So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Exactly so. Yet somehow one aristocratic ancestor is held to trump all others. Most of all royalty (allegedly helped along by divine right and organic olive oil).
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
The all blacks have not recently played as clinically as in the past, for sure
The all blacks and France are probably the only two natiinal teams that do not drop their heads when they are 2-3 try scores behind, with 10.mins to go.
Bit weird to see the fitting final at the start of a tournament, but pfui, France in the groove.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
In 2019, almost as many blacks were murdered as whites, though blacks are only about 13 percent of the US population. (As you can see from the table, most of the murderers were of the same race.)
I care about this because I want to see our governments do better at protecting everyone in the US from beng killed, but especially the most vulnerable (blacks and Native Americans). Regardless of the race of the murderer.
I would like to think you agree with me on that.
As for coverage, you can easily research that for yourself. Just search on George Floyd, and then search on a phrase like "black on black murders" and see which gets the most hits.
Bit weird to see the final at the start of a tournament, but PFI. France in the groove.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
That is not the final. No way these are the two best teams in the world
Springboks took New Zealand to their worst defeat ever two weeks ago. This is (by their standard) a mediocre kiwi side
Except perhaps in one way. If the US were to disengage completely from the conflict, as opposed to attempting to dictate Ukraine's action in the war, then I do wonder if the European powers might be in a position to help Ukraine win anyway. Is Russia's conventional military now that much more powerful than a Ukraine supplied by the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the rest of Europe? And Macron would be very keen to demonstrate strategic autonomy. "Very well, alone".
That doesn't seem likely. The Ukrainians have had $77bn off the US to go to the end of the street in Robotyne so I doubt the Coalition of Euro Super Friends are going to be able to fill that gap in full.
It depends on what the US intentions are. If they just don't care and want to stop shovelling dollars into the Ukrainian money furnace then that's one thing. If they actually want the conflict to stop then it wouldn't be very difficult for them to peel off the usual suspects from Team Europe and collapse that effort.
Who would the 'usual suspects' be? Are you suggesting Robotyne is the only gain Ukraine has made. Forgotten about Kherson and Kharkiv have we?
I'll say this, you'd be a better Russian propagandist than most of Putin's spokesmen.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
We humans are all "family". Maybe that's why we fall out so much
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Exactly so. Yet somehow one aristocratic ancestor is held to trump all others. Most of all royalty (allegedly helped along by divine right and organic olive oil).
Largely because the aristocratic ones are better documented.
We all have aristocratic and non-aristocratic ancestors. Anyone who was alive in Britain ten centuries ago and has descendents, we're all descended from them. But it's only the aristocratic ones who kept family trees.
My aristocratic ancestors don't trump my non-aristocratic ones. Far from it: I'd far rather descend from Anglo-Saxons than Normans. Of course like everyone I'm descended from both. But it's the Normans I know about.
I think they will be a bit. Also in NZ there will be national inquests. I know - I was there in 1998-99 when the ABs were going through a rough patch.
Early days, but Frances to lose? Unless SA really are that good…
More than “a bit”
All blacks have just suffered their worst ever defeat in all rugby and now have their worst ever defeat in World Cup rugby. They will be deeply unhappy. And recently they were defeated at home by Ireland in a test series
But I’m not sure they can do much about it. Apart from some scintillating running they simply don’t look that good. Not any more
Didn't we want to still be part of Horizon but they said we couldn't?
It was in the withdrawal agreement, and reiterated in the TCA. The EU witheld final formal association as leverage over NI. The UK was suing the EU at the ECJ over this, claiming it broke the WA.
Hardcore Remainers' attempts to magic a Rejoin narrative into existence by claiming that Horizon membership is some sort of undoing of Brexit, including on PB, have been strange. It's not clear whether they don't know the above facts, or whether they do and have just spotted an opportunity.
Yes, so Horizon got suspended because Britain refused to implement the NI protocol. Once we agreed to abide by our agreements, Horizon was back on the table.
The lesson learned is that our government cannot unilaterally rip up treaties without consequence.
Which is fine, but is still not the escape from Brexit that I keep seeing it protrayed as then.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I believe that genetically speaking your average cornishman is 1/3 cornish, 1/3 other english, 1/3 second home, somehow.
