Now weep for the young people mutilated - because a bunch of creeps hijacked teenage angst, and a lot of lefties and politicians who should know better supported this madness
About a 2% decline, except for the FIRE model where a 6% decline
My brother once stood next to Kanye West at a urinal. I have been on a dance floor with Tracey Emin and Ronnie Wood.
Actually, when I lived in Shoreditch in the early 2000s you could barely move for celebs.
When I was a kid living in Australia in the 90s I went to a golf tournament wearing a cap with a shark on it (from an aquarium we had visited the week before).
I was initially shocked and upset when someone took it off me, without as much as a word, until he signed it and returned it.
It was Greg Norman. I think he thought I was a fan of his. 🤣
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
Good evening everyone, especially @Cookie. Just settling down after a busy day. I would definitely head for the West End rather than the city centre. I second the recommendations for the University. While there, you may wish to visit the Hunterian Museum. The Art Gallery is also worth a visit. If you are visiting the Art Gallery, you are close to Mother India for lunch. At the top of Byres Road, I would recommend Oran Mor. Try and book for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at lunchtime, which will be a very different lunchtime experience. Across the road is Waitrose, if you want posher nosh than Tesco’s when in the Trossachs. Off Byres Road, check out Ashton Lane and Ruthven Lane for some extra quirkyness. When you are in the Trossachs, the steamship Sir Walter Scott sails on Loch Katrine daily until 26th October, if you are there by then. I hope you all enjoy your break.
Naive of me, I know, but I was surprised when my order of Glasgow salad, while in a pub in Sauchiehall Street, proved to be a bowl of chips.
Last Glasgow pub I visited was so rough, even the arms on the chairs had tattoos.
It was gentrifying though as the toilets had toilet paper.
You're just lucky the toilets had toilets.
I remember a Welsh pub where the toilet was a drainhole in the corner of a concrete-floored roofless shed. The cherry on the cake was that my friend was barefoot (this was c. 1977).
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve just got on my train! (This is exciting stuff for an economist working in financial markets).
I'm impressed you know him/her by sight. Even if you do work in financial markets.
Jay Powell is like the Taylor Swift of my professional world.
It's good, it's more than good, but the PB ultimate is to run into ... PROFESSOR JOHN CURTICE !!!
Palpitations wouldn't cover it.
He lacks basic social skills in real life.
He is very very much on the spectrum.
Well that only adds to the legend. One likes to think of him at home, letting the peas boil over as he ingests some polling stats, not gadding around at parties making small talk.
(but I get and appreciate the real message, you've met him! very impressive info)
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
I’d suggest the west end would be more chilled out for a family visit with lots of places within walking distance - Kelvingrove Park & museum, university, restaurants etc. Even a Waitrose to do your big shop! Lots of eateries in Finnieston (regularly voted one of the coolest neighbourhoods in UK) just along from Kelvingrove including Mother India as suggested by Malc, it also has the Hidden Lane for funky hipness and craft stuff.
Thanks uniondivvie - it's a good 10 years since I've been to Glasgow, but you're confirming my gut feeling. We'll stop in the West End for lunch and a mooch on the way up, and I'll look for somewhere in the West End to stay overnight on the way back, calling into the city centre during the day. Kelvingrove, tall ship, Willow Tea Rooms. Wish we had longer now!
The last time I was in Glasgow was to record an episode of the quiz show "Eggheads".
The Necropolis is also fun, if you like that sort of thing.
It is, isn't it? Weirdly fun. I do like that sort of thing. I went 20-odd years ago, the last- but-one time I went to Glasgow. Monuments to some impressively colossal egos.
I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.
And those sands and stumps are quite impressive compared with the sad ruin that is now Glasgow, once one of the greatest cities in the largest Empire on earth.
I think that's a slight exaggeration. I mean, the Antonine Wall was quite impressive but Glasgow was hardly the greatest cit...oh, you mean the British Empire?
