The suggestion is that the UK might piggy-back that deal. Arrive from France on a boat, end up in Rwanda.
There we go Topping. Rwanda.
If they agree to take ours too, we should offer a couple of billion pounds over a ten year period to Rwanda from our international aid budget.
The drownings stop overnight - that's a win. The plight of poor people in Rwanda is improved - that's a win. The plight of legitimate refugees getting crowded out by people smugglers gets improved - that's a win.
No ugliness whatsoever. Wins all around. Anyone who comes here, can get sanctuary from Rwanda.
Refugee camps in Rwanda (not signed yet btw). I'm sure that will lead to NO UGLINESS WHATSOEVER. Feel all warm and cuddly if that happens, then?
What ugliness are you expecting?
And how does it compare to the existing refugee camps in Turkey and elsewhere that we could be doing more to help, if all our asylum aid wasn't taken up by people paying people smugglers instead of having a case for asylum?
Plus of course if people don't want to go to Rwanda, then they don't need to cross the Channel. They will know up front that crossing the Channel means ending up in Rwanda, so if they proceed to do that, it will be their own choice.
"How does that compare to existing refugee camps" well indeed. Pretty gruesome I have no doubt.
Look it's fine, Philip. Denmark wants to do it, you want to do it. You want to send our asylum seekers to be managed by Rwanda, which we will pay in return.
Makes me feel slightly uneasy but if you think it will all be tickety-boo, fresh linen,hospital corners on the beds and spit spot then that is absolutely your right to hold that opinion.
Not our problem, nothing to see here. That's the attitude.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
The suggestion is that the UK might piggy-back that deal. Arrive from France on a boat, end up in Rwanda.
There we go Topping. Rwanda.
If they agree to take ours too, we should offer a couple of billion pounds over a ten year period to Rwanda from our international aid budget.
The drownings stop overnight - that's a win. The plight of poor people in Rwanda is improved - that's a win. The plight of legitimate refugees getting crowded out by people smugglers gets improved - that's a win.
No ugliness whatsoever. Wins all around. Anyone who comes here, can get sanctuary from Rwanda.
Refugee camps in Rwanda (not signed yet btw). I'm sure that will lead to NO UGLINESS WHATSOEVER. Feel all warm and cuddly if that happens, then?
What ugliness are you expecting?
And how does it compare to the existing refugee camps in Turkey and elsewhere that we could be doing more to help, if all our asylum aid wasn't taken up by people paying people smugglers instead of having a case for asylum?
Plus of course if people don't want to go to Rwanda, then they don't need to cross the Channel. They will know up front that crossing the Channel means ending up in Rwanda, so if they proceed to do that, it will be their own choice.
"How does that compare to existing refugee camps" well indeed. Pretty gruesome I have no doubt.
Look it's fine, Philip. Denmark wants to do it, you want to do it. You want to send our asylum seekers to be managed by Rwanda, which we will pay in return.
Makes me feel slightly uneasy but if you think it will all be tickety-boo, fresh linen,hospital corners on the beds and spit spot then that is absolutely your right to hold that opinion.
Not our problem, nothing to see here. That's the attitude.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Edit: but that is an argument for boarding schools, not private schooling strictly: state boarding schools do exist.
OT. An interesting piece from 2018 about Iran's success in reducing their fertility rate from 6.5 births per woman to 2, and the opportunities and threats.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
And for those that board it gies the parents peace from the wee shites. When you look at the grown up products of this outsourcing of parenting currently governing us, one can see that this might be a not inconsiderable benefit (to the parents if not the rest of us).
This was quite a good analysis of why are these ****s like this.
Thanks, I'll read that. You'd have thought all this shit would be on its way out but it's very stubborn. It fights like hell in many different ways and it tends to prevail. Cancel culture my arse.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
But your solution - just let ‘em come - is no solution
As I write this in a cafe in Athens the skies behind me are dark from all the forest fires burning twenty miles away. Climate change - where I used to be a little bit skeptical - is now all-too-real. Soon there will be millions of people trying to get to Europe, and the UK, not just tens of thousands
You say Britain is a “big place with lots of space” - it is not - but even if that were true no country can absorb millions of desperate migrants without either electing a fascist government to stop it, with guns, or tipping into civil strife
Ultimately we have to act selfishly, in the interests of the British people. That may indeed involve unpleasant alternatives like the Rwanda Idea. And you will have to just accept it
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
I'm obsessed with PB contributors' political views. You loathe the EU and live in the EU.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
My view on private education - and where I have long disagreed with Corbs and co - is that the solution is to make state schools so good that private schools become irrelevant.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Seems a touch convoluted but of course there are always exceptions when people simply have to send their children to private school.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
I thought it wasn't done to put parmesan on fish or seafood pasta.
