What Nadine’s constituents think of her – politicalbetting.com

First.

Brutal.

BlancheLivermore said:

I've just started making my salad

Thinly sliced and salted raw rhubarb has an extraordinary flavour - I'm getting quite excited about the salad

I'm very impressed. I'm more Keith Floyd in my cookery - if it doesn't happen in 30mins I'll be out cold drunk.

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Give her the peerage! What's happened to Boris's other nominations, btw?

All such enquiries are best referred to the Met in the first instance.

Miklosvar said:

ydoethur said:

Brutal.

Tells me more about the inhabitants of Ampthill than anything else, and not in a good way.

They voted for her originally and are now disappointed?

Does Nadine care?

She has made clear she has no intention of standing for election again for her constituency in the House of Commoners.

She will only stay in Parliament if elevated to the unelected House of Lords

'The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.'

Winston Churchill

FPT

Stuartinromford said:

ydoethur said:

algarkirk said:

On topic; while polls on wage rises are a sort of guide to sentiment, at least over the next 20 minutes or so, the way the questions go make them no guide to reality and its choices.

To govern is to choose between options, and all choices have consequences for all other options.

To express a polling opinion is to be allowed infinite choices, in particular to spend the same money 100 times.

Real world polling as opposed to fantasy opinion asks about hard choices between options where there are winners and losers, including concerning the person asked.

Ultimately, unless we have an actual plan on how to fund these, I don't see how it's happening.

Just focussing on education - the DfE claim it will be funded, but they're such fluent liars I would right now have real difficulty believing them if they said rain was wet (and I include Nick Gibb in that).

The Treasury are no better, as they've repeatedly proved over HS2.

And as we need to fund the last pay rise before we even think about funding this one, well, I see no reason to be optimistic.

About the only way I can see of raising extra money without impacting frontline services is scrapping the entire structure of the education system including academy chains, inspection bureaus and the DfE itself and just having schools become charities taking vouchers from the treasury on a per pupil basis. But I can't see that happening by October.

The mutterings I've seen are that it's the unspent catch-up tuition money this year, and Somebody Else's Problem after that.

Well, it's true nobody would miss that. In a field of stiff competition, that's the most farcically incompetent and mismanaged exercise the DfE has ever done. Even more so than Oak National Academy and the introduction of the National Curriculum.

But I doubt if on its own it will cover the gap in the figures.

HYUFD said:

Does Nadine care?

She has made clear she has no intention of standing for election again for her constituency in the House of Commoners.

She will only stay in Parliament if elevated to the unelected House of Lords

And having been shafted by your party and their MP who was a cabinet minister until very recently, your advice to constituents is they should definitely vote Tory again as they can't trust Labour...

Pulpstar said:

Boris has remembered his iPhone code apparently

There’s a massive bug that’s just been discovered, that lets you unlock a locked iPhone. Coincidence?

HYUFD said:

Does Nadine care?

She has made clear she has no intention of standing for election again for her constituency in the House of Commoners.

She will only stay in Parliament if elevated to the unelected House of Lords

But only leave the Commons if she is so elevated.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Boris has remembered his iPhone code apparently

There’s a massive bug that’s just been discovered, that lets you unlock a locked iPhone. Coincidence?

Boris Johnson is the sort of person whose passcode is likely to be 111111 or 123456.

I was going to say, it might be the number of women he'd slept with, but then I thought that would probably change too often to be useful.

Edit - anyway, that was Grant Shapps (allegedly).

BartholomewRoberts said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Boris has remembered his iPhone code apparently

There’s a massive bug that’s just been discovered, that lets you unlock a locked iPhone. Coincidence?

Boris Johnson is the sort of person whose passcode is likely to be 111111 or 123456.

I'd have thought he'd have 5318008

No, that's my passcode*.

*It's not really, it can only be a maximum of 6 numbers.

Nothing to worry about.

