politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The reason Theresa May is rating so well, even amongst LAB
Comments
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People have been thinking the same as you... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwissmetroMaxPB said:
Stations are easy, the platform and line can be separated by a barrier with double walled doors that align to the train doors. Again, it's just something to look at. Building HS2 as a conventional above ground line feels like a non-starter to me. The gains are limited and the downsides huge. The new PM and chancellor seem to be a lot more practical than the last two so I can't see how HS2 proceeds in its current state. Shifting the while project underground mitigates a lot of the political obstacles for HS2.rcs1000 said:
That sounds tricky, tbh, as you'd need regular access points in case of problems, and there will be stations along the way. So, you'd be going from atmospheric pressure, to low pressure, and back again. The engineering challenges associated with maintaining these zones of low pressure, when you have trains entering and exiting them regularly (causing huge wind effects as the air tried to rush into the low pressure zone), seem enormous to me.MaxPB said:If I was building a whole new line underground I'd definitely look at lowering air pressure. Less chance of corrosion, higher speed trains and less maintenance. Obviously asking for 100m section of tunnel to be kept in vacuum conditions is probably impossible, but it's something worth looking at.
Maybe you could simply have some (very large) fans along the way that lowered the pressure to 0.9 atmospheres or thereabouts.0 -
I would not want that to pass me while standing on a platform!!!JosiasJessop said:
How about a propeller-driven train?Patrick said:I would have thought a vacuum tunnel is a non-starter. This is essentially Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept. T'is bollocks on stilts.
But..I'd have thought putting a large ducted fan at the front piping air to thrust nozzles at the back would solve the 'slower in tunnels' problem. (Just not maybe at an effective cost or energy demand overall). However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin
The APT-E was powered by jet (gas) turbines.0 -
Some very interesting figures on the widespread reductions in retail prices, across a range of sectors, over the past year. See 9.56am here:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/aug/18/uk-retail-sales-brexit-french-unemployment-business-live
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I would be embarrassed to put my name to that kind of level of research.Sean_F said:
Take the homicide numbers. I doubt if most murderers specifically target black people. The statistics simply reflect the fact that rates of homicide in working class urban centres are much higher than they are in the country as a whole.0 -
During the war, we had trouble productionising the early jet engines. The government gave the project to Rover, who, AIUI, didn't do very well either.wasd said:
The Americans and Russian's tried that. The Germans (before the war) tried sticking a huge propeller on the back of a train but gave up on it once they figured out it would be a pain to reverse and stood a reasonable change of occasionally shredding the odd platform passenger.Patrick said:However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Jets_W.2
But it did result in the Rover Jet-1 car:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_JET10 -
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
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On the subject of infrastructure, don't forget Osborne's appointment of Lord Adonis to head up the 'National Infrastructure Cimmission' (something that sounds like something Wilson's first government would have created!). Maybe that could provide political cover for a rethink on Hinckley C combined with getting on with Heathrow and other schemes.0
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It was one of those ideas that probably looked good at the time. A bit like Hyperloop, the Brabazon or the Garden Bridge.RobD said:
I would not want that to pass me while standing on a platform!!!JosiasJessop said:
How about a propeller-driven train?Patrick said:I would have thought a vacuum tunnel is a non-starter. This is essentially Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept. T'is bollocks on stilts.
But..I'd have thought putting a large ducted fan at the front piping air to thrust nozzles at the back would solve the 'slower in tunnels' problem. (Just not maybe at an effective cost or energy demand overall). However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin
The APT-E was powered by jet (gas) turbines.
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Not to mention JWisemann's touching belief that annual economic growth of 5.5% per annum and 40 million deaths from starvation is better than 9% growth per annum and 500,000 deaths from starvation, and that Marxism is therefore the way forward...kle4 said:0 -
This is the phony war. The real problems will come when companies start to move away from UK operations when we are no longer in single market.runnymede said:
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
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Indeed. I've liked some of the things I've heard from them so far.Richard_Nabavi said:On the subject of infrastructure, don't forget Osborne's appointment of Lord Adonis to head up the 'National Infrastructure Cimmission' (something that sounds like Wilson's first government would have done!). Maybe that could provide political cover for a rethink on Hinckley C combined with getting on with Heathrow and other schemes.
https://www.gov.uk/government/latest?departments[]=national-infrastructure-commission0 -
LOL! You claim to have once worked in the City, and you give so much credence to one month's retail figures?runnymede said:
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
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More Labour LOLs...
@jessicaelgot: Labour conference security row still not resolved - talks break down between GMB Union & security firm https://t.co/m0hKPXgJ5X
@jessicaelgot: GMB says Showsec will not sign a union recognition agreement, and now demand Labour do not use them as conference security provider
@jessicaelgot: NEC already voted to boycott G4S, Showsec had bid for contract. Company says didn't realise Union recognition agreement part of the deal.
@jessicaelgot: Home Office could theoretically cancel Labour conference if security issue not resolved0 -
That looks like a interesting project, but it would cut the time from Basel (where my prospective mother-in-law lives) to Zurich to less than 20 minutes. I'm glad they didn't build it.rcs1000 said:
People have been thinking the same as you... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwissmetroMaxPB said:
Stations are easy, the platform and line can be separated by a barrier with double walled doors that align to the train doors. Again, it's just something to look at. Building HS2 as a conventional above ground line feels like a non-starter to me. The gains are limited and the downsides huge. The new PM and chancellor seem to be a lot more practical than the last two so I can't see how HS2 proceeds in its current state. Shifting the while project underground mitigates a lot of the political obstacles for HS2.rcs1000 said:
That sounds tricky, tbh, as you'd need regular access points in case of problems, and there will be stations along the way. So, you'd be going from atmospheric pressure, to low pressure, and back again. The engineering challenges associated with maintaining these zones of low pressure, when you have trains entering and exiting them regularly (causing huge wind effects as the air tried to rush into the low pressure zone), seem enormous to me.MaxPB said:If I was building a whole new line underground I'd definitely look at lowering air pressure. Less chance of corrosion, higher speed trains and less maintenance. Obviously asking for 100m section of tunnel to be kept in vacuum conditions is probably impossible, but it's something worth looking at.
Maybe you could simply have some (very large) fans along the way that lowered the pressure to 0.9 atmospheres or thereabouts.0 -
What I can't work out....who do they did need the security to keep out? Because all the far left Maomentum stop the war nutters who wanted to get to Blair, are now inside the tent as Labour party members...Scott_P said:More Labour LOLs...
@jessicaelgot: Labour conference security row still not resolved - talks break down between GMB Union & security firm https://t.co/m0hKPXgJ5X
@jessicaelgot: GMB says Showsec will not sign a union recognition agreement, and now demand Labour do not use them as conference security provider
@jessicaelgot: NEC already voted to boycott G4S, Showsec had bid for contract. Company says didn't realise Union recognition agreement part of the deal.
