A son has spoken of losing three family members to Covid-19 within a week after they refused to get a vaccine.
Francis Goncalves, 43, from Cardiff, said he was heartbroken after his brother, mother and father did not get their vaccines because they had been scared by anti-vaccination misinformation.
Goncalves said his brother, Shaul, 40, father, Basil, 73, and mother Charmagne, 65, all of whom were based in Portugal, started to feel unwell on July 10, a few days after attending the same family dinner.
Mr. NorthWales, wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened. The fashion for biofuel led to Indonesia obliterating swathes of pristine rainforest to make oil plantations.
Doesn't seem a very green thing to me, but there we are...
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
There's a protest in Manchester today, apparently giving vaccines to kids is child abuse.
As for the rest of the banners it was like reading Contrarian's posts on a loop.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
OT I've just seen the medallists arrive off the plane on Sky News. Very enjoyable. I wonder where the non-medallists were. Do they have to travel by containership for 6 weeks?
Flying back economy from Tokyo is probably punishment enough, it’s a 13 or 14 hour flight, to then be bundled out of the back of the plane onto a bus, with no ceremony….
I can only assume someone is following them ringing a handbell chanting "shame... shame..."
There was an interview the other day with an athlete who went through this after narrowly missing a bronze last time. She did it was pretty tough on the self esteem.
It would be fun to go back to PB - had it existed - in the mid nineties and read the discussion on how mobile phones would never take off due to being expensive and the complete lack of needed infrastructure meaning they were useless for people who lived in or travelled to places outside the main population centres due to a complete lack of network coverage
I don't think anyone's saying electric cars won't take off.
Just that a lot needs to be done before they're universally adoptable. Which was true in the 90s to get universal coverage for mobiles too.
Precisely. If electric cars were such a certainty, why is our government having to ban the ICE?
They aren't banning the engine, only the sale of new cars etc. There will be a lot of legacy cars about up to 10 years after the ban. I also think the car companies need a push in the right direction, as it is so easy for them to remain in a rut. I also suspect that you won't be able to buy a new ICE car well before the ban takes place, the companies will not want to be landed with a stock of useless cars.
Even 3 - 5 years before the ban comes in sales of ICE cars will crater. You wouldn't want to be holding on to one that wasn't somehow collectible.
How many people actually buy new cars these days? Doesn't everyone just lease them for three years and then get a new one? So the end consumers won't care about the value of the cars crashing as they don't own them.
Your monthly lease cost is dependent on what the leasing company can get out of the car in 3 years. If it is going to be worth square root of f all, the consumer is going to be the one paying for that, not the leasing company.
This.
Prior to purchasing my JCW Mini, I had a top of the range VW Passat estate that cost me £120 a month because VW leasing had entered the wrong value in the value at 3 years box.
About 300 people were able to get orders through to the extent that VW couldn't turn them down before they fixed the error.
I have a brand new JCW Mini. Fabulous cars. Mine has a 70s roof which shades from black to blue like the hues of a classic rock Les Paul guitar. GORGEOUS
OT I've just seen the medallists arrive off the plane on Sky News. Very enjoyable. I wonder where the non-medallists were. Do they have to travel by containership for 6 weeks?
They're on a Wizz Air flight that connects to a Ryanair one and flies them into Southend!
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
I was speaking to my friend who works high up at Asda and he Brexit has paid a part, in descending order,
1) A shortage of drivers due to Brexit as drivers decide to stay in the EU.
2) Plenty of drivers don't want to sit in customs for ages, especially when you can (and did) seamlessly cross the EU border until last December and still can if your destination isn't to and/or from GB.
3) Because we test so much (much more than our EU neighbours) we're losing more drivers to isolation than anywhere else.
4) There's only so many hours a driver can drive, given the shortage, there's not enough slack in the system to pick up. It's not easy to train from scratch, there's a world of difference between driving refrigerated stuff vs. dry stuff vs. electronics etc. It isn't a case of hurrah you've passed your HGV test now go and drive hundreds of miles, you have to build up the knowledge and experience.
5) He expects the Army to be called up, apparently the government is scared shitless about empty shelves, it destroys their narrative.
Honestly, part of the solution is to just stop testing everyone so much. We've got ourselves into a ridiculous situation where being double vaccinated isn't enough to get on with life.
Well it should change from next Monday but the fundamental issues with drivers will still be there. It has made a very bad situation even worse.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
I was speaking to my friend who works high up at Asda and he Brexit has paid a part, in descending order,
1) A shortage of drivers due to Brexit as drivers decide to stay in the EU.
2) Plenty of drivers don't want to sit in customs for ages, especially when you can (and did) seamlessly cross the EU border until last December and still can if your destination isn't to and/or from GB.
3) Because we test so much (much more than our EU neighbours) we're losing more drivers to isolation than anywhere else.
4) There's only so many hours a driver can drive, given the shortage, there's not enough slack in the system to pick up. It's not easy to train from scratch, there's a world of difference between driving refrigerated stuff vs. dry stuff vs. electronics etc. It isn't a case of hurrah you've passed your HGV test now go and drive hundreds of miles, you have to build up the knowledge and experience.
5) He expects the Army to be called up, apparently the government is scared shitless about empty shelves, it destroys their narrative.
It's not Brexit. It's the Brexit that the government has insisted on pursuing. This has compounded the structural problems that exist in the haulage industry to cause the supply issues we are now seeing.
Extracting and reprocessing lithium seems like a huge, huge opportunity in the next 5-7 years. It's a tiny market right now but it could become really competitive with newly extracted lithium in the near future.
Yes, there’s very quickly going to be billions of waste batteries to be recycled from EVs, and whoever can set up an efficient way of doing it in the West, is going to make a fortune. It’s not sexy, but there will be huge demand for it.
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Asside from mind-numbing boredom of cruising down motorways, sitting in car parks and being paid shit for the same.,..
It would be fun to go back to PB - had it existed - in the mid nineties and read the discussion on how mobile phones would never take off due to being expensive and the complete lack of needed infrastructure meaning they were useless for people who lived in or travelled to places outside the main population centres due to a complete lack of network coverage
I don't think anyone's saying electric cars won't take off.
Just that a lot needs to be done before they're universally adoptable. Which was true in the 90s to get universal coverage for mobiles too.