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
Good evening everyone, especially @Cookie. Just settling down after a busy day. I would definitely head for the West End rather than the city centre. I second the recommendations for the University. While there, you may wish to visit the Hunterian Museum. The Art Gallery is also worth a visit. If you are visiting the Art Gallery, you are close to Mother India for lunch. At the top of Byres Road, I would recommend Oran Mor. Try and book for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at lunchtime, which will be a very different lunchtime experience. Across the road is Waitrose, if you want posher nosh than Tesco’s when in the Trossachs. Off Byres Road, check out Ashton Lane and Ruthven Lane for some extra quirkyness. When you are in the Trossachs, the steamship Sir Walter Scott sails on Loch Katrine daily until 26th October, if you are there by then. I hope you all enjoy your break.
Naive of me, I know, but I was surprised when my order of Glasgow salad, while in a pub in Sauchiehall Street, proved to be a bowl of chips.
Last Glasgow pub I visited was so rough, even the arms on the chairs had tattoos.
It was gentrifying though as the toilets had toilet paper.
You're just lucky the toilets had toilets.
I remember a Welsh pub where the toilet was a drainhole in the corner of a concrete-floored roofless shed. The cherry on the cake was that my friend was barefoot (this was c. 1977).
I would highlight that much of the push back against the more radical parts of the trans movement came from the liberal left, most noticeably from feminist women but also lots of men from that side of the political spectrum (Graham Lineham, Richard Dawkins). The right played an important role too, but I don't think they would have been as successful without a broader political alliance.
I am another "centrist dad" who found himself labelled a terf for views on this.
There were plenty of people of left, centre and right who rolled over on the matter. I'm not sure it needs to be a point scoring matter that we've ended up somewhere more sensible.
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
Good evening everyone, especially @Cookie. Just settling down after a busy day. I would definitely head for the West End rather than the city centre. I second the recommendations for the University. While there, you may wish to visit the Hunterian Museum. The Art Gallery is also worth a visit. If you are visiting the Art Gallery, you are close to Mother India for lunch. At the top of Byres Road, I would recommend Oran Mor. Try and book for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at lunchtime, which will be a very different lunchtime experience. Across the road is Waitrose, if you want posher nosh than Tesco’s when in the Trossachs. Off Byres Road, check out Ashton Lane and Ruthven Lane for some extra quirkyness. When you are in the Trossachs, the steamship Sir Walter Scott sails on Loch Katrine daily until 26th October, if you are there by then. I hope you all enjoy your break.
Naive of me, I know, but I was surprised when my order of Glasgow salad, while in a pub in Sauchiehall Street, proved to be a bowl of chips.
Last Glasgow pub I visited was so rough, even the arms on the chairs had tattoos.
It was gentrifying though as the toilets had toilet paper.
You're just lucky the toilets had toilets.
I remember a Welsh pub where the toilet was a drainhole in the corner of a concrete-floored roofless shed. The cherry on the cake was that my friend was barefoot (this was c. 1977).
I would give you a "like" for that, but...
Why on earth not? My other friends and I certainly did at the time. Indeed, I must remind him of it next time we meet up (but well outside his wife's and children's hearing: some things are just too unkind).
"Britain's most remote pub has cancelled a Harry Potter themed Halloween night in Lochaber after staff were subjected to "inappropriate grief". The Old Forge in Inverie, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, said the event was planned as "just a fun night" but had subsequently "proved dividing." Harry Potter author JK Rowling has received both criticism and support for her strong gender critical views."
Funnily enough I was in Knoydart a month or two ago. I have to say it is not a typical Highland community. Seemed to be full of well-heeled alternative lifers. The old church had been transformed into a very bijou-looking residence.
Nevertheless, a bit weird that the last stand of the hard-line trans-righters should be somewhere only accessible by boat.
Actually not that weird. I know that bit of Scotland really well - I've been several times
There's a similar situation on Scoraig, which - like Knoydart - is one of the very rare settlements in mainland Britain without road access. Scoraig is full of Woke English eco-loons - I guess you have to be eccentric to live in such remote circs in the first place
Indeed Scoraig and Knoydart might be the only two mainland UK settlements without roads? I know the community on Scoraig was offered one, but they said No. Felt it would ruin the magic. And THAT I understand
It's beautiful, and a bit sad, in a lovely way, like Knoydart
Now weep for the young people mutilated - because a bunch of creeps hijacked teenage angst, and a lot of lefties and politicians who should know better supported this madness
Which means that the panic was massively overblown? And the centrist dads were right?
