politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The build up to the May 22nd elections
politicalbetting.com is proudly powered by WordPress
with "Neat!" theme. Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).
Comments
-
COYS!0
-
FPT
@AndyJS
I was thinking of visiting either Copenhagen or Helsinki next weekend.
Might be a bit warmer than here.
Andy
You should combine Stockholm and Helsinki, transferring by overnight ferry (either the Viking or Silja lines, the debate as to which is best is endless). Leaves Stockholm at 6.00 pm and arrives in Helsinki around 8.00 am. On a fine day in May, passing through the Stockholm archipelago gives an opportunity to view one of the wonders of the Northern world. Food, entertainment and passengers all fun and Baltic crossings are almost always smooth.
Stay overnight in Stockholm in the old town (Gamla Stan) which has some relatively cheap small hotels (the most famous being the Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton and Victory trio but pricier than others).
In Helsinki, stay in a small central hotel near Esplanadi or along/behind the run of Mannerheimintie between the Central railway station and Stockmanns department store. A interesting choice would be Hotel Torni, which has an interesting history and was favoured by Lee Harvey Oswald in his transit to Moscow.
If you are feeling rich, an alternative could be the Hotel Kalastajatorppa. This is outside the centre of Helsinki and set on the sea shore with the best traditional (urban) sauna in Finland.
Very minimalist but luxurious.
My advice would be to make it a long weekend or even a week, then you could spend more time in Stockholm and take a 40 minute sea crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia.
As always with the Nordic countries you need to keep an eye on costs but pre-booking and shopping around should keep the trip affordable.0 -
@BobaFett
I'm not talking about American Football - I accept that is a uniquely US thing. Baseball and basketball are, however, games that lots of people play seriously, but would still lose badly to the US. Ice hockey, Canada can compete with the US, but that's not enough for an international competition.
But anyway, this whole debate is pointless, because more countries playing a sport doesn't make it a better sport any more than more people listening to Katy Perry makes her a better musical artist than Bob Dylan.0 -
LD MP Mike Hancock is standing for the Fratton ward on Portsmouth City Council as an independent rather than a LD.0
-
Just want to say this makes me really want to visit.AveryLP said:FPT
@AndyJS
I was thinking of visiting either Copenhagen or Helsinki next weekend.
Might be a bit warmer than here.
Andy
You should combine Stockholm and Helsinki, transferring by overnight ferry (either the Viking or Silja lines, the debate as to which is best is endless). Leaves Stockholm at 6.00 pm and arrives in Helsinki around 8.00 am. On a fine day in May, passing through the Stockholm archipelago gives an opportunity to view one of the wonders of the Northern world. Food, entertainment and passengers all fun and Baltic crossings are almost always smooth.
Stay overnight in Stockholm in the old town (Gamla Stan) which has some relatively cheap small hotels (the most famous being the Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton and Victory trio but pricier than others).
In Helsinki, stay in a small central hotel near Esplanadi or along/behind the run of Mannerheimintie between the Central railway station and Stockmanns department store. A interesting choice would be Hotel Torni, which has an interesting history and was favoured by Lee Harvey Oswald in his transit to Moscow.
If you are feeling rich, an alternative could be the Hotel Kalastajatorppa. This is outside the centre of Helsinki and set on the sea shore with the best traditional (urban) sauna in Finland.
Very minimalist but luxurious.
My advice would be to make it a long weekend or even a week, then you could spend more time in Stockholm and take a 40 minute sea crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia.
As always with the Nordic countries you need to keep an eye on costs but pre-booking and shopping around should keep the trip affordable.
0 -
The locals are notorious for bestiality.SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
0 -
Mr. T, if there's a dinky island or two there's a reasonable chance some significant historical figures (Postumus, Augustus'' daughter Julia, or whatever she was called etc) being exiled there. Romans quite enjoyed exiling naughty persons to tiny little islands.0
-
Google search for: [sea caves aeolian islands]SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
Looks like it would be fun.0 -
Helsinki - Was there a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. You need deep pockets for food and drink though. Had a good meal and craft beer at Bryggeri in the city centre.0
-
Naughty family mainly wasn't it that were exiled, others met more gruesome fates such as being hurled from the Tarpeian rock.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. T, if there's a dinky island or two there's a reasonable chance some significant historical figures (Postumus, Augustus'' daughter Julia, or whatever she was called etc) being exiled there. Romans quite enjoyed exiling naughty persons to tiny little islands.
0 -
SeanT said:
ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
(cough) – Do you have a similar view to plagiarism as Johann Hari ?
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/mar/30/italy.europe0 -
From a popular travel guide website:
There’s plenty of fun to be had in Aeolian waters. At Panarea you can snorkel over the submerged foundations of a Roman port, and columns of pulsing bubbles around the majestically sculpted islets, or take an easy dive (12–20m) to see what appears to be a submarine snow-storm – the water is full of blobs of a weird white bacteria that grows on sulphur and has the consistency of eggwhite. Also off Panarea are the remains of a British cargo ship deliberately sunk during the Depression as an insurance scam – for the past fifteen years it has been inhabited by a giant fish (about 80kg).
It could also be an, er, interesting place to do some sailing. Little low pressure cyclones can develop in the western Mediterranean with comparatively little warning.
Alternatively, head to the Salinan village of Pollara, where a giant offshore crater offers easy diving with lots to see, or explore the wreck of a Roman ship off Filicudi; a rope guides you down to the archeological area – a true underwater museum. It is also a beautiful dive, with lots of fish and fascinating rock formations.
The islands’ most professional diving outfit is Amphibia, with bases at the ports of Panarea and Salina (amphibia.it).
Read more: http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/italy/sicily/tyrrhenian-coast/aeolian-islands/#ixzz31bb7WnAl0 -
@SeanT never been there but Il Postino was shot on Salina, that should be good for 100 words!0
-
I can feel the next Tom Knox novel coming on.