Precisely. If electric cars were such a certainty, why is our government having to ban the ICE?
They aren't banning the engine, only the sale of new cars etc. There will be a lot of legacy cars about up to 10 years after the ban. I also think the car companies need a push in the right direction, as it is so easy for them to remain in a rut. I also suspect that you won't be able to buy a new ICE car well before the ban takes place, the companies will not want to be landed with a stock of useless cars.
Even 3 - 5 years before the ban comes in sales of ICE cars will crater. You wouldn't want to be holding on to one that wasn't somehow collectible.
How many people actually buy new cars these days? Doesn't everyone just lease them for three years and then get a new one? So the end consumers won't care about the value of the cars crashing as they don't own them.
Your monthly lease cost is dependent on what the leasing company can get out of the car in 3 years. If it is going to be worth square root of f all, the consumer is going to be the one paying for that, not the leasing company.
This.
Prior to purchasing my JCW Mini, I had a top of the range VW Passat estate that cost me £120 a month because VW leasing had entered the wrong value in the value at 3 years box.
About 300 people were able to get orders through to the extent that VW couldn't turn them down before they fixed the error.
I have a brand new JCW Mini. Fabulous cars. Mine has a 70s roof which shades from black to blue like the hues of a classic rock Les Paul guitar. GORGEOUS
30k for a Mini, which the reviews describe as "Sanitised fun"?
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Lonely, very badly paid, one problem after another, constantly surveilled by tachographs and in cab cctv.
Extracting and reprocessing lithium seems like a huge, huge opportunity in the next 5-7 years. It's a tiny market right now but it could become really competitive with newly extracted lithium in the near future.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Asside from mind-numbing boredom of cruising down motorways, sitting in car parks and being paid shit for the same.,..
Not to mention the problem of finding somewhere clean, dry and civilised to shit.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Lonely, very badly paid, one problem after another, constantly surveilled by tachographs and in cab cctv.
It must have been nice before things like tachographs and cctv.
Extracting and reprocessing lithium seems like a huge, huge opportunity in the next 5-7 years. It's a tiny market right now but it could become really competitive with newly extracted lithium in the near future.
Yes, there’s very quickly going to be billions of waste batteries to be recycled from EVs, and whoever can set up an efficient way of doing it in the West, is going to make a fortune. It’s not sexy, but there will be huge demand for it.
You are forgetting your R’s. Before we get to recycle we first have reuse. An EV battery becomes less useful for transport when it degrades to lower than 80% of its original capacity. But it’s still very useful for stationary storage if repurposed, where energy density doesn’t really matter (either by weight or volume).
Then there are the likes of JB Straubel who has just raised a proper wedge to make those that cannot be reused easily recycled.
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
It would be fun to go back to PB - had it existed - in the mid nineties and read the discussion on how mobile phones would never take off due to being expensive and the complete lack of needed infrastructure meaning they were useless for people who lived in or travelled to places outside the main population centres due to a complete lack of network coverage
I don't think anyone's saying electric cars won't take off.
Just that a lot needs to be done before they're universally adoptable. Which was true in the 90s to get universal coverage for mobiles too.
Precisely. If electric cars were such a certainty, why is our government having to ban the ICE?
They aren't banning the engine, only the sale of new cars etc. There will be a lot of legacy cars about up to 10 years after the ban. I also think the car companies need a push in the right direction, as it is so easy for them to remain in a rut. I also suspect that you won't be able to buy a new ICE car well before the ban takes place, the companies will not want to be landed with a stock of useless cars.
Even 3 - 5 years before the ban comes in sales of ICE cars will crater. You wouldn't want to be holding on to one that wasn't somehow collectible.
How many people actually buy new cars these days? Doesn't everyone just lease them for three years and then get a new one? So the end consumers won't care about the value of the cars crashing as they don't own them.
Your monthly lease cost is dependent on what the leasing company can get out of the car in 3 years. If it is going to be worth square root of f all, the consumer is going to be the one paying for that, not the leasing company.
This.
Prior to purchasing my JCW Mini, I had a top of the range VW Passat estate that cost me £120 a month because VW leasing had entered the wrong value in the value at 3 years box.
About 300 people were able to get orders through to the extent that VW couldn't turn them down before they fixed the error.
I have a brand new JCW Mini. Fabulous cars. Mine has a 70s roof which shades from black to blue like the hues of a classic rock Les Paul guitar. GORGEOUS
30k for a Mini, which the reviews describe as "Sanitised fun"?
Sorry, but ... no.
It fucking rocks. It's hilarious to drive, especially in Sport
Also I'm in that leasing situation where I just get a new one every three years
It would be fun to go back to PB - had it existed - in the mid nineties and read the discussion on how mobile phones would never take off due to being expensive and the complete lack of needed infrastructure meaning they were useless for people who lived in or travelled to places outside the main population centres due to a complete lack of network coverage
I don't think anyone's saying electric cars won't take off.
Just that a lot needs to be done before they're universally adoptable. Which was true in the 90s to get universal coverage for mobiles too.
Precisely. If electric cars were such a certainty, why is our government having to ban the ICE?
They aren't banning the engine, only the sale of new cars etc. There will be a lot of legacy cars about up to 10 years after the ban. I also think the car companies need a push in the right direction, as it is so easy for them to remain in a rut. I also suspect that you won't be able to buy a new ICE car well before the ban takes place, the companies will not want to be landed with a stock of useless cars.
Even 3 - 5 years before the ban comes in sales of ICE cars will crater. You wouldn't want to be holding on to one that wasn't somehow collectible.
How many people actually buy new cars these days? Doesn't everyone just lease them for three years and then get a new one? So the end consumers won't care about the value of the cars crashing as they don't own them.
Your monthly lease cost is dependent on what the leasing company can get out of the car in 3 years. If it is going to be worth square root of f all, the consumer is going to be the one paying for that, not the leasing company.
This.
Prior to purchasing my JCW Mini, I had a top of the range VW Passat estate that cost me £120 a month because VW leasing had entered the wrong value in the value at 3 years box.
About 300 people were able to get orders through to the extent that VW couldn't turn them down before they fixed the error.
