By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
People criticise Starmer for being dull and boring.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
There was a very good profile in yesterday’s Sunday Times magazine. I’m not sure if there’s an online version but it helped me understand him a bit better. Likeable but also slightly scary I feel. Wasn’t ‘Ruthless Pragmatism’ Frank Underwood’s tagline?
Best view in Surrey Newlands corner?Leith Hill or Box Hill?
All really beautiful. Difficult to split them though I do love Newlands Corner. I’ve walked there often. Which is your favourite?
I also love the ridge line from Farnham to Godalming/Guildford. Not so much the Hog’s Back itself (although from the A31 it’s beautiful) but the pretty footpaths just south of it which are the start of the North Downs Way near Seale. There are some lanes nearby that make it driveable coming out at Puttenham and then you link in with the route @Peter_the_Punter just mentioned between Shalford and Redhill which is so pretty. Great area for cycling and hiking.
Best view in Surrey Newlands corner?Leith Hill or Box Hill?
All really beautiful. Difficult to split them though I do love Newlands Corner. I’ve walked there often. Which is your favourite?
I also love the ridge line from Farnham to Godalming/Guildford. Not so much the Hog’s Back itself (although from the A31 it’s beautiful) but the pretty footpaths just south of it which are the start of the North Downs Way near Seale. There are some lanes nearby that make it driveable coming out at Puttenham and then you link in with the route @Peter_the_Punter just mentioned between Shalford and Redhill which is so pretty. Great area for cycling and hiking.
The Surrey Hills start at the end of my road. We were on the route for the Olympics road race. I practice a few weeks before my cycle trip each year trying to get to the top without getting off. Not easy when you are about 10 kg overweight. The first time I made it someone stopped to see if I was ok. I think I might have looked like I was about to have a heart attack. Real sense of satisfaction. Doesn't take me long to get back home though, although the brakes are smoking.
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
People criticise Starmer for being dull and boring.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
Yes I am looking at you Boris Johnson.
I agree, and have said as much in the past. However, there is also a need for leaders to be inspiring; to take us along with them in their plans. And a PM is the country's ultimate leader.
Four a.m. at the moth trap. Warm, slight drizzle in the air. No sign of yesterday's Strawberry Moon behind solid cloud.
Just me, the moths - and a lone skylark, singing way off above. Up with the lark indeed.
Should have been a great night for moths. Instead, just two hawkmoths - an elephant and a lime. Six years back, that might have been thirty. Species list in the mid-30's. It should be more than double that, maybe treble. Struggling to reach 100 moths. I've had nights here when it was nearer a thousand.
Worrying signs.
Why?
Because moths are indicator species of environmental harm/good. The diversity of moths is used to monitor environmental change. This is all of a part with the large scale collapse of insect populations over the last few decades.
Thanks in part to MM I have been doing a great deal of moth trapping as a means of measuring the improvements on my land due to rewilding.
Indeed. There has been no obvious change in the local environment here. There has been no new regime of spraying insecticides, for example. No obvious increase in predators. There has been an impact on some ash feeders as a result of ash die-back disease (one in six trees in Devon is an ash). The thing we might point to is two wet winters followed by a hot spring (the ground getting baked like concrete, not allowing the underground larva to break through the surface to emerge as moths). It is possible numbers might bounce back. But it does for now look like a concerning crash in numbers. When you think a brood of 10 blue tits requires feeding with 1,000 caterpillars a day, you are going to be seeing a drastic knock on to other wildlife.
What’s your honest take on the situation in our rivers MM? I have a view as a sometime fisherwoman but I’d be interested to know yours, electioneering aside please?
Second question, have you seen the extended version of the Yellowstone re-wilding documentary? I’m not sure how scientifically backed it is but it’s fascinating.
p.s. I should perhaps explain that I’m pretty convinced about the links ref. insects, fields, and rivers
I still return to the addition of the new anti knocking agentsvto replace lead in petrol a few decades ago. The really big declines in insect populations seem to stem from there.
One reason why I will be glad to see ICEs replaced by electrics.
Best view in Surrey Newlands corner?Leith Hill or Box Hill?
All really beautiful. Difficult to split them though I do love Newlands Corner. I’ve walked there often. Which is your favourite?