An ancient horror still lurking in the sea caves of the Aeolian islands. ST Coleridge immolating himself by stuffing his Aeolian harp violently up his own bottom. A villainous, swarthy Italian villain who can speak perfect English apart from complex words such as "yes" ("Now I will shove my sharpened harp up your arse. And then you die. Si?")0 -
SeanT - I visited a couple of the Aeolians last year. You can bathe in stinking mud (smell is yuck), see some ancient mausoleums and other remains and (although we didn't) see the glow of Stromboli at dusk from a boat. On the boat back to Sicily some dolphins were riding the bow wave. So a good day out.0
-
You could wax lyrical about Jules Verne?SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?0 -
0
-
Well that should account for 2350 of the 2500 words needed.Sean_F said:
The locals are notorious for bestiality.SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
0 -
Mr. Jim, indeed, although didn't Tarpeia betray her father (gate commander), so family could be brutally executed as well?
Mind you, crucifying dogs was probably the most horrific things the Romans did (after dogs failed to warn of Gauls approaching, unlike geese).
Welcome to pb.com, Mrs Erdleigh.
Edited extra bit: incidentally, the Tarpeian Rock is a rare example of something I learnt about classical history at school, rather than afterwards.0 -
If in the US then try to go to a college or High School football game, much better than the professional leagues as it does not constantly stop for the TV adverts.
Baseball is good also, like cricket a game for statisticians, but faster paced.
I like many things about America but would not want to live there again
"in America they have three cities: New York, San Francisco and all the rest are Cincinnatti!"Socrates said:@BobaFett
I'm not talking about American Football - I accept that is a uniquely US thing. Baseball and basketball are, however, games that lots of people play seriously, but would still lose badly to the US. Ice hockey, Canada can compete with the US, but that's not enough for an international competition.
But anyway, this whole debate is pointless, because more countries playing a sport doesn't make it a better sport any more than more people listening to Katy Perry makes her a better musical artist than Bob Dylan.0 -
I have just read in Forbes article that 300 million Chinese participate in basketball now and viewership is 450 million, and the sport in India is growing rapidly.Socrates said:@BobaFett
I'm not talking about American Football - I accept that is a uniquely US thing. Baseball and basketball are, however, games that lots of people play seriously, but would still lose badly to the US. Ice hockey, Canada can compete with the US, but that's not enough for an international competition.
But anyway, this whole debate is pointless, because more countries playing a sport doesn't make it a better sport any more than more people listening to Katy Perry makes her a better musical artist than Bob Dylan.
Now I call BS on those figures, but what isn't the case is that it just one or two blokes in China are sitting at their computers trying to find a stream of the NBA.
I should also say, that I bloody hate basketball, just pointing out that despite world tournaments of basketball not being a big deal, as a sport it is much more than just a US game.0 -
I have been there, I went on holiday to Lipari in 2012 with my ex girlfriend.She had a friend living there.SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
Unfortunately the ex was a TOWIE lover who just wanted to sunbathe round the pool, look pretty and totter about in high heels... refused to go on the boat trip to Stromboli, which is apparently the highlight, and I spent most of the time trying not to notice red blooded sicilian men gawping at her
I ended up getting pissed and watching Euro 2012 most nights and the only fireworks were the humongous rows we had!
We did go to Volcano, where the blacksand beach is. An awful smell on that island, with lots of people rolling around in the sulphur pool, but relatively interesting
Not much happening in Lipari
" just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it. " seems to sum it up!
There is an island that Berlusconi and his cronies go to, no cars allowed, everyone on scooters... I think its Panarea.. Id head there if I were you
0 -
Poena Cullei was pretty gruesome as well. Not to mention the popular re-enactment of the story of Pasiphae's infatuation with a bull, in the Arena.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Jim, indeed, although didn't Tarpeia betray her father (gate commander), so family could be brutally executed as well?
Mind you, crucifying dogs was probably the most horrific things the Romans did (after dogs failed to warn of Gauls approaching, unlike geese).
Welcome to pb.com, Mrs Erdleigh.
Edited extra bit: incidentally, the Tarpeian Rock is a rare example of something I learnt about classical history at school, rather than afterwards.
0 -
@SeantT
Great places for walking and also diving. June will be the start of the season for the 'beautiful and rich' people.
These islands have been fought over many times - lots of history - could spend a week there easily if one can afford it - with your own yacht/boat/canoe etc is best.
0 -
Yes she opened the gates for the Sabines, on the promise of their golden bracelets. Having gained entry though the Sabines killed her and buried her in the rock.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Jim, indeed, although didn't Tarpeia betray her father (gate commander), so family could be brutally executed as well?
Mind you, crucifying dogs was probably the most horrific things the Romans did (after dogs failed to warn of Gauls approaching, unlike geese).
Welcome to pb.com, Mrs Erdleigh.
Edited extra bit: incidentally, the Tarpeian Rock is a rare example of something I learnt about classical history at school, rather than afterwards.
0 -
Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.0 -
The Mash is almost too good on Miliband...
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/polls-are-just-an-indication-of-how-people-intend-to-vote-says-miliband-20140513865280 -
Mr. F, not sure I'd heard the bull story, though the donkey one I had.
Was Pasiphae Minos' wife?
Mr. Jim, was she crushed beneath the weight of shields, by any chance?0 -
Royal College of GP's claiming Labour's numbers don't add up on 48hr pledge.
“It’s around £10,000 per practice. That’s a welcome start. It certainly won’t go anywhere near employing more nurses, more GPs.”....Providing a "proper general practice service" would mean increasing the GPs' share of the NHS budget from 8 per cent to 11 per cent, at a cost of £3 billion, said Dr Baker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/10826715/Labour-48-hour-GP-plan-would-cost-30-times-more-than-promised.html
£10k per practice is chicken feed, you couldn't get another part-time receptionist to make the appointments for that in some parts of the country.
