Cookie said:

ydoethur said:

SandraMc said:

Casino_Royale said:

I've just watched Ben Elton's Upstart, Crow for the first time.

A friend tipped me off - had no idea that existed, even though it's been around 5 years.

I was crying tears of laughter in episode one. Brilliant.

Ben Elton's uncle Sir Geoffrey Elton was a distinguished Tudor historian. I read his book "The Tudor Constitution" for History A level.

Geoffrey Elton was the quintessential English establishment historian. Which brought him much criticism in his later years from the avant-garde historians.

This is really amusing given his background, of course. Indeed, as he had a sense of humour he found it so himself. He wrote a charming letter to one critic, noting 'I am not English-born and not perhaps quite so insular as you suppose.'

Ben's brother Tim, meanwhile, was something very senior in IBM. I met him once when our IT department was being outsourced. He looked exactly the same as his brother. It was mildly discombobulating.

Tom, not Tim.

CarlottaVance said:

malcolmg said:

CarlottaVance said:

malcolmg said:

CarlottaVance said:

Wings taking a pop at James Kelly, late of this parish:

https://twitter.com/WingsScotland/status/1611382124883628033

He has blocked me so I cannot comment

Who, James or Wings?

Wings

That’s surprisingly precious of the Vicar of Bath, who purports to enjoy robust debates - typical bully then - can dish it out but can’t take it (though blocking does seem to be a feature of Scottish politics):

Apparently, the convener of the committee that considers equalities, human rights and civil justice matter including debt, evictions and family law would prefer not to know what I think. Rampant hubris on my part, of course, but I remain flabbergasted.….

In general, I support anyone’s right to block on Twitter. But @joefitzsnp is the convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and *CIVIL JUSTICE* Committee. That being so, I find this news 👇🏻surprising and disappointing.

https://twitter.com/RoddyQC/status/1609914678888611842

Roddy is Dean of the Faculty of Advocates

Surprised that Roddy has the energy to bother with this after his widely (self) publicised plans to move down to England to take advantage of Truss's benign and wise tax regime. Cancelling those removal vans and offers on property down there must have taken a lot of time and money.

ydoethur said:

Well, Harry's got us all talking about his badly written drivel.

From what I have seen, the real question about all this is how the fuck did anyone so utterly lacking in literary talent manage to become established as a ghostwriter?

In important news, wind production is annoyingly not as high as it might be. Suspect some turbines have had to be turned off due to the gales.

https://gridwatch.co.uk/

Alternative plot for “Ghost” - the ghost writers for the ex-PM were murdered (and the ex-PM), not by the CIA, but by a secret organisation of Nobel prize winning authors. Dedicated to stamping out dross. The bizarre deaths the are due to the rotating chair of the organisation going to a Magic Realist…..

The skiing cost comments got me doing some mental arithmetic from our last trip (in school holidays). Rough costs

Tunnel £200 return
Fuel for drive down £150 return
Motorway tolls £160
Rental flat for week £1000
Ski passes £500
Equipment hire £250
Kids Lessons £300
Food and drink £700
Sundry stuff like day trips £200

Total around £3.5k. I’ve rounded up a bit as I think we got various discounts on things like equipment and probably spent less than that on meals but even so it’s not far off the number HYUFD quoted when you include
everything, and that was a fairly basic independently booked holiday using the tunnel and car.

ydoethur said:

Well, Harry's got us all talking about his badly written drivel.

From what I have seen, the real question about all this is how the fuck did anyone so utterly lacking in literary talent manage to become established as a ghostwriter?

In important news, wind production is annoyingly not as high as it might be. Suspect some turbines have had to be turned off due to the gales.

https://gridwatch.co.uk/

The eirgrid charts include forecast wind generation. You can see that wind power for the Irish grid is forecast to reach a maximum today in the late afternoon and early evening. As the wind is coming from the Atlantic, would expect peak British production some time later.

https://www.smartgriddashboard.com/#all/wind

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

JosiasJessop said:

moonshine said:

Sean_F said:

HYUFD said:

Prince Harry reveals Camilla turned his bedroom into a dressing room in latest shocking revelation from his new book

https://twitter.com/benjaminbutter/status/1611341598595616770?s=20&t=_Zk1CRup8rD0wODizb4vVA

I weep at the injustices suffered by poor Prince Harry.