I also love the ridge line from Farnham to Godalming/Guildford. Not so much the Hog’s Back itself (although from the A31 it’s beautiful) but the pretty footpaths just south of it which are the start of the North Downs Way near Seale. There are some lanes nearby that make it driveable coming out at Puttenham and then you link in with the route @Peter_the_Punter just mentioned between Shalford and Redhill which is so pretty. Great area for cycling and hiking.
The Surrey Hills start at the end of my road. We were on the route for the Olympics road race. I practice a few weeks before my cycle trip each year trying to get to the top without getting off. Not easy when you are about 10 kg overweight. The first time I made it someone stopped to see if I was ok. I think I might have looked like I was about to have a heart attack. Real sense of satisfaction. Doesn't take me long to get back home though, although the brakes are smoking.
Splendid article. Personally I don't think the necessary reform that you advocate is feasible, there are too many entrenched vested interest, other than being borne out of Russia 1991 type financial collapse meaning there is no money to pay the bureacrats.
Unfortunately a lot of necessary things also stop happening then too.
I think Niall Fergusson might be right that we are in a new cold war, but this time, we are the Soviets. The lunatic response to Covid and its financia, mental health and moral (work ethic) consequences (a triumph of Process over Judgement if ever there was one) has certainly hasntened the day.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
Attacks on police officers, two churches and a synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left many people dead. Gunmen targeted the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on the Orthodox festival of Pentecost.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
Also what is "a system of stakeholder capitalism* backed by a second chamber of citizens assemblies to replace the House of Lords" and how does it stop parents letting their kids use a mobile phone
@edmundintokyo I don't think we share a time zone but...
To deal with both of your questions: I am defining neo-liberalism as the belief that people are primarily consumers within a market. Thus regulation, state safety nets etc are illegitimate interference in the market.
Hence eg if kids are addicted to mobile phones, that is simply the market in attention doing it's thing, and we should not challenge it.
By contrast, citizen involvement in democracy allows people to speak truth to this nonsense, whether having stakeholders on boards of companies who might choose to argue against eg marketing phones at kids, or having citizens assemblies where those who see their communities transformed by immigration can voice the dislocation that this causes.
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
People criticise Starmer for being dull and boring.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
Yes I am looking at you Boris Johnson.
It is a severe error to correlate dullness with efficiency/effectiveness. Spreadsheet Phil. Theresa May. Rishi Sunak. All very dull. All disastrously ineffective. Sometimes people who are dull are just dull.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
So why is Marine Le Pen doing a Nazi salute in the picture?
This time next week I shall be in France watching horrified frenchies bewailing the depths to which their country is plunging,
Ive brought a crate of Nyetimber out to enjoy it.
Come and join me
Today I woke up in a boat in St Malo. Went to the local Carrefour and bought wine. Drove across Brittany to beautiful beautiful Vannes. Met the guide. Had a lovely walk. Had a dozen oysters (Thankyou French taxpayers) and some muscadet. Then drove to port badon and got a tiny boat to the sacred Neolithic island of Gavrinis and its neighbouring islands with its half drowned Stonehenge and spent the time chatting (flirting?) with a French New Zealand lady and then got the boat back and then I drove over an ISTHMUS to Quiberon where I’ve just had excellent local langoustines with the home made mayonnaise in the best restaurant in town and now I sit in my room staring at the sea (great view out to the islands) and I drink the wine I bought in Carrefour and even now, after 35 years of doing this, I cannot believe this is MY JOB and I am paid to do it
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
We are of one mind on this
Interesting.
That would come under nuisance, surely, which is already regulated though with some lack of effectiveness, and the Council could do it themselves via a byelaw or a PSPO - though that may run into problems with "public space" if it is all retired civil servant "this Englishman's home is his Castle" types.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
Yes, but you also have to have core values. This shows that the rights of women are not core values for the UN.
edit: and this approach will lead to a rush to the bottom for rights: extremists know the UN will always capitulate.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
If one is so anal as to want to have a tidy lawn in the first place, minibeasts don't form part of the Weltaschauung, sadly.
(Mrs C's garden is so full of flowers all season long for the bumblebees and hoverflies there isn't *any* lawn, overgrown or otherwise.)
Four a.m. at the moth trap. Warm, slight drizzle in the air. No sign of yesterday's Strawberry Moon behind solid cloud.
