Just realised who Emma Raducanu reminds me of. Tiger Woods. Both of mixed European/Asian descent. Both have this completely calm self-confidence. And supreme skill. She could dominate female tennis the way Woods dominated golf
Obviously there are differences. She has is more charming (tho that could just be her youth). Hopefully she won’t echo Woods’ later career…
And the manner of her breakthrough. Seed 150, a qualifier, only 2nd major, no sets dropped, goes on to win. That is unprecedented in top world sport. The only comparison that occurs to me is one of those amateur Spanish matadors that used to jump out of the crowd and fight the bull with such style they went on to be huge pro stars.
Good spot. That was my first thought as a cf. She won't end up quite that mega - TW was Michael Jackson with clubs - but yes, definite similarities. Tiger WAS pretty charming with the media, btw, when he first hit the big time. One slight difference is he was a noted child prodigy in golf, and all fans of the sport knew about him as a junior.
She could easily out-Tiger the Tiger. Tennis is potentially bigger than golf (if it isn’t already). She’s also young, female and extremely telegenic and she has that backstory that everyone can get behind - in their different ways.
She could be THE biggest sports star in the world (excepting football, of course)
Can she handle the pressure, tho? She looks like she can, but wow. Wimbledon next year will be insane, for her
No argument on how big she could be. She's big now and could be huge huge HUGE. There's almost no limit on how enormous this girl could become. But not as big a global icon as Tiger. That's not possible. It just isn't.
No, it's not possible. Golf is massive (in the US in particular) and I suspect is the most participated-in sport on the planet. Tennis is rather niche in comparison.
That is absolute bollocks. There are many of these tables, in nearly all of them tennis is far ahead of golf
LOL. That ranking has basketball as the world's second most popular sport! But seriously, I used the phrase 'participated-in'. I actually work for a company that manufactures nothing but golfing equipment. It's currently valued at a billion dollars. Can you name any billion-dollar companies that only manufacture tennis balls and rackets?
And why are you so dubious about basketball? It is a huge sport in most countries. The UK is a massive outlier in that.
I think that was only US Open match I have ever watched.
As well as being the only match I can recall where the ball "boys and girls" looked older than the players, where are the line judges?
Likewise
And why did the ball always make that snicketty sound as the serve crossed the net, making me think every serve was a let?
I thought that final ace was a let.
Yes, me too. Lots of serves sounded like a let. Is there any explanation why several shots sound like a net cord when the ball manifestly didn’t touch the net?
I noticed that. It was weird. A relief that others did too. I was worried I was hearing things.
You could fcuk with the PB old pervs' heads and suggest that it was the post serve noise made by nubile flesh brushing against clothing?
Damn it, you've got me - that and Laylah's post-serve little dance.
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
Dr Rosena sums it up rather well, I think:
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
I wouldn't want to live there permanently but I'd love to visit. Spend a few nights in the Cavern Club and the Marquee Club for starters, watch some of the newly introduced Deltics on the ECML perhaps. Travel on some of the lovely branch lines before Beeching closed them.
Sudden triggering of a memory of seaside holidays then within a short walk of the ECML and being taken by my father and the dog to sit on a gatepost and watch the Deltics thunder past - must have been some steam locos but I was just too young to remember them.
I was never particularly a fan of the Deltics - they were (just) before my time. Had a fondness for Tulyar, though. I love the 45s and 37s. Can't stand the 47s for some reason, and the 40s leave me cold. Which is odd, because my choices seem rather random, looks-wise!
BTW, I was listening to a podcast this morning and it mentioned carnyxes (carnyii?). Obviously wondered why a PBer would be at an battle against a Roman legion ...
(I know none of this is anything to do with politics, but it seems better than dissecting and decoding a young woman's outfit...)
Tulyar is still with us (55015, owned by the DPS, I believe undergoing some serious refurbishment). The Deltics have now been in preservation about twice as long as they were in service. I have a soft spot for the 47s, a real workhorse and some still in service I think, sixty years on.
I can just about cope with sharing PB with Conservatives, but with Class 47 fans? That takes things to a whole new level!
If we all liked the same things, it would be very boring.
Now I know how (some of you) at least felt when RCS was making that joke about password hashing...
This is something to do with trains, I think? Only because my dad used to take us to play cricket on a recreation ground next to a railway line and he'd sometimes stop mid-delivery to shout "class 47!" as a train went past. I've never heard of deltics or tulyar, nor DPS. ECML I can hazard a guess at East Coast Main Line?
Deltics = Class 55 Diesel locomotives, the fastest and most powerful Diesel locos on the UK rail network at the time, pulled the express trains on the ECML between 1961 and 1981. There were 22 of them (not including the earlier and slightly different prototype, aka DP1. Tulyar = loco 55015, one of the Deltics. Like all 8 of the locos stationed at Finsbury Park depot in N London, named after a racehorse. Now in preservation care of: The DPS = Deltic Preservation Society. Hope that helps!
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
I think that was only US Open match I have ever watched.
As well as being the only match I can recall where the ball "boys and girls" looked older than the players, where are the line judges?
Likewise
And why did the ball always make that snicketty sound as the serve crossed the net, making me think every serve was a let?
That was extremely annoying. Almost every serve. And when there was a let it didn't sound any different. At Wimbledon they have the microphones in the right place so you can hear a let and not balls that just miss the net.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
I wouldn't want to live there permanently but I'd love to visit. Spend a few nights in the Cavern Club and the Marquee Club for starters, watch some of the newly introduced Deltics on the ECML perhaps. Travel on some of the lovely branch lines before Beeching closed them.
Sudden triggering of a memory of seaside holidays then within a short walk of the ECML and being taken by my father and the dog to sit on a gatepost and watch the Deltics thunder past - must have been some steam locos but I was just too young to remember them.
I was never particularly a fan of the Deltics - they were (just) before my time. Had a fondness for Tulyar, though. I love the 45s and 37s. Can't stand the 47s for some reason, and the 40s leave me cold. Which is odd, because my choices seem rather random, looks-wise!
BTW, I was listening to a podcast this morning and it mentioned carnyxes (carnyii?). Obviously wondered why a PBer would be at an battle against a Roman legion ...
(I know none of this is anything to do with politics, but it seems better than dissecting and decoding a young woman's outfit...)
Yes, Peaks and Syphons is an unusual combination. Most people either swing one way or the other in the great English Electric versus Sulzer divide.