After my rather excessive working last week, in the three days so far this week (nb I had Tuesday off, so my 'week' started Wednesday) I've already done thirty eight hours (twelve on Wednesday, fifteen yesterday and eleven today), And I'm working the next five days
The hours have been long, and the heat has been pretty heavy. What's been rather heartening about that is just how many drinks I've been offered; there isn't a street where I haven't been offered one, and I got offered five this evening on one quite long road
Sadly when, after 6pm, I reply "Oh, is it Pimms O'clock?", they all think I'm joking!
The worst thing this week has been the spiders
OMFG, I've never seen anything like it. I must have walked through twenty five spiders' webs a day. The ones I've seen I've skilfully taken down with my envelope machete. Most I haven't noticed until I've felt them on my legs, my arms or my face
Then with my hands full of mail I've tried to brush them off me, and then started searching for the spider. Each day I've found at least ten dangling from me, or on me
They've all been the same kind of spider, in varying sizes. Hidden for arachnophobes
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
We humans are all "family". Maybe that's why we fall out so much
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
I guess they all are? I don't know much about my ancestry, we're just normal working and lower middle class people as far as I can see, and I know further back in some directions than others, but it's struck me, among the bits I know, how mobile they seem to be. I'm definitely not one of those people with four grandparents from the same village.
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
I always thought it was slightly sad that Tonga and Samoa's best players went off to play for NZ. Though the Pacific Islanders punch well, well above their weight, losing that many players has an impact.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I've got a lot of Cornish ancestors, Leon and I are probably cousins.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
We humans are all "family". Maybe that's why we fall out so much
Bit weird to see the final at the start of a tournament, but PFI. France in the groove.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
That is not the final. No way these are the two best teams in the world
Springboks took New Zealand to their worst defeat ever two weeks ago. This is (by their standard) a mediocre kiwi side
I’m pretty sure it won’t be Scotland in the final, and it definitely won’t be England. I am enjoying the plaintive features on BBC Rugby England most mornings asking when normal service will resumed with the low swinging chariots though.
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
I guess they all are? I don't know much about my ancestry, we're just normal working and lower middle class people as far as I can see, and I know further back in some directions than others, but it's struck me, among the bits I know, how mobile they seem to be. I'm definitely not one of those people with four grandparents from the same village.
Me too. My grandparents are from Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Birmingham (strangely city-based). Going back another two generations you can add in Anglesey, the Staffordshire Moorlands, Derbyshire, Cornwall, Sheffield, Perthshire, and the Black Country.
I find normal people and their stories even more fascinating than the aristocrats. It's just that there are comparatively few stories from normal people have been preserved.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
On a similar note Vodka-Calpol.
Be sure to choose the infant version as that allows for a few shots without overdosing on paracetamol.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Actually. On reflection. Please don't.
Quite right. You must have been necking some Buckie and Calpol to let the feline out of the sack.
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I've got a lot of Cornish ancestors, Leon and I are probably cousins.
Most of my family have done family trees, but we failed to make it of pubs in SW London for generations. Sadly we finally made it out just as SW London moved from poverty to gentrification and completely missed the boat..
In 2019, almost as many blacks were murdered as whites, though blacks are only about 13 percent of the US population. (As you can see from the table, most of the murderers were of the same race.)
I care about this because I want to see our governments do better at protecting everyone in the US from beng killed, but especially the most vulnerable (blacks and Native Americans). Regardless of the race of the murderer.
I would like to think you agree with me on that.
As for coverage, you can easily research that for yourself. Just search on George Floyd, and then search on a phrase like "black on black murders" and see which gets the most hits.
Yebbut the thing about the phrase "black on black murders" is that it's a term freighted with... meaning. If a Black person kills a Black person, it doesn't necessarily get reported with that phrase, does it? People sometimes use that phrase when engaging in particular types of conversations.
As for George Floyd you must understand, surely, that a story about repressive and violent policing is intrinsically more newsworthy than some commonplace domestic aggro that got out of hand. If you think about the role journalism plays in speaking truth to power, then it's a good thing that racist killer cops and their racist killings get a lot of news coverage. I don't think some random White dude killing some random Black dude is anywhere near as newsworthy as a White cop crushing the neck of a handcuffed Black man for nine minutes, even if the racial aspect is the same.
