It is an ancient drover’s inn, in a spectacular location, was one of the original gastropubs. Years ago it was bought by some evil Crooked House type couple, who deliberately ran it into the ground - eg they would close at 2pm, they refused to change £10 notes, were exceptionally rude to everyone (“we don’t like your sort in here”) - in the hope of getting permission to turn it into a lovely home, due to lack of demand for a pub!
But the locals fought back against The Evil Couple, and now it is restored to glory. Splendid
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
It’s Herefordshire, mate. Home of Hereford cows the The Beefy Boys
Vegetarians are even less popular then the Welsh
Also great great cider. It really is cider country.
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
Good evening, everybody
Try Trainline or another aggregator?
Never use Trainline - they charge commission.
True but... if you need a ticket...
(Presumably real enthusiasts only use Railwayline)
It is an ancient drover’s inn, in a spectacular location, was one of the original gastropubs. Years ago it was bought by some evil Crooked House type couple, who deliberately ran it into the ground - eg they would close at 2pm, they refused to change £10 notes, were exceptionally rude to everyone (“we don’t like your sort in here”) - in the hope of getting permission to turn it into a lovely home, due to lack of demand for a pub!
But the locals fought back against The Evil Couple, and now it is restored to glory. Splendid
It is an ancient drover’s inn, in a spectacular location, was one of the original gastropubs. Years ago it was bought by some evil Crooked House type couple, who deliberately ran it into the ground - eg they would close at 2pm, they refused to change £10 notes, were exceptionally rude to everyone (“we don’t like your sort in here”) - in the hope of getting permission to turn it into a lovely home, due to lack of demand for a pub!
But the locals fought back against The Evil Couple, and now it is restored to glory. Splendid
It is an ancient drover’s inn, in a spectacular location, was one of the original gastropubs. Years ago it was bought by some evil Crooked House type couple, who deliberately ran it into the ground - eg they would close at 2pm, they refused to change £10 notes, were exceptionally rude to everyone (“we don’t like your sort in here”) - in the hope of getting permission to turn it into a lovely home, due to lack of demand for a pub!
But the locals fought back against The Evil Couple, and now it is restored to glory. Splendid
Do we know that Anabobazina never tried to run a pub?
It is an ancient drover’s inn, in a spectacular location, was one of the original gastropubs. Years ago it was bought by some evil Crooked House type couple, who deliberately ran it into the ground - eg they would close at 2pm, they refused to change £10 notes, were exceptionally rude to everyone (“we don’t like your sort in here”) - in the hope of getting permission to turn it into a lovely home, due to lack of demand for a pub!
But the locals fought back against The Evil Couple, and now it is restored to glory. Splendid
Look at the history of these fuckers that bought it,
“But he expressed fears that the Bull’s owners, Charles and Kathryn Mackintosh could sell the pub as a private house. “This would be worth a third more than a pub so it makes a few people suspicious about what’s going on here,” he said.
“Some believe the owners have a plan as previously they owned the famous and fondly remembered Ancient Camp pub at Ruckhall Common,” he continued. “After their tenure it became a private house.””
I can remember that pub, the Ancient Camp. Damn them
People like this should be thrown in the Wye, hopefully a particularly sewagey bit
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
Good evening, everybody
Try Trainline or another aggregator?
Never use Trainline - they charge commission.
True but... if you need a ticket...
(Presumably real enthusiasts only use Railwayline)
If you need a ticket it might be cheaper to get two tickets, so try a split ticketing site!
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Three days every fortnight isn't most people's idea of "commuting" either.
She's big on lefty/rejoin political Twitter, which is presumably how she became the subject of this story.
She rather expansively describes herself in her Twitter bio as a "Former Diplomat" when she was an attaché for six months.
So you know the type.
The type to be over qualified for a BJ Honours list?
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
Good evening, everybody
Try Trainline or another aggregator?
Never use Trainline - they charge commission.
Transport for Wales are commission free
I tend to use Northern for booking. I like the format and they are the company I mostly have to claim Delay Repay from too.
On accomodations for older folks: One of my friends, thinking ahead, included a small elevator, in a home he was building. (Both he and his wife were likely to need that, or something equivalent, by the time they retired.)
I saw a short story recently -- I forget just where -- that showed external elevators being added to high rises in Hong Kong. Seemed like a sensible approach, from what little I know.
From time to time, I see ads for "stairlifts", powered chairs that can be added to a staircase. They aren't inexpensive, but probably cheaper than many alternatives.
(Of course, if possible, the best approach is to keep fit by, for example, cross country skiing, swimming, and similar activities.)
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
One up to the closure of rail ticket offices. I've just tried to buy my ticket online for a journey with no reservations possible and it tells me no tickets available for that day & time. Or any other at the moment, but it is a beta site. I'll try the local booking office tomorrow.
Good evening, everybody
Try Trainline or another aggregator?
Never use Trainline - they charge commission.
Transport for Wales are commission free
I tend to use Northern for booking. I like the format and they are the company I mostly have to claim Delay Repay from too.
Last time we travelled by train we booked Trafnidiaeth Cymru but got refunded by LNER. Win win
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has received more than £150,000 from the charity set up in her father’s name, the latest accounts reveal.
The Captain Tom Foundation, which has stopped taking donations amid controversy over its links to Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family companies, has continued paying her thousands despite the scandal.
Since the foundation started in May 2020 it has paid just over £152,000 to Mrs Ingram-Moore and companies she controls along with her husband Colin, who is also a trustee of the charity.
Over the same period the charity has given out only £370,000 to charity.
The payments include almost £25,000 in office costs to Maytrix Group Limited in the last financial year, a company owned by the couple. The rent payments have continued while the charity is under investigation by the regulator.
The charity blamed the regulator’s inquiry for a drop in the donations that they have received, which fell from just over £1 million in the year to May 2021 to almost £400,000 in the 18 months from June 2021 to November 2022.
The trustees said that the intervention of the Charity Commission, which opened a regulatory inquiry in March 2022 and then a statutory inquiry in June 2022, has had a “massive adverse impact”.