The Peaks (44 and 46 as well as 45) because I'm a Derby lad, and am just about old enough to have seen the 45s on services in their dog days. I also used to go around Derby Works occasionally with my dad when he had work on in there, so got to see them undressed, as it were. And later on, I knew D8 quite well, as well as one of its owners.
I'm unsure why I like the 37s. They just look nice, and have a quite distinctive sound. The fact some are still soldiering on shows it's a good choice.
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
It's something Asian people face all the time. We're never really British in the eyes of some, both left and right do just from different directions.
Why would someone acknowledging and celebrating their Romanian heritage not really be British?
You tell me, you're the one inferring something from the Nike dress colours for 2021.
No, you were inferring that I thought she was not really British because I pointed out she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. I am interested in understanding why you think I would think that. Because that is not what I think.
Well you highlighted it apropos nothing and your follow up sentence was about her parents immigrating to the UK
I assume you were trolling and feeling morally superior about being a better person than others rather than actually believing it though
That's a very morally superior post, Charles. Made on the playing field of Eton, I suspect. Just so I understand, are you saying I feel morally superior to others even though I do not believe that I am? If I was as clever as you I would not need that explaining, of course, but as I am not I do. Cheers!
No. I am saying that you posted something you didn’t believe because it reminded you that (in your estimation) others did believe it and therefore you were a better person.
Unfortunately, for you, no one bit
I did believe she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. Because she was. I also said I did not know if she was doing it deliberately. For some reason, seems to have triggered a few people on here and has led you to lie about what I said. All very strange.
So now you’re saying that she, as a girl of half Romanian descent, wore the colours of the Romanian flag ‘accidentally’
What are the chances of that? Gosh
No, I am saying I don't know whether she did it intentionally. Which is what I have said from the start.
No, you just saw a chance to make some pompous yet valueless observation that made you feel virtuous, and superior to Brexiteers and Farageists, but it went off half-cock and now you are embroiled in a tedious debate which makes you look like a bit of a dick
I’d change the subject if I were you. Good morning!
Just because you want something to be true does not mean it is true. Though, I do agree that people seeking to second guess me to fit in with their pre-conceived ideas of what motivates someone who does not agree with them on certain political points is rather tedious.
People of talent Boris’s watch shows he staged his minutes silence They might as well have stuck a bone through her nose etc
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congrats. Hope you have a wonderful and sunny afternoon.
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
Dr Rosena sums it up rather well, I think:
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
It's something Asian people face all the time. We're never really British in the eyes of some, both left and right do just from different directions.
Why would someone acknowledging and celebrating their Romanian heritage not really be British?
You tell me, you're the one inferring something from the Nike dress colours for 2021.
No, you were inferring that I thought she was not really British because I pointed out she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. I am interested in understanding why you think I would think that. Because that is not what I think.
I thought the same as you when I saw the colours. I've read she's spent a lot of time in Romania and has a real connection with the place - apparently Simona Halep was/is her favourite player. I'd be surprised if she wasn't aware of the colours matching the Romanian flag, and hadn't thought of her grandmother when she picked the outfit.
Most of her dress is red and blue. The only yellow is in her quite separate cap, so it's fairly marginal anyway. It's not in your face at all.
You're forgetting to mix the Romanian flag with the Chinese flag. If you then add in Canada and subtract the butcher's apron, I'm pretty sure you get left with exactly her outfit.
Heaven forfend! PRC = red and yellow Romania = r, y and blue Canada = white and r MINUS UK = r, w, b ========== yellow alone
Nah
PRC+ROM+CAN - UK
(r+y) + (r+y+b) + (w+r) - (r+w+b)
= 2r + 2y
Just a different logic system. But neither make sense of the lady's kit.
She wore it because it was available and she liked it.
She probably wore it because she was paid to. Or, at very least it was free. ThIs is common amongst lower ranks, who often play at a loss. As a Grand Slam wInner she may get some discretion.
Raducanu had a free choice from Nike's £50 range, subject to not clashing with her opponent. As a grand slam winner, she will probably have less choice but a huge cheque for wearing whatever is new this season. Expect empty shelves by Tuesday as girls rush to buy the same kit.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
‘I'd like to congratulate Emma Raducanu for her amazing vindication of my politics. Some doubted that this brave young woman could affirm my beliefs but she rose above the sceptics and completely justified all of my ideological priors.’
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
Brexit may have something to do with the specifics of current immigration policy, but being against masses of people immigrating by means of boats across the Channel doesn't have anything to do with whether someone is ok with a single example of completely different immigration.
Unless you wish to pretend anyone against some levels of immigration (legal or otherwise), must be against every single immigrant in existence.
Is that what you genuinely believe? That if someone wants to restrict (not totally stop) immigration, that they mean there must be zero immigration?
That's just not plausible, Scott. You have to dig very deep to find someone who is in favour of no immigration at all.
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
It's something Asian people face all the time. We're never really British in the eyes of some, both left and right do just from different directions.
Why would someone acknowledging and celebrating their Romanian heritage not really be British?
You tell me, you're the one inferring something from the Nike dress colours for 2021.
No, you were inferring that I thought she was not really British because I pointed out she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. I am interested in understanding why you think I would think that. Because that is not what I think.
I thought the same as you when I saw the colours. I've read she's spent a lot of time in Romania and has a real connection with the place - apparently Simona Halep was/is her favourite player. I'd be surprised if she wasn't aware of the colours matching the Romanian flag, and hadn't thought of her grandmother when she picked the outfit.
Most of her dress is red and blue. The only yellow is in her quite separate cap, so it's fairly marginal anyway. It's not in your face at all.
You're forgetting to mix the Romanian flag with the Chinese flag. If you then add in Canada and subtract the butcher's apron, I'm pretty sure you get left with exactly her outfit.
Heaven forfend! PRC = red and yellow Romania = r, y and blue Canada = white and r MINUS UK = r, w, b ========== yellow alone
Nah
PRC+ROM+CAN - UK
(r+y) + (r+y+b) + (w+r) - (r+w+b)
= 2r + 2y
Just a different logic system. But neither make sense of the lady's kit.
She wore it because it was available and she liked it.
She probably wore it because she was paid to. Or, at very least it was free. ThIs is common amongst lower ranks, who often play at a loss. As a Grand Slam wInner she may get some discretion.
Radecanu had a free choice from Nike's £50 range, subject to not clashing with her opponent.
