This really is an exceptional period of cooler-than-average weather in the UK (which is already cold enough, thanks very much). I was just reading a weather geek who claims that some places in southern England have only seen one day over 20C in eight months.
I dunno if it is true, but the fact he can make a plausible claim is striking
I am absolutely desperate for hot sunshine now. I want to walk out of my door and feel that on my face. Instead I walk out and there will be that nagging, chilly breeze. AGAIN
And there is no sign of any change in the forecasts
OK I'm going to the gym for a mood-lift before I hang myself. Later
The commission economic predictions for the UK definitely have a touch of jilted ex syndrome. The city consensus is noticeably higher and factors in little to no brexit related reduction in GDP. I think it would be fairly embarrassing for them to come in at ~7.5% where the city consensus is for the UK, though. Additionally it looks like their projections are done on a nominal GDP calculation basis but the GDP itself is the output model as preferred by the ONS. Most of the city has caught up with this and it's why there is expected to be a big bounceback as schools return to normal and health output picks up as the NHS works through a huge backlog.
It's interesting reading the economics editor of Berlingske today explaining how the UK economy fared worst of all economies last year "Unlike Denmark" - the whole piece is tinged with a "bastard british have left us at the mercy of the Germans" vibe - apparently there may be some short term bounce back over the summer but by Autumn the warning klaxons will be going off and the full error of Brexit will become visible - I don't know if that will happen but reading the piece it's clear he really wants it too because the UK 'abandoned' Denmark.
Another bit of jilted ex syndrome. Goldman Sachs have got UK growth this year penciled in at 7.8% which recovers all of our GDP by the end of 2021 based on the measure they use.
Also, there is a solution to being left at the mercy of Germany. 🤷♂️
I can't tell you the grief I get over the UK leaving the EU, mostly because I don't participate in gleefully hoping it all goes horribly wrong and saying Boris Johnson is an idiot and the electorate were tricked - Danes are mostly now looking on and suffering major jilted ex syndrome. They HATE the idea Brexit might not be that big a deal economically to the UK.
Too much guardian reading and CNN watching I think. If there is a brexit effect, even in the short term, it is mostly going to be carried by the food/fishing industry because of EU border pedantry. Most of everything else will just get on with life. Speaking from my position in financial services, the death of the City that everyone in the EU keeps hyping up doesn't seem likely, hiring is stronger than I've ever seen it and we're winning clients from outside the EU much faster than we were when we were in it and for us it's made up for the difficulty in servicing EU based clients and more. I think 2021 will be a record year for us in terms of asset gains and 2022 will be a record for profitability.
Thanks for the "I'm alright Jack" anecdote. There are plenty of very real businesses that have suffered so that those that jerk off about "sovrinty init" can have their moment of ecstasy.
The reality is that Brexit is and was a massive upheaval. Whether it was economically worth it I am happy to concede will now need to be decided by impartial historical economists probably long after I have ceased to care, and though I am not dead, I am already not far off not caring now.
As far as I was concerned, the worst thing about Brexit was that it was so massively divisive. Some people and some politicians get off on that, just like the SNP in Scotland. It might be helpful if people who were in favour of Brexit owned a bit of humility instead of constantly trying to justify Brexit when there is no need to do so. We are not going back in. You don't need to keep picking at the wound.
That's not really what I was going for and I do accept that there will be some tough times for specific industries, mostly in food and fishing.
I think what you fail to see is that EU membership was also massively divisive, as someone who benefits from it's not easy to understand why it would be but communities across the whole country have been destroyed by wage deflation and stagnation in lower-middle income jobs and the resulting increase in population has also resulted in a crash in owner occupation of houses.
As much as I'm a realist about what brexit is and isn't (and there are many items in each column) I think you should be realistic about what EU membership had turned into for large swathes of the country. That resentment and divisiveness was already there with or without a referendum. In 2015 4m people voted for UKIP, by a quirk of our voting system they didn't get any seats. In the road not taken where Dave refused a referendum how many cycles do you think it would have taken for PM Nige to become a reality? Pretending that EU membership was all sunlit uplands isn't realistic.
I am trying not to be drawn into EU arguments as I think we need to move on, but I think your argument about "EU membership" has some validity EXCEPT that a lot of the associated problems with free movement were as a result of British government immigration policies, and the reality that 50% of UK immigration had nothing to do with the EU and yet successive Home Secretaries (including Mrs May) did nothing about it and tacitly encouraged it. The EU was blamed for immigration because it was convenient. It is all history now though!
Did nothing? May was far, far too authoritarian with immigration from the rest of the world! Unless you want zero migration, to say that 'nothing was being done' is just untrue - one irony is that many voted to Leave the EU to make it easier for the rest of the world to get a visa to come to the UK not harder.
I'm glad the authoritarian May Home Secretary has gone as well as her ludicrous and xenophobic "hundreds of thousands" pledge. I'm glad that we have liberalised getting a visa for many skilled migrants from the rest of the world post-Brexit.
Not according to wiki. Breakdown as follows -
Voting Leave to get lower net migration: 17,410,741 Voting Leave to get higher net migration: Richard Tyndall
Wrong. Vote Leave and immigration doesn't matter.
My aim is not for higher or lower migration, it is migration to cease to be an issue. Now I know that is fanciful but the point is that it had zero impact on my view of the EU. Nor am I alone in this. Indeed PT's views are very close to mine - if perhaps not quite so extreme in this respect.
I realise that kind of spoils your little meme but that is your problem not mine.
Don't go spoiling my meme (I won't go spoiling your meme) ... don't go spoiling my
No, but I was doing the old 'exaggeration to make point' technique. Looking for more immigration was not a big driver of Brexit.
This really is an exceptional period of cooler-than-average weather in the UK (which is already cold enough, thanks very much). I was just reading a weather geek who claims that some places in southern England have only seen one day over 20C in eight months.
I dunno if it is true, but the fact he can make a plausible claim is striking
I am absolutely desperate for hot sunshine now. I want to walk out of my door and feel that on my face. Instead I walk out and there will be that nagging, chilly breeze. AGAIN
And there is no sign of any change in the forecasts
OK I'm going to the gym for a mood-lift before I hang myself. Later
The provisional Central England Temperature anomaly so far this year is +0.02C, but the average anomaly over recent years has been about +1C, so it's certainly a lot colder than we're used to.