I presume Labour say it also comes from saving at A&E, and GP union are always going to say but we need more. I think that is probably impossible to quantify until you have actually implemented it.
0 -
Yes. According to Martial, it was popular entertainment to watch a female criminal being ravished by a bull.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. F, not sure I'd heard the bull story, though the donkey one I had.
Was Pasiphae Minos' wife?
Mr. Jim, was she crushed beneath the weight of shields, by any chance?
0 -
Mr Dancer yup.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. F, not sure I'd heard the bull story, though the donkey one I had.
Was Pasiphae Minos' wife?
Mr. Jim, was she crushed beneath the weight of shields, by any chance?0 -
-
Mr. F, I'm not sure the Roman justice system was necessarily in accordance with current thinking on health and safety.
That said, just imagine if the kind of robust, slightly mental patriotism the Romans had in the Second Punic War were part of Britain today. That's the thing I admire most about the Romans. Hannibal slaughtered almost 80,000 of their men (after wiping out two full consular armies shortly beforehand) and they sold the field it happened on for the full market price.0 -
Wow. There are criminals in Europe too. Big deal.isam said:0 -
Roman justice would largely be illegal under European law, involving as it did multiple execution methods and various forms of corporal punishment. Of course damnatio memoriae would be impractical in the internet age.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. F, I'm not sure the Roman justice system was necessarily in accordance with current thinking on health and safety.
That said, just imagine if the kind of robust, slightly mental patriotism the Romans had in the Second Punic War were part of Britain today. That's the thing I admire most about the Romans. Hannibal slaughtered almost 80,000 of their men (after wiping out two full consular armies shortly beforehand) and they sold the field it happened on for the full market price.
0 -
I was mucking about, no need to get your PC knickers in a twistJosiasJessop said:
Wow. There are criminals in Europe too. Big deal.isam said:0 -
From that article:FrancisUrquhart said:Royal College of GP's claiming Labour's numbers don't add up on 48hr pledge.
“It’s around £10,000 per practice. That’s a welcome start. It certainly won’t go anywhere near employing more nurses, more GPs.”....Providing a "proper general practice service" would mean increasing the GPs' share of the NHS budget from 8 per cent to 11 per cent, at a cost of £3 billion, said Dr Baker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/10826715/Labour-48-hour-GP-plan-would-cost-30-times-more-than-promised.html
£10k per practice is chicken feed, you couldn't get another part-time receptionist to make the appointments for that in some parts of the country.
I presume Labour say it also comes from saving at A&E, and GP union are always going to say but we need more. I think that is probably impossible to quantify until you have actually implemented it.
"Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said he did not accept the figures and said Labour’s plans are “clear and costed”."
£10k per GP practice equates to less than £7k in pay for extra staff (once you lop off the usual third on-costs for public sector employment). How many extra Doctors is the average practice going to find for £7k? If there are no extra doctors how is the 48 hour rule going to work? Is Burnham off in la-la land again? He does seem to have this idea that if he says it then it must be true but objective reality does keep sticking its oar in.0 -
Mr. Jim, indeed. One suspects the Romans under Trajan or Aurelian would have had a more robust response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, however.0
-
"Clear and costed" clearly means opaque and unfunded in BurnhameseHurstLlama said:
From that article:FrancisUrquhart said:Royal College of GP's claiming Labour's numbers don't add up on 48hr pledge.
“It’s around £10,000 per practice. That’s a welcome start. It certainly won’t go anywhere near employing more nurses, more GPs.”....Providing a "proper general practice service" would mean increasing the GPs' share of the NHS budget from 8 per cent to 11 per cent, at a cost of £3 billion, said Dr Baker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/10826715/Labour-48-hour-GP-plan-would-cost-30-times-more-than-promised.html
£10k per practice is chicken feed, you couldn't get another part-time receptionist to make the appointments for that in some parts of the country.
I presume Labour say it also comes from saving at A&E, and GP union are always going to say but we need more. I think that is probably impossible to quantify until you have actually implemented it.
"Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said he did not accept the figures and said Labour’s plans are “clear and costed”."
£10k per GP practice equates to less than £7k in pay for extra staff (once you lop off the usual third on-costs for public sector employment). How many extra Doctors is the average practice going to find for £7k? If there are no extra doctors how is the 48 hour rule going to work? Is Burnham off in la-la land again? He does seem to have this idea that if he says it then it must be true but objective reality does keep sticking its oar in.0 -
(fx: checks): no, no PC knickers here, twisted or otherwise.isam said:
I was mucking about, no need to get your PC knickers in a twistJosiasJessop said:
Wow. There are criminals in Europe too. Big deal.isam said:0 -
Pathetic effort, they should've asked for a premium for the bone-meal content: google "waterloo bones fertilizer".Morris_Dancer said:Mr. F, I'm not sure the Roman justice system was necessarily in accordance with current thinking on health and safety.
That said, just imagine if the kind of robust, slightly mental patriotism the Romans had in the Second Punic War were part of Britain today. That's the thing I admire most about the Romans. Hannibal slaughtered almost 80,000 of their men (after wiping out two full consular armies shortly beforehand) and they sold the field it happened on for the full market price.
0 -
I vowed never to use BT again in 2001, so I switched to NTL, who were then bought by Virgin Media.antifrank said:Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.
I vowed never to use Virgin Media again in 2007, so I switched to TalkTalk.
When we move later in the year I have vowed that we will not use TalkTalk. My mother would never speak to me again were I to engage the services of the Sky lot.
As a consequence we are considering doing without a fixed line connection, though it is possible we will join the Phone co-op.