I have a brand new JCW Mini. Fabulous cars. Mine has a 70s roof which shades from black to blue like the hues of a classic rock Les Paul guitar. GORGEOUS
30k for a Mini, which the reviews describe as "Sanitised fun"?
Sorry, but ... no.
Just specced mine up (it's a 2016 model) and it would cost £36k new. I paid (and it's currently worth due to lack of anything decent on the second hand market) half that.
Would I have paid £36k for it new, nope - for that money I would be looking at getting an EV...
I was speaking to my friend who works high up at Asda and he Brexit has paid a part, in descending order,
1) A shortage of drivers due to Brexit as drivers decide to stay in the EU.
2) Plenty of drivers don't want to sit in customs for ages, especially when you can (and did) seamlessly cross the EU border until last December and still can if your destination isn't to and/or from GB.
3) Because we test so much (much more than our EU neighbours) we're losing more drivers to isolation than anywhere else.
4) There's only so many hours a driver can drive, given the shortage, there's not enough slack in the system to pick up. It's not easy to train from scratch, there's a world of difference between driving refrigerated stuff vs. dry stuff vs. electronics etc. It isn't a case of hurrah you've passed your HGV test now go and drive hundreds of miles, you have to build up the knowledge and experience.
5) He expects the Army to be called up, apparently the government is scared shitless about empty shelves, it destroys their narrative.
According to the PB brain trust your friend is wrong...
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Lonely, very badly paid, one problem after another, constantly surveilled by tachographs and in cab cctv.
It must have been nice before things like tachographs and cctv.
Worse, really. They were introduced to force compliance with safety regulations - both companies and drivers were cutting corners. Which led to deaths and injuries.
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
Worse, really. They were introduced to force compliance with safety regulations - both companies and drivers were cutting corners. Which led to deaths and injuries.
Safety regulations which have been relaxed to try and prevent supermarket shelves running dry...
I know 3 people with HGV licenses, none of whom drive trucks for a living.
One of them came from a family who own a trucking company. He drives for them once a year to keep his hand in. He said refrigerated loads are a nightmare. You have to arrive exactly on time, every time.
I was speaking to my friend who works high up at Asda and he Brexit has paid a part, in descending order,
1) A shortage of drivers due to Brexit as drivers decide to stay in the EU.
2) Plenty of drivers don't want to sit in customs for ages, especially when you can (and did) seamlessly cross the EU border until last December and still can if your destination isn't to and/or from GB.
3) Because we test so much (much more than our EU neighbours) we're losing more drivers to isolation than anywhere else.
4) There's only so many hours a driver can drive, given the shortage, there's not enough slack in the system to pick up. It's not easy to train from scratch, there's a world of difference between driving refrigerated stuff vs. dry stuff vs. electronics etc. It isn't a case of hurrah you've passed your HGV test now go and drive hundreds of miles, you have to build up the knowledge and experience.
5) He expects the Army to be called up, apparently the government is scared shitless about empty shelves, it destroys their narrative.
According to the PB brain trust your friend is wrong...
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
For news?
The internet, social media etc.
What percentage of under 40s do you think are tuning in to the BBCs News at 10 or whenever it is they show the news now?
Quite pleased to have discovered some of the Vagrant Story soundtrack in piano covers (digital music on Amazon, by One Winged Engel, for those with similarly niche musical tastes).
That game was fantastically good. Graphics have aged appallingly, as an early 3D game, but the translation from Japanese matches the Shakespearean names (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in it.
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
I wonder if Patsy Stevenson is there?
These are the same people...
Over 500 “Official Voice” at Shepherds Bush, protesting against vaccine passports and vaccine for kids - their goal today is to take over a key London Building …. Eyes
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I've been praising them on that one for a couple of years .
They were a bit slow on it for the PRS after 2011-12 when Ed Davey kicked it off down here, but have caught up and got ahead on the Owner Occupied side.
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
For news?
YouTube has many channels that do news and current affairs and get a big viewership...there is also people like Owen Jones who doesn't ;-)
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
especially as the story is nearly 3 years old. Can't you find a more up to date assessment of the problem? There wasn't even a pandemic in December 2018.
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I've been praising them on that one for a couple of years .
They were a bit slow on it for the PRS after 2011-12 when Ed Davey kicked it off down here, but have caught up and got ahead on the Owner Occupied side.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
I wonder if Patsy Stevenson is there?
These are the same people...
Over 500 “Official Voice” at Shepherds Bush, protesting against vaccine passports and vaccine for kids - their goal today is to take over a key London Building …. Eyes
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
For news?
The internet, social media etc.
What percentage of under 40s do you think are tuning in to the BBCs News at 10 or whenever it is they show the news now?
Everybody I know has their car radio tuned to r2 at all times. So you'd expect the news bods to at least cater for the possibility of an under 40 listener?
And while I'm at it there are posters on this very thread who I'm certain won't see 50 again, explicitly saying that they perceive mentions of climate change as prediction rather than reportage. So even the fuddy duddy to dead age range needs bringing up to speed here.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Asside from mind-numbing boredom of cruising down motorways, sitting in car parks and being paid shit for the same.,..
It's improved comfort wise in the cab, but I can't say if the other aspects are better or worse. I do know that my lorry driving cousin gravitated to exactly the sort of specialist load discussed earlier on the thread - the last family funeral, he was showing me photos of the latest jobs - things like huge computers, or air con, or special machinery. No Tescos for him.
I recently acquired some back issues of Classic Truck Monthly or some such periodical from Oxfam, out of curiosity. Not something I will do again, but it was fascinating to see how grim some of the older wagons were to drive, especially pre 1960s. And no motorways either, just bypasses if you were lucky.
There's also at least one British Transport Films documentary - of moving a ship's propeller from Tyneside to Cardiff - which gives a sense of that, including (if memory serves: could be another film) the dormitory at the transport caff en route - almost as crowded as a semi occupied by cockle picking illegal migrants.
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I think their take is vaccines / vaccine passports / any demands for testing etc is akin to lockdown. Maybe I am overthinking the antivaxxer nutter position.
Looking at the Beeb video, it does not look large - a few thousand, and it does not look especially "anti-vax" - the slogans are all "Kill the Bill", "not fit to govern", "Tories Out", and so on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
I wonder if Patsy Stevenson is there?
These are the same people...