Decades more of his tedium to look forward to. Or might we blessed with him drifting into obscurity now the story is sold?

The publishers will have got the 'juiciest' stories, I reckon. And the ones released so far probably damage H&M's brand than the royal family's.

I reckon in ten years they'll be reduced to sob stories about how the royal family are blanking them. Although who could blame the royal family: it's obvious that anything said in private will soon become public knowledge.

If I had a family member like that (and wealth...) I'd communicate via lawyer's letters...

I think I'd save the fee by not communicating at all.

I try very hard not to have any interest in this nonsense at all but I do, at last, feel sorry for Charles. He had a couple of decades with an extremely manipulative wife and ex wife making his life a misery by playing the media game and now his son is doing the same, despite his pleas not to. Charles is an emotionally stunted and damaged individual who inevitably has little to no understanding of normal life but no one deserves two helpings of this in a single lifetime.

The whole psychodrama could have been avoided if Charles had either been allowed to marry Camilla in the first place or found someone else that he actually loved and married her while not shagging Camilla at the same time. Pretending to love Diana, marrying her but carrying on with Camilla at the same time was an unforgivable act of caddishness on his part and he deserved everything he got from Diana and then some. People who cheat on their spouses get zero sympathy from me.

I don't think the royals are expected to abide by the same sort of code of behaviour as the rest of us on this matter.
Surely Diana went into the marriage with her eyes open? Wives of heirs are there to provide more heirs. If there is some sort of love, respect or affection then that is a bonus.

I agree with malcolm downthread that Charles appears to be a pompous arse. But being a pompous arse doesn't rank quite as low as publicy and repeatedly trashing your family (whom you claim to want a reconciliation with).

Kate Middleton appears to have gone into the situation with her eyes (at least) wide open. I don’t think anybody’s ever suggested that William has played away, though.

LostPassword said:

ydoethur said:

Well, Harry's got us all talking about his badly written drivel.

From what I have seen, the real question about all this is how the fuck did anyone so utterly lacking in literary talent manage to become established as a ghostwriter?

In important news, wind production is annoyingly not as high as it might be. Suspect some turbines have had to be turned off due to the gales.

https://gridwatch.co.uk/

The eirgrid charts include forecast wind generation. You can see that wind power for the Irish grid is forecast to reach a maximum today in the late afternoon and early evening. As the wind is coming from the Atlantic, would expect peak British production some time later.

https://www.smartgriddashboard.com/#all/wind

And the wind is mainly in the South. I’ve noticed it’s often disappointingly low when it’s windy down here but calm in Scotland for the onshore turbines and in the Irish Sea. Looks like we’ll be back around 29gw by early afternoon.

And probably breaking the all time record this evening, when demand is also high.

OldKingCole said:

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

JosiasJessop said:

moonshine said:

Sean_F said:

HYUFD said:

Prince Harry reveals Camilla turned his bedroom into a dressing room in latest shocking revelation from his new book

https://twitter.com/benjaminbutter/status/1611341598595616770?s=20&t=_Zk1CRup8rD0wODizb4vVA

I weep at the injustices suffered by poor Prince Harry.

Decades more of his tedium to look forward to. Or might we blessed with him drifting into obscurity now the story is sold?

The publishers will have got the 'juiciest' stories, I reckon. And the ones released so far probably damage H&M's brand than the royal family's.

I reckon in ten years they'll be reduced to sob stories about how the royal family are blanking them. Although who could blame the royal family: it's obvious that anything said in private will soon become public knowledge.

If I had a family member like that (and wealth...) I'd communicate via lawyer's letters...

I think I'd save the fee by not communicating at all.

I try very hard not to have any interest in this nonsense at all but I do, at last, feel sorry for Charles. He had a couple of decades with an extremely manipulative wife and ex wife making his life a misery by playing the media game and now his son is doing the same, despite his pleas not to. Charles is an emotionally stunted and damaged individual who inevitably has little to no understanding of normal life but no one deserves two helpings of this in a single lifetime.