0 -
I think most of the better Emperors would have. One only need look at Vespasian's handling of the Jewish revolt. Effectively dispossesing a people of their land for nearly 1900 years.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Jim, indeed. One suspects the Romans under Trajan or Aurelian would have had a more robust response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, however.
0 -
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:0 -
Okay - it's taken us all afternoon - apologies for the delay. Me and my Gf have got our combined travel to publish - sorry if it's boring.
France - fell off a canoe
Copenhagen - weed available
Amsterdam - weed available
Tenerife - direct flights from abz, timeshares, beer and fun
USA - good food
Paris - good graffiti in the Eiffel tower loos
Czech - skiing
Austria - skiing
Italy - skiing
Zurich - [censored]0 -
£8k + on cost would buy 1 salaried GP's session per week, which would be (at best) 20 x 10 minute appointments. That's just not going to make a dent in it.HurstLlama said:
From that article:FrancisUrquhart said:Royal College of GP's claiming Labour's numbers don't add up on 48hr pledge.
“It’s around £10,000 per practice. That’s a welcome start. It certainly won’t go anywhere near employing more nurses, more GPs.”....Providing a "proper general practice service" would mean increasing the GPs' share of the NHS budget from 8 per cent to 11 per cent, at a cost of £3 billion, said Dr Baker.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/10826715/Labour-48-hour-GP-plan-would-cost-30-times-more-than-promised.html
£10k per practice is chicken feed, you couldn't get another part-time receptionist to make the appointments for that in some parts of the country.
I presume Labour say it also comes from saving at A&E, and GP union are always going to say but we need more. I think that is probably impossible to quantify until you have actually implemented it.
"Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said he did not accept the figures and said Labour’s plans are “clear and costed”."
£10k per GP practice equates to less than £7k in pay for extra staff (once you lop off the usual third on-costs for public sector employment). How many extra Doctors is the average practice going to find for £7k? If there are no extra doctors how is the 48 hour rule going to work? Is Burnham off in la-la land again? He does seem to have this idea that if he says it then it must be true but objective reality does keep sticking its oar in.
The problem is not the money, it's that there are just not the available qualified GPs to do the work.
RCGP is not the GPs' union, incidentally (that's the BMA, and there is very little cross-fertilisation). RCGP is concerned with quality of provision.
0 -
Burnham's latest offer should perhaps be seen through the prism of the NHS IT project.
The failed project cost £12.4 billion (it was expected to cost £2.3 bn) (1). It has lasted ten years, which gives £1.2 bn a year roughly.
There are 7,960 GP practices (2). This means that if Labour had never gone ahead with that accursed scheme, each practice could have had an extra £150,000 every year.
Instead the money was poured into the pockets of massive, mostly foreign, IT companies.
Okay, these are very vague estimates and I know some parts of the system were eventually delivered, but the cost was staggering.
(1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health#Costs
(2): http://www.nhsconfed.org/priorities/political-engagement/Pages/NHS-statistics.aspx0 -
Whoa this is possibly significant, ICC investigating claims of abuse of Iraqi's by UK service personnel. First ever investigation by the ICC into the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-273976950 -
I thought I heard right this morning!FrancisUrquhart said:Royal College of GP's claiming Labour's numbers don't add up on 48hr pledge.......a cost of £3 billion....
But then I thought No! Surely it was 300 million - and Labour are out by a factor of 'only' 3, surely?
It can't possibly be by a factor of 30!
0 -
0
-
That really is a baffling point of view that lefty UKIP haters take.. because UKIP want a stop to mass immigration, they "have" to discriminate against any immigrants already here or else they are hypocrites.MarkSenior said:
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:
If they did that, there would rightfully be uproar. I for one wouldnt vote for them if they refused to have anything to do with immigrants that are legitimately in this country.
I almost feel sorry for leftys that take this view.. so desperate to paint anyone who wants to control immigration as a racist xenophobe that they get upset when the truth is outed...
I guess its understandable given the polling
0 -
They are owned by BT, which I believe OP doesn't want to touch with a barge pole.RodCrosby said:@OblitusSumMe
try Plusnet. Pretty good.
0 -
And I still can't book an appointment online for my GP....JosiasJessop said:Burnham's latest offer should perhaps be seen through the prism of the NHS IT project.
The failed project cost £12.4 billion (it was expected to cost £2.3 bn) (1). It has lasted ten years, which gives £1.2 bn a year roughly.
There are 7,960 GP practices (2). This means that if Labour had never gone ahead with that accursed scheme, each practice could have had an extra £150,000 every year.
Instead the money was poured into the pockets of massive, mostly foreign, IT companies.
Okay, these are very vague estimates and I know some parts of the system were eventually delivered, but the cost was staggering.
(1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Connecting_for_Health#Costs
(2): http://www.nhsconfed.org/priorities/political-engagement/Pages/NHS-statistics.aspx0 -
If you believe the naysayers, you might be able to buy a run-down wee cottage in Scotland for an armful of empty Irn Bru bottles if Scotland votes Yes.SeanT said:
Yeah. Too right. I've gone off the whole buying abroad thing. Too much hassle, and I get all my holidays free, anyway. What's the point? I'd never visit. I'd do it if I had so much money it didn't matter if I lost £200k, but I don't.old_labour said:
At the moment my cash is just squatting in my account like a toad, but I will move it soon. And it won't be into Algarvian property.0 -
Interesting timing - a rat leaving a sinking ship.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/13/ukips-ethnic-minority-poster-girl-quits-party-citing-racism/#comments
Farage kept on saying that UKIP was not a racist party, but perhaps the message was not getting through.0 -
Thanks for the advice Avery.AveryLP said:FPT
@AndyJS
I was thinking of visiting either Copenhagen or Helsinki next weekend.
Might be a bit warmer than here.
