All Trussed up and nowhere to go – politicalbetting.com

Benpointer said:

turbotubbs said:

Benpointer said:

Casino_Royale said:

Anabobazina said:

MarqueeMark said:

Whole raft of outcomes in this group now.

Including Spain losing to Japan, Germany winning big - and Spain going home.

lol.

Would love to see Spain go out

Casino_Royale said:

turbotubbs said:

Casino_Royale said:

turbotubbs said:

Cyclefree said:

DJ41 said:

Leon said:

Gardenwalker said:

Leon said:

williamglenn said:

FrankBooth said:

Leon said:

The Wellcome gets worse

“Taken by a friend at the Wellcome Collection. This is real.”


https://twitter.com/s8mb/status/1596880839711002630?s=46&t=OTxOvpdbAL3PiHIc5HsPrA

It’s quite open now. They want to tear down our culture and history. They admit it

I have to admit that made me laugh.

It's funny that for all the hostility to privileged cis white men throughout history they seem to make an exception for Karl Marx. Or just Marx if you prefer.

Naturally the man who wants to dismantle white infrastructure is a fellow of an Oxford college, and white:

I quite like the irony of an archaeologist saying "time's up"

Yep, "time's up, who needs all this old shit?"

That placard reads like a parody, like something from Private Eye.

Every sentence is a keeper.

If Wellcome think that the very idea of museums is exploitatively “re-centering the white cis-male body” they shouldn’t stop at one collection but simply close the doors full stop.

Imagine being working class - both repulsed and intrigued by Bentham’s skin, naturally - and hoping to learn more about Bentham and how his skin got there.

You’d come way shrugging, wondering why you wasted your bus fare.

Yes, it is an agenda to close every single museum (and university, and art gallery, etc). Or turn them into conversation spaces for Black poets to express their angst

We are a white country, with a white history, and the white elite hates us for that

It is genuinely quite bleak and depressing. And STILL there will be PB-ers claiming Woke is a bogeyman invented by the Right

Kinda wondering what site I bother coming to where contemptible racist statements such as "We are a white country" stay up.

I make no comment on the statement itself.

As a factual matter the figures from the Office of National Statistics are as follows:-


Ethnic Group Population Percentage
White 55,010,359 87.1%
Asian or Asian British 4,373,339 6.9%
Black or Black British 1,904,684 3.0%
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups 1,250,229 2.0%
Other ethnic group 580,374 0.9%
Gypsy / Traveller / Irish Traveller 63,193 0.1%

Would not think that looking at TV adverts…

I wonder if that's because there's such a split between the demographics in metropolitan and non-metropolitan Britain?

I know the Houses of Parliament received a report from a consultancy that argued that its staff (both Commons and Lords) should be representative of the demographics in London in the aftermath of George Floyd.

Maybe MSM broadcasting studios take a similar approach?

Maybe, but I think it’s more that they are trying to advertise to all in the nation (rightly - maximise your market), and have hit on the wheeze that every family shall be mixed race. Perhaps it’s more noticeable to me in leafy Wiltshire than metroplolitan Britain? *

*I don’t really care about this, it’s just an observation.

It's certainly the case that mixed race families are

hugely overrepresented.



I think any sort of overreach is a mistake, as it

happens, as it risks a backlash to what it's trying to promote.

Yawn. Who gives a fuck?

Well, comments like this are sort of the point, aren't they? As are the dumb "likes" they garner.

There is no level of overrepresentation that would garner any criticism because it risks making the person making them look like a secret racist, so why not turn it up to 100%?

What possible (legitimate) objection could there be?

One can only really say: I don't care.

Whilst they are just adverts, which no-one really likes and wants to watch anyone, the problem is they contribute to a view in which some whites may feel unrepresented and unvalued, and to a climate where immigration is perceived to be massively higher than it actually is, both of which could have real world political effects - including both poor policy and polarisation.

So, the sensible course isn’t to just go for the cheap and easy applause with "Yawn. Who gives a fuck?" but to be brave enough to, yes, challenge overreach whilst also arguing for proper representation and inclusion at the same time.

This stuff shouldn't be hard.

Like @Anabobazina, I fail to understand why anyone gets the slightest bit exercised by this. Why does it matter in the slightest?

I bring it up because it is so noticeable. It’s as if all advertisers have come to the same cunning wheeze at the same time - all families are mixed race so you hit as much of the target audience as possible. And by doing so they no longer represent the U.K. population, at least the vast majority, who don’t live in mixed race couples. And as casino says, it leads to people thinking the U.K. is far less white than it is, which adds to fears about immigration.
And non of it is done with malice, or harmful intent, it’s just advertisers doing their job.
And there is no way to change it, nor should we try. But it is noticeable.