The whole psychodrama could have been avoided if Charles had either been allowed to marry Camilla in the first place or found someone else that he actually loved and married her while not shagging Camilla at the same time. Pretending to love Diana, marrying her but carrying on with Camilla at the same time was an unforgivable act of caddishness on his part and he deserved everything he got from Diana and then some. People who cheat on their spouses get zero sympathy from me.

I don't think the royals are expected to abide by the same sort of code of behaviour as the rest of us on this matter.
Surely Diana went into the marriage with her eyes open? Wives of heirs are there to provide more heirs. If there is some sort of love, respect or affection then that is a bonus.

I agree with malcolm downthread that Charles appears to be a pompous arse. But being a pompous arse doesn't rank quite as low as publicy and repeatedly trashing your family (whom you claim to want a reconciliation with).

Kate Middleton appears to have gone into the situation with her eyes (at least) wide open. I don’t think anybody’s ever suggested that William has played away, though.

Really?

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

GIN1138 said:

dixiedean said:

Kill 25 people get bad karma.

I can't believe the publishers allowed that to be included.

I mean maybe it doesn't matter if Prince Harry, the Royal Family and the British people are terrorist targets but you wouldn't have thought it's a position Random House would want to find themselves in would you?

Perhaps Harry thinks the Taliban claim will force us to pay for his 24x7 security.

Am I the only one not surprised that Army active service as an Apache pilot/weapons officer involves killing people? Or that military training deliberately desensitises people to the task?

Surely that was what he was there to do?

The issue is the dehumanised way he talked about them (like they were characters ina computer game). Real soldiers don’t do that.

Mind you I’ve heard that he spent most of his time in Afghanistan confirmed to barracks and playing computer games…

I spy the 'No True Soldier' fallacy.

malcolmg said:

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

JosiasJessop said:

moonshine said:

Sean_F said:

HYUFD said:

Prince Harry reveals Camilla turned his bedroom into a dressing room in latest shocking revelation from his new book

https://twitter.com/benjaminbutter/status/1611341598595616770?s=20&t=_Zk1CRup8rD0wODizb4vVA

I weep at the injustices suffered by poor Prince Harry.

Decades more of his tedium to look forward to. Or might we blessed with him drifting into obscurity now the story is sold?

The publishers will have got the 'juiciest' stories, I reckon. And the ones released so far probably damage H&M's brand than the royal family's.

I reckon in ten years they'll be reduced to sob stories about how the royal family are blanking them. Although who could blame the royal family: it's obvious that anything said in private will soon become public knowledge.

If I had a family member like that (and wealth...) I'd communicate via lawyer's letters...

I think I'd save the fee by not communicating at all.

I try very hard not to have any interest in this nonsense at all but I do, at last, feel sorry for Charles. He had a couple of decades with an extremely manipulative wife and ex wife making his life a misery by playing the media game and now his son is doing the same, despite his pleas not to. Charles is an emotionally stunted and damaged individual who inevitably has little to no understanding of normal life but no one deserves two helpings of this in a single lifetime.

The whole psychodrama could have been avoided if Charles had either been allowed to marry Camilla in the first place or found someone else that he actually loved and married her while not shagging Camilla at the same time. Pretending to love Diana, marrying her but carrying on with Camilla at the same time was an unforgivable act of caddishness on his part and he deserved everything he got from Diana and then some. People who cheat on their spouses get zero sympathy from me.

I don't think the royals are expected to abide by the same sort of code of behaviour as the rest of us on this matter.
Surely Diana went into the marriage with her eyes open? Wives of heirs are there to provide more heirs. If there is some sort of love, respect or affection then that is a bonus.

I agree with malcolm downthread that Charles appears to be a pompous arse. But being a pompous arse doesn't rank quite as low as publicy and repeatedly trashing your family (whom you claim to want a reconciliation with).

Agree totally Cookie, Harry is either ill or a rank bad un. Totally lost the plot.

