Does Kemi need to be more modest and self effacing? – politicalbetting.com

DecrepiterJohnL said:

kinabalu said:

Eabhal said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Sean_F said:

Eabhal said:

Sandpit said:

Malmesbury said:

Jonathan said:

noneoftheabove said:

HYUFD said:

Spain to impose a 100% tax on properties owned by non EU residents

"Spain plans 100% tax for homes bought by non-EU residents - BBC News" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7enzjrymxo

100% not necessary but in the UK the non resident surcharge is just 2%. Bump it up to 10%-15% asap.

In a country starved of houses, it does feel that second homes and vacant investment lock up and leave properties are luxuries the nation cannot afford.

The occupancy rate in the U.K. is extremely high, in general. It’s one of the indicators of the scale of the shortage of housing

UK has c.30m housing units for a population of c.67m people
France has c.38m housing units for a population of c.66m people

The UK is around EIGHT MILLION houses short of France, for the same population to within a margin of error.

That’s the scale of the housing shortage. You can easily build a couple of million new houses without much happening to prices either, because there’s so much pent-up demand and overcrowding in the market. How many 30-year-olds used to live with their parents before 2000, for example? For the vast majority of those in that situation, it isn’t by choice.

Yet France's overcrowding rate is 10x higher than the UK.

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/housing-overcrowding.html

Abandoned houses are common in rural France. It's hard to think of any house being abandoned in this country, although I remember once visiting Toxteth in the 1990's, and it resembled descriptions of West Belfast in the 1970's.

Seems incredible now but central London was full of empty/abandoned properties in the early-mid 1980s. Hence my ability - with my friends - to squat in various beautiful Georgian houses/weird eye hospitals in and around Bloomsbury/holborn/fitzrovia for at least two years

We squatted one house on gower street for 6 months - with a room each - which must be worth £5m now

As a student - a STUDENT - I rented on my own a small flat, quite a nice one, just off Ken High St (the posher end). Did that for 2 terms without breaking the bank and all I was on was the grant. You couldn't do that now. Then again, when you think about it, that you could it then was pretty absurd. Today's ridiculous situation probably makes more sense than that.

Yet, as a proportion of income, housing costs for the poorest quartile have been flat since 1990. (And have decreased somewhat for the other quartiles).

Is that right? I'd have thought it would have gone up for most. Anyway, the main problem imo is we have home ownership as our main vehicle for wealth accretion and at the same time home ownership is out of reach unless you have wealth to start with. This unfortunate combination of things is baking high levels of inequality into society. Sort it out, politicians. Fix it.

It is worse than that. Every pound spent on housing is a pound not spent in more productive parts of the economy. And because housing is scarce, two-earner couples can outbid singles for rented as well as bought homes.

Housing spend doesn't quite work like that, unless it involves actually building more houses.

If I have a house, and I sell it to you, the total assets of the pair of us combined are unchanged, regardless of the purchase price.

As a result of all the house price inflation of the last 30 years there are definitely winners and losers. But from a macro economic perspective that just changed who had money to spend in the economy, not the total amount available to spend.

This is different to what happens when value is created (e.g. Michelangelo takes an ordinary lump of marble and makes it priceless by carving it into David) or destroyed (e.g. we spend £300 million on planning documents for the lower Thames Crossing).

Leon said:

Cookie said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

In principle, I'd love to retire.
I have a job which isn't unpleasant. Interesting, with a good work-life balance. But if they didn't pay me to do it I wouldn't do it. What would I do instead? Lots of walking, I suspect. Lots of cycling. More time for parenting. More time for my parents in the future. More time for friendships. More time to watch sport.
But perhaps the nice thing about paid employment is the feeling that someone values your contribution so much that they are willing to spend hefty sums just on having you around to join in with their projects? Perhaps that confirmation of your value is very good for you, even if you wouldn't necessarily choose to do what you're doing over 'having a nice time'?

Don’t you think that after a year or two of walking and cycling and seeing friends and fam you’d get bored?

I guess it depends how dull your job is and whether you think it benefits society etc

Some jobs are so boring and pointless I can absolutely believe that a life of tedious paid leisure, however tedious, would be vastly preferable. Production line factory work for instance, where you could obviously be replaced by a machine but it’s just cheaper to use a human - soul crushing stuff

Well don't you think after a year or two of travelling the world you'd get bored? My suspicion is that the reason you don't is that you have deadlines and things to deliver - you are producing something as a result of your travels.

My job definitely isn't dull. I'm very lucky. Many of my colleagues are pleasant company; I'm interested in the subject matter. I don't know whether it benefits society but those in charge of spending public money are of the view that my job should exist so it may as well be me that does it.
And yet. Even the best days at work don't make me feel as good as a solid three or four hours of low level physical exercise in the fresh air. There is a beautiful country out there to explore and explore again. And I have a list of Things That Need Doing as long as my arm.
But I have a nagging doubt about the feeling of ennui that a lifetime solely devoted to Having A Nice Time might engender. Too much pleasure isn't good for our happiness.

Right, enough of contemplating purposelessness. Time to write An Agenda for A Meeting.

Here we go.