The money comes on top of the thousands that Mrs Ingram-Moore was paid via the family company in relation to appearances at an awards ceremony bearing the charity name.
'companies he/she controls' always feels like a red flag to me in these situations. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I get suspicious when people who aren't mass business moguls are getting paid through companies or companies they control are getting monies, as if to conceal how much they are getting.
And frankly even for business moguls the way many corporate structures are set up to be as convoluted as possible, which cannot possibly be a benefit to the controllers in terms of governance, feels like it should be unlawful as well.
A "charity" is one of those words which now, as often as not, seems to mean "opportunity to scam".
There should be some minimum level of training and accreditation before you can start or lead a charity.
Just wait a moment while I setup a charity to train people on how to setup charities under your new rules.
Worth at least 500k a year in CEO compensation, I reckon.
A million quid minimum to me to investigate everything and everyone. You're all bound to be up to no good with all that money sloshing around.
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Three days every fortnight isn't most people's idea of "commuting" either.
She's big on lefty/rejoin political Twitter, which is presumably how she became the subject of this story.
She rather expansively describes herself in her Twitter bio as a "Former Diplomat" when she was an attaché for six months.
So you know the type.
Apparently she's an AI expert too. How convenient!
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
Demand venison then. Practically vegan I hear.
Venison is a little on the deer side these days...
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Three days every fortnight isn't most people's idea of "commuting" either.
She's big on lefty/rejoin political Twitter, which is presumably how she became the subject of this story.
She rather expansively describes herself in her Twitter bio as a "Former Diplomat" when she was an attaché for six months.
So you know the type.
Apparently she's an AI expert too. How convenient!
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Take a block of Cheddar (or is it Stilton?) then shoot it full of holes using your Winchester.
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Three days every fortnight isn't most people's idea of "commuting" either.
She's big on lefty/rejoin political Twitter, which is presumably how she became the subject of this story.
She rather expansively describes herself in her Twitter bio as a "Former Diplomat" when she was an attaché for six months.
So you know the type.
Apparently she's an AI expert too. How convenient!
"OxfordDiplomat" is fairly pretentious in itself.
As in pretend diplomat?
Or like the comma, pointless, overused, and irrelevant?
RSS Conference Harrogate 2023 ended today at 17:57. After a three-minute invite to RSS Conference Brighton 2-5 Sept 2024 proceedings ended at 18:00. Am now a bit sad.
Are there more than 3 people on this forum who knows what the RSS is withouth having to lokk it up?
RSS Conference Harrogate 2023 ended today at 17:57. After a three-minute invite to RSS Conference Brighton 2-5 Sept 2024 proceedings ended at 18:00. Am now a bit sad.
Are there more than 3 people on this forum who knows what the RSS is withouth having to lokk it up?
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Three days every fortnight isn't most people's idea of "commuting" either.
She's big on lefty/rejoin political Twitter, which is presumably how she became the subject of this story.
She rather expansively describes herself in her Twitter bio as a "Former Diplomat" when she was an attaché for six months.
So you know the type.
Apparently she's an AI expert too. How convenient!
"OxfordDiplomat" is fairly pretentious in itself.
As in pretend diplomat?
Or like the comma, pointless, overused, and irrelevant?
Very clever! - but I actually like an Oxford comma.
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
On accomodations for older folks: One of my friends, thinking ahead, included a small elevator, in a home he was building. (Both he and his wife were likely to need that, or something equivalent, by the time they retired.)
I saw a short story recently -- I forget just where -- that showed external elevators being added to high rises in Hong Kong. Seemed like a sensible approach, from what little I know.
From time to time, I see ads for "stairlifts", powered chairs that can be added to a staircase. They aren't inexpensive, but probably cheaper than many alternatives.
(Of course, if possible, the best approach is to keep fit by, for example, cross country skiing, swimming, and similar activities.)
You can keep yourself fit, but it doesn't stop afflictions like osteoarthritis or heart failure
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
That's grim for Trump. He needs a big lead going into 2024 because he'll shed support as the legal noose tightens.
What happens if he is not convicted? Will hearing the reports from trials be enough to cause bleedage? It's not as though the media that backs him will present it negatively for his supporters, they've learned that lesson.
RSS Conference Harrogate 2023 ended today at 17:57. After a three-minute invite to RSS Conference Brighton 2-5 Sept 2024 proceedings ended at 18:00. Am now a bit sad.
Are there more than 3 people on this forum who knows what the RSS is withouth having to lokk it up?
p.S. I'm one of the 3.
I know too.
So do I. So that's three.
Me four.
I cheated.
Me too - that makes two of us - we'll soon catch the others up.
RSS Conference Harrogate 2023 ended today at 17:57. After a three-minute invite to RSS Conference Brighton 2-5 Sept 2024 proceedings ended at 18:00. Am now a bit sad.
Are there more than 3 people on this forum who knows what the RSS is withouth having to lokk it up?
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
That's grim for Trump. He needs a big lead going into 2024 because he'll shed support as the legal noose tightens.
Thank you!
Every time I see a poll where Trump is close or ahead I get a small bout of depression. If Trump wins I fear nothing can ever come to any good again.
I feel like that about both Mr Trump and Mr Biden.
Surprised you can't see that one is a poor choice, the other is an absolute apocalyptic disaster.
Give me 'poor choice' Biden any day.
I'm with former GOPer Joe Walsh on this one.
Maybe it’s because I’m not a Democrat, but this issue of WHO the Democratic nominee is - should it be Biden, is Biden too old, how about someone else, etc,etc, - is irrelevant to me. Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. He must not win. So all of us who want to preserve our democracy are gonna have to suck it up again and support a candidate we may not be crazy about. Tough. It’s what we have to do. So do it. And quit whining about it...
In other words, 2024 isn’t about who the Democratic nominee is. It’s about who we are.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
It’s Herefordshire, mate. Home of Hereford cows and The Beefy Boys
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
Keith Floyd? Possibly without the plan for making a profit...