This really is an exceptional period of cooler-than-average weather in the UK (which is already cold enough, thanks very much). I was just reading a weather geek who claims that some places in southern England have only seen one day over 20C in eight months.
I dunno if it is true, but the fact he can make a plausible claim is striking
I am absolutely desperate for hot sunshine now. I want to walk out of my door and feel that on my face. Instead I walk out and there will be that nagging, chilly breeze. AGAIN
And there is no sign of any change in the forecasts
OK I'm going to the gym for a mood-lift before I hang myself. Later
The provisional Central England Temperature anomaly so far this year is +0.02C, but the average anomaly over recent years has been about +1C, so it's certainly a lot colder than we're used to.
Yes because January, April and the first half of May have been well below average.
However, February and March were well above average:
And last year we had a warm April but June was below average, so there's plenty of time for a warm or hot summer.
This is just British weather. It does this.
Perhaps. But October was the unsunniest October in history and January was the second unsunniest. April was freeeeeeeezing
When it's been sunny there's been a horrible wind. When it's been mild there's been cloud and rain
I've no doubt perceptions are at play, you notice the shite British weather more when all you can do is meet people in frigid parks, and of course when you can't jump on a plane to escape it
But I frequent a couple of weather nerd sites (I know, my exciting life) and even the most stoical of geeks are freaking out about this dreary old bollocks
The commission economic predictions for the UK definitely have a touch of jilted ex syndrome. The city consensus is noticeably higher and factors in little to no brexit related reduction in GDP. I think it would be fairly embarrassing for them to come in at ~7.5% where the city consensus is for the UK, though. Additionally it looks like their projections are done on a nominal GDP calculation basis but the GDP itself is the output model as preferred by the ONS. Most of the city has caught up with this and it's why there is expected to be a big bounceback as schools return to normal and health output picks up as the NHS works through a huge backlog.
It's interesting reading the economics editor of Berlingske today explaining how the UK economy fared worst of all economies last year "Unlike Denmark" - the whole piece is tinged with a "bastard british have left us at the mercy of the Germans" vibe - apparently there may be some short term bounce back over the summer but by Autumn the warning klaxons will be going off and the full error of Brexit will become visible - I don't know if that will happen but reading the piece it's clear he really wants it too because the UK 'abandoned' Denmark.
Another bit of jilted ex syndrome. Goldman Sachs have got UK growth this year penciled in at 7.8% which recovers all of our GDP by the end of 2021 based on the measure they use.
Also, there is a solution to being left at the mercy of Germany. 🤷♂️
I can't tell you the grief I get over the UK leaving the EU, mostly because I don't participate in gleefully hoping it all goes horribly wrong and saying Boris Johnson is an idiot and the electorate were tricked - Danes are mostly now looking on and suffering major jilted ex syndrome. They HATE the idea Brexit might not be that big a deal economically to the UK.
Too much guardian reading and CNN watching I think. If there is a brexit effect, even in the short term, it is mostly going to be carried by the food/fishing industry because of EU border pedantry. Most of everything else will just get on with life. Speaking from my position in financial services, the death of the City that everyone in the EU keeps hyping up doesn't seem likely, hiring is stronger than I've ever seen it and we're winning clients from outside the EU much faster than we were when we were in it and for us it's made up for the difficulty in servicing EU based clients and more. I think 2021 will be a record year for us in terms of asset gains and 2022 will be a record for profitability.
Thanks for the "I'm alright Jack" anecdote. There are plenty of very real businesses that have suffered so that those that jerk off about "sovrinty init" can have their moment of ecstasy.
The reality is that Brexit is and was a massive upheaval. Whether it was economically worth it I am happy to concede will now need to be decided by impartial historical economists probably long after I have ceased to care, and though I am not dead, I am already not far off not caring now.
As far as I was concerned, the worst thing about Brexit was that it was so massively divisive. Some people and some politicians get off on that, just like the SNP in Scotland. It might be helpful if people who were in favour of Brexit owned a bit of humility instead of constantly trying to justify Brexit when there is no need to do so. We are not going back in. You don't need to keep picking at the wound.
That's not really what I was going for and I do accept that there will be some tough times for specific industries, mostly in food and fishing.
I think what you fail to see is that EU membership was also massively divisive, as someone who benefits from it's not easy to understand why it would be but communities across the whole country have been destroyed by wage deflation and stagnation in lower-middle income jobs and the resulting increase in population has also resulted in a crash in owner occupation of houses.
As much as I'm a realist about what brexit is and isn't (and there are many items in each column) I think you should be realistic about what EU membership had turned into for large swathes of the country. That resentment and divisiveness was already there with or without a referendum. In 2015 4m people voted for UKIP, by a quirk of our voting system they didn't get any seats. In the road not taken where Dave refused a referendum how many cycles do you think it would have taken for PM Nige to become a reality? Pretending that EU membership was all sunlit uplands isn't realistic.
I am trying not to be drawn into EU arguments as I think we need to move on, but I think your argument about "EU membership" has some validity EXCEPT that a lot of the associated problems with free movement were as a result of British government immigration policies, and the reality that 50% of UK immigration had nothing to do with the EU and yet successive Home Secretaries (including Mrs May) did nothing about it and tacitly encouraged it. The EU was blamed for immigration because it was convenient. It is all history now though!
Did nothing? May was far, far too authoritarian with immigration from the rest of the world! Unless you want zero migration, to say that 'nothing was being done' is just untrue - one irony is that many voted to Leave the EU to make it easier for the rest of the world to get a visa to come to the UK not harder.
I'm glad the authoritarian May Home Secretary has gone as well as her ludicrous and xenophobic "hundreds of thousands" pledge. I'm glad that we have liberalised getting a visa for many skilled migrants from the rest of the world post-Brexit.
Not according to wiki. Breakdown as follows -
Voting Leave to get lower net migration: 17,410,741 Voting Leave to get higher net migration: Richard Tyndall
Wrong. Vote Leave and immigration doesn't matter.
My aim is not for higher or lower migration, it is migration to cease to be an issue. Now I know that is fanciful but the point is that it had zero impact on my view of the EU. Nor am I alone in this. Indeed PT's views are very close to mine - if perhaps not quite so extreme in this respect.
I realise that kind of spoils your little meme but that is your problem not mine.
Don't go spoiling my meme (I won't go spoiling your meme) ... don't go spoiling my
No, but I was doing the old 'exaggeration to make point' technique. Looking for more immigration was not a big driver of Brexit.
