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Bridget Phillipson: To do list. – politicalbetting.com

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  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 13,718

    Most around here have been sited on grass, not on land under the plough. Its also true that grass still grows around solar farms so can be used to graze stock (sheep mainly).
    And occasionally alpaca: https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org/case-study-cozy-cove-farm/
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,338
    Since it's school sports day on PB, jeez, this is grim. I had dimly understood that there was stuff in the background to Hogg standing down but not at this level.

    https://x.com/ScotNational/status/1812821162134794443
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806

    As you were an apologist for Lizzy Lettuce and Bozo, and therefore a picker of outstanding leadership qualities, I imagine you would like us to return to Sam Allardyce?
    You seem determined to have some argument with me, unfortunately I find you incredibly boring so i can't be arsed. Soz boz
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,792

    They are different players and the game moves on. Marcus Smith adds a different dimension to England attack, he is a more elusive runner than Farrell, and he does things in games that Farrell has never done in international games. See the past two NZ games. However, Farrell overall runs the game better, better tackler, makes far less mistakes, much superior goal kicker.

    We can list footballers who are listed as the finest ever produced, but Bellingham would now have them for breakfast, as the game changes, improves.
    I believe Farrell is still the highest paid rugby union player, so I guess the selectors of Racing 92 might disagree with you.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,924
    Nunu5 said:

    Is it really true that productive farmland is being taken out of use? If so there must be a reason the landowners are doing that.
    Watch Clarkson for further information. Though he's on more marginal land I'd have thought.

    It is a good point, though. All these massive distribution sheds without solar panels. Why?

    Why aren't we covering every car park with a roof of solar panels? With the added bonus of not having cooked cars.

    But no, it is a few quid cheaper to do it on a field, so that's what happens.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806
    ON topic, this house in Provence has - if you want it - an outdoor shower, on the roof terrace

    So you can shower in the sun as you gaze out across the beautiful, whispering Luberon valleys, and the stone built villages, and the stands of cypress

    It is astonishingly lovely. Outdoor showers with views are possibly better than sex, or even heroin
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,620

    And occasionally alpaca: https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org/case-study-cozy-cove-farm/
    Rabbits would fit even better under the panels. Probably more efficient, though I'm not sure how they score on the methane per kg meat count - probably better as they have a different system.
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,591
    Nunu5 said:

    Is it really true that productive farmland is being taken out of use? If so there must be a reason the landowners are doing that.
    Farming is hard work and returns are based on the vagueries of the weather and the even vaguer vagueries of the subsidy regime. The rental return on a 40-year contract may be less but the conversion of hard-earned income to unearned income must be attractive to many.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,180
    Nigelb said:

    UK has almost 1m EV chargers, with new public one installed every 25 minutes
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/15/electric-vehicle-ev-chargers-uk-installations

    We now have quite a large charging station quite close to us, near the dual carriageway/ring road around Dundee. It has space for maybe 20 vehicles. Although I go past it almost every day I have yet to see anyone using it. Some people are going to lose serious money on these charging points. The demand just isn't there. Possibly because people do not buy EVs unless they can charge from home. That may change, but not yet.
  • Nunu5Nunu5 Posts: 982

    Most around here have been sited on grass, not on land under the plough. Its also true that grass still grows around solar farms so can be used to graze stock (sheep mainly).
    If that's what the NIMBYS mean and not actual cash crops then they have a very weak case.
    The only concern is has Ed rushed this such that it is illegal?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    And occasionally alpaca: https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org/case-study-cozy-cove-farm/
    Well they're just fancy foreign sheep! Love an alpaca. A friend takes hers to old peoples homes to visit the residents*.

    *Whether they want alpacas walking through there residences is not asked...
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234
    The good political news about the proposed Mildenhall solar farm is that it means Nick Timothy is ~ 99% to retain his seat next time round as he tries all sorts to stop Miliband building it.
  • Andy_JS said:

    "Villagers 'shell-shocked' after solar farm approved

    Campaigners opposed to a 2,500-acre solar farm said they were "shell-shocked" after the plan was approved by the secretary of state for energy, external.

    Sunnica's £600m energy farm on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border was given the green light on Friday.

    Opponents say the scheme takes some of the most productive land in the UK out of use, while ignoring alternative sites such as south-facing commercial roof space.

