted on in 2011 with the AV referendum, the Scots backed keeping FPTP over changing the voting system by 64% to 36%.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
So you're saying that eliminating pollution might cause global warming? 🤔
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
I remember the extraordinary clarity of the light last year. That was special. One day I stood on some cliffs and realised I could see about 100 miles, or so it felt
I was doing karate in the park, as I do every Sunday morning, and the wind was so strong it was quite difficult to keep my balance at times.
Just normal early springtime variations. No need for drama.
No drama, just unpleasant! As you say, normal variation in weather.
Got out for a 12 mile run today, actually good running weather. Will be trapped in the spare room working next week, but I have a meeting I intend to attend in the garden on Tuesday 😊
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
So you're saying that eliminating pollution might cause global warming? 🤔
Depends on the pollution. Sulphur dioxide and aerosols have a cooling effect, carbon dioxide and methane have warming effects. Neither is going to have any noticeable effect in the space of a few months.
If things become very bitter between the SNP and ALBA, a significant number of supporters of the latter might well abstain from casting a vote in the constituency ballot - indeed a few may decide to support other parties out of spite!
I still find it remarkable that two parties that hate each other viscerally at many levels are supposed to be a good thing for their common aim. It’s just weird.
All down to Labour's crap voting system that was to ensure the independence supporters never got a majority, they did a grand job.
The voting system was designed (by the LDs) to stop Labour winning a majority. The SNP (6 MPs in 1997) weren't a consideration. If Labour had had their way, the system would be like Wales, where no matter how badly Labour do, they always get the FM.
Actually it was a compromise, since the Lib Dems insisted that PR of some kind was at least to be considered by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In fact the Lib Dems would have preferred STV. However, although Labour initially refused to deal with Malcolm Bruce on that basis, the Lib Dems forced the issue, and Labour, and in particular Donald Dewar, realized that the Convention without the Lib Dems would have been a dead letter especially after Gordon Wilson flounced.
Labour had a landslide majority and set the terms of devolution.
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
Being pedantic, if the Lib Dems don’t represent people, then an electoral system where the representation is proportional to support would be zero advantage to them. Thus their support of PR must be down to principle rather than perception of advantage.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
So you're saying that eliminating pollution might cause global warming? 🤔
Yes. Because they block the sun’s rays and partially offset the heating effect of greenhouse gases.
The scientists on the board would know more, but the steep rise in particulate emissions is thought to be the reason for a sustained period of cooling from the 1940s to the 1970s much talked about in the Great Global Warming Swindle.
There is more here, from a programme that long predates the pandemic.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
I've been considering Egypt as well. I bet you could get some amazing bargains this autumn. Aswan is wonderful from November onwards
Quite frankly the government can fuck itself with "travel restrictions" after June. Once I am double jabbed I will travel. What is the point in vaccination, otherwise? June will be the 15th month of quarantine, of one kind or another. Ca suffit
Just eyeballing our graph on that table, I'm surprised by how many fewer excess deaths there were in our second wave than in the first. I'm guessing that's because the flu season last year hardly happened.
If you believe that I have a cryptocurrency scheme to sell you.
We've already seen public health officials take the view that "as the general public have got used to masks and social distancing we can keep doing that for years to come" type stuff, so yes, I am very sceptical of any new supposedly "temporary" measures in the name of covid.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
I've been considering Egypt as well. I bet you could get some amazing bargains this autumn. Aswan is wonderful from November onwards
Quite frankly the government can fuck itself with "travel restrictions" after June. Once I am double jabbed I will travel. What is the point in vaccination, otherwise? June will be the 15th month of quarantine, of one kind or another. Ca suffit
Well quite. I was looking at Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alex, El Alamein. Doable in a fortnight and they appear to have decent trains and internal flights.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
I've been considering Egypt as well. I bet you could get some amazing bargains this autumn. Aswan is wonderful from November onwards
Quite frankly the government can fuck itself with "travel restrictions" after June. Once I am double jabbed I will travel. What is the point in vaccination, otherwise? June will be the 15th month of quarantine, of one kind or another. Ca suffit
Well quite. I was looking at Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alex, El Alamein. Doable in a fortnight and they appear to have decent trains and internal flights.