Reading the small print (such as it is) for that CNN poll with Trump 1% ahead of Biden, I think some caution is required in interpreting it:
"The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS from August 25-31 among a random national sample of 1,503 adults drawn from a probability-based panel, including 1,259 registered voters and 391 Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters. The survey included an oversample to reach a total of 898 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents; this group has been weighted to its proper size within the population. Surveys were either conducted online or by telephone with a live interviewer. Results among the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 points; among registered voters, the margin of sampling error is 3.6 points, and it is 6.0 for Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters."
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
I think it’s worse than that. I reckon 3% take an actual pleasure in extending the horizon of human suffering and impoverishment. They’re not indifferent, they are positively pleased if they make life nastier for others
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
Never thought I’d have anything as nasty as cervical myelopathy. I’m slowly getting ‘better’ but many of the systems below my shoulders don’t work properly. I’m told they ‘may’ do so eventually, but it’ll be a while.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Caramelised onions with a touch of gravy left over from your roast makes a delicious pasta sauce too.
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
I think it’s worse than that. I reckon 3% take an actual pleasure in extending the horizon of human suffering and impoverishment. They’re not indifferent, they are positively pleased if they make life nastier for others
Fair point. I'd like to think it's a bit smaller a %age than that but grey lines and all that.
A third person has been arrested in the Crooked Pub investigation.
This is a truly weird Telegraph review of The Bull’s Head when they owned it
It does, almost by accident, imply that Yes they were trying to make it so unwelcoming, no one would come
“The flooring is stone slabs, the stone walls have been discoloured by time, and it took the wood-burner a while to reduce the risk of hypothermia. “I’ve been warmer,” understated my cousin Nick over his regulation Martini Rosso. “If I’d known, I would have brought the turkey foil.” The dining room next door, with its open fireplace, is homelier. Then again, so is the averagely appointed interrogation cell in Damascus.”
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
The pub is a wonderful British institution and should be protected. Obviously some are s***holes, and some of the megapubs built in the 70s are probably not deserving of keeping.
On the subject of Spoons, whatever people's might feel about the clientele, or the politics of the owner, I think credit is due to Spoons for the way they have preserved some of our more magnificent buildings, most notably banks, but also other notable buildings, that might otherwise have been ruined or not become public buildings, so no one ever gets to see the interiors.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
A third person has been arrested in the Crooked Pub investigation.
This is a truly weird Telegraph review of The Bull’s Head when they owned it
It does, almost by accident, imply that Yes they were trying to make it so unwelcoming, no one would come
“The flooring is stone slabs, the stone walls have been discoloured by time, and it took the wood-burner a while to reduce the risk of hypothermia. “I’ve been warmer,” understated my cousin Nick over his regulation Martini Rosso. “If I’d known, I would have brought the turkey foil.” The dining room next door, with its open fireplace, is homelier. Then again, so is the averagely appointed interrogation cell in Damascus.”
Isn’t Owain Glyndwr buried somewhere around there?
Glyndwr means “valley of water” and dwr (water) was the name of the river which apocryphally became "d'or" in Norman times thus the river Dore, and the Golden Valley.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
The pub is a wonderful British institution and should be protected. Obviously some are s***holes, and some of the megapubs built in the 70s are probably not deserving of keeping.
On the subject of Spoons, whatever people's might feel about the clientele, or the politics of the owner, I think credit is due to Spoons for the way they have preserved some of our more magnificent buildings, most notably banks, but also other notable buildings, that might otherwise have been ruined or not become public buildings, so no one ever gets to see the interiors.
Completely agree on Spoons. That man creates real, decent pubs, with pleasant beer and tolerable food, at friendly prices, AND he saves loads of grand old buildings as he does it. They also do hotels which are often properly good, in a budget way
He has probably saved several high streets. Should totes get a knighthood
Isn’t Owain Glyndwr buried somewhere around there?
Nobody *knows* where Owain Glyn Dwr was buried. That was sort of the point of his successful disappearance.
It is thought possible that he was buried in Monnington in Herefordshire having lived out his life with one of his daughters, who was married to the lord of nearby Kentchurch. But that's all it is - a possibility. There is no evidence other than the negative evidence of it's hard to think who else might have been willing and able to shelter him.
Ironically, Kentchurch is now owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, having been sold by the Scudamore family some years ago.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
I should possibly mention that the aubergine plants are still going strong. (We're back round to moussaka on the aubergine recipe circuit this weekend, I believe.)
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
Also, if you're in the Golden Valley, seek out the Gwatkins cider. One of the finest made-in-Britain drinks I've ever tried.
To be honest I can't see a way back for many town centres. Too much going against them: competition from cheaper online retailers, excessive parking costs from councils trying to raise revenue, ULEZ or other actions discouraging cars into town centres, rubbish public transport, rubbish support for cycling, pressure to convert empty retail premises to residential.
Basically it's too expensive to get there, too much bother to get there, and there's nothing much there if you do go, other than pound shops, vape shops, mobile phone shops, Starbucks and betting shops. Why bother.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Why is Musk a Putin fan? It’s not good for business. He's (presumably) not a fascist. So what's going on there?
I follow a particularly famous American influencer on Instagram who does occasionally sail close to the MAGA wind. She posted pictures of herself in limited states of dress at the Burning Man festival, and in one of the pictures were some Ukrainian flags. One moron went apes**t in the comment section, raging on about the wokeness of flying Ukrainian flags. He got a 100 plus "likes", where for any other post "likes" seldom reached double figures. The Putin man-love from the MAGA community is troubling.
More relevant to the last thread, but I do like this self awareness seen from WingsOverScotland in a recent posting. Our following on [twitter] is now an eclectic amalgam comprising three main groups – hardcore Yes voters, gender-critical feminists and Unionists who come for the SNP-bashing
I'm finding the "Great September Heat" just about bearable. At least, the Sun doesn't shine as long at this time of year and as is often the case East London gets a cooling breeze off the Thames which is why points west break all the records.
Tamworth is the 311th most marginal Conservative seat based on th 2019 election results. Tiverton & Honiton was 292 and Shropshire North 290. The way the seat has trended to the Conservatives since 2005 is extraordinary - the Conservative vote share has risen in every election so 37% in 2005 was 66% in 2019. The triumph of Right to Buy writ large - the second generation of home owners was much more Conservative.
