Nine months of Johnson exit betting turbulence – politicalbetting.com
Comments
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May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.0 -
Mrs J and I were walking part of the Thames Path, and we booked a B&B in Maidenhead. We knew we were in for a classsy time when the car park had a Statue of Liberty in it. A broken Statue of Liberty. The B&B was above a restaurant, and our room was all in pink with a ?wooden? floor. At about seven, the restaurant's extractor fan near our window started, blowing the smell of the food into our room. The vibrations from the fan slowly moved the bed (which was on castors) across the room.Omnium said:
Talk us through this bed movement in point one.JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
And yes, it was probably a knocking-shop. Which made it even funnier.
It was one of the worst B&B's I've ever stayed in, but we loved it as it was so outrageously bad. Nearly as bad as the hotel we stayed at in London for the Kate Bush concert. The cubicle for the en-suite toilet was so small I could not sit frontwise on the toilet and had to sit side-saddle.
Staying in awful places can be fun; like wondering what'll happen next. What I really don't like is staying in mediocre but expensive places.0 -
The Depratment (sic) for Education is advertising for a policy adviser to inform Nadhim Zahawi's new policies on schools.
They are offering a two year contract at £100,000 a year. Open to anyone with experience of leadership and management, possibly in education.
The post was advertised today.
The closing date is Sunday.
I wonder who they have decided to appoint, and what fresh hell will be inflicted on schools by their arrogance, stupidity and incompetence a la Cummings, Freedman and Adonis.2 -
Id only do it if a list in a paper told me it was a top 40 essential life affirming experience.ydoethur said:
Why would you wish to sit backwards on Dominic Raab?wooliedyed said:Sit backwards on a toilet and shit.
In Esher.
Although I agree he's a toilet and shit.
Im still LOLing that wanky pricks have the third placed life experience in the UK as 'go for a curry'0 -
I think they were joshing with us.wooliedyed said:
Id only do it if a list in a paper told me it was a top 40 essential life affirming experience.ydoethur said:
Why would you wish to sit backwards on Dominic Raab?wooliedyed said:Sit backwards on a toilet and shit.
In Esher.
Although I agree he's a toilet and shit.
Im still LOLing that wanky pricks have the third placed life experience in the UK as 'go for a curry'0 -
Brighton as seen by an Italian:algarkirk said:
If you want to understand and appreciate the real UK you would do as well to stand in the queue at Greggs on a wet November Monday lunchtime in Scunthorpe. (41st on the list and more fun than most of the top 40).Leon said:
How can you resist “the oldest, steepest inland electric funicular railway in England,” which “ranks 38th overall”?stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axBPyTYGS4o
In Italy girls have smooth skin
In England girls drink smooth vodka0 -
I'm baffled as to how it could have escaped your attention. I think I need to warn you in advance that I can't repeat the trick! (Yes - that good)Leon said:
Hasn’t been mentioned. I shall try it as I have another week or two here. Thanks!Omnium said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Fitzroy McLean's 'Eastern Approaches' is the best Balkan account from a readability and believability perspective.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
From my experience (personal & friends) appreciation of Black Lamb Grey Falcon (or is it the other way around?) depends on the reader having eitherLeon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
> significant interest in Eastern Europe in general, and the Balkans in particular; or
> enhanced appreciation for British writing of excruciating turgidity as seen (in USA via PBS) on Masterpiece Theatre
I might not be enjoying Rebecca West but I am having fun with Djilas’ Njegos, thanks to @SeaShantyIrish2
It does meander a bit but it is also full of fascinating deets about Montenegrin history0 -
JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
Sandwood Bay. Was on my own - and thought I had the place to myself at 10.30 pm in late June. Suddenly, the skirl of the pipes and rockets going off. Finally discovered the two guys who had walked out with a set of bagpipes and a rucksack full of rockets.JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
Utterly magical place.1 -
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.0 -
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.0 -
Oh yes! That reminds me, I was thinking of you a little earlier when I read this, about Mr Williamson.ydoethur said:The Depratment (sic) for Education is advertising for a policy adviser to inform Nadhim Zahawi's new policies on schools.
They are offering a two year contract at £100,000 a year. Open to anyone with experience of leadership and management, possibly in education.
The post was advertised today.
The closing date is Sunday.
I wonder who they have decided to appoint, and what fresh hell will be inflicted on schools by their arrogance, stupidity and incompetence a la Cummings, Freedman and Adonis.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/29/ex-education-secretary-gavin-williamson-takes-job-with-education-firm
PS Re the job you notice - maybe the lady down in Tiverton would do nicely. Definitely unoccupied. Management of a nail salon (so far as one can tell), and management of a small primary school for 2 years (ditto). But she needs some advice on bucking up her CV, from what one can tell of her website.0 -
The gardens at Blenheim are magnificent and free. No booking required. The house is a monument to personal vanity - not sure it is worth the entry.algarkirk said:
Go nowhere to have more fun. Just stay at home and read Three men in a Boat. (Perhaps it's due for an update from JosiasJessop).rottenborough said:
LOL. Reading it literally, you don't even have to be arsed to physically go. just book the tickets and you have another tick on your bucket list.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Camping in a boat in the British summer can be a hilarious experience, with the right kind of friends.0 -
This is all political shadow-boxing.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.
Sturgeon doesn't really want a second referendum but she has to pretend to want if for the sake of keeping the SNP together.
If the Supreme Court strike it down, she can go off and moan about London and the Tories and her supporters will lap it up.
If I were Starmer, I'd contact her and tell her to tone down the rhetoric - if she wants a referendum the only way is to get rid of the Conservatives and an alternative UK Government, while committed to preserving the Union, would be more amenable to the idea of a second referendum provided the SNP lines up behind some key Labour policies.
In essence, while the current arrangement works well for Sturgeon (and Johnson of course) a minority Labour Government dependent on the SNP for support would be even better.0 -
"Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.
Any half decent Tory PM can weaponise that dislike. It doesn't require Boris.1 -
Farq, another yearner for the glory days of SLab. Apparently he'll be voting for the sake of his friends and relatives in England.Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.0 -
Ugh. I was eating.Carnyx said:
Oh yes! That reminds me, I was thinking of you a little earlier when I read this, about Mr Williamson.ydoethur said:The Depratment (sic) for Education is advertising for a policy adviser to inform Nadhim Zahawi's new policies on schools.
They are offering a two year contract at £100,000 a year. Open to anyone with experience of leadership and management, possibly in education.
The post was advertised today.
The closing date is Sunday.
