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Could Reform leader Tice benefit from BoJo’s travails? – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited November 2021 in General
imageCould Reform leader Tice benefit from BoJo’s travails? – politicalbetting.com

While all eyes have been on the Patison affair four weeks tonight we should be getting the result of Old Bexley and Sidcup by election which looks like a certain CON hold. I can’t see the LDs or LAB getting an upset but Reform, which used to be UKIP, are taking it very seriously indeed.

Read the full story here

«13

Comments

  • TazTaz Posts: 10,701
    Not a cat in hells.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    Good value loser.

    As I said about the lib dems in C & A.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080
    4th

    Um.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 18,891
    In as much as he's the only ''politician'' even sleazier than Johnson?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,729
    edited November 2021
    MattW said:

    4th

    Um.

    Seventh, like the number of leaders UKIP have had in the last five minutes year.

    Edit - bollocks, only sixth. That ruins that one.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080
    ydoethur said:

    MattW said:

    4th

    Um.

    Seventh, like the number of leaders UKIP have had in the last five minutes year.

    Edit - bollocks, only sixth. That ruins that one.
    I make that 6th.

    Are you a Maths teacher? :smile:

    (Teaching engineering approximations).
  • Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,708
    edited November 2021
    Tice could well overtake the LDs to take third place in Old Bexley and Sidcup on a low tax, low spend, anti any further Covid restrictions, anti net Zero and tighter border controls ticket.

    However overall I cannot see anything other than a comfortable Conservative win with Labour a distant second
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,557
    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,480
    edited November 2021

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
  • isam said:

    I think Mike’s using ‘UKIP’ where he means ‘Brexit Party’ isn’t he?

    Who knows, UKIP leaders were often pound shop Lady Jane Greys.


  • Yep. In this frenzied atmosphere of Tory sleaze, the sane option for honest politics is vote for a party called REFUK
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,835
    People said this about OGH's C+A tip.
    However, I'd want double the 40's.
    Wrong kind of Leavers to moan about tax and spend to.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Share... or Shaft!
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,772
    Well. This reminds me of the oft-quoted statement that, "oppositions don't win elections, governments lose them."

    If Tice does do very well, then it would show that a different opposition is poised to benefit from the travails of the government then that most often assumed.

    Vital for Labour that they establish themselves as the primary repository for the votes of those disgruntled with the government.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,708
    RIP Lionel Blair
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    And this...

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hgdKFcOssnA

    Rather appropriate given the way Paterson was thoroughly shafted today.
  • isamisam Posts: 40,721

    isam said:

    I think Mike’s using ‘UKIP’ where he means ‘Brexit Party’ isn’t he?

    Who knows, UKIP leaders were often pound shop Lady Jane Greys.


    Well at least your reply confirms I did make the post! Where’d it go??
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,729
    MattW said:

    ydoethur said:

    MattW said:

    4th

    Um.

    Seventh, like the number of leaders UKIP have had in the last five minutes year.

    Edit - bollocks, only sixth. That ruins that one.
    I make that 6th.

    Are you a Maths teacher? :smile:

    (Teaching engineering approximations).
    I was expecting somebody else to come in. You lazy buggers were apparently all too busy laughing at the idea of REFUK making any political headway.
  • Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    It must be a sign of my getting old - for me he seems closer to the present than he actually is.
  • This sounds like the first thread on Chesham & Amersham when I was ridiculed for my betting plan. Funny things can happen at by-elections particularly where the consensus is that the outcome is a certainty. I made £4,300 at C&A and have risked £5 here.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753
    Over the last couple of days we have had Patterson, Paterson and now Patison. How the hell did someone whose name we can't even get right manage to damage the government so badly?

    It is a new level of incompetence, it really is.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,480
    edited November 2021
    Kilroy-Silk did pop up again in around the mid-2000s as leader of 'Veritas' though, didn't he, so not only a figure of early 1990's daytime TV, and that distant time which also included the "Open Air" programme - one of the only well-produced BBC viewer feedback and daytime television programmes ever made.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    This sounds like the first thread on Chesham & Amersham when I was ridiculed for my betting plan. Funny things can happen at by-elections particularly where the consensus is that the outcome is a certainty. I made £4,300 at C&A and have risked £5 here.

    I shall learn nothing. Keeps me perpetually surprised by things.
  • Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
  • Mr. L, he didn't. The damage was caused by the fool in Number 10.