A major high street lender has raised mortgage rates amid ongoing bond market chaos.

Virgin Money increased the price of two and five-year deals by up to 0.2 percentage points on Wednesday as a government bond sell-off threatened to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The bank’s 65pc and 75pc loan-to-value (LTV) purchase rates rose by 0.2pc, while its 85pc LTV five-year fixes were raised by 0.1pc.

Inflationary pressures, in part due to Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, have spooked the bond market in the past week and raised the cost of government borrowing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/mortgages/first-major-lender-raises-mortgage-rates-bond-turmoil/

Cookie said:

Leon said:

Cookie said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

In principle, I'd love to retire.
I have a job which isn't unpleasant. Interesting, with a good work-life balance. But if they didn't pay me to do it I wouldn't do it. What would I do instead? Lots of walking, I suspect. Lots of cycling. More time for parenting. More time for my parents in the future. More time for friendships. More time to watch sport.
But perhaps the nice thing about paid employment is the feeling that someone values your contribution so much that they are willing to spend hefty sums just on having you around to join in with their projects? Perhaps that confirmation of your value is very good for you, even if you wouldn't necessarily choose to do what you're doing over 'having a nice time'?

Don’t you think that after a year or two of walking and cycling and seeing friends and fam you’d get bored?

I guess it depends how dull your job is and whether you think it benefits society etc

Some jobs are so boring and pointless I can absolutely believe that a life of tedious paid leisure, however tedious, would be vastly preferable. Production line factory work for instance, where you could obviously be replaced by a machine but it’s just cheaper to use a human - soul crushing stuff

Well don't you think after a year or two of travelling the world you'd get bored? My suspicion is that the reason you don't is that you have deadlines and things to deliver - you are producing something as a result of your travels.

My job definitely isn't dull. I'm very lucky. Many of my colleagues are pleasant company; I'm interested in the subject matter. I don't know whether it benefits society but those in charge of spending public money are of the view that my job should exist so it may as well be me that does it.
And yet. Even the best days at work don't make me feel as good as a solid three or four hours of low level physical exercise in the fresh air. There is a beautiful country out there to explore and explore again. And I have a list of Things That Need Doing as long as my arm.
But I have a nagging doubt about the feeling of ennui that a lifetime solely devoted to Having A Nice Time might engender. Too much pleasure isn't good for our happiness.

Right, enough of contemplating purposelessness. Time to write An Agenda for A Meeting.

Didn’t Churchill say that his favourite task was bricklaying? I can totally understand that. Physical toil outdoors, that leaves you pleasantly exercised and tired, with a hunger and a thirst - and you’ve built a wall! That must be truly satisfying

You make a very good point about my travels. I am lucky in that I get to write about them, and also as I travel I can knap flints, as I am doing here in Rangoon

Without that, yes, I suspect endless travel might become tiresome and even bleak… tho on the other hand I do still like exploration for the sake of it. Some of my favourite travels have produced no words and I’ve knapped no flints, but I met amazing people or got amazing insights into humanity, life, the universe…

When I get really old I’d quite like to grow a few vegetable and flowers, in the sun. Like Marlon Brando as the aged Godfather, checking his tomatoes

Sean_F said:

kinabalu said:

Sean_F said:

Leon said:

Chagos deal signed

This is a deal so bad, so obviously stupid, craven, pitiful and self harming, there is no English word in the dictionary to describe it. Unless someone can think of a word which means “to pointlessly give away your property to someone who has no claim on it, while paying them heavily to take it from you”

I wish I could find people like Starmer to negotiate with, in my professional capacity.

It was negotiated by the previous government, wasn't it?

That does not inspire confidence.

The previous government started but then stopped them.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Here we go.

A major high street lender has raised mortgage rates amid ongoing bond market chaos.

Virgin Money increased the price of two and five-year deals by up to 0.2 percentage points on Wednesday as a government bond sell-off threatened to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The bank’s 65pc and 75pc loan-to-value (LTV) purchase rates rose by 0.2pc, while its 85pc LTV five-year fixes were raised by 0.1pc.

Inflationary pressures, in part due to Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, have spooked the bond market in the past week and raised the cost of government borrowing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/mortgages/first-major-lender-raises-mortgage-rates-bond-turmoil/

Are they owned by Nationwide yet, which I think is on the cards?

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

Cookie said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

In principle, I'd love to retire.
I have a job which isn't unpleasant. Interesting, with a good work-life balance. But if they didn't pay me to do it I wouldn't do it. What would I do instead? Lots of walking, I suspect. Lots of cycling. More time for parenting. More time for my parents in the future. More time for friendships. More time to watch sport.
But perhaps the nice thing about paid employment is the feeling that someone values your contribution so much that they are willing to spend hefty sums just on having you around to join in with their projects? Perhaps that confirmation of your value is very good for you, even if you wouldn't necessarily choose to do what you're doing over 'having a nice time'?

Don’t you think that after a year or two of walking and cycling and seeing friends and fam you’d get bored?