Mortgage defaults have surged at their fastest rate since 2009 as rapidly rising interest rates push more people into financial difficulty.

Bank of England data showed that the share of lenders reporting an increase in missed mortgage payments is now the highest it has been since the global financial crisis.

The proportion of banks reporting an increase in missed payments between April and June outweighed the number reporting a fall in defaults by a margin of 30.9pc.

Reports of defaults have more than doubled compared to at the start of the year, according to the Bank’s regular credit conditions survey.

Lenders warned that they expect defaults to continue rising over the summer.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/13/mortgage-defaults-fastest-rate-2009-property-housing/

Sandpit said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Boris has remembered his iPhone code apparently

There’s a massive bug that’s just been discovered, that lets you unlock a locked iPhone. Coincidence?

Boris Johnson is the sort of person whose passcode is likely to be 111111 or 123456.

I'd have thought he'd have 5318008

No, that's my passcode*.

*It's not really, it can only be a maximum of 6 numbers.

People stil use passcodes, rather than passwords? Mine’s 11 characters, but with the TouchID enabled.

11 characters:
Snow White
Seven Dwarfs
Wicked Stepmother
The Huntsman
The Prince.

It is quite amusing to hear retired (or nearly retired) people moan that no one listens to them, the government doesn't represent them, etc.

darkage said:

It is quite amusing to hear retired (or nearly retired) people moan that no one listens to them, the government doesn't represent them, etc.

Well, if even they think that, Sunak really is a reluctant Turkish conscript.

ydoethur said:

darkage said:

It is quite amusing to hear retired (or nearly retired) people moan that no one listens to them, the government doesn't represent them, etc.

Well, if even they think that, Sunak really is a reluctant Turkish conscript.

By the time of the next election he's going to have the shelf life of a reluctant Russian conscript.

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

What I don't understand is why the Teachers Unions are ...

a: Recommending this significant real terms pay cut is accepted
b: Also saying that this is 'fully funded'.

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

I've met the the odd one of two that I considered weren't, but in general you're probably right.

FPT: Malmesbury - Here's an explanation of "stage trees" from Larry Niven, himself:

'One-and-a-half billion years ago, a race of telepaths called the Thrintun used their overwhelming psychic power to rule the galaxy. Tellingly, they came to be known as Slavers. A certain slave race, the Tnuctipun, were allowed limited freedoms because of their skill with biogenetic engineering and other sciences. The Tnuctipun used that freedom and that skill to wage war against their oppressors. When this brutal war was finally over, no sentient creature survived anywhere in the galaxy. Plants from that era can still be found throughout the galaxy, including Sunflowers and Stage Trees, and even one bio-engineered animal, the Bandersnatch. Explorers sometimes come across Stasis Boxes, Thrint vaults containing artifacts from the war. Opening a Slaver Stasis Box is usually more trouble than it's worth.

One theory claims that the yeast left behind on many Slaver colony worlds evolved into life as we know it. As evidence, consider the fact that several of the modern races in Known Space have compatible DNA - they can eat one another, as demonstrated in more than one bloody war between species.

For Further Reading: World of Ptavvs, "A Relic of the Empire," "The Handicapped"'

source: https://larryniven.net/knownspace.shtml

The Tnuctipun were good at "other sciences", too. For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soft_Weapon

RochdalePioneers said:

darkage said:

It is quite amusing to hear retired (or nearly retired) people moan that no one listens to them, the government doesn't represent them, etc.

Because what they want isn't possible. But they are encouraged to think back to happier times - less foreigners, more golliwogs, money went further - by a tabloid media and their political clients who want to manipulate their vote

How is your ghost?

Genuine question. I am fascinated by Forteana at the mo

...

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

Sunak brilliantly sold snake oil to the teaching unions today. One can only conclude their leaders are a bit thick whilst Sunak by comparison is the cleverest man on the planet as they swallowed it hook line and sinker. 20 point Tory lead next week?

Off topic.