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
Take it you are NOT planning to relocate to Seattle? Or Vancouver?
Why would he want to move to somewhere where the cost of living is so much higher than London?
Just grubbed these number up from google; note that most (I think) are pre-COVID but some may be post-COVID (think Seattle rent is, so figure in appox 15% drop from 2019. Also, some of the currency conversion are my own using the first currency converter that popped up on my computer:
From numbeo.com
> London - A single person estimated monthly costs are $1,203 (£852) without rent
> Seattle - A single person estimated monthly costs are $1,154 (£821) without rent.
from mylondon.news
> average cost for a one-bedroom property is $2719 (£1,934) - note I think this means rent?
from rentcafe.com
> Seattle - average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is currently $1,550 (£818)
CONCLUSION - based on above, Seattle is somewhat LESS expensive?
What I find interesting is that few people realise that the Victorian/Edwardian terraces and semis that are so loved are not actually a million miles from the ugly box style of "executive homes".
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
I'm meeting a couple of mates in Soho for an outdoors dinner tomorrow. Arranged about a fortnight ago. I was expecting a pleasant mild evening in mid May, maybe even shirtsleeve weather, glass of chilled white, tinkling laughter
At 6pm it will be 13C and raining, and it will rain for most of the day, so it will feel like 10C
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
I'm meeting a couple of mates in Soho for an outdoors dinner tomorrow. Arranged about a fortnight ago. I was expecting a pleasant mild evening in mid May, maybe even shirtsleeve weather, glass of chilled white, tinkling laughter
At 6pm it will be 13C and raining, and it will rain for most of the day, so it will feel like 10C
Kate Hollern MP resigns as shadow minister over the Mike Hill allegations. Accused of trying to intimidate the complainant.
as per Guido, was going to accuse another MP of being in bed with the complainent when he attempted to help her. If any truth in it, seems more of a resigning from public life job than just the shadow cabinet frankly.
Perhaps it's me but I don't detect a lot of warmth on here for Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Theresa May?
Who would be Prime Minister? I don't know but it seems preferable to being an ex-Prime Minister.
Do we need to go back 30 years or more to find a Prime Minister who enjoyed widespread admiration among PB contributors?
Are we still Thatcher's Children and does her shadow really extend that far?
Are there really more questions than answers?
There’s Major, who is thought of rather more kindly as ex PM than he was as PM.
Though it's taken a LOOONG time for him to get to that point.
As a nation, we're not good at using the experience of ex-PMs or even ex-leaders. Even if they end up defeated at the polls, they've still got a store of wisdom, but we prefer to use them as a scapegoat- kick them out because they're bums and pretend that will make everything fine again.
I doubt we'll ever have anything like the long duel between Wilson and Heath, and I'm sure that part of Corbyn's problem in 2019 was his failure to resign in 2017.
And it may give us the democratic horn to kick our would-be superiors in the pants from time to time, but might a more tactful approach be in our collective interests?
So..... Trump Administration Defense Secretary Christopher Miller just told US House panel the following, when asked if Trump's words inspired insurrection:
"Entertainment, media complex" played role in triggering US Capitol Insurrection
!!! Per former Trump Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Trump told him DC National Guard *should* be activated as requested by DC mayor Muriel Bowser.....
Trump said, "Do whatever is necessary to protect the demonstrators, executing their constitutionally protected rights"
OK - I am royally pissed off and if anyone has any ideas I am all ears
E.on are my sons energy provider - I have mentioned that he has been running up some impossible bills
In last month he has allegedly run up 700 - his arrears were getting on for 2 grand (a complaint has been open for a while on how this amount can possibly be used).
An engineer came out agreed he couldn't run that up living on his own in a 2 bed flat and said he suspected someone else was drawing his supply too. (This is the second person contracted by Eon to say this)
Eon manager subsequently rang my son and agreed to accept a certain payment and agreed my son could leave them for another supplier - he has I think 4 complaints open with Eon going back nearly a year for the first one - none resolved.
He hit a snag with paying them and a compromise was agreed (so, multiple calls on this) - this agreement was kept by us. (Delay was literally 48 hours tops)
He has had debt collection on the phone today asking for full payment - he referred them to his agreement with manager and she said she could not find record of the phone call and in any event the person who made the agreement was not entitled to do so.... (despite not knowing who it was )
This person said it was entirely possible to run up 700 a month on a 2 bed flat on his own (Like feck, I spend a fraction of that on a 5 bed place with a family in it)
When he pointed out that the engineer who came out said he could not and it needed further investigation and he was probably better placed to make that determination she claimed she knew better and then hung up on him.....
I tried 3 times to get details on how to escalate a complaint and they hung up on me 3 times. Then it took 50 minutes on one of those chat tools to finally just get an e mail address to make a written complaint to. They would not give me a way to escalate or a managers details - I had to threaten them with my mp and Ombudsman to get even that.
I said its almost like they don't want a proper record of what they are saying ..... (but I have screen shots of the chat)
He will hate me saying this - but he is dealing with some difficult health issues (cancer and severe kidney issues) plus he has mental health issues (bipolar) and this is making him ill with stress. I frankly am beyond furious, because he really does not need this (He and I have both told E.on this too)
As I say I'm mad and I will be helping son write to the general complaints line and I will contact our MP and Ombudsman with him but any other advice gratefully accepted -A friend mentioned Resover.co.uk - that looks like it might help - it even has a name within E.on to escalate to - which E.on just would not give me - which again just shows me they being deliberately uncooperative.
Dreadful. Have you tried Citizens Advice?
Not yet - but we we be contacting everyone we can think of
Kinabalu is right. The media can be really helpful. Source a friendly journalist who can ring their press office and say he or she is writing about your story, and would they like to comment? That often puts a rocket booster under them
A pal of mine had a real and unpleasant problem with Google, a few years ago. Try and get Google to respond to a normal complaint - it's impossible. They are so huge, unwieldy and indifferent. You can't even find anyone to talk to
So he found a journo friend who rang the Google UK press office and his year-old problem was sorted in a day
The local council made a stupid political move over a playground (yes, really)
One of the locals, a journalist for a very respected publication, started politely asking people.
A week later the council found a serious 5 figure sum to totally reverse their idiocy.
Local papers like accurate stories - but the legwork has to have been done and demonstrated.