I wonder who they have decided to appoint, and what fresh hell will be inflicted on schools by their arrogance, stupidity and incompetence a la Cummings, Freedman and Adonis.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/29/ex-education-secretary-gavin-williamson-takes-job-with-education-firm
PS Re the job you notice - maybe the lady down in Tiverton would do nicely. Definitely unoccupied. Management of a nail salon (so far as one can tell), and management of a small primary school for 2 years (ditto). But she needs some advice on bucking up her CV, from what one can tell of her website.0 -
It’s turgid.Leon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
My brother warned me when I took it on holiday to Croatia, and he was right.
I think I gave up at page 200 or something.
0 -
I'm pleased I asked - very amusing!JosiasJessop said:
Mrs J and I were walking part of the Thames Path, and we booked a B&B in Maidenhead. We knew we were in for a classsy time when the car park had a Statue of Liberty in it. A broken Statue of Liberty. The B&B was above a restaurant, and our room was all in pink with a ?wooden? floor. At about seven, the restaurant's extractor fan near our window started, blowing the smell of the food into our room. The vibrations from the fan slowly moved the bed (which was on castors) across the room.Omnium said:
Talk us through this bed movement in point one.JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
And yes, it was probably a knocking-shop. Which made it even funnier.
It was one of the worst B&B's I've ever stayed in, but we loved it as it was so outrageously bad. Nearly as bad as the hotel we stayed at in London for the Kate Bush concert. The cubicle for the en-suite toilet was so small I could not sit frontwise on the toilet and had to sit side-saddle.
Staying in awful places can be fun; like wondering what'll happen next. What I really don't like is staying in mediocre but expensive places.
I wish I had such a tale to tell.1 -
Very, very strongly second 'Eastern Approaches'Leon said:
Hasn’t been mentioned. I shall try it as I have another week or two here. Thanks!Omnium said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Fitzroy McLean's 'Eastern Approaches' is the best Balkan account from a readability and believability perspective.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
From my experience (personal & friends) appreciation of Black Lamb Grey Falcon (or is it the other way around?) depends on the reader having eitherLeon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
> significant interest in Eastern Europe in general, and the Balkans in particular; or
> enhanced appreciation for British writing of excruciating turgidity as seen (in USA via PBS) on Masterpiece Theatre
I might not be enjoying Rebecca West but I am having fun with Djilas’ Njegos, thanks to @SeaShantyIrish2
It does meander a bit but it is also full of fascinating deets about Montenegrin history
six quid on kindle, and the fact that it has been kindled at all says something about it0 -
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.1 -
I agree re Blenheim - though seeing round the house can be of genuine if slightly academic interest if one is into the late Stuart and early Anne period. Had a very pleasant hike through the park and along Akeman Street, the Roman Road which passes through it, once.Malmesbury said:
The gardens at Blenheim are magnificent and free. No booking required. The house is a monument to personal vanity - not sure it is worth the entry.algarkirk said:
Go nowhere to have more fun. Just stay at home and read Three men in a Boat. (Perhaps it's due for an update from JosiasJessop).rottenborough said:
LOL. Reading it literally, you don't even have to be arsed to physically go. just book the tickets and you have another tick on your bucket list.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Camping in a boat in the British summer can be a hilarious experience, with the right kind of friends.0 -
Off topic, but probably of interest: "With Moscow concentrating its efforts on taking territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region — battering cities, towns and Kyiv’s troops with a near-constant barrage of artillery fire — Ukraine has been able to make steady gains in the south. Village by village, more of the strategically important Kherson region is returning to Ukrainian control — another sign that Russia’s forces might be overextended with a front line that stretches about 300 miles.
Regaining control of Kherson, a rich agricultural region with Black Sea access, is critical for Ukraine. It’s the only position the Russians hold west of the Dnieper River, and a prime position to launch any future offensive down the Black Sea coast to the major port city of Odessa. The Ukrainian counteroffensive is squeezing Russian positions from two directions — the west and the north."
source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/29/ukraine-kherson-counteroffensive-russia/
It's my impression that the Ukrainian gains near Kherson are costing them much less than the Russian gains farther north.0 -
MarqueeMark said:
"Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.
Any half decent Tory PM can weaponise that dislike. It doesn't require Boris.
“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”
1 -
Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy Maclean is indeed a great read!Leon said:
Hasn’t been mentioned. I shall try it as I have another week or two here. Thanks!Omnium said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Fitzroy McLean's 'Eastern Approaches' is the best Balkan account from a readability and believability perspective.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
From my experience (personal & friends) appreciation of Black Lamb Grey Falcon (or is it the other way around?) depends on the reader having eitherLeon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
> significant interest in Eastern Europe in general, and the Balkans in particular; or
> enhanced appreciation for British writing of excruciating turgidity as seen (in USA via PBS) on Masterpiece Theatre
I might not be enjoying Rebecca West but I am having fun with Djilas’ Njegos, thanks to @SeaShantyIrish2
It does meander a bit but it is also full of fascinating deets about Montenegrin history
His time with Tito & Partisans in Yugoslavia cover last third of the book, preceded by his pre-war travels in Soviet Union (including seat in audience at purge trial of Bukharin), and his early-war experiences in the Western Desert with SAS.
Re: Yugoslavia, keep in mind that Maclean was a partisan (so to speak) of the Partisans both during & after the war. Also dripping with what could be called aristocratic privilege, or at least perspective. (But these are quibbles as far as I'm concerned, though others may disagree.)
Politically-speaking, he had a rather unique reason for running for Parliament during the Phony War period: he wanted to get out of the Diplomatic Service so he could join the Army. But Foreign Office took the view that his services to them were of an essential nature, and refused to release him.
However, when he decided to run as MP (in by-election) they had no choice!0 -
Oh, I am *so* sorry.ydoethur said:
Ugh. I was eating.Carnyx said:
Oh yes! That reminds me, I was thinking of you a little earlier when I read this, about Mr Williamson.ydoethur said:The Depratment (sic) for Education is advertising for a policy adviser to inform Nadhim Zahawi's new policies on schools.
They are offering a two year contract at £100,000 a year. Open to anyone with experience of leadership and management, possibly in education.
The post was advertised today.
The closing date is Sunday.