Do the night train from Cairo to Luxor! It's great. Then you can go on to Aswan by boat down the Nille, or another train
The climate is sublime from November-Feb. Dry sunny warm. Very little humidity. Sitting on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel, sipping a gin and tonic, watching the sun set over the islands and the palms and the Nubian boats on the Nile. Hard to beat....
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
The coast of Oaxaca state is wild. Untouched beaches and spirited hedonism
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
I hope you are not suggesting that reducing modern traffic (especially planes) will exacerbate global warming.. that will get you cancelled
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
I would kill for Blackpool or Scarborough at the moment.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
The coast of Oaxaca state is wild. Untouched beaches and spirited hedonism
When I was there it was just too hot and humid to do anything so I pretty much spent three days next to a fan or a/c. I preferred the mountain towns which were so much cooler.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
The coast of Oaxaca state is wild. Untouched beaches and spirited hedonism
When I was there it was just too hot and humid to do anything so I pretty much spent three days next to a fan or a/c. I preferred the mountain towns which were so much cooler.
It can get very sticky but if you get the right weather it's amazing. It feels like pristine unsullied coastline, with lots of mad sexy people. And a determined, sensual lawlessness
It's cold, it's wet. it's windy here, it's darker than yesterday despite the clock change. I'm sick of working from home on my own for a year, I still don't really see much meaningful end to lockdown (Scotland flavour) and I'm not afraid to admit I'm feeling fucking miserable.
If it wasn't for the fun with Alba, the first F1 race of the season and the snooker I think I'd be happy to be repeatedly smashed in the face with a cricket bat.
Here in Hawaii the weather is absolutely (checks outside window) fabulous.
Stop, now
It will be barbecue weather down here on Tuesday. Stop whining.
***checks forecast***
* Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (when stuck at work - some of us still actually have to travel to a place of work): looks really rather nice * Thursday onwards, for as far ahead as it goes, including all over Easter: cold grey dingy crap
Still not much rain on the horizon, but then again the forecast only goes up to the 10th. The torrential lashing storms won't arrive until the 12th.
Disclaimer: I was in the same year as Sanjeev at Trinity, and so knew him a little. (The same year, FWIW, as Tristram Hunt and only a year or two in front of Kwasi Kwarteng.)
Sanjeev was a very shrewd and hard working guy, who built a successful commodities trading business over 25 years.
But he got cocky. He also thirsted after more than being a pretty rich guy who traded metals. The downturn in commodities prices provided him with an opportunity: he could buy loss making plants from big listed metals companies, with borrowed money guaranteed by politicians desperate to prevent plants from closing. If metals prices rose, these plants would become profitable, and he'd make billions. If they fell, well...
Like a lot of people who's luck only seemed to go in one direction, he redoubled at every opportunity. Need money to keep the business going: there are always ways to borrow more money.
And now Greenshill has gone bust. And GFG is hundreds of millions (perhaps billions) in debt. And those loss making plants? They're still loss making.
Sanjeev will survive. He'll have a lot of personal wealth outside the GFG empire. But governments will be writing cheques to cover guarantees they should never have made. And unprofitable steel plants will be closing.
Unless the government wishes to subsidise someone else with more guarantees...
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
I hope you are not suggesting that reducing modern traffic (especially planes) will exacerbate global warming.. that will get you cancelled
Really? I thought ecowarriors like Extinction Rebellion fully approved of long distance air travel. Certainly they use it often enough:
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Yes, that sounds about right
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
In a normal year I like to travel in the autumn, and then next February or March. January I'm just too fucking depressed to enjoy it. Last year I was in Cyprus, next year I should be too as I have a deferred place in the Cyprus Half Marathon. This year was supposed to be Morocco :-(
Try Thailand in January. It is fantastic. You don't need to go the islands or countryside, Bangkok is fine. The weather is PERFECT. Clear, very warm, sunny, but not stifling. You barely see a cloud or a drop of rain from one week to the next.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Tx for the tip. I haven't been east of Madras so SE Asia is my next big target. Have looked at itineraries travelling about by train and sneaking over the border into Laos. I have a few options for October, Uzbekistan and Eqypt are probably favourites at the moment, if we're not sliding into winter restrictions by then.