Over 500 “Official Voice” at Shepherds Bush, protesting against vaccine passports and vaccine for kids - their goal today is to take over a key London Building …. Eyes
Their existence is a most compelling argument for vaccine passports.
I feel sorry for the police....it seems like week after week at the moment a load of nutters for some cause or other turn up in London, and of course these particular anti-vax nutters are most likely to be COVID positive super spreaders.
Duckspeak heard today on the BBC (said in earnest tone): "The science shows that climate change is already here."
Er yes mate. As if nobody in their 40s would notice that blossom appears on trees about two months earlier now than it did when they were children, unless they had some d*ckhead on the radio to invoke the great god "Science" in their lughole. And as if nobody has heard about things like the, duh, ice ages either, or the ice fairs on the Thames. The climate has always changed. It's as if those who speak in front of microphones have vanishingly little care for meaning - just gob off the buzzphrases and do it with exhortation and a sense of urgency.
I bet your grandmother smoked 60 capstan a day and lived to 98. Your point presumably is that the ice ages and indeed the little ice age happened and caused no notable damage or suffering to humanity whatever, so what is the fuss about? And that you don't understand they are specific named events because they stand out from much longer periods of relative climatic stability, so that a period of similar climactic change is, by pretty much any definition, news?
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Because Millenials and younger watch Netflix/YouTube etc
For news?
The internet, social media etc.
What percentage of under 40s do you think are tuning in to the BBCs News at 10 or whenever it is they show the news now?
Our adult children *never* watch tv. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them watching the tv news in their lives. Nor read a newspaper. But they do get “news” from somewhere, as they are perfectly capable of holding an intelligent conversation on current affairs. And they do vote.
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I've been praising them for a couple of years on that one.
I think the Tories are too tied up in being scared of property owners.
One other big difference is that I think Scotland does not aiui have an exception from Energy Efficiency requirements for PRS rented property which is listed. Someone I was talking too was having minor kittens about how to upgrade a flat in the New Town without getting into trouble with Conservation Officers.
I'm not sure what impact that has on the National Trust for Scotland - the English Version has a large number of rented out listed buildings.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I've been praising them for a couple of years on that one.
I think the Tories are too tied up in being scared of property owners.
One other big difference is that I think Scotland does not aiui have an exception from Energy Efficiency requirements for PRS rented property which is listed. Someone I was talking too was having minor kittens about how to upgrade a flat in the New Town without getting into trouble with Conservation Officers.
I'm not sure what impact that has on the National Trust for Scotland - the English Version has a large number of rented out listed buildings.
The NTS do rent out stuff. So does the Landmark Trust, in Scotland as elswehere, and probably Historic Scotland [English Heritage is the southron equivalent].
Some time ago there was an extremely controversial discussion re the RNLI rescuing migrants in the English Channel and I said I would contact my local MP, who is also a personal friend, about the issue. He promised to seek clarification from the Home Office, and he has sent their reply to me today.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
When I lived in England I was a member of the Green Party of England & Wales. I've voted for the Scottish Greens at every election since moving to Scotland, but I haven't joined them.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
I've had the same thought. My now ability to doze off just about anywhere and any time has destroyed that dream (except when I doze off natch).
Some time ago there was an extremely controversial discussion re the RNLI rescuing migrants in the English Channel and I said I would contact my local MP, who is also a personal friend, about the issue. He promised to seek clarification from the Home Office, and he has sent their reply to me today.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
END
Thank you for taking the trouble!
Doesn't exactly rule out the possibility of criminal investigation for RNLI does it, once people have been rescued? I don't like laws that leave it so widely open to interpretation, and so explicitly. But others are lawyers and more clued up on that sort of thing, so we will see what they say.
And congratulations to your son on his first (I think you said) shout, by the way: should have done so before. Good for him.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Asside from mind-numbing boredom of cruising down motorways, sitting in car parks and being paid shit for the same.,..
Not to mention the problem of finding somewhere clean, dry and civilised to shit.
Number 1s not a problem though, judging by the amount golden liquid filled bottles on the central reservation of the M8.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
When I lived in England I was a member of the Green Party of England & Wales. I've voted for the Scottish Greens at every election since moving to Scotland, but I haven't joined them.
Great. Thank you. So, are you and Dura Ace alone among the regulars?
The reason I ask is because of the no.1 news item today. Green issues are definitely rising up the agenda again, worldwide.
Some time ago there was an extremely controversial discussion re the RNLI rescuing migrants in the English Channel and I said I would contact my local MP, who is also a personal friend, about the issue. He promised to seek clarification from the Home Office, and he has sent their reply to me today.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
END
Thanks for doing that, however,
Policy guidance isn't the law and really isn't a substitute for a properly written law that ensures that rescue organisations are not accidently caught by the law.
And my previous point is still valid - if you can't create a law that resolves the exact issue you are trying to fix without catching others within it, you need to find a different approach.
22/1....more like 2222222222/1....on offense to her, she is a great athlete and terrible that she broke down injured again, but she isn't winning SPOTY in an Olympic year when all those gold medallists (and Cav equalling the stage win record), some of which are the absolute GOAT of their events.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
I would be if they could concentrate on doing the stuff it says on the tin and not branch off into genderqueer toilets. I think we are also probably not on the same page on hunting issues.
And when are solar panels rather useless? In the winter, when heating is needed. Solar panels cease to work well just when our demand peaks. They're a great alternative to coal but if you want year-round zero carbon they're completely nonsensical.
Obviously you are the world's fucking expert on solar systems but photovoltaic cells work on light not heat and are more efficient in colder temperatures. I usually get about 10kWh from both of my systems in the winter. It only stops being effective when it's covered in snow.
Just adding to the posts from other people to say that your post is absolutely effing clueless.
1) There are fewer hours of daylight in winter. 2) Winters tend to be more overcast. Whilst panels do not require direct sunlight, the energy delivered is still lower. 3) The sun is lower in the sky in winter, meaning the angle of incidence is lower.
Whilst you are correct that they work better in lower (reasonable) temperatures, this is more than offset by the factors above. At a guess, you'd be lucky to get 20% of average July power in December.
(I daresay someone else will point out I've got this wrong and I'm effing clueless as well...)
On the plus side, solar panels are a good complement to wind power, helping to cover the daytime peaks in consumption.