Just me, the moths - and a lone skylark, singing way off above. Up with the lark indeed.
Should have been a great night for moths. Instead, just two hawkmoths - an elephant and a lime. Six years back, that might have been thirty. Species list in the mid-30's. It should be more than double that, maybe treble. Struggling to reach 100 moths. I've had nights here when it was nearer a thousand.
Worrying signs.
Why?
Because moths are indicator species of environmental harm/good. The diversity of moths is used to monitor environmental change. This is all of a part with the large scale collapse of insect populations over the last few decades.
Thanks in part to MM I have been doing a great deal of moth trapping as a means of measuring the improvements on my land due to rewilding.
Indeed. There has been no obvious change in the local environment here. There has been no new regime of spraying insecticides, for example. No obvious increase in predators. There has been an impact on some ash feeders as a result of ash die-back disease (one in six trees in Devon is an ash). The thing we might point to is two wet winters followed by a hot spring (the ground getting baked like concrete, not allowing the underground larva to break through the surface to emerge as moths). It is possible numbers might bounce back. But it does for now look like a concerning crash in numbers. When you think a brood of 10 blue tits requires feeding with 1,000 caterpillars a day, you are going to be seeing a drastic knock on to other wildlife.
I can drive to a hill in the Highlands in August and not need to wash the windscreen on the way. That's as strong a signal as any.
Hardly ever need to scrub bugs off the car nowadays, years ago it was hard graft with front of car splattered with them.
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
*stunned by conservatives demanding more regulation in people's private life*
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
People criticise Starmer for being dull and boring.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
Yes I am looking at you Boris Johnson.
It is a severe error to correlate dullness with efficiency/effectiveness. Spreadsheet Phil. Theresa May. Rishi Sunak. All very dull. All disastrously ineffective. Sometimes people who are dull are just dull.
True, but the track record of starmer as LOTO would not suggest "disastrously ineffective".
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
I used to drive around 50,000 miles a year all around the UK, as a technician for IT equipment.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
We are of one mind on this
They should ban leaf blowers and make anyone who feels they need Ozempic spend two weeks sweeping and shovelling up nuisance leaves before they are given their prescription. They might then discover they lose weight with a bit of exercise and don’t need to take a jab for it.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I'm not a huge enthusiast for bans, but I'd make an exception for petrol leaf blowers.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
Well said. This conversation is giving me a sympathy toward leaf blowers and those who use them that I never knew I had.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
Had the M31 been built (other than the bit "Temporarily" named A429(M)) the problem would have gone away (along with much of the Congestion between Wisley (A3) and the M4 along the M25.
Anyway I’m tootling back to the South-west for the week to do some writing. The idea of two bases seemed to confound someone on here the other day but I believe it’s not uncommon.
Most people struggle constantly just to keep one, it is very uncommon but just what you expect from the toffs on PB.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
Yes, the link between some people don't like X and X should be banned is far too easily made by our current politicians of all stripes. We need to find ways of making our society more tolerant of difference.
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
People criticise Starmer for being dull and boring.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
Yes I am looking at you Boris Johnson.
Does help though if they are not useless flip flopping bores. I doubt he could run a bath as we will find out.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
I used to drive around 50,000 miles a year all around the UK, as a technician for IT equipment.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
The last couple of years would blow your mind, two of the the exits on that section have been ‘temporarily’ closed. To be avoided at all costs at rush hours.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
Just use a rake. Once every fortnight.
Unless you are disabled....
Irritating as they are kneejerk banning of more and more things and ever more ineffective policing as too many things to police is what got us in this mess.
AI summary The text discusses the current state of the Conservative Party in the midst of the election campaign and the potential aftermath of a significant defeat. It highlights that many on the right have given up hope of denting Labour's likely majority. The Conservative parliamentary party's size and who remains to rescue the party from ruins will be crucial. CCHQ (Conservative Campaign Headquarters) is reportedly losing hope, and some candidates have been ordered to halt their campaigns and assist cabinet ministers with larger majorities. The text suggests that a new leader will need to revitalize the party's policies, be popular with the public, and have good media skills. Nigel Farage is unlikely to lead the Conservative Party, despite some shared views, as he has made a career out of trying to destroy the party. The text acknowledges that the Conservative Party has bounced back from defeats in the past but predicts a terrible defeat in this election. The blame game has already begun, but it is not solely Rishi Sunak's fault for the election date or Isaac Levido's for campaign tactics. If the party is reduced to a small number of seats, a leadership contest with numerous candidates would not be necessary. Some candidates may struggle to retain their seats, while others are considered safe. Rushing a leadership contest may not be wise, and appointing a temporary leader could be an option. The text advises the Conservative Party to take their time and not rush the process.