    Anyway, I am off for the night.
  • Prof. Devi Sridhar
    @devisridhar
    ·
    1h
    Fascinating new study: scientists have identified a gene that doubles risk of respiratory failure from COVID. 60% of people with S. Asian ancestry carry this- which could partially explain why ethnic minorities in UK & Indian subcontinent were hit harder.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    DavidL said:

    Over the last couple of days we have had Patterson, Paterson and now Patison. How the hell did someone whose name we can't even get right manage to damage the government so badly?

    It is a new level of incompetence, it really is.

    He did nothing but be a bog standard brass necked arrogant self important man who cannot conceive of doing wrong, even when the intent was positive. It's caused damage because others saw an opportunity to either protect against future problems or take revenge of a disliked process and used him as a pretext for action. Unfortunately for them he was a poor choice to be the face of righteous change.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,729
    DavidL said:

    Over the last couple of days we have had Patterson, Paterson and now Patison. How the hell did someone whose name we can't even get right manage to damage the government so badly?

    It is a new level of incompetence, it really is.

    It's Owen to the stupidity of the Tory machine.

    Good night.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,708
    HYUFD said:

    RIP Lionel Blair

    I can't believe I got an Off Topic just for giving an RIP for the late, great Lionel Blair.

    This OT button is becoming ridiculous!
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753
    kle4 said:

    DavidL said:

    Over the last couple of days we have had Patterson, Paterson and now Patison. How the hell did someone whose name we can't even get right manage to damage the government so badly?

    It is a new level of incompetence, it really is.

    He did nothing but be a bog standard brass necked arrogant self important man who cannot conceive of doing wrong, even when the intent was positive. It's caused damage because others saw an opportunity to either protect against future problems or take revenge of a disliked process and used him as a pretext for action. Unfortunately for them he was a poor choice to be the face of righteous change.
    I have to say that I found his attempt to deflect blame for his disgraceful conduct by using his wife's suicide particularly repulsive. No shame at all.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,287
    Onthread NO.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    When it comes to by-elections if it is a really safe seat I'm inclined to think there is at least the possibility of the likes of UKIP/Brexit getting some traction in part because the main parties go into it knowing there's virtually no chance, so in the right circumstances the 'outsider' party might do surprisingly well.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    RIP Lionel Blair

    I can't believe I got an Off Topic just for giving an RIP for the late, great Lionel Blair.

    This OT button is becoming ridiculous!
    I am forever doing it, and always by mistake. Gonna happen with fat fingered types posting on phones. Half the time I sign myself out of the site when I try to hit the Post button. So I wouldn't worry.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,279
    If Richard Tice / ReformUK can't get a half-decent result in Bexley they may as well pack up.
  • isamisam Posts: 40,721
    Farage might have had a decent chance here.
  • This sounds like the first thread on Chesham & Amersham when I was ridiculed for my betting plan. Funny things can happen at by-elections particularly where the consensus is that the outcome is a certainty. I made £4,300 at C&A and have risked £5 here.

    The Tories could select a woeful candidate or have another really bad week around the election. It is unlikely but there is enough volatility to make it just about plausible. That is probably enough for a 100/1 back, I wouldn't go as low as 40 myself but equally wouldn't want to lay much above 10-15.

    Tice and Tories 33 each, Labour 24, Others 10?

    It is easy to say things won't happen, and they probably won't but it does not make them impossible.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Do you remember Veritas?
  • rcs1000 said:

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Do you remember Veritas?
    In Vino Veritas.
  • isam said:

    Farage might have had a decent chance here.

    yes wonder if he is tempted - keeping his profile high with his TV channel hosting and Talking Pints
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,279

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Quite a journey from being a Labour MP for Ormskirk to UKIP.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,727
    Scoop: A White House aide who accompanied Biden to international summits in Europe last week tested positive for coronavirus infection before the president returned to the U.S. The aide and some of Biden’s other traveling staff remained behind in Scotland, sources tell me.
    https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1456381782379544577
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766

    Kilroy-Silk did pop up again in around the mid-2000s as leader of 'Veritas' though, didn't he, so not only a figure of early 1990's daytime TV, and that distant time which also included the "Open Air" programme - one of the only well-produced BBC viewer feedback and daytime television programmes ever made.

