Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
If sugar and salt rather than authenticity and flavour are your thing...
There is nothing authentic about the pizzas at Pizza Express.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
Now that i don't understand....they aren't even cheap.
They have recently brought the prices down massively. Which makes you marvel at the what they must have been making in profit per pizza previously.
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
O/T Greens averaging over 5% in the polls should worry the Tories, imo.
In the last two elections they've ended up on 1.7% and 2.7%. I expect the green vote to hold up well in safe Labour seats but in Tory-Labour marginals, 2 or 3% of that Green support will fold into Labour on polling day imo.
Probably not, given that everyone expects Labour to walk this election. You can vote Green, without risk.
I cannot begin to comprehend how children of 12 can end up committing a crime of this level of calculated depravity. No doubt police forces will soon embark on yet more ludicrous knife amnesties.
It reads to me like a spur of the moment sort of thing, rather than a calculated act. Doesn't lessen the brutality, of course.
The point of an amnesty would be that something like this wouldn't happen on a whim if the boys hadn't had such a weapon on their person. Of course, you'd expect the police to take other action too, but an amnesty doesn't strike me as being particularly objectionable.
I am not a lawyer but carrying a foot long machete seems to me difficult to make an argument of lack of calculation.
Well the problem with amnesty is that you get a relatively small haul of weapons but the vast bulk remain on the street and you tend to give a message that you’re basically giving up.
Whilst the causes of knife carrying among teenagers are varied and complex. I do think that there is a case for coming down much harder when a kid is caught in possession of such weapons.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
Now that i don't understand....they aren't even cheap.
They have recently brought the prices down massively. Which makes you marvel at the what they must have been making in profit per pizza previously.
I hate the business model they have used previously, the price is never the price...there is always 27 different offers. Same as THG brands.
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
Indeed it is a sad day on here when PBers – PBers! – are extolling the virtues of Dominos and Pizza Hut. Next up: NPXMP on the joys of a microwaved ready meal from Tescos.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
If sugar and salt rather than authenticity and flavour are your thing...
There is nothing authentic about the pizzas at Pizza Express.
No, but at least they make a reasonable nod to authenticity (I don't eat there as there are vastly superior places all over London).
O/T Greens averaging over 5% in the polls should worry the Tories, imo.
In the last two elections they've ended up on 1.7% and 2.7%. I expect the green vote to hold up well in safe Labour seats but in Tory-Labour marginals, 2 or 3% of that Green support will fold into Labour on polling day imo.
Probably not, given that everyone expects Labour to walk this election. You can vote Green, without risk.
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
PB is full of peasants.
No, PB is full of pedants. We will argue over most things.
Though personally given that resources are finite I would rather have three cheerful mid-price meals out per month than one fine dining. I mean, I like food. But 70% of the pleasure is the company, and at least 10% is the not-doing-it-yourself. I always find top end restaurants a little disappointing for how much more I am paying.
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
PB is full of peasants.
No, PB is full of pedants. We will argue over most things.
Though personally given that resources are finite I would rather have three cheerful mid-price meals out per month than one fine dining. I mean, I like food. But 70% of the pleasure is the company, and at least 10% is the not-doing-it-yourself. I always find top end restaurants a little disappointing for how much more I am paying.
Unacceptable view...off to Conservative Home for the rest of the day.
@Farooq well done for setting up an election comp.
I need to clear my head before submitting my woeful attempt - what's the cut-off time/date?
Midday on election day, loads of time: ETA you aren't locked in either. If you change your mind you can resubmit your answers. As long as it's not every day
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've led a very sheltered life.
I've had a lot of different pizzas in a lot of different places. I've had pizza in New York and Missouri. In Wimbledon and Islington. Exeter and Edinburgh. West Cork and Genoa.
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
PB is full of peasants.
No, PB is full of pedants. We will argue over most things.
Though personally given that resources are finite I would rather have three cheerful mid-price meals out per month than one fine dining. I mean, I like food. But 70% of the pleasure is the company, and at least 10% is the not-doing-it-yourself. I always find top end restaurants a little disappointing for how much more I am paying.
JohnO and I regularly have working man dining experiences in London.
I may start doing threads on them so PBers can experience such events themselves.
The only thing I know about Woking is that Paul Weller and The Jam were/are from there.
It's now, by name, the most Woke town in the commuter belt.
Leon will be giving it a wide berth.
I don’t think Woking is woke. I can’t really think of any way in which it is. Not in the way that, say, Guildford is at any rate.
But it is very definitely LibDem now. Rock solidly so.
So if Woking, Guildford and Godalming are all going Lib Dem, where does that leave Surrey Heath and Dorking?
Good question. I don’t know it as well but my suspicion is that Michael Gove partly quit because the LibDems fancy their chances? It doesn’t help that his replacement’s “home" in the constituency has turned out to be an airbnb
In Irish local elections (source RTE & Wiki) with just over 90% of local council seats decided, here is how parties & independents are perrming in % of total seats elected compared with 2019 locals AND with 2020 Dail:
Fine Gael = 26.3% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +4.4% vs 2020 Fianna Fail = 24.5% > -4.5% vs 2019 > +0.9% vs 2020 Sinn Fein = 10.6% > +2.1% vs 2019 > -12.1% vs 2020 Labour = 6.1% > +0.1% vs 2019 > +2.4% vs 2020 Social Dems = 4.0% > +2.0% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 Green = 2.4% > -2.7% vs 2019 > +5.1% vs 2020 PBP-Sol = 1.4% > +0.2% vs 2019 > -1.7% vs 2020 AOINTU = 0.9% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 other = 3.8% > +2.8% vs 2019 > +3.2% vs 2020 inds = 19.7% > +0.2% vs 2019 > 0.8% vs 2020
Note that percents & changes are based on SEATS elected NOT first-preference votes.