Market forces in operation.

Leon said:

Benpointer said:

Leon said:

Benpointer said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

Vivino is lying, not for the first time. The Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet 2019 (a much better year) is £20 from Waitrose.

https://www.waitrosecellar.com/red-wine/chateau-la-croix-de-marbuzet

There ya go. Tit

https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/marbuzet-saint-estephe/w/1370641?year=2017

You're believing Vivino. With no supporting evidence. Who's the tit?

It's £15 a bottle here:

https://www.weinprestige.de/shop/Château-La-Croix-de-Marbuzet-2017-AOC-Saint-Estephe-p187519074

Apologies for the "tit". I got irritated by the accusation of lying

TBH this wine is not worth £10, maybe not £5 - it is that bad - so the debate is silly. Bordeaux remains ridiculously overpriced at a time when many many regions around the world have learned the knack of knocking out fantastic wine - including England

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

Anabobazina said:

turbotubbs said:

Benpointer said:

Casino_Royale said:

Anabobazina said:

MarqueeMark said:

Whole raft of outcomes in this group now.

Including Spain losing to Japan, Germany winning big - and Spain going home.

lol.

Would love to see Spain go out

Casino_Royale said:

turbotubbs said:

Casino_Royale said:

turbotubbs said:

Cyclefree said:

DJ41 said:

Leon said:

Gardenwalker said:

Leon said:

williamglenn said:

FrankBooth said:

Leon said:

The Wellcome gets worse

“Taken by a friend at the Wellcome Collection. This is real.”


https://twitter.com/s8mb/status/1596880839711002630?s=46&t=OTxOvpdbAL3PiHIc5HsPrA

It’s quite open now. They want to tear down our culture and history. They admit it

I have to admit that made me laugh.

It's funny that for all the hostility to privileged cis white men throughout history they seem to make an exception for Karl Marx. Or just Marx if you prefer.

Naturally the man who wants to dismantle white infrastructure is a fellow of an Oxford college, and white:

I quite like the irony of an archaeologist saying "time's up"

Yep, "time's up, who needs all this old shit?"

That placard reads like a parody, like something from Private Eye.

Every sentence is a keeper.

If Wellcome think that the very idea of museums is exploitatively “re-centering the white cis-male body” they shouldn’t stop at one collection but simply close the doors full stop.

Imagine being working class - both repulsed and intrigued by Bentham’s skin, naturally - and hoping to learn more about Bentham and how his skin got there.

You’d come way shrugging, wondering why you wasted your bus fare.

Yes, it is an agenda to close every single museum (and university, and art gallery, etc). Or turn them into conversation spaces for Black poets to express their angst

We are a white country, with a white history, and the white elite hates us for that

It is genuinely quite bleak and depressing. And STILL there will be PB-ers claiming Woke is a bogeyman invented by the Right

Kinda wondering what site I bother coming to where contemptible racist statements such as "We are a white country" stay up.

I make no comment on the statement itself.

As a factual matter the figures from the Office of National Statistics are as follows:-


Ethnic Group Population Percentage
White 55,010,359 87.1%
Asian or Asian British 4,373,339 6.9%
Black or Black British 1,904,684 3.0%
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups 1,250,229 2.0%
Other ethnic group 580,374 0.9%
Gypsy / Traveller / Irish Traveller 63,193 0.1%

Would not think that looking at TV adverts…

I wonder if that's because there's such a split between the demographics in metropolitan and non-metropolitan Britain?

I know the Houses of Parliament received a report from a consultancy that argued that its staff (both Commons and Lords) should be representative of the demographics in London in the aftermath of George Floyd.

Maybe MSM broadcasting studios take a similar approach?

Maybe, but I think it’s more that they are trying to advertise to all in the nation (rightly - maximise your market), and have hit on the wheeze that every family shall be mixed race. Perhaps it’s more noticeable to me in leafy Wiltshire than metroplolitan Britain? *

*I don’t really care about this, it’s just an observation.

It's certainly the case that mixed race families are

hugely overrepresented.



I think any sort of overreach is a mistake, as it

happens, as it risks a backlash to what it's trying to promote.

Yawn. Who gives a fuck?

Well, comments like this are sort of the point, aren't they? As are the dumb "likes" they garner.