Yes, but - wasn't it shown to be bollocks? i.e. the American police are violent and unpleasant to everyone they suspect of criminal activity, and actually proportionally more so to white suspects? And then the report that showed this quickly hushed up hecause it didn't fit the zeitgeist, and its authors quickly cancelled?
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
What, drinking a grapple and swimming in the grand canal, or being held back by your gf? :-))))
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I've got a lot of Cornish ancestors, Leon and I are probably cousins.
Most of my family have done family trees, but we fail to make it of pubs in SW London. Sadly we finally made it out just as SW London moved from poverty to gentrification and completely missed the boat..
My paternal side is similar. One small village in Leicestershire, with the odd culinary name of Quorn, as far back as records go. Always yeoman farmers until one of the clan went down to London to become a wine merchant in the 19th century.
Except perhaps in one way. If the US were to disengage completely from the conflict, as opposed to attempting to dictate Ukraine's action in the war, then I do wonder if the European powers might be in a position to help Ukraine win anyway. Is Russia's conventional military now that much more powerful than a Ukraine supplied by the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the rest of Europe? And Macron would be very keen to demonstrate strategic autonomy. "Very well, alone".
That doesn't seem likely. The Ukrainians have had $77bn off the US to go to the end of the street in Robotyne so I doubt the Coalition of Euro Super Friends are going to be able to fill that gap in full.
It depends on what the US intentions are. If they just don't care and want to stop shovelling dollars into the Ukrainian money furnace then that's one thing. If they actually want the conflict to stop then it wouldn't be very difficult for them to peel off the usual suspects from Team Europe and collapse that effort.
Or Russia can just stop illegally occupying its neighbours' (plural!) territory!
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I've got a lot of Cornish ancestors, Leon and I are probably cousins.
Most of my family have done family trees, but we fail to make it of pubs in SW London. Sadly we finally made it out just as SW London moved from poverty to gentrification and completely missed the boat..
My paternal side is similar. One small village in Leicestershire, with the odd culinary name of Quorn, as far back as records go. Always yeoman farmers until one of the clan went down to London to become a wine merchant in the 19th century.
Did Quorn the food come from the place? Idly wondered that the other day. And yes I can Google.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
26.7 degrees at 10.30 INSIDE my living room with the FAN ON is definitely NOT fantastic!
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
Average attendance English rugby premier division: 12,800
Average attendance French equivalent: 14,800
Almost the same. So yes English rugby can sustain itself as French rugby does. And offer decent salaries. English club rugby overreached, is the problem
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
But why should that be so? Surely there are far more paying spectators in England than in Ireland? The English club game isn't in great health, but it's not clear why it can't be.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
Bit weird to see the final at the start of a tournament, but PFI. France in the groove.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
That is not the final. No way these are the two best teams in the world
Springboks took New Zealand to their worst defeat ever two weeks ago. This is (by their standard) a mediocre kiwi side
I’m pretty sure it won’t be Scotland in the final, and it definitely won’t be England. I am enjoying the plaintive features on BBC Rugby England most mornings asking when normal service will resumed with the low swinging chariots though.
There it is again. The weird and abject inferiority complex
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
But why should that be so? Surely there are far more paying spectators in England than in Ireland? The English club game isn't in great health, but it's not clear why it can't be.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Shotting extreme amounts of energy drinks is something I highly do not recommend.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
But why should that be so? Surely there are far more paying spectators in England than in Ireland? The English club game isn't in great health, but it's not clear why it can't be.
Quite so. See my stats
Do those stats include the three clubs which went bust? Presumably without them the stats are rather healthier?
Sale continue to attract approximately no one to their home games at the worst-located stadium in the country. It's a mystery how they stay afloat. Sale: come back to rugby union territory, put your ground somewhere accessible for drinkers, and people will come again.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Yeah, the food has improved out of all recognition from even 10 years ago. And there is so much to see. We loved Igtham Mote (thanks for the recommendation), Canterbury, a vineyard, Rye, the Battle of Britain memorial and Dover Castle but my favourite was Chartwell. Just a superb exhibition of a house in spectacular grounds. We could have had another week here and filled it without problems. The density of things to see in the UK is pretty much unmatched and we are getting much better at showing them off.