Normally better to wait for the death certificate before burial but in this instance the brain hasn't shown any sign of life for months if not longer.
When the history of this election is written I suspect it'll show that Starmer has been much underestimated.....bad voice ....dress sense ...dull.....he's not Tony Blair and he has annoyed the hell out of a lot of labour supporters. He knew we had nowhere else to go and he took us right to the edge.
He even used a backdrop with THREE UNION JACKS! He seemed to have no red lines. No depth he wouldn't plunge. He looked like he really was the Tory Boy of our worst nightmares. But actually the real red line was never crossed........
He never agreed to the Rwanda scheme and all that it implied and in my opinion that was his masterstroke. That would without doubt have taken the soul out of the Party as it has for those few Conservatives who still have one.
I'm optimistic for Sir Keir. I think he's shown himself to be very astute.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
The blunt answer is probably because the young and old wideboys of Surrey and counties South are really, really stupid.
On Mike Hawthorn, afaics he was basically racing a Mercedes Gull Wing in his Jaguar at speeds of 80mph+ in wet conditions, when he drove his vehicle into a "Keep Left" dividing bollard. In 1955.
Darwin Award for Mike Hawthorn.
I haven't been through the Hog's Back for some time - my uncle was in the Manor Mead nursing home for several years.
Does it have average speed cameras yet? They are a fairly crude sticky plaster compared to redesigning the road for system safety, but they do work if set appropriately. On our bypass they reduced vulnerable road user deaths from >1 per annum to very low numbers.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
They whine, biut can you imagine if all they had was a dual carriageway as their only Motorway in the country.
Its been that way for all parties since about 1920. I know we don't like constitutional change all that much in this country but 100 years of impasse seems a tad excessive, even for us.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
Just use a rake. Once every fortnight.
You sound like a bored Restoration era noblewoman.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
Are you suggesting such over regulation should be banned?
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
Just waiting to leave Aberdeen on the Cross Country train to Penzance. Only going as far as York but it is fun listening to all the stops along the way.
Four a.m. at the moth trap. Warm, slight drizzle in the air. No sign of yesterday's Strawberry Moon behind solid cloud.
Just me, the moths - and a lone skylark, singing way off above. Up with the lark indeed.
Should have been a great night for moths. Instead, just two hawkmoths - an elephant and a lime. Six years back, that might have been thirty. Species list in the mid-30's. It should be more than double that, maybe treble. Struggling to reach 100 moths. I've had nights here when it was nearer a thousand.
Worrying signs.
Why?
Because moths are indicator species of environmental harm/good. The diversity of moths is used to monitor environmental change. This is all of a part with the large scale collapse of insect populations over the last few decades.
Thanks in part to MM I have been doing a great deal of moth trapping as a means of measuring the improvements on my land due to rewilding.
Indeed. There has been no obvious change in the local environment here. There has been no new regime of spraying insecticides, for example. No obvious increase in predators. There has been an impact on some ash feeders as a result of ash die-back disease (one in six trees in Devon is an ash). The thing we might point to is two wet winters followed by a hot spring (the ground getting baked like concrete, not allowing the underground larva to break through the surface to emerge as moths). It is possible numbers might bounce back. But it does for now look like a concerning crash in numbers. When you think a brood of 10 blue tits requires feeding with 1,000 caterpillars a day, you are going to be seeing a drastic knock on to other wildlife.
I can drive to a hill in the Highlands in August and not need to wash the windscreen on the way. That's as strong a signal as any.
Hardly ever need to scrub bugs off the car nowadays, years ago it was hard graft with front of car splattered with them.
It's not dissimilar in Europe; the days when you could return from a driving holiday with a good collection of Mediterranean insects seem to be over.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
Just use a rake. Once every fortnight.
Unless you are disabled....
Irritating as they are kneejerk banning of more and more things and ever more ineffective policing as too many things to police is what got us in this mess.