What an utterly ridiculous take. The centrist dads went along with all this. It’s what they do. Now - as I predict - when it all turns out to be madness they will claim “oh we never believed it anyway”
No, the centrist dads - like me - said this was all going to blow over.
Basically, our take on most things is "there's a lot of ruin in a nation", and you do more damage by reflexive behaviours than by just ignoring it, and waiting until it goes away.
My view has always been - and I've repeated it 100x on here - use whatever pronouns you like (i.e. be polite to people and treat them as they would like to be treated), but no sport and no access to single sex spaces. I would, however, make accomodartions in terms of creation of gender neutral bathrooms.
That is literally the most centrist dad take you can have.
And guess what? It was the right take, and didn't involve being a total cock to people.
No. Less damage would have been done if children hadn’t received hideous treatment at the tax payers expense. It’s the “be kind” attitude which enabled that.
A young person very close to me went through a phase of being genderfluid. It got as bad as asking quite persistently for pills - puberty blockers
Thank God her mum is sensible and said No. Not a thing until you’re 18. Pronouns fine, surgery no bloody way. Kind but firm as @StillWaters puts it
She’s now forgotten the whole trans thing and is happily female, wears dresses, and is voluptuously in love with some young Brazilian guy - who loves her right back. Yay
But I feel for those families where it didn’t turn out this way
Can't you just say seeing a Brazilian?
I think we've all seen one of those.
Shagging was my initial suggestion but I decided it was too crass.
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
I’d suggest the west end would be more chilled out for a family visit with lots of places within walking distance - Kelvingrove Park & museum, university, restaurants etc. Even a Waitrose to do your big shop! Lots of eateries in Finnieston (regularly voted one of the coolest neighbourhoods in UK) just along from Kelvingrove including Mother India as suggested by Malc, it also has the Hidden Lane for funky hipness and craft stuff.
Thanks uniondivvie - it's a good 10 years since I've been to Glasgow, but you're confirming my gut feeling. We'll stop in the West End for lunch and a mooch on the way up, and I'll look for somewhere in the West End to stay overnight on the way back, calling into the city centre during the day. Kelvingrove, tall ship, Willow Tea Rooms. Wish we had longer now!
The last time I was in Glasgow was to record an episode of the quiz show "Eggheads".
You were on Eggheads? That beats my 15 to 1 hands down.
Anyone can get on Eggheads! Winning it is the challenge. We didn't win. We did creditably well. I beat my egghead, but it was only Judith.
Rowan Williams on a flight to Florence, Kate Moss in a bar in Camden a long time ago and Prince Harry at a club in Mayfair also a long time ago, when he was still fun. Oh and Harrison Ford in Richmond, I think that was during the filming of Star Wars VII.
I actually think spotting Kate Moss is a right of passage for a Londoner.
Now weep for the young people mutilated - because a bunch of creeps hijacked teenage angst, and a lot of lefties and politicians who should know better supported this madness
Which means that the panic was massively overblown? And the centrist dads were right?
What an utterly ridiculous take. The centrist dads went along with all this. It’s what they do. Now - as I predict - when it all turns out to be madness they will claim “oh we never believed it anyway”
No, the centrist dads - like me - said this was all going to blow over.
Basically, our take on most things is "there's a lot of ruin in a nation", and you do more damage by reflexive behaviours than by just ignoring it, and waiting until it goes away.
My view has always been - and I've repeated it 100x on here - use whatever pronouns you like (i.e. be polite to people and treat them as they would like to be treated), but no sport and no access to single sex spaces. I would, however, make accomodartions in terms of creation of gender neutral bathrooms.
That is literally the most centrist dad take you can have.
And guess what? It was the right take, and didn't involve being a total cock to people.
The especially right on centrists dads were also totally cool about their kids sterilising themselves for life over a hysterical fad. Great news it's in full blown retreat but plenty of lives have been ruined in the meantime.
On a similar note, reading a few too many horror stories about the state of primary schools right now and so again thankful we decided to destroy the life chances of several years of children to add a few extra months to the life expectancy of the most selfish generation in history.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve just got on my train! (This is exciting stuff for an economist working in financial markets).