@ydoethur have you never thought of moving back to the tranquility of the Leadon Vale?

On today's painful crawl up the M6 to Stoke my sat nav took me off to beat the queues, first along the A5 to Gailey and then to Penkridge. Gailey to Penkridge took the best part of an hour. I am not sure how the sat nav calculated that saving. On my way back I ran an errand for my wife to Albrighton, another hour of chaos and then came Junction 10 to 9! Is it worth using anything but Shank's pony in Staffordshire these days?

Nigelb said:

Miklosvar said:

Carnyx said:

Miklosvar said:

ydoethur said:

Brutal.

Tells me more about the inhabitants of Ampthill than anything else, and not in a good way.

They voted for her originally and are now disappointed?

Sure.

Cash point man will live a long time in the memory.

There are at least 7 cash points in Ampthill.

The Ampthill Mob; Clyde, Ring-A-Ding, Rug Bug Benny, Mac, Danny, Kirby and Willy...

Nothing could beat Rufus Roughcut and Sawtooth.

BartholomewRoberts said:

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

What I don't understand is why the Teachers Unions are ...

a: Recommending this significant real terms pay cut is accepted
b: Also saying that this is 'fully funded'.

I think there are a few reasons.

One is that they don't think they will get a better deal and unlike the FDA they don't want to let the good be the enemy of the perfect.

Second is that they don't actually like striking. It's disruptive, expensive to their members and actually causes a lot of extra work, not to mention that teachers with rare exceptions really don't like letting children down.

Third, they have probably had a bone thrown on hours which will be announced later.

But fourth - never forget that the leadership of the NEU in particular is famous for its bucolic stupidity.

ohnotnow said:

Leon said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Leon said:

Burgessian said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Foxy said:

DougSeal said:

Leon said:

boulay said:

Leon said:

Superbly hostile Australian plant. A thread


"Even in the Poison Garden, this little guy is in isolation.

Why? Because it is one of the most venomous and dangerous plants in the world - if you touch it, the sensation is likened to being burned and electrocuted at the same time, and the effects can persist for YEARS. "

https://twitter.com/DrSueMoss/status/1679019114545676289?s=20

The pain of its sting is so acute, prolonged, and incurable, it has caused suicide. Ouch

Typical of Moss to be slagging off plants.

I remember when I encountered a solitary ant north of Sydney in a national park: the ant was blithely wandering down a path. I bent down to have a look, it was an unusual insect. At this point the ant actually turned on me, and forced me back, with a menacing glare. I thought the little fucker was having a laugh - I mean, OK, he had a tough stare, but let's face it, this was an ant - but I quickly googled the species and discovered it was THIS:

https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/02/12/3688635.htm

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-dangerous-ant


Not only is it infamously aggressive, it can deliver one of the fiercest insect bites in the world, the bite can actually be fatal within fifteen minutes (if you get an allergic shock)... and the fucking ant can JUMP AT YOU, up to a foot or more

I decided to let the ant go about his business

You have to be insane to go to or live in Australia

In this 14 year study, 56 people in Australia died from poisoned wildlife, or about 4 per year. Only 3 from stingers (box jellyfish) in the entire period. Anaphylaxis to bee or wasp stings being the most frequent.

https://biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/departments/department-of-biochemistry-and-pharmacology/engage/avru/research/avip#:~:text=During the study period, 64,27 deaths during this period.

To keep perspective there are a half dozen deaths in the UK each year from stings.

Yes, the actual stats on death and injury aren't THAT bad

But this is partly because Australia is so sparsely populated, and partly because Australians are taught from birth to be wary of everything wild

Which is not fun. So even if your chances of dying from ants, bees, jellyfish, spiders in the bog, are theoretically low, there is always this persistent hum of mild dread. And the stingers really do stop you swimming

Acvtually, the biggest risk of all and one where I had to wear protective clothing and eye protection and prophylactic creams was: the sun. Not joking. Fair freckled Scottish skin - I apologised when holding up the tour 4x4 on Kangaroo Island a few moments while slapping on the gunge and the chap said on the contrary - it was good to seem someone being sensible. I daresay also it saved having a grizzling sunburnt client later on.