Think of the poor old pensioners as well , typical ageist able bodied arseholes on here, all me me me.
AI summary The text discusses the current state of the Conservative Party in the midst of the election campaign and the potential aftermath of a significant defeat. It highlights that many on the right have given up hope of denting Labour's likely majority. The Conservative parliamentary party's size and who remains to rescue the party from ruins will be crucial. CCHQ (Conservative Campaign Headquarters) is reportedly losing hope, and some candidates have been ordered to halt their campaigns and assist cabinet ministers with larger majorities. The text suggests that a new leader will need to revitalize the party's policies, be popular with the public, and have good media skills. Nigel Farage is unlikely to lead the Conservative Party, despite some shared views, as he has made a career out of trying to destroy the party. The text acknowledges that the Conservative Party has bounced back from defeats in the past but predicts a terrible defeat in this election. The blame game has already begun, but it is not solely Rishi Sunak's fault for the election date or Isaac Levido's for campaign tactics. If the party is reduced to a small number of seats, a leadership contest with numerous candidates would not be necessary. Some candidates may struggle to retain their seats, while others are considered safe. Rushing a leadership contest may not be wise, and appointing a temporary leader could be an option. The text advises the Conservative Party to take their time and not rush the process.
Normally better to wait for the death certificate before burial but in this instance the brain hasn't shown any sign of life for months if not longer.
When the history of this election is written I suspect it'll show that Starmer has been much underestimated.....bad voice ....dress sense ...dull.....he's not Tony Blair and he has annoyed the hell out of a lot of labour supporters. He knew we had nowhere else to go and he took us right to the edge.
He even used a backdrop with THREE UNION JACKS! He seemed to have no red lines. No depth he wouldn't plunge. He looked like he really was the Tory Boy of our worst nightmares. But actually the real red line was never crossed........
He never agreed to the Rwanda scheme and all that it implied and in my opinion that was his masterstroke. That would without doubt have taken the soul out of the Party as it has for those few Conservatives who still have one.
I'm optimistic for Sir Keir. I think he's shown himself to be very astute.
Well, he's certainly poised to surprise on the upside..
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
We are of one mind on this
They should ban leaf blowers and make anyone who feels they need Ozempic spend two weeks sweeping and shovelling up nuisance leaves before they are given their prescription. They might then discover they lose weight with a bit of exercise and don’t need to take a jab for it.
Ahem. I think we are staying into over regulation again!
Education and designing towns to encourage but not enforce active lifestyles, yes, but not forcing.
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
‘Farage is, at best, an incoherent fool. Either that, or deliberately malign.’
Third option hurtling down the track. I think he’s morally incoherent which allows his malignity full rein.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
I used to drive around 50,000 miles a year all around the UK, as a technician for IT equipment.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
You'll be pleased to hear that there have been some recent changes to the road layout in Leeds.
Just waiting to leave Aberdeen on the Cross Country train to Penzance. Only going as far as York but it is fun listening to all the stops along the way.
It's still 5 and a half hours...
Hope you've got a window seat on the left hand side...
R4 Today is today abandoning daily racing tips. One of those things, like the Shipping Forecast you pay no attention to but is part of life's harmless routine.
Also WRT R4 Today, Heaton-Harris sounded terrible, just as if he had been up all night and wasn't sure where he was.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
Yes, but you also have to have core values. This shows that the rights of women are not core values for the UN.
edit: and this approach will lead to a rush to the bottom for rights: extremists know the UN will always capitulate.
Afghanistan is also essentially a supplicant in need of aid. If this is 'negotiation', then it's a very poor start.
Without convincing evidence, I don't buy the 'realpolitik' explanation.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
Yes, but you also have to have core values. This shows that the rights of women are not core values for the UN.
edit: and this approach will lead to a rush to the bottom for rights: extremists know the UN will always capitulate.
Afghanistan is also essentially a supplicant in need of aid. If this is 'negotiation', then it's a very poor start.
Without convincing evidence, I don't buy the 'realpolitik' explanation.
Wasn't in the Last T20 I watched, they might be in the semis by Tomorrow.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
I used to drive around 50,000 miles a year all around the UK, as a technician for IT equipment.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
You'll be pleased to hear that there have been some recent changes to the road layout in Leeds.