I'm impressed you know him/her by sight. Even if you do work in financial markets.
Jay Powell is like the Taylor Swift of my professional world.
It's good, it's more than good, but the PB ultimate is to run into ... PROFESSOR JOHN CURTICE !!!
Palpitations wouldn't cover it.
Um, I have done that. I've been in the same conferences/audience three times and I have spoken to him once. True fact, dat.
Wow. So that's 2 PBers then, you and CR. I hope there aren't many more otherwise he's going to lose his mystique.
He's quite tall, which doesn't come across on telly. I'm not sure if he was in the audience for a lecture I gave (it's possible but I'm not certain) but I was in the audience for one or two lectures he gave, especially when the RSS Conference was in Glasgow (he works in the University of Strathclyde). I spoke to him after one: it was just after he got knighted, I think? We spoke about how the reducing votes in what were then safe Labour seats would cause Labour problems in future, and yes he was right.
The RSS used to hold talks in its then-HQ in Errol Street. A popular strand is psephology/polling/elections, and he used to pop along occasionally. One time I was talking about how one of the better electoral predictors was Prof Stephen Fisher, and a guy about eight feet away from me said "Actually, I'm Stephen Fisher": I yodelled in embarrassment.
If you look on Eventbrite or the RSS or NCRM, there are lots of little talks like this. It's in those talks that I met OGH (genial) and Matt Goodwin (intense). It's funny what you can pick up.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
Dennis Thatcher.....after been detaine by the security services.
When was Dennis Thatcher detained by the security services?
No, twas me. Told this story on here a number of times.
Mr and Mrs T were on holiday at the height of the IRA wanting to kill her. I was adult sized human as a 11/12 year old, I came around the corner and knocked Denis flying. All hell broken loose, security services came from everywhere, jumped on me, and detained me, to find they had gone all code red on a 12 year old kid.
Despite not being his fault, Denis bought me and my parents lunch.
I did also end up on holiday with Gareth Southgate once. He was as boring as you would expect. Different holiday, ended up at the bar with Sean Dyche, was a great laugh.
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
I’d suggest the west end would be more chilled out for a family visit with lots of places within walking distance - Kelvingrove Park & museum, university, restaurants etc. Even a Waitrose to do your big shop! Lots of eateries in Finnieston (regularly voted one of the coolest neighbourhoods in UK) just along from Kelvingrove including Mother India as suggested by Malc, it also has the Hidden Lane for funky hipness and craft stuff.
Thanks uniondivvie - it's a good 10 years since I've been to Glasgow, but you're confirming my gut feeling. We'll stop in the West End for lunch and a mooch on the way up, and I'll look for somewhere in the West End to stay overnight on the way back, calling into the city centre during the day. Kelvingrove, tall ship, Willow Tea Rooms. Wish we had longer now!
The last time I was in Glasgow was to record an episode of the quiz show "Eggheads".
You were on Eggheads? That beats my 15 to 1 hands down.
Anyone can get on Eggheads! Winning it is the challenge. We didn't win. We did creditably well. I beat my egghead, but it was only Judith.
That's seriously impressive. I went out in the 1st round on 15 to 1. Knew the answers but froze under the pressure of the situation.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
She is but it was an event to stop girls being trafficked around the world, so she was dressed sober and I didn't want to letch as it wasn't apt given the subject.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
My wife has met everybody famous, for certain reasons which I do not wish to share with PB.
She has seen Angelina Jolie naked, and reported that she was indeed the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
In terms of actual conversations, Theresa May for about 5 minutes, Boris for about 20 seconds, David Sullivan for about a minute, Richard Bacon for about 2 minutes on a train (I liked his radio show and he was going to a wedding). Plus Shimon Peres I asked a question of at an NUS conference. Dan Stevens was the year below me at school and I remember going on a school trip to France with him and may have exchanged a few words at some point. Clearly though you lead the way
I may have mentioned this before, but quite a close friend of mine used to go to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Highgate with the guy who played the Colonel in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
"Britain's most remote pub has cancelled a Harry Potter themed Halloween night in Lochaber after staff were subjected to "inappropriate grief". The Old Forge in Inverie, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, said the event was planned as "just a fun night" but had subsequently "proved dividing." Harry Potter author JK Rowling has received both criticism and support for her strong gender critical views."