I wonder who they have decided to appoint, and what fresh hell will be inflicted on schools by their arrogance, stupidity and incompetence a la Cummings, Freedman and Adonis.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/29/ex-education-secretary-gavin-williamson-takes-job-with-education-firm
PS Re the job you notice - maybe the lady down in Tiverton would do nicely. Definitely unoccupied. Management of a nail salon (so far as one can tell), and management of a small primary school for 2 years (ditto). But she needs some advice on bucking up her CV, from what one can tell of her website.1 -
Rather than himself? Which says it all.Theuniondivvie said:
Farq, another yearner for the glory days of SLab. Apparently he'll be voting for the sake of his friends and relatives in England.Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.0 -
That was on last year’s list. They’ve shut them all since then.rottenborough said:
It is in Daily Hate, but the research is a NatWest survey.Tres said:
It's the Daily Mail, what do you expect, it's written by people who think Glastonbury is a little bit edgy.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Surprised they didn't say 'pop into one of rural England's quaint old rural banks where you can withdraw some pounds with her blessed majesty's face on'.1 -
A much more jaundiced take is Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour - the last book in the trilogy iirc. But I'm not sure how relevant that is to Kotor etc.IshmaelZ said:
Very, very strongly second 'Eastern Approaches'Leon said:
Hasn’t been mentioned. I shall try it as I have another week or two here. Thanks!Omnium said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Fitzroy McLean's 'Eastern Approaches' is the best Balkan account from a readability and believability perspective.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
From my experience (personal & friends) appreciation of Black Lamb Grey Falcon (or is it the other way around?) depends on the reader having eitherLeon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
> significant interest in Eastern Europe in general, and the Balkans in particular; or
> enhanced appreciation for British writing of excruciating turgidity as seen (in USA via PBS) on Masterpiece Theatre
I might not be enjoying Rebecca West but I am having fun with Djilas’ Njegos, thanks to @SeaShantyIrish2
It does meander a bit but it is also full of fascinating deets about Montenegrin history
six quid on kindle, and the fact that it has been kindled at all says something about it0 -
‘Ruthlessly organised’ Tory rebels plot 1922 takeover to oust Boris Johnson
Some who backed PM only last week now set sights on ‘clean sweep’ of backbench committee that could allow leadership vote
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/29/ruthlessly-organised-tory-rebels-plot-1922-takeover-to-oust-boris-johnson
"Boris Johnson is facing a fresh threat from Conservative rebels planning a takeover of the powerful backbench committee that could force the prime minister from office.
Opponents of Johnson, including some who were loyal to him as recently as last week, have set their sights on a “clean sweep” of the 1922 Committee amid a hardening of the mood against the prime minister."
"Steve Baker and Andrew Bridgen have declared their intention to run; others contemplating the same include Aaron Bell, who submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson in February, and Paul Holmes, who quit as a ministerial aide over Partygate. Chris Green, a former minister who said Johnson faced the “greatest political challenge to survive” after the recent no-confidence vote, is also planning to stand."1 -
Make the most of the Scottish borders while you can. When the SNP get their way it will be an EU/non EU border looking like thisstodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-presumed-migrants-found-dead-near-bulgaria-turkey-border--96847
And Kielder will be full of searchlights spotting English and Scottish refugees fleeing their respective tyrannies
0 -
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.1 -
Headline of the day, from US podcaster Tim Pool:
“Ghislaine Maxwell Faces 20 YEARS In Prison For Trafficking Her Victims To No One, Apparently”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qIgIcsgXv-M1 -
Did you get as far as Saughton?Fairliered said:
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.0 -
41. Visit @IanB2 's mum's house in Ventnor and see if you can spot his giant EU flag flying from his bedroom.Leon said:Imagine the existential despair of waking up on your 40th birthday and realising that, despite reaching your fifth decade, you still haven’t “29. Booked tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire”
The nihilism would engulf you, the existential horror. Consider the awful prospect: the futility of your remaining years, the maudlin dwindling away into a dying fall, knowing that you never “29. Booked tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire” when you would REALLY have enjoyed it.
Like dying a virgin0 -
Since the chances of him living in a SCon seat where Lab would be a challenger are zero, also a fatuous virtue signaller.Carnyx said:
Rather than himself? Which says it all.Theuniondivvie said:
Farq, another yearner for the glory days of SLab. Apparently he'll be voting for the sake of his friends and relatives in England.Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.0 -
No wonder. Relative popularity ratings of the leaders. It's more likely to do Mr J down.MarqueeMark said:
"Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."Carnyx said:
Veeery interesting. And of course Mr Gigantic Hound is rabidly popular in Scotland, with all voters of all parties.RandallFlagg said:May Sturgeon have saved Big Dog?
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f22327a-f72c-11ec-84c1-32e852e780b0?shareToken=37f0c5c5f9b0d8a31268cf6865fe3ac3
"I do wonder if Sturgeon and her strategists have thought through what this is likely to do to a UK general election. My fear is it makes the job of kicking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street a lot harder.
Why? Because the big worry in the Labour party right now is that the Tories will try to repeat their success in the past three UK general elections of weaponising English voters’ dislike of the SNP."
It's definitely true that Labour really, really do not want Scottish independence to dominate the next election.
Any half decent Tory PM can weaponise that dislike. It doesn't require Boris.0 -
0
-
When you find the EU flag, you’ll be close, as it’s just down the hillCasino_Royale said:
41. Visit @IanB2 's mum's house in Ventnor and see if you can spot his giant EU flag flying from his bedroom.Leon said:Imagine the existential despair of waking up on your 40th birthday and realising that, despite reaching your fifth decade, you still haven’t “29. Booked tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire”
The nihilism would engulf you, the existential horror. Consider the awful prospect: the futility of your remaining years, the maudlin dwindling away into a dying fall, knowing that you never “29. Booked tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire” when you would REALLY have enjoyed it.
Like dying a virgin0 -
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti0 -
I'd be surprise if Ms Patel could organise any third-hand Christmas tree lights, from her performance on the muich more dangerous French border.algarkirk said:
Make the most of the Scottish borders while you can. When the SNP get their way it will be an EU/non EU border looking like thisstodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-presumed-migrants-found-dead-near-bulgaria-turkey-border--96847
And Kielder will be full of searchlights spotting English and Scottish refugees fleeing their respective tyrannies0 -
Adios, Andy,0
-
I was surprised how relatively cheap National Trust Life Membership seems to be relative to the Annual Fee these days.Andy_Cooke said:
I notice that the challenge is just to book the tickets.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Actually walking around Blenheim is probably a bit too extreme.
Life Membership plus take a Guest is £1845. For over 60s, £1,380.
One year - can't take a Guest - is £76.50.
Ratio of 24. Plus the Guest.
Family Membership - £2415 entry for two adults at the same address and all their children or grandchildren. Annual is £133.80 for the same group.
Quite surprising. Exceptionally good graduation present.
0 -
Different canal. What’s wrong with Saughton? I’ve been to Fraserburgh!Carnyx said:
Did you get as far as Saughton?Fairliered said:
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.0 -
Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
0 -
Totally gunned off the court. 37 aces.. enough for 9 service games to loveMarqueeMark said:Adios, Andy,
0 -
Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.0 -
Bangin match
Lesson of the day, don't bovver watching women's tennis0 -
Well for a start, you;re making the assumption that you will be spending the rest of your life - certainly the bulk of it - in the UK. And that you will also be always interested in old houses and gardens. Hmm. Personally I’d rather throw caution to the wind, and when the wild time comes:MattW said:
I was surprised how relatively cheap National Trust Life Membership seems to be relative to the Annual Fee these days.Andy_Cooke said:
I notice that the challenge is just to book the tickets.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Actually walking around Blenheim is probably a bit too extreme.