There is no level of overrepresentation that would garner any criticism because it risks making the person making them look like a secret racist, so why not turn it up to 100%?

What possible (legitimate) objection could there be?

One can only really say: I don't care.

Whilst they are just adverts, which no-one really likes and wants to watch anyone, the problem is they contribute to a view in which some whites may feel unrepresented and unvalued, and to a climate where immigration is perceived to be massively higher than it actually is, both of which could have real world political effects - including both poor policy and polarisation.

So, the sensible course isn’t to just go for the cheap and easy applause with "Yawn. Who gives a fuck?" but to be brave enough to, yes, challenge overreach whilst also arguing for proper representation and inclusion at the same time.

This stuff shouldn't be hard.

Like @Anabobazina, I fail to understand why anyone gets the slightest bit exercised by this. Why does it matter in the slightest?

I bring it up because it is so noticeable. It’s as if

all advertisers have come to the same cunning wheeze at the same time - all families are mixed race so you hit as much of the target audience as possible. And by doing so they no longer represent the U.K. population, at least the vast majority, who don’t live in mixed race couples. And as casino says, it leads to people thinking the U.K. is far less white than it is, which adds to fears about immigration.
And non of it is done with malice, or harmful intent, it’s just advertisers doing their job.
And there is no way to change it, nor should we try. But it is noticeable.

If you asked me the colour of the dad, mum, daughter and son in any of the supermarket ads I’d have no fucking idea. Does anyone care, beyond the weird obsessive realms of PB? Does anyone even watch adverts anymore?

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

StuartDickson said:

dixiedean said:

My youngest made his university ice hockey debut last night. They lost 22-0.
I wasn't surprised, as, when he went down in September, I wasn't aware of him ever having been skating.

A rule-of-thumb in Swedish ice hockey is that, assuming you start about age 5 or 6, you need to ice skate approximately 10,000 hours to achieve excellence, 8,000 hours to be reasonably good, or 4,000 hours to be an average/mediocre player.

This rule is frequently challenged, however zero skating hours is gonna be a problem.

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Because their vaccines don't really work...otherwise I imagine the same way they make testing / lockdown compulsory they would do the same by making vaccination mandatory. And because they propaganda has been the west has been rubbish over COVID and not to be trusted, even in Hong Kong where Western mRNA vaccines have been available the population won't take them.

Have they actually said the mRNA vax is dangerous/useless or have they simply promoted their own vax? It seems so easy to rectify I just don’t grasp Xi’s strategy at all

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

I see.

So wishing you had sold it for a profit then.

By way of contrast, in our house there is a bottle of mulled wine left over from last Christmas and maybe a bottle of some random white from the Coop lurking at the back of a cupboard.

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Because their vaccines don't really work...otherwise I imagine the same way they make testing / lockdown compulsory they would do the same by making vaccination mandatory. And because they propaganda has been the west has been rubbish over COVID and not to be trusted, even in Hong Kong where Western mRNA vaccines have been available the population won't take them.

Have they actually said the mRNA vax is dangerous/useless or have they simply promoted their own vax? It seems so easy to rectify I just don’t grasp Xi’s strategy at all

I think another problem is that China have demanded that Western vaccines companies do the same as they do with other industries, we will buy from you, but you have to show us how you do it.

Moderna has refused to hand over to China the core intellectual property behind the development of its breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine, leading to a collapse in negotiations on its sale there, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

https://www.ft.com/content/a481c129-c5aa-4972-84a8-3a45bb000098

ydoethur said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

How could you possibly have missed out the DfE?

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

SandyRentool said:

Anabobazina said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Are you really dismissing all wine or just pretending to be boringly northern?

Well I've never had one that I prefer to a pint of decent ale.

Northern_Al said:

ydoethur said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

How could you possibly have missed out the DfE?

Probably because I didn't want to get you started.

Northern_Al said:

ydoethur said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

How could you possibly have missed out the DfE?

Probably because I didn't want to get you started.

Carnyx said:

Northern_Al said:

ydoethur said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

How could you possibly have missed out the DfE?

Probably because I didn't want to get you started.

Did he ever end? (Not that I would blame him.)

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Hmm, 2017, second wine of a cru bourgeois. Not a great choice, but I see that Waitrose have the much better 2019 for £19.99, which is probably pretty good value.

In general, Bordeaux is better value than most non-French fine wines, such as Barolo (always over priced and often pretty moderate), Californian (good but very pricey), etc

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Why not just call me a racist and be done with it?😀
There’s not a lot else happening right now (TV can’t be bothered with reporting the war in Ukraine now the footys started), the hospitals can’t be in crisis because the pesky nurses are happy to go on strike, and Christmas has started already.