It's not. But since parmesan goes into seafood risotto, I've never seen the harm.
We had vegetable risotto yesterday. No Parmigiano-Reggiano in the house, so (being in Yorkshire) we used Wensleydale.
Second portion of risotto for my tea tonight.
You have three types of balsamic vinegar but no Parmigiano-Reggiano in the house? Time for a review of priorities.
Have no fear - I'll be adding it to the Abel & Cole order for Friday delivery!
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
I'm obsessed with PB contributors' political views. You loathe the EU and live in the EU.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
Plenty of Scots live in the UK but loathe it as an institution. Are they all bonkers, too?
I dislike their opinion and hope they never prevail, but they are not bonkers. It is a perfectly legitimate political opinion
Presumably you thought the Irish or American rebels were bonkers as well, for wanting to leave the British Empire?
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
My view on private education - and where I have long disagreed with Corbs and co - is that the solution is to make state schools so good that private schools become irrelevant.
Which could be done easily (if not cheaply) by cutting class sizes in the state sector by a third.
With the partial exception of Tony Blair, no government has ever tried to do that.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
I'm obsessed with PB contributors' political views. You loathe the EU and live in the EU.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
I loathe what the EU did wrt vaccines. As to the rest like most locals here I'm largely indifferent.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
But your solution - just let ‘em come - is no solution
As I write this in a cafe in Athens the skies behind me are dark from all the forest fires burning twenty miles away. Climate change - where I used to be a little bit skeptical - is now all-too-real. Soon there will be millions of people trying to get to Europe, and the UK, not just tens of thousands
You say Britain is a “big place with lots of space” - it is not - but even if that were true no country can absorb millions of desperate migrants without either electing a fascist government to stop it, with guns, or tipping into civil strife
Ultimately we have to act selfishly, in the interests of the British people. That may indeed involve unpleasant alternatives like the Rwanda Idea. And you will have to just accept it
I'm not sure I do have to accept it but at least we are calling it for what it is, finally: selfish and involving unpleasant alternatives.
And people have been worrying about foreigners coming over here and causing all those apocalyptic things ever since E**** P****** suggested it. Still not quite there yet.
The suggestion is that the UK might piggy-back that deal. Arrive from France on a boat, end up in Rwanda.
There we go Topping. Rwanda.
If they agree to take ours too, we should offer a couple of billion pounds over a ten year period to Rwanda from our international aid budget.
The drownings stop overnight - that's a win. The plight of poor people in Rwanda is improved - that's a win. The plight of legitimate refugees getting crowded out by people smugglers gets improved - that's a win.
No ugliness whatsoever. Wins all around. Anyone who comes here, can get sanctuary from Rwanda.
Refugee camps in Rwanda (not signed yet btw). I'm sure that will lead to NO UGLINESS WHATSOEVER. Feel all warm and cuddly if that happens, then?
What ugliness are you expecting?
And how does it compare to the existing refugee camps in Turkey and elsewhere that we could be doing more to help, if all our asylum aid wasn't taken up by people paying people smugglers instead of having a case for asylum?
Plus of course if people don't want to go to Rwanda, then they don't need to cross the Channel. They will know up front that crossing the Channel means ending up in Rwanda, so if they proceed to do that, it will be their own choice.
"How does that compare to existing refugee camps" well indeed. Pretty gruesome I have no doubt.
Look it's fine, Philip. Denmark wants to do it, you want to do it. You want to send our asylum seekers to be managed by Rwanda, which we will pay in return.
Makes me feel slightly uneasy but if you think it will all be tickety-boo, fresh linen,hospital corners on the beds and spit spot then that is absolutely your right to hold that opinion.
Why does it make you feel uneasy? I'm sure it will be good enough, yes. Especially if we're paying for it.
What's wrong with Rwanda? They've got more than twice as many people living there as live in Scotland. If people are seeking a safe country where they won't be murdered due to their politics, or race, religion or sexuality or whatever then can't Rwanda provide that? If they can provide asylum then what's the issue?
If on the other people want to come to the UK as it's a wealthy nation and they want economic success then there's a migration process for that. Which we should make easier consistently across the board not just for those who pay people smugglers.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Seems a touch convoluted but of course there are always exceptions when people simply have to send their children to private school.