That reminds me of being an up and coming cricketer.....I had a bat sponsor, I choose any bat less than £x and it wasn't made to order. Where as obviously the proper pros in the league had all the best kit, bats made specially for them.
£50 range, feels a bit like, ok you can have anything you like from Sports Direct....while the top players go to the Nike HQ and have them designed and fitted just for them.
Radecanu had a free choice from Nike's £50 range, subject to not clashing with her opponent. As a grand slam winner, she will probably have less choice but a huge cheque for wearing whatever is new this season.
Nike custom designed kit for Maria Sharapova.
I suspect Emma will get similar treatment (or someone else will outbid them)
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
Dr Rosena sums it up rather well, I think:
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
Anyway good news this morning as vax passports scrapped. A ludicrous idea as shown by this tweet from peston
been double vaxxed (see attached). I was surprised by what looks like high prevalence among the double vaxxed. And according to leading scientists at least part of the explanation is that “vaccine efficacy is not as good as we would like for the Delta variant”. Now
Double vaxxed in middle aged categories being infected at much higher rate than unvaxxed. Case closed
And there we have proof of why Preston’s tweet was so dangerous.
What's he said this time? As for the differing rates, isn't that just because there are many many more vaccinated people these days?
It was quoted on a thread yesterday, but I think the gist of it was to note that most people now catching COVID have been double jabbed without taking into account the fact that a large majority of the adult population are in that category and so misleading people into thinking the vaccines don’t work.
Its rates per 100000 so it takes into account that
But presumably all the vulnerable 40-49 year olds are in the vaccinated group so they will have received their vaccines earlier
Anyway good news this morning as vax passports scrapped. A ludicrous idea as shown by this tweet from peston
been double vaxxed (see attached). I was surprised by what looks like high prevalence among the double vaxxed. And according to leading scientists at least part of the explanation is that “vaccine efficacy is not as good as we would like for the Delta variant”. Now
Double vaxxed in middle aged categories being infected at much higher rate than unvaxxed. Case closed
And there we have proof of why Preston’s tweet was so dangerous.
What's he said this time? As for the differing rates, isn't that just because there are many many more vaccinated people these days?
It was quoted on a thread yesterday, but I think the gist of it was to note that most people now catching COVID have been double jabbed without taking into account the fact that a large majority of the adult population are in that category and so misleading people into thinking the vaccines don’t work.
Its rates per 100000 so it takes into account that
But presumably all the vulnerable 40-49 year olds are in the vaccinated group so they will have received their vaccines earlier
Dont see your point unless you are admitting vaccine efficacy wanes very quickly
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
Dr Rosena sums it up rather well, I think:
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
Channel4 raises its money through commercial activities. I can’t see why it needs privatising. The current model works. People don’t like it’s news or shows the don’t watch. What does it gain from privatising ?
Why should tax payers money be invested in commercial TV? Should we buy ITV too?
How is taxpayers money invested in C4. It raises all its revenues from its commercial activity.
What does C4 or the taxpayer gain from privatising it.
I’d like to see the BBC adopt a similar model.
Taxpayers money is literally invested in C4. If it gets privatised then the taxpayer is expected to be paid about a billion pounds for C4. A billion pounds that could be used for education, or health, or any other priorities taxpayers money should go to - instead of owning a stake in E4 to broadcast reruns of Big Bang and Brooklyn 99 etc that are good shows but have no public service and are equally accessible on Netflix.
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
Dr Rosena sums it up rather well, I think:
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
I think you're nitpicking a bit; having been born in Canada, she could 'identify' as Canadian (and of course who knows, as those are Rosena's words, not Emma's). I left Yorkshire when I was 7. But I still identify as a Yorkshireman.
Wasn't it at Wimbledon where Emma only packed a couple of sets of kit and had to send for somebody to do laundry as she had run out?
I wouldn't be surprised if the top players even wear an outfit more than once.
And footballers are at another level, the clubs pay for absolutely everything they wear, they eat, drink, etc...even down to their pants. Peter Crouch joked when he retired he only ever used to turn up to games with a small washbag, and Dele Alli said until lockdown he had never cooked a meal for himself in his life. During lockdown the clubs were even doing all their food shopping for them and delivering it to them.
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
It's something Asian people face all the time. We're never really British in the eyes of some, both left and right do just from different directions.
Why would someone acknowledging and celebrating their Romanian heritage not really be British?
You tell me, you're the one inferring something from the Nike dress colours for 2021.
No, you were inferring that I thought she was not really British because I pointed out she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. I am interested in understanding why you think I would think that. Because that is not what I think.
I thought the same as you when I saw the colours. I've read she's spent a lot of time in Romania and has a real connection with the place - apparently Simona Halep was/is her favourite player. I'd be surprised if she wasn't aware of the colours matching the Romanian flag, and hadn't thought of her grandmother when she picked the outfit.
Most of her dress is red and blue. The only yellow is in her quite separate cap, so it's fairly marginal anyway. It's not in your face at all.
You're forgetting to mix the Romanian flag with the Chinese flag. If you then add in Canada and subtract the butcher's apron, I'm pretty sure you get left with exactly her outfit.
Heaven forfend! PRC = red and yellow Romania = r, y and blue Canada = white and r MINUS UK = r, w, b ========== yellow alone
Nah
PRC+ROM+CAN - UK
(r+y) + (r+y+b) + (w+r) - (r+w+b)
= 2r + 2y
Just a different logic system. But neither make sense of the lady's kit.
She wore it because it was available and she liked it.
She probably wore it because she was paid to. Or, at very least it was free. ThIs is common amongst lower ranks, who often play at a loss. As a Grand Slam wInner she may get some discretion.
Radecanu had a free choice from Nike's £50 range, subject to not clashing with her opponent.
That reminds me of being an up and coming cricketer.....I had a bat sponsor, I choose any bat less than £x and it wasn't made to order. Where as obviously the proper pros in the league had all the best kit, bats made specially for them.
£50 range, feels a bit like, ok you can have anything you like from Sports Direct....while the top players go to the Nike HQ and have them designed and fitted just for them.
Free pair of boots from one of the local RL sides was the equivalent of "Can I buy you a drink?" in the 80's. If they were hand made at Walsh's in Bolton? A sure sign of a contract offer at 17.