    Kilroy (the TV show) ran until 2004.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,874

    Prof. Devi Sridhar
    @devisridhar
    ·
    1h
    Fascinating new study: scientists have identified a gene that doubles risk of respiratory failure from COVID. 60% of people with S. Asian ancestry carry this- which could partially explain why ethnic minorities in UK & Indian subcontinent were hit harder.

    Surely not, it was all the government’s fault. Something about institutional racism or other. Right?
  • isamisam Posts: 40,721

    isam said:

    Farage might have had a decent chance here.

    yes wonder if he is tempted - keeping his profile high with his TV channel hosting and Talking Pints
    Tice is already the candidate isn’t he?
  • Prof. Devi Sridhar
    @devisridhar
    ·
    1h
    Fascinating new study: scientists have identified a gene that doubles risk of respiratory failure from COVID. 60% of people with S. Asian ancestry carry this- which could partially explain why ethnic minorities in UK & Indian subcontinent were hit harder.

    Surely not, it was all the government’s fault. Something about institutional racism or other. Right?
    Certainly deprivation was mentioned repeatedly.

    The truth of course will, as ever in human health, be complex.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    dr_spyn said:

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Quite a journey from being a Labour MP for Ormskirk to UKIP.
    I had no idea he had ever been an MP in fact. There goes my PB street cred.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    RIP Lionel Blair

    I can't believe I got an Off Topic just for giving an RIP for the late, great Lionel Blair.

    This OT button is becoming ridiculous!
    I often hit Off Topic rather than Like by accident - especially when I'm on a mobile phone. Occasionally I accidentally hit Flag, and then I get spammed by Vanilla, telling me that someone (me) flagged a post..
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    Interesting article about why it can be so hard to get rid of bad cops - I don't know how bad it is here, but it seems like the system in much of the USA goes well past merely protecting police from trivial or vexatious matters into near impunity.

    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/22/javier-ortiz-florida-police-misconduct-protections-516231?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,727
    🚨Tory Party chiefs have been handed findings from the Electoral Commission’s probe into the Downing St flat refurb.

    “Initial” conclusions shared with CCHQ, Commission tells Telegraph. Report to be published after party responses. With @Tony_Diver.

    https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1456383616586498059
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,279
    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Quite a journey from being a Labour MP for Ormskirk to UKIP.
    I had no idea he had ever been an MP in fact. There goes my PB street cred.
    Kilroy-Silk had been a lecturer in The Politics Department of Liverpool University.

    MP for Ormskirk Feb 1974-1983, then MP for Knowsley North 1983-1986.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,727
    METRO: Tory Owen Goal #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456384728924311552/photo/1
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,480
    edited November 2021
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    I think a large part of the amusement for audiences was it all being delivered in Humphrey Lyttleton's creamy, jovially plummy tones, much like the on-running "Samantha" skit which has now been axed.
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,279
    New T shirt modelled by Claudia Webbe for The Metro.

    https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456384728924311552
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,727
    GUARDIAN: Tories plunged into crisis after sleaze rules U-turn #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456386109773078539/photo/1
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,038
    edited November 2021
    Not a good front page from Johnson's "boss" *

    https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456385388281573388/photo/1

    * his words.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,480
    edited November 2021
    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    edited November 2021
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766
    kle4 said:

    Interesting article about why it can be so hard to get rid of bad cops - I don't know how bad it is here, but it seems like the system in much of the USA goes well past merely protecting police from trivial or vexatious matters into near impunity.

    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/22/javier-ortiz-florida-police-misconduct-protections-516231?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

    I find the unwillingness of the Supreme Court to overturn qualified immunity (which is a pretty new thing) bizarre.
  • dr_spyn said:

    New T shirt modelled by Claudia Webbe for The Metro.

    https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456384728924311552



    A bleak day for ordinary, decent MPs as the rotten apples dominate the news.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,279
    Farooq said:
    The part of Ted Crilly is played by Michael Vaughan.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 8,480
    edited November 2021
    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    I don't think much of his cultural criticism and narrow ideas about who the English were, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753
    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    To be honest I am glad I wasn't there. Not for me I'm afraid.
  • Not sure this is a good idea

    BBC News - Parties may stand aside in by-election to replace MP Owen Paterson
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59167967
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766
    On topic: 40/1 is not value here.