Usually it's just rank hypocrisy, that said.
Just added the important qualifier that there are state boarding schools too. And my friends' parents weren't politicians. Though quite a few worked in the overseas civil service, or companies with overseas projects (civil engineers on site), and so on, so would have had allowances. So ultimately the Treasury often would have paid either way.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Grating Parmesan is insane, when you can buy perfectly good little cartons of fresh, ready-hand-flaked Parmesan for about £20 in Marks and Sparks
What kind of fearful chav flakes his own Parmesan?
My view on private education - and where I have long disagreed with Corbs and co - is that the solution is to make state schools so good that private schools become irrelevant.
They don't send their kids there for the quality of the education.
They send their kids there because the rest of us can't.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
I'm obsessed with PB contributors' political views. You loathe the EU and live in the EU.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
Plenty of Scots live in the UK but loathe it as an institution. Are they all bonkers, too?
I dislike their opinion and hope they never prevail, but they are not bonkers. It is a perfectly legitimate political opinion
Presumably you thought the Irish or American rebels were bonkers as well, for wanting to leave the British Empire?
I hadn't realised that @f*l*x was agitating for Spain to leave the EU. He voted Remain after all.
The suggestion is that the UK might piggy-back that deal. Arrive from France on a boat, end up in Rwanda.
There we go Topping. Rwanda.
If they agree to take ours too, we should offer a couple of billion pounds over a ten year period to Rwanda from our international aid budget.
The drownings stop overnight - that's a win. The plight of poor people in Rwanda is improved - that's a win. The plight of legitimate refugees getting crowded out by people smugglers gets improved - that's a win.
No ugliness whatsoever. Wins all around. Anyone who comes here, can get sanctuary from Rwanda.
Refugee camps in Rwanda (not signed yet btw). I'm sure that will lead to NO UGLINESS WHATSOEVER. Feel all warm and cuddly if that happens, then?
What ugliness are you expecting?
And how does it compare to the existing refugee camps in Turkey and elsewhere that we could be doing more to help, if all our asylum aid wasn't taken up by people paying people smugglers instead of having a case for asylum?
Plus of course if people don't want to go to Rwanda, then they don't need to cross the Channel. They will know up front that crossing the Channel means ending up in Rwanda, so if they proceed to do that, it will be their own choice.
"How does that compare to existing refugee camps" well indeed. Pretty gruesome I have no doubt.
Look it's fine, Philip. Denmark wants to do it, you want to do it. You want to send our asylum seekers to be managed by Rwanda, which we will pay in return.
Makes me feel slightly uneasy but if you think it will all be tickety-boo, fresh linen,hospital corners on the beds and spit spot then that is absolutely your right to hold that opinion.
Why does it make you feel uneasy? I'm sure it will be good enough, yes. Especially if we're paying for it.
What's wrong with Rwanda? They've got more than twice as many people living there as live in Scotland. If people are seeking a safe country where they won't be murdered due to their politics, or race, religion or sexuality or whatever then can't Rwanda provide that? If they can provide asylum then what's the issue?
If on the other people want to come to the UK as it's a wealthy nation and they want economic success then there's a migration process for that. Which we should make easier consistently across the board not just for those who pay people smugglers.
I think you may have just spotted a little prejudice against certain African countries there...
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
But your solution - just let ‘em come - is no solution
As I write this in a cafe in Athens the skies behind me are dark from all the forest fires burning twenty miles away. Climate change - where I used to be a little bit skeptical - is now all-too-real. Soon there will be millions of people trying to get to Europe, and the UK, not just tens of thousands
You say Britain is a “big place with lots of space” - it is not - but even if that were true no country can absorb millions of desperate migrants without either electing a fascist government to stop it, with guns, or tipping into civil strife
Ultimately we have to act selfishly, in the interests of the British people. That may indeed involve unpleasant alternatives like the Rwanda Idea. And you will have to just accept it
I'm not sure I do have to accept it but at least we are calling it for what it is, finally: selfish and involving unpleasant alternatives.
And people have been worrying about foreigners coming over here and causing all those apocalyptic things ever since E**** P****** suggested it. Still not quite there yet.
This time it really is different. It’s tedious that you pretend otherwise
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Jesus - you're obsessed with my domestic arrangements. What a freak you are!
I'm obsessed with PB contributors' political views. You loathe the EU and live in the EU.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
I loathe what the EU did wrt vaccines. As to the rest like most locals here I'm largely indifferent.