    The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero says the "benefits of the proposed development outweigh its adverse impacts"."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clmydgke2mko

    But its ok for Starmer and Nandy to spaff vast amounts of C02 into the air flying on a private jet to Berlin?
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,607

    It would have been fascinating to see what Eddie George could do with English rugby. Increase interest perhaps? Even more intriguing would be Eddie Jones at the Bank of England.
    Eddie Jones at the Bank of England could only be an improvement.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,338
    edited July 2024
    Leon said:

    ON topic, this house in Provence has - if you want it - an outdoor shower, on the roof terrace

    So you can shower in the sun as you gaze out across the beautiful, whispering Luberon valleys, and the stone built villages, and the stands of cypress

    It is astonishingly lovely. Outdoor showers with views are possibly better than sex, or even heroin

    Al fresco chugging, surely a gazette piece in that?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526
    edited July 2024

    As you were an apologist for Lizzy Lettuce and Bozo, and therefore a picker of outstanding leadership qualities, I imagine you would like us to return to Sam Allardyce?
    Big Sam at one point was miles ahead of other coaches in his analysis. Without Big Sam, UK football might well have no had any data analysts industry.....at the time hardly any other managers had any interest in it, Prozone was going bust and it was mainly the contract with Big Sam that kept them going.
  • Nunu5 said:

    Is it really true that productive farmland is being taken out of use? If so there must be a reason the landowners are doing that.
    The subsidies for carpeting it in solar panels are rather higher than for growing crops.

    The only saving grace is that the land is lying fallow, not being destroyed.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,620
    edited July 2024
    Nunu5 said:

    If that's what the NIMBYS mean and not actual cash crops then they have a very weak case.
    The only concern is has Ed rushed this such that it is illegal?
    Grass *is*, er, a cash crop - just that it's meat not flour etc that is the result. Sheep grazing is interspersed with arable (barley, turnips etc.) in some local fields by the farmers [edit] here by the way, though I'm not sure how far that is a deliberate rotation as opposed to responding to market changes.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526
    Nigelb said:

    UK has almost 1m EV chargers, with new public one installed every 25 minutes
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/15/electric-vehicle-ev-chargers-uk-installations

    How many of them actually work at any one time?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    Big Sam at one point was miles ahead of other coaches in his analysis. Without Big Sam, UK football might well have no had any data analysts industry.....at the time hardly any other managers had any interest in it, Prozone was going bust and it was mainly the contract with Big Sam that kept them going.
    Although famously Graham Taylors long ball style was based on analysis of where most goals originated from, way back in the 1980's.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 30,201
    Leon said:

    I was being hyperbolic, not writing an article for the Gazette

    AFAICS Starmer and Nandy both went by private jet. Nandy seems particularly absurd

    I can see the logic (security, timing) but really, after all their rhetoric about Sunak, and Ed Milliband wanking on about net zero, a privaate jet to a football match??
    Lisa Nandy is SoS for Culture, Media and Sport. And Sport. Not so absurd, then.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219
    edited July 2024

    And occasionally alpaca: https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org/case-study-cozy-cove-farm/
    Yup - this what a chap I know is doing, with sheep grazing under his panels. Apparently the panels he is using are light enough that metal stakes with a stop plate are all that is required - not even a concrete footing required.
  • Watch Clarkson for further information. Though he's on more marginal land I'd have thought.

    It is a good point, though. All these massive distribution sheds without solar panels. Why?

    Why aren't we covering every car park with a roof of solar panels? With the added bonus of not having cooked cars.

    But no, it is a few quid cheaper to do it on a field, so that's what happens.
    Because much of it doesnt make sense once you remove taxpayer funding.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,792
    Leon said:

    You seem determined to have some argument with me, unfortunately I find you incredibly boring so i can't be arsed. Soz boz
    I accept that you know I will always tear your ridiculous assertions to shreds so I understand that you might not wish to engage.

    As for being boring, I think that may be a surprise to those that know me, though I suspect that this is another example of your regular propensity for psychological projection. I confess that I used to find you quite interesting, until I realised you are nothing more than an aging cantankerous swiveleyed right wing loon.. You have moved beyond boring to being more and more absurd.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    I'm ashamed of my Wiltshire brethren...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw0y92zr77do
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,607

    In 2018, from nowhere Southgate took an inexperience squad to the WC semis, where they lost to a very good Croatia, inspired by Modric. At 1-0 up there where several chances for second but the ball didn't fall right. In 2021 they lost on penalties to Italy. On penalties. Not quite a lottery but also good to acknowledge the manner of defeat. In 2022 they lost to France with a ref who gave the French every marginal call.

    The role of luck in sport is huge, and I think England have often been unlucky at the big moments. Maradona, Lampard, Gaza just failing to connect in 1996, Waddles long range effort in 1990 and so on. I don't think England have ever put together a side and style of play that anyone would say "best in Europe" in the way that the French and Spanish have over recent times. The Germans have been brutally efficient.

    I'm resigned to Southgate going and England getting worse.
    As a neutral, my impression is that, having underperformed for years, you are now performing at the level you should expect. Your problem is the media fuelled expectation that you should win all competitions, in all sports in which you compete, and that each competition is a substitute for war.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,924

    Big Sam at one point was miles ahead of other coaches in his analysis. Without Big Sam, UK football might well have no had any data analysts industry.....at the time hardly any other managers had any interest in it, Prozone was going bust and it was mainly the contract with Big Sam that kept them going.
    I wonder if you could commit some serious football terrorism by just booting long balls into touch as near to the corner flag as you can get, a bit like used to happen in rugby before winning your own lineout became easier.