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
A strong 'yay' to that. To me, living for 40 years in London, the most ethnically diverse place in the country, 'multiculturalism' isn't a theory, or some plot/experiment designed to undermine our traditional values and way of life, it's simply an organic fact; lots of people with family origins, recent or less recent, in different parts of the world, or in the rest of the UK, a mosaic of identities, all living in the same city, no big problem, no big deal. It feels natural. The opposite - 'monoculturalism' - is what feels weird to me.
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
Apparently not. Its in the ST today by Panelbase. It's a good bet that the 17% who want another independence poll within the next 12 months don't include Nicola.
Oh well, I’m now more likely to lose £100 to @Philip_Thompson, than I thought I was going to be 48 hours ago!
On September 8th Sandpit wrote:
"She has no chance of winning SPoTY."
Sometimes you just need to admit you got something badly wrong.
I'm even beginning to wonder if the real reason you're hell-bent on this stance is that she looks and sounds something other than a WASP?
I hope that's not the case but otherwise you're coming across as ridiculous and a sore loser.
How's... ummm... your forecast of total Covid meltdown in the UK looking?
Because right now, I'm not sure you're in a position to criticise others for inaccurate predictions.
1. Whataboutery of a pretty big order 2. I don't think Heathener was criticising the accuracy of the forecast.
Let me quote the post from @Heathener, so there is no possibility of confusion:
"She has no chance of winning SPoTY."
Sometimes you just need to admit you got something badly wrong.
And I am not allowed to bring up @Heathener's record on Covid predictions?
You think it's over then? Wow.
I hope you're right and, if you are, unlike Sandpit I shall admit I was wrong. But for the moment I think cases will continue to rise and we will even hit 100,000 this autumn/winter.
I base this on Israel's data and our sluggishness about rolling out 3rd boosters, vaccinating children and our inability to be sensible.
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
I don't know if it was intentional, but if it was I like the idea of someone who is comfortable with multiple identities. I think it's healthy on many levels that she might feel she can do this while clearly also being very proud of being British. If that is bonkers, so be it!
You’re wishing that she was doing it, that’s what’s barking. I don’t care what she wears to be honest.
Nor do I. But it is true that I am drawn to the idea of people being comfortable with multiple identities and think it reflects well on places where they feel they can express these. As I say, if that is barking so be it!
No, it’s not barking to think that, that’s not what I’m criticising. It’s the fact that you saw her outfit and thought she’s wearing those colours for that reason.
Seems reasonable to me , given her father is Romanian she may consider that as her national identity. Would not be in the least unusual. For me it is more unusual to immediately pounce on someone as being racist etc because they happen to make a reasonable assumption.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
Thank you.
Thank God that abomination has been buried. For now, at least. I don't trust them not to try and reintroduce it when we're not looking.
I wouldn't want to live there permanently but I'd love to visit. Spend a few nights in the Cavern Club and the Marquee Club for starters, watch some of the newly introduced Deltics on the ECML perhaps. Travel on some of the lovely branch lines before Beeching closed them.
Sudden triggering of a memory of seaside holidays then within a short walk of the ECML and being taken by my father and the dog to sit on a gatepost and watch the Deltics thunder past - must have been some steam locos but I was just too young to remember them.
I was never particularly a fan of the Deltics - they were (just) before my time. Had a fondness for Tulyar, though. I love the 45s and 37s. Can't stand the 47s for some reason, and the 40s leave me cold. Which is odd, because my choices seem rather random, looks-wise!
BTW, I was listening to a podcast this morning and it mentioned carnyxes (carnyii?). Obviously wondered why a PBer would be at an battle against a Roman legion ...
(I know none of this is anything to do with politics, but it seems better than dissecting and decoding a young woman's outfit...)
Tulyar is still with us (55015, owned by the DPS, I believe undergoing some serious refurbishment). The Deltics have now been in preservation about twice as long as they were in service. I have a soft spot for the 47s, a real workhorse and some still in service I think, sixty years on.
I can just about cope with sharing PB with Conservatives, but with Class 47 fans? That takes things to a whole new level!
If we all liked the same things, it would be very boring.
Now I know how (some of you) at least felt when RCS was making that joke about password hashing...
This is something to do with trains, I think? Only because my dad used to take us to play cricket on a recreation ground next to a railway line and he'd sometimes stop mid-delivery to shout "class 47!" as a train went past. I've never heard of deltics or tulyar, nor DPS. ECML I can hazard a guess at East Coast Main Line?
Deltics = Class 55 Diesel locomotives, the fastest and most powerful Diesel locos on the UK rail network at the time, pulled the express trains on the ECML between 1961 and 1981. There were 22 of them (not including the earlier and slightly different prototype, aka DP1. Tulyar = loco 55015, one of the Deltics. Like all 8 of the locos stationed at Finsbury Park depot in N London, named after a racehorse. Now in preservation care of: The DPS = Deltic Preservation Society. Hope that helps!
Class 47, aka 'Rancid Duff!'
Other nicknames include Strumbox, Strummer, Joe Strummer, Joseph, Sir Keith Joseph.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congrats. Hope you have a wonderful and sunny afternoon.
Notable that there do not seem to have been many soft-focus, Rishi-branded Tweets about the tax on the low paid to subsidise the wealthy he has signed off on.
It has been odd messaging so far, no doubt about it. This tax increase is going directly to the NHS initially and then is going to be used to fund SC for those who cannot afford to pay for it. The cost of having a life time limit of £86k of contributions will be a tiny part of the package. Most will not live long enough to get anywhere near that level and the few that do are likely to die very shortly afterwards.
But the government has allowed the meme of this being all about protecting wealthy pensioners to take a firm hold and it will be almost impossible to shift now. It is a curious error.
Many with dementia will live long enough to breach £86k. Easily. Over five years, maybe over ten, will not be unusual. £86k is 18 months of costs.
It says the average cost of care for someone with dementia is £26k for mild, £43k for moderate and £55K for severe. Of those costs 39% are SC costs making that element £10,140 for mild to £21,450 for severe. So £86K will be somewhere between 8.5 and 4 years of SC. People will no doubt transition through the layers but many, probably most, will not exhaust £86K and will therefore pay for all of their own care if they have the resources to do so.
More or less agree, but I note that that 86k is 3-4 years hence not now, so will be smaller than it looks or 90-93k ish.
I'm still not clear who will be paying for "hotel service" elements?
What currently happens for those in Scotland?
As usual we will pay twice, have to foot our own bill and a share of England's bill to boot.