    I mean - I wouldn't lay at that price, but I've seen no evidence that Tice is an effective campaigner, and I struggle to see Johnson's Conservatives being successfully challenged from the Right.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766
    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Wrote a few books, apparently...
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,092
    I often wondered what Lionel Blair thought of the I'm Sorry jokes. Now I know. Not in the least impressed.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Superb satirist, novelist and reporter, mediocre essayist and analyst.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,727
    MAIL: Is ANYBODY in charge at No10? / Horror at the morgue #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456387979405037578/photo/1
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
    I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though.
    I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
  • IshmaelZ said:

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Superb satirist, novelist and reporter, mediocre essayist and analyst.
    Yup.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,092
    dr_spyn said:

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Quite a journey from being a Labour MP for Ormskirk to UKIP.
    I had no idea he had ever been an MP in fact. There goes my PB street cred.
    Kilroy-Silk had been a lecturer in The Politics Department of Liverpool University.

    MP for Ormskirk Feb 1974-1983, then MP for Knowsley North 1983-1986.
    So that accounts for the ubiquitous Kolroy was here graffiti.

  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753

    dr_spyn said:

    New T shirt modelled by Claudia Webbe for The Metro.

    https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456384728924311552



    A bleak day for ordinary, decent MPs as the rotten apples dominate the news.
    Yet another small minority abused and taken advantage of.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,598
    edited November 2021
    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,742
    edited November 2021
    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Possibly related to Lionel?

    Edit: not to be, LB did a reverse Orwell apparently, changing his name from Henry Lionel Ogus. Parents emigré Russian Jews according to Wiki.
  • Scott_xP said:

    MAIL: Is ANYBODY in charge at No10? / Horror at the morgue #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1456387979405037578/photo/1

    That morgue story is horrific and the ultimate in disgusting depravity
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    Not sure this is a good idea

    BBC News - Parties may stand aside in by-election to replace MP Owen Paterson
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59167967

    Maybe it is not a good idea, but is it a bad one either? For such a seat an unusual long shot approach could be worth a try, and if it doesn't work, well, not many will have expected them to anyway.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Not sure this is a good idea

    BBC News - Parties may stand aside in by-election to replace MP Owen Paterson
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59167967

    It could land well or awkwardly. Tricky.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Possibly related to Lionel?
    Yes, both Blairs.
    I think I like Lionel the best of the four.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    I cannot see any reason to have ever used it. Flagging deals with egregious offensiveness, and here OT means on topic.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,059

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    I have and my excuse was (the hopefully more believable) I was trying to "like" a post while pissed and using an iPhone 5.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,766
    Farooq said:

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    I don't think much of his cultural criticism, but a great writer, social researcher, and generally well-inientioned and committed person, I think.
    I think "great writer" is stretching it a little. I think Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm are both worthy and important novels, but I wouldn't personally class them as great. Eye of the beholder though.
    I guess I have this slightly odd sense of Orwell being a bit of a prig. I don't know where this sense comes from, so perhaps it's unfair on him.
    The first half of Down and Out in London & Paris is absolutely superb.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    rcs1000 said:

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Wrote a few books, apparently...
    Get with the programme granddad, these days it's all about Korean TV that people care about, not...books, whatever they are.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    rcs1000 said:

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Wrote a few books, apparently...
    Yes.

    My approach to the question is to read and evaluate the books, rather than look up Orwell on some sort of spreadsheet of the world's 100 most influential literary brands. The answer is he's world class at autobiography and fiction, and pretty disappointing at essays and sustained political analysis.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,753

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    When someone likes your post you can see who it is. Its a pity we cannot see who thinks Off Topic is a good idea too.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,598
    LOL.

    Run em up.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    edited November 2021

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    Here's one I did the other day. Leon had said something insulting to me, which I was going to ignore, but someone else had clicked Off Topic. I figured anyone who cared (probably nobody) would assume it was me, so I clicked it too.

    If you're going to be hanged for the crime anyway, might as well do it.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    Just deliberately done it for the first time ever. Not saying where.
  • Wow.

    The racism that cricketer Azeem Rafiq suffered while playing for Yorkshire goes beyond the county to the very heart of the English game. It reflects the fact that, in stark contrast to football, cricket has for decades drawn a veil over racism and become less diverse, not more so.