    Throw ins near your own line seem to be quite dangerous.

    I wonder what the stats say...
  • TweedledeeTweedledee Posts: 1,405
    Nunu5 said:

    If that's what the NIMBYS mean and not actual cash crops then they have a very weak case.
    The only concern is has Ed rushed this such that it is illegal?
    You think grass fields are ornamental?
  • Watch Clarkson for further information. Though he's on more marginal land I'd have thought.

    It is a good point, though. All these massive distribution sheds without solar panels. Why?

    Why aren't we covering every car park with a roof of solar panels? With the added bonus of not having cooked cars.

    But no, it is a few quid cheaper to do it on a field, so that's what happens.
    Plus most of the fields havent changed ownership since 1066 and their owners get a fat subsidy.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526

    Although famously Graham Taylors long ball style was based on analysis of where most goals originated from, way back in the 1980's.
    Arsene Wenger is a good example of a coach who was pioneering, revolutionary, way ahead of the game tactically, strength and conditioning, analytics, etc etc etc, yet by the time he left Arsenal he had been surpassed.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219
    edited July 2024
    DavidL said:

    We now have quite a large charging station quite close to us, near the dual carriageway/ring road around Dundee. It has space for maybe 20 vehicles. Although I go past it almost every day I have yet to see anyone using it. Some people are going to lose serious money on these charging points. The demand just isn't there. Possibly because people do not buy EVs unless they can charge from home. That may change, but not yet.
    That's peak capacity. You see the same around Europe with the Tesla Supercharges. When I went to France, a few weeks back, we were out of the peak season where we went. So by the Channel tunnel and the main routes - 70% occupancy, very often. Down by Chablis, the ones in the Ibis hotel carparks were maybe 20%.

    The thing is that the chargers have next to no cost when not being used - the maintenance and monitoring is vastly less than petrol pumps.

    EDIT: one thing the Tesla build out proved was that you need to *lead* the provision of refuelling for whatever ZEV technology you are advocating.
  • theProletheProle Posts: 1,303
    Nunu5 said:

    Is it really true that productive farmland is being taken out of use? If so there must be a reason the landowners are doing that.
    Nunu5 said:

    Is it really true that productive farmland is being taken out of use? If so there must be a reason the landowners are doing that.
    Presumably the reason is that the solar panel subsidies are better than the agricultural ones?
  • How many of them actually work at any one time?
    During a freezing winter high that can last a couple of weeks. None of them. Ditto the eagle slicers.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,536

    I must have imagined beating Germany 2-0 in 2021 then.

    I get your point, but I don't think you an say that two finals, a semi and a quarter are simply about luck. We've had that before and failed. Southgate has created something, and I fear it may prove temporary. The previous 'golden generation' was fractured by inter-club rivalry. Southgate has managed to avoid that completely and built a club team ethos.

    I also reject the idea that not winning means its failure. On a facile level, yes. thats true. But more realistically 23 teams failed by that token. Very few teams actually with the Euros or the WC.

    I think Southgate has been exceptional. Not merely adequate. Someone else might have done better (but who?). No-one else did since 1966.
    I think the wins against Germany in 2021 and Switzerland this time were good. The Germans weren't that good, but they're still the Germans so you've got to play quite well to beat them. Similarly, I think Switzerland are very good team and I expected them to beat this England.

    However, we've gone backwards this time. If you want to know what a difference the coach makes, look at Germany. They were a mess nine months ago and now they're disappointed to have been knocked out by a very good Spain side.

    My choice would be Eddie Howe.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,674
    Who could have predicted this?

    State schools are being flooded with new pupil queries as parents brace for a planned tax raid on private schools.

    Schools in Surrey received close to 600 queries in just two weeks last month from parents looking to place children, the Telegraph has learnt.

    Surrey County Council received 582 email queries from private school parents between June 4 and June 19 asking about vacancies in local state schools, a Freedom of Information request showed.

    The local education authority admitted the actual figure could be far higher as numerous requests may relate to more than one child and the figure does not include telephone queries.


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/schools-universities/state-schools-flooded-private-school-new-pupils/
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 4,507

    Who could have predicted this?

    State schools are being flooded with new pupil queries as parents brace for a planned tax raid on private schools.

    Schools in Surrey received close to 600 queries in just two weeks last month from parents looking to place children, the Telegraph has learnt.

    Surrey County Council received 582 email queries from private school parents between June 4 and June 19 asking about vacancies in local state schools, a Freedom of Information request showed.

    The local education authority admitted the actual figure could be far higher as numerous requests may relate to more than one child and the figure does not include telephone queries.