Ah.... well that is a different bag of mange tout. Yes they were vile esp. wrt the Irish border. I agree with that, god help me for saying that on PB.
When you said you loathed the EU I took it as more than just a (loathsome) action they took at a point in time.
The suggestion is that the UK might piggy-back that deal. Arrive from France on a boat, end up in Rwanda.
There we go Topping. Rwanda.
If they agree to take ours too, we should offer a couple of billion pounds over a ten year period to Rwanda from our international aid budget.
The drownings stop overnight - that's a win. The plight of poor people in Rwanda is improved - that's a win. The plight of legitimate refugees getting crowded out by people smugglers gets improved - that's a win.
No ugliness whatsoever. Wins all around. Anyone who comes here, can get sanctuary from Rwanda.
Refugee camps in Rwanda (not signed yet btw). I'm sure that will lead to NO UGLINESS WHATSOEVER. Feel all warm and cuddly if that happens, then?
What ugliness are you expecting?
And how does it compare to the existing refugee camps in Turkey and elsewhere that we could be doing more to help, if all our asylum aid wasn't taken up by people paying people smugglers instead of having a case for asylum?
Plus of course if people don't want to go to Rwanda, then they don't need to cross the Channel. They will know up front that crossing the Channel means ending up in Rwanda, so if they proceed to do that, it will be their own choice.
"How does that compare to existing refugee camps" well indeed. Pretty gruesome I have no doubt.
Look it's fine, Philip. Denmark wants to do it, you want to do it. You want to send our asylum seekers to be managed by Rwanda, which we will pay in return.
Makes me feel slightly uneasy but if you think it will all be tickety-boo, fresh linen,hospital corners on the beds and spit spot then that is absolutely your right to hold that opinion.
Not our problem, nothing to see here. That's the attitude.
Dead bodies in the sea because the Channel isn't safe to cross in dinghies absolutely are our problem.
Which is why we have a moral obligation to solve the issue. The Channel is widely regarded as one of the world's most deadly water ways to travel in a dinghy due to its tides and high volume of shipping etc
Sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the floating dead bodies is not a solution. It's not humane.
Sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the millions in asylum camps in Turkey and elsewhere is not a solution. Saying we will look after you if you get here, unless you die first, is not a solution. It's not humane.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Seems a touch convoluted but of course there are always exceptions when people simply have to send their children to private school.
Usually it's just rank hypocrisy, that said.
Just added the important qualifier that there are state boarding schools too. And my friends' parents weren't politicians. Though quite a few worked in the overseas civil service, or companies with overseas projects (civil engineers on site), and so on, so would have had allowances. So ultimately the Treasury often would have paid either way.
As I said several friends of mine went to a state boarding school. We are looking at the set of people who a) work abroad for the civil service or privately; b) are ideologically against private schools; and c) can't find a state private school (are there any still - google, yes, yes there are) to take their children.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
But your solution - just let ‘em come - is no solution
As I write this in a cafe in Athens the skies behind me are dark from all the forest fires burning twenty miles away. Climate change - where I used to be a little bit skeptical - is now all-too-real. Soon there will be millions of people trying to get to Europe, and the UK, not just tens of thousands
You say Britain is a “big place with lots of space” - it is not - but even if that were true no country can absorb millions of desperate migrants without either electing a fascist government to stop it, with guns, or tipping into civil strife
Ultimately we have to act selfishly, in the interests of the British people. That may indeed involve unpleasant alternatives like the Rwanda Idea. And you will have to just accept it
I'm not sure I do have to accept it but at least we are calling it for what it is, finally: selfish and involving unpleasant alternatives.
And people have been worrying about foreigners coming over here and causing all those apocalyptic things ever since E**** P****** suggested it. Still not quite there yet.
This time it really is different. It’s tedious that you pretend otherwise
And sadly you are at an age when she looks straight through you and sees more of her dad in you than anything else.
Of course. And yet a tiny atom of masculinity rages against the dying of the light. The male libido is a tragicomic thing
On the other hand: gorgeous warmth here. I have sourced a splendid bar that does ace G&Ts. Behind me is an excellent vinoteca. Life goes on, not without pleasures
And sadly you are at an age when she looks straight through you and sees more of her dad in you than anything else.
Of course. And yet a tiny atom of masculinity rages against the dying of the light. The male libido is a tragicomic thing
On the other hand: gorgeous warmth here. I have sourced a splendid bar that does ace G&Ts. Behind me is an excellent vinoteca. Life goes on, not without pleasures
G&T in Greece? Your kidding. Either Dukes or the Stafford maybe but Greece? You should be getting in about the local brews.