So you can see why Irish politicos & journos are saying that SF had a bad election, for despite fact that they have MORE local council seats than in 2019 (even with counts still ongoing) but a -12% DROP in percentage of seats won compared to 2020 Dail election.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
That's insane.
Dominos is horrendous junk and Pizza Express is far better.
I can't decide between Hut and Express. Hut at least has nice salad.
I don't like Pizza Express pizzas as their bases are just too fucking thin, it is like eating pizza toppings on air.
I like a thin base on a pizza, so long as it isn't too 'biscuity'.
O/T Greens averaging over 5% in the polls should worry the Tories, imo.
In the last two elections they've ended up on 1.7% and 2.7%. I expect the green vote to hold up well in safe Labour seats but in Tory-Labour marginals, 2 or 3% of that Green support will fold into Labour on polling day imo.
I wonder if the Palestine state recognition in Labour's manifesto, will see some of Labour's left vote come back to Labour from Green (where I think a lot of them are planning to vote instead) - once it gets some cut through.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
That's insane.
Dominos is horrendous junk and Pizza Express is far better.
I can't decide between Hut and Express. Hut at least has nice salad.
Dominos is horrendous junk, yes. But at least their bases are cooked.
For a decent pizza you should be able to enjoy eating the base on its own. Dominos aren't that good, but at least the base serves a structural function. Pizza Express are just unfathomably bad.
Out and about in North London this morning - found a pleasant cafe near Archway for an early lunch but parts of North London, and I say this as an East Londoner, are pretty awful. There are homeless all over the streets and shoplifting, as I saw in a branch of Wenzels, is endemic with two people coming in, nicking a sandwich and running off.
To be fair, shoplifting is a huge problem in East London along with fare evasion but I presume the supermarkets and food companies, along with Transport for London, have decided the cost of trying to prevent the theft or evasion set against the actual amounts lost or fares not collected, isn't justifiable. If they can live it what is anyone else going to do? It's much harder if you're running a small corner shop and you lose N% of your income to theft.
Some might say the poor, along with unrealistic expectations for our national football team, will always be with us.
It's amazing and amusing to hear one of the few Tory sympathisers on here this morning bemoaning the level of debt interest payments and the impact that has on the public finances. Yet no one thought borrowing a bad idea when it was all the rage and interest rates were low. Said finances have been badly managed for decades but as has been said by more than a few, we can't or won't have a serious discussion about any of this until ALL parties agree the choice is spending cuts or tax rises versus spending cuts AND tax rises.
It's time to revisit land value taxation - the value of undeveloped land versus the value of land with planning permission. A site worth £25m without permission can be worth £250m with that permission and needless to say you don't spend £225m to get that permission so perhaps we can bring some sense to the planning and development process by saying the more properties you squeeze on to a site the more Development Tax you will pay.
Conversely, if land which is agreed can be developed is sitting there undeveloped it could be taxed to full developmental value which should slow down landbanking.
Yes they did.
All state borrowing is in fact borrowing off (stealing from) your children and grandchildren and should only be done when it can be properly justified.
In general state rainy days should be funded from the sovereign wealth funds you should have created in better times, as traditional conservatism enjoins on the rest of us.
Controversial opinion: I don’t really understand why people pay so much for pizza as a foodstuff, and why chains have grown up around it.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
Is that lower tweet correct, that an official RefUk spokesman has just supported the claim by a candidate that Britain "should have stayed neutral in the war, and taken up Hitler's offer of a deal ?"
I cannot begin to comprehend how children of 12 can end up committing a crime of this level of calculated depravity. No doubt police forces will soon embark on yet more ludicrous knife amnesties.
It reads to me like a spur of the moment sort of thing, rather than a calculated act. Doesn't lessen the brutality, of course.
The point of an amnesty would be that something like this wouldn't happen on a whim if the boys hadn't had such a weapon on their person. Of course, you'd expect the police to take other action too, but an amnesty doesn't strike me as being particularly objectionable.
I am not a lawyer but carrying a foot long machete seems to me difficult to make an argument of lack of calculation.
Well the problem with amnesty is that you get a relatively small haul of weapons but the vast bulk remain on the street and you tend to give a message that you’re basically giving up.
Whilst the causes of knife carrying among teenagers are varied and complex. I do think that there is a case for coming down much harder when a kid is caught in possession of such weapons.
I think that combining an amnesty with harsher penalties for possession would be a sensible way forward.
Dan Neidle @DanNeidle (A beard tax would raise more, because some people will forget about the tax, forget to shave, and have to pay it. Others will deliberately keep a beard to flaunt their wealth. My tax is better than their tax)
How *in the name of fuck* are you able to still lay Michelle Obama at almost 20/1 for the Democratic Nomination?
Are some people just batshit insane?
In past elections, laying this was free money, I agree.
However, this time around, there's been quite a prevalent online 'theory' that Michelle Obama is the backup candidate should Biden be unable to stand.
The thinking is that she is far more popular than the other alternatives like Harris, Newsom etc - and whilst she is reluctant to actually stand herself, she might do it if Biden can't as a 'duty to the country' thing.
I don't really buy it that much but I can see a chain of events where it could happen. Laying 20/1 doesn't seem like free money given you'll have to wait 7 months for a payout - there's much better 1.05 ish odds bets IMO that pay out over a quicker timescale - and at that price you're getting to the point where sticking it in a bank for the same time period is almost worth it.