Andy
You should combine Stockholm and Helsinki, transferring by overnight ferry (either the Viking or Silja lines, the debate as to which is best is endless). Leaves Stockholm at 6.00 pm and arrives in Helsinki around 8.00 am. On a fine day in May, passing through the Stockholm archipelago gives an opportunity to view one of the wonders of the Northern world. Food, entertainment and passengers all fun and Baltic crossings are almost always smooth.
Stay overnight in Stockholm in the old town (Gamla Stan) which has some relatively cheap small hotels (the most famous being the Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton and Victory trio but pricier than others).
In Helsinki, stay in a small central hotel near Esplanadi or along/behind the run of Mannerheimintie between the Central railway station and Stockmanns department store. A interesting choice would be Hotel Torni, which has an interesting history and was favoured by Lee Harvey Oswald in his transit to Moscow.
If you are feeling rich, an alternative could be the Hotel Kalastajatorppa. This is outside the centre of Helsinki and set on the sea shore with the best traditional (urban) sauna in Finland.
Very minimalist but luxurious.
My advice would be to make it a long weekend or even a week, then you could spend more time in Stockholm and take a 40 minute sea crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia.
As always with the Nordic countries you need to keep an eye on costs but pre-booking and shopping around should keep the trip affordable.0 -
It is strange how people's experience differs. We have had a fixed line from BT since we moved in (1991). We have been with Plus Net for internet access since they took over Force9 (somewhere back in the 1990s). We have never chased the deal but just stayed with the people who were providing a good service at reasonable cost. We have had the occasional hiccup, none of which have lasted more than 24 hours, and gone from 56k dial-up to 34mbs fibre to the cabinet whilst, in real terms, the costs have gone down.OblitusSumMe said:
I vowed never to use BT again in 2001, so I switched to NTL, who were then bought by Virgin Media.antifrank said:Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.
I vowed never to use Virgin Media again in 2007, so I switched to TalkTalk.
When we move later in the year I have vowed that we will not use TalkTalk. My mother would never speak to me again were I to engage the services of the Sky lot.
As a consequence we are considering doing without a fixed line connection, though it is possible we will join the Phone co-op.
Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.0 -
BT were supposed to be installing superfast broadband tomorrow, but they've put it back to next week. Still in time for the local elections, just about — as long as they don't delay it again.OblitusSumMe said:
I vowed never to use BT again in 2001, so I switched to NTL, who were then bought by Virgin Media.antifrank said:Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.
I vowed never to use Virgin Media again in 2007, so I switched to TalkTalk.
When we move later in the year I have vowed that we will not use TalkTalk. My mother would never speak to me again were I to engage the services of the Sky lot.
As a consequence we are considering doing without a fixed line connection, though it is possible we will join the Phone co-op.0 -
well I never knew that!FrancisUrquhart said:
They are owned by BT, which I believe OP doesn't want to touch with a barge pole.RodCrosby said:@OblitusSumMe
try Plusnet. Pretty good.0 -
You just do not get the hypocritical nature of UKIP do you ?isam said:
That really is a baffling point of view that lefty UKIP haters take.. because UKIP want a stop to mass immigration, they "have" to discriminate against any immigrants already here or else they are hypocrites.MarkSenior said:
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:
If they did that, there would rightfully be uproar. I for one wouldnt vote for them if they refused to have anything to do with immigrants that are legitimately in this country.
I almost feel sorry for leftys that take this view.. so desperate to paint anyone who wants to control immigration as a racist xenophobe that they get upset when the truth is outed...
I guess its understandable given the polling0 -
I was in Helsinki for a break about 13 years ago. The day trip by catamaran to Tallinn was great and Estonia was far cheaper than Finland. IIRC there were lots of Finnish booze cruisers, but visiting two very different cities in a day was thoroughly enjoyable.AndyJS said:
Thanks for the advice Avery.AveryLP said:FPT
@AndyJS
I was thinking of visiting either Copenhagen or Helsinki next weekend.
Might be a bit warmer than here.
Andy
You should combine Stockholm and Helsinki, transferring by overnight ferry (either the Viking or Silja lines, the debate as to which is best is endless). Leaves Stockholm at 6.00 pm and arrives in Helsinki around 8.00 am. On a fine day in May, passing through the Stockholm archipelago gives an opportunity to view one of the wonders of the Northern world. Food, entertainment and passengers all fun and Baltic crossings are almost always smooth.
Stay overnight in Stockholm in the old town (Gamla Stan) which has some relatively cheap small hotels (the most famous being the Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton and Victory trio but pricier than others).
In Helsinki, stay in a small central hotel near Esplanadi or along/behind the run of Mannerheimintie between the Central railway station and Stockmanns department store. A interesting choice would be Hotel Torni, which has an interesting history and was favoured by Lee Harvey Oswald in his transit to Moscow.
If you are feeling rich, an alternative could be the Hotel Kalastajatorppa. This is outside the centre of Helsinki and set on the sea shore with the best traditional (urban) sauna in Finland.
Very minimalist but luxurious.
My advice would be to make it a long weekend or even a week, then you could spend more time in Stockholm and take a 40 minute sea crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia.