This really is an exceptional period of cooler-than-average weather in the UK (which is already cold enough, thanks very much). I was just reading a weather geek who claims that some places in southern England have only seen one day over 20C in eight months.
I dunno if it is true, but the fact he can make a plausible claim is striking
I am absolutely desperate for hot sunshine now. I want to walk out of my door and feel that on my face. Instead I walk out and there will be that nagging, chilly breeze. AGAIN
And there is no sign of any change in the forecasts
OK I'm going to the gym for a mood-lift before I hang myself. Later
The provisional Central England Temperature anomaly so far this year is +0.02C, but the average anomaly over recent years has been about +1C, so it's certainly a lot colder than we're used to.
Yes because January, April and the first half of May have been well below average.
However, February and March were well above average:
It's just the weather. It does this. In a generally warming trend you're not going to have a liner upward path.
Let's see how the months ahead pan out.
Sure, and we had a record warm day earlier in the year. I'm not arguing global warming isn't happening (spent long enough on here arguing the opposite) and yes the weather in the UK is variable, but I've been watching the CET record for several years now, I've even knitted a scarf with data from it, and this run of cold weather does now qualify as notably unusual.
February and March were not even that warm, given that the average anomaly for recent years is +1C. A warm month is one with an anomaly greater than +2C, really, like April last year which was +2.5C.
You have to go back to 2013 to find a longer cold spell of weather. I think eight years is long enough to qualify as being worth remarking upon.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
So..... Trump Administration Defense Secretary Christopher Miller just told US House panel the following, when asked if Trump's words inspired insurrection:
"Entertainment, media complex" played role in triggering US Capitol Insurrection
!!! Per former Trump Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Trump told him DC National Guard *should* be activated as requested by DC mayor Muriel Bowser.....
Trump said, "Do whatever is necessary to protect the demonstrators, executing their constitutionally protected rights"
Trump knew he was guilty. His highly scripted, very careful wording obviously given to him by lawyers after his initial reaction was a thinly described boost to the rioters, made that very clear. Nothing else than knowing he could be in deep shit would have persuaded him to do that.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
Renewed my father's car insurance end of April.
It went up by £150, rang them up, and they reduced it by £200.
OK - I am royally pissed off and if anyone has any ideas I am all ears
E.on are my sons energy provider - I have mentioned that he has been running up some impossible bills
In last month he has allegedly run up 700 - his arrears were getting on for 2 grand (a complaint has been open for a while on how this amount can possibly be used).
An engineer came out agreed he couldn't run that up living on his own in a 2 bed flat and said he suspected someone else was drawing his supply too. (This is the second person contracted by Eon to say this)
Eon manager subsequently rang my son and agreed to accept a certain payment and agreed my son could leave them for another supplier - he has I think 4 complaints open with Eon going back nearly a year for the first one - none resolved.
He hit a snag with paying them and a compromise was agreed (so, multiple calls on this) - this agreement was kept by us. (Delay was literally 48 hours tops)
He has had debt collection on the phone today asking for full payment - he referred them to his agreement with manager and she said she could not find record of the phone call and in any event the person who made the agreement was not entitled to do so.... (despite not knowing who it was )
This person said it was entirely possible to run up 700 a month on a 2 bed flat on his own (Like feck, I spend a fraction of that on a 5 bed place with a family in it)
When he pointed out that the engineer who came out said he could not and it needed further investigation and he was probably better placed to make that determination she claimed she knew better and then hung up on him.....
I tried 3 times to get details on how to escalate a complaint and they hung up on me 3 times. Then it took 50 minutes on one of those chat tools to finally just get an e mail address to make a written complaint to. They would not give me a way to escalate or a managers details - I had to threaten them with my mp and Ombudsman to get even that.
I said its almost like they don't want a proper record of what they are saying ..... (but I have screen shots of the chat)
He will hate me saying this - but he is dealing with some difficult health issues (cancer and severe kidney issues) plus he has mental health issues (bipolar) and this is making him ill with stress. I frankly am beyond furious, because he really does not need this (He and I have both told E.on this too)
As I say I'm mad and I will be helping son write to the general complaints line and I will contact our MP and Ombudsman with him but any other advice gratefully accepted -A friend mentioned Resover.co.uk - that looks like it might help - it even has a name within E.on to escalate to - which E.on just would not give me - which again just shows me they being deliberately uncooperative.
Dreadful. Have you tried Citizens Advice?
Not yet - but we we be contacting everyone we can think of
Kinabalu is right. The media can be really helpful. Source a friendly journalist who can ring their press office and say he or she is writing about your story, and would they like to comment? That often puts a rocket booster under them
A pal of mine had a real and unpleasant problem with Google, a few years ago. Try and get Google to respond to a normal complaint - it's impossible. They are so huge, unwieldy and indifferent. You can't even find anyone to talk to
So he found a journo friend who rang the Google UK press office and his year-old problem was sorted in a day
The local council made a stupid political move over a playground (yes, really)
One of the locals, a journalist for a very respected publication, started politely asking people.
A week later the council found a serious 5 figure sum to totally reverse their idiocy.
Local papers like accurate stories - but the legwork has to have been done and demonstrated.
This one had the advantage of the utterly childish political manoeuvring, the stupid decision etc all being public record.
The journalist was from an internationally respected, serious publication. If she had published a piece, it would have been read by movers and shakers around the globe.
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
Last week the Teaching Assistant at my daughter's Reception class said to me that she'd asked the class to talk about Birthday Parties - and the kids spoke about Presents and Cake but weren't able to talk much about other things associated with parties as they'd not been to parties. Near the end of the Reception class year and there'd been no school parties in the entire year for them. So the teachers arranged for a birthday party for the class puppet "Claire" and asked for permission to give her cake etc at the party.
She got an invitation to go to 'Claire's birthday' on Friday which she was so excited for and on the Friday came home talking about Pass the Parcel and other things she'd done at the party. 🥳
Both cool that the school arranged that for the kids and a real shame that it had come to that. Such a simple thing wiped out for them to have never been able to experience for real yet. 😒
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
No idea on cars, but I know commercial insurance premiums are way up after Covid - insurance industry probably just pricing 'rationally' to try and recover from the covid hit.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
BBC reporting biggest price drop in 6 years! Weird.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
Renewed my father's car insurance end of April.
It went up by £150, rang them up, and they reduced it by £200.