Is that lower tweet correct, that an official RefUk spokesman has just supported the claim by a candidate that Britain "should have stayed neutral in the war, and taken up Hitler's offer of a deal ?"
Oh dear.
Yes it’s amusing that Reform are currently criticising the PM for missing some of the D-day commemorative events and defending a candidate who logically is arguing that Britain should have missed all of D-Day.
Controversial opinion: I don’t really understand why people pay so much for pizza as a foodstuff, and why chains have grown up around it.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
The only thing I know about Woking is that Paul Weller and The Jam were/are from there.
It's now, by name, the most Woke town in the commuter belt.
Leon will be giving it a wide berth.
I don’t think Woking is woke. I can’t really think of any way in which it is. Not in the way that, say, Guildford is at any rate.
But it is very definitely LibDem now. Rock solidly so.
So if Woking, Guildford and Godalming are all going Lib Dem, where does that leave Surrey Heath and Dorking?
Good question. I don’t know it as well but my suspicion is that Michael Gove partly quit because the LibDems fancy their chances? It doesn’t help that his replacement’s “home" in the constituency has turned out to be an airbnb
I heard that too... if the Lib Dems did pick up those, then the Tories are in trouble. One hears rumours about their social media campaign in trouble and a huge fall off in donations. I don't quite believe it, I'd be surprised if they went below 160 seats tbh.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
If sugar and salt rather than authenticity and flavour are your thing...
There is nothing authentic about the pizzas at Pizza Express.
No, but at least they make a reasonable nod to authenticity (I don't eat there as there are vastly superior places all over London).
I mean, that's their branding, but the execution is a big fail.
In Irish local elections (source RTE & Wiki) with just over 90% of local council seats decided, here is how parties & independents are perrming in % of total seats elected compared with 2019 locals AND with 2020 Dail:
Fine Gael = 26.3% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +4.4% vs 2020 Fianna Fail = 24.5% > -4.5% vs 2019 > +0.9% vs 2020 Sinn Fein = 10.6% > +2.1% vs 2019 > -12.1% vs 2020 Labour = 6.1% > +0.1% vs 2019 > +2.4% vs 2020 Social Dems = 4.0% > +2.0% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 Green = 2.4% > -2.7% vs 2019 > +5.1% vs 2020 PBP-Sol = 1.4% > +0.2% vs 2019 > -1.7% vs 2020 AOINTU = 0.9% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 other = 3.8% > +2.8% vs 2019 > +3.2% vs 2020 inds = 19.7% > +0.2% vs 2019 > 0.8% vs 2020
Note that percents & changes are based on SEATS elected NOT first-preference votes.
So you can see why Irish politicos & journos are saying that SF had a bad election, for despite fact that they have MORE local council seats than in 2019 (even with counts still ongoing) but a -12% DROP in percentage of seats won compared to 2020 Dail election.
CORRECTION = Green vote in 2024 locals is DOWN by -5.1% compared to 2020 Dail general election.
I though "c****" would hgave been high in that word cloud. "T***" lets him off too lightly.
On Farage, I don't know what others think but watching his performance in that tv debate it seemed a bit tired and flat. And I say this as someone who whilst disliking him has always seen his appeal.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've obviously never been subjected to Dominos
No, I would rate Dominos marginally above Pizza Hut, both of them >>> Pizza Express.
That's insane.
Dominos is horrendous junk and Pizza Express is far better.
I can't decide between Hut and Express. Hut at least has nice salad.
Dominos is horrendous junk, yes. But at least their bases are cooked.
For a decent pizza you should be able to enjoy eating the base on its own. Dominos aren't that good, but at least the base serves a structural function. Pizza Express are just unfathomably bad.
Not as bad as Frankly Manky err.. Franco Manca... in that regard.
Pizza Pilgrims are probably the best of the mini-chains.
The only thing I know about Woking is that Paul Weller and The Jam were/are from there.
It's now, by name, the most Woke town in the commuter belt.
Leon will be giving it a wide berth.
I don’t think Woking is woke. I can’t really think of any way in which it is. Not in the way that, say, Guildford is at any rate.
But it is very definitely LibDem now. Rock solidly so.
So if Woking, Guildford and Godalming are all going Lib Dem, where does that leave Surrey Heath and Dorking?
Good question. I don’t know it as well but my suspicion is that Michael Gove partly quit because the LibDems fancy their chances? It doesn’t help that his replacement’s “home" in the constituency has turned out to be an airbnb
I heard that too... if the Lib Dems did pick up those, then the Tories are in trouble. One hears rumours about their social media campaign in trouble and a huge fall off in donations. I don't quite believe it, I'd be surprised if they went below 160 seats tbh.
Ha! I've just submitted my prediction stating 159 for them. Considerable uncertainty around that though
Controversial opinion: I don’t really understand why people pay so much for pizza as a foodstuff, and why chains have grown up around it.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
I don’t get it.
At the risk of doing another Thermos-gate, pizzas are soooooo easy to make. And way, way, better.
The Conservative problem is that their voters (and probably their candidates) are split pretty evenly. So both broad strategies (we hail Nigel and we hate Nigel) will annoy some of the voters they are after.
Hey ho. Should have (politically) strangled him at birth.
Thatcher somehow managed to appeal to both at the same time.
A figure from a bygone era. Strategies that worked a treat for her (e.g. gay bashing) aren't quite as effective as they used to be, thank God.
Thatcher's position on gay rights is sad. She started her career as a standout liberal on this issue on the Conservative benches but ended it with Section 28, which is a horrible stain on her legacy.