France are pretty impressive tbh. They can play any way you like to take them on.
Or the All blacks are really not good. Remember they suffered their worst ever defeat just before this (to the boks)
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Perhaps. They are losing a lot of their youngsters (particularly Pacific immigrants) to the NRL. Money talks.
Yep. And a lot are going back to the islands to play nationally. Samoa, Fiji, etc
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
Yeah. They don't really have the infrastructure for a well paid successful pro league at the level below International which naturally feeds and supports the National team. Sadly. It appears, neither do England. Nor Wales. France do. Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
England absolutely does. They’ve just fucked up the structure, for now
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
They don't though. It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
Average attendance English rugby premier division: 12,800
Average attendance French equivalent: 14,800
Almost the same. So yes English rugby can sustain itself as French rugby does. And offer decent salaries. English club rugby overreached, is the problem
So, better than League 1 football, about 2/3 of Championship attendance.
In 2019, almost as many blacks were murdered as whites, though blacks are only about 13 percent of the US population. (As you can see from the table, most of the murderers were of the same race.)
I care about this because I want to see our governments do better at protecting everyone in the US from beng killed, but especially the most vulnerable (blacks and Native Americans). Regardless of the race of the murderer.
I would like to think you agree with me on that.
As for coverage, you can easily research that for yourself. Just search on George Floyd, and then search on a phrase like "black on black murders" and see which gets the most hits.
Yebbut the thing about the phrase "black on black murders" is that it's a term freighted with... meaning. If a Black person kills a Black person, it doesn't necessarily get reported with that phrase, does it? People sometimes use that phrase when engaging in particular types of conversations.
As for George Floyd you must understand, surely, that a story about repressive and violent policing is intrinsically more newsworthy than some commonplace domestic aggro that got out of hand. If you think about the role journalism plays in speaking truth to power, then it's a good thing that racist killer cops and their racist killings get a lot of news coverage. I don't think some random White dude killing some random Black dude is anywhere near as newsworthy as a White cop crushing the neck of a handcuffed Black man for nine minutes, even if the racial aspect is the same.
Yes, but - wasn't it shown to be bollocks? i.e. the American police are violent and unpleasant to everyone they suspect of criminal activity, and actually proportionally more so to white suspects? And then the report that showed this quickly hushed up hecause it didn't fit the zeitgeist, and its authors quickly cancelled?
I've heard this before, and if you're referring to the same thing then it's a case of Simpson's Paradox:
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Yeah, the food has improved out of all recognition from even 10 years ago. And there is so much to see. We loved Igtham Mote (thanks for the recommendation), Canterbury, a vineyard, Rye, the Battle of Britain memorial and Dover Castle but my favourite was Chartwell. Just a superb exhibition of a house in spectacular grounds. We could have had another week here and filled it without problems. The density of things to see in the UK is pretty much unmatched and we are getting much better at showing them off.
We really are. If I may be excused one more anecdote and photo
I went to visit a cider brewery in east Herefordshire. Pomona. They were completely passionate about their artisan product and entirely confident of its quality and they knew how to sell it. Pairing it - Perry, perrikin, ciderkin, damson wine - with superb British cheeses I’ve never tried before. Uplifting!
Re Topic - you might equally say the Tory might win because the Lib Dems and / or Greens are standing. Unfortunately reverting to a simple first past the post only helps the Tories - which is why they changed the rules
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Yeah, the food has improved out of all recognition from even 10 years ago. And there is so much to see. We loved Igtham Mote (thanks for the recommendation), Canterbury, a vineyard, Rye, the Battle of Britain memorial and Dover Castle but my favourite was Chartwell. Just a superb exhibition of a house in spectacular grounds. We could have had another week here and filled it without problems. The density of things to see in the UK is pretty much unmatched and we are getting much better at showing them off.
We really are. If I may be excused one more anecdote and photo
I went to visit a cider brewery in east Herefordshire. Pomona. They were completely passionate about their artisan product and entirely confident of its quality and they knew how to sell it. Pairing it - Perry, perrikin, ciderkin, damson wine - with superb British cheeses I’ve never tried before. Uplifting!