OK - I am royally pissed off and if anyone has any ideas I am all ears
E.on are my sons energy provider - I have mentioned that he has been running up some impossible bills
In last month he has allegedly run up 700 - his arrears were getting on for 2 grand (a complaint has been open for a while on how this amount can possibly be used).
An engineer came out agreed he couldn't run that up living on his own in a 2 bed flat and said he suspected someone else was drawing his supply too. (This is the second person contracted by Eon to say this)
Eon manager subsequently rang my son and agreed to accept a certain payment and agreed my son could leave them for another supplier - he has I think 4 complaints open with Eon going back nearly a year for the first one - none resolved.
He hit a snag with paying them and a compromise was agreed (so, multiple calls on this) - this agreement was kept by us. (Delay was literally 48 hours tops)
He has had debt collection on the phone today asking for full payment - he referred them to his agreement with manager and she said she could not find record of the phone call and in any event the person who made the agreement was not entitled to do so.... (despite not knowing who it was )
This person said it was entirely possible to run up 700 a month on a 2 bed flat on his own (Like feck, I spend a fraction of that on a 5 bed place with a family in it)
When he pointed out that the engineer who came out said he could not and it needed further investigation and he was probably better placed to make that determination she claimed she knew better and then hung up on him.....
I tried 3 times to get details on how to escalate a complaint and they hung up on me 3 times. Then it took 50 minutes on one of those chat tools to finally just get an e mail address to make a written complaint to. They would not give me a way to escalate or a managers details - I had to threaten them with my mp and Ombudsman to get even that.
I said its almost like they don't want a proper record of what they are saying ..... (but I have screen shots of the chat)
He will hate me saying this - but he is dealing with some difficult health issues (cancer and severe kidney issues) plus he has mental health issues (bipolar) and this is making him ill with stress. I frankly am beyond furious, because he really does not need this (He and I have both told E.on this too)
As I say I'm mad and I will be helping son write to the general complaints line and I will contact our MP and Ombudsman with him but any other advice gratefully accepted -A friend mentioned Resover.co.uk - that looks like it might help - it even has a name within E.on to escalate to - which E.on just would not give me - which again just shows me they being deliberately uncooperative.
Dreadful. Have you tried Citizens Advice?
Not yet - but we we be contacting everyone we can think of
Kinabalu is right. The media can be really helpful. Source a friendly journalist who can ring their press office and say he or she is writing about your story, and would they like to comment? That often puts a rocket booster under them
A pal of mine had a real and unpleasant problem with Google, a few years ago. Try and get Google to respond to a normal complaint - it's impossible. They are so huge, unwieldy and indifferent. You can't even find anyone to talk to
So he found a journo friend who rang the Google UK press office and his year-old problem was sorted in a day
The local council made a stupid political move over a playground (yes, really)
One of the locals, a journalist for a very respected publication, started politely asking people.
A week later the council found a serious 5 figure sum to totally reverse their idiocy.
Yes. Bad publicity is much more expensive, and much more of a hassle, that sorting out an individual problem. So the problems get sorted
Without wishing to torment Scottxp, this is one reason I voted Brexit. The media is a vital lever of democracy - even in its diminished state in the internet era - it can apply real pressure to big corporations - and to governments and politicians
If the Daily Mail or the Guardian or whoever sinks teeth into a story, and pursues it, they can enact political change. eg the Times' Andrew Norfolk and the grooming scandal
No such EU-wide media, able to apply pressure to the Commission and eurocrats, exists, and because of all the languages (and the lack of elections for eurocrats) it probably never will.
So the EU can never be a true democracy with a 4th estate speaking truth to power
Another one of those non-immigration reasons to vote Leave
Whilst there is a range of people reporting on EU, much of it is yellow and surprisingly inbred.
Kate Hollern MP resigns as shadow minister over the Mike Hill allegations. Accused of trying to intimidate the complainant.
as per Guido, was going to accuse another MP of being in bed with the complainent when he attempted to help her. If any truth in it, seems more of a resigning from public life job than just the shadow cabinet frankly.
With the caveat that we have not heard Ms Hollern's evidence, what has been alleged about Ms Hollern is shocking.
If it is true, she should be facing disciplinary action (because the rest of us would in our jobs, if we had done something similar).
I was wondering why Labour had timed the 'Pool by-election for the week before the Mike Hill tribunal ...
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
BBC reporting biggest price drop in 6 years! Weird.
Not many people had accidents when their car was welded to their driveway for 3 months.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
BBC reporting biggest price drop in 6 years! Weird.
My renewal quote was plus 20% on previous.
A new quote through the same internet site as last time was minus 15% on previous. Part of that was an extra year of No Claims.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
Turned Novara on - listened for 30 seconds - turned it off
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
Can you defend the threatened evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that kicked this all off?
Why would I want to?
I can condemn both - simples really
Because the Palestinians would face eviction from their own city?
yes - and I will not defend that - is it really that difficult?
We all know about Russia's illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea.
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
Russia invaded Crimea unprovoked.
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
In the interests of strict accuracy:
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
RIP to all those pointlessly killed in Israel/Palestine.
I don’t know who I despise more; The Israeli right or the Palestinian Islamists.
Peas in a pod
The Promise (Claire Foy's first major outing) is extremely good.
I haven’t seen that. It does look well reviewed.
Many years ago, I was lucky enough to go on a tour around Hebron with a Norwegian police unit who were trying to keep the peace there.
The daily reality of life is seriously fked up and I totally get how all sides end up radicalised.
Fast forwarding to today, the new dimension is activism from Israeli Arabs. Looks like the Israeli right is in no mood for deescalation.
La tristesse durera
What were your impressions/conclusions about your visit? Was it work or play (don't tell me if you can't).
It was back in my university days, I was attempting to put on a non-political English language summer camp in the WB.
It wasn’t very well attended and in retrospect, a bit of a waste of time tbh. Great opportunity to travel around the wb, though.
My overwhelming impression was that the strip of land contains the highest concentration of intransigent nutters in the entire world.
Some years back, my sister-in-law was engaged to a son of a first-generation immigrant mixed Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi (but all Christians) family. Her fiancé was thoroughly American and had no interest whatsoever in the shenanigans of the Middle East. We got invited to his family for Christmas, and the same could not be said of his parents and their generation! They were absolutely the loveliest, most welcoming people you could hope to meet, but the after-dinner conversation was a real eye-opener. Topics ranged from Israel being the "cancer at the heart of the Middle East" to detailed arguments as to exactly which Western intelligence service each prominent figure in the Arab world was really in the pay of.