Her boasting about being the only country not to have sanctions against apartheid South Africa pipped her gay bashing for me. I just don't get this Thatcher revisionism.
I love it when Roger knows more about ending apartheid than Nelson Mandela.
There are a lot of revisionist historians when it comes to Thatcher. Charles Moore was another. Here is a more charitable view than I and others who used to march against apartheid took of her. But still way more credible than that hagiography from Renwick that you've just linked to.
Is that lower tweet correct, that an official RefUk spokesman has just supported the claim by a candidate that Britain "should have stayed neutral in the war, and taken up Hitler's offer of a deal ?"
Oh dear.
Standard right-wingism. As propagated by Pat Buchanan (remember him?) among others.
Not sure that Mad Vlad agrees, but reckon he's OK with isolationism in the West as conducive of further weakening of the West.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've led a very sheltered life.
I've had a lot of different pizzas in a lot of different places. I've had pizza in New York and Missouri. In Wimbledon and Islington. Exeter and Edinburgh. West Cork and Genoa.
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
I've had a lot of pizzas too, and while I wouldn't rate Pizza Express particularly highly, I would rate it as light-years better than Pizza Hut or Domino's.
Is that lower tweet correct, that an official RefUk spokesman has just supported the claim by a candidate that Britain "should have stayed neutral in the war, and taken up Hitler's offer of a deal ?"
Oh dear.
Standard right-wingism. As propagated by Pat Buchanan (remember him?) among others.
Not sure that Mad Vlad agrees, but reckon he's OK with isolationism in the West as conducive of further weakening of the West.
Breaking years of silence on this website to say Domino's is superb, the best takeaway out there. Expensive, but worth every penny for flavour and enjoyment.
You get pizza purists who get snotty if it hasn't been rubbed between a Neopolitan's thighs before serving. Domino's isn't for pizza purists; as a dirty takeaway it's top.
Bloody hell, the 1970s called and want their production values back. The pan shot of him firming up his several chins outside some grommet factory is particularly…well, whatever is the opposite of fine.
Also, someone will have to explain why Pizza Express dough balls are so feted. It’s a bit of overpriced warm bread and garlic butter.
Much discussed in my household, as my better half worships PE dough balls. She would have them for starter and mains if she didn't think that was too naff. I'm baffled by it, and it has made me question my choice of life partner (thus far).
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've led a very sheltered life.
I've had a lot of different pizzas in a lot of different places. I've had pizza in New York and Missouri. In Wimbledon and Islington. Exeter and Edinburgh. West Cork and Genoa.
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
I've had a lot of pizzas too, and while I wouldn't rate Pizza Express particularly highly, I would rate it as light-years better than Pizza Hut or Domino's.
I though "c****" would hgave been high in that word cloud. "T***" lets him off too lightly.
On Farage, I don't know what others think but watching his performance in that tv debate it seemed a bit tired and flat. And I say this as someone who whilst disliking him has always seen his appeal.
He's 60. That's not massively over-the-hill (Starmer is 61), but he's also not looked after himself that well. And even if the Reform plan goes well, he's five years from entering government. Have to say, I just don't see it working.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've led a very sheltered life.
I've had a lot of different pizzas in a lot of different places. I've had pizza in New York and Missouri. In Wimbledon and Islington. Exeter and Edinburgh. West Cork and Genoa.
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
I've had a lot of pizzas too, and while I wouldn't rate Pizza Express particularly highly, I would rate it as light-years better than Pizza Hut or Domino's.
Not a lot of love for Franco Manca on this thread. Decent pizza, cheap drinks. What's not to like?
Interesting odds appearing now on Bet365 I'd recommend (as value) 12/1 on Jody McIntyre for WPB in Birmingham Yardley. They are pushing this one hard, its Labour's weakest held seat in Brum and although Jess P has a profile this might be closer than imagined given Labour's chaos in Birmingham. Value in the odds not a prediction........
Word on the street has been Jess is toast since the Mayoralty when this guy did well.
The most gratifying Portillo moments for the PB Tories will be Phillips, Streeting and Debonnaire.
On the other hand Hunt, Penny and JRM all survive even if it is a bad night for the Tories.
To be clear, are you predicting that Wes Streeting will lose his seat?
MexicanPete I think is confusing Jody McIntyre with Akhmed Yakoob who is against Shabhana Mahmood in Ladywood (and has a very good chance of getting close too, he's an indy). Jody will also run Jess close. Streeting is interesting. Swing in London will be much lower and if Leanne Mohammed (indy, gaza)gets traction Tories through the middle or her herself is unlikely but not unthinkable. DYOR
Bloody hell, the 1970s called and want their production values back. The pan shot of him firming up his several chins outside some grommet factory is particularly…well, whatever is the opposite of fine.
In Irish local elections (source RTE & Wiki) with just over 90% of local council seats decided, here is how parties & independents are perrming in % of total seats elected compared with 2019 locals AND with 2020 Dail:
Fine Gael = 26.3% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +4.4% vs 2020 Fianna Fail = 24.5% > -4.5% vs 2019 > +0.9% vs 2020 Sinn Fein = 10.6% > +2.1% vs 2019 > -12.1% vs 2020 Labour = 6.1% > +0.1% vs 2019 > +2.4% vs 2020 Social Dems = 4.0% > +2.0% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 Green = 2.4% > -2.7% vs 2019 > +5.1% vs 2020 PBP-Sol = 1.4% > +0.2% vs 2019 > -1.7% vs 2020 AOINTU = 0.9% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 other = 3.8% > +2.8% vs 2019 > +3.2% vs 2020 inds = 19.7% > +0.2% vs 2019 > 0.8% vs 2020
Note that percents & changes are based on SEATS elected NOT first-preference votes.