As always with the Nordic countries you need to keep an eye on costs but pre-booking and shopping around should keep the trip affordable.0 -
Buy dollars if you don't need it for 6-9 months. If you feel like some additional risk, then look at a Vanguard tracker. If not, then you still make a good 5-6% on the FX.SeanT said:
Yeah. Too right. I've gone off the whole buying abroad thing. Too much hassle, and I get all my holidays free, anyway. What's the point? I'd never visit. I'd do it if I had so much money it didn't matter if I lost £200k, but I don't.old_labour said:
At the moment my cash is just squatting in my account like a toad, but I will move it soon. And it won't be into Algarvian property.0 -
Move it into Ladbrokes on the Tories getting most votes at 10/11 (for general election that is! If very brave could do the same for the euros)SeanT said:
Yeah. Too right. I've gone off the whole buying abroad thing. Too much hassle, and I get all my holidays free, anyway. What's the point? I'd never visit. I'd do it if I had so much money it didn't matter if I lost £200k, but I don't.old_labour said:
At the moment my cash is just squatting in my account like a toad, but I will move it soon. And it won't be into Algarvian property.0 -
-
You just do not get the hypocritical nature of the Lib Dems do you ?MarkSenior said:
You just do not get the hypocritical nature of UKIP do you ?isam said:
That really is a baffling point of view that lefty UKIP haters take.. because UKIP want a stop to mass immigration, they "have" to discriminate against any immigrants already here or else they are hypocrites.MarkSenior said:
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:
If they did that, there would rightfully be uproar. I for one wouldnt vote for them if they refused to have anything to do with immigrants that are legitimately in this country.
I almost feel sorry for leftys that take this view.. so desperate to paint anyone who wants to control immigration as a racist xenophobe that they get upset when the truth is outed...
I guess its understandable given the polling
Corrected that for you.
0 -
I've always ended up leaving each of these companies because of lamentably poor service, so a bit of a chicken and egg situation unfortunately - in that I experienced poor service before I had a chance to be loyal for a long time.HurstLlama said:Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
In fact the reason I've decided not to stick with TalkTalk is that they just won't leave me alone. I'm pretty happy with the service we have in general, but they keep on phoning me up to try and sell me more.0 -
Compliance with the law is not hypocrisy.MarkSenior said:
You just do not get the hypocritical nature of UKIP do you ?isam said:
That really is a baffling point of view that lefty UKIP haters take.. because UKIP want a stop to mass immigration, they "have" to discriminate against any immigrants already here or else they are hypocrites.MarkSenior said:
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:
If they did that, there would rightfully be uproar. I for one wouldnt vote for them if they refused to have anything to do with immigrants that are legitimately in this country.
I almost feel sorry for leftys that take this view.. so desperate to paint anyone who wants to control immigration as a racist xenophobe that they get upset when the truth is outed...
I guess its understandable given the polling
0 -
Then he is a bloody fool. In my experience Plus Net have one fault, the staffing levels of their telephone help line are too low, leading to long periods of listening to ghastly music. However, as I have only had to phone that number three, maybe four, times in nearly 20 years, I think I'll live with it.FrancisUrquhart said:
They are owned by BT, which I believe OP doesn't want to touch with a barge pole.RodCrosby said:@OblitusSumMe
try Plusnet. Pretty good.0 -
At the moment my broadband speed is about 1.5 mbps. It's supposed to be going up to 76 after next Wednesday, although I'll believe it when I see it.0
-
I binned off BT when I had a similar experience to @Antifrank and never returned. Their empty promises and lousy efforts at actually installing comms make me shudder even today.0
-
That's one of the reasons we moved away from TalkTalk - they b****y well pester you.OblitusSumMe said:
I've always ended up leaving each of these companies because of lamentably poor service, so a bit of a chicken and egg situation unfortunately.HurstLlama said:Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
In fact the reason I've decided not to stick with TalkTalk is that they just won't leave me alone. I'm pretty happy with the service we have in general, but they keep on phoning me up to try and sell me more.
We've been with BT, Virgin and TalkTalk during our various house moves. Of these, setting up BT's equipment was simplicity itself, and they were competitive at first. All are bad in their own way, though.
But for us, at the moment at least, it is BT. The best of a bad lot.0 -
Sterling is highly valued right now. It will revert to the long-term mean of around 1.60 to the dollar. Question is when: it can stay at the higher rate for longer than you expect. My guess is 6-9 months: the key determinant is when people expect UK rates to rise.SeanT said:
Why is the greenback definitely gonna appreciate? Am I missing something?Charles said:
Buy dollars if you don't need it for 6-9 months. If you feel like some additional risk, then look at a Vanguard tracker. If not, then you still make a good 5-6% on the FX.SeanT said:
Yeah. Too right. I've gone off the whole buying abroad thing. Too much hassle, and I get all my holidays free, anyway. What's the point? I'd never visit. I'd do it if I had so much money it didn't matter if I lost £200k, but I don't.old_labour said:
At the moment my cash is just squatting in my account like a toad, but I will move it soon. And it won't be into Algarvian property.
At the moment, FWIW, I am using sterling cash reserves to pay down USD debt. Breaking my natural balance sheet hedge in the process, but longer term I no longer have USD income, so I'm exposed to FX on the cashflow side & my USD denominated assets are core holdings so won't be divested near term.
(Alternatively, I'm looking at buying a small business & could cut you in for £100K if you like...)0 -
BT drive me mad.BobaFett said:I binned off BT when I had a similar experience to @Antifrank and never returned. Their empty promises and lousy efforts at actually installing comms make me shudder even today.
Unfortunately many years ago I adopted a btinternet email address as my main personal address - is there anyway to keep that while not using BT?0 -
That is weird.. she was on channel 4 News last week saying that UKIP werent racist, and that was long after the adverts had come out.dr_spyn said:Interesting timing - a rat leaving a sinking ship.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/13/ukips-ethnic-minority-poster-girl-quits-party-citing-racism/#comments
Farage kept on saying that UKIP was not a racist party, but perhaps the message was not getting through.
http://www.channel4.com/news/ethnic-minorities-uk-policy-exchange-30-per-cent-2050
"The current immigration policy is biased and unfair because everyone is subordinate to Europeans. We have nothing more in common with someone from Bulgaria than we do with someone from Africa or South America or Asia.
“It makes me angry that my grandparents had to work so hard to come over whereas now people just arrive. I’m not saying that all EU immigrants sponge off the State, but they have the opportunity to use our services.”"
http://sanya-jeet.com/politics/
Still, a young girl who has had a change of mind, fair enough.