Absolutely

You see some terrible skin cancers in Oz. Then you REALLY slap on the Factor 90

And you forgot the kangaroos on the road. Smash through the car windscreen like deer in the UK, but then starty kicking and punching with those sharp claws. Relative of our tour expert ...

And let's not forget the salties. The crocs of the north

Biggest land predator on earth? - and prone to grumpiness

They are pretty scary, and I have met a few. And now they have started to team up to take us out

"The death of a fisher taken from a boat and eaten by two crocodiles in northern Australia marks the first time a human has been preyed upon by more than one of the reptiles, the Queensland environment department believes."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/07/queensland-inquiry-hears-fatal-crocodile-attack-likely-first-involving-two-of-the-reptiles

Two people a year killed by salties in Oz, many more terrified out of their wits


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11871223/Teenage-girl-attacked-huge-2-2m-saltwater-crocodile.html

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/man-treated-for-injuries-after-saltwater-crocodile-attack-at-popular-top-end-swimming-hole-in-the-northern-territory/news-story/8f78cbc5cc3f16a99bce38125a18ae4b

Need to bring back Mick Dundee.

I know a few people who've been attacked by crocs, around the world. It's not a bundle of fun

One was a young white Zimbabwean man - a guide in the Kafue National Park in Zambia. The croc got him firmly by the arm and was dragging him to a nasty death but he managed to wrench the croc's jaws open by stabbing it in the eye (IIRC) and so it let go in shock, but he was left with tremendous scars up to his shoulder. Brrrr

I assume the minute hand on the doomsday clock has been turned back a couple of degrees and you’ve cast your net wider for things to be scared shitless by.

Given that this is actually me, in the plastic podule, in an underwater cage, with the world’s largest salt water crocodile in captivity - at Crocosaurus Cove, Darwin - you can rest assured that I am not “scared shitless” by Australian wildlife

It was especially spicy about 30 seconds after this when they threw raw meat in the pool to liven him up. He came roaring across the pool and slammed into my podule. Quite something

"Open the podule bay door, Hal"

I'm sorry Dave, I can't resist doing that.

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

ydoethur said:

Mexicanpete said:

...

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

Sunak brilliantly sold snake oil to the teaching unions today. One can only conclude their leaders are a bit thick whilst Sunak by comparison is the cleverest man on the planet as they swallowed it hook line and sinker. 20 point Tory lead next week?

Off topic.

@ydoethur have you never thought of moving back to the tranquility of the Leadon Vale?

On today's painful crawl up the M6 to Stoke my sat nav took me off to beat the queues, first along the A5 to Gailey and then to Penkridge. Gailey to Penkridge took the best part of an hour. I am not sure how the sat nav calculated that saving. On my way back I ran an errand for my wife to Albrighton, another hour of chaos and then came Junction 10 to 9! Is it worth using anything but Shank's pony in Staffordshire these days?

Your satnav didn't know the tricks.

You would have been better off, for a start, turning right along the A5 and then coming through Four Ashes Industrial Estate and back up the a449. Then, left along the A5 again and pick up the A41 and on the back roads to Newcastle picking up the A50. (Or indeed, down to the M54 and along to the A41 junction, but there are roadworks on the stretch from Codsall to the A5.)

If you were coming south with Wolverhampton in the way, you would have been better off going through Kinver and Stourbridge and picking up the M5 at the M42 junction.

I was driving along those roads myself today and I missed all the traffic.

That said, I've been pondering getting an electric motorbike for commuting.

My sat nav is Bavarian so perhaps it is not so hot on South Staffs routing.

