Let them eat cake – politicalbetting.com

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

FrancisUrquhart said:

32,406 cases, 133 deaths

Cases down in England (for now...)

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

Carnyx said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

(Incl. Banff and Buchan.) And Moray and Nairn. But hush, don't let on.

ydoethur said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

Are you and Mrs RP going to be running a BandB or did that idea not take off?

TheScreamingEagles said:

Philip_Thompson said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

Ooh when is that coming out? I've been working on a piece along those lines that I was going to submit to you. I even wrote to the Bank of England in order to get confirmation on a part of the piece to make sure it was accurate.

If yours is not on the same subject as mine, I'll submit it to you still in case you're interested in publishing it.

Send yours in, I can rework mine, my BoE piece isn't BoE heavy.

Carnyx said:

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

DavidL said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

And the odd Swede as well.

Doesn’t sound as though he will be attracted to it. Repelled, more like.

Still got the makings of a good scotch broth.

Turnips for lamb stew - swedes for the broth (or potato soup, with shank of lamb), I think.

JosiasJessop said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

It's a beautiful and relatively unappreciated stretch of coast IMO - a bit like the Lleyn peninsular in Wales. Tourists flock like Lemmings to certain places, leaving other spectacular areas nearby relatively empty.

I once stayed in lighthouse cottages at Rattray Head. Inside, there was a collection of poetry by a local poet, along with a dictionary of the local Buchan dialect, to help you understand it.

Malmesbury said:

pigeon said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Oh the humanity!

I think you mean

FrancisUrquhart said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

North Carolina? Charlotte? Raleigh–Durham–Cary?

Obviously all the tech bros are heading to Florida....which doesn't meet many of requirements.

rcs1000 said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

North Carolina? Charlotte? Raleigh–Durham–Cary?

Obviously all the tech bros are heading to Florida....which doesn't meet many of requirements.

Good thinking: definitely well worth a visit.

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Carnyx said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

If you are serious with that thesis, you should be recommending that they replace him with a bot. Much more economical. And 24/7.

I 100% agree they should, I'd be happy to help.

for (let i = 0; i < 86400; i++) {
forum.post("Boris is great!");
}

(Literally what he posted above, lol)

You're projecting your own foibles here.

You segued neatly from "Corbyn is great" to "Starmer is great" and "point and laugh at those stupid Corbynistas".

I've very vocally criticised 'my own party' including Boris and even voted against it on principle when I was vocally opposing it. I've opposed Boris at least a double times since he became PM. Can you say the same? Have you criticised your party leader remotely as often as I've criticised mine?

You don't ever criticise Johnson at all, what a load of rubbish.

I think Corbyn would have been a better PM than Johnson and I stand by that - although since the EHRC investigation I've said on many occasions I do regret having supporting him for the leadership.

When I get things wrong, I say so, I hold my hands up. Unlike you where it's always the case that you're right and that BoJo and the Tories are amazing.

Like I said, they really should give you a pay rise, you do a superb job

RochdalePioneers said:

JosiasJessop said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

It's a beautiful and relatively unappreciated stretch of coast IMO - a bit like the Lleyn peninsular in Wales. Tourists flock like Lemmings to certain places, leaving other spectacular areas nearby relatively empty.

I once stayed in lighthouse cottages at Rattray Head. Inside, there was a collection of poetry by a local poet, along with a dictionary of the local Buchan dialect, to help you understand it.

Now that was a mental lighthouse. Your cottage is remote enough down 4x4 only tracks. Then it's a meandering walk through the dunes onto that glorious beach. With a low tide only causeway to access the lighthouse in the sea.

This part of Aberdeenshire has such contrasts. It's almost continuous east coach beach and dunes from Aberdeen to Peterhead then onwards to Fraserburgh. Then the north coast is craggy
cliffs with villages clinging to the clifftops or nestled between the shoreline and the cliff face. Sweeping farm land in this corner, with the Grampians inland.

Theuniondivvie said:

Bet you're gagging for some Extinction Rebellion street theatre now, ain't you? Or just gagging.

https://twitter.com/FilmUpdates/status/1431555440740085763?s=20

geoffw said:

Battle joined. The Unwoke versus the Woke.

a group of British, Irish, American, Canadian and Australian historians have formed a group called History Reclaimed to employ reason and scholarship against divisive distortions of history.