@jessicaelgot: Home Office could theoretically cancel Labour conference if security issue not resolved0 -
I'd replace the "will" with "could" and both of those "when"s with "if"srottenborough said:
This is the phony war. The real problems will come when companies start to move away from UK operations when we are no longer in single market.runnymede said:
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
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I'm surprised at Neal Lawson. Thought he would have known better than get involved with this obvious party-within-a-party.PlatoSaid said:Oh my.
"Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis, Owen Jones, John McDonnell and Ken Loach are among those who will all appear at Momentum’s alternative conference in Liverpool – and the programme has received endorsement from Jeremy Corbyn.
The organisation today announced the line-up for their four-day politics, art and culture festival, which has been organised to coincide with Labour Party conference in Liverpool from the 24 – 27 September.
The festival, called The World Transformed, is designed to “build a movement” around the party, and develop a new politics of participation and involvement. It is also expected to connect grassroots groups with the Labour Party more generally. It will include over 150 hours of workshops, talks, performance and activities to “empower communities and transform society”.
http://labourlist.org/2016/08/momentum-announces-alternative-conference-line-up/
Oh well, more popcorn for the rest of us.0 -
even if all prospered the left would still bemoan "but.. but.. the gap...the gap..... the unclosable gap..........it keeps us in business"Sean_F said:
The biggest barrier to social mobility (between races or classes) is low economic growth. Between 1950-2000, output per head grew at about 2% a year. Since then, output per head has been 0.8% p.a. Unsurprisingly, social mobility has come to a halt. In a society of low growth, one person's gain has to be another person's loss. In a society of high growth, all can prosper, if at different rates.rcs1000 said:
Social renting? People on housing benefit will quickly be priced out by middle class parents (like me), who want their kids to be in the 'zone' for the grammar school.MattW said:
Except for (at the very least) those who choose to stay or are in eg social rented, who will benefit from the improvements.rcs1000 said:
Spot on. There's no easier way to get rid of poor people from an area than to stick a grammar school in the middle of it.PlatoSaid said:
It'll gentrify those areas faster than any other intervention...HYUFD said:
Hence May's argument for grammars but where they are really needed is the poorest areasydoethur said:
Both those statistics being a fairly shocking indictment of the state of far too many of our schools.HYUFD said:
Though more black pupils go to university now as a percentage than the white working classFrancisUrquhart said:Just seen racialist Britain report. One dodgy stat jumps out straight away, that black graduates earn less than other graduates.
One problem they arent comparing "like for like". Number of black peoppe at top unis is very small, due to on average inferior a-level results, therefore it isn't racialism that means they earn less it is they have worse qualifications.
Working in Cannock, which is hardly a hotbed of prosperity and high achievement, I keep reminding myself that I am still facing a far less difficult task than I did in Bristol.
They know of couse the "gap" can only ever be reduced and never closed for wealthier parents will always have a better home environment even if you got rid of all public and grammar schools there would still be a gap prehaps a reduced one but still not closed theyn should be honest about this because it breeds distrust of politicians when they fail to meet unmeetable targets but hey ho the tories have joined them in this.
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I'm in @Richard_Nabavi's camp here. I'm pleased with the early indicators simply because the EUref result was both a huge shock and very close. I was worried that sentiment would tank completely. We've been rescued by the advent of good summer weather and a mini-tourist boom.
However, in the great scheme of things it means absolutely nothing. That 2030 horizon used in the pre-EUref forecasts is probably about right for deciding whether, on balance, it was a good decision economically.
From a business perspective, it's impossible to assess overall risk - only contingency planning is really possible. Once May pronounces on the overall shape of Brexit, that will change.0 -
Isn't that because the cabin is pressurised? It would be possible to design a pressurised train cabin but existing stock isn't I would have thought?MaxPB said:
Amazingly I don't die of suffocation when I go on a plane.IanB2 said:
How can it be a vacuum? Passengers have to breath, and trains have doors and windows and aren't pressurised.MaxPB said:
The deviation isn't going to be more than say 10 miles from the ideal route though. On speed as you mentioned just before. I'd have thought the ability to run in a vacuum or near vacuum would lower air resistance and increase the terminal velocity, or at least lower the energy requirements to maintain a certain speed.JosiasJessop said:
" the route would be close to as the crow flies"MaxPB said:.
Well the point is that with tunnels the route would be close to as the crow flies, with a 200mph train, the journey time from Euston to New Street is 40 minutes, I spend longer on the underground every day at the moment. The run from New Street to Manchester Piccadilly is 30 minutes, 40 if it stops at Crewe. The longest run is to Glasgow which would be a solid hour or so, but currently the train from Glasgow to London takes four and a half hours, the journey time for an underground, as the crow flies, high speed rail network would be less than half that. I could spend a couple of hours underground, I've done 16 hour flights before!DavidL said:
Would you really want to do a 3-4 hour journey underground? If you have no choice like the Channel tunnel then I suppose it is bearable (not done it myself) but as a regular thing? This island is crowded but it is not that crowded.MaxPB said:
If the project was done underground that would completely sidestep the majority of planning issues and the route would be simple, as the crow flies.wasd said:
Given that they've yet to finalise the route around Sheffield, have a planning enquiry and then start on the multi-year process of everyone suing everyone, I'm not actually sure that we can bring the eastern section of HS2 part 2 materially forward even if the money suddenly appeared on May's doorstep.MaxPB said:starting HS2 from ... Sheffield/Leeds down to Birmingham
Not necessarily so, or flat. If you look at the profile and line of the Channel Tunnel, its slightly curvy and dips and rises to follow the best tunnelling strata through the marl. One of the reasons we dug further than the French was because they had less favourable conditions.0 -
I see my name has come up again in relation to the Olympics. This is all very odd.
I have no problems with people bathing in the coverage of the Olympics, though it is not something I am interested in doing. I don't agree with (Sir) Simon Jenkins about that at all. There are plenty of other channels for those who aren't fussed by it and there are so many fans of the Olympics that the blanket coverage on the BBC is justified.
Again, I disagree with (Sir) Simon Jenkins about the use of lottery funds. I don't mind the use of lottery funds to encourage British sporting success. The opposite, in fact. It's a good idea since, as others have said, it can inspire others to try out sports from an early age that they wouldn't otherwise have tried. It's a shame that more isn't being done to work on the much more important end result of getting Britain more active, but I accept that is going to be a much harder project.
I do find the intense focus this year on the nationality of athletes a bit disturbing. The sport has become secondary to national success. That outlook has repeatedly led to sport being used as a vehicle for state propaganda (whether for fascism, Communism, capitalism or state-led cronyism). That in turn leads to state-sponsored cheating. The obsession with flags leads inexorably to the modern Olympic motto: citior altior fortior druggier. Far from encouraging health, it encourages a form of unhealth.