OK, here is a question. When did HMRC start demanding payments on account? I've never had to make one on a self assessment return before, just pay the tax that I owed.
For the self employed every January payment includes a payment to account for the following year (although given the ridiculous way our taxes work the following year can still be the year prior to when the payment is made).
So why, in 16 years of filling these things in, is this the first time I've had to make one?
Don't know. I have been doing that for the last 20 odd years. Have you maybe gone over some threshold?
As I said in my edit, it's the change in approach that's puzzling me.
I'm wondering if it's an attempt to claw some more of next year's income into this year. They do after all need it badly.
Given the state of the public finances I have some reservations about whether squeezing a bit more out of you is the answer @ydoethur. I don't think there has been a change. I do remember after I had been doing this for 7 years I switched to paying on what I had billed rather than what I had actually been paid. That wasn't great given the really weird fact that paying their advocate doesn't seem to be at the top of everyone's priority list.
Can you sue for your fees in Scotland? I know there's a tradition that barristers can't sue for them in England (not sure whether it's still the rule).
Legally, probably yes but in practice we don't. The solicitor who instructs us is personally responsible for the fees and failure to pay them can be a professional disciplinary matter. The biggest threat that the Faculty has is a letter from the Dean which withdraws credit rights. If that is sent any instruction must be accompanied by either a legal aid certificate or a cheque for an agreed amount. This is a right faff and most agents try very hard not to be on the naughty step.
The former Dean and then Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, convinced himself that there was a potential conflict between writing such letters and having to determine whether counsel had behaved badly in the event of a complaint. My suggestion to him that these letters was why we had a Dean didn't seem to go down as well as I might have hoped.
Whilst I think he was wrong about this it is a good example of how principled and honourable James Wolffe is. He's had a pretty raw deal from the Scottish establishment and political class.
LOL, he is a real roaster David, either scared of Nicola or absolutely useless.
I wouldn't want to live there permanently but I'd love to visit. Spend a few nights in the Cavern Club and the Marquee Club for starters, watch some of the newly introduced Deltics on the ECML perhaps. Travel on some of the lovely branch lines before Beeching closed them.
Sudden triggering of a memory of seaside holidays then within a short walk of the ECML and being taken by my father and the dog to sit on a gatepost and watch the Deltics thunder past - must have been some steam locos but I was just too young to remember them.
I was never particularly a fan of the Deltics - they were (just) before my time. Had a fondness for Tulyar, though. I love the 45s and 37s. Can't stand the 47s for some reason, and the 40s leave me cold. Which is odd, because my choices seem rather random, looks-wise!
BTW, I was listening to a podcast this morning and it mentioned carnyxes (carnyii?). Obviously wondered why a PBer would be at an battle against a Roman legion ...
(I know none of this is anything to do with politics, but it seems better than dissecting and decoding a young woman's outfit...)
Yes, Peaks and Syphons is an unusual combination. Most people either swing one way or the other in the great English Electric versus Sulzer divide.
The Peaks (44 and 46 as well as 45) because I'm a Derby lad, and am just about old enough to have seen the 45s on services in their dog days. I also used to go around Derby Works occasionally with my dad when he had work on in there, so got to see them undressed, as it were. And later on, I knew D8 quite well, as well as one of its owners.
I'm unsure why I like the 37s. They just look nice, and have a quite distinctive sound. The fact some are still soldiering on shows it's a good choice.
I certainly won't disagree with you when it comes to Class 37s.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
Thank you.
Thank God that abomination has been buried. For now, at least. I don't trust them not to try and reintroduce it when we're not looking.
Congratulations @Cyclefree. Our 36th anniversary is on 5th October. Through good times and bad it has been the centre of my life throughout. I greatly pity those who have not been fortunate enough to find such a relationship.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
I think that was only US Open match I have ever watched.
As well as being the only match I can recall where the ball "boys and girls" looked older than the players, where are the line judges?
Likewise
And why did the ball always make that snicketty sound as the serve crossed the net, making me think every serve was a let?
I thought that final ace was a let.
Yes, me too. Lots of serves sounded like a let. Is there any explanation why several shots sound like a net cord when the ball manifestly didn’t touch the net?
I noticed that. It was weird. A relief that others did too. I was worried I was hearing things.
The question is whether it disrupted play by misleading the players. It did not seem to but I only watch tennis once a year. Assuming it did not then either the women are used to it or the sound is not present in the stadium and might be a broadcast artefact. Is the answer not on twitter? Everything else seems to be.
Or was the server grunting and you've got a lousy telly?
I honestly have no theories. I'd love to know. WTF was making that sound.
Is it the microphones picking up the sound of the player's foot hitting the court after they serve?
That's my best stab too. But I'm not totally happy with it.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
Amazon's sport coverage is crap though....all that money and so much terrible camera work, amateurish stuff like Tim Henman half out of shot when talking to him...
Normally when a new channel gets sports rights they want to take it to the next level. Ch4 with the cricket brought hawkeye, snicko, hotspot, bt sports i believe the first to offer 4k footy....
The commentary duo was brilliant.
The director/vision mixer was rubbish
Was it Mark Petchey on with Navratilova? He (or whoever!) was very good. I liked his Schopenhauer quote - “Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” as did Martina!
He’s our very own court jester. But his posts go mostly ignored.
I am now going to ignore this post through the mediums of responding to it and referring to it.
Are you 100% sure you've never said something like 'LOL, I don't care about what you are saying' when replying to a post, thus disproving the point? I know I have.
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
A strong 'yay' to that. To me, living for 40 years in London, the most ethnically diverse place in the country, 'multiculturalism' isn't a theory, or some plot/experiment designed to undermine our traditional values and way of life, it's simply an organic fact; lots of people with family origins, recent or less recent, in different parts of the world, or in the rest of the UK, a mosaic of identities, all living in the same city, no big problem, no big deal. It feels natural. The opposite - 'monoculturalism' - is what feels weird to me.
The biggest divides are by place now, not by nationality arguably in the western world.
Someone who lives in a small market town or village or in a rural part of the UK is likely to be culturally conservative and older have more in common with someone who lives in a small town or rural part of France, the US, Germany, Italy, Canada or Australia than they are with someone who lives in inner London or Manchester.
By contrast someone who lives in a diverse area of inner London is likely to be culturally left liberal and younger and likely to have more in common with someone who lives in New York city, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris or Berlin or Barcelona than someone from rural England
At the risk of making this worse. I can see her wearing red with blue trim. 2 of the colours of Romania, sure. But 2 of the UK too. To be implying Romania there'd need to be yellow. That's what I associate the Romanian football and rugby team with.