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/schools-universities/state-schools-flooded-private-school-new-pupils/

    And the problem is?
  • theProle said:

    Presumably the reason is that the solar panel subsidies are better than the agricultural ones?
    Exactly this. And it really shouldnt be for others to tell what a farmer can farm, or what he can put there. These things are not that hard to revert back to agricultural land in the future.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 30,201
    edited July 2024

    Just discussed this with a colleague. I assume Kane MUST have won a trophy at kids level, before he turned professional. Maybe school under 9s? If not he really has been cursed.
    In light of the curse, we should drop Kane and replace him with, oh, I don't know, how about the top striker in Europe, the European Golden Shoe winner for most goals in Europe's domestic league programmes.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Golden_Shoe

    It's a Bayern Munich player by the name of Harry Kane, which is a bit of a coincidence him having the same name but it will save money on getting the shirts reprinted.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526

    Who could have predicted this?

    State schools are being flooded with new pupil queries as parents brace for a planned tax raid on private schools.

    Schools in Surrey received close to 600 queries in just two weeks last month from parents looking to place children, the Telegraph has learnt.

    Surrey County Council received 582 email queries from private school parents between June 4 and June 19 asking about vacancies in local state schools, a Freedom of Information request showed.

    The local education authority admitted the actual figure could be far higher as numerous requests may relate to more than one child and the figure does not include telephone queries.


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/schools-universities/state-schools-flooded-private-school-new-pupils/

    That £1bn extra is never going to be seen by the treasury.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806

    Al fresco chugging, surely a gazette piece in that?
    Nice piece of Scottish argot, puts a whole new perspective on those charity muggers

    I am happy to go back to the Chugging Discourse, but it seemed to upset people last night, so I am hesitant. Really, I should be rewarded. I could tell you were all down after the footie (well, not you), so I thought I'd amuse you all (and, more importantly, me) by revealing my detailed chugging habits, despite any embarrassments to myself

    Selfless, that's me. Also, practically impossible to embarrass
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219

    During a freezing winter high that can last a couple of weeks. None of them. Ditto the eagle slicers.
    Errr.. have used Tesla chargers in the middle of French winter, out in the sticks. Real, solid ice on the ground, not just a bit of sleet.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    Arsene Wenger is a good example of a coach who was pioneering, revolutionary, way ahead of the game tactically, strength and conditioning, analytics, etc etc etc, yet by the time he left Arsenal he had been surpassed.
    Back in the day (late 80's) Bath Rugby were essentially a professional club, in an amateur game. We all knew it. Lots of fake jobs etc. I vividly recall standing among 10,000 paying fans at the Rec and wondering who got the money if the players didn't. Bath's success back then was based on this.

    When the sport became professional Bath's advantage was lost and 30 odd years later they are still trying to get back to where they were.

    Oddly, Saracens essentially updated the Bath model of payment...
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 30,201

    Watch Clarkson for further information. Though he's on more marginal land I'd have thought.

    It is a good point, though. All these massive distribution sheds without solar panels. Why?

    Why aren't we covering every car park with a roof of solar panels? With the added bonus of not having cooked cars.

    But no, it is a few quid cheaper to do it on a field, so that's what happens.
    One reason it is a few quid cheaper to use arable land is that someone else picks up the bill for connecting your field to the national grid.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526
    edited July 2024

    Errr.. have used Tesla chargers in the middle of French winter, out in the sticks. Real, solid ice on the ground, not just a bit of sleet.
    Isn't that the perceived wisdom that Tesla just does chargers better and long term a win for Elon. In the US, he has all the best locations, the chargers are better, the adaptor to connect to your car is better. And after the period of exclusivity, he is opening up to other EVs and its $$$$$ for him.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806

    In light of the curse, we should drop Kane and replace him with, oh, I don't know, how about the top striker in Europe, the European Golden Shoe winner for most goals in Europe's domestic league programmes.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Golden_Shoe

    It's a Bayern Munich player by the name of Harry Kane, which is a bit of a coincidence but it will save money on getting the shirts reprinted.
    For Kane's sake I really hope he wins the Bundesliga next season, and maybe one or two other things

    He has been a genuinely great player (albeit in decline now) and seems like a nice chap. To have all that talent and put in all that effort and win nothing is too cruel. Give the guy a trophy

    I blame Spurs for hoarding him
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,674

    And the problem is?
    The state sector is going to have to deal with more pupils with less funding.

    I laugh at socialism failing once again.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    During a freezing winter high that can last a couple of weeks. None of them. Ditto the eagle slicers.
    How do electric chargers not work under a freezing winter high? Solar still works in winter and winter high pressures tend to be clear skies (albeit for shorter days). And as for 'eagle slicers' I've yet to see a convincing pile of dead birds under a wind turbine.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,295
    Have we had any conclusive proof yet that Starmer and Nandy used a private jet to fly to Berlin?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526
    edited July 2024

    Back in the day (late 80's) Bath Rugby were essentially a professional club, in an amateur game. We all knew it. Lots of fake jobs etc. I vividly recall standing among 10,000 paying fans at the Rec and wondering who got the money if the players didn't. Bath's success back then was based on this.