I have spent many happy days in rural Herefordshire thanks to family links.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Shotting extreme amounts of energy drinks is something I highly do not recommend.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Shotting extreme amounts of energy drinks is something I highly do not recommend.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
I knew a guy who lived off triple-quadruple-whatever coffee's when he was studying for his exams. Spent several years in a cell just painting vaguely bird-shaped things on the walls.
Oddly enough tonight I have been rewatching some old psychedelic/hippy/trippy era films.
Bit weird to see the final at the start of a tournament, but PFI. France in the groove.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
That is not the final. No way these are the two best teams in the world
Springboks took New Zealand to their worst defeat ever two weeks ago. This is (by their standard) a mediocre kiwi side
I’m pretty sure it won’t be Scotland in the final, and it definitely won’t be England. I am enjoying the plaintive features on BBC Rugby England most mornings asking when normal service will resumed with the low swinging chariots though.
There it is again. The weird and abject inferiority complex
Once you have another country’s psychodrama piped incessantly through your bedside radio you might have a better overview of the ‘complexity’. Not going to happen though, is it?
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Shotting extreme amounts of energy drinks is something I highly do not recommend.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
A few years ago I orded a panache in France because it sounded interesting, and was very disappointed to recieve a shandy...
Shandy is, though, a drink far better than its unfortunate reputation. As is lager and lime, or indeed port and lemon.
“Grapple” = double shot of grappa and Red Bull
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Shotting extreme amounts of energy drinks is something I highly do not recommend.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
I knew a guy who lived off triple-quadruple-whatever coffee's when he was studying for his exams. Spent several years in a cell just painting vaguely bird-shaped things on the walls.
Oddly enough tonight I have been rewatching some old psychedelic/hippy/trippy era films.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
My family seems to be the kind to up sticks and move somewhere completely different every generation.
Philosophical question: what is 'my family'? If you go back 10 generations you have 1,024 ancestors (ignoring a bit of in-breeding). Which of those is 'your family'?
Leon's from Cornwall. He's probably got more fingers on one hand than he has great grandparents.
I've got a lot of Cornish ancestors, Leon and I are probably cousins.
Most of my family have done family trees, but we fail to make it of pubs in SW London. Sadly we finally made it out just as SW London moved from poverty to gentrification and completely missed the boat..
My paternal side is similar. One small village in Leicestershire, with the odd culinary name of Quorn, as far back as records go. Always yeoman farmers until one of the clan went down to London to become a wine merchant in the 19th century.
Coincidence. We were there today, just after visiting the beer festival on the Great Central Railway. Quorn and Woodhouse station.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
The simple flaw in that plan is that we’d then have to live up north.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
26.7 degrees at 10.30 INSIDE my living room with the FAN ON is definitely NOT fantastic!
Indeed. It’s absolutely horrible and how anyone can like it is completely beyond me.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
You're not moaning. Others...
I need something to do, given i haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in over a week.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
26.7 degrees at 10.30 INSIDE my living room with the FAN ON is definitely NOT fantastic!
Indeed. It’s absolutely horrible and how anyone can like it is completely beyond me.
Looking forward to Tuesday when it should be around 10 degrees cooler.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
We've had a week in Ashford which sadly comes to an end tomorrow when we are moving on to Oxford. All week has felt genuinely Mediterranean and walking home from the restaurant tonight was positively balmy.
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
The last 5 days I’ve spent tootling down the Welsh marches have been borderline sublime, to be frank. Great history, great landscapes, great castles, great hikes and drinks and fun. Lots of friendly people. Fascinating stories. Roman ruins and drovers inns. Ruined abbeys and Michelin restaurants. Craft beers in the hills and superb English wine in the valleys
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Yeah, the food has improved out of all recognition from even 10 years ago. And there is so much to see. We loved Igtham Mote (thanks for the recommendation), Canterbury, a vineyard, Rye, the Battle of Britain memorial and Dover Castle but my favourite was Chartwell. Just a superb exhibition of a house in spectacular grounds. We could have had another week here and filled it without problems. The density of things to see in the UK is pretty much unmatched and we are getting much better at showing them off.
We really are. If I may be excused one more anecdote and photo
I went to visit a cider brewery in east Herefordshire. Pomona. They were completely passionate about their artisan product and entirely confident of its quality and they knew how to sell it. Pairing it - Perry, perrikin, ciderkin, damson wine - with superb British cheeses I’ve never tried before. Uplifting!