I wonder if one of his interviewers has asked him how his substance abuse affected his mental health? Or why he didn’t refer his wife to his psychotherapist when she needed help? You’d have thought a spouse would be a first port of call ahead of an HR department.

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

JosiasJessop said:

moonshine said:

Sean_F said:

HYUFD said:

Prince Harry reveals Camilla turned his bedroom into a dressing room in latest shocking revelation from his new book

https://twitter.com/benjaminbutter/status/1611341598595616770?s=20&t=_Zk1CRup8rD0wODizb4vVA

I weep at the injustices suffered by poor Prince Harry.

Decades more of his tedium to look forward to. Or might we blessed with him drifting into obscurity now the story is sold?

The publishers will have got the 'juiciest' stories, I reckon. And the ones released so far probably damage H&M's brand than the royal family's.

I reckon in ten years they'll be reduced to sob stories about how the royal family are blanking them. Although who could blame the royal family: it's obvious that anything said in private will soon become public knowledge.

If I had a family member like that (and wealth...) I'd communicate via lawyer's letters...

I think I'd save the fee by not communicating at all.

I try very hard not to have any interest in this nonsense at all but I do, at last, feel sorry for Charles. He had a couple of decades with an extremely manipulative wife and ex wife making his life a misery by playing the media game and now his son is doing the same, despite his pleas not to. Charles is an emotionally stunted and damaged individual who inevitably has little to no understanding of normal life but no one deserves two helpings of this in a single lifetime.

I think the issues go back a little further than that. AIUI Camilla was one of his first loves (or first 'proper' love), and according to some reports he was forbidden from marrying her / kept away from her. And Camilla herself was somewhat forced into her first marriage - their parents released the engagement notice to the papers, forcing her first husband to propose.

The whole thing is a mess - but the fact Camilla and Charles have been deep friends for fifty years says that it is more complex than a simple 'affair'.

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

TimS said:

The skiing cost comments got me doing some mental arithmetic from our last trip (in school holidays). Rough costs

Tunnel £200 return
Fuel for drive down £150 return
Motorway tolls £160
Rental flat for week £1000
Ski passes £500
Equipment hire £250
Kids Lessons £300
Food and drink £700
Sundry stuff like day trips £200

Total around £3.5k. I’ve rounded up a bit as I think we got various discounts on things like equipment and probably spent less than that on meals but even so it’s not far off the number HYUFD quoted when you include
everything, and that was a fairly basic independently booked holiday using the tunnel and car.

Indeed, the only sport posher than skiing is polo

HYUFD said:

TimS said:

The skiing cost comments got me doing some mental arithmetic from our last trip (in school holidays). Rough costs

Tunnel £200 return
Fuel for drive down £150 return
Motorway tolls £160
Rental flat for week £1000
Ski passes £500
Equipment hire £250
Kids Lessons £300
Food and drink £700
Sundry stuff like day trips £200

Total around £3.5k. I’ve rounded up a bit as I think we got various discounts on things like equipment and probably spent less than that on meals but even so it’s not far off the number HYUFD quoted when you include
everything, and that was a fairly basic independently booked holiday using the tunnel and car.

Indeed, the only sport posher than skiing is polo

Just out of interest have you ever been skiing or are you talking out of your arse?

malcolmg said:

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

There's certainly no need to be snotty about it if you take it for what it is. I tend to use cross country skis more now but Glenshee is good fun with full cover and I'd rather have a pie in the cafe there than swan about some poncy Swiss resort.

The way Cairngorm has been run is a bit of a disgrace though. I would put the saga with the funicular in the same category as those Calmac ferries.

malcolmg said:

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

You're misinterpreting my post. I agree with both of you.

The difference is that I've risked it on some of the bad days too! Never been to Europe for it; friend there at the moment has no snow at all.

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

There's certainly no need to be snotty about it if you take it for what it is. I tend to use cross country skis more now but Glenshee is good fun with full cover and I'd rather have a pie in the cafe there than swan about some poncy Swiss resort.

The way Cairngorm has been run is a bit of a disgrace though. I would put the saga with the funicular in the same category as those Calmac ferries.

Yes have to agree, a shambles.