Oh, there's certainly a place for solar panels. It's just that we're not in an ideal part of the world for them. In the UK, wind makes much more sense.
I wish there was more openness on the figures, and we could see how much power is generated at any time by individual wind or solar farms. There's a windfarm and solarfarm very near our village, and I've no idea how much they generate.
As an aside, the wind farm's turbines are placed in two rows. The other day I noticed that the blades of each row turn in opposite direction. I assume that increases efficiency if they're in the wind 'shadow' of the other row?
Average daily generation for my system (Period ending)
That's precisely my point.
As a country that requires a lot of heating and not air conditioning, energy demand surges in the winter and drops in the summer. As we switch from gas central heating, to electric powered central heating, that's only going to be exaggerated.
Solar output collapses exactly when we need it most. It may be economically productive for you, but its not environmentally a solution for the UK as a whole.
If you build highly energy efficient houses, cooling in summer and solar heat gain in the spring/autumn is the bigger problem. When we get there, developers will need simple ways to manage it.
It is quite straightforward to reduce the winter heating requirement to a couple of kw in the winter. Talking near-passive spec here. To the extent that some people heat their whole house in winter with 1-2kW of direct resistance heating (ie immersion type heater) driving under-floor heating on an Economy 7 tariff. Rather than flubbing around with 5-10k on a heat pump.
So all we have to do as well is replace tens of millions of houses?
No - more like improving them all to C on the EPC scale, which halves the energy demand from an E/F. Even that will be a huge contribution.
In England there is already a regulatory escalator pretty much in place by 2030 for Private Rental to reach that - it is now an offence to privately rent an EPC F property (with exceptions for eg listed buildings). Council and Housing Association are largely there already due to Governments throwing money at them since approx 2000.
There is nothing in place for Owner Occupied which is why I keep shouting about it.
In 5 years time Owner Occupied will be firmly established as the slum sector for energy efficiency - but Mr Sharma mentioned it on R4 Today this morning, so expect something from Rishi in the autumn. Perhaps following Scotland.
I've been praising them for a couple of years on that one.
I think the Tories are too tied up in being scared of property owners.
One other big difference is that I think Scotland does not aiui have an exception from Energy Efficiency requirements for PRS rented property which is listed. Someone I was talking too was having minor kittens about how to upgrade a flat in the New Town without getting into trouble with Conservation Officers.
I'm not sure what impact that has on the National Trust for Scotland - the English Version has a large number of rented out listed buildings.
The NTS do rent out stuff. So does the Landmark Trust, in Scotland as elswehere, and probably Historic Scotland [English Heritage is the southron equivalent].
One of the properties NTS rents out is Bude House. From memory that has a whole heap of problems within it.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
Asside from mind-numbing boredom of cruising down motorways, sitting in car parks and being paid shit for the same.,..
Not to mention the problem of finding somewhere clean, dry and civilised to shit.
Number 1s not a problem though, judging by the amount golden liquid filled bottles on the central reservation of the M8.
Eeew. Mind, I recently saw a report of a woman incandescent at the 'soft drinks' the supermarket had delivered by mistake. It wasn't Irn-Bru, that's for sure.
22/1....more like 2222222222/1....on offense to her, she is a great athlete and terrible that she broke down injured again, but she isn't winning SPOTY in an Olympic year when all those gold medallists (and Cav equalling the stage win record), some of which are the absolute GOAT of their events.
The one thing we can be absolutely sure of, is that there will be some sort of BBC nominations process, which has been the case ever since the public gave a lifetime achievement award to Ryan Giggs who’d won nothing that year. The chance of a pity prize for KJT is precisely zero, in an Olympic year you’re going to need a gold medal to qualify, or be world champion in a non-Olympic sport.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
I've been known to vote Green on occasion. The climate change situation is dire and existing parties need to be kicked on it every so often.
And no, I don't want to engage in a debate about whether it exists or is manmade or whatever.
So the 'food shortages' turn out to be Waitrose not paying its drivers enough.
Not really Leningrad during the siege is it.
Still good for a bit of schadenfreude among those whose custom Waitrose doesn't want.
Now if you want a story which might damage Boris then try the new baby - he looks like one of those feckless fathers on poverty porn programs.
Not a good look when you're going to preach about environmental sustainability.
How have you reached that conclusion? There are tens of thousands fewer drivers than are required, with more retiring every month than are being replaced. So we now have some desperate companies like Tesco offering big dollah to entice drivers to defect, but that doesn't fix the problem either - the industry would be better served by Tesco spending the money on driver training.
What's wrong with pay rates rising for skilled workers ?
Nothing at all - there has been a race to the bottom over the last decade and more for truck drivers and a whole load of other industries.
My points are simple: they will drive costs and thus inflation, and it does not solve the driver crisis in the short to medium term. "Pay the drivers more" is not a solution for tens of thousands of vacancies you cannot fill. It is a strategy for 3 years hence which is fine, but needs to go hand in hand with a solution to the crisis - which has to be imported drivers.
And then the solution of get some cheap immigrants for the 'temporary crisis' becomes the permanent strategy.
There will never be any train more or pay more it will ALWAYS be get some cheap immigrants.
This is newly brexited Britain. We don't have to give migrant truck drivers a long term right to work here. The industry needs 18 months, so grant that long a work visa. Great opportunity for Romanian truck drivers to come over, make a bomb, then move on to the next gig.
The free market solution to a shortage of truck drivers is hire more truck drivers. It is only Brexit stubbornness preventing us from doing so.
The only time this will become salient is when and if it becomes obvious to the public
Right now I do not know anyone who is not receiving their orders either by food home delivery or through Amazon and other delivery companies
Because Amazon are willing to pay what it needs to pay in order to attract drivers they require. That is the free market solution.
Other companies whinging that there aren't enough drivers is a bit odd when so many people work on the roads in this country. There's no shortage of people willing to drive for a living, if they're not paying enough to attract drivers to work for them then there's a solution to that.
Does the free market stop at Dover, Phil?
Yes.
Past Dover there's no free movement of people, so if you want people to work for you then you need to either pay enough to get someone in the UK working for you - or pay enough that you can sponsor somebody for a visa.