Yellow visor, DD.
Ah. OK. I really didn’t notice. But I am famously unobservant. Maybe this kind of thing is why Wimbledon insists on white.?
Part of it, I think, yes. I did notice her outfit, also her opponent's, and I was happy with both of them, but I didn't make a connection with the Romanian flag. Then again, although I'm no flags ignoramus, I don't have a good mental picture of theirs.
I certainly noticed that her outfit matched the colours of the Romanian flag, but I didn't really think anything of it beyond that. I've never understood the need that some people have to force everyone into some kind of bland monocultual straight-jacket, identity wise. Where we live, and where Raducanu lives, it's quite normal for kids to have a range of identities reflecting the heritage of their parents. It doesn't stop them being British. I think the Tebbit test types just feel threatened by these more cosmopolitan people in their midst, maybe a bit jealous? It is nice to see the public embracing people like Raducanu but if they accept her as British why are we still deporting "foreign" people who have lived here since they were babies? So much of the debate on these issues is so totally divorced from the reality I see around me every time I drop my kids at school. Maybe London is just another country. I'm sick of living under rules made by people who don't seem to understand or even like the country we are now.
A strong 'yay' to that. To me, living for 40 years in London, the most ethnically diverse place in the country, 'multiculturalism' isn't a theory, or some plot/experiment designed to undermine our traditional values and way of life, it's simply an organic fact; lots of people with family origins, recent or less recent, in different parts of the world, or in the rest of the UK, a mosaic of identities, all living in the same city, no big problem, no big deal. It feels natural. The opposite - 'monoculturalism' - is what feels weird to me.
Multiple, monocultural silos does not an integrated society make.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
For politicians to offer congratulations isn't turning it into a political issue IMO.
Making it political would be something like claiming her success was only possible thanks to the conservative government.
It's a minor thing, but it really does come down to not just tweeting an image but branding it, the sort of thing you do for a PPC or something. I doubt that's sinister, but it is sloppy.
Maybe she feels British cos she's always lived here? While feeling an affinity to Romania, and identification with the Chinese diaspora, and retaining a strong affection for Canada as the country of her birth? And do so simultaneously without giving it too much deep thought? Perhaps she doesn't have much of a view on grammar schools either?
I think that was only US Open match I have ever watched.
As well as being the only match I can recall where the ball "boys and girls" looked older than the players, where are the line judges?
Likewise
And why did the ball always make that snicketty sound as the serve crossed the net, making me think every serve was a let?
I thought that final ace was a let.
Yes, me too. Lots of serves sounded like a let. Is there any explanation why several shots sound like a net cord when the ball manifestly didn’t touch the net?
I noticed that. It was weird. A relief that others did too. I was worried I was hearing things.
You could fcuk with the PB old pervs' heads and suggest that it was the post serve noise made by nubile flesh brushing against clothing?
- "htg" derangement syndrome.
As I said earlier, it could ahve been the squeak noise of trainer on hard surface.
But it was specifically and only on the serve.
The server grunting and cheap speakers in your telly? A broadcast artefact of some digital notification system? I'll have to watch the highlights to see what you mean.
Yes, check it out. Not a grunting sound, a little 'click'.
Coincidentally, or not, Raducanu was dressed in the colours of the Romanian flag last night. As for how her parents got to the UK - I thought the narrative was that Labour let anyone in.
Completely barking.
In what way, just out of interest?
That you looked at the colours she was wearing and thought “oh, those are the colours of the Romanian flag.”
Just imagine if someone on the far right pointed this out and said “see, she isn’t really British.”
It's something Asian people face all the time. We're never really British in the eyes of some, both left and right do just from different directions.
Why would someone acknowledging and celebrating their Romanian heritage not really be British?
You tell me, you're the one inferring something from the Nike dress colours for 2021.
No, you were inferring that I thought she was not really British because I pointed out she was wearing the colours of the Romanian flag. I am interested in understanding why you think I would think that. Because that is not what I think.
I thought the same as you when I saw the colours. I've read she's spent a lot of time in Romania and has a real connection with the place - apparently Simona Halep was/is her favourite player. I'd be surprised if she wasn't aware of the colours matching the Romanian flag, and hadn't thought of her grandmother when she picked the outfit.
Most of her dress is red and blue. The only yellow is in her quite separate cap, so it's fairly marginal anyway. It's not in your face at all.
You're forgetting to mix the Romanian flag with the Chinese flag. If you then add in Canada and subtract the butcher's apron, I'm pretty sure you get left with exactly her outfit.
Heaven forfend! PRC = red and yellow Romania = r, y and blue Canada = white and r MINUS UK = r, w, b ========== yellow alone
Nah
PRC+ROM+CAN - UK
(r+y) + (r+y+b) + (w+r) - (r+w+b)
= 2r + 2y
Just a different logic system. But neither make sense of the lady's kit.
She wore it because it was available and she liked it.
She probably wore it because she was paid to. Or, at very least it was free. ThIs is common amongst lower ranks, who often play at a loss. As a Grand Slam wInner she may get some discretion.
Raducanu had a free choice from Nike's £50 range, subject to not clashing with her opponent. As a grand slam winner, she will probably have less choice but a huge cheque for wearing whatever is new this season. Expect empty shelves by Tuesday as girls rush to buy the same kit.
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
Apparently not. Its in the ST today by Panelbase. It's a good bet that the 17% who want another independence poll within the next 12 months don't include Nicola.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
Manchester Grammar School is a private, fee paying school TSE, how can a northerner like you not know that? Even I as a southerner know that.
Meanwhile our newest sporting heroine Emma Raducanu actually did go to a state grammar school
It was a joke.
I'll let you into a little secret, I'm moving the entire family to the North West and MGS is one of the schools I've been looking at.
Other than this incident which the schools says it will investigate the school has generally an excellent academic record and lots of extra curricula activities so would be a good choice.
You were partly right in that it was a direct-grant grammar school until 1976 when it went independent after the then Labour government abolished the Direct Grant system
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
How about this radical idea, just taking the brightest and the best....post A-level results application is the fairest way of doing this.
Theyvve proven themselves incapable of that. Time and time again the studies show that state school educated pupils out perform private school pupils at Cambridge. So clearly Cambridge's entry process is failing - hopelessly biased to private schools.