Perhaps Britain's remarkable success is, still more remarkably, largely achieved without such short cuts. I keep an open mind about that. It is worth noting that the British set-up - setting medals targets for sports bodies that are directly linked to future funding - strongly encourages the sports bodies to use whatever means they can get away with and to overlook their athletes' failings in order to secure the maximum number of medals. Perhaps others more knowledgeable than me can comment on the controls in place to make sure this doesn't happen. Sport does not have a good record in this area.0 -
Ah, I stand corrected. Still, not how the honours system should be used and along with the Will Straw appointment it was a parting shot from Cameron that destroyed most of the little respect I had left for him.ydoethur said:
Wouldn't have said a CH was higher than a peerage, or even the Order of Merit.Essexit said:
Remembering how awful Osborne is/was now. That his reward for being a mediocre Chancellor and his outrageous conduct during the referendum campaign was the highest honour in the land still makes me seethe with anger.another_richard said:
In his final disastrous Budget speech Osborne announced policies which were the responsibilities of about half a dozen other departments.TOPPING said:
You were either an Osbornite or you weren't. If you were, you were part of the charmed circle that it appeared for a while was destined for the top (many did get to the top). If you were outside, it all passed you by, and you were excluded from the heart of government and unlikely to become part of it.another_richard said:
It was Osborne who did the meddling not Cameron.AlastairMeeks said:
David Cameron was uniquely good among Prime Ministers in my lifetime for the deployment of his ministers. He followed the simple but previously untried approach of letting ministers get familiar with their jobs and then trusting them. It meant that he got the utmost out of quite limited resources.DavidL said:
Agreed. One of Cameron's strengths was letting his ministers get on with it. That meant that they made mistakes from time to time but better that than the paralysis that Brown induced by insisting that every decision had to come by him.AlastairMeeks said:
At the risk of an enforced stint in Conservative Home, her apparent penchant for micromanaging does suggest that her polling may follow Brownian motions.Jonathan said:Gordon Brown was doing well at this point
Rather than meddling.
(Just to be clear, I don't think he deserved anything either.)
Cameron and Osborne could do a lot worse than never showing their faces in public again.0 -
Nancy's parents will now have the opportunity to make sure she can get an apprenticeship.Essexit said:
Ah, I stand corrected. Still, not how the honours system should be used and along with the Will Straw appointment it was a parting shot from Cameron that destroyed most of the little respect I had left for him.ydoethur said:
Wouldn't have said a CH was higher than a peerage, or even the Order of Merit.Essexit said:
Remembering how awful Osborne is/was now. That his reward for being a mediocre Chancellor and his outrageous conduct during the referendum campaign was the highest honour in the land still makes me seethe with anger.another_richard said:
In his final disastrous Budget speech Osborne announced policies which were the responsibilities of about half a dozen other departments.TOPPING said:
You were either an Osbornite or you weren't. If you were, you were part of the charmed circle that it appeared for a while was destined for the top (many did get to the top). If you were outside, it all passed you by, and you were excluded from the heart of government and unlikely to become part of it.another_richard said:
It was Osborne who did the meddling not Cameron.AlastairMeeks said:
David Cameron was uniquely good among Prime Ministers in my lifetime for the deployment of his ministers. He followed the simple but previously untried approach of letting ministers get familiar with their jobs and then trusting them. It meant that he got the utmost out of quite limited resources.DavidL said:
Agreed. One of Cameron's strengths was letting his ministers get on with it. That meant that they made mistakes from time to time but better that than the paralysis that Brown induced by insisting that every decision had to come by him.AlastairMeeks said:
At the risk of an enforced stint in Conservative Home, her apparent penchant for micromanaging does suggest that her polling may follow Brownian motions.Jonathan said:Gordon Brown was doing well at this point
Rather than meddling.
(Just to be clear, I don't think he deserved anything either.)
Cameron and Osborne could do a lot worse than never showing their faces in public again.0 -
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
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The cockles of my heart have been well and truly warmed XDPlatoSaid said:
Nancy's parents will now have the opportunity to make sure she can get an apprenticeship.Essexit said:
Ah, I stand corrected. Still, not how the honours system should be used and along with the Will Straw appointment it was a parting shot from Cameron that destroyed most of the little respect I had left for him.ydoethur said:
Wouldn't have said a CH was higher than a peerage, or even the Order of Merit.Essexit said:
Remembering how awful Osborne is/was now. That his reward for being a mediocre Chancellor and his outrageous conduct during the referendum campaign was the highest honour in the land still makes me seethe with anger.another_richard said:
In his final disastrous Budget speech Osborne announced policies which were the responsibilities of about half a dozen other departments.TOPPING said:
You were either an Osbornite or you weren't. If you were, you were part of the charmed circle that it appeared for a while was destined for the top (many did get to the top). If you were outside, it all passed you by, and you were excluded from the heart of government and unlikely to become part of it.another_richard said:
It was Osborne who did the meddling not Cameron.AlastairMeeks said:
David Cameron was uniquely good among Prime Ministers in my lifetime for the deployment of his ministers. He followed the simple but previously untried approach of letting ministers get familiar with their jobs and then trusting them. It meant that he got the utmost out of quite limited resources.DavidL said:
Agreed. One of Cameron's strengths was letting his ministers get on with it. That meant that they made mistakes from time to time but better that than the paralysis that Brown induced by insisting that every decision had to come by him.AlastairMeeks said:
At the risk of an enforced stint in Conservative Home, her apparent penchant for micromanaging does suggest that her polling may follow Brownian motions.Jonathan said:Gordon Brown was doing well at this point
Rather than meddling.
(Just to be clear, I don't think he deserved anything either.)
Cameron and Osborne could do a lot worse than never showing their faces in public again.0 -
Thanks, and to Mr StClare too!MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
No Oxfam here - but hilariously the first general public comment we overheard when setting up the shop was 'oh rare books, what a shame'.