So you can see why Irish politicos & journos are saying that SF had a bad election, for despite fact that they have MORE local council seats than in 2019 (even with counts still ongoing) but a -12% DROP in percentage of seats won compared to 2020 Dail election.
Yes, and whether you have a good or bad election is a case of expectation, minus performance.
A year ago, Sinn Fein were close to outpolling Fine Gael and Fianna Fail combined. A Sinn Fein government in Dublin would be concerning, not just for this country, but for Western governments generally, in terms of the security implications.
Although the situation is clouded by the vote for independents, AONTU, Social Democrats, and PBP, who hurt SF disproportionately, there must be a real risk of their now losing votes and seats, in the next Dail election.
I wonder if this will be replicated North of the Border, and if SDLP and Alliance will gain at their expense.
Re: restaurants (FPT, can't quote, too fiddly on a primitive phone):
"Middle class" chains: I find Pizza Express very reliable, Nando's variable and overrated.
Pub food: is pot luck, but certainly not uniformly bad. Two examples that I frequent semi-regularly spring to mind, one good, one very good.
As big a factor in the quality of mid-range restaurants as that of the food itself is that of the service, especially how bloody slow some of them are. They fail to employ enough people to wait tables and/or make the stuff in the first place, so even if it's very good it takes so long to arrive that it ruins the experience. I've given up on one local restaurant entirely because of this; I recently went into another, sat at table for an age and then walked out again when it became obvious that the one woman they had taking orders was going to take about two hours just to get to us. Hopeless.
I much prefer Pizza Express to Nandos but the kids love Nandos for some unfathomable reason. I could quite happily eat every meal at Pizza Express for the rest of my life.
I would genuinely prefer to go to Pizza Hut than Pizza Express, though as you are in London there are loads of independent pizza places that are superior to both all over the place, but if in provincial England and not fortunate to have that option it would be Pizza Hut every time.
Really? I would put Pizza Hut in the same category as Dominos. We are lucky to have several independent pizza places nearby. But I actually rate Pizza Express pizzas. I worked in a pizza restaurant for four years when I was younger and would sometimes have pizza for lunch and dinner depending on the shift. Luckily I love pizza.
I think the pizzas at Pizza Express are the worst pizzas I have ever eaten.
You've led a very sheltered life.
I've had a lot of different pizzas in a lot of different places. I've had pizza in New York and Missouri. In Wimbledon and Islington. Exeter and Edinburgh. West Cork and Genoa.
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
I've had a lot of pizzas too, and while I wouldn't rate Pizza Express particularly highly, I would rate it as light-years better than Pizza Hut or Domino's.
I think it depends what you want.
If you like your pizza on top of a loaf of bread, go Pizza Hut or Dominos 'traditional base'.
Are Usonian Pizza's like Usonian Pancakes ie Dessert?
In Irish local elections (source RTE & Wiki) with just over 90% of local council seats decided, here is how parties & independents are perrming in % of total seats elected compared with 2019 locals AND with 2020 Dail:
Fine Gael = 26.3% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +4.4% vs 2020 Fianna Fail = 24.5% > -4.5% vs 2019 > +0.9% vs 2020 Sinn Fein = 10.6% > +2.1% vs 2019 > -12.1% vs 2020 Labour = 6.1% > +0.1% vs 2019 > +2.4% vs 2020 Social Dems = 4.0% > +2.0% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 Green = 2.4% > -2.7% vs 2019 > +5.1% vs 2020 PBP-Sol = 1.4% > +0.2% vs 2019 > -1.7% vs 2020 AOINTU = 0.9% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020 other = 3.8% > +2.8% vs 2019 > +3.2% vs 2020 inds = 19.7% > +0.2% vs 2019 > 0.8% vs 2020
Note that percents & changes are based on SEATS elected NOT first-preference votes.
So you can see why Irish politicos & journos are saying that SF had a bad election, for despite fact that they have MORE local council seats than in 2019 (even with counts still ongoing) but a -12% DROP in percentage of seats won compared to 2020 Dail election.
Yes, and whether you have a good or bad election is a case of expectation, minus performance.
A year ago, Sinn Fein were close to outpolling Fine Gael and Fianna Fail combined. A Sinn Fein government in Dublin would be concerning, not just for this country, but for Western governments generally, in terms of the security implications.
Although the situation is clouded by the vote for independents, AONTU, Social Democrats, and PBP, who hurt SF disproportionately, there must be a real risk of their now losing votes and seats, in the next Dail election.
I wonder if this will be replicated North of the Border, and if SDLP and Alliance will gain at their expense.
WTF? I though PB was a bastion of fine dining? You're all arguing over what is the best UPF fast food restaurant! You'll be fighting over which is the nicest transnational "food" corporation next. I'm shocked.
PB is full of peasants.
No, PB is full of pedants. We will argue over most things.
Though personally given that resources are finite I would rather have three cheerful mid-price meals out per month than one fine dining. I mean, I like food. But 70% of the pleasure is the company, and at least 10% is the not-doing-it-yourself. I always find top end restaurants a little disappointing for how much more I am paying.
Unacceptable view...off to Conservative Home for the rest of the day.
Its like the old saying "Australians will bet over two snails climbing a wall". Pbers will debate ad nauseum ANYTHING, and arguably the more trivial the debate the more heated and passionate will be the positions. Notably so when those debating preface posts with "I don't know much about X, but..."
I though "c****" would hgave been high in that word cloud. "T***" lets him off too lightly.
On Farage, I don't know what others think but watching his performance in that tv debate it seemed a bit tired and flat. And I say this as someone who whilst disliking him has always seen his appeal.