You are a libertarian. You should surely want anyone to be an HGV driver here who decides they want to be an HGV driver here. Whether from Rotherham or Romania.
Yes absolutely if anyone wants to migrate here then I have no qualms with them doing so. The same rules should be consistently applied on that, I believe that currently if a company is offering a £30k salary plus they can sponsor a visa? I have no issues with that whatsoever, if a company wants to do that then they should do that.
If a company wants special privileges to hire people at low wages without meeting the salary requirements for a visa then I see no reason why we should do that.
Visas are an unwanted administrative tool to control the labour market aren't they?
I guess it depends on whether or not it's your job that's getting its wages depressed.
Oh absolutely but Philip is a man of principle and it is his political philosophy that is being discussed here.
My principle is I'm in favour of consistent reasonably free movement globally. I'd like the same rules applied globally and consistently.
I would be happy to see immigration go up not down, but I'd like to see restrictions on land usage eased tied to that so that we can have adequate house building etc to go with the increased population demands.
We've been through the land thing. You can't have people build anywhere because the taxes to address the negative externalities would be prohibitive.
But glad to see you are against restrictions on free movement. Can't say the same for all your Brexit fellow travellers.
An "Australian style points immigration system" quite literally applied could see immigration double. Australia has about twice as much immigration as the UK does.
What I see no reason to do is to put onerous demands for visas should apply for Australians, Canadians, Indians, Americans, Japanese, Mexicans etc - but that they shouldn't for French, Germans, Portugese, Polish or Romanians.
I grew up in Australia, if any of my classmates wanted to come to the UK they'd need a visa.
If visas are an issue then that issue should be fixed consistently. Do you disagree?
Depends. Preferred immigration treatment for our neighbours was part of a package of measures which we decided overall were beneficial for the country.
Correction - which we decided was not beneficial to the country. There was a referendum, not sure if you remember it.
Oh absolutely. We decided it was good for the country and then decided it was not good for the country.
Phil seemed to think there was an inconsistency in it all. He wants a come all ye immigration policy. Which is his right.
Not sure how many fellow Brexiters he will take along with him but that is his view.
The first “we” is Tony Blair & Gordon Brown & the second the majority of voters at the referendum?
Weren't they both elected by the British people?
Brown wasn’t
tbf, when he did stand for election, he was booted out pretty firmly.
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
I would be if they could concentrate on doing the stuff it says on the tin and not branch off into genderqueer toilets. I think we are also probably not on the same page on hunting issues.
I consider myself to be Green-ish. Certainly strongly pro-conservation, protecting native species and habitats, instinctively sceptical of air travel and madder infrastructure/construction projects. I suppose you could call it “softer” Green issues. But I am pro-hunting. At least the Nordic type of hunting: for food and control of numbers of grazers. Strongly oppose grouse moors and fake hunts or cruel hunts, eg thickos riding horses after hounds.
It would be fun to go back to PB - had it existed - in the mid nineties and read the discussion on how mobile phones would never take off due to being expensive and the complete lack of needed infrastructure meaning they were useless for people who lived in or travelled to places outside the main population centres due to a complete lack of network coverage
We had a flashback of and insight into such thinking with Burnergate last week.
Jesus yes. Burnergate. I was just this morning trying to work out why Labour have smashed through the polling into this sudden, incredible lead. And then I remembered, with a chilly shiver
especially as the story is nearly 3 years old. Can't you find a more up to date assessment of the problem? There wasn't even a pandemic in December 2018.
Some time ago there was an extremely controversial discussion re the RNLI rescuing migrants in the English Channel and I said I would contact my local MP, who is also a personal friend, about the issue. He promised to seek clarification from the Home Office, and he has sent their reply to me today.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
END
Thank you for taking the trouble!
Doesn't exactly rule out the possibility of criminal investigation for RNLI does it, once people have been rescued? I don't like laws that leave it so widely open to interpretation, and so explicitly. But others are lawyers and more clued up on that sort of thing, so we will see what they say.
And congratulations to your son on his first (I think you said) shout, by the way: should have done so before. Good for him.
Thank you and I have published it as I promised
I have no hesitation in saying that nobody in the RNLI will face any action from HMG for rescue at sea
And yes, my son has his first shout at 10.00 pm last Friday and on racing to get to the boathouse he realised how important little things are like having easy slip on shoes handy, pointing the car the correct way, making sure the house key are on the key ring and resisting the temptation to speed to the shout. As it was he was one of the first responders there. His adrenaline certainly flowed, especially seeing all the blue light police cars by the promenade and a helicopter overhead, but to everyone's relief the emergency services on this occasion prevented the vulnerable person from jumping into the sea
I’m aware of vast, roaming herds of PB Tories, a few PB Labourites and Farage fans, some Lib Dems (although far fewer than at the start), a handful of SNP and an Alba, but I honestly cannot think of a single Green PBer. Is there one?
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
I voted Green last time (the Co. Council elections); it was that or let the Tory in again. Besides which I knew the chap and thought well of him. Not a Party member though, nor likely to be.
22/1....more like 2222222222/1....on offense to her, she is a great athlete and terrible that she broke down injured again, but she isn't winning SPOTY in an Olympic year when all those gold medallists (and Cav equalling the stage win record), some of which are the absolute GOAT of their events.
The one thing we can be absolutely sure of, is that there will be some sort of BBC nominations process, which has been the case ever since the public gave a lifetime achievement award to Ryan Giggs who’d won nothing that year. The chance of a pity prize for KJT is precisely zero, in an Olympic year you’re going to need a gold medal to qualify, or be world champion in a non-Olympic sport.
Some of Giggs achievements are not as praiseworthy, though.
Some time ago there was an extremely controversial discussion re the RNLI rescuing migrants in the English Channel and I said I would contact my local MP, who is also a personal friend, about the issue. He promised to seek clarification from the Home Office, and he has sent their reply to me today.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
END
Thank you for taking the trouble!
Doesn't exactly rule out the possibility of criminal investigation for RNLI does it, once people have been rescued? I don't like laws that leave it so widely open to interpretation, and so explicitly. But others are lawyers and more clued up on that sort of thing, so we will see what they say.
And congratulations to your son on his first (I think you said) shout, by the way: should have done so before. Good for him.