I have spent many happy days in rural Herefordshire thanks to family links.
England's secret gem frankly.
Absolutely. Just a beautiful, wonderful county. And nobody knows about it!
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
No it's not summer until the equinox. Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
Also if you wanted to define seasons based on the solstices and equinoxes then they would be in the middle of seasons and not the start and end. Your astronomical seasons would then start and end at the cross-quarter days, which is roughly how the Irish/Celtic seasons are defined.
That way the winter season is clearly the darkest season.
Southerners! Stop moaning about the weather and move north. 17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow. You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Who’s moaning? 26C at 10.30 is fantastic. I’m writing this from the patio, twinkling fairy lights on, the sound of raucous celebration on the airwaves from the Wickham Arms, glass of English red wine in hand (Maud Heath, Wiltshire), ruing the fact we’re going back to Northern summer style weather next week.
26.7 degrees at 10.30 INSIDE my living room with the FAN ON is definitely NOT fantastic!
Bah, that's nothing. When I lived down under we could experience 30s plus and it was perfectly normal and easy to sleep with.
But the big difference is that it was a dry heat there. The problem here is that our humidity magnifies both how hot and cold feel, a damp cold feels like a more bitter cold, while a damp heat feels like a more sweaty heat. Hence why saunas run much, much hotter than steam rooms - and why adding water onto the coals in a sauna makes you feel hotter even if drops the temperature.
If you're struggling, an offbeat suggestion is to run a dehumidifier in your room. It won't make your room any cooler, but it will make it much cooler and much, much more comfortable.
Also if you wanted to define seasons based on the solstices and equinoxes then they would be in the middle of seasons and not the start and end. Your astronomical seasons would then start and end at the cross-quarter days, which is roughly how the Irish/Celtic seasons are defined.
That way the winter season is clearly the darkest season.
Would be a nonsense, as summer would end in early August - on average the warmest part of the year!
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
My wife and I have a never ending (good natured) spat about the seasons. I say March-May is Spring and so on and so forth each three months. She insists Spring starts on 21st March (and so on). I understand one is the metrological convention and the other is the astronomical convention, but I still do say to her that she expects me to classify the 20th December, one of the darkest days of the year, and often very cold, as Autumn still. When it usually clearly isn't.
My brother decided to upend all conventions. He runs a 4-2-4-2 system. Spring is March and April, Summer May to August, Autumn only September and October and Winter for the rest.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
It does actually, its based upon the weather which coincides rather interestingly with the Gregorian Calendar. 1 June is on average warmer than 22 September.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
No it's not summer until the equinox. Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
No it's not summer until the equinox. Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
That’s just a Met Office term used so the ‘seasons’ fall neatly into months, it has no basis in science, as I note above.
Also if you wanted to define seasons based on the solstices and equinoxes then they would be in the middle of seasons and not the start and end. Your astronomical seasons would then start and end at the cross-quarter days, which is roughly how the Irish/Celtic seasons are defined.
That way the winter season is clearly the darkest season.
Would be a nonsense, as summer would end in early August - on average the warmest part of the year!
Your supposed system starts summer on MIDsummer's day and you're calling other systems nonsense?
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
It does actually, its based upon the weather which coincides rather interestingly with the Gregorian Calendar. 1 June is on average warmer than 22 September.
September has many more hot days on record than June. Still, the seasons are set by the cosmos, not the government .
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
This is a rare situation where the Met Office are completely wrong. It's illogical to use the autumn equinox as the beginning of autumn.
No, its entirely logical.
The reason is the way the earth traps and loses heat. The winter solstice is just a few days before Christmas so why isn't November a part of winter, and why is February? Because February is much colder than November.
There's a delayed reaction to the build up and loss of heat, which means that each season roughly starts at what you'd think astronomically should be its midpoint.
In practice it starts a few weeks before that midpoint rather than starting exactly at the midpoint, which is why meteorological seasons don't align with astronomical ones.
It’s insanely warm. 26.2C at the nearest weather station, at 10.30pm on a calm night. In September (Autumn, for the avoidance of doubt).