He's 60. That's not massively over-the-hill (Starmer is 61), but he's also not looked after himself that well. And even if the Reform plan goes well, he's five years from entering government. Have to say, I just don't see it working.
Me neither. It just feels not quite right.
"Nigel, Donald here, so when are you coming over, my man? Next week, right? Got you the best suite, it's all ready for you, know what I mean."
Interesting odds appearing now on Bet365 I'd recommend (as value) 12/1 on Jody McIntyre for WPB in Birmingham Yardley. They are pushing this one hard, its Labour's weakest held seat in Brum and although Jess P has a profile this might be closer than imagined given Labour's chaos in Birmingham. Value in the odds not a prediction........
Word on the street has been Jess is toast since the Mayoralty when this guy did well.
The most gratifying Portillo moments for the PB Tories will be Phillips, Streeting and Debonnaire.
On the other hand Hunt, Penny and JRM all survive even if it is a bad night for the Tories.
To be clear, are you predicting that Wes Streeting will lose his seat?
MexicanPete I think is confusing Jody McIntyre with Akhmed Yakoob who is against Shabhana Mahmood in Ladywood (and has a very good chance of getting close too, he's an indy). Jody will also run Jess close. Streeting is interesting. Swing in London will be much lower and if Leanne Mohammed (indy, gaza)gets traction Tories through the middle or her herself is unlikely but not unthinkable. DYOR
There's a line in the new Tory PPB that says Labour's tax plans have been "published online", where "published online" is meant to be understood as "true". It's an interesting little bit of political language.
The only thing I know about Woking is that Paul Weller and The Jam were/are from there.
It's now, by name, the most Woke town in the commuter belt.
Leon will be giving it a wide berth.
I don’t think Woking is woke. I can’t really think of any way in which it is. Not in the way that, say, Guildford is at any rate.
But it is very definitely LibDem now. Rock solidly so.
So if Woking, Guildford and Godalming are all going Lib Dem, where does that leave Surrey Heath and Dorking?
I predict Dorking is going LD and they have a very impressive candidate. A young Ashdown clone.
Former Army officer, diplomat, and now involved in charity work. Almost as good as the candidate in Tunbridge Wells - several tours in Afghanistan and now Senior Fellow at Kings College, London.
Seattle Times - GOP initiative backers lose fight to keep budget impacts off WA ballot
OLYMPIA — A Thurston County Superior Court judge on Friday blocked an attempt by GOP backers of a slate of voter initiatives to keep the budget implications of their proposals off the ballot.
Voters will decide in November whether to keep or repeal the state’s capital gains tax, its carbon market and whether Washingtonians should be able to opt out of the state’s public long-term care insurance program. Each of the initiatives was filed by the chair of the state’s Republican Party, Jim Walsh, and seek to undo signature policies passed in recent years by the majority Democrat[ic] state legislature.
The key issue Friday was whether a brief statement about the budget impacts corresponding to each of those measures should appear on ballots. Walsh, a state representative from Aberdeen, and Deanna Martinez, the chair of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, contended state law does not require the statements on any of the initiatives and that the financial disclosures were being “weaponized.”
Lawyers for the state pushed back, saying the legal challenge was an attempt to keep information from voters.
SSI - Suppressing unwanted facts is key part of the MAGA GOP playbook. Note that WA GOP sponsored these initiatives (via campaign donations by GOPer with deep pockets) not only because they believe in their substance BUT also as a turnout builder for their candidates.
NOT Trump who will NOT win in WA, but instead for statewide candidates who MIGHT have a chance at scoring narrow victories, most notably for their (eventual) nominee for governor, former Congressman and King Co Sheriff, Dave Reichert.
@Farooq well done for setting up an election comp.
I need to clear my head before submitting my woeful attempt - what's the cut-off time/date?
Midday on election day, loads of time: ETA you aren't locked in either. If you change your mind you can resubmit your answers. As long as it's not every day
Nice one. With flexibility like that I just can't compete with the competition competition.
Controversial opinion: I don’t really understand why people pay so much for pizza as a foodstuff, and why chains have grown up around it.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
I don’t get it.
Yes, It's variations on cheese on toast really, and while it's OK it hardly justifies a million dedicated outlets. Not as if it's even fish and chips.
In my utopian restaurant - where you turn up and eat the one thing you are given - pizza would never be the thing, but fish and chips would be it about every third Friday.
I though "c****" would hgave been high in that word cloud. "T***" lets him off too lightly.
On Farage, I don't know what others think but watching his performance in that tv debate it seemed a bit tired and flat. And I say this as someone who whilst disliking him has always seen his appeal.
He's 60. That's not massively over-the-hill (Starmer is 61), but he's also not looked after himself that well. And even if the Reform plan goes well, he's five years from entering government. Have to say, I just don't see it working.
Me neither. It just feels not quite right.
"Nigel, Donald here, so when are you coming over, my man? Next week, right? Got you the best suite, it's all ready for you, know what I mean."
"Afraid I can't. I have stuff on in Clacton."
My guess is that Trump himself urged Farage to do his U-turn re: running for MP. As part of Putinist ramp up the dystopia efforts, and also to enhance NF's value as a warm-up act for post-Independence Day MAGA rallies.
Though not sure Trump needs to warm up his crowds even more than they are being "warmed" due to record-breaking heat waves in USA.
Controversial opinion: I don’t really understand why people pay so much for pizza as a foodstuff, and why chains have grown up around it.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
I don’t get it.
Yes, It's variations on cheese on toast really, and while it's OK it hardly justifies a million dedicated outlets. Not as if it's even fish and chips.