Yes, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam are very good at that time of year too.
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
Oaxaca is a marvellous town. Or it was.
I think it still is, but my favourite cities in those parts are Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Perfect Spanish colonial cities. The latter is a bit gringo for many tastes, but the former is much more Mexican.
The coast of Oaxaca state is wild. Untouched beaches and spirited hedonism
When I was there it was just too hot and humid to do anything so I pretty much spent three days next to a fan or a/c. I preferred the mountain towns which were so much cooler.
It can get very sticky but if you get the right weather it's amazing. It feels like pristine unsullied coastline, with lots of mad sexy people. And a determined, sensual lawlessness
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
Wasn't it that the first shipment was that much, not the entire amount expected?
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or jusr Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
No, or at least, not so far as I know.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
I hope you are not suggesting that reducing modern traffic (especially planes) will exacerbate global warming.. that will get you cancelled
Can i also add the Icelandic volcano in 2010 to the list if times when we had very nice weather? It was about the time my first daughter was born, and was absolutely glorious.
I'd say the weather has been pretty pleasant of late though. A bit wetter today, but it's been largely warm-ish and dry-ish. Not quite up to last year's standard, but better than average I'd say.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
Wasn't it that the first shipment was that much, not the entire amount expected?
Well quite, though exactly how long the rest of it might take to turn up is anybody's guess.
We're basically reliant on the Phase One rollout being enough to avoid having to drag out this wretched lockdown until about October. I suspect that it probably is, but it will need to be. The rest of it looks like it's going to get done at a snail's pace.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
I think morons NOT doing research is more like it....
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
AIUI, the Lonza plant is Switzerland is ramping pretty quickly, and they should be producing 800k doses a day by the middle of April.
Also worth noting that J&J is delivering 11 million doses to the US government this coming week, so they must be pretty close to 1.5m doses a day.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
AIUI, the Lonza plant is Switzerland is ramping pretty quickly, and they should be producing 800k doses a day by the middle of April.
Also worth noting that J&J is delivering 11 million doses to the US government this coming week, so they must be pretty close to 1.5m doses a day.
I assume getting them to the UK will be a bit like the Berlin airlift.
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or jusr Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
Well, we need a superinjunction form some dimwitted judge to make it interesting.
This clip contains the most glorious line ever from Joshua Rosenberg, who apparently didn’t realise what he’d said:
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or just Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
The story is hardly a revelation - Ms Arcuri may be offering some extra details but the basics have been known about for some time; that, and I think that sex scandals - so long as there's no implication of sexual abuse being involved - no longer attract that much opprobrium or even interest.
So, it's mainly societal. We are no longer in the world of thirty years ago with the Antonia de Sancha revelations. Besides which, the key element of hypocrisy that was present in John Major's time is also absent here. Boris Johnson's colourful past is well known, and there's been nothing like Back to Basics to use as a stick with which to beat him.
A nice bit of evening sunshine, in readiness for the heatwave to come, and even the wind has dropped a bit. Cant complain.
Leon is the sort of person who if given a million pounds in gold would complain it was too heavy.
I am equally over-enthusiastic and prone to ridiculous negativity, often at the same time
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
Yes, it is. So far, it has been a perfectly normal spring. Last year was anything but normal due to the lack of emissions especially in China.
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
Is there a proven correlation between the drop in emissions and our sensational spring in 2020?
That would surprise me
Is "proven correlation" a thing?
You can prove correlation very easily.
It's causation that's the difficult bit...
I think the better phrasing would be 'demonstrated correlation'.
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
AIUI, the Lonza plant is Switzerland is ramping pretty quickly, and they should be producing 800k doses a day by the middle of April.
Also worth noting that J&J is delivering 11 million doses to the US government this coming week, so they must be pretty close to 1.5m doses a day.
Yeah I've heard it's a really good ramp up, better than AZ for sure. As Charles pointed out, it's the difference between a chemical process and a biological one.
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or jusr Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
Boris and Arcuri is not news. Everyone knows Boris and Arcuri were an item and no-one cares other than Boris's other women. The possible corruption angle is a bit nebulous and in any case, is chicken feed amongst other allegations flying around this government.