Funnily enough I was in Knoydart a month or two ago. I have to say it is not a typical Highland community. Seemed to be full of well-heeled alternative lifers. The old church had been transformed into a very bijou-looking residence.
Nevertheless, a bit weird that the last stand of the hard-line trans-righters should be somewhere only accessible by boat.
Actually not that weird. I know that bit of Scotland really well - I've been several times
There's a similar situation on Scoraig, which - like Knoydart - is one of the very rare settlements in mainland Britain without road access. Scoraig is full of Woke English eco-loons - I guess you have to be eccentric to live in such remote circs in the first place
Indeed Scoraig and Knoydart might be the only two mainland UK settlements without roads? I know the community on Scoraig was offered one, but they said No. Felt it would ruin the magic. And THAT I understand
It's beautiful, and a bit sad, in a lovely way, like Knoydart
Bloody immigrants coming here and imposing upon us their deranged ideologies. Though that could also be said of a noisy novelist.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
Dennis Thatcher.....after been detaine by the security services.
When was Dennis Thatcher detained by the security services?
No, twas me. Told this story on here a number of times.
Mr and Mrs T were on holiday at the height of the IRA wanting to kill her. I was adult sized human as a 11/12 year old, I came around the corner and knocked Denis flying. All hell broken loose, security services came from everywhere, jumped on me, and detained me, to find they had gone all code red on a 12 year old kid.
Despite not being his fault, Denis bought me and my parent lunch.
I did also end up on holiday with Gareth Southgate once. He was as boring as you would expect.
Many years ago (but after 9/11) I once managed to get my car in the middle of Tony Blair's convoy on the A1.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
My wife has met everybody famous, for certain reasons which I do not wish to share with PB.
She has seen Angelina Jolie naked, and reported that she was indeed the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
I may have mentioned this before, but quite a close friend of mine used to go to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Highgate with the guy who played the Colonel in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
Yep. True story. All in the same room
Truly Viz-worthy, tho surely apocryphal. Can’t imagine Donald Hewlett going to N.A.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
My wife has met everybody famous, for certain reasons which I do not wish to share with PB.
She has seen Angelina Jolie naked, and reported that she was indeed the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
I may have mentioned this before, but quite a close friend of mine used to go to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Highgate with the guy who played the Colonel in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
Yep. True story. All in the same room
Truly Viz-worthy, tho surely apocraphyl. Can’t imagine Donald Hewlett going to N.A.
Actually, it's totally true
I am breaking loads of NA rules here but they are both dead (RIP) so I'm not
I may have mentioned this before, but quite a close friend of mine used to go to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Highgate with the guy who played the Colonel in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
Yep. True story. All in the same room
Sounds more like a Jim'll Paint It scene than reality.
Graph 1: "students not identifying as male or female" does not equal "people wanting to take hormones" does not equal "people on hormones"
Graph 3: I don't understand how you can have "2026 class", "2027 class", and "2028 class" on the x-axis.
Generally As ever, absolute values as well as relative values are needed. 3% of a small number is less than 2% of a large number.
Wholeheartedly agreed on your general comment, which is similar point to what I made at the start of the thread.
On the 2026 class etc, would that not generally be graduating years?
My daughter started year 7 last month which means she is in the class of 2030.
More Americanisms creeping in: year 7 (would that be 7th grade or are we off by one?); graduation from school; class of. No doubt a prom instead of a school disco and if she is in the running for homecoming queen I'm giving up and moving to Kansas.
I am about to cancel my membership of American Express, ban this sick filth.
F1 introduces pre-race ‘half time’ show with ‘Grid Gigs’ concept
At this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, the pre-race build-up will feature a “pre-race opening show” courtesy of American Express.
Ahead of lights out at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, country music artist Drake Milligan will perform on the grid as cars begin to leave their garages for their sighting laps.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
My wife has met everybody famous, for certain reasons which I do not wish to share with PB.