Dura_Ace said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

GIN1138 said:

dixiedean said:

Kill 25 people get bad karma.

I can't believe the publishers allowed that to be included.

I mean maybe it doesn't matter if Prince Harry, the Royal Family and the British people are terrorist targets but you wouldn't have thought it's a position Random House would want to find themselves in would you?

Perhaps Harry thinks the Taliban claim will force us to pay for his 24x7 security.

Am I the only one not surprised that Army active service as an Apache pilot/weapons officer involves killing people? Or that military training deliberately desensitises people to the task?

Surely that was what he was there to do?

The issue is the dehumanised way he talked about them (like they were characters ina computer game). Real soldiers don’t do that.

What the fuck is a 'real' soldier?

Yes and how does poster know it was "dehumanised", no expert or ever been a soldier but I suspect firing machine guns and missiles from a helicopter is not teh same as close up hand to hand combat where you are looking in your opponent's eyes etc.
It may well give him nightmares.

HYUFD said:

kjh said:

HYUFD said:

TimS said:

The skiing cost comments got me doing some mental arithmetic from our last trip (in school holidays). Rough costs

Tunnel £200 return
Fuel for drive down £150 return
Motorway tolls £160
Rental flat for week £1000
Ski passes £500
Equipment hire £250
Kids Lessons £300
Food and drink £700
Sundry stuff like day trips £200

Total around £3.5k. I’ve rounded up a bit as I think we got various discounts on things like equipment and probably spent less than that on meals but even so it’s not far off the number HYUFD quoted when you include
everything, and that was a fairly basic independently booked holiday using the tunnel and car.

Indeed, the only sport posher than skiing is polo

Just out of interest have you ever been skiing or are you talking out of your arse?

Dry slope skiing which is a bit more accessible thank Klosters

So you don't know what you are talking about then. I have been on over 100 skiing holidays all over Europe (I don't have any knowledge of the USA) in my time so I do rather know more about it than you. For over 40 years I have skied twice a year every year and sometimes 3 times a year so I might just know a little more than you on who goes skiing and how to do it on the cheap if you want to.

Eabhal said:

malcolmg said:

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

You're misinterpreting my post. I agree with both of you.

The difference is that I've risked it on some of the bad days too! Never been to Europe for it; friend there at the moment has no snow at all.

Yes , you inadvertently backed up the derision from KJH , your usual southern PB rich snob about how shit Scotland is, about how it was not as great as St Moritz or Klosters and other crap about being at the arse end of the world, cold , etc.
If it had been Surrey he would have been waxing lyrically about how spectacular it was.

This thread has

been elected Speaker

StillWaters said:

kinabalu said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

GIN1138 said:

dixiedean said:

Kill 25 people get bad karma.

I can't believe the publishers allowed that to be included.

I mean maybe it doesn't matter if Prince Harry, the Royal Family and the British people are terrorist targets but you wouldn't have thought it's a position Random House would want to find themselves in would you?

Perhaps Harry thinks the Taliban claim will force us to pay for his 24x7 security.

Am I the only one not surprised that Army active service as an Apache pilot/weapons officer involves killing people? Or that military training deliberately desensitises people to the task?

Surely that was what he was there to do?

The issue is the dehumanised way he talked about them (like they were characters ina computer game). Real soldiers don’t do that.

Mind you I’ve heard that he spent most of his time in Afghanistan confirmed to barracks and playing computer games…

I spy the 'No True Soldier' fallacy.

I’ve spent a lot of time around soldiers and others who get their hands dirty. I can only report on my personal experience. Military folk are all aware that it’s people like them on the other end of the gun. There but for the grace of God and all that jazz

Of course they are, but as in my job you do need to have a certain emotional distance in order to do the job. Sticking needles, knives and lines in people does require a certain detachment.

The trick is to be able to switch in and out of that mode at appropriate times. Some people struggle to do so, and remain detached when they need to be empathetic, or overly empathetic to the point of not being able to do the necessary.

Soldiers have similar difficulties, and not all get the mix right. With the increasingly accurate portrait of was in FPS games, and the increased use of electronic and remote systems of warfare, such as drones and night vision amplification, the two become increasingly difficult to distinguish.