    When the sport became professional Bath's advantage was lost and 30 odd years later they are still trying to get back to where they were.

    Oddly, Saracens essentially updated the Bath model of payment...
    You aren't suggesting that players great great granny on £500k a year for checking matchday tickets was a fake job are you?
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,607
    Leon said:

    ON topic, this house in Provence has - if you want it - an outdoor shower, on the roof terrace

    So you can shower in the sun as you gaze out across the beautiful, whispering Luberon valleys, and the stone built villages, and the stands of cypress

    It is astonishingly lovely. Outdoor showers with views are possibly better than sex, or even heroin

    An outdoor shower after sex is even better (allegedly).
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806
    Andy_JS said:

    Have we had any conclusive proof yet that Starmer and Nandy used a private jet to fly to Berlin?

    Yes
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219

    And the problem is?
    The system is very proud of running state schools at 98%+ of capacity. When you point out to the people who are proud of this, that operations research, over a century or more, indicates that this is insane*... well, they get upset.

    *An organisation running all the time at full capacity will have break downs in quality, productivity collapses and complete dysfunctions (everything stops). On the staff side, morale will collapse and everyone with marketable skills will try and leave. Strangely, when you observe the state education system in the UK....
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    Exactly this. And it really shouldnt be for others to tell what a farmer can farm, or what he can put there. These things are not that hard to revert back to agricultural land in the future.
    "But my view of the fields in my 'escape to the country' house"...
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    Andy_JS said:

    Have we had any conclusive proof yet that Starmer and Nandy used a private jet to fly to Berlin?

    How do you think they got there?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    Leon said:

    For Kane's sake I really hope he wins the Bundesliga next season, and maybe one or two other things

    He has been a genuinely great player (albeit in decline now) and seems like a nice chap. To have all that talent and put in all that effort and win nothing is too cruel. Give the guy a trophy

    I blame Spurs for hoarding him
    He has the Golden Boot (Euros 2024 - shared, and WC 2018) to his name, so he's not a total flop...
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    You aren't suggesting that players great great granny on £500k a year for checking matchday tickets was a fake job are you?
    She always did have nice cars...
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806

    He has the Golden Boot (Euros 2024 - shared, and WC 2018) to his name, so he's not a total flop...
    That's not really a trophy tho, is it? Not silverware. When you look back at your career you need to see trophies, and you need to remember moments of REAL triumph, esp if you're as good as Kane
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234
    edited July 2024
    I've got a thread going up in the afternoon. It's 100 words long.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219

    Isn't that the perceived wisdom that Tesla just does chargers better and long term a win for Elon. In the US, he has all the best locations, the chargers are better, the adaptor to connect to your car is better. And after the period of exclusivity, he is opening up to other EVs and its $$$$$ for him.
    Essentially, Tesla won the charging wars in the US. They did this by having a large amount chargers at good locations, a simple plugin-in-just-works system and a very high uptime.

    The other manufacturers had a state back plug system - which has to be one of the worst designs ever, and subsidies. They failed to actually build many chargers and the uptime on those they did is pretty poor.

    NOTE: to any politicians reading this.. modulate the subsidies for building charging infrastructure by the uptime and theorise charged to the user. If someone is selling electricity at 80p a kWh and their chargers only work 15% of the time, they need to get *nothing*
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    Leon said:

    That's not really a trophy tho, is it? Not silverware. When you look back at your career you need to see trophies, and you need to remember moments of REAL triumph, esp if you're as good as Kane
    Agreed. He did choose to stay at Spurs though. At times he could have gone anywhere in Europe, but those times are over.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,526
    No wonder productivity is f##ked,

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/15/james-bond-studio-expansion-held-back-creaking-power-grid/

    Waiting 7 years just to get hooked up the grid.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    The system is very proud of running state schools at 98%+ of capacity. When you point out to the people who are proud of this, that operations research, over a century or more, indicates that this is insane*... well, they get upset.

    *An organisation running all the time at full capacity will have break downs in quality, productivity collapses and complete dysfunctions (everything stops). On the staff side, morale will collapse and everyone with marketable skills will try and leave. Strangely, when you observe the state education system in the UK....
    See also bed occupancy in the NHS.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 30,201

    You aren't suggesting that players great great granny on £500k a year for checking matchday tickets was a fake job are you?
    Pining for the old days of boot money in rugby union.