I guess it depends how dull your job is and whether you think it benefits society etc

Some jobs are so boring and pointless I can absolutely believe that a life of tedious paid leisure, however tedious, would be vastly preferable. Production line factory work for instance, where you could obviously be replaced by a machine but it’s just cheaper to use a human - soul crushing stuff

Isn't it agency?

A lot of paid 'work' means you have to suck up people and work you don't like, and doing it when you don't want to it, whereas retirement does not.

Volunteering, in such instances, would be a good substitute.

Yes, that’ s crucial

I cannot stand being bossed about. I am happy to take advice, commands, criticism at a distance - eg from an editor or a flint commissioner - but whenever I’ve experienced first hand “right do this now, then this, then this” I bridle and rebel

I need to be in charge of my own work, and therefore life, that’s arguably the greatest positive of all - in freelancing

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

Cookie said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

In principle, I'd love to retire.
I have a job which isn't unpleasant. Interesting, with a good work-life balance. But if they didn't pay me to do it I wouldn't do it. What would I do instead? Lots of walking, I suspect. Lots of cycling. More time for parenting. More time for my parents in the future. More time for friendships. More time to watch sport.
But perhaps the nice thing about paid employment is the feeling that someone values your contribution so much that they are willing to spend hefty sums just on having you around to join in with their projects? Perhaps that confirmation of your value is very good for you, even if you wouldn't necessarily choose to do what you're doing over 'having a nice time'?

Don’t you think that after a year or two of walking and cycling and seeing friends and fam you’d get bored?

I guess it depends how dull your job is and whether you think it benefits society etc

Some jobs are so boring and pointless I can absolutely believe that a life of tedious paid leisure, however tedious, would be vastly preferable. Production line factory work for instance, where you could obviously be replaced by a machine but it’s just cheaper to use a human - soul crushing stuff

Isn't it agency?

A lot of paid 'work' means you have to suck up people and work you don't like, and doing it when you don't want to it, whereas retirement does not.

Volunteering, in such instances, would be a good substitute.

In many volunteering organisations the people in charge are often those who really, really wanted be in charge.

They can range from the inane to the criminally insane.

It’s worth considering that politics, at the grass root level, is a volunteer endeavour.

MattW said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Here we go.

A major high street lender has raised mortgage rates amid ongoing bond market chaos.

Virgin Money increased the price of two and five-year deals by up to 0.2 percentage points on Wednesday as a government bond sell-off threatened to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The bank’s 65pc and 75pc loan-to-value (LTV) purchase rates rose by 0.2pc, while its 85pc LTV five-year fixes were raised by 0.1pc.

Inflationary pressures, in part due to Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, have spooked the bond market in the past week and raised the cost of government borrowing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/mortgages/first-major-lender-raises-mortgage-rates-bond-turmoil/

Are they owned by Nationwide yet, which I think is on the cards?

Already are. But not merged. At least not yet.

Cookie said:

Andy_JS said:

This sounds like a familiar set of events.

"I do not want to dwell on the circumstances, except to say that my phone was stolen and that London is becoming a reeking cesspool of criminality. Perhaps, also, that anyone caught cycling a Lime Bike without a clean criminal record should have the book thrown at them.

The worst part was that at the time of snatching, my phone was unlocked, and therefore wide open for fraudulent activity. I disabled all online banking in time, but that didn’t stop the cretin from ordering himself a couple of Ubers and very nearly a PS5. In a brainwave that was pure Conan Doyle, I looked at the addresses these were ordered to, and they were all to the same flat – a clue.

I took this information to the police station to be added to my police report. I was duly informed this piece of evidence was not substantial enough to warrant an officers going to the address to ask questions, let alone arresting anyone. To me, this seemed like finding a murder weapon with fingerprints on at the scene of the crime, but discounting it because it wasn’t found in the murderer’s hand. Alas, what do I know?"

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-phone-was-snatched-and-im-in-crisis/

1) See, this is one of the many reasons not to have things on your phone.
2) How was his phone unlocked? My phone locks itself at the drop of a hat. It's mildly irritating and I would change it if I could be bothered. There's presumably a setting.
3) I hear stories like this a lot. And yet, on the few times I have interactions with the police, they have had a puppyish eagerness to get on with the job of taking down baddies. It seems unlikely that GMP are uniquely good. Maybe the Met are uniquely bad?

Re: locking / unlocking.

If you are paranoid you could either:

1) Keep a second phone at home with the banking apps on it
2) Create a second profile on your main phone with all the apps that you don't want unlocked when walking around.
3*) If using Android, hack your phone to install a hardened version with sub-profiles that do the same things as 2).

*My current choice, although it used to be 1)

Luckyguy1983 said:

Pulpstar said:

Casino_Royale said:

Andy_JS said:

Latest poll from Canada

Con 47%
Lib 20%
NDP 18%
BQ 8%
Grn 5%
PPC 2%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_Canadian_federal_election#National_polls

What happens when the Right isn't split.

Which is what Canada went through in the nineties and early noughties.

The UK right won't be split forever, eventually someone's lunch is going to be eaten and it might just be the Tories.

I don’t see why it can't remain split, but there will be one Labour and one Lib Dems. It's up for grabs which will be which.