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or jusr Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
I shouldn’t be surprised, it is one of the stranger symptoms of Boris Derangement Syndrome. The sufferer believes that banging on about things they consider bad news for Boris, even though it has been common knowledge for decades, will suddenly be thought of as so awful that everyone who voted for him to be Mayor of London twice, for Brexit, as Tory leader, and a PM with a massive majority, will suddenly repent. But no one cares
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or jusr Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
I shouldn’t be surprised, it is one of the stranger symptoms of Boris Derangement Syndrome. The sufferer believes that banging on about things they consider bad news for Boris, even though it has been common knowledge for decades, will suddenly be thought of as so awful that everyone who voted for him to be Mayor of London twice, for Brexit, as Tory leader, and a PM with a massive majority, will suddenly repent. But no one cares
I think the £126k of taxpayer's money (And it is more clear than recent rushed contracts as we are in an enviroment where we need to do 'whatever it takes' , we were not then ) is a definite story. But it's not really the angle the Mirror has run on.
Just wondering, is it a function of our changed society, the declining importance of the dead tree press or just Boris, that the Mirror have clearly paid big bucks for the dirt on the PMs affair and it is basically getting about as much coverage as a similar story of a footballer been caught playing away?
The story is hardly a revelation - Ms Arcuri may be offering some extra details but the basics have been known about for some time; that, and I think that sex scandals - so long as there's no implication of sexual abuse being involved - no longer attract that much opprobrium or even interest.
So, it's mainly societal. We are no longer in the world of thirty years ago with the Antonia de Sancha revelations. Besides which, the key element of hypocrisy that was present in John Major's time is also absent here. Boris Johnson's colourful past is well known, and there's been nothing like Back to Basics to use as a stick with which to beat him.
It is an interesting case, and I'm not sure it's just a change in values. Everyone knows what Boris is like, and there is illicit sex and illegal/borderline/abuse of power sex on the other. Boris specialises in the first and emphatically not the second, and compared with the second there is something rather old fashioned about the first. It's illicit and it's sex and the ladies look charming in some lights.
But with Boris there is one thing more. He never says a word about or against those who talk about their relationships with him. The very old fashioned, and soundly based, value (for illicit sex has not just been invented) that a gentleman never tells does seem to be Boris's line. Unlike some of the ladies he knows how to shut up. They would do well to do the same.
BTW the quote in the Mirror story where Boris is saying about the bishop kicking a hole in a stained glass window has a certain ring of truth. It is a straight quote from PG Wodehouse (I think it's Mulliner but not sure). Boris will certainly know the quote. Less likely that American blonds (though Wodehouse has plenty of them in his stories) or SM journalists do.
And at what point are the government going to consult those in hospitality who have to implement this rubbish? Like, for instance, the unvaccinated staff?
On Moderna: one reads that the likely delivery due in April is about 500,000 doses. So, happy days are here again for 49-and-a-half year olds. Bugger all use to anyone else.
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
That's just the first delivery, not the whole April consignment. The first delivery of AZ was about 500k, we've had around 15m delivered since then. The media have got morons researching this stuff.
AIUI, the Lonza plant is Switzerland is ramping pretty quickly, and they should be producing 800k doses a day by the middle of April.
Also worth noting that J&J is delivering 11 million doses to the US government this coming week, so they must be pretty close to 1.5m doses a day.
I assume getting them to the UK will be a bit like the Berlin airlift.
The uk has only ordered 7m Moderna (I believe) so it's barely more than a week's production for the plant. The bigger issue is that Moderna is currently supposed to be "filled" (i.e. put into vials) in Spain. However, it would be pretty easy for Moderna to shift location for fill, if the EU was to play silly buggers.
This is a correct reading of what happened. It was mistakes by SAGE that indeed dictated our fate. I also agree -- and argued on pb.com at the time -- that it is wrong to punish individual scientists, but SAGE is an anachronism better suited to the 1960s. There were scientific blogs that picked out SAGE's mistakes weeks before SAGE did.
Jeremy Hunt appears to be the first politician to have deduced all this.