Labour needs a 21.3% swing to win and while in LD terms that's not exceptional it would be another striking performance by Labour to capture this Conservative stronghold.The LDs polled 16% in 2010 but otherwise have been marginalised and there really isn't a lot of minor party vote to squeeze.
I imagine the Conservatives will want a quick vote in Tamworth to forestall any bandwagon effect should Mid Bedfordshire go either Labour or LD.
That's grim for Trump. He needs a big lead going into 2024 because he'll shed support as the legal noose tightens.
Thank you!
Every time I see a poll where Trump is close or ahead I get a small bout of depression. If Trump wins I fear nothing can ever come to any good again.
@williamglenn gets very excited when he sees a positive poll for Trump and can't resist posting the results. It is troubling, but hopefully next November @williamglenn will be disappointed.
It’s effing roasting down here, day after blazing day. My garden office has no sun on it, ever, yet it’s still uncomfortably hot. I haven’t slept properly all week.
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
Also, if you're in the Golden Valley, seek out the Gwatkins cider. One of the finest made-in-Britain drinks I've ever tried.
To be honest I can't see a way back for many town centres. Too much going against them: competition from cheaper online retailers, excessive parking costs from councils trying to raise revenue, ULEZ or other actions discouraging cars into town centres, rubbish public transport, rubbish support for cycling, pressure to convert empty retail premises to residential.
Basically it's too expensive to get there, too much bother to get there, and there's nothing much there if you do go, other than pound shops, vape shops, mobile phone shops, Starbucks and betting shops. Why bother.
Sadly, you are likely right. Hereford has a handsome if not truly beautiful town centre, complete with Tudor buildings and medieval cathedral and an idyllic setting by the Wye. Yet that is obvs not enough
The locals take the beauty and history for granted, once you’ve seen the Mappa Mundi you don’t need to see it again; there aren’t sufficient tourists to sustain the retail without the locals
What will it become? Eventually, something, but it is hard to work out what that is, right now
And if Hereford with its unspoiled 14th-19th century core, and no competition from other towns, can’t hack it, then God help old mining towns in the north etc
People who spend their lives trying to destroy pubs simply to make money from their destruction should have a special circle of Hell where they live 24/7 in a 24/7 Wetherspoons in West Bromwich in November where they have to eat a full Wetherspoons English breakfast every thirteen minutes with two pints of Carling every half hour for the rest of eternity
Is that even possible without additional insulin?
Seriously. Who the fuck gets up in the morning and thinks What shall I do today, I know, I’ll take over a grand and much-loved local pub, turn it into a shithole which everyone avoids because I am horrible to them, then I can get it closed on the grounds that no one comes and isn’t needed, then I can turn it into a home and sell it for 30% more than I paid HAHAHAHAH
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
There seems to be a small percentage of humans who really don't give a shit about the impact of their actions on anyone else. What do we reckon it is 5%? 2%? 1%? (I feel their adverse impact is out of all proportion to their actual numbers).
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
The pub is a wonderful British institution and should be protected. Obviously some are s***holes, and some of the megapubs built in the 70s are probably not deserving of keeping.
On the subject of Spoons, whatever people's might feel about the clientele, or the politics of the owner, I think credit is due to Spoons for the way they have preserved some of our more magnificent buildings, most notably banks, but also other notable buildings, that might otherwise have been ruined or not become public buildings, so no one ever gets to see the interiors.
Completely agree on Spoons. That man creates real, decent pubs, with pleasant beer and tolerable food, at friendly prices, AND he saves loads of grand old buildings as he does it. They also do hotels which are often properly good, in a budget way
He has probably saved several high streets. Should totes get a knighthood
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
It’s Herefordshire, mate. Home of Hereford cows and The Beefy Boys
Vegetarians are even less popular than the Welsh
Worcesterians are the Herefordians biggest foe. I knew a guy from Bartestree, a service engineer. He was offered one of either two breakdowns at 4.45. One in Plymouth, the other in Worcester. He chose Plymouth, explaining to the call handler "you can't ask a Herefordian to go to Worcester- it's a Civil War thing". I daresay the overtime bonus might also have helped.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
I should possibly mention that the aubergine plants are still going strong. (We're back round to moussaka on the aubergine recipe circuit this weekend, I believe.)
I am pleased to report, Mum managed to grow an 800 gram aubergine this year!
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
It’s Herefordshire, mate. Home of Hereford cows and The Beefy Boys
Vegetarians are even less popular than the Welsh
Worcesterians are the Herefordians biggest foe. I knew a guy from Bartestree, a service engineer. He was offered one of either two breakdowns at 4.45. One in Plymouth, the other in Worcester. He chose Plymouth, explaining to the call handler "you can't ask a Herefordian to go to Worcester- it's a Civil War thing". I daresay the overtime bonus might also have helped.
Some truth in that. The resentment when the Heathite Tories combined Hereford and Worcester into one county of “Hereford and Worcestershire” was absolutely intense. Gratuitously stupid and loathed by everyone - or so I learned as I grew up. It also meant Worcestershire got the best jobs and the investment, the after effects of which you can see even now
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
I should possibly mention that the aubergine plants are still going strong. (We're back round to moussaka on the aubergine recipe circuit this weekend, I believe.)
I am pleased to report, Mum managed to grow an 800 gram aubergine this year!
I'm finding the "Great September Heat" just about bearable. At least, the Sun doesn't shine as long at this time of year and as is often the case East London gets a cooling breeze off the Thames which is why points west break all the records.
Tamworth is the 311th most marginal Conservative seat based on th 2019 election results. Tiverton & Honiton was 292 and Shropshire North 290. The way the seat has trended to the Conservatives since 2005 is extraordinary - the Conservative vote share has risen in every election so 37% in 2005 was 66% in 2019. The triumph of Right to Buy writ large - the second generation of home owners was much more Conservative.
Labour needs a 21.3% swing to win and while in LD terms that's not exceptional it would be another striking performance by Labour to capture this Conservative stronghold.The LDs polled 16% in 2010 but otherwise have been marginalised and there really isn't a lot of minor party vote to squeeze.