The Labour-Lib Dem gap must be the narrowest since 1929.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

That’s absolutely not true

More like a thousand or more, I would say - tho the number is, sadly, diminishing fast

Malmesbury said:

Thought for the day

https://news.sky.com/story/male-survivors-ignored-as-their-abuse-is-classified-as-violence-against-women-13286615

A government spokesperson was asked why domestic violence *against* men was reported under domestic violence *against* women


The term 'violence against women and girls' refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. Crimes and behaviour covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse and stalking…..Men and boys can obviously be victims of those crimes as well…..

Well that's [self-moderated to avoid the risk of causing psychological distress to anyone].

I assume men get credit for female engineers and scientists on that basis?

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

Carnyx said:

Taz said:

Carnyx said:

Taz said:

Pulpstar said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

david_herdson said:

Mexicanpete said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Mexicanpete said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Good morning

SNP to ban birthday cakes from nurseries

Why on earth would they be so idiotic ?

Completely joyless

There is probably a perfectly reasonable justification, for example nut allergies. Small children dying from anaphylactic shock is more joyless than missing out on a birthday cake.

That is not the reason

It is their campaign against obesity

That again seems laudable.

Banning things is almost never laudable. Personal responsibility matters, as does an understanding of moderation.

I have noticed recently that supermarkets appear to be phasing out glass beer and cider bottles and replacing them with cans

At home, none of our family like cans and prefer to drink out of the bottle but apparently all such glass bottles are under threat due to a new green tax

And why are the left so joyless and controlling ?

That's my industry !

One of our customers did can postpone indefinitely a big glass project in Wales recently.

Why do these brewers use labels that are so ruddy difficult to remove, even after soaking or the plastic ones where the plastic peels off and it leaves an adhesive residue. I have saved plenty for my home brewing as bottled beer and wine is far better in a glass than plastic where the alcohol and the fizz leaks over time.

I have a supply of pharmaceutical grade* isopropanol in the shed for just this job, also disinfection, acrylic paint thinning, and so on. Most labels can't cope with that or (depending on the type), old style paint thinners (ie turps), though I find hobby shop thinners such as Humbrol are much less smelly.

*to avoid contamination of anything to do with food or messing up paint

I deal in Pharma grade Isopropanol in my daily work too !!!!

I found hot soaking and washing up liquid and one of those metal scourers do the job with a bit of elbow grease.

For disinfection I use Chemsan no rinse cleaner. It's revolutionary. Although I have found domestic bleach pretty useful.

I think I will take your words of wisdom and take a bottle before I leave. We have the 1Litre bottles of Klercide 70/30 around.

My neighbours like yellow tail chardonnay, chug several bottles a week. Their labels come off a treat.

My tame supplier also sells empty bottles and squeezy bottles with caps so I keep a range of aqueous dilutions (50/50, 70/30 and 100% alc v/v) ready mixed to hand. I got some cheap measuring beakers/tall thingies from Amazon too.

No doubt this sort of discussion would horrify Leon as being Bluesky fodder.

But I only wish I'd discovered this approach decades ago.

Indeed. But I am glad I have learned it now. There's a cider I get from a farm shop in Worcester and the front label peels off a treat, the back one is horrendous. Wish I had known this before I started cleaning them. Literally scraping the glue off with a knife to start.

I got some syringes from Amazon for dispensing finings into wine. Amazon really is a godsend.

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

300 copies is terrifying, in a market the size of the UK.

I'm not going to write an autobiography but in my v. early 50's I was lucky enough to find a really interesting NHS job. Didn't take me far afield but I met all sorts of interesting people really making a (good) difference to other people's lives in all sorts of ways.

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

They don’t seem to stop and wonder what kind of life is that? To work, and then drop dead.

IanB2 said:

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

They don’t seem to stop and wonder what kind of life is that? To work, and then drop dead.

I totally get it.

I thoroughly enjoy what I do for work. It allows me to travel, see my friends and do what I would in all likelihood probably be doing as a hobby anyway - if I were able to afford it.

That old adage of finding something you love, then never having to work a day in your life, is bang on....

Morris_Dancer said:

Eabhal said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Malmesbury said:

Thought for the day

https://news.sky.com/story/male-survivors-ignored-as-their-abuse-is-classified-as-violence-against-women-13286615

A government spokesperson was asked why domestic violence *against* men was reported under domestic violence *against* women


The term 'violence against women and girls' refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. Crimes and behaviour covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse and stalking…..Men and boys can obviously be victims of those crimes as well…..

Well that's [self-moderated to avoid the risk of causing psychological distress to anyone].

I assume men get credit for female engineers and scientists on that basis?

Well, historically speaking...

Pretending male victims don't exist because of sexism in decades and centuries past is very 21st century of you.

The lack of mention of the boys (over 100, I believe) who were victims at Rotherham is concerning. The view that men can be perpetrators of sexual crime but not victims is deeply unhealthy.

The feminist view point is that only males do bad things because all men are bad. All of us. And when some men do bad things we should all apologise for them, for being male. Presumably Lucy Letby is a actually man.