0 -
HurstLlama said:
<
Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
My experience with BT has been excellent. I bought broadband service from them some years ago, when it was dial-up. Conversion, when we could, was straightforward. A couple of years later we had a problem and an engineer was sent to look at the system. He diagnosed a need for a new router, which he said would be free, although I would have to wait a couple of days. "While he was there" he checked my usage and advised that I could reduce my payments.HurstLlama said:
It is strange how people's experience differs. We have had a fixed line from BT since we moved in (1991). We have been with Plus Net for internet access since they took over Force9 (somewhere back in the 1990s). We have never chased the deal but just stayed with the people who were providing a good service at reasonable cost. We have had the occasional hiccup, none of which have lasted more than 24 hours, and gone from 56k dial-up to 34mbs fibre to the cabinet whilst, in real terms, the costs have gone down.OblitusSumMe said:
I vowed never to use BT again in 2001, so I switched to NTL, who were then bought by Virgin Media.antifrank said:Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.
I vowed never to use Virgin Media again in 2007, so I switched to TalkTalk.
When we move later in the year I have vowed that we will not use TalkTalk. My mother would never speak to me again were I to engage the services of the Sky lot.
As a consequence we are considering doing without a fixed line connection, though it is possible we will join the Phone co-op.
Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
The router has been upgraded again since, at no charge, when we started having interference on our wi-fi from neighbouring systems.
We also have BT vision and again the service has been excellent. Couple of problems admittedly over the years but either everything has been sorted out over the phone or an efficient, polite and helpful engineer has visited.
0 -
I believe it's one of a number of BT Openreach white label services. My provider is branded Vodafone these days, but all of the infrastructure (phone line, exchange equipment, back-haul) is BT, who sell the service to Vodafone to provide billing a customer support.RodCrosby said:
well I never knew that!
The perceived difference therefore is down to customer satisfaction, unrelated to delivery.
In mobile phones, T-mobile used to have the worst customer reputation. Tesco mobile had the best, although their service was delivered entirely by T-Mobile0 -
I would have been disgusted if UKIP had not used a leaflet distribution comapny because immigrants were working for them. I dont see that as hypocritical. There is middle ground between open door immigration and refusing to interact with immigrants, and thats where UKIP standMarkSenior said:
You just do not get the hypocritical nature of UKIP do you ?isam said:
That really is a baffling point of view that lefty UKIP haters take.. because UKIP want a stop to mass immigration, they "have" to discriminate against any immigrants already here or else they are hypocrites.MarkSenior said:
Are they the same Romanians UKIP are paying to deliver their leaflets in London ?isam said:
If they did that, there would rightfully be uproar. I for one wouldnt vote for them if they refused to have anything to do with immigrants that are legitimately in this country.
I almost feel sorry for leftys that take this view.. so desperate to paint anyone who wants to control immigration as a racist xenophobe that they get upset when the truth is outed...
I guess its understandable given the polling
Like most normal people
0 -
If anybody is interested, we are currently selling a run-down wee cottage in Scotland. It'll cost a tad more than an armful of empty Irn Bru bottles (latest bid 150,000).old_labour said:If you believe the naysayers, you might be able to buy a run-down wee cottage in Scotland for an armful of empty Irn Bru bottles if Scotland votes Yes.
SeanT said:
Yeah. Too right. I've gone off the whole buying abroad thing. Too much hassle, and I get all my holidays free, anyway. What's the point? I'd never visit. I'd do it if I had so much money it didn't matter if I lost £200k, but I don't.old_labour said:
At the moment my cash is just squatting in my account like a toad, but I will move it soon. And it won't be into Algarvian property.
The structure has pretty much served its tour of duty, but the plot of land (1 acre), the view (astonishing), the garden (mature azaleas and select rhododendron species) and the planning permission (unobtainable nowadays in that kind of spot) are worth well over the asking price.
Given the right weather, the West Highlands is the finest spot on the planet. And if the weather is crap, retire to the local hotel for a dram. Or entertain the wife. Life is for living after all.0 -
Maybe, but it's a matter of personal principle.HurstLlama said:
Then he is a bloody fool.FrancisUrquhart said:
They are owned by BT, which I believe OP doesn't want to touch with a barge pole.RodCrosby said:@OblitusSumMe
try Plusnet. Pretty good.
One of their representatives lied to me on the phone, when I asked a very specific question, and they refused to admit that they had done me wrong.
Lesson learnt: Always get it in writing. Never deal with BT again.0 -
No, but you can buy a domain for yourself, and use an email service to redirect it to BT for now.Charles said:
BT drive me mad.BobaFett said:I binned off BT when I had a similar experience to @Antifrank and never returned. Their empty promises and lousy efforts at actually installing comms make me shudder even today.
Unfortunately many years ago I adopted a btinternet email address as my main personal address - is there anyway to keep that while not using BT?
Once everyone you know is using your new address, you can then move from BT.
0 -
If You look at her home Tweet page, you can see from that she was/as a lightweight in politics. I wonder how much she got from the Guardian for this betrayal?isam said:
That is weird.. she was on channel 4 News last week saying that UKIP werent racist, and that was long after the adverts had come out.dr_spyn said:Interesting timing - a rat leaving a sinking ship.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/13/ukips-ethnic-minority-poster-girl-quits-party-citing-racism/#comments
Farage kept on saying that UKIP was not a racist party, but perhaps the message was not getting through.
http://www.channel4.com/news/ethnic-minorities-uk-policy-exchange-30-per-cent-2050
"The current immigration policy is biased and unfair because everyone is subordinate to Europeans. We have nothing more in common with someone from Bulgaria than we do with someone from Africa or South America or Asia.
“It makes me angry that my grandparents had to work so hard to come over whereas now people just arrive. I’m not saying that all EU immigrants sponge off the State, but they have the opportunity to use our services.”"
http://sanya-jeet.com/politics/
Still, a young girl who has had a change of mind, fair enough.