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

You may be interested - depressed, maybe - to hear that Staffordshire CC are unable to recruit sufficient TAs to provide the statutory minimum hours needed for the students in the county.

They have had to issue an edict saying that no individual support will be offered, only for small groups.

Most unfortunately for them, they did not realise the father of one of the children affected was a leading equalities lawyer.

They are now in deep, deep shit and trying to work out how to buy him off before it gets to court.

But - whatever the outcome - the fact remains they still can't recruit enough TAs. Just like you can't.

And it's easy to see why. The pay's shit, the conditions are terrible and the management is shocking.

Leon said:

turbotubbs said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Because their vaccines don't really work...otherwise I imagine the same way they make testing / lockdown compulsory they would do the same by making vaccination mandatory. And because they propaganda has been the west has been rubbish over COVID and not to be trusted, even in Hong Kong where Western mRNA vaccines have been available the population won't take them.

Have they actually said the mRNA vax is dangerous/useless or have they simply promoted their own vax? It seems so easy to rectify I just don’t grasp Xi’s strategy at all

I think another problem is that China have demanded that Western vaccines companies do the same as they do with other industries, we will buy from you, but you have to show us how you do it.

Moderna has refused to hand over to China the core intellectual property behind the development of its breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine, leading to a collapse in negotiations on its sale there, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

https://www.ft.com/content/a481c129-c5aa-4972-84a8-3a45bb000098

And so they are left trying to suppress an unsuppressible virus that they may have created in the lab to destroy the West. A trashy airport novelist wouldn’t make it up.

HOW I'D WRITE COVID, THE THRILLER

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-id-write-covid-the-thriller/


That @SeanT was prescient on many things, in retrospect. The mods should pay him money to return

Anabobazina said:

SandyRentool said:

Anabobazina said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Are you really dismissing all wine or just pretending to be boringly northern?

Well I've never had one that I prefer to a pint of decent ale.

Then you haven’t tried anywhere near enough wines. I love my ales, but to dismiss all wine in the way you do is just ignorant

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Why not just call me a racist and be done with it?😀
There’s not a lot else happening right now (TV can’t be bothered with reporting the war in Ukraine now the footys started), the hospitals can’t be in crisis because the pesky nurses are happy to go on strike, and Christmas has started already.

I don't think my curiosity suggests anything of the sort. You wrote in an earlier post: In my day job I teach a very mixed race cohort, although most colleagues are white, and I noticed the use of the word 'although'. Have you subjected that fact to the same sort of analysis as you use on TV ads?

FrankBooth said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Isn't that what pb is? A forum for under-sexed men anxious about the possible soon come collapse of society as we know it due to falling educational standards, poor national infrastructure (particularly energy) and Tory civil wars? Admittedly we try and address it all in a wry manner but why else do you come on here?

ydoethur said:

FrankBooth said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Isn't that what pb is? A forum for under-sexed men anxious about the possible soon come collapse of society as we know it due to falling educational standards, poor national infrastructure (particularly energy) and Tory civil wars? Admittedly we try and address it all in a wry manner but why else do you come on here?

For my awesome punning and to profit from my extraordinary cricket insights?

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

You may be interested - depressed, maybe - to hear that Staffordshire CC are unable to recruit sufficient TAs to provide the statutory minimum hours needed for the students in the county.

They have had to issue an edict saying that no individual support will be offered, only for small groups.

Most unfortunately for them, they did not realise the father of one of the children affected was a leading equalities lawyer.

They are now in deep, deep shit and trying to work out how to buy him off before it gets to court.

But - whatever the outcome - the fact remains they still can't recruit enough TAs. Just like you can't.

And it's easy to see why. The pay's shit, the conditions are terrible and the management is shocking.

Flatlander said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

I don't own a TV so I see very few adverts unless at a parent's house (and I usually grab the remote and pause for 3 minutes even then), but it is obviously a trend from those I've actually seen.

I don't personally care, because these adverts aren't aimed at me. Each company is going to have the same dilemma and they can't all group together and agree to the correct statistics beforehand, so it is almost inevitable.

What _is_ particularly noticeable that it is always mixed race with a white female. Is there a good reason for this? Not wanting to imply some kind of 'ownership'? It seems horribly sexist and a bit too stereotyped.

ydoethur said:

Northern_Al said:

ydoethur said:

FrankBooth said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Isn't that what pb is? A forum for under-sexed men anxious about the possible soon come collapse of society as we know it due to falling educational standards, poor national infrastructure (particularly energy) and Tory civil wars? Admittedly we try and address it all in a wry manner but why else do you come on here?