Leon said:

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

Literary fiction is essentially dead, partly because most of it is shite

Is it shite, or has it simply become “feminised”, and therefore less appealing, maybe, to the likes of you and me.

In other literary news, I viewed an apartment next door the late Philip Roth’s a week or so ago.

Leon said:

Gardenwalker said:

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

300 copies is terrifying, in a market the size of the UK.

Go on the Tube or a train and see how many people are reading a book, as compared to looking at their smartphones scrolling TikTok or watching vids, then remember what it was like 30-40 years ago

Book-reading is disappearing as a pastime, and doing so fast. This doesn’t make me happy but it is the case

IQs are falling, attention spans are dwindling, and at the same time competition for eyes and minds is only getting fiercer

I love me a good book, especially history, memoir, some science, even a smidgen of poetry. Can’t stand novels tho. Made up bollocks

I’m thinking of starting a reading group.

At least in a place like Manhattan, there are a lot of people who actually resent being held hostage by their smartphones. There is a new desire to attend again to the long form.

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

It is not "cranking on" it is continuing to make a contribution to society rather than assuming one has a "right" to expect that society has an obligation to keep doling out the handouts long after the individual has chewed up any taxes they paid before they retired. The sad reality is that in spite of many UK pensioners saying "I paid my taxes" very few of them will have paid enough to have covered everything that they take out from the state in their lifetime, particularly if they retire early.

Cookie said:

Driver said:

Cookie said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

In principle, I'd love to retire.
I have a job which isn't unpleasant. Interesting, with a good work-life balance. But if they didn't pay me to do it I wouldn't do it. What would I do instead? Lots of walking, I suspect. Lots of cycling. More time for parenting. More time for my parents in the future. More time for friendships. More time to watch sport.
But perhaps the nice thing about paid employment is the feeling that someone values your contribution so much that they are willing to spend hefty sums just on having you around to join in with their projects? Perhaps that confirmation of your value is very good for you, even if you wouldn't necessarily choose to do what you're doing over 'having a nice time'?

I'd love to be able to retire. Find something part time that does some active good, and it would be made much easier knowing that I didn't need to do it.

I had a friend whose dad retired and faced this problem. He chose to become a driver for the NHS. No doubts whatsoever about doing good - delivering bits of life-saving stuff around the country - not blue-light urgent but tomorrow-not-Friday urgent. If your happy to spend long days driving around the UK - which sounds entirely pleasant to me - seems a good way of living a life which is both valuable and pleasant.

I mean, that would be literally perfect. Hence the name. But I need a bigger nest egg first!

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

There's currently a 97 year-old Federal Circuit judge in the US taking legal action against a decision to suspend her from the bench for refusing to take a medical examination to determine her mental fitness. .

theProle said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

kinabalu said:

Eabhal said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Sean_F said:

Eabhal said:

Sandpit said:

Malmesbury said:

Jonathan said:

noneoftheabove said:

HYUFD said:

Spain to impose a 100% tax on properties owned by non EU residents

"Spain plans 100% tax for homes bought by non-EU residents - BBC News" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7enzjrymxo

100% not necessary but in the UK the non resident surcharge is just 2%. Bump it up to 10%-15% asap.

In a country starved of houses, it does feel that second homes and vacant investment lock up and leave properties are luxuries the nation cannot afford.

The occupancy rate in the U.K. is extremely high, in general. It’s one of the indicators of the scale of the shortage of housing

UK has c.30m housing units for a population of c.67m people
France has c.38m housing units for a population of c.66m people

The UK is around EIGHT MILLION houses short of France, for the same population to within a margin of error.

That’s the scale of the housing shortage. You can easily build a couple of million new houses without much happening to prices either, because there’s so much pent-up demand and overcrowding in the market. How many 30-year-olds used to live with their parents before 2000, for example? For the vast majority of those in that situation, it isn’t by choice.

Yet France's overcrowding rate is 10x higher than the UK.

https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/housing-overcrowding.html

Abandoned houses are common in rural France. It's hard to think of any house being abandoned in this country, although I remember once visiting Toxteth in the 1990's, and it resembled descriptions of West Belfast in the 1970's.

Seems incredible now but central London was full of empty/abandoned properties in the early-mid 1980s. Hence my ability - with my friends - to squat in various beautiful Georgian houses/weird eye hospitals in and around Bloomsbury/holborn/fitzrovia for at least two years

We squatted one house on gower street for 6 months - with a room each - which must be worth £5m now

As a student - a STUDENT - I rented on my own a small flat, quite a nice one, just off Ken High St (the posher end). Did that for 2 terms without breaking the bank and all I was on was the grant. You couldn't do that now. Then again, when you think about it, that you could it then was pretty absurd. Today's ridiculous situation probably makes more sense than that.

Yet, as a proportion of income, housing costs for the poorest quartile have been flat since 1990. (And have decreased somewhat for the other quartiles).

Is that right? I'd have thought it would have gone up for most. Anyway, the main problem imo is we have home ownership as our main vehicle for wealth accretion and at the same time home ownership is out of reach unless you have wealth to start with. This unfortunate combination of things is baking high levels of inequality into society. Sort it out, politicians. Fix it.