However, it is now worse than it was before.
I always go in by train.
I can still get to the only car park I know how to get to....
Actually that isn't true, we can usually get to another one if we remember that it's an immediate turnoff from the Skipton junction...
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
He is a fool and malign, but not incoherent?
Intellectually incoherent. He has a facility with words, of course.
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
He is a fool and malign, but not incoherent?
It would be interesting to see the results of Farage's deranged views being published widely, rather than allowing him to control the agenda with the media.
More widespread publicity around Trump himself is one thing washing away the foundations of his appeal.
Just waiting to leave Aberdeen on the Cross Country train to Penzance. Only going as far as York but it is fun listening to all the stops along the way.
When I first started travelling on trains on my own, when I was fifteen or sixteen, I love listening to the stops announcements; loads of places I'd never been to it, and some of which sounded exotic. I mean, Harrogate! Hartlepool!
By the way, I know starmer isn't super exciting to many people, but it is this patient, relentless effort and strategic long term focus that I kind of admire about Starmer. He doesn't go for any one particular short term win, but always has his eye on the final outcome. He plays 8 dimensional chess with his opponents to this end. And he is utterly ruthless in this regard. People who call him flip flop and stuff like that only call him flip flop because they are not operating on the same scale - they haven't yet seen his goal. Underestimate him at your own expense....
Either you are deranged or full of the singing ginger, WTF is that load of bollox.
I just had a look at your other comments. I am not overly worried about your assessment hahahaha Get back to me when you have something other and more substantive than opininions.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
How we end up with over-regulation in the UK is actually that we've got a terrible tendency to turn an idea to ban leaf blowers into a ban on petrol-driven leaf blowers above 28cc operated between 2pm and 9am on a weekday, except where the device (hereinafter the "legacy leaf blower") was purchased before 8th August 2021, and for use on private estates of over 500 hectares or on designated bowling greens... etc.
Hogs back? Gibbet Hill, Reigate Hill, Hascombe Hill, The view from the top of Denbies Wine Estate?
The Hogs Back has to be one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven in the UK. It's where Mike Hawthorne bought it, I believe.
Yikes didn’t know that and I was just posting about it when you wrote about it.
Some people drive like utter loons on the A31/A3. I’ve no idea why?
Lot of frustrated racing drivers in the commuter belt.
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
A lot of stressed drivers.
It's a dual carriageway trying to do the job of a three-lane motorway. I'd guess at some point it will be widened to three lanes, which will be an extremely disruptive project.
The M8 nods sympathetically.
I used to drive around 50,000 miles a year all around the UK, as a technician for IT equipment.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
You'll be pleased to hear that there have been some recent changes to the road layout in Leeds.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
Just use a rake. Once every fortnight.
Unless you are disabled....
Irritating as they are kneejerk banning of more and more things and ever more ineffective policing as too many things to police is what got us in this mess.
Think of the poor old pensioners as well , typical ageist able bodied arseholes on here, all me me me.
I've never seen a pensioner with a leaf blower; it's nearly always middle-aged men who are like 5 year olds with a new toy.
Just waiting to leave Aberdeen on the Cross Country train to Penzance. Only going as far as York but it is fun listening to all the stops along the way.
When I first started travelling on trains on my own, when I was fifteen or sixteen, I love listening to the stops announcements; loads of places I'd never been to it, and some of which sounded exotic. I mean, Harrogate! Hartlepool!
When I used to change trains at Faversham as a kid I was gently fascinated by a timetabled weekly direct train to Glasgow. It likely started at Dover I guess.
Just waiting to leave Aberdeen on the Cross Country train to Penzance. Only going as far as York but it is fun listening to all the stops along the way.
It's still 5 and a half hours...
Hope you've got a window seat on the left hand side...
And in the shade (albeit back to what used to be called the engine).
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
I agree. Nothing wrong with a rake and a brush. It's a good workout.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
Yes, the link between some people don't like X and X should be banned is far too easily made by our current politicians of all stripes. We need to find ways of making our society more tolerant of difference.
When I’m up in Surrey, even on the heath (from which my handles derives), the sound most heard is not the woodpecker, nor owl, nor the cuckoo - all of which are regulars.
No. It’s leaf-blowers.