She has seen Angelina Jolie naked, and reported that she was indeed the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
Now weep for the young people mutilated - because a bunch of creeps hijacked teenage angst, and a lot of lefties and politicians who should know better supported this madness
Which means that the panic was massively overblown? And the centrist dads were right?
What an utterly ridiculous take. The centrist dads went along with all this. It’s what they do. Now - as I predict - when it all turns out to be madness they will claim “oh we never believed it anyway”
No, the centrist dads - like me - said this was all going to blow over.
Basically, our take on most things is "there's a lot of ruin in a nation", and you do more damage by reflexive behaviours than by just ignoring it, and waiting until it goes away.
My view has always been - and I've repeated it 100x on here - use whatever pronouns you like (i.e. be polite to people and treat them as they would like to be treated), but no sport and no access to single sex spaces. I would, however, make accomodartions in terms of creation of gender neutral bathrooms.
That is literally the most centrist dad take you can have.
And guess what? It was the right take, and didn't involve being a total cock to people.
No. Less damage would have been done if children hadn’t received hideous treatment at the tax payers expense. It’s the “be kind” attitude which enabled that.
I don’t know if you are a parent, but “kind but firm” is a pretty standard MO.
When my sister was about 10 she liked to dress as a guy and insisted on being called Kevin (we negotiated her down to “Jason”).
After a couple of years she grew out of it and is now a happy & fulfilled mother of 3.
You can be kind and respectful without facilitating life changing surgery or medication
I am. “Be kind” as a moral guideline became utterly deformed by the cult of woke, to the extent that eventually it became subverted. Had the likes of JK R followed the “Doing nothing” mantra, it’s not obvious we would yet be emerging from the trans nightmare.
When the history of it is written, I’m convinced we’ll conclude it was largely a St Petersburg psyop campaign that was more successful at sowing Western social discord than they can ever have dreamt.
The point was encouraging surgical intervention for children wasn’t “do nothing”. It was mistaking kindness for weakness.
Be kind is treat people respectfully, support them, but require them to wait until 18 before making any irreversible decisions
The big losers are NSC who are going to lose all their 20 seats.
Make some sense of it if you can. Would the CDA under Bontenbal go into Government with the PVV? Seems implausible but is there a coalition possible which can get more than or at least close to 76 seats in the House of Representatives? The old Labour Party went into coalition with the VVD (akin to a Conservative-Labour coalition here). Could that happen with the CDA and D66 getting involved - they would have 76 on the above projection.
I note Yaxley Lennon seems to have been stopped under *checks news report* terrorism legislation. Despite being " no angel" as I think the common description is I don't recall him being considered a terrorist or potential terrorist by the state at any point. Perhaps the officers who stopped him have access to intelligence that he is. Or it might be a misuse of police powers. One or the other I suppose !
Mostly we have a ridiculously broad characterisation of what terrorism is.
If elderly vicars wearing t-shirts are terrorists why isn't someone who incites racial and religious terror for political purposes not a terrorist?
In Northern Ireland, Yaxley would be on multiple government as a Community Representative. 6 figures, big house.
He would have to be a bit more of a terrorist than he is now, of course. But I think he could rise to the challenge.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
In terms of actual conversations, Theresa May for about 5 minutes, Boris for about 20 seconds, David Sullivan for about a minute, Richard Bacon for about 2 minutes on a train (I liked his radio show and he was going to a wedding). Plus Shimon Peres I asked a question of at an NUS conference. Dan Stevens was the year below me at school and I remember going on a school trip to France with him and may have exchanged a few words at some point. Clearly though you lead the way
As it happens, I did meet the late Queen, and was photographed by the local rag shaking her hand, then I had to accompany Philip for an hour while he toured the crowd. Politicians are ten a penny; I spent a lot of time with Clegg, met Cameron at Downing Street, had dinner with David Blunkett, and lesser MPs too many to remember. Outside the world of politics I had a long chat with Jimmy Page at an Olympics event, who was an astonishingly decent guy. I was on That’s Life and met Esther Rantzen, who was another genuinely decent person. I knew Alan Johnson before he went into politics, as well as Wes Streeting when he was a newbie councillor. And spent more time than I would have cared for with Johnson, both in public and private. Despite almost a lifetime in the Liberals and LibDems, I never came across young Truss.