It is worse than that. Every pound spent on housing is a pound not spent in more productive parts of the economy. And because housing is scarce, two-earner couples can outbid singles for rented as well as bought homes.

Housing spend doesn't quite work like that, unless it involves actually building more houses.

If I have a house, and I sell it to you, the total assets of the pair of us combined are unchanged, regardless of the purchase price.

As a result of all the house price inflation of the last 30 years there are definitely winners and losers. But from a macro economic perspective that just changed who had money to spend in the economy, not the total amount available to spend.

This is different to what happens when value is created (e.g. Michelangelo takes an ordinary lump of marble and makes it priceless by carving it into David) or destroyed (e.g. we spend £300 million on planning documents for the lower Thames Crossing).

But the price is not constant. The amount locked up in housing has increased, and the amount left for other spending shrunk.

Sean_F said:

Leon said:

Gardenwalker said:

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

300 copies is terrifying, in a market the size of the UK.

Go on the Tube or a train and see how many people are reading a book, as compared to looking at their smartphones scrolling TikTok or watching vids, then remember what it was like 30-40 years ago

Book-reading is disappearing as a pastime, and doing so fast. This doesn’t make me happy but it is the case

IQs are falling, attention spans are dwindling, and at the same time competition for eyes and minds is only getting fiercer

I love me a good book, especially history, memoir, some science, even a smidgen of poetry. Can’t stand novels tho. Made up bollocks

True, but these days I download books on my phone, more than buying physical copies.

Book sales have increased again, as kindles have plateaued. Newspapers, on the other hand, you can't even give away, hence the decline of the Standard and Metro.

Battlebus said:

Nigelb said:

DJI just made life a lot easier for would be domestic terrorists in the US.

Breaking from @hntrbrkmedia: China’s DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, has disabled U.S. geofencing on its drones, enabling flights over airports, military bases, and no-fly zones.

DJI says it is putting “control back in the hands of the drone operators”
https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/1878965068471107694

Now that's trolling.

Autel, Skydio and others do not have geofencing and never did. Only DJI tried to do it.

Gardenwalker said:

The question is, how much does one need to retire on?

An S&P500 tracker has averaged around 7% annual returns in the long term, so a holding of $500k pays $35k/year, a holding of $1m pays $70k, and a holding of $2m pays $140k.

Taz said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Here we go.

A major high street lender has raised mortgage rates amid ongoing bond market chaos.

Virgin Money increased the price of two and five-year deals by up to 0.2 percentage points on Wednesday as a government bond sell-off threatened to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The bank’s 65pc and 75pc loan-to-value (LTV) purchase rates rose by 0.2pc, while its 85pc LTV five-year fixes were raised by 0.1pc.

Inflationary pressures, in part due to Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, have spooked the bond market in the past week and raised the cost of government borrowing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/mortgages/first-major-lender-raises-mortgage-rates-bond-turmoil/

The Reeves Mortgage Penalty.

Well done Rachel. The new Liz Truss.

Not really though. The Truss impact was more dramatic and was UK specific.

williamglenn said:

https://x.com/rosskempsell/status/1879172333941985427?s=46

Mauritius government has set a special cabinet meeting for 1030am Port Louis tomorrow (15th) which would be 0630 UK time - to sign off Chagos deal

Sources around negotiations telling me that Mauritius asked for a 50 year lease only on Diego Garcia, not 99 and UK may have caved

Sweet Jesus Christ. Starmer deserves to get REDACTED for this

SouthamObserver said:

Leon said:

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

Literary fiction is essentially dead, partly because most of it is shite

I binge read Mick Herron last year - all the Slough House stuff plus most of the rest of what he has written. Not a dud among them.

Which, of course, is “genre”

IanB2 said:

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

They don’t seem to stop and wonder what kind of life is that? To work, and then drop dead.

One of my colleagues told me today, as I am retiring in 6 weeks, people's life expectancy post retirement is 8 years !!!!!

SouthamObserver said:

Sean_F said:

Leon said:

Gardenwalker said:

bondegezou said:

Andy_JS said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Leon said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

boulay said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/14/norwich-restaurant-charges-100-for-hawaiian-pineapple-pizza

Posted without comment.

Posting it without comment shows a distinct lack of ambition OLB, you could have written “posted for only the 59th time in the last few days since the publicity stunt hit the media.”

Reassuring, the fact I hadn't seen it suggests I don't spend as much time on here as I fear!
FWIW, I used to work in a pizza restaurant and so consider myself an authority on this topic. Pineapple on pizza is fine.

Your “should I retire” discourse is inferesting. I echo those who warn you of having nothing at all to do. Many find it less fun than they expected

But of course it depends on those hobbies of yours. May I ask what they are? If they are truly absorbing then you’re sorted - go for it

My ideal life would be a life of travel and flint knapping. I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being well paid to do what I would ideally do anyway - if I had all the money in the world

I DREAD the concept of retirement. I might have to do something I DON’T like doing

My main hobby is writing. I keep plugging away at that, have just finished a first draft of my second novel (first not published). If I could become a published author with the prospect of even some meagre earnings I would retire soon. I am also involved in various local community groups and activities and would like to be able to do more there. And parents and parents in law are reaching ages where they might need more of my time too. We have no mortgage, no school fees, some property income, my wife has a well paid job and I will get a little bit of pension income when I turn 50 so I could stop soon, depending on how comfy a retirement we are after and how much we want to help the kids through Uni and early adulthood.