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
It’s summer until the equinox on 22/23 September, although this is hot even for high summer in this country. Absolutely grim. Impossible to sleep. I have tried everything, but it’s like tucking up in a slightly faulty sauna.
Meteorological summer ended at the end of August.
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
That’s just a definition the Met Office uses so their statistics fall neatly into months. It has no basis whatsoever in science.
Comments
Kiwi rugby may be running on fumes
Early days, but Frances to lose? Unless SA really are that good…
The all blacks and France are probably the only two natiinal teams that do not drop their heads when they are 2-3 try scores behind, with 10.mins to go.
Used to be a massive Patrick O’Brien fan and still get a wee jag when I see the name Beauden Barrett, so close to one of my favourite of his characters, Barret Bonden. Assume Patrick would be with Les Bleus.
In 2019, almost as many blacks were murdered as whites, though blacks are only about 13 percent of the US population. (As you can see from the table, most of the murderers were of the same race.)
I care about this because I want to see our governments do better at protecting everyone in the US from beng killed, but especially the most vulnerable (blacks and Native Americans). Regardless of the race of the murderer.
I would like to think you agree with me on that.
As for coverage, you can easily research that for yourself. Just search on George Floyd, and then search on a phrase like "black on black murders" and see which gets the most hits.
Springboks took New Zealand to their worst defeat ever two weeks ago. This is (by their standard) a mediocre kiwi side
I'll say this, you'd be a better Russian propagandist than most of Putin's spokesmen.
We all have aristocratic and non-aristocratic ancestors. Anyone who was alive in Britain ten centuries ago and has descendents, we're all descended from them. But it's only the aristocratic ones who kept family trees.
My aristocratic ancestors don't trump my non-aristocratic ones. Far from it: I'd far rather descend from Anglo-Saxons than Normans. Of course like everyone I'm descended from both. But it's the Normans I know about.
All blacks have just suffered their worst ever defeat in all rugby and now have their worst ever defeat in World Cup rugby. They will be deeply unhappy. And recently they were defeated at home by Ireland in a test series
But I’m not sure they can do much about it. Apart from some scintillating running they simply don’t look that good. Not any more
Money talks.
Or they are enticed to Europe
We may be witnessing the end of the all blacks remarkable hegemony
France do.
Ireland having 4 Provinces, which aren't artificial in any way do.
I would be saying it’s insanely warm if this were the 20th July.
Elon Musk says he withheld Starlink over Crimea to avoid escalation
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66752264
I invented it personally on a trip to Venice and after three Grapples I was absolutely determined to swim the Grand Canal at midnight. Only my long suffering girlfriend held me back
Recommended
Remember the French team seriously underperformed for at least a decade until about 3 years ago
I find normal people and their stories even more fascinating than the aristocrats. It's just that there are comparatively few stories from normal people have been preserved.
Stop moaning about the weather and move north.
17°C here and lovely. May get 25°C tomorrow.
You could sell your house and buy a street too.
Be sure to choose the infant version as that allows for a few shots without overdosing on paracetamol.
Double shot of cold vodka
10 ml of infant calpol
Goes down a treat.
On reflection.
Please don't.
It's reliant on extremely rich owners losing millions each year until they get fed up and the clubs go bust.
Idly wondered that the other day.
And yes I can Google.
Average attendance French equivalent: 14,800
Almost the same. So yes English rugby can sustain itself as French rugby does. And offer decent salaries. English club rugby overreached, is the problem
Others...
In Scotland we have not had a single day like this week all summer. Even periods of bright sunshine have been consistently interrupted with sharp showers. The food has been very good too, mainly Italian although last night I had a paella to die for. Just superb.
To be honest, if you could be confident of weather like this I am pretty sure nearly all our holidays would be in the UK and would not involve going anywhere near an airport.
A few years back I had an incredibly stupid night out where I was dared to drink 14 Jagerbombs in half an hour, in a challenge to raise money for charity. Something I duly completed, and was then egged on that each further shot would equal a further £10 per shot for my charity I was raising money for.
The next day I felt the worst I ever have in my entire life. It wasn't the alcohol, I must have drank over a litre of Jager that night but I've drank comparable amounts of alcohol before. It was the mixer, figured out the next day that must have consumed about 7-8 cans of red bull in that half an hour and looking back, that could have killed me. I was having heart palpitations the whole of the next day and didn't feel right for a couple of days. Perhaps should have gone to a hospital, but didn't.