I never had a high opinion of Jeremy Hunt before ..... I am changing my mind.
This is evidence of real acuity (& you don't get praise for any politicians from @YBarddCwsc very often).
Comments
The Lib Dems were an irrelevance and they remain so now after PR.
Its almost as if the Lib Dems don't represent people and its not the voting system that stymies them!
Lab 1.86
Con 2.12
I really think its 50/50 mainly due to
https://twitter.com/FreeNorthNow/status/1376224063371218953/photo/1
So, before they had a landslide majority.
* patient because it is being designed to train US psychologists. Or Clinical psychs over here.
Bizarrely they've gone backwards with Italy, it was up to November back in January, its now up to October.
But it does feel like this spring is unusually cold and grey, so far. That may, however, be a product of the absurdly sunny and lovely spring we had last year. The sunniest on record, basically
The other thing that might be fooling you is that January and February were quite cold and wet - not ridiculously so, but above average - as was the autumn. So it feels like we have been in a miserable climate situation ever since October.
So a Labour/Lib-Dem fudge. That could have been replaced with a Labour fudge. There was nothing representative about it.
Also, personally, pre-plague, I used to travel a LOT, especially during the dire English winter. I always escaped somewhere nice and hot, at least for a fortnight, usually MUCH more than that, from October-March
This is probably the first time in 20 years I have spent an entire autumn and winter in the UK. And I can safely say that this modest calamity will never happen again, pandemics permitting
The fact is however that when what they came up with was put to the vote it got as near as bugger it 75% of the vote on a 60% turnout, so it’s difficult to argue their conclusions were unrepresentative.
What makes the Lib Dems so important as to be listened to while the SNP and Tories were ignored by the Convention? It wasn't winning elections that gave them power.
That would surprise me
If it wasn't for the fun with Alba, the first F1 race of the season and the snooker I think I'd be happy to be repeatedly smashed in the face with a cricket bat.
Not permanent...
I woke up in a terrible mood - like yours. Just one of those lockdown dips that leap out at you, and the Black Dog pins you to the floor. Often for no reason. Tho today the dreary, perpetually grey weather has not helped.
In the end I had a nice day - family, cooking, new puppy, wine - but now I dip again. The extended evening light just reveals the bleakness further into the night.
Hopefully next week's sun will boost everyone. We need it.
Next question - is it a linked that when emissions drop suddenly and substantially fewer clouds are seeded and therefore more solar rays reach the earth? Or, is it a coincidence that this happens on both the modern occasions there was a stoppage (the other being when air traffic was suspended in the US after 9/11 and the temperature spiked 2c).
Answer - it may be a coincidence, but it seems more likely to be a link.
Its worth noting that when voting system alone was voted on in 2011 with the AV referendum, the Scots backed keeping FPTP over changing the voting system by 64% to 36%.
Everyone is in a relaxed good mood, it is like the Mediterranean in mid June. The evenings are delicious. The warm tropical nights, the sultry stars....
Neither is going to have any noticeable effect in the space of a few months.
Thus their support of PR must be down to principle rather than perception of advantage.
It's causation that's the difficult bit...
The scientists on the board would know more, but the steep rise in particulate emissions is thought to be the reason for a sustained period of cooling from the 1940s to the 1970s much talked about in the Great Global Warming Swindle.
There is more here, from a programme that long predates the pandemic.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/dimming_trans.shtml
Quite frankly the government can fuck itself with "travel restrictions" after June. Once I am double jabbed I will travel. What is the point in vaccination, otherwise? June will be the 15th month of quarantine, of one kind or another. Ca suffit
Also southern Mexico and central America.
Warm and dry. Perfect.
The climate is sublime from November-Feb. Dry sunny warm. Very little humidity. Sitting on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel, sipping a gin and tonic, watching the sun set over the islands and the palms and the Nubian boats on the Nile. Hard to beat....
SIGH
The drug wars are such a catastrophe
* Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (when stuck at work - some of us still actually have to travel to a place of work): looks really rather nice
* Thursday onwards, for as far ahead as it goes, including all over Easter: cold grey dingy crap
Still not much rain on the horizon, but then again the forecast only goes up to the 10th. The torrential lashing storms won't arrive until the 12th.