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It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.0 -
Just to reiterate the good wishes with your venture Mortimer. I love second hand bookshops with a passion but they're becoming an endangered species. Here's hoping you can Buck the trend!Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.0 -
Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
EDIT Several yrs back, I tried the Telegraphs dating site - it was most amusing as a demographic. We never met more than once.0 -
I see. So the immediate negative shock Remainers assured us of is now being quietly buried? Which claim will be next to be abandoned I wonder?rottenborough said:
This is the phony war. The real problems will come when companies start to move away from UK operations when we are no longer in single market.runnymede said:
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
0 -
When I watched the Seoul olympics as a nipper, I thought the utter shame of Ben Johnson being caught out using drugs would put everyone off forevermore in the future.AlastairMeeks said:
I do find the intense focus this year on the nationality of athletes a bit disturbing. The sport has become secondary to national success. That outlook has repeatedly led to sport being used as a vehicle for state propaganda (whether for fascism, Communism, capitalism or state-led cronyism). That in turn leads to state-sponsored cheating. The obsession with flags leads inexorably to the modern Olympic motto: citior altior fortior druggier. Far from encouraging health, it encourages a form of unhealth.0 -
We can probably work out what you consider the appropriate age range by running a few scripts on the soul mates siteFrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
0 -
Not in the market myself, but isn't Tindr hoovering up all the competition as a sort of dating facebook ?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
In my younger days, I lived on a very rough council estate for a year. The local paper shop stocked one copy of the Times, which myself or one of my housemates would pop out and buy every Sunday. To our shock and horror we found somebody else started buying it from time to time, so we had to start taking it in turns to get up earlier enough each Sunday to ensure we got the one copy before mystery occasional buyer appeared.PlatoSaid said:
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Maximum good wishes for your venture, but be careful the Kindle police don't pay you a visit!Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
I'm not sure where you live, but here is a remarkable bookshop worth knowing about, in my town:
http://eaglebookshop.co.uk/0 -
.
Take it easy, we need more than just two indicators to form any conclusions with some certainty. For sure both of them have been positive so far, but I wouldn't be comfortable saying we're completely out of the woods. There's also the issue of our consumption led growth running out of steam if the kindness of strangers runs dry.runnymede said:
I see. So the immediate negative shock Remainers assured us of is now being quietly buried? Which claim will be next to be abandoned I wonder?rottenborough said:
This is the phony war. The real problems will come when companies start to move away from UK operations when we are no longer in single market.runnymede said:
Bitter tears at chateau nabavi, the FT and other Continuity Remain hideoutsrcs1000 said:
I would suggest that the weak pound meant fewer people took overseas holidays, and that might have played a role too.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
0 -
Good morning (again), everyone.0
-
I don't really have any experience of this market, but yes I think Tindr certainly is very popular (and not just for hook-ups anymore). However, I was under the impression that those looking for a proper partner spread themselves across a number of sites.Pulpstar said:
Not in the market myself, but isn't Tindr hoovering up all the competition as a sort of dating facebook ?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
I genuinely thought for a certain demographic (much larger than standard readership), Guardian Soulmates would be one of those.0 -
Would you want to date a Corbynista who doesn't shower and wants to live in a commune?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Probably as much an indication that so many graduate jobs are in London. Soulmates people are probably younger graduate professionals with a bit of left-of-centre thinking.FrancisUrquhart said:
In my younger days, I lived on a very rough council estate for a year. The local paper shop stocked one copy of the Times, which myself or one of my housemates would pop out and buy every Sunday. To our shock and horror we found somebody else started buying it from time to time, so we had to start taking it in turns to get up earlier enough each Sunday to ensure we got the one copy before mystery occasional buyer appeared.PlatoSaid said:
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Yes - but, as discussed a few days ago , 2 E grades from the 1960s would probably be 2 Cs nowadays!HYUFD said:
They could even become Labour leader, after all Corbyn got 2 EEs, in fact they have done slightly betterMaxPB said:
Not to sound too harsh, but why did they bother with A Levels and try to go to university if their grade aptitude was so bad? Shouldn't the school have given better advice and told them to get an apprenticeship?ydoethur said:
They've lifted the cap on recruitment, so they can in theory take as many as they like. So if somebody has done unexpectedly well they can upgrade.PlatoSaid said:Are 5000 clearing places at Russell Groups unis usually available?
Just got mine through and all of them were at least one grade above predictions, which would be rather nice if I weren't still gutted that a couple who had really worked hard and deserved a reward for that got Ds rather than Cs.0 -
So far as I can tell, no society has ever succeeded in legislating away inequality of outcome, without disastrous consequences.nunu said:
even if all prospered the left would still bemoan "but.. but.. the gap...the gap..... the unclosable gap..........it keeps us in business"Sean_F said:
The biggest barrier to social mobility (between races or classes) is low economic growth. Between 1950-2000, output per head grew at about 2% a year. Since then, output per head has been 0.8% p.a. Unsurprisingly, social mobility has come to a halt. In a society of low growth, one person's gain has to be another person's loss. In a society of high growth, all can prosper, if at different rates.rcs1000 said:
Social renting? People on housing benefit will quickly be priced out by middle class parents (like me), who want their kids to be in the 'zone' for the grammar school.MattW said:
Except for (at the very least) those who choose to stay or are in eg social rented, who will benefit from the improvements.rcs1000 said:
Spot on. There's no easier way to get rid of poor people from an area than to stick a grammar school in the middle of it.PlatoSaid said:
It'll gentrify those areas faster than any other intervention...HYUFD said:
Hence May's argument for grammars but where they are really needed is the poorest areasydoethur said:
Both those statistics being a fairly shocking indictment of the state of far too many of our schools.HYUFD said:
Though more black pupils go to university now as a percentage than the white working classFrancisUrquhart said:Just seen racialist Britain report. One dodgy stat jumps out straight away, that black graduates earn less than other graduates.
One problem they arent comparing "like for like". Number of black peoppe at top unis is very small, due to on average inferior a-level results, therefore it isn't racialism that means they earn less it is they have worse qualifications.
Working in Cannock, which is hardly a hotbed of prosperity and high achievement, I keep reminding myself that I am still facing a far less difficult task than I did in Bristol.
They know of couse the "gap" can only ever be reduced and never closed for wealthier parents will always have a better home environment even if you got rid of all public and grammar schools there would still be a gap prehaps a reduced one but still not closed theyn should be honest about this because it breeds distrust of politicians when they fail to meet unmeetable targets but hey ho the tories have joined them in this.0 -
LOL...It seems a couple of regulars on here have quite enjoyed the Corbynista date experience.MaxPB said:
Would you want to date a Corbynista who doesn't shower and wants to live in a commune?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Congrats Mr Mortimer what a sensible and civilised thing to do. Some books are just not Kindle-able, and nor should they be.Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
Also x2 on the Oxfam bookshops putting proper bookshops out of business. Frustrates the XX out of me. Funnily enough, I recently bought a book from Amazon and it came straight from a bookseller in Hay (can't remember the name) so I hope that Amazon's marketplace can be a good thing for you.0 -
Mr. 124, worth noting also that being poor at one set of qualifications doesn't always translate to the next set. I got reasonably good GCSEs, reasonably atrocious A-levels, and then a reasonably good degree classification.0
-
Morning.Morris_Dancer said:Good morning (again), everyone.
0 -
My point on Temple Tube is very simple.JosiasJessop said:
That's just one of my complaints. I fear you need to go back and re-read my posts. But on that complaint: "It's not designed for cyclists." shows the problem very well. It's not been designed to meet any real need.Charles said:
Your continued complaint is that cyclists have to push their bikes. It's not designed for cyclists.JosiasJessop said:
No Charles.Charles said:
It has a purpose but is not targetted to your particular interests so you don't value that.