Usually petrol driven and often incessant from 8am until 5pm most days of the year. Noise polluting and environmentally impactful on several levels from the 2-stroke petrol fumes to the removal of vital mulch.
I’m not quite sure what the paranoia is amongst Surrey householders about the evil of the leaf. It’s a strange obsession in this most arboreal county of England.
Leaf blowers are a menace and need strictly regulating.
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
And again fallen leaves are incredibly important for providing shelter and food for insects.
Just use a rake. Once every fortnight.
Unless you are disabled....
Irritating as they are kneejerk banning of more and more things and ever more ineffective policing as too many things to police is what got us in this mess.
Think of the poor old pensioners as well , typical ageist able bodied arseholes on here, all me me me.
I've never seen a pensioner with a leaf blower; it's nearly always middle-aged men who are like 5 year olds with a new toy.
It's like getting a BBQ or sandwich toaster, you start inventing reasons to use it to make it seem not a waste of money.
The UN, contrary to MAGA fantasies, has pretty limited power. Often, to get something done, they need to negotiate with unpleasant governments. They can’t force the Taliban to accept anything. I don’t know the details here, but this looks like realpolitik.
Yes, but you also have to have core values. This shows that the rights of women are not core values for the UN.
edit: and this approach will lead to a rush to the bottom for rights: extremists know the UN will always capitulate.
Afghanistan is also essentially a supplicant in need of aid. If this is 'negotiation', then it's a very poor start.
Without convincing evidence, I don't buy the 'realpolitik' explanation.
The article states: “The UN has been approached for comment, but in response to questioning on the involvement of Afghan civil society representatives it reportedly said arrangements for the conference were ongoing.” You don’t even have convincing evidence that the UN has capitulated.
Comments
Off to play in the garden now. Have a nice day.
I want my politicians to be dull and boring. Their job is to run the country not entertain. There will be plenty of entertainment from the satirists and media looking for any angle to sell their airtime/newscopy. I don't want the Prime Minister to be doing their job for them.
Yes I am looking at you Boris Johnson.
One reason why I will be glad to see ICEs replaced by electrics.
@Malmesbury
Splendid article. Personally I don't think the necessary reform that you advocate is feasible, there are too many entrenched vested interest, other than being borne out of Russia 1991 type financial collapse meaning there is no money to pay the bureacrats.
Unfortunately a lot of necessary things also stop happening then too.
I think Niall Fergusson might be right that we are in a new cold war, but this time, we are the Soviets. The lunatic response to Covid and its financia, mental health and moral (work ethic) consequences (a triumph of Process over Judgement if ever there was one) has certainly hasntened the day.
https://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2024/02/04/the-state-of-process-the-process-state/
What happened to Scotland in the footy?
The BBC report reads like the wailing of the Sabine Women.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c25559n0re2o
The noise and air pollution is horrendous for something that's essentially pointless.
To deal with both of your questions: I am defining neo-liberalism as the belief that people are primarily consumers within a market. Thus regulation, state safety nets etc are illegitimate interference in the market.
Hence eg if kids are addicted to mobile phones, that is simply the market in attention doing it's thing, and we should not challenge it.
By contrast, citizen involvement in democracy allows people to speak truth to this nonsense, whether having stakeholders on boards of companies who might choose to argue against eg marketing phones at kids, or having citizens assemblies where those who see their communities transformed by immigration can voice the dislocation that this causes.
Thanks @viewcode. I think I have heard you mention it but no more than that. What would you recommend I listen to/read?
The racing tips have been scrapped by R4 Today program. Presumably because gambling is now part of the politics coverage 🐎 🗳️
https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/1804929878099218615?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
That would come under nuisance, surely, which is already regulated though with some lack of effectiveness, and the Council could do it themselves via a byelaw or a PSPO - though that may run into problems with "public space" if it is all retired civil servant "this Englishman's home is his Castle" types.
They already have a borough wide PSPO in place for some things, which is a bit of a smorgasboard.
https://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-10/Public Space Protection Order Surrey Heath 2023.pdf
They probably need more budget to pay for the regulators.
(My own leafblower also mulches and is an electric rechargeable. It gets through the battery recharge cycles though.)
edit: and this approach will lead to a rush to the bottom for rights: extremists know the UN will always capitulate.
But isn't this an example of over-regulation? The instinct to ban something that we dislike is how we wind up with red tape and officiousness.