A few weeks ago I was working in Hartlebury and my wife needed to buy roses in Albrighton, so she dropped me off and went Kiddy, Stourbridge Kinver and she said it was a mare so I declined and headed back to the Satanic freeway today.

I used to work in Shifnal on a Friday many years ago and would return via Ironbridge, Ludlow, Leominster Hay, Brecon and home. I would have been better off doing that today.

But nonetheless the traffic in your neck of the woods is horrific!

stodge said:

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

The Tories seeking their first councillor in Newham since 1994

No doubt they have their child’s interests at heart.
And Rupe’s mob is focused solely on the public interest.

Parents in Huw Edwards case ‘offered tens of thousands for TalkTV interview’
Interview with couple understood to have been recorded for broadcast on sister TV station of the Sun
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/13/parents-in-huw-edwards-case-offered-tens-of-thousands-for-talktv-interview

Mexicanpete said:

ydoethur said:

Mexicanpete said:

...

ydoethur said:

Here is what the DfE are saying:

The Government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. This is in recognition of the fact that many schools budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase.

We calculated that, on average, schools can afford a 4% pay award from existing budgets, following the £2 billion announced in the Autumn statement. So the additional funding to support this pay award is higher and more generous than what our calculations tell us schools can afford.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/

Headteachers and academy trusts have been saying they can't afford *any* pay rise without more money, never mind 4%.

Who do we believe here? A bunch of drunken liars or a bunch of ambitious teachers?

Gotta admit, that isn't easy.

But I have met heads whom I considered honest.

Sunak brilliantly sold snake oil to the teaching unions today. One can only conclude their leaders are a bit thick whilst Sunak by comparison is the cleverest man on the planet as they swallowed it hook line and sinker. 20 point Tory lead next week?

Off topic.

@ydoethur have you never thought of moving back to the tranquility of the Leadon Vale?

On today's painful crawl up the M6 to Stoke my sat nav took me off to beat the queues, first along the A5 to Gailey and then to Penkridge. Gailey to Penkridge took the best part of an hour. I am not sure how the sat nav calculated that saving. On my way back I ran an errand for my wife to Albrighton, another hour of chaos and then came Junction 10 to 9! Is it worth using anything but Shank's pony in Staffordshire these days?

Your satnav didn't know the tricks.

You would have been better off, for a start, turning right along the A5 and then coming through Four Ashes Industrial Estate and back up the a449. Then, left along the A5 again and pick up the A41 and on the back roads to Newcastle picking up the A50. (Or indeed, down to the M54 and along to the A41 junction, but there are roadworks on the stretch from Codsall to the A5.)

If you were coming south with Wolverhampton in the way, you would have been better off going through Kinver and Stourbridge and picking up the M5 at the M42 junction.

I was driving along those roads myself today and I missed all the traffic.

That said, I've been pondering getting an electric motorbike for commuting.

My sat nav is Bavarian so perhaps it is not so hot on South Staffs routing.

A few weeks ago I was working in Hartlebury and my wife needed to buy roses in Albrighton, so she dropped me off and went Kiddy, Stourbridge Kinver and she said it was a mare so I declined and headed back to the Satanic freeway today.

I used to work in Shifnal on a Friday many years ago and would return via Ironbridge, Ludlow, Leominster Hay, Brecon and home. I would have been better off doing that today.

But nonetheless the traffic in your neck of the woods is horrific!

You don't need to go through Kidder with my route. It takes you to Hagley instead.

Yes, the traffic is bad here - but it is in South Wales passing Newport too. Everywhere is bad because we have more traffic than the roads were designed for.

I never believed this was practical.

UK poised to drop plans to replace home gas boilers with hydrogen alternatives
Energy secretary indicates cooling of government aspirations as concerns grow over costs, safety and efficiency
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/13/uk-poised-to-drop-plans-for-hydrogen-to-replace-natural-gas-in-homes

Green hydrogen might well have a future as an industrial feedstock, though. But not particularly soon.

stodge said:

HYUFD said:

stodge said:

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

The Tories seeking their first councillor in Newham since 1994

Yes and that's fair enough but the groups of Conservatives on the street corners opposite the Polling Station could (and it seems were) considered intimidatory in terms of allowing voters free and unfettered access to the Polling Station to vote.