Anyway, more rain here and lots of cloud. It feels very autumnal. Am wearing fingerless mittens.
Ordering a Tahiti lime tree to go into the garden seems a tad hopeful. Idiotic even.
But I did have a delicious aubergine and halloumi pie for lunch. With tomato salad.
I had thought of taking the bike and doing the Welsh coastal route from Porthmadog to Barmouth.
I took one look at the weather forecast and changed my mind.
I am scheduled to do a walking tour of Ambleside on Friday. I do hope it clears up before then because other than the risk of drowning I won't actually be able to see anything.
OTOH it does have quite a good garden centre there so I suppose I could hide there for a bit and spend what's left of my savings.
And sadly you are at an age when she looks straight through you and sees more of her dad in you than anything else.
When she catches a sight of his hand grade Crockett & Jones brogues worn daringly without socks, she'll be a goner.
lol. The guy next to me is wearing EXACTLY THAT footwear combo. He’s 20 years younger than me, but I still think it looks ridiculous. Put some bloody socks on, idiot
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Seems a touch convoluted but of course there are always exceptions when people simply have to send their children to private school.
Usually it's just rank hypocrisy, that said.
Just added the important qualifier that there are state boarding schools too. And my friends' parents weren't politicians. Though quite a few worked in the overseas civil service, or companies with overseas projects (civil engineers on site), and so on, so would have had allowances. So ultimately the Treasury often would have paid either way.
As I said several friends of mine went to a state boarding school. We are looking at the set of people who a) work abroad for the civil service or privately; b) are ideologically against private schools; and c) can't find a state private school (are there any still - google, yes, yes there are) to take their children.
That imo would be a pretty tiny group.
Indeed. But on reflection times have changed from my young days. Lots of people then went to boarding school on the Ministry of Defence or Foreign Office or Overseas Development ticket. Not nearly so many squaddies or sailors or Raff types these days, and far fewer are East of Suez or even south of Pompey (or if they are, it's nowhere to take the memsahib/husband and offspring).
You could add 'for wider familial reasons' too, but that probably wouldn't make much difference. Though the basic principle stands.
(Actrually, come to think of it, we do have lots more 'state boarding schools' affiliated to the local state day school, only we call them 'children's homes').
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
Indeed. Hilarious that @Leon thinks otherwise. Clearly suffering long covid to the tastebuds and brain.
And sadly you are at an age when she looks straight through you and sees more of her dad in you than anything else.
When she catches a sight of his hand grade Crockett & Jones brogues worn daringly without socks, she'll be a goner.
lol. The guy next to me is wearing EXACTLY THAT footwear combo. He’s 20 years younger than me, but I still think it looks ridiculous. Put some bloody socks on, idiot
Fair enough, I grudgingly admit that you're sound on the shoe issue.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
Indeed. Hilarious that @Leon thinks otherwise. Clearly suffering long covid to the tastebuds and brain.
A joke, guys, a joke. A modest joke, I confess, but a joke notwithstanding. The levels of Aspergers on here are off the dial
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
Indeed. Hilarious that @Leon thinks otherwise. Clearly suffering long covid to the tastebuds and brain.
A joke, guys, a joke. A modest joke, I confess, but a joke notwithstanding. The levels of Aspergers on here are off the dial
Stick to the hot Greek girl report. It’s the closest most PB incels get to contact with the opposite sex.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
Indeed. Hilarious that @Leon thinks otherwise. Clearly suffering long covid to the tastebuds and brain.
A joke, guys, a joke. A modest joke, I confess, but a joke notwithstanding. The levels of Aspergers on here are off the dial
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not at all. You can believe they are a net negative for society but nevertheless send your child to one because you feel it will benefit your child. Prioritizing your child over your politics. A very human thing to do and not at all reprehensible. It's a conflict for that person but that's the only conflict. It's certainly not bonkers and neither is it hypocrisy. If you do it and attack others for doing it, that's hypocrisy. Otherwise no problem and nobody's business but theirs.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not impossible at all - one may not have a choice. For instance if your job is somewhere, esp. overseas, it's unacceptable to have a child, for health, education or security reasons. And there are family reasons such as parental mental breakdown. I've known friends educated privately for, or at least including, those reasons.
Seems a touch convoluted but of course there are always exceptions when people simply have to send their children to private school.
Usually it's just rank hypocrisy, that said.