I mean, jeepers. If you asked GPT4 to design the ultimate sports star for the 21st century, it would look like this
She really could earn more than Tiger Woods. I don’t remember him chatting in Mandarin on Chinese TV
She also has a charm that I don't think Woods ever had....
'There's a running joke in my team because before my first-round qualifying match I lost my Airpods,' she told ESPN.
'I was basically running around the changing rooms three minutes before my call to go on trying to find it but I lost it and I was thinking to myself "you know what, if you win this match you can by yourself a pair of Airpods and that's become the running joke!'
And her joking about no clean kit at Wimbledon, and having her flight booked back from USA two weeks ago.
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
Maybe she feels British cos she's always lived here? While feeling an affinity to Romania, and identification with the Chinese diaspora, and retaining a strong affection for Canada as the country of her birth? And do so simultaneously without giving it too much deep thought? Perhaps she doesn't have much of a view on grammar schools either?
Alright, but if she doesn't have a view on AV I'll go right off her.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
Manchester Grammar School is a private, fee paying school TSE, how can a northerner like you not know that? Even I as a southerner know that.
Meanwhile our newest sporting heroine Emma Raducanu actually did go to a state grammar school
It was a joke.
I'll let you into a little secret, I'm moving the entire family to the North West and MGS is one of the schools I've been looking at.
Other than this incident which the schools says it will investigate the school has generally an excellent academic record and lots of extra curricula activities so would be a good choice.
You were partly right in that it was a direct-grant grammar school until 1976 when it went independent after the then Labour government abolished the Direct Grant system
Although it was a public school for centuries before that.
How about this radical idea, just taking the brightest and the best....post A-level results application is the fairest way of doing this.
Theyvve proven themselves incapable of that. Time and time again the studies show that state school educated pupils out perform private school pupils at Cambridge. So clearly Cambridge's entry process is failing - hopelessly biased to private schools.
That's why I said post A-Level results applications. Then we get rid of this nonsense of guessing grades and how good one person is versus 6 months out from them actually doing their exams.
The obvious other thing to do is make it so that an applicants school is unknown. It should be irrelevant to the whole process anyway, you have their actual results.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
Thank you.
Thank God that abomination has been buried. For now, at least. I don't trust them not to try and reintroduce it when we're not looking.
It seems to be working fine in Germany. Within the last 24 hours I’ve had to show my NHS pass four times; to check in to the latest hotel, to get dinner, to get lunch, and to ride in the cable car. If you haven’t got a certificate, you need a test, and there is a seven day walk in ‘quick testing station’ in the village.
Places are busy so it doesn’t appear to be hitting trade, at least.
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
Congratulations, hope you have a wonderful day and I hope your daughter is celebrating the death of the vaccine passport as well!
Thank you.
Thank God that abomination has been buried. For now, at least. I don't trust them not to try and reintroduce it when we're not looking.
Congratulations @Cyclefree. Our 36th anniversary is on 5th October. Through good times and bad it has been the centre of my life throughout. I greatly pity those who have not been fortunate enough to find such a relationship.
Congratulations to you all. Mrs C and I married in 1962, the year under discussion. So next June, assuming nothing untoward occurs, we’ll celebrate our 60th. Of course it hasn’t been all plain-sailing, but many years ago we came across this piece of advice: ‘Never let the sun go down on your wrath!’ And we’ve tried to follow that advice.
And 1962 was a good year for us, but not necessarily for everyone else.
I see we are back to grammar-challenged antivax trollbots trashing the vaccine again on PB. Very sad to see, but sadly becoming a fairly frequent occurrence.
Professor Sir John Curtice's (PBUH) take on this poll
“Although support for independence has been stable during the summer, the poll confirms how risky it would be for Nicola Sturgeon if a referendum were held any time soon. She might well lose, thereby bringing an end to her political career and ending any hope of independence being delivered for at least a generation.”
He added: “Some of this seems to have dawned upon Yes supporters. Back in March, over half (53 per cent) said that a second independence ballot should be held within 12 months. Now that figure stands at just 34 per cent. While nearly all Yes supporters (95 per cent) want a referendum to be held within the next five years, most are willing to be patient for a while. But Ms Sturgeon will need to use the leeway this gives her to increase the level of support for independence.”
Which poll is this?
The rubbish one done for Union in Britain no doubt
Apparently not. Its in the ST today by Panelbase. It's a good bet that the 17% who want another independence poll within the next 12 months don't include Nicola.
you can bet on that, they will be ALBA supporters
And quite a few Unionists who want this nonsense put to bed once and for all.
How about this radical idea, just taking the brightest and the best....post A-level results application is the fairest way of doing this.
Theyvve proven themselves incapable of that. Time and time again the studies show that state school educated pupils out perform private school pupils at Cambridge. So clearly Cambridge's entry process is failing - hopelessly biased to private schools.
That's why I said post A-Level results applications. Then we get rid of this nonsense of guessing grades and how good one person is versus 6 months out from them actually doing their exams.
The obvious other thing to do is make it so that an applicants school is unknown. It should be irrelevant to the whole process anyway, you have their actual results.
On a slight reflection, I think a note of if a candidate indicating they went to particular poor school is fine. I don't think it is unfair to take that into consideration. 3 A*s from failing shit hole comp with rampant behavioural problems, I think is fair enough to take into consideration.
But it really shouldn't make any difference if they went to private, grammar, top performing state school....its what grades they got that matters and then if you want to do some additional testing for a big more insight.
I wonder if she's related to Romanian rugby player Cristian who defected to the UK in 1989 from an Edinburgh bar, through the South Bridge Vaults evading the Romanian Securitate guarding the exits.
Comments
Indeed you may wonder why others haven't
What a winner. A true British hero. Congratulations @EmmaRaducanu on an inspirational win. From qualifier to champion without dropping a set. A phenomenal achievement. #USOpen
https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1436816049777823746
They just didn't politicise it, like the Tories.
Emma Raducanu’s parents are Romanian and Chinese, she herself was born in Canada but she still proudly identifies as British- she’s just won the US Open.
Remember this, being British can comprise a real mix. It’s why we must be an open and welcoming country.
https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1436822385282404359
Tulyar = loco 55015, one of the Deltics. Like all 8 of the locos stationed at Finsbury Park depot in N London, named after a racehorse. Now in preservation care of:
The DPS = Deltic Preservation Society.