I'm quite impressed that "groups of Conservatives" could be found.

...

stodge said:

HYUFD said:

stodge said:

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

The Tories seeking their first councillor in Newham since 1994

Yes and that's fair enough but the groups of Conservatives on the street corners opposite the Polling Station could (and it seems were) considered intimidatory in terms of allowing voters free and unfettered access to the Polling Station to vote.

A dry run for the next GE?

Mexicanpete said:

...

stodge said:

HYUFD said:

stodge said:

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

The Tories seeking their first councillor in Newham since 1994

Yes and that's fair enough but the groups of Conservatives on the street corners opposite the Polling Station could (and it seems were) considered intimidatory in terms of allowing voters free and unfettered access to the Polling Station to vote.

A dry run for the next GE?

Not really a lot of point in East Ham which wouldn't be on any "target" list. I don't know - no one bothered me but the Police were called and did attend so clearly there was an issue though whether that was a complaint made to the Presiding Officer or the Presiding Officer herself taking action I've no clue.

carnforth said:

SandyRentool said:

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

Try this:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/307158286

Alhambra 1925. 6.4% and actually tastes of something.

Any beer above 5% ABV is an abomination in my book.

Nigelb said:

I never believed this was practical.

UK poised to drop plans to replace home gas boilers with hydrogen alternatives
Energy secretary indicates cooling of government aspirations as concerns grow over costs, safety and efficiency
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/13/uk-poised-to-drop-plans-for-hydrogen-to-replace-natural-gas-in-homes

Green hydrogen might well have a future as an industrial feedstock, though. But not particularly soon.

The proposal for a Hydrogen Village trial in Ellesmere Port has been dropped in the face of public opposition. A similar scheme on Teesside may still go ahead, as far as I am aware.

I would rather switch to s Hydrogen boiler than a shitty air source heat pump.

Theuniondivvie said:

carnforth said:

SandyRentool said:

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

Try this:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/307158286

Alhambra 1925. 6.4% and actually tastes of something.

Their Reserva Roja is even stronger, and the Dark is also good, if weaker.
Madri is pish, a brand that rose without a trace. I believe most Spaniards have never heard of it.

One of my colleagues was adamant that it has a long history and is the number one beer in Madrid. I just smiled.

algarkirk said:

Nigelb said:

I never believed this was practical.

UK poised to drop plans to replace home gas boilers with hydrogen alternatives
Energy secretary indicates cooling of government aspirations as concerns grow over costs, safety and efficiency
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/13/uk-poised-to-drop-plans-for-hydrogen-to-replace-natural-gas-in-homes

Green hydrogen might well have a future as an industrial feedstock, though. But not particularly soon.

Speccie today: UK should go big on the future of petrol engines for cars. Could be right. We are going to see a lot of 'cooling aspirations' over net zero and all that. Hydrogen? Heat pumps?

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/britain-should-place-a-big-bet-on-the-petrol-engine/

Doesn’t follow at all.
They’re just wrong about ICE vehicles. Cheaper batteries in three or four years time available in volume are going to crunch the economics.

Hydrogen isn’t either cheap enough or east enough to move around. But it will be the first of those two things in time.

Benpointer said:

carnforth said:

SandyRentool said:

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

Try this:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/307158286

Alhambra 1925. 6.4% and actually tastes of something.

Any beer above 5% ABV is an abomination in my book.

That's why it's served in smallish bottles or a caña, no binge drinking for the Spanish.
Sipping an ice cold Reserva while nibbling on some serrano on the terrace of the Hotel Alhambra Palace with the actual Alhambra behind me was one of the modestly pleasurable moments of my life.