    Wasn't there a story about Tom Finney wanting to leave Preston North End and the chairman pointing out his new club wouldn't give him all those plumbing contracts during the summer?
  • How do electric chargers not work under a freezing winter high? Solar still works in winter and winter high pressures tend to be clear skies (albeit for shorter days). And as for 'eagle slicers' I've yet to see a convincing pile of dead birds under a wind turbine.
    Er no. Winter highs often bring prolonged spells of thick cloud and freezing fog. Good luck charging anything with a solar panel in such conditions in late November and December.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,362

    "But my view of the fields in my 'escape to the country' house"...
    Give them credit where it's due, the anti campaign have said the quiet bit out loud;

    The opinion of local estate agents is that property prices in the area may well fall, thus reducing property values.

    https://www.saynotosunnica.com/campaign
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,607

    Agreed. He did choose to stay at Spurs though. At times he could have gone anywhere in Europe, but those times are over.
    If he hadn’t stayed at Spurs, maybe they would have won some trophies. Maybe he’s a jinx.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    An outdoor shower after sex is even better (allegedly).
    Careful, we'll be back onto the horrific fate of Leon's used socks again...
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234

    No wonder productivity is f##ked,

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/15/james-bond-studio-expansion-held-back-creaking-power-grid/

    Waiting 7 years just to get hooked up the grid.

    There's an argument - and it'd help "levelling up" that energy is far too expensive in Scotland and to a lesser extent the north of England and too cheap in the southeast.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 30,201

    How do you think they got there?
    Quite. As with Rishi's helicopters, sometimes it is just cheaper and easier for the boss to fly, and until drunk fans post selfies of themselves with the Prime Minister on the Berlin metro, I'm going to assume private arrangements were made.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234
    edited July 2024

    Er no. Winter highs often bring prolonged spells of thick cloud and freezing fog. Good luck charging anything with a solar panel in such conditions in late November and December.
    Whilst I understand your general argument re winter "Dankelflutes" - aren't chargers are surely connected to the general grid rather than a specific site ?
    So we'd have blackouts if the chargers weren't working.

    Or is that wrong, are motorway chargers the first things to "drop out" if we can't generate enough load ?
  • Errr.. have used Tesla chargers in the middle of French winter, out in the sticks. Real, solid ice on the ground, not just a bit of sleet.
    France is a tad further south and you get a reasonable chance of winter highs producing cloudless skies rather than leaden clouds and freezing fog.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219

    How do you think they got there?
    https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-gbni

    is the aircraft in question

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_transport_of_the_British_royal_family_and_government#Airbus_A321-2NX(LR)
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    Er no. Winter highs often bring prolonged spells of thick cloud and freezing fog. Good luck charging anything with a solar panel in such conditions in late November and December.
    Not always and solar does not need direct, bright sunlight.

    Future energy needs does need a balance and solar and indeed wind (mainly, I think, offshore) are a part of that.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,733
    ydoethur said:

    @Stereodog

    It is a very fair question and one I was pondering myself while I wrote it.

    The answer is most of these come back to poor management by the government.The issue, therefore, is in the top layer.

    I do not see how these can be directly improved without causing at least as many problems as it would solve. To do so without devolving yet more work to the front line would require energy, money and administrative capacity that’s been wasted over the years so just isn’t there.

    Getting rid of that top layer of management, notably the DfE, might help somewhat in the long term but in the short term I honestly don’t see how things can improve.

    Moreover, she and Starmer have both been clear they want to work with the Civil Service rather than micromanaging it or replacing it.

    So I’m saying she’s been set up to fail before she starts.

    That's a bit of a counsel of despair, but perhaps a period of minimal change might be better than radical reform without the funding to see it through ?
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 10,159
    edited July 2024
    DavidL said:

    We now have quite a large charging station quite close to us, near the dual carriageway/ring road around Dundee. It has space for maybe 20 vehicles. Although I go past it almost every day I have yet to see anyone using it. Some people are going to lose serious money on these charging points. The demand just isn't there. Possibly because people do not buy EVs unless they can charge from home. That may change, but not yet.
    We spend so much time criticising the lack of infrastructure in the UK we don't know what to say when we actually see some. We have exactly the same perception problem with cycle infrastructure - lots of the cycle lanes were "empty" in London until a cohesive network was formed and then BANG - cyclists everywhere. The same with buses - empty until you have a comprehensive network that runs every 10 mins.

    (Alternatively - perhaps the reason they are unused is because so many (rich) people can already charge from home?)
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219
    edited July 2024

    France is a tad further south and you get a reasonable chance of winter highs producing cloudless skies rather than leaden clouds and freezing fog.
    In the middle of France it can be fucking freezing - real to your marrow cold. In a way you rarely get in the UK.

    You can use the Tesla chargers in during torrential rain and friends in Calgary have used them when the temperature outside was described as "life threatening without the right gear".
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630

    If he hadn’t stayed at Spurs, maybe they would have won some trophies. Maybe he’s a jinx.
    On one level I feel for him about the no trophies. However he has been fabulously well paid for a decade or more, is England's record goalscorer and has had a fantastic career, so its not all bad.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 9,774
    Leon said:

    Seems to be true and no one is denying it

    https://x.com/LeoMars75/status/1812552054084087918
    Dozens of flights to Germany. Not that many to Berlin. And I assume most of those would be sold out.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,219
    Pulpstar said:

    Whilst I understand your general argument re winter "Dankelflutes" - aren't chargers are surely connected to the general grid rather than a specific site ?
    So we'd have blackouts if the chargers weren't working.