I love the countryside. I love engineering. I like grand projects. I love London's parks, which are the capital's under-appreciated jewels.
You will see me raving (*) about these topics all too often on PB.
Yet despite all that, I am against the Garden Bridge. Perhaps you should ask yourself if I am right, instead of continuing to defend the indefensible.
(*) In all sense of the term.
This is privately funded*, open to the public and creating a new landmark for London. It doesn't do everything but it's a good improvement for the area.
but we won't agree and I suspect just rehersing the same argument will bore everyone else
* No additional public money is being spent on it that would not have been spent on Temple Tube.
A tip: you start with requirements, then design to meet those requirements. If you do it well, you can end up with something that works and is beautiful.
Instead, the bridge is the dream of a c-list actress that has been jumped on by idiots and self-serving charlatans. I mean, they're even associating with Princess Di now, FFS. They're scraping the barrel.
Your point on Temple Tube is incomprehensibly and unusually stupid. In fact, it's one of the things that makes me think the project's trying to treat people like fools.
Oh, and I do hope you talk about the bridge helping disadvantaged youths in the area. I 'm still laughing at that.
TEL is renewing all the stations in the network. It is Temple Tube's turn. They are budgeting £29.5m. The bridge will land on the roof of the Tube Station. So they are incorporating it into the design - cost of £30m.
Admittedly that's a government spend of £500,000 extra. But joined up thinking
0 -
I believe sales of ebooks are not doing very well at all, and unlike music market it doesn't seem to be just specialty collectors with their desire to own the limited edition vinyl.TOPPING said:
Congrats Mr Mortimer what a sensible and civilised thing to do. Some books are just not Kindle-able, and nor should they be.Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
Also x2 on the Oxfam bookshops putting proper bookshops out of business. Frustrates the XX out of me. Funnily enough, I recently bought a book from Amazon and it came straight from a bookseller in Hay (can't remember the name) so I hope that Amazon's marketplace can be a good thing for you.0 -
CI5, no doubtFrancisUrquhart said:
LOL...It seems a couple of regulars on here have quite enjoyed the Corbynista date experience.MaxPB said:
Would you want to date a Corbynista who doesn't shower and wants to live in a commune?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
My impression of Tindr is that it's used by 20-40s for hook-ups when drunk or in a dry period. My preference was for the Times site. Some interesting people - didn't go anywhere, but that was several yrs back. I seemed to be the only person who didn't lie about their age! or height!FrancisUrquhart said:
I don't really have any experience of this market, but yes I think Tindr certainly is very popular (and not just for hook-ups anymore). However, I was under the impression that those looking for a proper partner spread themselves across a number of sites.Pulpstar said:
Not in the market myself, but isn't Tindr hoovering up all the competition as a sort of dating facebook ?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
I genuinely thought for a certain demographic (much larger than standard readership), Guardian Soulmates would be one of those.0 -
Surely Country Life on the local newsagent's shelves is the ultimate bellwether on an area's up-and-comingness or desirability. (The Field if it's up and come.)FrancisUrquhart said:
In my younger days, I lived on a very rough council estate for a year. The local paper shop stocked one copy of the Times, which myself or one of my housemates would pop out and buy every Sunday. To our shock and horror we found somebody else started buying it from time to time, so we had to start taking it in turns to get up earlier enough each Sunday to ensure we got the one copy before mystery occasional buyer appeared.PlatoSaid said:
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Again I am no expert, but there has been a number of articles recently that have suggested that Tindr has "matured". At the younger end, it is definitely all about that, but it seems that part of its continued success is that it is being used by slightly more mature folk to try and meet other people for hopefully a proper relationship.PlatoSaid said:
My impression of Tindr is that it's used by 20-40s for hook-ups when drunk or in a dry period. My preference was for the Times site. Some interesting people - didn't go anywhere, but that was several yrs back. I seemed to be the only person who didn't lie about their age! or height!FrancisUrquhart said:
I don't really have any experience of this market, but yes I think Tindr certainly is very popular (and not just for hook-ups anymore). However, I was under the impression that those looking for a proper partner spread themselves across a number of sites.Pulpstar said:
Not in the market myself, but isn't Tindr hoovering up all the competition as a sort of dating facebook ?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
I genuinely thought for a certain demographic (much larger than standard readership), Guardian Soulmates would be one of those.0 -
I realise I was restricting it to 23-37 and it would be better to include everyone - although any dating site is likely to have a youth bias. I'd love to know the geographical distribution of Guardian sales.rcs1000 said:
We can probably work out what you consider the appropriate age range by running a few scripts on the soul mates siteFrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
I've bought several OOP books as gifts from Amazon Marketplace and they're something quite special. I was surprised by the reaction to them. I suppose it shows you've been paying a lot of attention re the recipient's interests.TOPPING said:
Congrats Mr Mortimer what a sensible and civilised thing to do. Some books are just not Kindle-able, and nor should they be.Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
Also x2 on the Oxfam bookshops putting proper bookshops out of business. Frustrates the XX out of me. Funnily enough, I recently bought a book from Amazon and it came straight from a bookseller in Hay (can't remember the name) so I hope that Amazon's marketplace can be a good thing for you.0 -
Thank you! If you're ever down in Wareham, Dorset pop in!ydoethur said:
Just to reiterate the good wishes with your venture Mortimer. I love second hand bookshops with a passion but they're becoming an endangered species. Here's hoping you can Buck the trend!Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
0 -
Who said immediate?runnymede said:I see. So the immediate negative shock Remainers assured us of is now being quietly buried? Which claim will be next to be abandoned I wonder?
Just for you (and SeanT)...
It didn’t last, that sadness. I felt the shift first of all at The Spectator’s summer party in July. I’d expected to feel awkward there, as a woebegone, defensive Remainer, surrounded by Britain’s Brexit elite. Gradually, though, I began to realise that this wasn’t how Britain’s new political dynamic worked. Contrary to my expectations, it was me who made other people feel awkward; the pressure was all on them. And in the weeks since, I’ve felt that dynamic again and again. You can always tell now, with people who voted out. They don’t need to say a word. It’s all in the haunted eyes. The shifty silence. They’re worried. It’s their world now. It’s all down to them.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/08/the-best-thing-about-brexit-none-of-it-is-my-fault/0 -
Thank you!Toms said:
Maximum good wishes for your venture, but be careful the Kindle police don't pay you a visit!Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
I'm not sure where you live, but here is a remarkable bookshop worth knowing about, in my town:
http://eaglebookshop.co.uk/
Yes - Peter's shop is fantastic. I buy from him at book fairs. His website is rather fun too.