Just added the important qualifier that there are state boarding schools too. And my friends' parents weren't politicians. Though quite a few worked in the overseas civil service, or companies with overseas projects (civil engineers on site), and so on, so would have had allowances. So ultimately the Treasury often would have paid either way.
As I said several friends of mine went to a state boarding school. We are looking at the set of people who a) work abroad for the civil service or privately; b) are ideologically against private schools; and c) can't find a state private school (are there any still - google, yes, yes there are) to take their children.
That imo would be a pretty tiny group.
Indeed. But on reflection times have changed from my young days. Lots of people then went to boarding school on the Ministry of Defence or Foreign Office or Overseas Development ticket. Not nearly so many squaddies or sailors or Raff types these days, and far fewer are East of Suez or even south of Pompey (or if they are, it's nowhere to take the memsahib/husband and offspring).
You could add 'for wider familial reasons' too, but that probably wouldn't make much difference. Though the basic principle stands.
(Actrually, come to think of it, we do have lots more 'state boarding schools' affiliated to the local state day school, only we call them 'children's homes').
The funny joke about children's homes is that they are rather more expensive than Eton per place, IIRC.
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
I thought it wasn't done to put parmesan on fish or seafood pasta.
Jay Rayner has just declared on R4 that Parmesan on fish is fine.
And R4 has just declared that security-guard-spy takes us right back to the era of the Cambridge 4/5. *
One right; one absurd.
(* Markus Wolff and the Secretary-Seducers more like. Is Germany still as leaky as West Germany used to be?)
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not at all. You can believe they are a net negative for society but nevertheless send your child to one because you feel it will benefit your child. Prioritizing your child over your politics. A very human thing to do and not at all reprehensible. It's a conflict for that person but that's the only conflict. It's certainly not bonkers and neither is it hypocrisy. If you do it and attack others for doing it, that's hypocrisy. Otherwise no problem and nobody's business but theirs.
If you think it will benefit your child then you think your child will make a positive contribution to society and hence why would it be a "net negative" for society?
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Sounds delightful! Lunch, or emergency starter for unexpected dinner guests, per person:
1. Cook 100g of short pasta al dente, drain. Farfalle is nice. 2. Stir in contents of tin of mussels in escabeche (sometimes sold as "Mussels in Galician Sauce" in supermarkets) and allow to warm through. 3. Add something on top if desired (pepper, parmesan, parsley etc.) and serve.
To be honest, if you have really good olive oil and really good Parmesan (NOT flakes), spaghetti with olive oil and lots of Parmesan is a really nice dish. Simple but tasty. And filling.
I thought that all Remainers *had* to use flaked Parmesan and that only nasty Leavers grated their own?
Ready made flaked Parmesan in little boxes is - how can I put this delicately. Oh, sod it, I can't - for those with more money than sense or taste buds.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
I admit I was taken by surprise by Leon's ready-flaked Parmesan admission.
Northern Dough co. pizza dough (or your own recipe, Mrs R has one) - just roll it damn thin (limited success with chucking it!) Passata (Self) Grated mozzarella ball - buffalo if you so please but cheaper, firmer stuff is fine and easier grating Frozen basil, sprinkle from the freezer
No need for anything more unless you wish. Not even pineapple.
Yes it is a pretty brutal business which doesn't detract from the desperation of those seeking asylum.
Who's more worthy of asylum?
A woman in an asylum camp in Turkey with young children who has seen her husband be brutally murdered and fears for her own life and that's why she is at an asylum camp?
Or a healthy young man who wants a better life for himself which is why he's paying people smugglers to get him from France to the UK?
Mr Libertarian is now deciding on the value of peoples' ambitions. Have I got that right?
Asylum is about necessity, not ambition. If ambition is involved, regular processes should be used.
Necessity then. Same applies.
No the same does not apply.
The person who has gone from Syria to Turkey and claimed aslyum needed it.
The person who has gone from who knows where, to France, to Denmark, to the Channel, did not "need" to do that. It was not "necessary".
Surely it is a matter of national pride they see the U.K. as a safe, tolerant and welcoming nation and wish to make their new homes here.
We should welcome them and be glad they are safe.
The country was already overpopulated 20 years ago when it reached 60 million.
Too many clowns cannot get that into their thick skulls.
David Cameron has denied lobbying the government on behalf of Illumina, a genetics company he worked for.
The denial comes after it emerged Mr Cameron encouraged Health Secretary Matt Hancock to speak at a conference co-hosted by the firm shortly before it won a £123m government contract. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58146567
For screening virtually everyone uses Illumina. Their NexGen product is market standard
More crooked Tory deals, these greedy barstewards just cannot get their snouts deep enough in the trough. How surprising their cheerleader is Charles.