Hope that helps!
Anyway, today I celebrate 29 years of marriage. On and off, despite some dark times, Husband and I have been together - since we met in Russia (a coup de foudre 4 days after first meeting) - 33 years and 2 months.
Given what a pain in the arse I can be that is quite some achievement.
Husband has just mended (unprompted - he's finally learning 😉) one of the garden chairs so as it is sunny here we can sit outside and have a celebratory drink. It's never too early for one of those.
One of the country's top schools has launched an investigation after former footballer Fabrice Muamba said his son faced racist abuse in a school rugby game.
Mr Muamba tweeted that his 12-year-old son "received monkey chants" from opponents at Manchester Grammar School after scoring a try.
"Racism is learnt; be careful what you are teaching your children," he said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-58536338
I'm unsure why I like the 37s. They just look nice, and have a quite distinctive sound. The fact some are still soldiering on shows it's a good choice.
Boris’s watch shows he staged his minutes silence
They might as well have stuck a bone through her nose
etc
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/2252281/us-open-gear-check-out-what-emma-raducanu-wore-in-her-run-to-the-title
Edit. Was a direct grant school from the War to late 70's.
Brexit may have something to do with the specifics of current immigration policy, but being against masses of people immigrating by means of boats across the Channel doesn't have anything to do with whether someone is ok with a single example of completely different immigration.
Unless you wish to pretend anyone against some levels of immigration (legal or otherwise), must be against every single immigrant in existence.
Is that what you genuinely believe? That if someone wants to restrict (not totally stop) immigration, that they mean there must be zero immigration?
That's just not plausible, Scott. You have to dig very deep to find someone who is in favour of no immigration at all.
£50 range, feels a bit like, ok you can have anything you like from Sports Direct....while the top players go to the Nike HQ and have them designed and fitted just for them.
I suspect Emma will get similar treatment (or someone else will outbid them)
I thought all foreigners were black until I watched the match last night
I wouldn't be surprised if the top players even wear an outfit more than once.
And footballers are at another level, the clubs pay for absolutely everything they wear, they eat, drink, etc...even down to their pants. Peter Crouch joked when he retired he only ever used to turn up to games with a small washbag, and Dele Alli said until lockdown he had never cooked a meal for himself in his life. During lockdown the clubs were even doing all their food shopping for them and delivering it to them.
If they were hand made at Walsh's in Bolton? A sure sign of a contract offer at 17.
I hope you're right and, if you are, unlike Sandpit I shall admit I was wrong. But for the moment I think cases will continue to rise and we will even hit 100,000 this autumn/winter.
I base this on Israel's data and our sluggishness about rolling out 3rd boosters, vaccinating children and our inability to be sensible.
‘I’m still only 18 years old. I’m just having a free swing’"
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/12/emma-raducanu-us-open-dont-feel-pressure-tennis
For me it is more unusual to immediately pounce on someone as being racist etc because they happen to make a reasonable assumption.
Thank God that abomination has been buried. For now, at least. I don't trust them not to try and reintroduce it when we're not looking.
Other nicknames include Strumbox, Strummer, Joe Strummer, Joseph, Sir Keith Joseph.
You see, everything leads back to politics.
Going back to Tiger Woods....that sums his arrival on the golf scene.
Meanwhile our newest sporting heroine Emma Raducanu actually did go to a state grammar school
"Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse, playing cricket is not"
Someone who lives in a small market town or village or in a rural part of the UK is likely to be culturally conservative and older have more in common with someone who lives in a small town or rural part of France, the US, Germany, Italy, Canada or Australia than they are with someone who lives in inner London or Manchester.
By contrast someone who lives in a diverse area of inner London is likely to be culturally left liberal and younger and likely to have more in common with someone who lives in New York city, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris or Berlin or Barcelona than someone from rural England
Raducanu, talking to her Chinese fans in fluent Mandarin
‘🥰"Hi, everyone. I wanna say thank you to you guys and I hope you could enjoy my tennis. I'm thrilled to win. Love you all, see you."
-#EmmaRaducanu, whose mother is Chinese from Shenyang, China's northeastern Liaoning Province, spoke in mandarin after the #USOpen triumph.’
https://twitter.com/cgtnsportsscene/status/1436932312176873472?s=21
I mean, jeepers. If you asked GPT4 to design the ultimate sports star for the 21st century, it would look like this
She really could earn more than Tiger Woods. I don’t remember him chatting in Mandarin on Chinese TV
How about this radical idea, just taking the brightest and the best....post A-level results application is the fairest way of doing this.
I'll let you into a little secret, I'm moving the entire family to the North West and MGS is one of the schools I've been looking at.
And do so simultaneously without giving it too much deep thought?
Perhaps she doesn't have much of a view on grammar schools either?
CNN POLL CONDUCTED BY SSRS
Aug. 3-Sept. 7
AMONG REPUBLICANS
How Important Is
Believing Trump Won 2020
To Being A Republican?
Very important 36%
Somewhat important 23%
Not too important 15%
Not at all important 25%
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1437026413295644682?s=19
https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/
You were partly right in that it was a direct-grant grammar school until 1976 when it went independent after the then Labour government abolished the Direct Grant system
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cambridge-study-details-state-school-students-advantage-over-private-school-peers
'There's a running joke in my team because before my first-round qualifying match I lost my Airpods,' she told ESPN.
'I was basically running around the changing rooms three minutes before my call to go on trying to find it but I lost it and I was thinking to myself "you know what, if you win this match you can by yourself a pair of Airpods and that's become the running joke!'
And her joking about no clean kit at Wimbledon, and having her flight booked back from USA two weeks ago.
The obvious other thing to do is make it so that an applicants school is unknown. It should be irrelevant to the whole process anyway, you have their actual results.
Places are busy so it doesn’t appear to be hitting trade, at least.
Of course it hasn’t been all plain-sailing, but many years ago we came across this piece of advice: ‘Never let the sun go down on your wrath!’
And we’ve tried to follow that advice.
And 1962 was a good year for us, but not necessarily for everyone else.
Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani indicated women would be allowed to study, but not alongside men.
He also announced a review of subjects taught.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58537081
Just think, you'd probably be more fluent at requesting 'extras' after a soapy massage than the Tiger!
But it really shouldn't make any difference if they went to private, grammar, top performing state school....its what grades they got that matters and then if you want to do some additional testing for a big more insight.