For my awesome punning and to profit from my extraordinary cricket insights?

Hm. Have you considered a return to full-time teaching? It's a great career.

Not at the moment it bloody isn't.

Northern_Al said:

FrankBooth said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Isn't that what pb is? A forum for under-sexed men anxious about the possible soon come collapse of society as we know it due to falling educational standards, poor national infrastructure (particularly energy) and Tory civil wars? Admittedly we try and address it all in a wry manner but why else do you come on here?

Fair enough, but for the record: we're not all under-sexed.

StillWaters said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

You may be interested - depressed, maybe - to hear that Staffordshire CC are unable to recruit sufficient TAs to provide the statutory minimum hours needed for the students in the county.

They have had to issue an edict saying that no individual support will be offered, only for small groups.

Most unfortunately for them, they did not realise the father of one of the children affected was a leading equalities lawyer.

They are now in deep, deep shit and trying to work out how to buy him off before it gets to court.

But - whatever the outcome - the fact remains they still can't recruit enough TAs. Just like you can't.

And it's easy to see why. The pay's shit, the conditions are terrible and the management is shocking.

If all children in a given cohort are affected how is it an equalities issue?

bigjohnowls said:

MikeL said:

Matt finishes 3rd - despite being 2nd favourite as vote was announced.

Welcomed by his mistress at the end of the rope bridge

bigjohnowls said:

bigjohnowls said:

MikeL said:

Matt finishes 3rd - despite being 2nd favourite as vote was announced.

Welcomed by his mistress at the end of the rope bridge

He looks under sexed

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Hmm, 2017, second wine of a cru bourgeois. Not a great choice, but I see that Waitrose have the much better 2019 for £19.99, which is probably pretty good value.

In general, Bordeaux is better value than most non-French fine wines, such as Barolo (always over priced and often pretty moderate), Californian (good but very pricey), etc

Bordeaux is reliably overpriced, everywhere and at all times. It is seen as an investment by too many, and the Chinese buy everything good (and now the Indians)

I agree, however, on Italian. Barolo is wildly variable. You can get a magnificent wine for £15 and then you pay £25 and it is dreck. I have a personal aversion to Californian wine, only partly solved by my recent trip to the States

NEVER BUY WINE FROM COLORADO

Much of the best value red wine is found outside trad areas, New or Old World. As I say go for Moldova or Macedonia, high altitude Argentina or weird blends from S Africa

A good rule of thumb is to try red wine from a slightly obscure white wine area, and vice versa. eg the Alentejo in Portugal - known for hearty reds - actually makes brilliant value whites

You are partly right. Portugal in particular produces some excellent and very interesting wines, at reasonable prices.

Nonetheless, Bordeaux still is by a big margin the primary source of fine wines, and apart from the very expensive trophy wines, remains good value even for seriously good stuff. For example, simply from ones I've drunk this week, La Chenade 2014 and Lafon Rochet 2014 (although this deserves more time). OK, I bought both en primeur, but they were not expensive. Even now, you can buy the Lafon Rochet, which is a very reputable classed growth, for £27.50 a bottle in bond. You're not going to beat that for a seriously good wine very easily.

SandyRentool said:

Flatlander said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

I don't own a TV so I see very few adverts unless at a parent's house (and I usually grab the remote and pause for 3 minutes even then), but it is obviously a trend from those I've actually seen.

I don't personally care, because these adverts aren't aimed at me. Each company is going to have the same dilemma and they can't all group together and agree to the correct statistics beforehand, so it is almost inevitable.

What _is_ particularly noticeable that it is always mixed race with a white female. Is there a good reason for this? Not wanting to imply some kind of 'ownership'? It seems horribly sexist and a bit too stereotyped.

No, not always. We sometimes see couples like us. White male, brown female.

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Hmm, 2017, second wine of a cru bourgeois. Not a great choice, but I see that Waitrose have the much better 2019 for £19.99, which is probably pretty good value.