I imagine the Conservatives will want a quick vote in Tamworth to forestall any bandwagon effect should Mid Bedfordshire go either Labour or LD.
Those stats convince me this is definitely a Tory hold. Labour will need to do some very careful expectation management.
That's grim for Trump. He needs a big lead going into 2024 because he'll shed support as the legal noose tightens.
Thank you!
Every time I see a poll where Trump is close or ahead I get a small bout of depression. If Trump wins I fear nothing can ever come to any good again.
I think Trump is toast.
And more interestingly I wonder what will happen to the Republican Party afterwards.
I recently listened to some accounts of continuing racial gerrymandering in Republican controlled States and it was a shocker for me. I think the whole area-definition process is a mess in the USA, and the remedies are sticking plasters - all the positions that need to be at one or two removes from politics, whether elected sheriffs or elected / appointed judges, are not.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Unless Ross has declined in the last three months I suspect you will be more cheered after being lowballed by High Town. It's not Porto Fino, but it's better than any other market town within 30 miles.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
I should possibly mention that the aubergine plants are still going strong. (We're back round to moussaka on the aubergine recipe circuit this weekend, I believe.)
I am pleased to report, Mum managed to grow an 800 gram aubergine this year!
Grams?!?! Bugger off to Brussels if you want to use Jonny Foreigner units.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Caramelised onions with a touch of gravy left over from your roast makes a delicious pasta sauce too.
Another pasta sauce from leftovers: take the remains of a beef stew, in the cooking pot but sans dumplings, and attack it lightly with a fork. Now mix in a tin of chopped tomatoes, season and return to the oven for half an hour.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Now, now, don't make me re-post the photo of our total courgette dinner, complete with courgette bread and marrow chutney.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
You might be able to find some videos online if you are in need of inspiration for what to do with the surplus corgettes.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
I should possibly mention that the aubergine plants are still going strong. (We're back round to moussaka on the aubergine recipe circuit this weekend, I believe.)
I am pleased to report, Mum managed to grow an 800 gram aubergine this year!
Grams?!?! Bugger off to Brussels if you want to use Jonny Foreigner units.
Why is Musk a Putin fan? It’s not good for business. He's (presumably) not a fascist. So what's going on there?
I follow a particularly famous American influencer on Instagram who does occasionally sail close to the MAGA wind. She posted pictures of herself in limited states of dress at the Burning Man festival, and in one of the pictures were some Ukrainian flags. One moron went apes**t in the comment section, raging on about the wokeness of flying Ukrainian flags. He got a 100 plus "likes", where for any other post "likes" seldom reached double figures. The Putin man-love from the MAGA community is troubling.
Americans seem now to follow a kind of tribal semiotics where various symbols take on partisan meaning. And apparently the Ukraine flag and support for Ukraine are symbols of woke Dem libtard cucks.
I’m not sure how you even start to reverse that. Once the symbolism takes hold, supporting a woke Dem cause becomes as anathema as burning the Koran.
You have to hope there are enough sensible people in America who haven’t fallen for the Trump schtick.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Unless Ross has declined in the last three months I suspect you will be more cheered after being lowballed by High Town. It's not Porto Fino, but it's better than any other market town within 30 miles.
It’s only Hereford that has surprised on the downside - tho it was quite a nasty surprise . Elsewhere I’ve been cheered. Even in little towns like Tenbury Wells I’ve sensed enduring prosperity and new businesses on the rise
As @viewcode says I should probably go to Stoke, Bangor and Southend to get a real view, but my editors send me where they send me….
It’s effing roasting down here, day after blazing day. My garden office has no sun on it, ever, yet it’s still uncomfortably hot. I haven’t slept properly all week.
Pub.
I've not felt it too bad tbh. I think the way the direct heat goes off a bit earlier because the sun is lower, good chance to air the dormer upstairs from pretty early in the evening.
And as TimS noted, the humidity plus reasonable nights has actually resulted in some dew, and some condensation on the cars, by morning, so there's been an oppressive humidity / refreshing mistiness play off going on.
Reasonable nights? 20c at 4am, and much warmer indoors. Grim.
20°C high daytime today up here in the blessed north.
Light rain this morning for my cycle to work.
Light rain here too last night - straight from the Sahara by the look of it:
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
Also, if you're in the Golden Valley, seek out the Gwatkins cider. One of the finest made-in-Britain drinks I've ever tried.
To be honest I can't see a way back for many town centres. Too much going against them: competition from cheaper online retailers, excessive parking costs from councils trying to raise revenue, ULEZ or other actions discouraging cars into town centres, rubbish public transport, rubbish support for cycling, pressure to convert empty retail premises to residential.
Basically it's too expensive to get there, too much bother to get there, and there's nothing much there if you do go, other than pound shops, vape shops, mobile phone shops, Starbucks and betting shops. Why bother.
Sadly, you are likely right. Hereford has a handsome if not truly beautiful town centre, complete with Tudor buildings and medieval cathedral and an idyllic setting by the Wye. Yet that is obvs not enough
The locals take the beauty and history for granted, once you’ve seen the Mappa Mundi you don’t need to see it again; there aren’t sufficient tourists to sustain the retail without the locals
What will it become? Eventually, something, but it is hard to work out what that is, right now
And if Hereford with its unspoiled 14th-19th century core, and no competition from other towns, can’t hack it, then God help old mining towns in the north etc
I guess tourism is probably all there is. With so much wfh, there is not the buzz at lunchtimes or after work that there used to be, otherwise there might some hope in developing a cafe culture in some of the more attractive town centres. Someone mentioned earlier today about the impact of pedestrianisation - I think there's something in that, if the public transport links aren't good then pedestrianisation makes people less likely to go if they can't get there by car either. Remembering that an ageing population is less mobile and so want to park closer to where they are going. Maybe that's the answer - town centres to reinvent themselves by targeting the grey pound? But that will mean improving accessibility. To be successful you have to target *wealthy* pensioners, and they are too posh for the bus, they want to drive instead. Ideally door to door.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Caramelised onions with a touch of gravy left over from your roast makes a delicious pasta sauce too.