Quirky really works in the book trade...0 -
It's certainly a more casual way to meet people. But I know plenty who have had, or are in, serious relationships after meeting on Tindr.FrancisUrquhart said:
Again I am no expert, but there has been a number of articles recently that have suggested that Tindr has "matured". At the younger end, it is definitely all about that, but it seems that part of its continued success is that it is being used by slightly more mature folk to try and meet other people for hopefully a proper relationship.PlatoSaid said:
My impression of Tindr is that it's used by 20-40s for hook-ups when drunk or in a dry period. My preference was for the Times site. Some interesting people - didn't go anywhere, but that was several yrs back. I seemed to be the only person who didn't lie about their age! or height!FrancisUrquhart said:
I don't really have any experience of this market, but yes I think Tindr certainly is very popular (and not just for hook-ups anymore). However, I was under the impression that those looking for a proper partner spread themselves across a number of sites.Pulpstar said:
Not in the market myself, but isn't Tindr hoovering up all the competition as a sort of dating facebook ?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
I genuinely thought for a certain demographic (much larger than standard readership), Guardian Soulmates would be one of those.0 -
Best of luck to Mr. Mortimer on his bibliophile enterprise.
Mr. Urquhart, not checked lately but my understanding is e-book sales have declined, but not fallen off a cliff. It'd also be worth breaking that down by genre (I habitually buy fiction on Kindle and history in paper and ink).
I have been trying to decide, when self-publishing my next book, whether to have a physical edition. I almost certainly won't initially (lots of work formatting and promoting stuff and you have to check even more carefully with a physical copy than an electronic one), but the three possibilities are:
a physical edition a few weeks/months after launch [that might actually coincide with a fantasy anthology in which I have a short story, so that could be nice]
a physical edition at the end of the trilogy, containing all three in one volume
no physical edition
Pricing, as self-published, is a bugger too, because the costs involved mean a physical copy costing twice a $3.99 e-book will mean less income for the author. So, you either make less or have a ridiculously inflated price tag.0 -
Non-fiction books with pictures, graphs, tables or other graphics don't work at all well on e-books. Some fiction books shouldn't be read on a Kindle.FrancisUrquhart said:
I believe sales of ebooks are not doing very well at all, and unlike music market it doesn't seem to be just specialty collectors with their desire to own the limited edition vinyl.TOPPING said:
Congrats Mr Mortimer what a sensible and civilised thing to do. Some books are just not Kindle-able, and nor should they be.Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
HMattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
rtimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charir the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
Also x2 on the Oxfam bookshops putting proper bookshops out of business. Frustrates the XX out of me. Funnily enough, I recently bought a book from Amazon and it came straight from a bookseller in Hay (can't remember the name) so I hope that Amazon's marketplace can be a good thing for you.
That said, for certain novels I quite like the personal relationship to the writing without the physicality of the book itself. Without getting too absolute tosser-ish (too late, I know), it reminds me of the abstract expressionists who wanted you to get the meaning of the work without being encumbered by the plasticity of the medium.0 -
Gordon Jackson?dugarbandier said:
CI5, no doubtFrancisUrquhart said:
LOL...It seems a couple of regulars on here have quite enjoyed the Corbynista date experience.MaxPB said:
Would you want to date a Corbynista who doesn't shower and wants to live in a commune?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Mr Urquhart,
When I reached the ripe old age of seventeen, I decided to try the Telegraph out of curiosity. It was a large newsagent and the only one near the estate but they had no Telegraph or Times (I wasn't surprised by the lack of the latter). They didn't even stock it.
"Why not?" I asked
"No demand," the owner said.
"But if you don't stock it, there won't be."
He wasn't impressed.
Being a paper-boy in the sixties meant I only delivered one Times in total out for every sixty or seventy in my bag, and this was off the estate. The rumour was that he owned Jakemans, the sweet manufacturers.
Edit, I'd only vaguely heard of the Guardian, but this was Brexit Central after all.
0 -
Some years ago there was an obituary in the Gaurdian of one of their long term staff, who, upon reirement moved to Budleigh Salterton. Apparently sortly after settling in he went down to the local newsagent and asked for a copy of his old paper.TOPPING said:
Surely Country Life on the local newsagent's shelves is the ultimate bellwether on an area's up-and-comingness or desirability. (The Field if it's up and come.)FrancisUrquhart said:
In my younger days, I lived on a very rough council estate for a year. The local paper shop stocked one copy of the Times, which myself or one of my housemates would pop out and buy every Sunday. To our shock and horror we found somebody else started buying it from time to time, so we had to start taking it in turns to get up earlier enough each Sunday to ensure we got the one copy before mystery occasional buyer appeared.PlatoSaid said:
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?
To be met with “The Guardian, Sir? In Budleigh Salterton!"0 -
House & Garden.TOPPING said:
Surely Country Life on the local newsagent's shelves is the ultimate bellwether on an area's up-and-comingness or desirability. (The Field if it's up and come.)FrancisUrquhart said:
In my younger days, I lived on a very rough council estate for a year. The local paper shop stocked one copy of the Times, which myself or one of my housemates would pop out and buy every Sunday. To our shock and horror we found somebody else started buying it from time to time, so we had to start taking it in turns to get up earlier enough each Sunday to ensure we got the one copy before mystery occasional buyer appeared.PlatoSaid said:
How fascinating. I knew of several newsagents who didn't even stock the Guardian, as demand was so low.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party?0 -
Ta Mr Topping!TOPPING said:
Congrats Mr Mortimer what a sensible and civilised thing to do. Some books are just not Kindle-able, and nor should they be.Mortimer said:
It is rather frustrating - and has contributed to the decline of the secondhand book business.MattW said:
Just set up.GeoffM said:
How would you actually go into competition with Oxfam?MattW said:
Congratulations, but I hope you are not in competition with Oxfam.SimonStClare said:
Congratulations on your new venture Mr Mortimer and wish you the best of luck.Mortimer said:
Having just opened my first shop, this is good news.Richard_Nabavi said:Good retail figures, sentiment (at least amongst consumers) seems to be good.
Not that rare books make up much of the retail figures, I'm sure!
It's much more charitymafia controlled than just awarding yourself a massive salary and waiting for the taxpayer funding to roll in.
Oxfam has an approx £20m a year book business, with ~100 specialist shops.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfam_bookshops
And an online book outlet, including eg antiquarian
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/books/antiquarian-rare-collectable?i=1;m_results_per_page=100;m_sort_shops=listprice_desc;q=*;q1=Books;q2=Antiquarian,+rare+&+collectable;show_all=products;sp_s=productcreationdate;x1=secondary_cat_1;x2=secondary_cat_2&gid=&owner=
And a big ebay book operation:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/Oxfam/15817?catId=267&ps=16&so=5&pn=1
And the usual charity tax shelters and free staff etc.
(Yes, this is a bee in my bonnet)
When I worked on a Saturday in a general shop an oft repeated comment after an offer of £20 or £25 for a box or two of vaguely boring books was 'oh, is that all? I think I'll give them to Oxfam then'.