Sanjeev was a very shrewd and hard working guy, who built a successful commodities trading business over 25 years.
But he got cocky. He also thirsted after more than being a pretty rich guy who traded metals. The downturn in commodities prices provided him with an opportunity: he could buy loss making plants from big listed metals companies, with borrowed money guaranteed by politicians desperate to prevent plants from closing. If metals prices rose, these plants would become profitable, and he'd make billions. If they fell, well...
Like a lot of people who's luck only seemed to go in one direction, he redoubled at every opportunity. Need money to keep the business going: there are always ways to borrow more money.
And now Greenshill has gone bust. And GFG is hundreds of millions (perhaps billions) in debt. And those loss making plants? They're still loss making.
Sanjeev will survive. He'll have a lot of personal wealth outside the GFG empire. But governments will be writing cheques to cover guarantees they should never have made. And unprofitable steel plants will be closing.
Unless the government wishes to subsidise someone else with more guarantees...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8887456/sky-news-posh-eco-activist-boys-school/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-47991377
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2020/01/05/extinction-rebellion-activists-embroiled-row-whether-flying/
Months of lovely waiting still stretches into the distance. Joy.
I'd say the weather has been pretty pleasant of late though. A bit wetter today, but it's been largely warm-ish and dry-ish. Not quite up to last year's standard, but better than average I'd say.
We're basically reliant on the Phase One rollout being enough to avoid having to drag out this wretched lockdown until about October. I suspect that it probably is, but it will need to be. The rest of it looks like it's going to get done at a snail's pace.
To morons, that is.
Also worth noting that J&J is delivering 11 million doses to the US government this coming week, so they must be pretty close to 1.5m doses a day.
This clip contains the most glorious line ever from Joshua Rosenberg, who apparently didn’t realise what he’d said:
https://youtu.be/TDvKFO1k0bs
So, it's mainly societal. We are no longer in the world of thirty years ago with the Antonia de Sancha revelations. Besides which, the key element of hypocrisy that was present in John Major's time is also absent here. Boris Johnson's colourful past is well known, and there's been nothing like Back to Basics to use as a stick with which to beat him.
https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1376210411717079043
But it's not really the angle the Mirror has run on.
But with Boris there is one thing more. He never says a word about or against those who talk about their relationships with him. The very old fashioned, and soundly based, value (for illicit sex has not just been invented) that a gentleman never tells does seem to be Boris's line. Unlike some of the ladies he knows how to shut up. They would do well to do the same.
BTW the quote in the Mirror story where Boris is saying about the bishop kicking a hole in a stained glass window has a certain ring of truth. It is a straight quote from PG Wodehouse (I think it's Mulliner but not sure). Boris will certainly know the quote. Less likely that American blonds (though Wodehouse has plenty of them in his stories) or SM journalists do.
Apologies for coming over as a bit of an anorak on a site usually totally devoid of them but according to my weatherstation here in Dorset:
March 28 2020: Temperature: High: 11.1 C Low: 3.3 C Average: 6.7 C
March 28 2021: Temperature: High: 13.0 C Low: 8.8 C Average: 10.2 C
And at what point are the government going to consult those in hospitality who have to implement this rubbish? Like, for instance, the unvaccinated staff?
The Scots know, whether they admit it or not, that leaving the UK will at best make them poorer and at worst lead to ‘economic havoc.’
Just as the Irish did in 1922.
That on its own is not going to be enough to persuade them it is a bad idea to do it.
Either make a positive case for staying together, or accept Scotland will go Indie.
Good night.
This is a correct reading of what happened. It was mistakes by SAGE that indeed dictated our fate. I also agree -- and argued on pb.com at the time -- that it is wrong to punish individual scientists, but SAGE is an anachronism better suited to the 1960s. There were scientific blogs that picked out SAGE's mistakes weeks before SAGE did.
Jeremy Hunt appears to be the first politician to have deduced all this.
I never had a high opinion of Jeremy Hunt before ..... I am changing my mind.
This is evidence of real acuity (& you don't get praise for any politicians from @YBarddCwsc very often).