Another pasta sauce from leftovers: take the remains of a beef stew, in the cooking pot but sans dumplings, and attack it lightly with a fork. Now mix in a tin of chopped tomatoes, season and return to the oven for half an hour.
Pasta sauce from leftovers is one of the greatest taste:effort ratios out there.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
So if you don't eat meat you can't even have some chips? What a load of bollocks.
It’s Herefordshire, mate. Home of Hereford cows and The Beefy Boys
Vegetarians are even less popular than the Welsh
Worcesterians are the Herefordians biggest foe. I knew a guy from Bartestree, a service engineer. He was offered one of either two breakdowns at 4.45. One in Plymouth, the other in Worcester. He chose Plymouth, explaining to the call handler "you can't ask a Herefordian to go to Worcester- it's a Civil War thing". I daresay the overtime bonus might also have helped.
Some truth in that. The resentment when the Heathite Tories combined Hereford and Worcester into one county of “Hereford and Worcestershire” was absolutely intense. Gratuitously stupid and loathed by everyone - or so I learned as I grew up. It also meant Worcestershire got the best jobs and the investment, the after effects of which you can see even now
Edward Heath. What a c*nt
I have given you a like, but erred as Ted was a European Super Hero. If only modern Conservatives would take a leaf out of Ted's book. But, not the dodgy private life, not that book.
Neighbours have told of hearing "screaming" after a man is believed to have been attacked by his own XL bulldog at a Huddersfield flat and was taken to hospital with serious head and facial injuries
Isn’t Owain Glyndwr buried somewhere around there?
Glyndwr means “valley of water” and dwr (water) was the name of the river which apocryphally became "d'or" in Norman times thus the river Dore, and the Golden Valley.
A beautiful association, which unfortunately is shattered by the reality that 'Glyndwr' is a contraction of 'Glyndyfrdwy' - the lordship Owain held at Sycharth, near modern Corwen.
His full name was Owain ap Gruffudd, Arglwydd Glyndyfrdwy, which translates in English to Owen the son of Griffith, the Lord of the Valley of the Light upon the Waters of the Dee.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Is that CS Lewis’s Golden Valley? I only know about it because I watched Shadowlands for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Not a bad movie.
A good film. I don't go back to it as I don't see the need to feel sad very often.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Gloucester has some nice bits, but a walk from the city centre to the rejuvenated docks passes through some distinctly unrejuvenated parts.
Having said that, one of the best hotel fry-ups I've had was at a £30 dive in said part of Gloucester where the permatanned middle-aged owner demanded to know exactly what time each guest would be down in the morning so she could fry it and plonk it down in front of your hungover face.
Hereford is in an absolutely shocking state. Like a rural town in Pennsylvania
At least a third of the town centre properties are empty. Streets are deserted in areas. Sense of real deprivation. And this is in bright warm sun
I was here in feb 2022 and it felt bustling - in the cold. What has happened in the intervening year and a half? Covid belatedly impacting? Inflation?
It feels almost random. Ludlow is doing OK. Shrewsbury is thriving and crowded. Hereford is fucked
🤷♂️
Maybe everyone's at work?
No. This is weird, and sad
This is High Town, the premier retail street. Empty empty empty
The guy at Tanners wine merchant (based in thriving Shrewsbury, but which branches all down the Marches) warned me that Hereford is looking bad. He was right
@BartholomewRoberts will be pleased to hear that James Tanner has a theory for the apparent random declines. He says they’re not random - he reckons towns which heavily pedestrianised (Hereford) are now suffering badly cause covid made people lazy and they can’t be bothered to walk into town centres. If they can drive they come
I don’t believe it: I’m sure there is something else at work. There is plenty of parking in Hereford. But that’s the opinion of a retailer/merchant
Lots of factors but I'm beginning to suspect it's a matter of getting the sweet spot between local spending power and low city centre rents.
Hereford and Gloucester: locals don't have much spending power; low city centre rents but it doesn't matter. City centres doing badly.
Worcester and Shrewsbury: locals have more spending power; low city centre rents. City centres doing well.
Oxford: locals have insane amounts of spending power; city centre rents are insanely high. City centre holding on but with a lot of empty units.
High rents but are all of the locals rich? Did you see this rather odd story from the BBC today?
Presumably she can afford to fly from Dublin where she lives rent-free at mum's because she spends the rest of her time living rent-free in London with her friend. First world problems!
Forgive me for stating the absolute bleeding obvious, but most people who can't afford to live in Oxford commute in from Bicester or Witney instead. Though I'll grant you that Dublin is more exciting than Bicester.
I'm finding the "Great September Heat" just about bearable. At least, the Sun doesn't shine as long at this time of year and as is often the case East London gets a cooling breeze off the Thames which is why points west break all the records.
Tamworth is the 311th most marginal Conservative seat based on th 2019 election results. Tiverton & Honiton was 292 and Shropshire North 290. The way the seat has trended to the Conservatives since 2005 is extraordinary - the Conservative vote share has risen in every election so 37% in 2005 was 66% in 2019. The triumph of Right to Buy writ large - the second generation of home owners was much more Conservative.
Labour needs a 21.3% swing to win and while in LD terms that's not exceptional it would be another striking performance by Labour to capture this Conservative stronghold.The LDs polled 16% in 2010 but otherwise have been marginalised and there really isn't a lot of minor party vote to squeeze.
I imagine the Conservatives will want a quick vote in Tamworth to forestall any bandwagon effect should Mid Bedfordshire go either Labour or LD.
Those stats convince me this is definitely a Tory hold. Labour will need to do some very careful expectation management.
It won't be easy but it's possible - the national swing is around 14% and by election swings are often much higher. Labour has a base on Tamworth Council but the general wretchedness of the current Government is more likely to manifest itself in large scale abstention than direct switching.
In Selby & Ainsty, the Conservative share fell from 60% to 34% or put another way, 57% stayed loyal, 43% didn't. If you got a similar vote fall in Tamworth you'd be looking at a Conservative vote share of 38%. Labour went from 24.5% to 46% so nearly but not quite doubled. Apply simialr to Tamworth and you get 42% so if the voters of Tamworth behave as those in Selby & Ainsty did it's a Labour win.