Theuniondivvie said:

Benpointer said:

carnforth said:

SandyRentool said:

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

Try this:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/307158286

Alhambra 1925. 6.4% and actually tastes of something.

Any beer above 5% ABV is an abomination in my book.

That's why it's served in smallish bottles or a caña, no binge drinking for the Spanish.
Sipping an ice cold Reserva while nibbling on some serrano on the terrace of the Hotel Alhambra Palace with the actual Alhambra behind me was one of the modestly pleasurable moments of my life.

Well yes, nice location.

Stayed at the Áurea Washington Irving just up the road a few years ago. A very nice hotel. Must go back there soon.

Oh dear.
It looks like “TV’s” Dan Wootton is trending on Twitter for far worse reasons than Huw.

HYUFD said:

stodge said:

Evening again all

It's all been fun and games here in the last hour. The Conservatives had activists with leaflets on the street corners and were accosting voters as they approached the Polling Station. When I went over to vote, they left me alone (wonder why?), I got a cheery "Good Evening" from the Labour activist (more like a nightclub bouncer in truth) but the Presiding Officer was outside with an assistant looking at what was going on.

As I'm returning to Stodge Towers, a Met van pulls up and words are had between the Police, the Presiding Officer and the Conservative Candidate and his Agent and it ends up with the Conservative activists withdrawing from the street corners to leave a token presence (along with Labour) outside the polling station.

It's all over now and peace has returned to this part of East Ham. That's politics, Newham-style.

The Tories seeking their first councillor in Newham since 1994

Rathjer obviously,. Bunch of thugs if the police had to disperse them.

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

Oh dear.
It looks like “TV’s” Dan Wootton is trending on Twitter for far worse reasons than Huw.

The universe sort of falls into place briefly whan someone who gives the impression of being an absolute horror turns out to be verifiably that.

What;s he done? Or do I have to wait?

SandyRentool said:

Well, this evening I have had it for the first time.

Madri. As traditionally Spanish as an all day fry up in Benidorm. As insipid as any other lager. Incongruously being offered in an Italian restaurant.

The craft beer scene in Spain is awesome if you seek it out. You don’t need to be glugging Eurofizz anywhere these days.

HYUFD said:

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

Does Nadine care?

She has made clear she has no intention of standing for election again for her constituency in the House of Commoners.

She will only stay in Parliament if elevated to the unelected House of Lords

"Commoners".That's no way to speak of your MPs. Far too much snobbery.

The Commons was originally the House of Commoners, that is how it got is name whether you like it or not. The Lower Chamber being created by Edward III, mainly comprised of knights and burgesses, while the Upper House was filled with the nobility and clergy.

The House of Lords was the House of the aristocracy therefore and Hereditary peers and the Bishops and (until the Reformation) the Abbotts. Though now of course most of the Lords are commoners too, hence even Nadine Dorries could be made a Life Peer

I rather think you have failed to grasp the concept of the third millennium.

On your logic, we could go right back to the Bronze Age to justify whatever Tory policy or person of the moment is preoccupying you.

Why not the Precambrian? When things like animated lilo mattresses were occupying the Tory fastnesses of Leicestershire? No doubt all good Tory Peers.

Or rather you have failed to grasp our history, as you so often do unless it relates to your Scottish nationalist grievance against the English.

It is still called the House of Commons whether you like it or not and as I said that was to distinguish it from the upper house of peers and clergy

You are fantasising again.

You said "House of Commoners", I remind you.

This is either incompetence or a deliberate slur against the fine upstanding MPs. I wouldn't dream of suggesting that you were incompetent in the evidence and details of your arguments on PB. Given your cringing adulation for the so-called aristocracy, I rather suspect the latter.

...

Gardenwalker said:

Oh dear.
It looks like “TV’s” Dan Wootton is trending on Twitter for far worse reasons than Huw.

Ooh, has the Culture Warrior in Chief done something he shouldn't?