    Or is that wrong, are motorway chargers the first things to "drop out" if we can't generate enough load ?
    At least in the UK, more and more Tesla chargers are being paired with battery storage. They might well be the last things operating when the grid drops. And/or selling power back to the grid (time shifting).
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234

    Not always and solar does not need direct, bright sunlight.

    Future energy needs does need a balance and solar and indeed wind (mainly, I think, offshore) are a part of that.
    Depends on the cloud type - a featureless winter stratus blanket pretty much completely kills solar generation.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,180
    edited July 2024
    Eabhal said:

    We spend so much time criticising the lack of infrastructure in the UK we don't know what to say when we actually see some. We have exactly the same perception problem with cycle infrastructure - lots of the cycle lanes were "empty" in London until a cohesive network was formed and then BANG - cyclists everywhere. The same with buses - empty until you have a comprehensive network that runs every 10 mins.

    (Alternatively - perhaps the reason they are unused is because so many (rich) people can already charge from home?)
    BANG, with cyclists seems unfortunate, if predictable.

    I do think that people who can charge at home find EVs a lot more attractive than those who can't. I suspect it is a lot more cost effective to do so and the hassle factor is less if you are doing it overnight.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,806

    Careful, we'll be back onto the horrific fate of Leon's used socks again...
    *wakes up*
  • Pulpstar said:

    Whilst I understand your general argument re winter "Dankelflutes" - aren't chargers are surely connected to the general grid rather than a specific site ?
    So we'd have blackouts if the chargers weren't working.

    Or is that wrong, are motorway chargers the first things to "drop out" if we can't generate enough load ?
    Sorry I've mixed up "on board" solar panel chargers with grid chargers.

    Its an interesting question though. If we continue on the current trajectory (more renewables as a grid % and more electric vehicles charging from the grid), if we get a repeat of December 2010 which brought the thick end of a month of freezing cold, still windless conditions and freezing fog, then things will get very interesting indeed.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,733
    DavidL said:

    We now have quite a large charging station quite close to us, near the dual carriageway/ring road around Dundee. It has space for maybe 20 vehicles. Although I go past it almost every day I have yet to see anyone using it. Some people are going to lose serious money on these charging points. The demand just isn't there. Possibly because people do not buy EVs unless they can charge from home. That may change, but not yet.
    Setting up fast chargers is bloody expensive, so the pricing is accordingly high.
    But even those who charge at home (or work) will need to resort to them on occasion.

    It's the usual first mover problem. Assuming the switch to EVs continues, the demand will eventually be there. And the system components (with the exception of the cabling) will drop rapidly as the tech improves and the production volume increases.
  • Pulpstar said:

    There's an argument - and it'd help "levelling up" that energy is far too expensive in Scotland and to a lesser extent the north of England and too cheap in the southeast.
    But Scotland has the greatest renewables in the UK doesnt it, and over the cycle it generates more from renewables than it consumes (I fully understand that it can only make this statement because supply comes from fossil fuels when the demand outstrips it).
  • theProletheProle Posts: 1,303

    And the problem is?
    That the cost of education for these kids is going to vastly exceed the VAT raised on the ones left in the private sector.

    Also, even if this was revenue neutral in the medium term it's going to cause chaos in the short term as state schools are getting a pile of unexpected demand they are likely to be ill equipped to meet given that demand is normally fairly visible literally years in advance from the birth data.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,733
    Slightly surprising that this should still be front page news, but good for him.
    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/15/formula-one-driver-ralf-schumacher
  • In the middle of France it can be fucking freezing - real to your marrow cold. In a way you rarely get in the UK.

    You can use the Tesla chargers in during torrential rain and friends in Calgary have used them when the temperature outside was described as "life threatening without the right gear".
    But were the skies leaden with freezing fog like the UK often has in end of nov and december winter highs?

    Dosent matter how cold it is if the sun is shining (within reason, and there may be some efficiency gains/losses with temperature change)

    Yes chargers will work in rain but rather less effectively than in clear skies.
  • Essentially, Tesla won the charging wars in the US. They did this by having a large amount chargers at good locations, a simple plugin-in-just-works system and a very high uptime.

    The other manufacturers had a state back plug system - which has to be one of the worst designs ever, and subsidies. They failed to actually build many chargers and the uptime on those they did is pretty poor.