(Mrs C's garden is so full of flowers all season long for the bumblebees and hoverflies there isn't *any* lawn, overgrown or otherwise.)
Come back EU vacuum cleaners, all is forgiven.
There were only two roads that ever got me totally confused, even with an early primitive sat-nav - one was the viaduct section of the M8 through Glasgow, the other was the Leeds “Loop”.
That is why the A429(M)/M4 junction is so grand.
Irritating as they are kneejerk banning of more and more things and ever more ineffective policing as too many things to police is what got us in this mess.
When the history of this election is written I suspect it'll show that Starmer has been much underestimated.....bad voice ....dress sense ...dull.....he's not Tony Blair and he has annoyed the hell out of a lot of labour supporters. He knew we had nowhere else to go and he took us right to the edge.
He even used a backdrop with THREE UNION JACKS! He seemed to have no red lines. No depth he wouldn't plunge. He looked like he really was the Tory Boy of our worst nightmares. But actually the real red line was never crossed........
He never agreed to the Rwanda scheme and all that it implied and in my opinion that was his masterstroke. That would without doubt have taken the soul out of the Party as it has for those few Conservatives who still have one.
I'm optimistic for Sir Keir. I think he's shown himself to be very astute.
On Mike Hawthorn, afaics he was basically racing a Mercedes Gull Wing in his Jaguar at speeds of 80mph+ in wet conditions, when he drove his vehicle into a "Keep Left" dividing bollard. In 1955.
Darwin Award for Mike Hawthorn.
I haven't been through the Hog's Back for some time - my uncle was in the Manor Mead nursing home for several years.
Does it have average speed cameras yet? They are a fairly crude sticky plaster compared to redesigning the road for system safety, but they do work if set appropriately. On our bypass they reduced vulnerable road user deaths from >1 per annum to very low numbers.
Either that, or deliberately malign.
Farage appeared to compare Sandy Hook parents to liberals trying to curb free speech
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/24/nigel-farage-parent-sandy-hook-victims-liberals-free-speech
The Reform UK leader was interviewed by Alex Jones on his Infowars platform in 2018, just after the parents began legal action against the radio show host for claiming that the massacre was faked. Farage did not dispute Jones’s assertion that he was being targeted by “frauds”.
Instead, Farage said Jones’s experiences seemed to tie into a wider attempt to quash free speech, saying “the left and the state are fighting back with all their might” after Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for Farage said the politician was “not even sure he was even aware of Sandy Hook at the time” of the interview, in April 2018.
In December 2012, 26 people were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut – one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In more recent interviews, Farage praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the “emasculated”. It has also emerged that last year Farage said he would enjoy interviewing the conspiracist David Icke to find out more about how he came up with his views.
And this weekend Farage doubled down on his claim that the west had provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting he was not an “apologist or supporter of Putin”. The office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was among those to condemn the Reform leader, saying he had been “infected with the virus of Putinism”.
Farage has previously been criticised for appearing on Jones’s shows at least six times, and Jewish groups have expressed concern after Farage used these appearances to discuss conspiracy theories, some of which have been linked to antisemitism...
..Elsewhere in the same interview, Farage argued that leftwingers “hate Christianity” and wanted to abolish the nation state, saying: “They want to replace it with the globalist project, and the European Union is the prototype for the new world order.”..
Education and designing towns to encourage but not enforce active lifestyles, yes, but not forcing.
Either that, or deliberately malign.’
Third option hurtling down the track.
I think he’s morally incoherent which allows his malignity full rein.
However, it is now worse than it was before.
I always go in by train.
Hope you've got a window seat on the left hand side...
Also WRT R4 Today, Heaton-Harris sounded terrible, just as if he had been up all night and wasn't sure where he was.
Without convincing evidence, I don't buy the 'realpolitik' explanation.
Actually that isn't true, we can usually get to another one if we remember that it's an immediate turnoff from the Skipton junction...
He has a facility with words, of course.
More widespread publicity around Trump himself is one thing washing away the foundations of his appeal.
NEW THREAD
You know someone will have suggested it.
Wasn't it a Tarmac original? Constant gradient unlike nearly every other hill road in the UK.
Both it and the Cat and Fiddle are mostly motorbikers trying to kill themselves rather than people in Audis.