In general, Bordeaux is better value than most non-French fine wines, such as Barolo (always over priced and often pretty moderate), Californian (good but very pricey), etc

Bordeaux is reliably overpriced, everywhere and at all times. It is seen as an investment by too many, and the Chinese buy everything good (and now the Indians)

I agree, however, on Italian. Barolo is wildly variable. You can get a magnificent wine for £15 and then you pay £25 and it is dreck. I have a personal aversion to Californian wine, only partly solved by my recent trip to the States

NEVER BUY WINE FROM COLORADO

Much of the best value red wine is found outside trad areas, New or Old World. As I say go for Moldova or Macedonia, high altitude Argentina or weird blends from S Africa

A good rule of thumb is to try red wine from a slightly obscure white wine area, and vice versa. eg the Alentejo in Portugal - known for hearty reds - actually makes brilliant value whites

You are partly right. Portugal in particular produces some excellent and very interesting wines, at reasonable prices.

Nonetheless, Bordeaux still is by a big margin the primary source of fine wines, and apart from the very expensive trophy wines, remains good value even for seriously good stuff. For example, simply from ones I've drunk this week, La Chenade 2014 and Lafon Rochet 2014 (although this deserves more time). OK, I bought both en primeur, but they were not expensive. Even now, you can buy the Lafon Rochet, which is a very reputable classed growth, for £27.50 a bottle in bond. You're not going to beat that for a seriously good wine very easily.

But do you ever seriously stray far beyond Old World wines, especially France? I rather doubt it. So I am skeptical

Nonetheless I will take up your challenge and try the Lafon Richet. We shall see!

I will genuinely report back and kowtow - if you are right

Leon said:

turbotubbs said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Because their vaccines don't really work...otherwise I imagine the same way they make testing / lockdown compulsory they would do the same by making vaccination mandatory. And because they propaganda has been the west has been rubbish over COVID and not to be trusted, even in Hong Kong where Western mRNA vaccines have been available the population won't take them.

Have they actually said the mRNA vax is dangerous/useless or have they simply promoted their own vax? It seems so easy to rectify I just don’t grasp Xi’s strategy at all

I think another problem is that China have demanded that Western vaccines companies do the same as they do with other industries, we will buy from you, but you have to show us how you do it.

Moderna has refused to hand over to China the core intellectual property behind the development of its breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine, leading to a collapse in negotiations on its sale there, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

https://www.ft.com/content/a481c129-c5aa-4972-84a8-3a45bb000098

And so they are left trying to suppress an unsuppressible virus that they may have created in the lab to destroy the West. A trashy airport novelist wouldn’t make it up.

HOW I'D WRITE COVID, THE THRILLER

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-id-write-covid-the-thriller/


That @SeanT was prescient on many things, in retrospect. The mods should pay him money to return

ydoethur said:

StillWaters said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

You may be interested - depressed, maybe - to hear that Staffordshire CC are unable to recruit sufficient TAs to provide the statutory minimum hours needed for the students in the county.

They have had to issue an edict saying that no individual support will be offered, only for small groups.

Most unfortunately for them, they did not realise the father of one of the children affected was a leading equalities lawyer.

They are now in deep, deep shit and trying to work out how to buy him off before it gets to court.

But - whatever the outcome - the fact remains they still can't recruit enough TAs. Just like you can't.

And it's easy to see why. The pay's shit, the conditions are terrible and the management is shocking.

If all children in a given cohort are affected how is it an equalities issue?

Because it's not about comparing them to other children with SEND, it's about the support the law demands as a reasonable adjustment for it.

At the moment, it cannot be provided.

kjh said:

Leon said:

turbotubbs said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Anabobazina said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Due to the backlash from Chinese fans seeing unmasked crowds in Qatar, Chinese TV is now replacing live crowds shots during games and instead cutting to close-ups of players and coaches.

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1596721748824641536

The Chinese policy is now beyond bizarre, absolutely irrational beyond even the most ludicrous excesses of the continuity zerocovidians here in 2021.

Why don’t they just jab the elderly and get on with their lives? I have heard the ‘losing face’ argument but it seems thin - what would they really lose by changing tack?

Because their vaccines don't really work...otherwise I imagine the same way they make testing / lockdown compulsory they would do the same by making vaccination mandatory. And because they propaganda has been the west has been rubbish over COVID and not to be trusted, even in Hong Kong where Western mRNA vaccines have been available the population won't take them.

Have they actually said the mRNA vax is dangerous/useless or have they simply promoted their own vax? It seems so easy to rectify I just don’t grasp Xi’s strategy at all

I think another problem is that China have demanded that Western vaccines companies do the same as they do with other industries, we will buy from you, but you have to show us how you do it.

Moderna has refused to hand over to China the core intellectual property behind the development of its breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine, leading to a collapse in negotiations on its sale there, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

https://www.ft.com/content/a481c129-c5aa-4972-84a8-3a45bb000098

And so they are left trying to suppress an unsuppressible virus that they may have created in the lab to destroy the West. A trashy airport novelist wouldn’t make it up.