I got the impression last year that those hostile to private schools were the most supportive of grade inflation - presumably because if everyone got As then the private sector differential would end.
Reality has turned out differently:
A charity has raised concerns that the coronavirus crisis has widened the gap between independent and state schools after it was revealed that just over 70% of all A-level entries from private schools in England were awarded an A grade or higher this year.
Analysis of entries by exams regulator Ofqual found that 70.1% of pupils at fee-paying schools achieved the top grades, compared with 44% in 2019, when exams last took place, and 60.8% last year.
"Hear the teachers are doing the A level grades this year. So, not to interfere or anything, but you know those fees we all pay ..."
Yes (he who pays the piper) but that applies in state schools as well - pressure from parents and league tables.
Self-selection bias.
Any parents paying fees almost certainly care a lot about their kids education.
While that will be true for many state school parents, it will not by any means be true for all or as many.
No, I don't hold with this. I don't think there's a correlation between not sending your kids to private school and not caring much about their education. It's only a small minority of people who can afford school fees for their offspring and of these a fair proportion go that route only because it's the done thing in this country for their social class.
UCS, Highgate, Haberdashers, NLCS, South Hampstead.
Must have been tempting and well done you to avoid all that for your children.
I sense you're asking me if I sent my offspring to private school? No. Certainly not. But as I've said before, I don't blame anybody who does, and I don't see it as relevant to the question of whether they are a net positive or negative for society. You can use them and be anti, you can not use them and be pro, it's all the same to me. The personalization of this topic is something I try and avoid.
I don't think you can use them and be anti that would be pretty bonkers (hiya Diane). A bit like @felix living in Spain while "loathing" the EU. Just a bit bonkers imo.
Not at all. You can believe they are a net negative for society but nevertheless send your child to one because you feel it will benefit your child. Prioritizing your child over your politics. A very human thing to do and not at all reprehensible. It's a conflict for that person but that's the only conflict. It's certainly not bonkers and neither is it hypocrisy. If you do it and attack others for doing it, that's hypocrisy. Otherwise no problem and nobody's business but theirs.
If you think it will benefit your child then you think your child will make a positive contribution to society and hence why would it be a "net negative" for society?
It doesn't follow they think their child will make a positive contribution to society. But in any case a system that disproportionately benefits the children of the affluent - who are already advantaged - is not going to find favour with someone whose politics are towards the egalitarian end of things.
My view on private education - and where I have long disagreed with Corbs and co - is that the solution is to make state schools so good that private schools become irrelevant.
Since Leon is, by this time of day in his part of the world (which is in a mysterious location where the sun is always over the yardarm) drunk and/or off his head on some odd substance, the chances are the 'bar girl' is a hamster and/or mineral that he has found moderately interesting.
I am still awaiting the time when he finds an 'unbelievably hot' mineral on the side of a volcano, and finds he really has changed gender after trying to boldy go where no sane man has gone before ...
If, like me and mine, you cook an enormous bowl of pasta - spaghetti or linguini or whatever - which even with our greediness, we cannot finish, you will have leftover pasta.
Do not throw it away.
Put it in a large bowl. Beat a couple of eggs, more if there is lots of pasta. You need enough eggs to bind the pasta together but not so many that it becomes slimy.
Then add other leftovers eg if there is cooked meat from your Sunday roast - you can chop it into little bits. Or some ham or salami. And mozzarella - again chopped up - or another piquant cheese - provolone for example. Peas are a nice addition too. And Parmesan. Plus seasoning.
Mix it all together. Then mix it with the pasta so it is all nicely coated.
Get a large frying pan. Add a touch of olive oil. When it is hot, pour the pasta mixture into the pan. Cook until browned on one side then put a plate over the pan and flip over so that you can cook and brown on the other side.
Cut into slices and enjoy. You can let it cool and take it on picnics or into the office. It is essentially a neat way of cooking leftovers.
Wasn’t what the dad and kid took for lunch in Bicycle Thieves ?
Comments
"Comedian Leo Kearse lambasts ‘SNP-owned clubs’"
https://tinyurl.com/9h2s8u3k
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/11/rudy-giuliani-cameo-personalized-video-messages?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1628698230
Edit: but that is an argument for boarding schools, not private schooling strictly: state boarding schools do exist.
I am not very hopeful.