Robert Tombs https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/-wokeness-and-the-collapse-of-intellectual-freedom-in-the-west

RochdalePioneers said:

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Fairliered said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

I hope someone has warned HYFUD to make sure his laptop is fully charged and his tank has plenty of fuel.

Scott_xP said:

NEW: Pen Farthing is said to have told an adviser to the Defence Secretary “I am going to destroy you” in a threatening voicemail.

h/t Steve Bird in @Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/28/pen-farthing-said-have-left-voicemail-ben-wallaces-adviser-going/

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Scott_xP said:

NEW: Pen Farthing is said to have told an adviser to the Defence Secretary “I am going to destroy you” in a threatening voicemail.

h/t Steve Bird in @Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/28/pen-farthing-said-have-left-voicemail-ben-wallaces-adviser-going/

HYUFD said:

Fairliered said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

I hope someone has warned HYFUD to make sure his laptop is fully charged and his tank has plenty of fuel.

I am out most of tomorrow, though given this Tory government will refuse an indyref2 for the rest of its time in power all Scottish independence threads are entirely hypothetical if and until we get a Labour government reliant on SNP confidence and supply

Scott_xP said:

NEW: Pen Farthing is said to have told an adviser to the Defence Secretary “I am going to destroy you” in a threatening voicemail.

h/t Steve Bird in @Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/28/pen-farthing-said-have-left-voicemail-ben-wallaces-adviser-going/

rpjs said:

How about Philadelphia? Yeah, it has hot humid summers, but the winters aren't usually too bad. Has great culture with the UPenn museums, the Art Museum (better than the Met in NYC IMO), Independence Hall. Buzzing music scene. Center City is super-walkable except in high summer. Great (if expensive) housing stock with the classic row houses. SEPTA (public transport) is pretty decent by American standards though not of NYC/Chicago calibre, plus you’d be close to DC and NYC by Acela high-speed train. Oh and the food scene is banging: best on the East Coast that I’ve experienced, although due to PA’s bizarre liquour laws most places are BYOB.

Now, parts of Philly are indeed pretty grim, especially North Philly and Kensington, but even West Philly around the Penn campus is super-gentrified, and the area around South Street is pretty decent and has great restos. Center City itself is super safe but expensive.

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

That's bullshit. I very frequently write here to say I disagree with Boris.

I only say he's great when he's great. So yes that can be a lot of the time but only because he's a great PM. 😉

Mexicanpete said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

That's bullshit. I very frequently write here to say I disagree with Boris.

I only say he's great when he's great. So yes that can be a lot of the time but only because he's a great PM. 😉

No he's not.

RobD said:

Mexicanpete said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

That's bullshit. I very frequently write here to say I disagree with Boris.

I only say he's great when he's great. So yes that can be a lot of the time but only because he's a great PM. 😉

No he's not.

Well that settles that.

geoffw said:

Scott_xP said:

NEW: Pen Farthing is said to have told an adviser to the Defence Secretary “I am going to destroy you” in a threatening voicemail.

h/t Steve Bird in @Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/28/pen-farthing-said-have-left-voicemail-ben-wallaces-adviser-going/

That's Farthing having his tuppenceworth.

HYUFD said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

Fairliered said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

The morning thread requires no tin helmet or body armour.

I suspect the one about an independent Scotland, the currency, and the role of the Bank of England may attract turnips.

I hope someone has warned HYFUD to make sure his laptop is fully charged and his tank has plenty of fuel.

I am out most of tomorrow, though given this Tory government will refuse an indyref2 for the rest of its time in power all Scottish independence threads are entirely hypothetical if and until we get a Labour government reliant on SNP confidence and supply

So you won’t be commenting on any of @TSE’s Scottish posts?
P.S. enjoy your day tomorrow. We’re having family for lunch, so won’t be on here much tomorrow, either.

Have a good day too, if TSE really wanted lots of comments on his Scottish post it would probably have been better not to post it on the Sunday of an August Bank Holiday weekend

Fairliered said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

You will have passed within 100 metres of my son’s house in Inverallochy. We have found it very noticeable in our caravan tours this year that as caravanners we have been in the minority on the West Coast but in the majority on the East Coast.