The engagement fell through not so very long after, although as far as I know it was nothing to do with the financé's family, rather that he and s-i-l concluded that they weren't a good match for marriage after all.
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
BBC reporting biggest price drop in 6 years! Weird.
Not many people had accidents when their car was welded to their driveway for 3 months.
Yep I badly worded that. Not weird prices going down, but weird tlg86 got a hike.
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
Last week the Teaching Assistant at my daughter's Reception class said to me that she'd asked the class to talk about Birthday Parties - and the kids spoke about Presents and Cake but weren't able to talk much about other things associated with parties as they'd not been to parties. Near the end of the Reception class year and there'd been no school parties in the entire year for them. So the teachers arranged for a birthday party for the class puppet "Claire" and asked for permission to give her cake etc at the party.
She got an invitation to go to 'Claire's birthday' on Friday which she was so excited for and on the Friday came home talking about Pass the Parcel and other things she'd done at the party. 🥳
Both cool that the school arranged that for the kids and a real shame that it had come to that. Such a simple thing wiped out for them to have never been able to experience for real yet. 😒
Yes it really is amazing this past year. Great to hear that story.
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
Last week the Teaching Assistant at my daughter's Reception class said to me that she'd asked the class to talk about Birthday Parties - and the kids spoke about Presents and Cake but weren't able to talk much about other things associated with parties as they'd not been to parties. Near the end of the Reception class year and there'd been no school parties in the entire year for them. So the teachers arranged for a birthday party for the class puppet "Claire" and asked for permission to give her cake etc at the party.
She got an invitation to go to 'Claire's birthday' on Friday which she was so excited for and on the Friday came home talking about Pass the Parcel and other things she'd done at the party. 🥳
Both cool that the school arranged that for the kids and a real shame that it had come to that. Such a simple thing wiped out for them to have never been able to experience for real yet. 😒
It was our granddaughter's 18th birthday today and her best friend came round and apart from her Mother, Father, Brother and ourselves that was it.
What I find interesting is that few people realise that the Victorian/Edwardian terraces and semis that are so loved are not actually a million miles from the ugly box style of "executive homes".
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
But that would be "fake".
Many of those posh flat-fronted Georgian houses in London were thrown up by spivs and speculators. Always amusing watching people having kittens to get something often so poorly built.
The Victorians were the people who started mass producing standard bricks etc. They had to be standardised in order to make mass production possible.
The history of bricks is fascinating. The go to publication is the Brick Bulletin.
At one time the government introduced a per-brick tax (17xx to 1850), so bricks suddenly got bigger:
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
All of the accused seem to have something in common, but the BBC don't seem to have figured it out yet.
Jesus. 13 years old. 29 of them. Up to 2010
How many white girls were raped by racist Muslim grooming gangs in the years AFTER Nick Griffin tried to talk about it, and the Establishment tried to silence him?
Has anyone renewed their car insurance recently? Just had mine through and it's gone up a lot. Put my details through a comparison site and surprisingly my renewal quote was cheaper than anything else.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
BBC reporting biggest price drop in 6 years! Weird.
Not many people had accidents when their car was welded to their driveway for 3 months.
Yep I badly worded that. Not weird prices going down, but weird tlg86 got a hike.
We got charged the same price as TWO years ago, with a reasonable saving last year.
Pretty sure it's going to be 'discovered' that SKS had a hand in every fuck up of the last 20 years
Was Starmer involved in the Post Office fiasco?
The Evening Standard are gunning for him though - London's biggest paper.
I remember saying it wasn't that important that Osborne was Editor as it didn't have much reach outside London - The remainers on here, some of them now Sir Keir's biggest fans, told me it was MASSSIVE
Turned Novara on - listened for 30 seconds - turned it off
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
Can you defend the threatened evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that kicked this all off?
Why would I want to?
I can condemn both - simples really
Because the Palestinians would face eviction from their own city?
yes - and I will not defend that - is it really that difficult?
We all know about Russia's illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea.
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
Russia invaded Crimea unprovoked.
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
In the interests of strict accuracy:
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
Israel fired the first shots but Egypt did the casus belli by closing the Straits of Tiran and the Arab states were planning to invade Israel to destroy it, not for the first time.
What I find interesting is that few people realise that the Victorian/Edwardian terraces and semis that are so loved are not actually a million miles from the ugly box style of "executive homes".
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
But that would be "fake".
The Victorians were the people who started mass producing standard bricks etc. They had to be standardised in order to make mass production possible.
The history of bricks is fascinating. The go to publication is the Brick Bulletin.
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
Mine’s booked for a week tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Smug Welsh gits.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
What I find interesting is that few people realise that the Victorian/Edwardian terraces and semis that are so loved are not actually a million miles from the ugly box style of "executive homes".
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
But that would be "fake".
I live in a mid Victorian 4 bedroom terrace on a main road in Merseyside. It is by far the best house I have ever lived in. Airy, spacious with humongously thick walls and a 120ft rear garden about 10 minute walk from a train station with a bus stop 10 foot away from my front gate that takes me straight to the city centre. Apart from their relative sizes, older houses are usually built in more convenient areas.
Turned Novara on - listened for 30 seconds - turned it off
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
Can you defend the threatened evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that kicked this all off?
Why would I want to?
I can condemn both - simples really
Because the Palestinians would face eviction from their own city?
yes - and I will not defend that - is it really that difficult?
We all know about Russia's illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea.
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
Russia invaded Crimea unprovoked.
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
In the interests of strict accuracy:
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
Israel fired the first shots but Egypt did the casus belli by closing the Straits of Tiran and the Arab states were planning to invade Israel to destroy it, not for the first time.
Well, yes, that was my point.
What baffles me is that apparently the Egyptians thought the Israelis wouldn’t fight an aggressive war. I mean - seriously?
Turned Novara on - listened for 30 seconds - turned it off
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
Can you defend the threatened evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that kicked this all off?
Why would I want to?
I can condemn both - simples really
Because the Palestinians would face eviction from their own city?
yes - and I will not defend that - is it really that difficult?
We all know about Russia's illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea.
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
Russia invaded Crimea unprovoked.
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
In the interests of strict accuracy:
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
Israel fired the first shots but Egypt did the casus belli by closing the Straits of Tiran and the Arab states were planning to invade Israel to destroy it, not for the first time.