HOW I'D WRITE COVID, THE THRILLER

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-id-write-covid-the-thriller/


That @SeanT was prescient on many things, in retrospect. The mods should pay him money to return

When you provide evidence of the lab leak will you be citing this Sean chap's article. He seems pretty convinced so adds support to your theory.

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Hmm, 2017, second wine of a cru bourgeois. Not a great choice, but I see that Waitrose have the much better 2019 for £19.99, which is probably pretty good value.

In general, Bordeaux is better value than most non-French fine wines, such as Barolo (always over priced and often pretty moderate), Californian (good but very pricey), etc

Bordeaux is reliably overpriced, everywhere and at all times. It is seen as an investment by too many, and the Chinese buy everything good (and now the Indians)

I agree, however, on Italian. Barolo is wildly variable. You can get a magnificent wine for £15 and then you pay £25 and it is dreck. I have a personal aversion to Californian wine, only partly solved by my recent trip to the States

NEVER BUY WINE FROM COLORADO

Much of the best value red wine is found outside trad areas, New or Old World. As I say go for Moldova or Macedonia, high altitude Argentina or weird blends from S Africa

A good rule of thumb is to try red wine from a slightly obscure white wine area, and vice versa. eg the Alentejo in Portugal - known for hearty reds - actually makes brilliant value whites

You are partly right. Portugal in particular produces some excellent and very interesting wines, at reasonable prices.

Nonetheless, Bordeaux still is by a big margin the primary source of fine wines, and apart from the very expensive trophy wines, remains good value even for seriously good stuff. For example, simply from ones I've drunk this week, La Chenade 2014 and Lafon Rochet 2014 (although this deserves more time). OK, I bought both en primeur, but they were not expensive. Even now, you can buy the Lafon Rochet, which is a very reputable classed growth, for £27.50 a bottle in bond. You're not going to beat that for a seriously good wine very easily.

But do you ever seriously stray far beyond Old World wines, especially France? I rather doubt it. So I am skeptical

Nonetheless I will take up your challenge and try the Lafon Richet. We shall see!

I will genuinely report back and kowtow - if you are right

I've been tasting wines for 50 years, and yes of course that has included many 'new world' wines, including some excellent ones. The excellent ones are not cheap, though.

If you do try the 2014 Lafon Rochet, be sure to decant it well in advance. It's still a bit young. It will gain in complexity over the next few years

More ready today is Meyney 2012, not as fine a wine but jolly nice for immediate drinking.

Leon said:

StillWaters said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

Richard_Nabavi said:

Leon said:

SandyRentool said:

Leon said:

I am drinking a 2017 Chateau La Croix de Marbuzet and it is DISGUSTING. Thin, feeble, one dimensional, meagre, acidic, nasty. Tastes like it cost £3 from Aldi. Why is so much Bordeaux hideously overpriced?

Vivino tells me this bottle is worth £50. Insane

You daft bugger.

You could have had yourself a case of a dozen bottles of good ale and still had change of a fifty for a fish supper.

Wine. Pfft.

Dude, I didn't buy it at £50!

I must have bought it years ago from a supermarket at around £10. Probably Waitrose or Tesco

I very rarely spend more than £20 on a bottle of wine, retail. It is simply not worth it

I have about 200 bottles in my flat with some exceptional examples, eg I have two cases of St Henri Shiraz 2016 which I bought for about £12 a bottle yonks ago, and they are now worth:£100-£150 a go


https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/penfolds-st-henri-shiraz/w/1268?year=2016

Hmm, 2017, second wine of a cru bourgeois. Not a great choice, but I see that Waitrose have the much better 2019 for £19.99, which is probably pretty good value.

In general, Bordeaux is better value than most non-French fine wines, such as Barolo (always over priced and often pretty moderate), Californian (good but very pricey), etc

Bordeaux is reliably overpriced, everywhere and at all times. It is seen as an investment by too many, and the Chinese buy everything good (and now the Indians)

I agree, however, on Italian. Barolo is wildly variable. You can get a magnificent wine for £15 and then you pay £25 and it is dreck. I have a personal aversion to Californian wine, only partly solved by my recent trip to the States

NEVER BUY WINE FROM COLORADO

Much of the best value red wine is found outside trad areas, New or Old World. As I say go for Moldova or Macedonia, high altitude Argentina or weird blends from S Africa

A good rule of thumb is to try red wine from a slightly obscure white wine area, and vice versa. eg the Alentejo in Portugal - known for hearty reds - actually makes brilliant value whites

You are partly right. Portugal in particular produces some excellent and very interesting wines, at reasonable prices.