Mexicanpete said:

RobD said:

Mexicanpete said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

CorrectHorseBattery said:

Philip_Thompson said:

ydoethur said:

HYUFD said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Someone wanting to silence Andy Burham

https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1431529427486351361?s=19

Not a good look from Starmer. Cameron was not afraid to give Boris a speaking slot, Brown was not afraid to give David Miliband a speaking slot, nor was Major afraid to give Portillo and Heseltine speaking slots even though they were potential future leadership rivals and good speakers who could have overshadowed them

How could you refuse to give your *cabinet ministers* a slot and retain any credibility at all?

Cameron and Johnson I will give you, but that is also a little different. Johnson winning London was the harbinger that the Tories could - and would - win again. Burnham winning Manchester isn’t in quite the smae league.

I saw Johnson speak at Tory Conference as London Mayor, not as a Cabinet Minister.

It was besides Cameron's own speech easily the most hotly anticipated speech of the entire Conference. Even more than Chancellor Osborne or anyone else.

Its a part of the reason why I never ruled out the idea he could become party leader and PM.

There's no reason that Burnham and Sadiq Khan couldn't or shouldn't have their own speeches.

If BoJo had made this call you'd be here praising him

Why? Support that claim please, because its more bovine manure from my creepy stalker.

When you have nothing to say you just respond with "if the shoe was on the other foot" with no evidence for that whatsoever.

You really should ask for a raise from CCHQ Philip.

It doesn't matter what BoJo says or does, you are here to tell us how great he is

That's bullshit. I very frequently write here to say I disagree with Boris.

I only say he's great when he's great. So yes that can be a lot of the time but only because he's a great PM. 😉

No he's not.

Well that settles that.

I thought so. Anyway are the Afghan puppies and kittens home yet?

Omnium said:

RochdalePioneers said:

JosiasJessop said:

RochdalePioneers said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish about Scotland during Mike's holiday.

Before the F1 excitement I spent a glorious three hours walking down Fraserburgh beach, through Cairnbulg where the east coast becomes the north coast, then down the beach to St Combs before returning along the old railway line back to the Broch. 10 miles of glorious sunshine, almost entirely deserted beaches, zero midges.

Perhaps there needs to be a thread about why the English tourists all go to Loch Lomond, Skye and the NC500. Aberdeenshire is glorious, more so by not being full of meandering tourists in oversized camper vans.

It's a beautiful and relatively unappreciated stretch of coast IMO - a bit like the Lleyn peninsular in Wales. Tourists flock like Lemmings to certain places, leaving other spectacular areas nearby relatively empty.

I once stayed in lighthouse cottages at Rattray Head. Inside, there was a collection of poetry by a local poet, along with a dictionary of the local Buchan dialect, to help you understand it.

Now that was a mental lighthouse. Your cottage is remote enough down 4x4 only tracks. Then it's a meandering walk through the dunes onto that glorious beach. With a low tide only causeway to access the lighthouse in the sea.

This part of Aberdeenshire has such contrasts. It's almost continuous east coach beach and dunes from Aberdeen to Peterhead then onwards to Fraserburgh. Then the north coast is craggy
cliffs with villages clinging to the clifftops or nestled between the shoreline and the cliff face. Sweeping farm land in this corner, with the Grampians inland.

My family came from Aberdeenshire. Very much inland from what you describe. I doubt they knew the sea.

A dark and difficult place. There was little looking back.

Aslan said:

IanB2 said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Asheville, NC. Honestly, it would suit you down to the ground. Don’t think twice, just go there. Thank me later.

Asheville is a tiddly place. I am in Charlotte and it ticks all the boxes except the public transport one. But if you live in Uptown it's all walkable. Plus there's very little traffic and plenty of parking so cars work great too. It's also drivable to the mountains and the beach, it's a very clean city, and the people are very friendly.

Aslan said:

IanB2 said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Asheville, NC. Honestly, it would suit you down to the ground. Don’t think twice, just go there. Thank me later.

Asheville is a tiddly place. I am in Charlotte and it ticks all the boxes except the public transport one. But if you live in Uptown it's all walkable. Plus there's very little traffic and plenty of parking so cars work great too. It's also drivable to the mountains and the beach, it's a very clean city, and the people are very friendly.

geoffw said:

ydoethur said:

geoffw said:

Battle joined. The Unwoke versus the Woke.

a group of British, Irish, American, Canadian and Australian historians have formed a group called History Reclaimed to employ reason and scholarship against divisive distortions of history.