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
Good evening everyone, especially @Cookie. Just settling down after a busy day. I would definitely head for the West End rather than the city centre. I second the recommendations for the University. While there, you may wish to visit the Hunterian Museum. The Art Gallery is also worth a visit. If you are visiting the Art Gallery, you are close to Mother India for lunch. At the top of Byres Road, I would recommend Oran Mor. Try and book for A Play, A Pie and A Pint at lunchtime, which will be a very different lunchtime experience. Across the road is Waitrose, if you want posher nosh than Tesco’s when in the Trossachs. Off Byres Road, check out Ashton Lane and Ruthven Lane for some extra quirkyness. When you are in the Trossachs, the steamship Sir Walter Scott sails on Loch Katrine daily until 26th October, if you are there by then. I hope you all enjoy your break.
Naive of me, I know, but I was surprised when my order of Glasgow salad, while in a pub in Sauchiehall Street, proved to be a bowl of chips.
Last Glasgow pub I visited was so rough, even the arms on the chairs had tattoos.
It was gentrifying though as the toilets had toilet paper.
The last Glasgow pub I went to must have been popular with IT specialists as someone had written the initials for File Transfer Protocol all over the walls of the bogs.
Now weep for the young people mutilated - because a bunch of creeps hijacked teenage angst, and a lot of lefties and politicians who should know better supported this madness
Which means that the panic was massively overblown? And the centrist dads were right?
What an utterly ridiculous take. The centrist dads went along with all this. It’s what they do. Now - as I predict - when it all turns out to be madness they will claim “oh we never believed it anyway”
No, the centrist dads - like me - said this was all going to blow over.
Basically, our take on most things is "there's a lot of ruin in a nation", and you do more damage by reflexive behaviours than by just ignoring it, and waiting until it goes away.
My view has always been - and I've repeated it 100x on here - use whatever pronouns you like (i.e. be polite to people and treat them as they would like to be treated), but no sport and no access to single sex spaces. I would, however, make accomodartions in terms of creation of gender neutral bathrooms.
That is literally the most centrist dad take you can have.
And guess what? It was the right take, and didn't involve being a total cock to people.
But it didn't just "blow over" it took court cases and a Trump victory to end the nonsense. The idea that it just went away by itself is for the birds. Without the effort of the women and women's rights activists, the American right and the LGB alliance the situation would be far worse than before because the trans activists were getting zero pushback from "centrist dads" telling us all it costs nothing to be polite when in reality they were telling us to appease the nonsense and knuckle under because they were afraid of being cancelled.
The fundamental characteristic of the PB centrist dads is Cowardice. They are all desperate cowards
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
I've met, inter alia, David Cameron, Angelina Jolie, Jürgen Klopp, I stayed at the same hotel as the same time as Rupert Murdoch.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I think Jagger beats all those. Soz
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
I once had a chat with Tim Berners-Lee, which for a total Internet nerd, as I was at the time, was just fantastic.
Off thread - are any of the Glaswegian contingent around ( @Theuniondivvie@Fairliered )? The week after next, the family and I are off to the Trossachs for a few days (me, wife, girls of 15/14/10). My vague plan is to head up via Glasgow, stopping for lunch somewhere agreeable in Hillhead/Kenvingrove type area, followed by a quick mooch around for an hour or two - then a big shop at Tesco for supplies for the week and on to the Trossachs - then on the way back, get a hotel for the night and spend 24 hours in Glasgow. If you were to try to impress a set of fairly upbeat teenage girls with Glasgow, what would you show them? (Daughter #1 has already put in a request for a quick mooch around the university just to see if she like the feel of the place). I'm in two minds whether to look for somewhere city centre or west end to stay.
I’d suggest the west end would be more chilled out for a family visit with lots of places within walking distance - Kelvingrove Park & museum, university, restaurants etc. Even a Waitrose to do your big shop! Lots of eateries in Finnieston (regularly voted one of the coolest neighbourhoods in UK) just along from Kelvingrove including Mother India as suggested by Malc, it also has the Hidden Lane for funky hipness and craft stuff.