    There is, of course, a very particular Yorkshire problem, which explains why Rafiq’s teammates, and his club itself, might have felt that calling him the P-word was acceptable dressing-room banter. That was not the only racist banter he was subjected to. Recently, while researching my book, The Impossible Dream, Rafiq told me how for about two years some of his Yorkshire teammates had called him “Rafa the kafir”. For Rafiq, a practising Muslim who has been to Mecca for hajj – the pilgrimage all Muslims are meant to do once in their lifetime – that meant he was an unbeliever and is a devastating charge. He was puzzled because none of the people calling him “kafir” were Muslims or knew anything about Islam.

    What he did not know was they were using the word “kaffir” – not the Islamic “kafir”, but the term used in apartheid-era South Africa to denigrate black and brown people. Rafiq only discovered this when Yorkshire later held an investigation into his allegations that he had suffered racism. His reaction was: “Wow. How was that allowed to be my nickname? These are not guys who have come from small towns. These are guys who played international cricket, travelling the world. They knew exactly what they were saying. I didn’t have a clue.”


    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/04/yorkshire-cricket-race-row-sport-azeem-rafiq
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,557
    rcs1000 said:

    Can't see it. Surely this guy's just a Killroy-Silk character without the name recognition.

    Wow Robert Kilroy-Silk, what a blast from the past. Stored in my memory on a back shelf with BBC Pebble Mill, Tomorrow's World and Christine Hamilton.
    Do you remember Veritas?
    Truly ?
    No.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,059
    In re Humph and Lionel Blair I am ashamed to say I find this the funniest 24 minutes on the internet -

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wTR03jlQ8M
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    I just did
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    kle4 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Farooq said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Nigelb said:

    I didn’t realise this, assuming the running gags were entirely affectionate.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48513358
    … In the mid-90s, Blair became the butt of lewd gay Give Us A Clue jokes on Radio 4's Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They went on for nearly 15 years, made originally by host Humphrey Lyttelton and continued by his successor Jack Dee. The audience loved it. Blair himself was less amused.
    "It was merciless and just plain mean. I didn't mind for myself but my wife and family really hated it and became very upset," he told the Mirror.
    "I don't understand why they had to be gay gags either. Yes, I'm very over-the-top and flamboyant but I always have been. I'm theatrical, darling!
    "I could have sued, I suppose, but that would have been breaking the comedians' code - and you simply don't do that."…

    Some samples:

    - The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair, but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour, at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

    - Who can ever forget opposing team captain Una Stubbs sitting open mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes!

    - Possibly the most versatile performer was Lionel Blair, and no one will ever forget the occasion he was given A Town Like Alice, when he chose to do a silent impression of the author. Such was the performance, Una Stubbs gasped in amazement when she saw Neville Shute in Lionel's face...

    - Give Us A Clue was made all the better by it's resident expert Lionel Blair, who was particularly good at the films of Richard Gere. Who can forget the gleam of satisfaction in his eye when he was given Yanks by Michael Aspel for two minutes .


    https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2012/12/18/16817/lay_off_lionel!
    To call that infantile is to insult infants. I mean, it would have been embarrassing in the 1960s...
    You had to be there. Lyttelton's delivery made it bloody funny.

    You may of course think this is just another illustration of the One rule for old Etonians, another for the rest rule which blights British life.
    Humphrey Lyttleton and Orwell are in my small group of favoured "good old Etonians", personally.
    was Orwell good?
    Wrote a few books, apparently...
    Get with the programme granddad, these days it's all about Korean TV that people care about, not...books, whatever they are.
    Orwell would have loved Squid Game or at least have felt vindicated by its existence. Remember the bit early in 1984 where WS goes to the cinema?
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    Farooq said:

    My question is: has any PBer ever admitted to hitting the fabled Off Topic button deliberately, in the entire history of PB?

    I have witnessed manifold ‘excuses’ such as “my cat clicked it”, “I did it accidentally on my phone while trying to eat a biryani”, and “I only pressed it to see what it would do”.

    Fucking own up.

    Here's one I did the other day. Leon had said something insulting to me, which I was going to ignore, but someone else had clicked Off Topic. I figured anyone who cared (probably nobody) would assume it was me, so I clicked it too.

    If you're going to be hanged for the crime anyway, might as well do it.
    I just tried to like my own post... you can't! Damn.
This discussion has been closed.