Life Membership plus take a Guest is £1845. For over 60s, £1,380.
One year - can't take a Guest - is £76.50.
Ratio of 24. Plus the Guest.
Family Membership - £2415 entry for two adults at the same address and all their children or grandchildren. Annual is £133.80 for the same group.
Quite surprising. Exceptionally good graduation present.
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire0 -
Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
Michael Portillo’s 1913 Bradshaw Continental Guide.Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti1 -
I've been to Paisley!Fairliered said:
Different canal. What’s wrong with Saughton? I’ve been to Fraserburgh!Carnyx said:
Did you get as far as Saughton?Fairliered said:
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.
Had a very nice outing with a historical society once from the Edinburgh basin on one of those catering barges. Absolutely fascinating and well fed - about 2 miles there and back,. and a walk down to the bottom of the aqueduct. So I wondered.0 -
Richmond Forest is much more interesting and beautiful (sorry @HYUFD) and probably just as wild (ie not very wild)Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.
Some glorious ancient trees, herds of deer, quirky lakes, real remote spots - you can get seriously lost - royal cottages, curious lodges, the view of St Paul’s, and much more. And of course it is right next to Richmond, one of the loveliest places in southern England, even nicer than Epping Town Centre0 -
One for you Sunil: this evening on my way back home to North Acton with the Central Line train stopped at White City, the woman next to me asked whether it was going to Ilford. I had to ask her to repeat the question, because I thought I'd misheard.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
0 -
You obviously haven’t encountered HYFUD whilst wearing a kilt and an SNP badge and playing Flower of Scotland on the bagpipes. No 32689547085 on the Daily Mail / Natwest list.Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.0 -
Which reminds me what I wanted to ask: What does Simon Calder do when he gets where he is always going, and when he gets back, and goes away again and when he isn't talking on all media outlets simultaneously every day all the time.Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
This isn't a criticism, he's the John Curtice of timetables, he's great; I just wonder why he is ever going anywhere and whether he is Professor of Timetables and Cancellations at Strathclyde Univiersity in his spare time.
1 -
Difficult to do the whole 2,000 miles anyway, given much of it is not contiguous, some of it is designed for long narrowboats, others for short beamy boats, and some for sea going boats.Carnyx said:
I've been to Paisley!Fairliered said:
Different canal. What’s wrong with Saughton? I’ve been to Fraserburgh!Carnyx said:
Did you get as far as Saughton?Fairliered said:
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.
Had a very nice outing with a historical society once from the basin on one of those catering barges. Absolutely fascinating and well fed - about 2 miles there and back,. and a walk down to the bottom of the aqueduct. So I wondered.
You would certainly need more than one boat.
Personally, I've always been quite happy cycling along the towpaths.1 -
Not just not the UK, different starfield. Either you got magellanic clouds or you don't. But hemisphere for hemisphere, Northumberland is just the least light polluted place on a heavily light polluted island. 99% of locations in the USA will give you as good a view.stodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
0 -
There's rather more than that to it, of course.Leon said:
Well for a start, you;re making the assumption that you will be spending the rest of your life - certainly the bulk of it - in the UK. And that you will also be always interested in old houses and gardens. Hmm. Personally I’d rather throw caution to the wind, and when the wild time comes:MattW said:
I was surprised how relatively cheap National Trust Life Membership seems to be relative to the Annual Fee these days.Andy_Cooke said:
I notice that the challenge is just to book the tickets.Leon said:I also like the fact that this list is aimed at “people under 40”. These are the daring scary things you need to do when you are filled with bravery, brio and adventure, the stuff that will too daunting or dangerous for anyone over 40, the stuff you simply can’t do over that age, to be honest
Eg number 29
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Actually walking around Blenheim is probably a bit too extreme.
Life Membership plus take a Guest is £1845. For over 60s, £1,380.
One year - can't take a Guest - is £76.50.
Ratio of 24. Plus the Guest.
Family Membership - £2415 entry for two adults at the same address and all their children or grandchildren. Annual is £133.80 for the same group.
Quite surprising. Exceptionally good graduation present.
29. Book tickets to explore the magnificent palace, park and gardens at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
You don't need the rest of your life - more like a third of it. And there's a hedge against inflation. Plenty of other perks.
You'll want to wait a year or two and get the pensioner one.0 -
Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
0 -
Dunno! But he is infamous, in the industry, for having a huge ****algarkirk said:
Which reminds me what I wanted to ask: What does Simon Calder do when he gets where he is always going, and when he gets back, and goes away again and when he isn't talking on all media outlets simultaneously every day all the time.Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
This isn't a criticism, he's the John Curtice of timetables, he's great; I just wonder why he is ever going anywhere and whether he is Professor of Timetables and Cancellations at Strathclyde Univiersity in his spare time.0 -
For John Clare and Epping try Iain Sinclair 'Edge of the Orison: In the Traces of John Clare's Journey out of Essex'. Bonkers but fascinating. Not reviewed in the Daily Mail...Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.
0 -
Have you ever bumped into him in your travels?Leon said:
Dunno! But he is infamous, in the industry, for having a huge ****algarkirk said:
Which reminds me what I wanted to ask: What does Simon Calder do when he gets where he is always going, and when he gets back, and goes away again and when he isn't talking on all media outlets simultaneously every day all the time.Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
This isn't a criticism, he's the John Curtice of timetables, he's great; I just wonder why he is ever going anywhere and whether he is Professor of Timetables and Cancellations at Strathclyde Univiersity in his spare time.0 -
Ruthlessly organised but unable to win last time.CatMan said:‘Ruthlessly organised’ Tory rebels plot 1922 takeover to oust Boris Johnson
Some who backed PM only last week now set sights on ‘clean sweep’ of backbench committee that could allow leadership vote
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/29/ruthlessly-organised-tory-rebels-plot-1922-takeover-to-oust-boris-johnson
"Boris Johnson is facing a fresh threat from Conservative rebels planning a takeover of the powerful backbench committee that could force the prime minister from office.
Opponents of Johnson, including some who were loyal to him as recently as last week, have set their sights on a “clean sweep” of the 1922 Committee amid a hardening of the mood against the prime minister."
"Steve Baker and Andrew Bridgen have declared their intention to run; others contemplating the same include Aaron Bell, who submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson in February, and Paul Holmes, who quit as a ministerial aide over Partygate. Chris Green, a former minister who said Johnson faced the “greatest political challenge to survive” after the recent no-confidence vote, is also planning to stand."0 -
ChristGardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ = the Paul McCartney of comic fiction. That whole chapter in 3miab about how achingly funny it is that you always forget to pack the toothpaste, or remember to, or something. Agonizing.