Thank you and I have published it as I promised
I have no hesitation in saying that nobody in the RNLI will face any action from HMG for rescue at sea
And yes, my son has his first shout at 10.00 pm last Friday and on racing to get to the boathouse he realised how important little things are like having easy slip on shoes handy, pointing the car the correct way, making sure the house key are on the key ring and resisting the temptation to speed to the shout. As it was he was one of the first responders there. His adrenaline certainly flowed, especially seeing all the blue light police cars by the promenade and a helicopter overhead, but to everyone's relief the emergency services on this occasion prevented the vulnerable person from jumping into the sea
Congrats to you and your son for supporting the RNLI as you do.
I'm not sure how the government can say that resettling 25000 people in 6 years is the best in europe. According to Statista we are way down the list for 2020 at least!
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
You've dodged a bullet there. It's bad for the figure. Everyone I know who is a lorry driver is a fatty. Through hours of boredom sitting in the cab munching pies I guess.
So 25,161 cases and 37 deaths reported today. The quick drop off (post Euros and schools closing) has clearly worked its way through and now we are possibly seeing the effects of the removal of restrictions (now three weeks ago). I don't think many thought we would be in this position three or four weeks ago. What happens next? Scotland will be a useful indicator as there schools return shortly. I fear we have painted ourselves into a corner with testing. It is probably time to wind down mass testing, and use it mainly for diagnostic purposes, but I think the governments in the UK will find that hard to do ('hiding' data etc). As has been noted by many the key figures now are the hospitals and deaths number, cases matter a whole lot less, other than perhaps being an indicator of a problem coming. I struggle to see cases exploding, given that now little if no restrictions exist. I also think the amount of transmission and infection in the double vaccinated is being over stated - it is there of course, but it cannot be huge, otherwise the cases would be skyrocketing.
That doesn't mean it isn't still true. In fact I'd be shocked if it wasn't given the market dynamics and boom in home delivery and general lack of investment in supply chain logistics across the whole continent. The solution has always been to throw cheap labour at it, it's well past time to look at a new way of doing business.
The solution for a lot of years was it's not a problem because the drivers albeit old existed.
Then the older drivers started to retire and the younger ones found that local parcel delivery paid nearly the same while allowing you to go home every night.
I have always fancied being a long distance lorry driver. I suppose the reality is nothing like this but in my mind’s eye it’s a great occupation. Pulling in and pulling out of places, forever transient, the freedom of the open road, lots of thinking time, no uniform, eat what you like when you like, a large and powerful machine at your beck and call, and (key point) the knowledge that your job is of value, you’re doing something that genuinely needs doing, that somebody else would have to do if you weren’t there, and on top of all this you’re getting paid. Too old now though. If there is a shortage I won't be helping fill it.
You've dodged a bullet there. It's bad for the figure. Everyone I know who is a lorry driver is a fatty. Through hours of boredom sitting in the cab munching pies I guess.
I sometimes get romantic thoughts an these lines during my commute when I listen to the traffic news. The idea of being a tramper, travelling the roads across the nation. But then the downsides are pretty grim, not least that I have real issues with being (a) stuck in traffic jams and (b) being late, both of which I think are part of lorry driving life. Plus, I am sure there are some slim, athletic, half marathon running lorry drivers, but not that many...
So 25,161 cases and 37 deaths reported today. The quick drop off (post Euros and schools closing) has clearly worked its way through and now we are possibly seeing the effects of the removal of restrictions (now three weeks ago). I don't think many thought we would be in this position three or four weeks ago. What happens next? Scotland will be a useful indicator as there schools return shortly. I fear we have painted ourselves into a corner with testing. It is probably time to wind down mass testing, and use it mainly for diagnostic purposes, but I think the governments in the UK will find that hard to do ('hiding' data etc). As has been noted by many the key figures now are the hospitals and deaths number, cases matter a whole lot less, other than perhaps being an indicator of a problem coming. I struggle to see cases exploding, given that now little if no restrictions exist. I also think the amount of transmission and infection in the double vaccinated is being over stated - it is there of course, but it cannot be huge, otherwise the cases would be skyrocketing.
I've always felt that it was the young that are the main vector in this. I don't think we should have a cull though. No pocket money if you kill your granny though.
Comments
A son has spoken of losing three family members to Covid-19 within a week after they refused to get a vaccine.
Francis Goncalves, 43, from Cardiff, said he was heartbroken after his brother, mother and father did not get their vaccines because they had been scared by anti-vaccination misinformation.
Goncalves said his brother, Shaul, 40, father, Basil, 73, and mother Charmagne, 65, all of whom were based in Portugal, started to feel unwell on July 10, a few days after attending the same family dinner.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/father-mother-and-son-who-refused-vaccine-die-within-days-of-each-other-7m6pwd5rd
Doesn't seem a very green thing to me, but there we are...
As for the rest of the banners it was like reading Contrarian's posts on a loop.
She did it was pretty tough on the self esteem.
https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&time=2021-02-07..latest&facet=none&pickerSort=asc&pickerMetric=location&Metric=Stringency+index&Interval=7-day+rolling+average&Relative+to+Population=true&Align+outbreaks=false&country=CAN~DEU~ITA~IND~European+Union~BEL~GBR~FRA~POL~NLD~ESP~LUX~USA
And why do you suppose the BBC target audience is exclusively in its 40s?
Sorry, but ... no.
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1131521_vw-to-recover-95-of-ev-batteries-raw-materials
Pilot plants at the moment, but the economics apparently should stack up.
Then there are the likes of JB Straubel who has just raised a proper wedge to make those that cannot be reused easily recycled.
Also I'm in that leasing situation where I just get a new one every three years
Would I have paid £36k for it new, nope - for that money I would be looking at getting an EV...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57623110
I wonder if Patsy Stevenson is there?
Geronimo the alpaca: Protesters march on Downing Street
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-58143100
One of them came from a family who own a trucking company. He drives for them once a year to keep his hand in. He said refrigerated loads are a nightmare. You have to arrive exactly on time, every time.
What percentage of under 40s do you think are tuning in to the BBCs News at 10 or whenever it is they show the news now?
That game was fantastically good. Graphics have aged appallingly, as an early 3D game, but the translation from Japanese matches the Shakespearean names (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in it.