As I write this in a cafe in Athens the skies behind me are dark from all the forest fires burning twenty miles away. Climate change - where I used to be a little bit skeptical - is now all-too-real. Soon there will be millions of people trying to get to Europe, and the UK, not just tens of thousands
You say Britain is a “big place with lots of space” - it is not - but even if that were true no country can absorb millions of desperate migrants without either electing a fascist government to stop it, with guns, or tipping into civil strife
Ultimately we have to act selfishly, in the interests of the British people. That may indeed involve unpleasant alternatives like the Rwanda Idea. And you will have to just accept it
He's complaining because a SNP MP owns a venue? The relevant chap, IIRC, was elected long after he became a venue owner.
As I said seems a bit bonkers but each to their own.
Usually it's just rank hypocrisy, that said.
I dislike their opinion and hope they never prevail, but they are not bonkers. It is a perfectly legitimate political opinion
Presumably you thought the Irish or American rebels were bonkers as well, for wanting to leave the British Empire?
Ouchy.
With the partial exception of Tony Blair, no government has ever tried to do that.
And people have been worrying about foreigners coming over here and causing all those apocalyptic things ever since E**** P****** suggested it. Still not quite there yet.
What's wrong with Rwanda? They've got more than twice as many people living there as live in Scotland. If people are seeking a safe country where they won't be murdered due to their politics, or race, religion or sexuality or whatever then can't Rwanda provide that? If they can provide asylum then what's the issue?
If on the other people want to come to the UK as it's a wealthy nation and they want economic success then there's a migration process for that. Which we should make easier consistently across the board not just for those who pay people smugglers.
What kind of fearful chav flakes his own Parmesan?
*shudder*
They send their kids there because the rest of us can't.
Ordering a Tahiti lime tree to go into the garden seems a tad hopeful. Idiotic even.
But I did have a delicious aubergine and halloumi pie for lunch. With tomato salad.
When you said you loathed the EU I took it as more than just a (loathsome) action they took at a point in time.
I took one look at the weather forecast and changed my mind.
Which is why we have a moral obligation to solve the issue. The Channel is widely regarded as one of the world's most deadly water ways to travel in a dinghy due to its tides and high volume of shipping etc
Sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the floating dead bodies is not a solution. It's not humane.
Sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the millions in asylum camps in Turkey and elsewhere is not a solution. Saying we will look after you if you get here, unless you die first, is not a solution. It's not humane.
That imo would be a pretty tiny group.
Buy some proper Parmesan - a big block of it - and grate it yourself.
If you buy really nice Parmesan you can have it with figs and prosciutto crudo as a breakfast treat. Or, indeed, a treat at other times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxTIaSwkdqk
It was different then also.
On the other hand: gorgeous warmth here. I have sourced a splendid bar that does ace G&Ts. Behind me is an excellent vinoteca. Life goes on, not without pleasures
That’s a shame
OTOH it does have quite a good garden centre there so I suppose I could hide there for a bit and spend what's left of my savings.
You could add 'for wider familial reasons' too, but that probably wouldn't make much difference. Though the basic principle stands.
(Actrually, come to think of it, we do have lots more 'state boarding schools' affiliated to the local state day school, only we call them 'children's homes').
Hilarious that @Leon thinks otherwise.
Clearly suffering long covid to the tastebuds and brain.
It’s the closest most PB incels get to contact with the opposite sex.
*long, drawn out late-middle-aged sigh*
Labour leader @Keir_Starmer told ITV there is "no alternative" to the death of Geronimo the alpaca.
https://twitter.com/itvwestcountry/status/1425472080519254034?s=20
And R4 has just declared that security-guard-spy takes us right back to the era of the Cambridge 4/5. *
One right; one absurd.
(* Markus Wolff and the Secretary-Seducers more like. Is Germany still as leaky as West Germany used to be?)
That’s crazy.
My first blackberry
After a long wait, turns out Keir has one policy, and that is alpaca extermination.
Do that & copy the link.
I wasn't expecting that.
NEW THREAD
Northern Dough co. pizza dough (or your own recipe, Mrs R has one) - just roll it damn thin (limited success with chucking it!)
Passata
(Self) Grated mozzarella ball - buffalo if you so please but cheaper, firmer stuff is fine and easier grating
Frozen basil, sprinkle from the freezer
No need for anything more unless you wish. Not even pineapple.
How surprising their cheerleader is Charles.
I am still awaiting the time when he finds an 'unbelievably hot' mineral on the side of a volcano, and finds he really has changed gender after trying to boldy go where no sane man has gone before ...