Robert Tombs https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/-wokeness-and-the-collapse-of-intellectual-freedom-in-the-west

Robert Tombs is a fine historian but is very eccentric. His determination to be right wing compared to everyone around him is part of his eccentricity.

I wonder if John Charmley is involved. Another who is to put it mildly an individualist and very anti-woke (he formed a whole new church led by himself when the Church of England ordained women priests) but I always got on very well with him on a personal level.

You can find the roll call of revisionists here:
https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/why-we-are-reclaiming-history/

HYUFD said:

ydoethur said:

geoffw said:

Battle joined. The Unwoke versus the Woke.

a group of British, Irish, American, Canadian and Australian historians have formed a group called History Reclaimed to employ reason and scholarship against divisive distortions of history.

Robert Tombs https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/-wokeness-and-the-collapse-of-intellectual-freedom-in-the-west

Robert Tombs is a fine historian but is very eccentric. His determination to be right wing compared to everyone around him is part of his eccentricity.

I wonder if John Charmley is involved. Another who is to put it mildly an individualist and very anti-woke (he formed a whole new church led by himself when the Church of England ordained women priests) but I always got on very well with him on a personal level.

I believe John Charmley has now gone the whole hog and converted to Rome

https://www.stedmundsrcbungay.org.uk/professor-john-charmley/

Leon said:

PB I NEED HELP

My older daughter, 15, is bored witless in London and wants an adventure before school begins, and she really wants to go to Scotland

There's very little available, but I've found two possibles. One is a sweet holiday let on Great Cumbrae island, in the Firth of Clyde, the other is a madder holiday let in John o Groats

The first is easier to do and sounds charming, in a quaint way, the second is harder but might broaden her mind. The big desolate landscapes of the north east tip of Scotland (which I have never seen)

Thoughts?

Omnium said:

Andy_JS said:

"John Simpson
@JohnSimpsonNews

In the wake of the US retreat from Kabul, the angry, nationalistic Beijing ‘Global Times’ newspaper carries a ferocious warning to Pres Biden over Taiwan: ‘Whoever dares to cross China’s red line on the Taiwan question is seeking its own death.’ After Kabul, no more Mr Nice Guy.
3:11 PM · Aug 28, 2021"

https://twitter.com/JohnSimpsonNews/status/1431620533993492482

I don't think that China will risk trying to subjugate Taiwan. There's so little to gain and so much to lose.

They can easily acquire a little bit of Afghanistan, and that'll give them more potential mineral wealth.

Leon said:

PB I NEED HELP

My older daughter, 15, is bored witless in London and wants an adventure before school begins, and she really wants to go to Scotland

There's very little available, but I've found two possibles. One is a sweet holiday let on Great Cumbrae island, in the Firth of Clyde, the other is a madder holiday let in John o Groats

The first is easier to do and sounds charming, in a quaint way, the second is harder but might broaden her mind. The big desolate landscapes of the north east tip of Scotland (which I have never seen)

Thoughts?

Leon said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Leon said:

PB I NEED HELP

My older daughter, 15, is bored witless in London and wants an adventure before school begins, and she really wants to go to Scotland

There's very little available, but I've found two possibles. One is a sweet holiday let on Great Cumbrae island, in the Firth of Clyde, the other is a madder holiday let in John o Groats

The first is easier to do and sounds charming, in a quaint way, the second is harder but might broaden her mind. The big desolate landscapes of the north east tip of Scotland (which I have never seen)

Thoughts?

Bored witless in London....how is that possible?

She's 15, and, despite all my best advice, refuses to drink underage or take illegal drugs

DougSeal said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

RobD said:

ydoethur said:

malcolmg said:

noneoftheabove said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

TimT said:

IshmaelZ said:

I find this hard to get excited about. Rich people gonna rich. And create employment for Yorkshire's (?) swimming pool industry.

Yeah. Basically, the Labour MPs and TSE are saying no Conservative MP should spend any money on anything someone can stretch to describe as luxury spending, ever. Only Tory-haters are going to gobble that up.

I'm not saying that, I hate the politics of envy, is why I can never be a leftie.