The illegal annexations were in 1980-1981, a wee while AFTER the Six-Day War ended.
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
Mine’s booked for a week tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Smug Welsh gits.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
Staffordshire is in Wales?
That’s a sudden rapid expansion of my motherland I was unaware of.
Mind you, if I teach in Wales at least I am shot of those odious low lifes Williamson, Gibb and Spielman.
What I find interesting is that few people realise that the Victorian/Edwardian terraces and semis that are so loved are not actually a million miles from the ugly box style of "executive homes".
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
But that would be "fake".
Many of those posh flat-fronted Georgian houses in London were thrown up by spivs and speculators. Always amusing watching people having kittens to get something often so poorly built.
The Victorians were the people who started mass producing standard bricks etc. They had to be standardised in order to make mass production possible.
The history of bricks is fascinating. The go to publication is the Brick Bulletin.
At one time the government introduced a per-brick tax (17xx to 1850), so bricks suddenly got bigger:
Do you ever post anything positive rather than looking for every negative and anti Boris/Brexit story you can find
For all Boris's fault's one of the reasons, if not the main one, for his popularity is his positiveness and can do attitude that strikes a cord with so many
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
Last week the Teaching Assistant at my daughter's Reception class said to me that she'd asked the class to talk about Birthday Parties - and the kids spoke about Presents and Cake but weren't able to talk much about other things associated with parties as they'd not been to parties. Near the end of the Reception class year and there'd been no school parties in the entire year for them. So the teachers arranged for a birthday party for the class puppet "Claire" and asked for permission to give her cake etc at the party.
She got an invitation to go to 'Claire's birthday' on Friday which she was so excited for and on the Friday came home talking about Pass the Parcel and other things she'd done at the party. 🥳
Both cool that the school arranged that for the kids and a real shame that it had come to that. Such a simple thing wiped out for them to have never been able to experience for real yet. 😒
It was our granddaughter's 18th birthday today and her best friend came round and apart from her Mother, Father, Brother and ourselves that was it.
My son turned 18 last year - no holidays / parties / gatherings - a real shame for them all
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
Mine’s booked for a week tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Smug Welsh gits.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
Staffordshire is in Wales?
That’s a sudden rapid expansion of my motherland I was unaware of.
Mind you, if I teach in Wales at least I am shot of those odious low lifes Williamson, Gibb and Spielman.
Do you ever post anything positive rather than looking for every negative and anti Boris/Brexit story you can find
For all Boris's fault's one of the reasons, if not the main one, for his popularity is his positiveness and can do attitude that strikes a cord with so many
He should have banned flights from India WEEKS ago, Big G.
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
Mine’s booked for a week tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Smug Welsh gits.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
Covered by the vaccine, with no sign of increased cases in over 50s. Govenment just needs to stop buggering about and open up the fridges to get first doses finishes in the next month.
Mine’s booked for a week tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Smug Welsh gits.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
Staffordshire is in Wales?
That’s a sudden rapid expansion of my motherland I was unaware of.
Mind you, if I teach in Wales at least I am shot of those odious low lifes Williamson, Gibb and Spielman.
Continuing the subject of ‘reactionary pastiche’ architecture. We do very occasionally allow it. Quinlan Terry’s Richmond Riverside is an example. Go there now and see the crowds in the sun and you can still hear the ghostly howls of anger from progressive architects
‘Built in 1987 by Quinlan and Francis Terry, The Richmond Riverside Development is universally hated by architects.’
The endless cool grey weather is really raping my vibe
At four pm today the weather was amazing I nearly broke out the rosé. Now it's effing freezing.
Don't look at the medium term forecasts. It actually gets WORSE
I have been invited to a birthday party on Friday for 14 people. Indoors. There might even be hugging. Fuck the weather.
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
Knowing 14 people who share the same birthday is quite remarkable.
Shall we do the math it's not that unlikely but yes ok I take your point.
Ooh, it's ferociously unlikely! How many people would you have to know so that it was as likely as not that you could find a day on which 14 of them had a birthday? It must be in the high tens of thousands. I know the old chestnut about if you have 23 people, you'd expect two of them to share a birthday - and ISTR if you have about 300 you might reasonably expect 6 of them to share a birthday... I know this relates neither to the original point nor the joke but I'm fascinated now...
Do you ever post anything positive rather than looking for every negative and anti Boris/Brexit story you can find
For all Boris's fault's one of the reasons, if not the main one, for his popularity is his positiveness and can do attitude that strikes a cord with so many
He should have banned flights from India WEEKS ago, Big G.
Turned Novara on - listened for 30 seconds - turned it off
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
Can you defend the threatened evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that kicked this all off?
Why would I want to?
I can condemn both - simples really
Because the Palestinians would face eviction from their own city?
yes - and I will not defend that - is it really that difficult?
We all know about Russia's illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea.
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
Russia invaded Crimea unprovoked.
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
In the interests of strict accuracy:
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
Israel fired the first shots but Egypt did the casus belli by closing the Straits of Tiran and the Arab states were planning to invade Israel to destroy it, not for the first time.
The illegal annexations were in 1980-1981, a wee while AFTER the Six-Day War ended.
They gained the land in self-defence, fair enough to annex it. If you don't want to lose land to another country don't try and destroy that country! Had the Arabs not tried to destroy Israel then they wouldn't have taken the land to annex it.
Besides of course they didn't take the land from "Palestine" as there was no country called Palestine. Egypt, Syria, Jordan - but not Palestine.
Comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5809844
We are not.
This really is an exceptional period of cooler-than-average weather in the UK (which is already cold enough, thanks very much). I was just reading a weather geek who claims that some places in southern England have only seen one day over 20C in eight months.
I dunno if it is true, but the fact he can make a plausible claim is striking
I am absolutely desperate for hot sunshine now. I want to walk out of my door and feel that on my face. Instead I walk out and there will be that nagging, chilly breeze. AGAIN
And there is no sign of any change in the forecasts
OK I'm going to the gym for a mood-lift before I hang myself. Later
But yes. Imagine this weather last year. We'd all have killed ourselves. And I'm not even joking.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/cet_info_mean.html
(The CET is the longest running temperature series in the world)
This is just British weather. It does this.
However, February and March were well above average:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/cet_info_mean.html
It's just the weather. It does this. In a generally warming trend you're not going to have a liner upward path.