0 -
Iain Sinclair, who used to live around the corner from me, is quite hard to get into.algarkirk said:
For John Clare and Epping try Iain Sinclair 'Edge of the Orison: In the Traces of John Clare's Journey out of Essex'. Bonkers but fascinating. Not reviewed in the Daily Mail...Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.
I think you need to be drunk. It’s essentially Kerouac-if-he-voted-Lib-Dem.
0 -
Well, Redbridge, Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault and Grange Hill are either in Ilford North or just on the borderThomasNashe said:
One for you Sunil: this evening on my way back home to North Acton with the Central Line train stopped at White City, the woman next to me asked whether it was going to Ilford. I had to ask her to repeat the question, because I thought I'd misheard.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
0 -
Come on in Ms Birbalsingh...ydoethur said:The Depratment (sic) for Education is advertising for a policy adviser to inform Nadhim Zahawi's new policies on schools.
They are offering a two year contract at £100,000 a year. Open to anyone with experience of leadership and management, possibly in education.
The post was advertised today.
The closing date is Sunday.
I wonder who they have decided to appoint, and what fresh hell will be inflicted on schools by their arrogance, stupidity and incompetence a la Cummings, Freedman and Adonis.0 -
Andy Murray has gone from being British to Scottish in less than an hour. The rest of us have to wait until October 2023.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
3 -
Sudden memories of a very pleasant holiday going to Brecon and hiking back along the canal towpath and exploring places like Tretower en route to Golden Valley and Hereford. And similar walks along the Kennet and Avon seeing the 1940 stop line fortifications and roadblocks still where they had been rolled aside ready for use, and the water voles plopping into the water as one approached, one by one, when they still had water voles.ydoethur said:
Difficult to do the whole 2,000 miles anyway, given much of it is not contiguous, some of it is designed for long narrowboats, others for short beamy boats, and some for sea going boats.Carnyx said:
I've been to Paisley!Fairliered said:
Different canal. What’s wrong with Saughton? I’ve been to Fraserburgh!Carnyx said:
Did you get as far as Saughton?Fairliered said:
We did it for the first (and last) time earlier this month. It lost its appeal around 2 miles in.kle4 said:Explore the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals and rivers with a staycation on a canal boat
Do we have to do the entire 2000 miles to cross it off the list? I like canals, but I feel like it might lose its appeal around 600 miles in.
Had a very nice outing with a historical society once from the basin on one of those catering barges. Absolutely fascinating and well fed - about 2 miles there and back,. and a walk down to the bottom of the aqueduct. So I wondered.
You would certainly need more than one boat.
Personally, I've always been quite happy cycling along the towpaths.
But if I were really wanting to do a Sunil in barges I'd be looking askance at some of the more urban stretches and thinking one really needed somethijng like this. https://www.o5m6.de/redarmy/bronekater.php0 -
My two best star experiences, for sheer stars, have been Utah and the Atacama. Pure desert skies, zero light pollution (and in the Atacama, high altitude)IshmaelZ said:
Not just not the UK, different starfield. Either you got magellanic clouds or you don't. But hemisphere for hemisphere, Northumberland is just the least light polluted place on a heavily light polluted island. 99% of locations in the USA will give you as good a view.stodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
And yet the best emotional experience was in the Kafue in Zambia. There is something about looking up at an enormous firmament, with its billions of stars, and at the same time hearing the thrum of the nocturnal African bush, all around you. The roar of a hunting leopard. The yowl of a duiker, predated in the dark. Spine-tingling0 -
JKJ wrote a handful of readable books, and one masterpiece (3 men in a Boat) and a collection of the worst novels ever written (Paul Kelver, All Roads Lead to Calvary etc.)Gardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
The other decent ones are:
Three men on the Bummel and
Diary of a Pilgrimage (I have a peculiar special affection for it - about a visit to Oberammergau).
He must be easily the funniest man to come out of Walsall.
0 -
Perhaps it is simply hilarious in Russian.IshmaelZ said:
ChristGardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ = the Paul McCartney of comic fiction. That whole chapter in 3miab about how achingly funny it is that you always forget to pack the toothpaste, or remember to, or something. Agonizing.
I read it in my youth and it was like trying to get excited by Victorian porn. Sawdust, mouldy old crinoline, and the smell of mothballs.
1 -
Leon said:
My two best star experiences, for sheer stars, have been Utah and the Atacama. Pure desert skies, zero light pollution (and in the Atacama, high altitude)IshmaelZ said:
Not just not the UK, different starfield. Either you got magellanic clouds or you don't. But hemisphere for hemisphere, Northumberland is just the least light polluted place on a heavily light polluted island. 99% of locations in the USA will give you as good a view.stodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
And yet the best emotional experience was in the Kafue in Zambia. There is something about looking up at an enormous firmament, with its billions of stars, and at the same time hearing the thrum of the nocturnal African bush, all around you. The roar of a hunting leopard. The yowl of a duiker, predated in the dark. Spine-tingling
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined—just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.
II
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew—
Fresh from his Wessex home—
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.
III
Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge for ever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow up a Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.
1 -
I have been there! Mind you, I was living in Walsall at the time. The leather museum and Walsall illuminations are the other highlights.Gardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ is a great writer, I highly recommend his "Idle thoughts of an idle fellow"1 -
mid Atlantic for me.Leon said:
My two best star experiences, for sheer stars, have been Utah and the Atacama. Pure desert skies, zero light pollution (and in the Atacama, high altitude)IshmaelZ said:
Not just not the UK, different starfield. Either you got magellanic clouds or you don't. But hemisphere for hemisphere, Northumberland is just the least light polluted place on a heavily light polluted island. 99% of locations in the USA will give you as good a view.stodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
And yet the best emotional experience was in the Kafue in Zambia. There is something about looking up at an enormous firmament, with its billions of stars, and at the same time hearing the thrum of the nocturnal African bush, all around you. The roar of a hunting leopard. The yowl of a duiker, predated in the dark. Spine-tingling0 -
One of those books that improves with age, like Porterhouse Blue, to give another recent example in my experience.Gardenwalker said:
Perhaps it is simply hilarious in Russian.IshmaelZ said:
ChristGardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ = the Paul McCartney of comic fiction. That whole chapter in 3miab about how achingly funny it is that you always forget to pack the toothpaste, or remember to, or something. Agonizing.