In my utopian restaurant - where you turn up and eat the one thing you are given - pizza would never be the thing, but fish and chips would be it about every third Friday.
On the subject of fish and chips.....what happened to rock salmon you can never find it these days
I'll start this with the opinion that fighting in 1939 and not coming to an arrangement with Nazi Germany in 1940 was the morally correct thing to do - even before we found out about the full horror of the Holocaust. But there can be a clear argument that Hitler had no intention of fighting the British - his ambitions were constrained by his continentalist view of the world. Arguably one of the reasons that Germany lost was that Hitler never appreciated Britains position of dominance in Naval terms, both in military and merchant. As a result Britain and its allies could close off the continent in terms of imports, and hence the only source of Oil was Romania (outside of the fantasy of seizing the Caucasian oil fields and somehow transporting said oil to the Reich. In food terms too, Germans were on rationing early in the war and even with an entire continent could not get enough food, even including the infamous Hunger Plan to murder millions in the East by starvation.
If the UK had not fought in 1939 then Hitler would still have lost to the USSR - it may have taken longer, but the unresolved question about Barbarossa always remained - how to you defeat a nation so vast and with the ability to ship its factories and workers thousands of miles to the East? Germany was set up for short wars, which works when you victim runs out of space to retreat into (Poland, France etc). It didn't in Russia. Its not even clear that capturing Moscow would have ended the war - why surrender when you enemy isn't offering handshakes and you losing a bit of territory, but is instead intent on your utter annihilation? IN 1941 in the Ukraine and the Baltic States the Germans were welcomed as liberators. A counterfactual has the Germans playing this role and forming independent states as allies, but of course that was never going to work because the Nazis were a racist state looking for land and resources, not new buffer countries.
If the UK has stayed out no huge bill to the USA. Better able to fight Japan, assuming Japan had still attacked. Imperial decline would still have happened, but probably slower.
So you can make a case for staying neutral, as many wanted to do, and indeed for suing for peace in 1940, which very nearly happened. Its not made to say it, even if morally we did the right thing.
Surely we on here all have our own pizza ovens in the garden next to the barbecue, to be fired up with dried wood as the summer nights arrive?
Nearly bought one during covid, glad we didn't - not enough warm summer nights here to warrant one.
My brother in law has one in the garden (specially built from brick). Fun for big family gatherings (and that side of the family IS big) but arguably more for the theatre than anything else.
Bloody hell, the 1970s called and want their production values back. The pan shot of him firming up his several chins outside some grommet factory is particularly…well, whatever is the opposite of fine.
Comments
Oh! I don't know. It seems to depend on which part of the country you live in
I'm poll-hungry, as this very particular momemt may determine whether Reform get a further surge or not. Waiter ! Where are my polls ?
Well the problem with amnesty is that you get a relatively small haul of weapons but the vast bulk remain on the street and you tend to give a message that you’re basically giving up.
Whilst the causes of knife carrying among teenagers are varied and complex. I do think that there is a case for coming down much harder when a kid is caught in possession of such weapons.
Um......
The temperature is barely in double figures with a strong wind chill factor. 10th June.
Though personally given that resources are finite I would rather have three cheerful mid-price meals out per month than one fine dining. I mean, I like food. But 70% of the pleasure is the company, and at least 10% is the not-doing-it-yourself. I always find top end restaurants a little disappointing for how much more I am paying.
I'll have two stags, please, as I'm nungry.
I need to clear my head before submitting my woeful attempt - what's the cut-off time/date?
ETA you aren't locked in either. If you change your mind you can resubmit your answers. As long as it's not every day
Pizza Express was the worst. Though I'll grant that it's possible that this was a specific failing by Pizza Express Exeter, but why go to the trouble of verifying it as a general rather than specific failure?
I may start doing threads on them so PBers can experience such events themselves.
Fine Gael = 26.3% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +4.4% vs 2020
Fianna Fail = 24.5% > -4.5% vs 2019 > +0.9% vs 2020
Sinn Fein = 10.6% > +2.1% vs 2019 > -12.1% vs 2020
Labour = 6.1% > +0.1% vs 2019 > +2.4% vs 2020
Social Dems = 4.0% > +2.0% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020
Green = 2.4% > -2.7% vs 2019 > +5.1% vs 2020
PBP-Sol = 1.4% > +0.2% vs 2019 > -1.7% vs 2020
AOINTU = 0.9% > +0.6% vs 2019 > +0.3% vs 2020
other = 3.8% > +2.8% vs 2019 > +3.2% vs 2020
inds = 19.7% > +0.2% vs 2019 > 0.8% vs 2020
Note that percents & changes are based on SEATS elected NOT first-preference votes.
So you can see why Irish politicos & journos are saying that SF had a bad election, for despite fact that they have MORE local council seats than in 2019 (even with counts still ongoing) but a -12% DROP in percentage of seats won compared to 2020 Dail election.
For a decent pizza you should be able to enjoy eating the base on its own. Dominos aren't that good, but at least the base serves a structural function. Pizza Express are just unfathomably bad.
All state borrowing is in fact borrowing off (stealing from) your children and grandchildren and should only be done when it can be properly justified.
In general state rainy days should be funded from the sovereign wealth funds you should have created in better times, as traditional conservatism enjoins on the rest of us.
There are plenty of chain pizza restaurants where one can happily pay over the odds compared to a cheap and cheerful high street Italian restaurant, and get a product either comparable or possibly worse.
I don’t get it.
Oh dear.