Also x2 on the Oxfam bookshops putting proper bookshops out of business. Frustrates the XX out of me. Funnily enough, I recently bought a book from Amazon and it came straight from a bookseller in Hay (can't remember the name) so I hope that Amazon's marketplace can be a good thing for you.
We've been in business nearly a decade - selling online without a shop - but one came up locally, the rent was reasonable and if nothing else it is a larger office with a nice shop front in an Anglo Saxon walled town. A pleasant place to do a fabulously enjoyable job....
Our antiquarian books don't quite work on Amazon. Though I did once buy a 1580s works of William Tyndale from an American seller on it. That was fun!0 -
The propeller driven train was also prototyped in the UK (it bankrupted the designer).wasd said:
The Americans and Russian's tried that. The Germans (before the war) tried sticking a huge propeller on the back of a train but gave up on it once they figured out it would be a pain to reverse and stood a reasonable change of occasionally shredding the odd platform passenger.Patrick said:However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
'Bennie Railplane'
http://tinyurl.com/zmgmabz
0 -
I agree with that. At A level in the early 1970s I felt seriously held back by having no subjects in which I was really interested . My school did not offer Economics , Modern History or Government & Politics so I ended up being stuck with English , French and History (though this related to the Tudor and Stuart periods).Morris_Dancer said:Mr. 124, worth noting also that being poor at one set of qualifications doesn't always translate to the next set. I got reasonably good GCSEs, reasonably atrocious A-levels, and then a reasonably good degree classification.
0 -
The UK’s biggest commercial TV company will stop broadcasting for one hour on Saturday, 27th August, as thousands of sports clubs take part in the post-Olympic event.
ITV will switch off all seven of its channels from 9.30am, and will have an on-screen message saying: “We’ve gone running – why don’t you join us?”
Is this a spoof? Rather amusingly the BBC have linked to the wrong article about this in the live feed...they had linked to Simon Jenkins Olymipic hate-athon one instead.0 -
more likely one of the other twoPlatoSaid said:
Gordon Jackson?dugarbandier said:
CI5, no doubtFrancisUrquhart said:
LOL...It seems a couple of regulars on here have quite enjoyed the Corbynista date experience.MaxPB said:
Would you want to date a Corbynista who doesn't shower and wants to live in a commune?FrancisUrquhart said:
I have to say I am shocked how few people are using that service. Obviously there are loads of competition in the dating apps / website market, but I kinda of presumed that Guardian soulmates would have more than a few 1000.FrankBooth said:Just been on Guardian Soulmates - no sniggering at the back. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that for ladies in the appropriate age range just 12 showed up within 20 miles of Cardiff. Now that seemed very low. So I decided to search elsewhere. I was a little staggered by the results. These are the numbers for each location (within 20 miles).
London - 2100
Manchester - 91
Bristol - 78
Brighton - 58
Birmingham -52
Cardiff - 12
There were about 3000 total in the UK of which 2100 were in and around London. Are soulmates typical of Guardian readers as a whole? Hard to say but it's a reasonable assumption. Now I'd always assumed you would have a disproportionate number of Guardianistas in places like London but to this extent? The age range was 23-37.
Now there are those like Simon Wren Lewis (academic economist and prolific blogger) who thinks that cities like London represent the new core vote of the Labour party. The Guardian might be a good identifier for such a person. Are they really numerous enough to form the core vote of a major party? 0 -
I'm told that gardens are surprisingly heavy!Luckyguy1983 said:
Is there not a way the actual structure of it could be simpler and less expensive? The point of it (it seems to me) being the garden rather than the bridge.Charles said:
Your continued complaint is that cyclists have to push their bikes. It's not designed for cyclists.JosiasJessop said:
No Charles.Charles said:
It has a purpose but is not targetted to your particular interests so you don't value that.
I love the countryside. I love engineering. I like grand projects. I love London's parks, which are the capital's under-appreciated jewels.
You will see me raving (*) about these topics all too often on PB.
Yet despite all that, I am against the Garden Bridge. Perhaps you should ask yourself if I am right, instead of continuing to defend the indefensible.
(*) In all sense of the term.
This is privately funded*, open to the public and creating a new landmark for London. It doesn't do everything but it's a good improvement for the area.
but we won't agree and I suspect just rehersing the same argument will bore everyone else
* No additional public money is being spent on it that would not have been spent on Temple Tube.0 -
According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.0
-
Mr. 124, I sympathise on the subjects. I wanted to do German, Latin and Classical Civilisation but could only take one (went with German). Meanwhile, French was mandatory. Zut alors!0
-
Ipsos Mori
wave of public gloom about the economy following Brexit has eased off, a new poll reveals today.
Researchers found that Britons are markedly less pessimistic than they were in the days after the surprise vote to leave the European Union.
The findings by Ipsos MORI come in the same week unemployment fell by 52,000 and London’s pubs and restaurants reported a rise in takings.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/public-less-gloomy-about-brexit-as-confidence-in-nation-s-economy-grows-a3323531.html0 -
@CultureHouse: Luvvie anger over Brexit is palpable at Edinburgh https://t.co/vb0ipBn1hZ https://t.co/npKDyBZSMh0
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Budleigh Salterton is like a morgue.FrankBooth said:According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.
0 -
Sean_F said:
Budleigh Salterton is like a morgue.FrankBooth said:According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.
Good croquet lawns there.
0 -
It is coming out in the drop in sterling, outside that thankfully the effects have been limited thus far.TheScreamingEagles said:Ipsos Mori
wave of public gloom about the economy following Brexit has eased off, a new poll reveals today.
Researchers found that Britons are markedly less pessimistic than they were in the days after the surprise vote to leave the European Union.
The findings by Ipsos MORI come in the same week unemployment fell by 52,000 and London’s pubs and restaurants reported a rise in takings.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/public-less-gloomy-about-brexit-as-confidence-in-nation-s-economy-grows-a3323531.html0 -
At my 50’s Grammar School, in the A&B streams we had to make a choice at the end of Third Year; Arts or Science. Everyone did English, Maths and French and either German or Spanish, but Arts IVth meant also doing History, Latin and Geography, and dropping all Sciences, while the Science side did Biology, Chemistry and Physics.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. 124, I sympathise on the subjects. I wanted to do German, Latin and Classical Civilisation but could only take one (went with German). Meanwhile, French was mandatory. Zut alors!
I never heard of anyone being able to swap streams, even when going into the VIth.0 -
Mr. P, good link, and I think Evans is right to say that one of the reasons actors, actresses and so forth flounder so badly when they try and offer political opinions is that their approach doesn't seem tailored to those they want to influence, but an echo of what they've probably said (to approval) in private, to their friends.0
-
I machined some of the gears for the Rover JET1 when I was an engineering apprentice at Archdales Ltd in 1963/4.JosiasJessop said:
During the war, we had trouble productionising the early jet engines. The government gave the project to Rover, who, AIUI, didn't do very well either.wasd said:
The Americans and Russian's tried that. The Germans (before the war) tried sticking a huge propeller on the back of a train but gave up on it once they figured out it would be a pain to reverse and stood a reasonable change of occasionally shredding the odd platform passenger.Patrick said:However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Jets_W.2
But it did result in the Rover Jet-1 car:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_JET10 -
Interesting to read the discussions above on forced choices at A-level.