0 -
"That's one of the reasons we moved away from TalkTalk - they b****y well pester you."
Astonishing! I have had one unsolicited call from Plus Net and that was earlier this year when the rang to to tell me fibre to the cabinet was now available in my area and did I want it. Getting the new system bedded in was not entirely pain free and necessitated one of those ghastly phone calls but I ain't complaining. I darkest Sussex I am getting 34mbs download and 7mbs upload at anyt ime day or night.0 -
Sad to see the UKIP girl buckle under pressure from that unpleasant ranter on Channel 4 News the other day.0
-
OldKingCole said:HurstLlama said:
<
Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
My experience with BT has been excellent. I bought broadband service from them some years ago, when it was dial-up. Conversion, when we could, was straightforward. A couple of years later we had a problem and an engineer was sent to look at the system. He diagnosed a need for a new router, which he said would be free, although I would have to wait a couple of days. "While he was there" he checked my usage and advised that I could reduce my payments.HurstLlama said:OblitusSumMe said:
I vowed never to use BT again in 2001, so I switched to NTL, who were then bought by Virgin Media.antifrank said:Completely off topic, but I wish to record my undying detestation of BT. At home I currently have no phone line, no internet and no indication when BT will deign to rectify that state of affairs.
This will put a crimp on further blogposts for the time being.
Maybe customer loyalty is, in the back room, recognised. I don't know, probably it isn't, but I do know I have had far fewer problems, and got good levels of service, than friends who have gone off chasing the deal.
The router has been upgraded again since, at no charge, when we started having interference on our wi-fi from neighbouring systems.
We also have BT vision and again the service has been excellent. Couple of problems admittedly over the years but either everything has been sorted out over the phone or an efficient, polite and helpful engineer has visited.
I have same experience , never had any trouble. Phoned recently and said it was too expensive and they upgrade me to Infinity at 40 - 70 Meg , better TV package , etc and reduce the monthly cost.0 -
CON continues to tighten on the Euro Most Votes market. Latest best prices:
UKIP 1/2 (Lad)
Lab 11/4 (various)
Con 9/1 (SJ)
LD 1000/1 (Betfair)0 -
We were on (from memory) an 18-month contract with TalkTalk, which was concerning because we were in rented accommodation and might have to move at any time (*). When it ended we let the deal lapse into a slightly more expensive rolling-month contract. They kept on phoning us up to see if we wanted to move to another 18-month contract which would save us money. Yet as we moved a few months later, it would have cost us a small fortune to get out of.HurstLlama said:"That's one of the reasons we moved away from TalkTalk - they b****y well pester you."
Astonishing! I have had one unsolicited call from Plus Net and that was earlier this year when the rang to to tell me fibre to the cabinet was now available in my area and did I want it. Getting the new system bedded in was not entirely pain free and necessitated one of those ghastly phone calls but I ain't complaining. I darkest Sussex I am getting 34mbs download and 7mbs upload at anyt ime day or night.
(*) There's another issue with Internet/phone contracts and renting, especially if you are staying for a short period.0 -
LAB drifting in Newark. Latest best prices:
Con 4/7 (PP)
UKIP 4/1 (Betfair)
Lab 5/1 (Hills)
LD 250/1 (various)0 -
There's no need to be bitter. UKIP's membership is still heading upwards.MikeK said:
If You look at her home Tweet page, you can see from that she was/as a lightweight in politics. I wonder how much she got from the Guardian for this betrayal?isam said:
That is weird.. she was on channel 4 News last week saying that UKIP werent racist, and that was long after the adverts had come out.dr_spyn said:Interesting timing - a rat leaving a sinking ship.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/13/ukips-ethnic-minority-poster-girl-quits-party-citing-racism/#comments
Farage kept on saying that UKIP was not a racist party, but perhaps the message was not getting through.
http://www.channel4.com/news/ethnic-minorities-uk-policy-exchange-30-per-cent-2050
"The current immigration policy is biased and unfair because everyone is subordinate to Europeans. We have nothing more in common with someone from Bulgaria than we do with someone from Africa or South America or Asia.
“It makes me angry that my grandparents had to work so hard to come over whereas now people just arrive. I’m not saying that all EU immigrants sponge off the State, but they have the opportunity to use our services.”"
http://sanya-jeet.com/politics/
Still, a young girl who has had a change of mind, fair enough.0 -
FTSE 100 - 15 year high....
0 -
It'll end in tears. I'm heavy on gold and cash. Especially gold.taffys said:FTSE 100 - 15 year high....
0 -
FTSE 100 closes at all time record high 6873.080
-
Not necessarily: if you go around advocating that everyone should break the law, but secretly comply yourself, then that would very definitely be hypocrisy.Sean_F said:
Compliance with the law is not hypocrisy.
As far as I'm aware, UKIP does not go around advocating that people break the law.0 -
They were big in the neolithic - literally as they're the tips of mountains that used to be land until the sea level rose after the ice age. Obsidian from the volcanic bits - Lipari mostly I think - was traded all over.SeanT said:ON topic, has anyone ever been to the Aeolian islands, north of Sicily? Stromboli, etc?
I'm away there in June, to do a travel article. My editor wants 2500 words but I'm worried there's bugger all there - certainly not enough to fill up five pages or so - just a volcano or two, a couple of churches, some trendy blacksand beaches, and that's it.
Anyone been there? Are there any really extraordinary bits that are hard to get to or obscure and mysterious or something?
http://www.earth-of-fire.com/the-obsidian-roads-1-around-the-mediterranean-basin.html
It's a bit like Malta. All those temples - a lot older than Ancient Egypt - were on the top of the mountain and the people lived lower down - until the sea rose and that was the end of them.
0