Let's see how the months ahead pan out.
When it's been sunny there's been a horrible wind. When it's been mild there's been cloud and rain
I've no doubt perceptions are at play, you notice the shite British weather more when all you can do is meet people in frigid parks, and of course when you can't jump on a plane to escape it
But I frequent a couple of weather nerd sites (I know, my exciting life) and even the most stoical of geeks are freaking out about this dreary old bollocks
From numbeo.com
> London - A single person estimated monthly costs are $1,203 (£852) without rent
> Seattle - A single person estimated monthly costs are $1,154 (£821) without rent.
from mylondon.news
> average cost for a one-bedroom property is $2719 (£1,934) - note I think this means rent?
from rentcafe.com
> Seattle - average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is currently $1,550 (£818)
CONCLUSION - based on above, Seattle is somewhat LESS expensive?
The decoration that makes people love them is often mass produced mouldings (there is a good business in reproductions by people who have the original moulds). Bay windows are a trivial piece of brickwork. Etc etc.
If modern house builders wanted to create repro Victorian/Edwardian, it is not actually very hard. Or expensive.
But that would be "fake".
What is it about the hard left and Israel?
It wasn’t very well attended and in retrospect, a bit of a waste of time tbh. Great opportunity to travel around the wb, though.
My overwhelming impression was that the strip of land contains the highest concentration of intransigent nutters in the entire world.
At 6pm it will be 13C and raining, and it will rain for most of the day, so it will feel like 10C
In 5 weeks, the nights start getting longer
It terms of evidence, it's on a par with those people who were trying to claim they had a copy of Corbyn's KGB file.
As a nation, we're not good at using the experience of ex-PMs or even ex-leaders. Even if they end up defeated at the polls, they've still got a store of wisdom, but we prefer to use them as a scapegoat- kick them out because they're bums and pretend that will make everything fine again.
I doubt we'll ever have anything like the long duel between Wilson and Heath, and I'm sure that part of Corbyn's problem in 2019 was his failure to resign in 2017.
And it may give us the democratic horn to kick our would-be superiors in the pants from time to time, but might a more tactful approach be in our collective interests?
"Entertainment, media complex" played role in triggering US Capitol Insurrection
https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1392544915490549767
!!! Per former Trump Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Trump told him DC National Guard *should* be activated as requested by DC mayor Muriel Bowser.....
Trump said, "Do whatever is necessary to protect the demonstrators, executing their constitutionally protected rights"
https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1392547232721907713
I can condemn both - simples really
February and March were not even that warm, given that the average anomaly for recent years is +1C. A warm month is one with an anomaly greater than +2C, really, like April last year which was +2.5C.
You have to go back to 2013 to find a longer cold spell of weather. I think eight years is long enough to qualify as being worth remarking upon.
Might give my current provider a call, but was just a bit shocked. Has the tax gone up or something?
It went up by £150, rang them up, and they reduced it by £200.
Apparently prices are going down.
https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/cost-of-motoring/what-the-price-index-means-for-you
The journalist was from an internationally respected, serious publication. If she had published a piece, it would have been read by movers and shakers around the globe.
She got an invitation to go to 'Claire's birthday' on Friday which she was so excited for and on the Friday came home talking about Pass the Parcel and other things she'd done at the party. 🥳
Both cool that the school arranged that for the kids and a real shame that it had come to that. Such a simple thing wiped out for them to have never been able to experience for real yet. 😒
Did you know Israel illegally and unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem AND the Golan Heights in 1980-1981?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDB5gbtaEQ
If it is true, she should be facing disciplinary action (because the rest of us would in our jobs, if we had done something similar).
I was wondering why Labour had timed the 'Pool by-election for the week before the Mike Hill tribunal ...
Egypt started the conflict that led to Israel capturing the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
Even Theresa May has made over £1 million on the lecture circuit since leaving office
https://www.tatler.com/article/theresa-may-earning-100000-a-speech-on-lecture-circuit
A new quote through the same internet site as last time was minus 15% on previous. Part of that was an extra year of No Claims.
Israel fired the first shots, thereby surprising the Egyptians and disarranging their carefully planned invasion that was set to launch the following day.
"Calderdale child sexual exploitation: 29 men charged"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-57093267
All of the accused seem to have something in common, but the BBC don't seem to have figured it out yet.
The engagement fell through not so very long after, although as far as I know it was nothing to do with the financé's family, rather that he and s-i-l concluded that they weren't a good match for marriage after all.
The media
Civil Servants.
Dominic Cummings
SAGE
The latter in particular just do not seem to know their onions.
The Victorians were the people who started mass producing standard bricks etc. They had to be standardised in order to make mass production possible.
The history of bricks is fascinating. The go to publication is the Brick Bulletin.
At one time the government introduced a per-brick tax (17xx to 1850), so bricks suddenly got bigger:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_tax#:~:text=The brick tax was a,was eventually abolished in 1850.
How many white girls were raped by racist Muslim grooming gangs in the years AFTER Nick Griffin tried to talk about it, and the Establishment tried to silence him?
I remember saying it wasn't that important that Osborne was Editor as it didn't have much reach outside London - The remainers on here, some of them now Sir Keir's biggest fans, told me it was MASSSIVE
It is astonishing that a block of expressionless granite like Theresa May can make £1 million on the lecture circuit.
The problem with the government getting loads of great press for vaccine procurement is we're now faffing on the final leg of distribution and they're getting away with it, holding back large stocks when each extra first dose has a much bigger impact on the R rate than back in January - they should be getting every shot possible in an arm, like Wales is.
What baffles me is that apparently the Egyptians thought the Israelis wouldn’t fight an aggressive war. I mean - seriously?
That’s a sudden rapid expansion of my motherland I was unaware of.
Mind you, if I teach in Wales at least I am shot of those odious low lifes Williamson, Gibb and Spielman.
For all Boris's fault's one of the reasons, if not the main one, for his popularity is his positiveness and can do attitude that strikes a cord with so many
I know the old chestnut about if you have 23 people, you'd expect two of them to share a birthday - and ISTR if you have about 300 you might reasonably expect 6 of them to share a birthday...
I know this relates neither to the original point nor the joke but I'm fascinated now...
It's not about BoZo
It's not about Brexit
It's breaking news about the Global Pandemic
Besides of course they didn't take the land from "Palestine" as there was no country called Palestine. Egypt, Syria, Jordan - but not Palestine.