There does seem to be much to be said for changing schools under such circumstances if it is possible, which with hindsight is what I should probably have done.0 -
@Scott_P
'CultureHouse: Luvvie anger over Brexit is palpable at Edinburgh https://t.co/vb0ipBn1hZ https://t.co/npKDyBZSMh'
How sad is that ?
0 -
Sounds a very suitable place for the writer of a book called 'Bring up the Bodies' then!Sean_F said:
Budleigh Salterton is like a morgue.FrankBooth said:According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.
0 -
There is so much to mock about the EU Referendum campaign, it should be a home run of funny...but calling those who voted for one side c##ts and blowing a horn shouldn't be part of it.0
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I've never visited somewhere that was so quiet. You could have heard a pin drop at lunchtime.ydoethur said:
Sounds a very suitable place for the writer of a book called 'Bring up the Bodies' then!Sean_F said:
Budleigh Salterton is like a morgue.FrankBooth said:According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.
0 -
So was the GT-3, which looked just like a steam loco!JosiasJessop said:
How about a propeller-driven train?Patrick said:I would have thought a vacuum tunnel is a non-starter. This is essentially Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept. T'is bollocks on stilts.
But..I'd have thought putting a large ducted fan at the front piping air to thrust nozzles at the back would solve the 'slower in tunnels' problem. (Just not maybe at an effective cost or energy demand overall). However the idea of a train with a jet engine on its front appeals to me at a simple level!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin
The APT-E was powered by jet (gas) turbines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_GT3
http://www.enuii.com/vulcan_foundry/oddities/gt3.htm0 -
Russian boxer Vladimir Nikitin, who won a highly controversial decision over Ireland's Michael Conlan in Tuesday's Olympic quarter-final, is reportedly set to withdraw from the competition because of injuries sustained so far at Rio 2016.0
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This is quite funny:john_zims said:@Scott_P
'CultureHouse: Luvvie anger over Brexit is palpable at Edinburgh https://t.co/vb0ipBn1hZ https://t.co/npKDyBZSMh'
How sad is that ?
I spent four days immersed in comedy shows and I heard only one pro-Brexit gag. The excellent Geoff Norcott said he was puzzled to meet Remainers who told him the result had been swung by ‘thick’ Leave voters. ‘Thick?’ he said. ‘The Remain campaign waited until after 23 June to stage their street protest.’0 -
excellent July retail figures today-and anyone who's been out and about in London knows August is going to be even better. I can't see how the economy is going to show a slowdown despite the Markit sentiment reports- I pridict third quarter growth of 0.6% in October that might be a little optimistic given the sudden fall in sterling but I'll stick to it given the massivee proportion the services sector is a nd the feel good factor of the brexit Olympics awell.
Quote me on this in Oct 0.6% quarter on quarter.0 -
Not surprised. He was battered by Conlan and yet he was given the victory.FrancisUrquhart said:Russian boxer Vladimir Nikitin, who won a highly controversial decision over Ireland's Michael Conlan in Tuesday's Olympic quarter-final, is reportedly set to withdraw from the competition because of injuries sustained so far at Rio 2016.
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Sean T came up with a nice description for luvvie politics "the correct mix of posturing anger and lip-quivering anguish."john_zims said:@Scott_P
'CultureHouse: Luvvie anger over Brexit is palpable at Edinburgh https://t.co/vb0ipBn1hZ https://t.co/npKDyBZSMh'
How sad is that ?0 -
Mr. Urquhart, quite. It's "You've voted wrong!" and little else.
Obnoxiousness and mockery can be amusing *cough*buyTheAdventuresofSirEdric*cough* but by themselves they're not. There has to be some sort of insight, or pointing out the ridiculous. Just pointing at some voters and angrily denouncing them for doing democracy wrong says more about the denouncer than the denounced.0 -
Why would Pasty Scott think this important?john_zims said:@Scott_P
'CultureHouse: Luvvie anger over Brexit is palpable at Edinburgh https://t.co/vb0ipBn1hZ https://t.co/npKDyBZSMh'
How sad is that ?
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I think the fall in sterling has certainly provided a cushion. Many more people than usual are spending their holidays at home (no doubt also in part to political instability in some popular destinations).nunu said:excellent July retail figures today-and anyone who's been out and about in London knows August is going to be even better. I can't see how the economy is going to show a slowdown despite the Markit sentiment reports- I pridict third quarter growth of 0.6% in October that might be a little optimistic given the sudden fall in sterling but I'll stick to it given the massivee proportion the services sector is a nd the feel good factor of the brexit Olympics awell.
Quote me on this in Oct 0.6% quarter on quarter.0 -
Mr Dancer, I did French (mandatory) and German at GCSE level too! The other "humanities" I chose were History and Computer Studies.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. 124, I sympathise on the subjects. I wanted to do German, Latin and Classical Civilisation but could only take one (went with German). Meanwhile, French was mandatory. Zut alors!
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The nearest I've been is Exeter, where I heard their church choir singing in the Cathedral (at lunchtime). It was quite a good choir although not as good as the one I was in at the time.Sean_F said:
I've never visited somewhere that was so quiet. You could have heard a pin drop at lunchtime.ydoethur said:
Sounds a very suitable place for the writer of a book called 'Bring up the Bodies' then!Sean_F said:
Budleigh Salterton is like a morgue.FrankBooth said:According to wikipedia one of he residents of Budleigh Salterton is Hilary (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) Mantel. The trouble is that if these places are nice and word gets around they will always attract a few retired Guardianistas. I think it's a bit of a myth that the fashionable left all want to live in the big smoke.
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At my grammar school from Year Three onward I was in the science stream but still did French, Latin and German.OldKingCole said:
At my 50’s Grammar School, in the A&B streams we had to make a choice at the end of Third Year; Arts or Science. Everyone did English, Maths and French and either German or Spanish, but Arts IVth meant also doing History, Latin and Geography, and dropping all Sciences, while the Science side did Biology, Chemistry and Physics.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. 124, I sympathise on the subjects. I wanted to do German, Latin and Classical Civilisation but could only take one (went with German). Meanwhile, French was mandatory. Zut alors!
I never heard of anyone being able to swap streams, even when going into the VIth.
When choosing 'O' level subjects we were given the option of Latin or History and everyone chose Latin (great teacher). As the Headmaster was going to teach the history form he changed the rules so history was made compulsory and we then had to choose between Latin and Geography. I chose Geography.0