    NOTE: to any politicians reading this.. modulate the subsidies for building charging infrastructure by the uptime and theorise charged to the user. If someone is selling electricity at 80p a kWh and their chargers only work 15% of the time, they need to get *nothing*
    Its a reminder about how bad the public sector can be about maintaining estate. The council or government (looking at you Scottish Government) will tender out, get a load of chargers installed, box ticked. Zero maintenance. Charge Place Scotland is/was so unreliable it became pointless using them.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234
    edited July 2024

    But Scotland has the greatest renewables in the UK doesn't it, and over the cycle it generates more from renewables than it consumes (I fully understand that it can only make this statement because supply comes from fossil fuels when the demand outstrips it).
    I think we're in agreement..

    https://www.independent.co.uk/business/market-reforms-could-give-scots-cheapest-energy-in-europe-says-octopus-boss-b2579546.html
  • MisterBedfordshireMisterBedfordshire Posts: 2,252
    edited July 2024
    Pulpstar said:

    Depends on the cloud type - a featureless winter stratus blanket pretty much completely kills solar generation.
    Thank you. And such conditions, paired with windless conditions can last for weeks in late November and December in the UK.

    I realise I am doing the equivalent of questioning the Virgin Birth for those who follow the faith of Gaia but it is a car crash that will be inevitable sooner or later
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    Nigelb said:

    Slightly surprising that this should still be front page news, but good for him.
    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/15/formula-one-driver-ralf-schumacher

    How many professional football players are 'out'? In 2024.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,738
    edited July 2024
    theProle said:

    That the cost of education for these kids is going to vastly exceed the VAT raised on the ones left in the private sector.

    Also, even if this was revenue neutral in the medium term it's going to cause chaos in the short term as state schools are getting a pile of unexpected demand they are likely to be ill equipped to meet given that demand is normally fairly visible literally years in advance from the birth data.
    And?

    The reality is that most of those 582 queries will have discovered that while spaces were available in some schools little James is way too precious to go to the schools where places are available so the parents will just work out a way to pay the VAT...

    Yes I can see some children moving to the State sector but it's going to be a slow process over 5 or so years at the age points that moving your child into the local state school is possible..
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,630
    theProle said:

    That the cost of education for these kids is going to vastly exceed the VAT raised on the ones left in the private sector.

    Also, even if this was revenue neutral in the medium term it's going to cause chaos in the short term as state schools are getting a pile of unexpected demand they are likely to be ill equipped to meet given that demand is normally fairly visible literally years in advance from the birth data.
    This is the hunting ban for Starmer's government. Its not about the money, its the principle.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,738
    Pulpstar said:

    I think we're in agreement..

    https://www.independent.co.uk/business/market-reforms-could-give-scots-cheapest-energy-in-europe-says-octopus-boss-b2579546.html
    Got to say 13 years to connect a new solar farm to the grid is taking the mickey...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,553
    Nigelb said:

    That's a bit of a counsel of despair, but perhaps a period of minimal change might be better than radical reform without the funding to see it through ?
    That’s roughly the point I was making, yes.

    Or to put it another way, I think the surgery needed to fundamentally sort out the problems would be so painful it might prove terminal.

    Equally, it means that all claims to the contrary about improvements, more staff etc are going to prove bullshit.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 10,159
    Nigelb said:

    Setting up fast chargers is bloody expensive, so the pricing is accordingly high.
    But even those who charge at home (or work) will need to resort to them on occasion.

    It's the usual first mover problem. Assuming the switch to EVs continues, the demand will eventually be there. And the system components (with the exception of the cabling) will drop rapidly as the tech improves and the production volume increases.
    How many people are making long distance journeys through Dundee at the moment? OTOH, the chargers at the remote parts of Scotland tend to be quite busy, and BnBs advertise that they've got one.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,234

    Thank you. And such conditions, paired with windless conditions can last for weeks in late November and December in the UK.

    I realise I am doing the equivalent of questioning the Virgin Birth for those who follow the faith of Gaia but it is a car crash that will be inevitable sooner or later
    IMO increasing solar and wind generation is good for us, but unlike Ed Miliband I think we should keep backup gas capacity for periods of low wind and solar.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 14,937

    But were the skies leaden with freezing fog like the UK often has in end of nov and december winter highs?

    Dosent matter how cold it is if the sun is shining (within reason, and there may be some efficiency gains/losses with temperature change)

    Yes chargers will work in rain but rather less effectively than in clear skies.
    I always thought Tesla chargers were connected to the grid. Are you saying they are all solar powered? How do they work at night?
  • WildernessPt2WildernessPt2 Posts: 715
    edited July 2024
    Pulpstar said:

    I think we're in agreement..

    https://www.independent.co.uk/business/market-reforms-could-give-scots-cheapest-energy-in-europe-says-octopus-boss-b2579546.html
    But what happens when Scots end up with a dramatically higher standing charge because their standing charge funds their own electricity infrastructure, but now because of their reliance on the secondary infrastructure in the rest of the UK, something that will be needed as we have more and more renewables, is no longer contained within the kwh unit cost and they have to fund that also?

    Even if we are able to cut our gas peak use down from say potential high of 70% to 30%? We can get savings from reducing some capacity, but the pipelines, the peaking plants, the contracts all still need to be there to prevent brown outs etc. How much of our bill is this infrastructure vs the actual price of the smelly stuff (i know... it only smells because we add a stenching agent) that comes through the pipes?
This discussion has been closed.