I read it in my youth and it was like trying to get excited by Victorian porn. Sawdust, mouldy old crinoline, and the smell of mothballs.0 -
For some reason, he didn't need Mr Johnson's permission either.Fairliered said:
Andy Murray has gone from being British to Scottish in less than an hour. The rest of us have to wait until October 2023.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
0 -
He could change back if sponsors can put the dream team together for the mixed doubles, now both were knocked out today.Fairliered said:
Andy Murray has gone from being British to Scottish in less than an hour. The rest of us have to wait until October 2023.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
0 -
2010:Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/montenegros-bay-of-kotor-22348658/0 -
Fair enough.Carnyx said:
One of those books that improves with age,Gardenwalker said:
Perhaps it is simply hilarious in Russian.IshmaelZ said:
ChristGardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ = the Paul McCartney of comic fiction. That whole chapter in 3miab about how achingly funny it is that you always forget to pack the toothpaste, or remember to, or something. Agonizing.
I read it in my youth and it was like trying to get excited by Victorian porn. Sawdust, mouldy old crinoline, and the smell of mothballs.
like Porterhouse Blue, to give another recent
example in my experience.
I also read “Jake’s Thing” when I was 13 and it didn’t mean anything to me.
With hindsight, my parents were probably guilty of some form of neglect or abuse.
0 -
And when you have taken in all those you are nearly finished with the Daily Mail top 40 UK thrills. Just Greenford South and booking tickets for Blenheim completes the setSunil_Prasannan said:
Well, Redbridge, Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault and Grange Hill are either in Ilford North or just on the borderThomasNashe said:
One for you Sunil: this evening on my way back home to North Acton with the Central Line train stopped at White City, the woman next to me asked whether it was going to Ilford. I had to ask her to repeat the question, because I thought I'd misheard.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
1 -
2010. Yes, that must be why Kotor is full of Yanks this summer. A Rick Steves Smithsonian article from…. 2010SeaShantyIrish2 said:
2010:Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/montenegros-bay-of-kotor-22348658/0 -
Three Men is the book I read as a teenager that made me grasp that people a hundred years ago weren’t so different to me after all. It read surprisingly modern, compared to everything else I had seen from that era.Carnyx said:
One of those books that improves with age, like Porterhouse Blue, to give another recent example in my experience.Gardenwalker said:
Perhaps it is simply hilarious in Russian.IshmaelZ said:
ChristGardenwalker said:Random travel ideas.
I have a Russian friend (now lives in Hackney) who grew up reading English literature in 1980s Soviet times, but with a necessarily odd perspective given censorship etc etc.
When she arrived in England, one of her must-do pilgrimages was to the Jerome K Jerome museum in WALSALL.
JKJ = the Paul McCartney of comic fiction. That whole chapter in 3miab about how achingly funny it is that you always forget to pack the toothpaste, or remember to, or something. Agonizing.
I read it in my youth and it was like trying to get excited by Victorian porn. Sawdust, mouldy old crinoline, and the smell of mothballs.4 -
Hardy got better at poetry as he aged. Anyway South Africa's not that far south, lotsa familiar constellations to look at, notably Immense Orion's glittering form (Hardy, T.)algarkirk said:Leon said:
My two best star experiences, for sheer stars, have been Utah and the Atacama. Pure desert skies, zero light pollution (and in the Atacama, high altitude)IshmaelZ said:
Not just not the UK, different starfield. Either you got magellanic clouds or you don't. But hemisphere for hemisphere, Northumberland is just the least light polluted place on a heavily light polluted island. 99% of locations in the USA will give you as good a view.stodge said:
Oddly enough, I can claim Kielder - drove through it one evening while staying in the Scottish Borders. Lovely drive, stopped by one of the lakes for a few minutes. Best starfield I have ever seen apart from the West Coast of New Zealand (but that's not the UK).dixiedean said:
Sad to say I have scaled Beckton Alp.stodge said:
Most of them I wouldn't do even if those who pay people to go travelling paid me.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Disappointing scaling Beckton Alp hasn't made the list.
By the by, @HYUFD has failed to mention Epping Forest is "vast and wild" - sounds more like Barking on a Saturday night.
Yet I haven't managed Kielder stargazing in the county I've lived in for sixteen years.
And yet the best emotional experience was in the Kafue in Zambia. There is something about looking up at an enormous firmament, with its billions of stars, and at the same time hearing the thrum of the nocturnal African bush, all around you. The roar of a hunting leopard. The yowl of a duiker, predated in the dark. Spine-tingling
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined—just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.
II
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew—
Fresh from his Wessex home—
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.
III
Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge for ever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow up a Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.
0 -
A Top 40 list of British attractions is a fool’s errand.
All the so-called “must-sees” are the sort of place you’re probably best not seeing, although I’d make an exception for Edinburgh.
Britain’s charm (and perhaps this is true generally) is ever so slightly askew of the beaten track.
1 -
This thread has dropped the ball.0
-
Yes. On the subject of London generally he is Ian Nairn on acid. Sound but pretentious, writes in a style loved by Eng Lit departments, hated by readers.Gardenwalker said:
Iain Sinclair, who used to live around the corner from me, is quite hard to get into.algarkirk said:
For John Clare and Epping try Iain Sinclair 'Edge of the Orison: In the Traces of John Clare's Journey out of Essex'. Bonkers but fascinating. Not reviewed in the Daily Mail...Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.
I think you need to be drunk. It’s essentially Kerouac-if-he-voted-Lib-Dem.
But hats off to the chap who walks round the M25 and writes a book about it. And viscerally hated the wreckage caused by the London Olympics.
He's given up on London now and moved to somewhere even ghastlier.
0 -
This thread has
lost in straight sets
0 -
How's this for Corbynista bias?Sunil_Prasannan said:
Well, Redbridge, Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault and Grange Hill are either in Ilford North or just on the borderThomasNashe said:
One for you Sunil: this evening on my way back home to North Acton with the Central Line train stopped at White City, the woman next to me asked whether it was going to Ilford. I had to ask her to repeat the question, because I thought I'd misheard.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
The Elizabeth Line serves Sam Tarry's Ilford South, but NOT Wes Streeting's Ilford North1 -
I visited South Greenford as long ago as 2008.algarkirk said:
And when you have taken in all those you are nearly finished with the Daily Mail top 40 UK thrills. Just Greenford South and booking tickets for Blenheim completes the setSunil_Prasannan said:
Well, Redbridge, Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault and Grange Hill are either in Ilford North or just on the borderThomasNashe said:
One for you Sunil: this evening on my way back home to North Acton with the Central Line train stopped at White City, the woman next to me asked whether it was going to Ilford. I had to ask her to repeat the question, because I thought I'd misheard.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
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He is a good travel writer, no wonder he is so popular.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
2010:Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/montenegros-bay-of-kotor-22348658/
The problem of following the guidebooks is that you do meet a lot of people with the same guidebook. I remember travelling across SE Asia with the famous Yellow book, but after a while we just ignored its eating and hostel recommendations, there were simply loads of better and cheaper places all round.0 -
Where is he now?algarkirk said:
Yes. On the subject of London generally he is Ian Nairn on acid. Sound but pretentious, writes in a style loved by Eng Lit departments, hated by readers.Gardenwalker said:
Iain Sinclair, who used to live around the corner from me, is quite hard to get into.algarkirk said:
For John Clare and Epping try Iain Sinclair 'Edge of the Orison: In the Traces of John Clare's Journey out of Essex'. Bonkers but fascinating. Not reviewed in the Daily Mail...Gardenwalker said:Epping Forest is disappointingly tame.