Someone said a few years ago that there are only about 10 novelists in the UK able to make a decent living from writing. Depressing if true.

I think it's probably a few more than that, but the point stands that novelists don't tend to make much money. There's an oft-quoted 2022 figure that the median annual earnings for a writer in the UK is £7k. A common estimate for sales for a first novel, in its first year, is 200-300 copies. That says, it depends what you are writing. Literary fiction sells peanuts. Genre stuff, like romance and fantasy, can sell much more.

300 copies is terrifying, in a market the size of the UK.

Go on the Tube or a train and see how many people are reading a book, as compared to looking at their smartphones scrolling TikTok or watching vids, then remember what it was like 30-40 years ago

Book-reading is disappearing as a pastime, and doing so fast. This doesn’t make me happy but it is the case

IQs are falling, attention spans are dwindling, and at the same time competition for eyes and minds is only getting fiercer

I love me a good book, especially history, memoir, some science, even a smidgen of poetry. Can’t stand novels tho. Made up bollocks

True, but these days I download books on my phone, more than buying physical copies.

I can't do that. One of the pleasures of book reading, for me at least, is putting the finished book on the shelf where it's there on display, a trophy, a memory of time past.

I guess so. But with great characterisation, plot, depth and wider commentary, his stuff is literature in all but name. He's a fine writer.

"The far-Right is coming for Farage
Ethnonationalists sense an opportunity
Rob Lownie"

https://unherd.com/2025/01/can-the-far-right-outflank-farage/

Further to retirement, obviously it depends on your circumstances and your personality. Also the extent to which you define yourself by your job and/or are boosted in self-esteem by its status. The latter is human nature, I think. Even I was afflicted. I used to enjoy the impact on people, the respect I'd see in their eyes, when I'd say I was a Chartered Accountant or (even more so until 2008) a bond trader. That doesn't happen now and I miss it.

Morris_Dancer said:

Eabhal said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Malmesbury said:

Thought for the day

https://news.sky.com/story/male-survivors-ignored-as-their-abuse-is-classified-as-violence-against-women-13286615

A government spokesperson was asked why domestic violence *against* men was reported under domestic violence *against* women


The term 'violence against women and girls' refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. Crimes and behaviour covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse and stalking…..Men and boys can obviously be victims of those crimes as well…..

Well that's [self-moderated to avoid the risk of causing psychological distress to anyone].

I assume men get credit for female engineers and scientists on that basis?

Well, historically speaking...

Pretending male victims don't exist because of sexism in decades and centuries past is very 21st century of you.

The lack of mention of the boys (over 100, I believe) who were victims at Rotherham is concerning. The view that men can be perpetrators of sexual crime but not victims is deeply unhealthy.

Also, with DV, the split is something like 3:2 or 2:1, calling this "disproportionate" to negate the experiences of such a large minority is outrageous.

kinabalu said:

Further to retirement, obviously it depends on your circumstances and your personality. Also the extent to which you define yourself by your job and/or are boosted in self-esteem by its status. The latter is human nature, I think. Even I was afflicted. I used to enjoy the impact on people, the respect I'd see in their eyes, when I'd say I was a Chartered Accountant or (even more so until 2008) a bond trader. That doesn't happen now and I miss it.

Don’t worry Kinabalu, I’m in awe of you by virtue of you being an ex-chartered accountant and an ex bond trader - nobody can take that away from you.

When Muhammed Ali retired people still feared his punch, still bowed to his wit and wisdom and craved his approval - you are the Ali of PB.

Respect.

kinabalu said:

Further to retirement, obviously it depends on your circumstances and your personality. Also the extent to which you define yourself by your job and/or are boosted in self-esteem by its status. The latter is human nature, I think. Even I was afflicted. I used to enjoy the impact on people, the respect I'd see in their eyes, when I'd say I was a Chartered Accountant or (even more so until 2008) a bond trader. That doesn't happen now and I miss it.

Respect, or that galling realisation that they were now talking to an accountant - and might not be able to easily get out of a dull conversation?

RobD said:

Pulpstar said:

Leon said:

williamglenn said:

https://x.com/rosskempsell/status/1879172333941985427?s=46

Mauritius government has set a special cabinet meeting for 1030am Port Louis tomorrow (15th) which would be 0630 UK time - to sign off Chagos deal

Sources around negotiations telling me that Mauritius asked for a 50 year lease only on Diego Garcia, not 99 and UK may have caved

Sweet Jesus Christ. Starmer deserves to get REDACTED for this

I bet the total bill hasn't halved. Also, putting money aside - on what planet would the planks (Particularly the incoming administration) want us to halve the time of the lease ?!?

It’s just utter madness. What is going on in their heads?

"UK bad".