Nonetheless, Bordeaux still is by a big margin the primary source of fine wines, and apart from the very expensive trophy wines, remains good value even for seriously good stuff. For example, simply from ones I've drunk this week, La Chenade 2014 and Lafon Rochet 2014 (although this deserves more time). OK, I bought both en primeur, but they were not expensive. Even now, you can buy the Lafon Rochet, which is a very reputable classed growth, for £27.50 a bottle in bond. You're not going to beat that for a seriously good wine very easily.

But do you ever seriously stray far beyond Old World wines, especially France? I rather doubt it. So I am skeptical

Nonetheless I will take up your challenge and try the Lafon Richet. We shall see!

I will genuinely report back and kowtow - if you are right

I've been tasting wines for 50 years, and yes of course that has included many 'new world' wines, including some excellent ones. The excellent ones are not cheap, though.

If you do try the 2014 Lafon Rochet, be sure to decant it well in advance. It's still a bit young. It will gain in complexity over the next few years

More ready today is Meyney 2012, not as fine a wine but jolly nice for immediate drinking.

This was tonight’s glass… decanted yesterday. Served with a bagel and strawberry jam 😂

https://www.cellartracker.com/m/wines/2227854

And that's my point. That is a wine which costs £150 a bottle

There is almost no way you would, in a blind tasting, be able to distinguish it from a fine bottle from a similar grape/blend and soil costing £30. So you are paying for the brand. Vintage Burgundy. That's fairly mad. £120 of mad

And for £150 you could get at least three bottles of the best red wine EVER MADE in Portugal, Romania, Greece, Austria, Argentina, Chile, Georgia, Moldova. Daft

But enjoy

And now, Barbarians Season 2. G'night PB

dixiedean said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Northern_Al said:

turbotubbs said:

Northern_Al said:

Sometimes it's like a glorified Neighbourhood Watch scheme on here.

Busybodies peering out of their net curtains in their expensive houses, on the look out for wokeness, violent foreigners, disgraceful TV ads with minorities in them, grubby eco-terrorists, and all other manner of badness. And then reporting them to the PB community so that we can all 'tut' in disapproval. Shame.

Who has called the ads disgraceful? It’s an observation.

Yes I know, and it's an observation that, if I recall correctly, has been repeated quite frequently over a period of time by you (and others). I'm guess I'm just curious as to why this particular aspect of media analysis is so beguiling to you and others, when there's lots of other, and more interesting, stuff to analyse in media representations.

Not to mention far more pressing problems with workers in full time employment unable to cover the very basics of living costs.

You may be interested - depressed, maybe - to hear that Staffordshire CC are unable to recruit sufficient TAs to provide the statutory minimum hours needed for the students in the county.

They have had to issue an edict saying that no individual support will be offered, only for small groups.

Most unfortunately for them, they did not realise the father of one of the children affected was a leading equalities lawyer.

They are now in deep, deep shit and trying to work out how to buy him off before it gets to court.

But - whatever the outcome - the fact remains they still can't recruit enough TAs. Just like you can't.

And it's easy to see why. The pay's shit, the conditions are terrible and the management is shocking.

Yeah. Across our 2 units (connected by a small ante room) we've had only 3 of the usual 5 staff for 2 weeks, because of illness. Itself at least 2 short. We've had virtually no supply TA support, and that we have has been almost worse than useless. The TA's simply pick and choose what they do.
It's spiralled. I was bitten and punched on Thursday. The kid wrecked the classroom.
On Friday my colleague was badly assaulted by a kid who was after another kid. They eventually fell over a table so I was able to grab assaultee and carry him out of the room. I am legally not allowed to do that. If he has a mark and makes a complaint I could be sacked and banned from teaching.
He tried to get at him once, but then was just returned to his classroom and allowed to walk out and have another go.
The little room between the Units we've been using as an isolation room has had a lock placed on it, because "it is essential for management meetings".
Every evening we flag up "causes for concern".
Every morning they happen as foretold.
I'm too busy being woke and enjoying a gold
plated pension and loads of holidays to notice.
I don't do this for the money. I do this for the possibility that I may be helping kids who have a really difficult situation to have a slightly better life.
But I'm actually thinking participating may be hindering. The only solution may just be not to play. Until we all refuse.