All this tawdry Harry episode is showing is that he has very deep seated emotional issues that seem to mostly derive (understandably) out of the death of his mother when he was young and a feeling of inadequacy for most of his life being brought up in a system that will always show preference to his brother over him.

I am not inclined to believe that a rational actor would behave quite so ridiculously as he is doing. For one thing having such a downer on people leaking stories and invading his privacy, but then breaching the privacy of his father, stepmother, brother, and sister in law in such a brazen and bitchy manner. He has been cruel.

With the right support by his side maybe he could have worked through these things in private. The lifestyle he has chosen though is the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and that in itself is another fake and superficial environment where he won’t get the support.

I end up just finding the whole thing rather sad.

StillWaters said:

Dura_Ace said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

GIN1138 said:

dixiedean said:

Kill 25 people get bad karma.

I can't believe the publishers allowed that to be included.

I mean maybe it doesn't matter if Prince Harry, the Royal Family and the British people are terrorist targets but you wouldn't have thought it's a position Random House would want to find themselves in would you?

Perhaps Harry thinks the Taliban claim will force us to pay for his 24x7 security.

Am I the only one not surprised that Army active service as an Apache pilot/weapons officer involves killing people? Or that military training deliberately desensitises people to the task?

Surely that was what he was there to do?

The issue is the dehumanised way he talked about them (like they were characters ina computer game). Real soldiers don’t do that.

What the fuck is a 'real' soldier?

How many service men and women who you know would have referred to enemy combatants as pawns to be removed from the chessboard?

A lot and much worse.

kjh said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

malcolmg said:

Flatlander said:

malcolmg said:

Eabhal said:

kjh said:

Fairliered said:

Fairliered said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

The problem is, it used to be about having a job.
There's plenty who have full time jobs now and can't make ends meet.
Meanwhile R4 thinks lack of snow in ski resorts is a story.

I would imagine R4 listeners are on average more likely to ski than the average Brit

And R4 presenters and editors even more so.

All welcome. Leave your tanks at home, please. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64176020

You have to be mad to want to ski in Scotland.

a) If there is snow it is difficult to get to
b) It is cold
c) The runs are rubbish.

I'm mad.

One way ticket to Belford/Raigmore/ARI. Watch out for the mud.

Good Uncle Tom impersonation there.

Doesn't look that great on the plateau at Glencoe this morning:
http://winterhighland.com/cams/glencoe/access2200.jpeg?t=1673084456

To be fair, I have skied in Scotland, both on piste, off piste (a couple of Munros) and cross country (Glenmore & Clashindarroch). Its fine if you pick the right day, but you can't just pick a date in advance.

It is actually best in spring when the conditions are less variable and there isn't as much scratchy ice lurking round the corner.

It certainly has it's good years and bad years but much better than no skiing I presume as opposed to the snotty barsteward earlier, where it was too common for him and where the idiot made out it was harder to get there than the other side of Europe.

You're misinterpreting my post. I agree with both of you.

The difference is that I've risked it on some of the bad days too! Never been to Europe for it; friend there at the moment has no snow at all.

Yes , you inadvertently backed up the derision from KJH , your usual southern PB rich snob about how shit Scotland is, about how it was not as great as St Moritz or Klosters and other crap about being at the arse end of the world, cold , etc.
If it had been Surrey he would have been waxing lyrically about how spectacular it was.

It wasn't derision, it was just a joke Malcolm. If I lived in Scotland I would be skiing there. All I have is Boxhill, which admittedly it was possible to ski down once (amazing how a steep hill just becomes a tame green when it has snow on it). As you know my wife is Scottish (and not posh, but from that posh end of Scotland called Kirkcaldy). However it is a joke about Scottish resorts that you can only get to them when there is no snow and you have to admit they are not extensive and it is cold and that is a joke told by the Scots themselves.

I know you have a sense of humour Malcolm so I know you can tell the difference between a joke and when someone is being serious.

@KJH I know I was just having fun as well, I know you are ok. I was perhaps a bit too serious sounding with my replies. My humblest apologies.