Taz said:

IanB2 said:

Gardenwalker said:

I thought briefly about retiring just before I came to the U.S., but it seemed farcical to do so in my mid 40s.

One thing I admire about Americans is that they often simply don’t retire. Whether this is due to the absence of a decent safety net, I don’t know. They seem to enjoy it, though. You have people cranking on into their 80s and even 90s. Biden (and Trump) are in some ways representative.

They don’t seem to stop and wonder what kind of life is that? To work, and then drop dead.

One of my colleagues told me today, as I am retiring in 6 weeks, people's life expectancy post retirement is 8 years !!!!!

Fortunately that's not true, unless you have been doing a very tough paper round all these years?

Mortimer said:

kinabalu said:

Further to retirement, obviously it depends on your circumstances and your personality. Also the extent to which you define yourself by your job and/or are boosted in self-esteem by its status. The latter is human nature, I think. Even I was afflicted. I used to enjoy the impact on people, the respect I'd see in their eyes, when I'd say I was a Chartered Accountant or (even more so until 2008) a bond trader. That doesn't happen now and I miss it.

Respect, or that galling realisation that they were now talking to an accountant - and might not be able to easily get out of a dull conversation?

No, it was definitely respect. And I still get it from time to time but I have to work for it now. I can't just give it the big "I am".

boulay said:

kinabalu said:

Further to retirement, obviously it depends on your circumstances and your personality. Also the extent to which you define yourself by your job and/or are boosted in self-esteem by its status. The latter is human nature, I think. Even I was afflicted. I used to enjoy the impact on people, the respect I'd see in their eyes, when I'd say I was a Chartered Accountant or (even more so until 2008) a bond trader. That doesn't happen now and I miss it.

Don’t worry Kinabalu, I’m in awe of you by virtue of you being an ex-chartered accountant and an ex bond trader - nobody can take that away from you.

When Muhammed Ali retired people still feared his punch, still bowed to his wit and wisdom and craved his approval - you are the Ali of PB.

Respect.

Well thank you. Yes, on here everybody knows who and what I was. It's very gratifying. But IRL (dreaded term) that's not so much the case. I present as just a bloke like any other. Nothing special.

SouthamObserver said:

Leon said:

I think I might renounce my citizenship. I would rather be a citizen of any country on earth, than this shit-heap of spineless cowardice that is the UK

It would be the end of your travels.

Well we would hardly be in "a nation mourns" territory if a minor journal lost its resident travel freeloader though, would we?

I think the utter hatred and contempt for this country from right wing nutters is why I struggle to have any respect for them.

Why don't you just f*ck off to Turkmenistan and leave people who still give a shit about truth and decency a nice break? Don't let the door bang you on the ass as you leave.

I'm 48 and I'm diversifying:

1. Food industry consulting - big group of main clients plus another I am developing a project with which may become the main revenue feed later this year.
2. YouTube takes another c. 10 hours a week. Been doing the Tesla channel for 2 and a bit years, its delivered enough Tesla credit to give me free charging for the lifetime of this car plus a pot to cover maintenance / servicing / repairs.
3. Need to spend some more time on the toys business as its died off since Christmas. I like the idea of selling toys! About to do a load of social media work to relaunch that. Modest investment so far dipping a toe in the water, and its clearly got potential
4. The shop which my wife runs and I am the minority partner in. Retail is tough, but there's definitely something here if we keep it going and develop the range & customer base

I feel like I never stop, and TBH that's the way I like it. I have a low boredom threshold and I've enjoyed creating and developing these businesses over the last 5 years far more than I have working for someone else. I still need the consulting gigs to pay the bills, but clearly there is life in the other projects which may become quite fulfilling in the future. I just want the options! Retirement is much closer than when I started out, but I'm having too much fun to think about stopping. And you never know, I might get elected at some point as well...

Cicero said:

SouthamObserver said:

Leon said:

I think I might renounce my citizenship. I would rather be a citizen of any country on earth, than this shit-heap of spineless cowardice that is the UK

It would be the end of your travels.

Well we would hardly be in "a nation mourns" territory if a minor journal lost its resident travel freeloader though, would we?

I think the utter hatred and contempt for this country from right wing nutters is why I struggle to have any respect for them.

Why don't you just f*ck off to Turkmenistan and leave people who still give a shit about truth and decency a nice break? Don't let the door bang you on the ass as you leave.

The right does seem to be heading ever rightwards. What's striking is how few voices on the right there are wondering whether this is a good idea.

Cicero said:

SouthamObserver said:

Leon said:

I think I might renounce my citizenship. I would rather be a citizen of any country on earth, than this shit-heap of spineless cowardice that is the UK

It would be the end of your travels.

Well we would hardly be in "a nation mourns" territory if a minor journal lost its resident travel freeloader though, would we?

I think the utter hatred and contempt for this country from right wing nutters is why I struggle to have any respect for them.

Why don't you just f*ck off to Turkmenistan and leave people who still give a shit about truth and decency a nice break? Don't let the door bang you on the ass as you leave.

I always think advice to a “right wing nutter” who is down on their country and its government to fuck off to another country is best coming from someone who was slagging off the country and its government pre July and had fucked off to live another country.