Over 500 “Official Voice” at Shepherds Bush, protesting against vaccine passports and vaccine for kids - their goal today is to take over a key London Building …. Eyes
https://twitter.com/PaulBrown_UK/status/1424696493848596492?s=20
https://www.economist.com/britain/2013/08/17/repetitive-beats
They were a bit slow on it for the PRS after 2011-12 when Ed Davey kicked it off down here, but have caught up and got ahead on the Owner Occupied side.
Either way the studios they attacked are... mainly leased by ITV to make Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, and Loose Women, so that showed them.
https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/1424741693035851776
(I think there was an N Ireland Green guy a while back?)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uQHhYRuaEtM
(Watch to the end, only 30”)
And while I'm at it there are posters on this very thread who I'm certain won't see 50 again, explicitly saying that they perceive mentions of climate change as prediction rather than reportage. So even the fuddy duddy to dead age range needs bringing up to speed here.
I recently acquired some back issues of Classic Truck Monthly or some such periodical from Oxfam, out of curiosity. Not something I will do again, but it was fascinating to see how grim some of the older wagons were to drive, especially pre 1960s. And no motorways either, just bypasses if you were lucky.
There's also at least one British Transport Films documentary - of moving a ship's propeller from Tyneside to Cardiff - which gives a sense of that, including (if memory serves: could be another film) the dormitory at the transport caff en route - almost as crowded as a semi occupied by cockle picking illegal migrants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDbJ_ZdJqQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiG40KhUNw (Might be edited selection)
I think the Tories are too tied up in being scared of property owners.
One other big difference is that I think Scotland does not aiui have an exception from Energy Efficiency requirements for PRS rented property which is listed. Someone I was talking too was having minor kittens about how to upgrade a flat in the New Town without getting into trouble with Conservation Officers.
I'm not sure what impact that has on the National Trust for Scotland - the English Version has a large number of rented out listed buildings.
I promised I would publish the Home Office response on receipt and accordingly I note it below
From The Home Office 4th August 2021
Thank you for your letter of the 15th July to the Home Secretary on behalf of one of your constituents about the Nationality and Borders Bill and the role of the RNLI. I am replying as Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice.
The Nationality and Borders Bill targets ruthless criminal gangs who put lives at risk by smuggling people across the Channel. It does not change the Government’s approach to existing obligations under international maritime law, including the duty to protect lives at sea. Organizations such as HM Coastguard and RNLI, and individuals, will be able to continue to rescue those in distress at sea as they do now.
The changes are not intended to punish humanitarian actions or to deter people from seeking help from the authorities where they are being exploited and abused. The Government recognises and welcomes the desire of individuals and community groups to help.
We will fully address these issues in policy guidance to ensure that proper account is taken of the circumstances and motives of any individual offering aid and assistance to someone they know have entered the UK illegally; or to be remaining without permission, and that any punitive action is proportionate and in the public interest.
We have a proud track record of helping those facing persecution, oppression and tyranny and we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty around the world. Since 2015, we have resettled almost 25,000 men, women and children seeking refuge from persecution across the world – more than any EU country. We have also welcomed more than 29,000 close relatives through refugee family reunion. In 2019, the UK received more asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children than any country in the EU and we were second in 2020
I hope this response has clarified our proposals. Thank you for sharing your constituent’s concerns on this important matter.
END
Daley 5/2
J Kenny 3/1
Peaty 21/2
L Kenny 15/1
Hamilton 16/1
Cavendish 19/1
Whitlock 20/1
Johnson-Thompson 22/1
Brownlee 40/1
50 bar
Might Brownlee be value, if the Scots get behind him?
Doesn't exactly rule out the possibility of criminal investigation for RNLI does it, once people have been rescued? I don't like laws that leave it so widely open to interpretation, and so explicitly. But others are lawyers and more clued up on that sort of thing, so we will see what they say.
And congratulations to your son on his first (I think you said) shout, by the way: should have done so before. Good for him.
The reason I ask is because of the no.1 news item today. Green issues are definitely rising up the agenda again, worldwide.
Policy guidance isn't the law and really isn't a substitute for a properly written law that ensures that rescue organisations are not accidently caught by the law.
And my previous point is still valid - if you can't create a law that resolves the exact issue you are trying to fix without catching others within it, you need to find a different approach.
22/1....more like 2222222222/1....on offense to her, she is a great athlete and terrible that she broke down injured again, but she isn't winning SPOTY in an Olympic year when all those gold medallists (and Cav equalling the stage win record), some of which are the absolute GOAT of their events.
And no, I don't want to engage in a debate about whether it exists or is manmade or whatever.
I have no hesitation in saying that nobody in the RNLI will face any action from HMG for rescue at sea
And yes, my son has his first shout at 10.00 pm last Friday and on racing to get to the boathouse he realised how important little things are like having easy slip on shoes handy, pointing the car the correct way, making sure the house key are on the key ring and resisting the temptation to speed to the shout. As it was he was one of the first responders there. His adrenaline certainly flowed, especially seeing all the blue light police cars by the promenade and a helicopter overhead, but to everyone's relief the emergency services on this occasion prevented the vulnerable person from jumping into the sea
The point is that it’s from 2018
Not a Party member though, nor likely to be.
I'm not sure how the government can say that resettling 25000 people in 6 years is the best in europe. According to Statista we are way down the list for 2020 at least!
https://www.statista.com/statistics/293350/asylum-grants-in-europe/
What happens next? Scotland will be a useful indicator as there schools return shortly. I fear we have painted ourselves into a corner with testing. It is probably time to wind down mass testing, and use it mainly for diagnostic purposes, but I think the governments in the UK will find that hard to do ('hiding' data etc). As has been noted by many the key figures now are the hospitals and deaths number, cases matter a whole lot less, other than perhaps being an indicator of a problem coming. I struggle to see cases exploding, given that now little if no restrictions exist. I also think the amount of transmission and infection in the double vaccinated is being over stated - it is there of course, but it cannot be huge, otherwise the cases would be skyrocketing.
Plus, I am sure there are some slim, athletic, half marathon running lorry drivers, but not that many...
Boris Johnson: 36% (-1)
Rishi Sunak: 34% (+4)
Changes +/- 2 Aug
https://twitter.com/redfieldwilton/status/1424785236815187976?s=21