A few days later I sheepishly walked in to donate ~£340 from memory I'd raised for my chosen charity. The charity were impressed and said they would like to post about it and thank me online and how did I raise the money - my wife explained and they said that on second thought they would accept the money anonymously but they wouldn't advertise how it was raised.
Nice on Jeju at the moment.
https://www.bbc.com/weather/1846266
I’m flying back to Seoul on Monday, which is good timing.
Britain is magnificent when it wants to be and this week HEREFORD APART has been exceptional. The weather has been pretty helpful. And so has the food. Consistently excellent. Like a French holiday in the 1980s where all the food is surprisingly good
Sale continue to attract approximately no one to their home games at the worst-located stadium in the country. It's a mystery how they stay afloat. Sale: come back to rugby union territory, put your ground somewhere accessible for drinkers, and people will come again.
Before my time but I understand his political impressions were quite the thing.
Then I went to meet my host. Glyn. Who is distilling spiffing gin and roasting award winning coffee. In a tiny farm under the Black Hill
And in his garden he has a sculpture of a Liberty Cap mushroom. Psilocybin Semilanceata. We drank his gin and swapped stories of mushroom trips
As well as being a really good and clear demonstration of how American Police are not fit for purpose.
I went to visit a cider brewery in east Herefordshire. Pomona. They were completely passionate about their artisan product and entirely confident of its quality and they knew how to sell it. Pairing it - Perry, perrikin, ciderkin, damson wine - with superb British cheeses I’ve never tried before. Uplifting!
England's secret gem frankly.
Yarwood was finished off by having a female PM. It ruined the centrepiece of his act.
Oddly enough tonight I have been rewatching some old psychedelic/hippy/trippy era films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwS4kjGIRP8
Chris Williamson
@DerbyChrisW
If you want to stop Starmer, join us. The campaign launch takes place tomorrow at Conway Hall in London.
We don't have to accept the Labour and Tory neoliberal warmongers. We deserve better, and together, we can make it happen.
https://twitter.com/DerbyChrisW/status/1700140549318021165
@mattzarb
·
8h
Corbyn should run for City Hall. Fuck those guys, he owes them nothing
Is there anything more untrue than “together we can make it happen”?
They should fuck off to America and get a room with fellow travellers Trump and Tucker.
Carlton Reid @carltonreid
I cycled to @StormTea
to get my coffee beans earlier and took my pet self-flying drone with me. This 1 minute video is the result.
https://twitter.com/carltonreid/status/1700241965428752741
https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/beer-festival/
Considering the weather follows meteorological seasons and not astronomical ones, its the more relevant definition too.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/seasons/autumn/when-does-autumn-start
That way the winter season is clearly the darkest season.
But the big difference is that it was a dry heat there. The problem here is that our humidity magnifies both how hot and cold feel, a damp cold feels like a more bitter cold, while a damp heat feels like a more sweaty heat. Hence why saunas run much, much hotter than steam rooms - and why adding water onto the coals in a sauna makes you feel hotter even if drops the temperature.
If you're struggling, an offbeat suggestion is to run a dehumidifier in your room. It won't make your room any cooler, but it will make it much cooler and much, much more comfortable.
I say March-May is Spring and so on and so forth each three months. She insists Spring starts on 21st March (and so on). I understand one is the metrological convention and the other is the astronomical convention, but I still do say to her that she expects me to classify the 20th December, one of the darkest days of the year, and often very cold, as Autumn still. When it usually clearly isn't.
My brother decided to upend all conventions. He runs a 4-2-4-2 system. Spring is March and April, Summer May to August, Autumn only September and October and Winter for the rest.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/seasons/autumn/when-does-autumn-start
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/seasons/autumn/when-does-autumn-start
The reason is the way the earth traps and loses heat. The winter solstice is just a few days before Christmas so why isn't November a part of winter, and why is February? Because February is much colder than November.
There's a delayed reaction to the build up and loss of heat, which means that each season roughly starts at what you'd think astronomically should be its midpoint.
In practice it starts a few weeks before that midpoint rather than starting exactly at the midpoint, which is why meteorological seasons don't align with astronomical ones.