BlancheLivermore said:

BlancheLivermore said:

I've just started making my salad

Thinly sliced and salted raw rhubarb has an extraordinary flavour - I'm getting quite excited about the salad

Just finished eating it (got distracted by a chat mid prep with my Siberian friend - sort of funny as rhubarb is originally Siberian) and it was the best salad I've ever made

I added a few bits to the original recipe

Ingredients

A foot of rhubarb, thinly sliced
A foot of cucumber, thinly sliced
A dessertspoon of sea salt flakes
An unwaxed lemon (zest and juice)
Four ounces of couscous (a Waitrose lemon and garlic pack in my case)
A handful of mint and a handful of basil, destemmed and finely sliced
Two tablespoons of olive oil (I used oil I'd saved from a couple of jars of anchovies)
Six ounces of peppered smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and flaked
Four ounces of rocket

Mix the salt with the rhubarb and stand for ten minutes
Drain the fluid, but don't rinse
Add and mix the cucumber and stand for five minutes
Drain the fluid again without rinsing
Meanwhile cook the couscous according to instructions but for a minute less
Cool the couscous (put the pan you cooked it in into a sink of cold water and stir until it cools)
Mix the lemon juice with the rhubarb and cucumber
Add and mix in the herbs
Add and mix in the olive oil
Add and mix in the couscous
Add and mix in the flaked mackerel
Add and mix in the rocket
Sprinkle in the lemon zest

Mrs P. made a rather excellent Egyptian bean salad (variation on Ful Medames) today with our glut of broad beans:

500g of podded broad beans, boiled for 5 mins then blanched under cold water, de-skinned and dressed in 100 ml extra virgin olive oil, 1tsp ground cumin, a pinch of dried chilli flakes. Allow the flavours to blend for an hour or two then mix in 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered.

Here's another, if you have a glut of courgettes:

Slice 3 or 4 or more) courgettes into 5-10ml thick slices, mix with 2tbs olive oil and stir to coat. Roast on a baking tray in a hot oven until golden brown. Remove from the oven, tip into a bowl with a crushed clove of garlic, a tbsp of roughly torn mint leaves, and 2 tbps red wine vinegar. Leave to cool and serve.

HYUFD said:

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

Does Nadine care?

She has made clear she has no intention of standing for election again for her constituency in the House of Commoners.

She will only stay in Parliament if elevated to the unelected House of Lords

"Commoners".That's no way to speak of your MPs. Far too much snobbery.

The Commons was originally the House of Commoners, that is how it got is name whether you like it or not. The Lower Chamber being created by Edward III, mainly comprised of knights and burgesses, while the Upper House was filled with the nobility and clergy.

The House of Lords was the House of the aristocracy therefore and Hereditary peers and the Bishops and (until the Reformation) the Abbotts. Though now of course most of the Lords are commoners too, hence even Nadine Dorries could be made a Life Peer

I rather think you have failed to grasp the concept of the third millennium.

On your logic, we could go right back to the Bronze Age to justify whatever Tory policy or person of the moment is preoccupying you.

Why not the Precambrian? When things like animated lilo mattresses were occupying the Tory fastnesses of Leicestershire? No doubt all good Tory Peers.

Or rather you have failed to grasp our history, as you so often do unless it relates to your Scottish nationalist grievance against the English.

It is still called the House of Commons whether you like it or not and as I said that was to distinguish it from the upper house of peers and clergy

You are fantasising again.

You said "House of Commoners", I remind you.

This is either incompetence or a deliberate slur against the fine upstanding MPs. I wouldn't dream of suggesting that you were incompetent in the evidence and details of your arguments on PB. Given your cringing adulation for the so-called aristocracy, I rather suspect the latter.

MPs are not members of the aristocracy are they? No. Nor are they Bishops or Abbots. So again they are commoners no matter how fine or upstanding they may be. I am also a commoner

I bet I'm more commoner than you.