If one hopes to see the mad, echoing spectre of the 19th century lunatic poet John Clare, you are shit out of luck.
Traces of Clem Attlee and Jacob Epstein are also hard to discern.
One of my fantasies is a grand projet to extend Epping Forest right into central London, connecting at Victoria Park; and up, engirdling Waltham Abbey and heading toward Harlow.
A proper, fuck-off forest, right on the edge of London.
I think you need to be drunk. It’s essentially Kerouac-if-he-voted-Lib-Dem.
But hats off to the chap who walks round the M25 and writes a book about it. And viscerally hated the wreckage caused by the London Olympics.
He's given up on London now and moved to somewhere even ghastlier.
To be fair he’s quite old and one imagines he got a good price on his house which was on Albion Square.
The Hackney book is actually very good but as I say you need to be medicated somehow, it is not linear and the vague allusions in the digressions-to-the-digressions are “the point”.
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A bit less magical since the JMT's new path means you can yomp there in an hour, or worse, use a mountain bike.MarqueeMark said:JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
Sandwood Bay. Was on my own - and thought I had the place to myself at 10.30 pm in late June. Suddenly, the skirl of the pipes and rockets going off. Finally discovered the two guys who had walked out with a set of bagpipes and a rucksack full of rockets.JosiasJessop said:
That all seems rather bland and soulless.rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
Personally, I've done a few (I've essentially walked the NC500, and have stargazed in Northumberland whilst camping), and I did #25 many times as a kid.
Here's a short list of (done) UK travel experiences:
*) Stay in a Maidenhead hotel where the bed moves overnight to the other side of the room.
*) Wild-camp in the King's Forest, Thetford, during a Lamping session.
*) Get five men staying in a two-bed B&B room.
*) Walk four miles after a pub lunch, only to realise you've left your girlfriend back at the pub.
*) Forget your torch on a night walk
*) Forget your maps on a day walk
*) P*ss in the sea at Brighton Beach in December, because the council has shut all the public toilets for the winter.
*) Do what a bear does in the woods. (minus points if you have a trowel and/or paper).
*) Get tickets for an event at the Tate in London, and go to the *wrong* Tate.
*) Stay in a B&B where you cannot take the spoon out of a cup because of congealed sugar.
*) Wild camp outside a safari park and be regularly woken by all the animals.
*) Have sex in the loch at Sandwood Bay.
*) Go on a preserved railway, only for the steam engine to break down mid-journey.
*) Go on a coach, only for the coach to end up at the wrong destination.
*) Call out the AA from three nations in the UK.
Utterly magical place.
It was much better when the bog was deep. Kept the numbers down...0 -
Probably later.Fairliered said:
Andy Murray has gone from being British to Scottish in less than an hour. The rest of us have to wait until October 2023.Sunil_Prasannan said:Scottish tennis has-been Murray out of Wimbledon in the 2nd Round
I wonder if SCOTUK will ask to see the legislation.
I'm expecting SCOTUK to eventually rule that an advisory referendum is outside the powers of the Scotland Act.
Then if it is an election campaign, how do you sort out the franchise issue, which means if we use the GE campaign as a proxy, 16 and 17 years are buggered, expect legal action.0 -
I still have a copy of the original. Shame that Fitzroy Maclean ended up as a Tory MP.IshmaelZ said:
Very, very strongly second 'Eastern Approaches'Leon said:
Hasn’t been mentioned. I shall try it as I have another week or two here. Thanks!Omnium said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Fitzroy McLean's 'Eastern Approaches' is the best Balkan account from a readability and believability perspective.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
From my experience (personal & friends) appreciation of Black Lamb Grey Falcon (or is it the other way around?) depends on the reader having eitherLeon said:
1938 I think. Poignantly before the warrottenborough said:
No. I have had a copy for about ten years and it is on the impossibly long pile of my 'to be read' books.Leon said:Has anyone else tried to read Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon? My god what a slog. Impossibly slow, excessively long and notably dated. She’s right about Montenegrins tho. They are beautiful people
Not surprised it is dated - it's from the 1940s iirc.
It’s not just the length, it is the longueurs, whole passages where she waffles away, for 30 pages or whatever, about nothing, or she gives you her unexciting opinions on marriage or pancakes or pigeons or God
Yet serious people say it is one of the greatest books of the 20th century? Disconcerting. Can’t see it
> significant interest in Eastern Europe in general, and the Balkans in particular; or
> enhanced appreciation for British writing of excruciating turgidity as seen (in USA via PBS) on Masterpiece Theatre
I might not be enjoying Rebecca West but I am having fun with Djilas’ Njegos, thanks to @SeaShantyIrish2
It does meander a bit but it is also full of fascinating deets about Montenegrin history
six quid on kindle, and the fact that it has been kindled at all says something about it0 -
NEW THREAD
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True that popularity of Rick Steves guidebooks AND TV shows means that his recommendations DO form a well-beaten path.Foxy said:
He is a good travel writer, no wonder he is so popular.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
2010:Leon said:
Link, please? To this recent recommendation?IanB2 said:
He does. Americans don’t get to make many trips to Europe, and they go wherever he recommends. After his write up of Kotor (“today’s Kotor is a time-capsule retreat for travelers seeking a truly unspoiled Adriatic town”) you can see the evidence for yourself.Leon said:
I’m still waiting for the link. To the place where he recently recommends it. I’m sincerely intrigued that he still has that much influence,IanB2 said:
Just as well that people like you are tuned into Rick Steves and following all his latest recommendations, then?Leon said:
99% of people know fuck all about travelrottenborough said:
I agree. Although it is claimed this was a survey of 1000s rather than just written by a retard.Leon said:rottenborough said:On travel: Natwest have apparently come up with a list of the top 40 things to experience, travel-wise, in UK:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10965147/The-40-UK-travel-experiences-try-turn-40-stargazing-Northumberland-No-1.html
No doubt @Leon has done them all.
Twice.
Sadly, I have only managed eight.