It's the toxic mix of giving pensioners an 8% increase and cutting UC for the poorest in society.

There's many Tory MPs who have gone on the record to oppose the UC cut, this is going to get messy for Sunak.

Pensioners won't get their 8% though. Sunak isn't an idiot, he will find a fudge so they get 3% just like the NHS.

A betting market on this would be interesting. I think it is more likely pensioners get the 8% than most on here.

I will be upset if I don't get my 8%.

You better hope Scotland never goes Indy then.

Thanks. We almost made it an entire page without it being mentioned.

The morning thread is on Scotland.

It is the first of five Scotland threads I plan to publish on Scotland during Mike's holiday.

I hope you have a nice sturdy tin helmet ready to protect yourself from ballistic turnips.

He’ll only get angry if he doesn’t get his 8%

Leon said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Leon said:

PB I NEED HELP

My older daughter, 15, is bored witless in London and wants an adventure before school begins, and she really wants to go to Scotland

There's very little available, but I've found two possibles. One is a sweet holiday let on Great Cumbrae island, in the Firth of Clyde, the other is a madder holiday let in John o Groats

The first is easier to do and sounds charming, in a quaint way, the second is harder but might broaden her mind. The big desolate landscapes of the north east tip of Scotland (which I have never seen)

Thoughts?

Bored witless in London....how is that possible?

She's 15, and, despite all my best advice, refuses to drink underage or take illegal drugs

ydoethur said:

geoffw said:

ydoethur said:

geoffw said:

Battle joined. The Unwoke versus the Woke.

a group of British, Irish, American, Canadian and Australian historians have formed a group called History Reclaimed to employ reason and scholarship against divisive distortions of history.

Robert Tombs https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/-wokeness-and-the-collapse-of-intellectual-freedom-in-the-west

Robert Tombs is a fine historian but is very eccentric. His determination to be right wing compared to everyone around him is part of his eccentricity.

I wonder if John Charmley is involved. Another who is to put it mildly an individualist and very anti-woke (he formed a whole new church led by himself when the Church of England ordained women priests) but I always got on very well with him on a personal level.

You can find the roll call of revisionists here:
https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/why-we-are-reclaiming-history/

So John isn’t involved, but otherwise the usual suspects.

IanB2 said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Asheville, NC. Honestly, it would suit you down to the ground. Don’t think twice, just go there. Thank me later.

rpjs said:

rcs1000 said:

PBers:

I'm finding LA difficult for a business that's increasingly all over the US. And it's on a terrible time zone for communications with the UK. My wife also hates driving in Los Angeles, and would rather be somewhere more walkable.

So, we're looking around the US for somewhere:

(1) With acceptable weather (which counts Boston and Chicago out)
(2) With good public transport, and where one doesn't have to jump in the car *all* *the* *time*.
(3) That has really good transport links (both to the UK and across the US)
(4) That is on EST or CET
(5) That has decent restaurants, museums, etc.

Any thoughts? We're thinking of the DC area, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure there’s anywhere that meets all your wants: weather is going to be the hardest as pretty much all the NE from DC upwards has hot humid summers and cold, sometimes severe, winters. South of DC in EST-land you’re still going to get nasty summers plus more exposure to hurricanes etc, plus the further South you go, the more of a cultural wasteland it becomes, unless you like country and western…

I mean, I personally love NYC, but it is full-on, and the Subway is efficient but a rolling biohazard, and I suspect if it was on your radar you’d’ve mentioned it.

How about Philadelphia? Yeah, it has hot humid summers, but the winters aren't usually too bad. Has great culture with the UPenn museums, the Art Museum (better than the Met in NYC IMO), Independence Hall. Buzzing music scene. Center City is super-walkable except in high summer. Great (if expensive) housing stock with the classic row houses. SEPTA (public transport) is pretty decent by American standards though not of NYC/Chicago calibre, plus you’d be close to DC and NYC by Acela high-speed train. Oh and the food scene is banging: best on the East Coast that I’ve experienced, although due to PA’s bizarre liquour laws most places are BYOB.

Now, parts of Philly are indeed pretty grim, especially North Philly and Kensington, but even West Philly around the Penn campus is super-gentrified, and the area around South Street is pretty decent and has great restos. Center City itself is super safe but expensive.