@bigjohnowls and Starmer
@Luckyguy1983 and Sunak
@LostPassword and Pizza Express
https://x.com/DanNeidle/status/1800144839696331218
Dan Neidle @DanNeidle
(A beard tax would raise more, because some people will forget about the tax, forget to shave, and have to pay it. Others will deliberately keep a beard to flaunt their wealth. My tax is better than their tax)
However, this time around, there's been quite a prevalent online 'theory' that Michelle Obama is the backup candidate should Biden be unable to stand.
The thinking is that she is far more popular than the other alternatives like Harris, Newsom etc - and whilst she is reluctant to actually stand herself, she might do it if Biden can't as a 'duty to the country' thing.
I don't really buy it that much but I can see a chain of events where it could happen. Laying 20/1 doesn't seem like free money given you'll have to wait 7 months for a payout - there's much better 1.05 ish odds bets IMO that pay out over a quicker timescale - and at that price you're getting to the point where sticking it in a bank for the same time period is almost worth it.
Thomas Hardy was mentioned this morning and his novel Return of the Native is fantastically ‘pagan’ with those scenes up on Egdon Heath.
@TSE and pineapple
Pizza Pilgrims are probably the best of the mini-chains.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/10/margaret-thatcher-apartheid-mandela
Not sure that Mad Vlad agrees, but reckon he's OK with isolationism in the West as conducive of further weakening of the West.
You get pizza purists who get snotty if it hasn't been rubbed between a Neopolitan's thighs before serving. Domino's isn't for pizza purists; as a dirty takeaway it's top.
https://x.com/jrc1921/status/1800166749515702545?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
As for Pizza Hut’s disgusting salad bar … eww.
That's interesting.
Presumably standing for the Gallowazzock Party.
A year ago, Sinn Fein were close to outpolling Fine Gael and Fianna Fail combined. A Sinn Fein government in Dublin would be concerning, not just for this country, but for Western governments generally, in terms of the security implications.
Although the situation is clouded by the vote for independents, AONTU, Social Democrats, and PBP, who hurt SF disproportionately, there must be a real risk of their now losing votes and seats, in the next Dail election.
I wonder if this will be replicated North of the Border, and if SDLP and Alliance will gain at their expense.
If you like your pizza on top of a loaf of bread, go Pizza Hut or Dominos 'traditional base'.
Are Usonian Pizza's like Usonian Pancakes ie Dessert?
"Nigel, Donald here, so when are you coming over, my man? Next week, right? Got you the best suite, it's all ready for you, know what I mean."
"Afraid I can't. I have stuff on in Clacton."
There's a line in the new Tory PPB that says Labour's tax plans have been "published online", where "published online" is meant to be understood as "true". It's an interesting little bit of political language.
@jimwaterson
Reminder: You can claim what you want in a PPB and have it shown to 3m people on BBC One as broadcasters refuse to deal with factual matters.
(Tonight's Tory PPB finishes by telling people to Google "labour tax rises document", yet no one seems to have bought ads for that term?)
Seattle Times - GOP initiative backers lose fight to keep budget impacts off WA ballot
OLYMPIA — A Thurston County Superior Court judge on Friday blocked an attempt by GOP backers of a slate of voter initiatives to keep the budget implications of their proposals off the ballot.
Voters will decide in November whether to keep or repeal the state’s capital gains tax, its carbon market and whether Washingtonians should be able to opt out of the state’s public long-term care insurance program. Each of the initiatives was filed by the chair of the state’s Republican Party, Jim Walsh, and seek to undo signature policies passed in recent years by the majority Democrat[ic] state legislature.
The key issue Friday was whether a brief statement about the budget impacts corresponding to each of those measures should appear on ballots. Walsh, a state representative from Aberdeen, and Deanna Martinez, the chair of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, contended state law does not require the statements on any of the initiatives and that the financial disclosures were being “weaponized.”
Lawyers for the state pushed back, saying the legal challenge was an attempt to keep information from voters.
SSI - Suppressing unwanted facts is key part of the MAGA GOP playbook. Note that WA GOP sponsored these initiatives (via campaign donations by GOPer with deep pockets) not only because they believe in their substance BUT also as a turnout builder for their candidates.
NOT Trump who will NOT win in WA, but instead for statewide candidates who MIGHT have a chance at scoring narrow victories, most notably for their (eventual) nominee for governor, former Congressman and King Co Sheriff, Dave Reichert.
In my utopian restaurant - where you turn up and eat the one thing you are given - pizza would never be the thing, but fish and chips would be it about every third Friday.
Though not sure Trump needs to warm up his crowds even more than they are being "warmed" due to record-breaking heat waves in USA.
If the UK had not fought in 1939 then Hitler would still have lost to the USSR - it may have taken longer, but the unresolved question about Barbarossa always remained - how to you defeat a nation so vast and with the ability to ship its factories and workers thousands of miles to the East? Germany was set up for short wars, which works when you victim runs out of space to retreat into (Poland, France etc). It didn't in Russia. Its not even clear that capturing Moscow would have ended the war - why surrender when you enemy isn't offering handshakes and you losing a bit of territory, but is instead intent on your utter annihilation? IN 1941 in the Ukraine and the Baltic States the Germans were welcomed as liberators. A counterfactual has the Germans playing this role and forming independent states as allies, but of course that was never going to work because the Nazis were a racist state looking for land and resources, not new buffer countries.
If the UK has stayed out no huge bill to the USA. Better able to fight Japan, assuming Japan had still attacked. Imperial decline would still have happened, but probably slower.
So you can make a case for staying neutral, as many wanted to do, and indeed for suing for peace in 1940, which very nearly happened. Its not made to say it, even if morally we did the right thing.