That’s a fucking terrible list, written by a retard
“Go hiking in vast, wild Epping Forest”
@HYUFD will be surprised to learn he lives next to the Serengeti
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/montenegros-bay-of-kotor-22348658/
The problem of following the guidebooks is that you do meet a lot of people with the same guidebook. I remember travelling across SE Asia with the famous Yellow book, but after a while we just ignored its eating and hostel recommendations, there were simply loads of better and cheaper places all round.
However, have gotten some good tip in past from his works which worked out in part because I made allowances for time of year & other key factors.
For example, followed his advice re: checking out the Cinque Terre, and did NOT encounter another American (Ugly or otherwise) while there.
Fact that it was February likely had a bearing on this.
Rick Steves's home base is Edmonds, Washington a upscale burb north of Seattle right on Puget Sound, his travel store is on the touristy main drag.
Have seen him on the street there once or maybe twice. Also ran across him at the WA State Inaugural Ball at the state capitol in Olympia, right after the epic 2004 Gregoire-Rossi gubernatorial election (2nd recount) and before the equally-epic court contest.0 -
30% of the US is hardcore anti-abortion. About 30% is hardcore pro-choice.SeaShantyIrish2 said:
One thing for sure, repeal of Roe v Wade is kind of "event" capable of making a week a long time politically-speaking. Let alone four and a half months.MISTY said:SeaShantyIrish2 said:
Bit early too tell re: turnout for 2022. Note that NY State NOT a good test, as yesterday's primary was just for Gov & Lt Gov, which incumbents both won by landslides despite fact that each has only been in current office a bit more than 15 minutes.MISTY said:
It depends how big of an issue pro choice really is in America, given that many states will always be pro-choice.HYUFD said:
The SC verdict may well get them neither, Trump's SC nominations have been great for the US pro life movement and ensure the SC will rule unconstitutional any nationwide abortion right law but may well put the GOP out of power in both the White House and Congress for a decade.MISTY said:
Yes I guess but it is Illinois.Sandpit said:
That has the potential to backfire spectacularly in November.MISTY said:
The Illinois Republican governor race really is worth reading about. The Democrat incumbent actually helped the Trumpist beat the moderate with attack ads and money of their own. The democrats helped select a candidate they believe is far too right wing ever to beat their man.boulay said:
And that, my friend, is why your cross-pond presence here is very welcome to me that my assumptions about a foreign country are wild generalisations rather than having to actually read anything else and learn for myself!SeaShantyIrish2 said:
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and (maybe) Arkansas are Deep South states.boulay said:
But it does lead to two countries from one perhaps.HYUFD said:
Most people in the Deep South and border states of the US, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississipi, Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina etc are fundamentalist Christians. They are a million miles from the coastal liberal states in social values and indeed closer to much of Eastern Europe than the rest of the West.OnlyLivingBoy said:
Gay people should have the same rights as everyone else. Many of these same states used to outlaw interracial marriage, also on a pretext taken from scripture. Laws made by democratically elected officials. Was that okay too? And if they go back to that - would you support that as their right? What if they started burning witches? Also fine as long as it is backed by a majority?HYUFD said:
If a majority of people in Utah or the deep South oppose gay marriage they will elect governors and legislators who also oppose gay marriage, that is inevitable and democracy. Given this states rights SC that is where we are heading.OnlyLivingBoy said:
Because they should be able to live wherever they fucking like without some God bothering fanatics declaring them second class citizens.HYUFD said:
As I said earlier this week why on earth would a gay couple move to Utah or say the deep South, which is where the states most likely to have majorities against gay marriage will be?rcs1000 said:
Leaving same sex marriage to individual states is much more complex, because say you a gay Connecticut couple (as apparently most of them are), and you move to Utah, where gay marriage is illegal, then is your marriage recognized?MISTY said:
Another determination that could be left to individual states is, apparently, same sex marriage.Scott_xP said:This Supreme Court is running wild. This outcome is a kick in the face to peoples whose land we already took and whose sovereignty we have already disregarded- to the point of genocide.
It’s wrong, and I fear there is more to come from these ignorant, cruel clowns. https://twitter.com/maggieblackhawk/status/1542147095750213633
The way this is going, the way some states seem to be a million miles away from others in social outlook, you have to wonder whether in the end some sort of fracturing/secession might actually occur.
What about your gay marriage as regards federal treatment of benefits to spouses?
However most other states in the US will still back gay marriage so it is not exactly as if they have nowhere to go.
How many homosexuals move to the third of countries in the world where homosexuality is still illegal?
The US is a federal country but it is still a single country where certain rights of equal treatment should be guaranteed everywhere. It is also a democracy but also a liberal Republic where individual rights are meant to be protected.
One thing is clear: the Scotus abortion ruling has opened the way to a concerted attack on the rights of those who don't match up to the fundamentalist Christian ideal.
You may not like that but unfortunately democracy does not always lead to liberalism winning and the USA is the United States of America not just United America
Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia are NOT. They are part
(historically, culturally, economically, politically) of the Upper South.
Conflating one with other is NOT a confidence builder re: conclusions drawn from such "analysis"
Good tactics I guess, but a faint whiff of hubris
The thing about the republicans is the leadership (McConnell and McCarthy) probably dislike the Trumpists almost as much as the dems do. Maybe more.
With Trumpists endorsed candidates overcoming moderates in the primaries in many states, what do the leadership really want in November? a massive win? or just enough to take back, say, the House?
Pro choice swing states like Florida and Michigan for example will now lean Democrat.
The New York Times is bemoaning how Dobbs was expected to boost turnout in Tuesday's primaries, especially democrat.
It really didn't.
Also plenty of voters NEVER vote in primaries in first place, because they are waiting for the "real' election even when, as practical matter, primary proves decisive to final outcome.
There were some polls showing big swings to dems after the verdict too, to be fair, but could be kneejerk I guess.
The rest - mostly - think it's a debate about exactly when the line should be drawn, and what exemptions there should in the event of threat to the mothers' life, rape, etc.
Some people in the 40% will think 10 weeks. Others 20. Most aren't particularly keen on abortion, but think blanket bans are a bad idea.
Between now and the end of the year will be some pretty horrendous stories. There will be women who will commit suicide because they are unable to get an abortion. Stories will come out about teenagers raped by their uncle or teacher and forced to carry a baby to term. And there will be well publicized medical emergencies where both baby and mother die, because of the inability to secure an abortion under any circumstances in certain states.
At the same time, the loonies will start pushing "fetal personhood laws". And anyone who has had a miscarriage (which will be most women) will start feeling the beginnings of discomfort. As will pretty much every Obsgyn and Primary Care Provider.
All these stories will weigh on the 40%. And that's the real danger for the Republicans. If they're pushing for fetal personhood, while the Dems are focusing on the raped teenager who committed suicide... Then I think the transwars will be forgotten (for the moment).
The Dems have caught a massive break. Whether it's enough to save them in November is another story altogether.0