Was in the Golden Valley last week, Stroud, Nailsworth and the surrounding villages are lovely and the scenery and history wonderful. A favourite part of the world.
Different Golden Valley I think. I presume @Leon is by the River Dore in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border?
Yes I’m in the magnificent Golden Valley of west Herefordshire where England finally yields to Wales in a blaze of rolling opulent greenery and lyrical little churches and endless ruined castles. It’s glorious
I’m specifically at the new/refurbed Bull’s Head in Craswall
I think this may be the best gastropub menu I have ever seen. I would choose literally every dish here
It may taste crap but that is a perfect menu. Simple, uncomplicated, short - but yummmm
Winchester cheese? Not sure I have heard of that before.
Pasta with courgettes.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks. - Quickly stir fry in some olive oil - Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta - A touch more good quality olive oil to taste - LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning - EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Thinly sliced courgettes cooked down in red wine and olive oil or butter make an excellent sauce base.
Caramelised onions with a touch of gravy left over from your roast makes a delicious pasta sauce too.
Another pasta sauce from leftovers: take the remains of a beef stew, in the cooking pot but sans dumplings, and attack it lightly with a fork. Now mix in a tin of chopped tomatoes, season and return to the oven for half an hour.
I failed at the first hurdle: what are these 'remains of a beef stew' of which you speak?
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Unless Ross has declined in the last three months I suspect you will be more cheered after being lowballed by High Town. It's not Porto Fino, but it's better than any other market town within 30 miles.
It’s only Hereford that has surprised on the downside - tho it was quite a nasty surprise . Elsewhere I’ve been cheered. Even in little towns like Tenbury Wells I’ve sensed enduring prosperity and new businesses on the rise
As @viewcode says I should probably go to Stoke, Bangor and Southend to get a real view, but my editors send me where they send me….
Just a reminder that the quickest route from Ross to Gloucester allows you to crown your trip with a visit to Newent.
I imagine 48% of crooked house types are remainers, and 52% are leavers. My experience with nasty neighbours and general misanthropes is that they live their croaky little existences on all parts of the political spectrum.
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
I wish I had the time! Off to Ross then Glos tomorrow. Last leg
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Unless Ross has declined in the last three months I suspect you will be more cheered after being lowballed by High Town. It's not Porto Fino, but it's better than any other market town within 30 miles.
It’s only Hereford that has surprised on the downside - tho it was quite a nasty surprise . Elsewhere I’ve been cheered. Even in little towns like Tenbury Wells I’ve sensed enduring prosperity and new businesses on the rise
As @viewcode says I should probably go to Stoke, Bangor and Southend to get a real view, but my editors send me where they send me….
Stoke and Southend have been on a spiral for years. Hereford, Great Malvern and Evesham were days out or weekend breaks until not so long ago. As for Bangor, I stayed at Menai Bridge and Beaumaris last year and they were lovely I never went into central Bangor, but as a University town I would imagine it is bangin' on a term time evening.
Another one of the minor celebrities of EU academic Remainerdom has taken an ‘interesting’ turn towards full-blown Serbian nationalism and is now claiming that “everyone” wants Yugoslavia back and that Croats, Slovenes and Serbs are the same people.
Comments
(Presumably real enthusiasts only use Railwayline)
Coat? I only just came in!
Apologies, I'm feeling unusually cynical today.
https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/16209525.protestors-make-voices-heard-outside-bulls-head-craswall/
Look at the history of these fuckers that bought it,
“But he expressed fears that the Bull’s owners, Charles and Kathryn Mackintosh could sell the pub as a private house. “This would be worth a third more than a pub so it makes a few people suspicious about what’s going on here,” he said.
“Some believe the owners have a plan as previously they owned the famous and fondly remembered Ancient Camp pub at Ruckhall Common,” he continued. “After their tenure it became a private house.””
I can remember that pub, the Ancient Camp. Damn them
People like this should be thrown in the Wye, hopefully a particularly sewagey bit
We saved around a tenner yesterday by splitting.
Well, a Mont Blanc.
I saw a short story recently -- I forget just where -- that showed external elevators being added to high rises in Hong Kong. Seemed like a sensible approach, from what little I know.
From time to time, I see ads for "stairlifts", powered chairs that can be added to a staircase. They aren't inexpensive, but probably cheaper than many alternatives.
(Of course, if possible, the best approach is to keep fit by, for example, cross country skiing, swimming, and similar activities.)
I mean, that is close to the definition of pure, pointless evil
Lives in Nice. Remainer. Obvs
https://fr.linkedin.com/in/charles-mackintosh-34727195
Fortunately, most of us have at least a modicum of morality, altruism, and concern for our fellow beings. Unfortunately, the leading GOP candidate is not one of that majority.
- Cut up your courgettes finely - like matchsticks.
- Quickly stir fry in some olive oil
- Mix immediately with freshly cooked and drained pasta
- A touch more good quality olive oil to taste
- LOTS of chopped up tasty mint and grated good quality Parmesan & the usual seasoning
- EAT
Perfect for a summer's evening or light lunch.
(Winchester cheese, indeed....)
Maybe it’s because I’m not a Democrat, but this issue of WHO the Democratic nominee is - should it be Biden, is Biden too old, how about someone else, etc,etc, - is irrelevant to me. Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. He must not win. So all of us who want to preserve our democracy are gonna have to suck it up again and support a candidate we may not be crazy about. Tough. It’s what we have to do. So do it. And quit whining about it...
In other words, 2024 isn’t about who the Democratic nominee is. It’s about who we are.
https://nitter.net/WalshFreedom/status/1699840771720114223#m
Unfortuantely it's up to the americans, and around 50% of them do not care about such things.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186301-zfz10665-Herefordshire_England.html
"The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS from August 25-31 among a random national sample of 1,503 adults drawn from a probability-based panel, including 1,259 registered voters and 391 Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters. The survey included an oversample to reach a total of 898 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents; this group has been weighted to its proper size within the population. Surveys were either conducted online or by telephone with a live interviewer. Results among the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 points; among registered voters, the margin of sampling error is 3.6 points, and it is 6.0 for Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters."
If you are in the vicinity of the Golden Valley then without doubt you should eat at under the nut tree. http://underthenuttree.co.uk/
One of the most idyllic dinners available in this country, if there’s space. Seriously. It’s BYOB too.
Run by the Australian who used to tour the puppetry of the penis show.
Maybe pay a visit to the offbeat Black Mountain vineyard too.
It does, almost by accident, imply that Yes they were trying to make it so unwelcoming, no one would come
“The flooring is stone slabs, the stone walls have been discoloured by time, and it took the wood-burner a while to reduce the risk of hypothermia. “I’ve been warmer,” understated my cousin Nick over his regulation Martini Rosso. “If I’d known, I would have brought the turkey foil.” The dining room next door, with its open fireplace, is homelier. Then again, so is the averagely appointed interrogation cell in Damascus.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/10801206/The-Bulls-Head-Hereford-restaurant-review.html
On the subject of Spoons, whatever people's might feel about the clientele, or the politics of the owner, I think credit is due to Spoons for the way they have preserved some of our more magnificent buildings, most notably banks, but also other notable buildings, that might otherwise have been ruined or not become public buildings, so no one ever gets to see the interiors.
Thankfully, Mrs. P. has pulled up our courgette plants ('enough already') - we're now deep into the borlotti bean season. Yum.
TSE will be able to provide a link, I'm sure.
He has probably saved several high streets. Should totes get a knighthood
It is thought possible that he was buried in Monnington in Herefordshire having lived out his life with one of his daughters, who was married to the lord of nearby Kentchurch. But that's all it is - a possibility. There is no evidence other than the negative evidence of it's hard to think who else might have been willing and able to shelter him.
Ironically, Kentchurch is now owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, having been sold by the Scudamore family some years ago.
competition from cheaper online retailers, excessive parking costs from councils trying to raise revenue, ULEZ or other actions discouraging cars into town centres, rubbish public transport, rubbish support for cycling, pressure to convert empty retail premises to residential.
Basically it's too expensive to get there, too much bother to get there, and there's nothing much there if you do go, other than pound shops, vape shops, mobile phone shops, Starbucks and betting shops. Why bother.
This road trip has been an absolute blast. Britain has some significant problems, but wow what a beautiful country
Our following on [twitter] is now an eclectic amalgam comprising three main groups – hardcore Yes voters, gender-critical feminists and Unionists who come for the SNP-bashing
I'm finding the "Great September Heat" just about bearable. At least, the Sun doesn't shine as long at this time of year and as is often the case East London gets a cooling breeze off the Thames which is why points west break all the records.
Tamworth is the 311th most marginal Conservative seat based on th 2019 election results. Tiverton & Honiton was 292 and Shropshire North 290. The way the seat has trended to the Conservatives since 2005 is extraordinary - the Conservative vote share has risen in every election so 37% in 2005 was 66% in 2019. The triumph of Right to Buy writ large - the second generation of home owners was much more Conservative.
Labour needs a 21.3% swing to win and while in LD terms that's not exceptional it would be another striking performance by Labour to capture this Conservative stronghold.The LDs polled 16% in 2010 but otherwise have been marginalised and there really isn't a lot of minor party vote to squeeze.
I imagine the Conservatives will want a quick vote in Tamworth to forestall any bandwagon effect should Mid Bedfordshire go either Labour or LD.
The locals take the beauty and history for granted, once you’ve seen the Mappa Mundi you don’t need to see it again; there aren’t sufficient tourists to sustain the retail without the locals
What will it become? Eventually, something, but it is hard to work out what that is, right now
And if Hereford with its unspoiled 14th-19th century core, and no competition from other towns, can’t hack it, then God help old mining towns in the north etc
Edward Heath. What a c*nt
And more interestingly I wonder what will happen to the Republican Party afterwards.
I recently listened to some accounts of continuing racial gerrymandering in Republican controlled States and it was a shocker for me. I think the whole area-definition process is a mess in the USA, and the remedies are sticking plasters - all the positions that need to be at one or two removes from politics, whether elected sheriffs or elected / appointed judges, are not.
A very impressive specimen!
Net Satisfaction if...
Labour win: +27% (+7)
The Conservatives win: -5% (+4)
Changes +/- 27 August
I’m not sure how you even start to reverse that. Once the symbolism takes hold, supporting a woke Dem cause becomes as anathema as burning the Koran.
You have to hope there are enough sensible people in America who haven’t fallen for the Trump schtick.
As @viewcode says I should probably go to Stoke, Bangor and Southend to get a real view, but my editors send me where they send me….
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/man-savaged-xl-bulldog-frantic-30888696
Neighbours have told of hearing "screaming" after a man is believed to have been attacked by his own XL bulldog at a Huddersfield flat and was taken to hospital with serious head and facial injuries
His full name was Owain ap Gruffudd, Arglwydd Glyndyfrdwy, which translates in English to Owen the son of Griffith, the Lord of the Valley of the Light upon the Waters of the Dee.
Gloucester has some nice bits, but a walk from the city centre to the rejuvenated docks passes through some distinctly unrejuvenated parts.
Having said that, one of the best hotel fry-ups I've had was at a £30 dive in said part of Gloucester where the permatanned middle-aged owner demanded to know exactly what time each guest would be down in the morning so she could fry it and plonk it down in front of your hungover face.
Edit: fuck vanilla
In Selby & Ainsty, the Conservative share fell from 60% to 34% or put another way, 57% stayed loyal, 43% didn't. If you got a similar vote fall in Tamworth you'd be looking at a Conservative vote share of 38%. Labour went from 24.5% to 46% so nearly but not quite doubled. Apply simialr to Tamworth and you get 42% so if the voters of Tamworth behave as those in Selby & Ainsty did it's a Labour win.
https://x.com/danielanadj/status/1699778525279174859
https://x.com/danielanadj/status/1699846293865026018