Thanks uniondivvie - it's a good 10 years since I've been to Glasgow, but you're confirming my gut feeling. We'll stop in the West End for lunch and a mooch on the way up, and I'll look for somewhere in the West End to stay overnight on the way back, calling into the city centre during the day. Kelvingrove, tall ship, Willow Tea Rooms. Wish we had longer now!
The last time I was in Glasgow was to record an episode of the quiz show "Eggheads".
Did you beat the eggheads, or are you a secret egghead?
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
Kurt Cobain possibly for me. More recently, and colloquially, chatted to Peter Mullan and Nicola Sturgeon in the local park. Though I had quite a long chat with Princess Di back in the day (father was part of a security detail so I got an invite to a thing).
Oh - and Jackie Stewart - who was - of all of them - the most charming, delightful and impressive.
He'd come to chat to schoolkids who had dyslexia (as did he). Inspired a whole bunch of kids to do something in life where-as the education system had told them they'd be lucky to make it as a shelf-stacker.
I may have mentioned this before, but quite a close friend of mine used to go to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Highgate with the guy who played the Colonel in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum"
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
Yep. True story. All in the same room
Truly Viz-worthy, tho surely apocryphal. Can’t imagine Donald Hewlett going to N.A.
Well Frank Bough was quite the dark horse. Anyway despite his claims of untolled depravity, Leon's weakness is for a second sweet sherry.
OK who is THE most famous person PBers have spoken with? ie exchanged words with?
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Ha, I shall circumvent your petty rule by noting that I spent time in a room alone with The Queen, and NO WORDS WERE EXCHANGED!
She was curious who I was and why I was in her house, and I couldn't remember the appropriate formal greeting so she turned around and walked away
You are Michael Fagan and I claim my £5.......
I've done heroin with Michael Fagan
I WIN THE INTERNETZ
"I've had a few guns pointed at my head and shit like that. But I mean, you walk into a crack house and what do you expect? Everybody's fucked out of their heads and they've all got .38s down the back of their pants!"
I did also once stand next to Helen McCrory in the Coop in Llandeilo, not knowing who she was until I saw her later standing next to Damien Lewis by the tills.
We're also barely a year off the next Danish General election.
One or two on here have praised the Danish Government's stance on immigration but within the country the three-party coalition of the Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates has seen support fall from near 50% in the 2022 election to 34% now.
The shattering of the traditional "Red" and "Blue" blocs (which were led traditionally and respectively by the Social Democrats and Venstre) has led to new alliances in Danish politics.
The opposition to the Government has developed on both flanks - on the "left" flank it is led by the Socialist Folkeparti which runs joint second with the leading "right" group, the Liberal Alliance. Both trail the Social Democrats who are still supported by around 20% of the electorate.
The Danish Democrats and the Dansk Folkeparti are polling around 9% each so you have in effect four groupings - the Government coalition, the "left" bloc, the "right" bloc and the "populist bloc". If that remains, the Government could well be re-elected but as with the Netherlands, there is huge volatility.
In Austria, the governing parties (OVP, SPO and NEOS) have 45% between them in the latest poll with the Freedom Party on 38% and the Greens on 10%. That's a 10% swing away from the governing coalition since the last election.
Sweden is also less than a year off an election and the opposition Social Democrats and their allies have a decisive lead over the Government coalition and its supporters. The latest polls put the opposition on 51% and winning 193 seats in the 349 seat Riksdag, a comfortable majority.
Comments
I was initially shocked and upset when someone took it off me, without as much as a word, until he signed it and returned it.
It was Greg Norman. I think he thought I was a fan of his. 🤣
(but I get and appreciate the real message, you've met him! very impressive info)
https://banksylimitless.com/london/
There's a similar situation on Scoraig, which - like Knoydart - is one of the very rare settlements in mainland Britain without road access. Scoraig is full of Woke English eco-loons - I guess you have to be eccentric to live in such remote circs in the first place
Indeed Scoraig and Knoydart might be the only two mainland UK settlements without roads? I know the community on Scoraig was offered one, but they said No. Felt it would ruin the magic. And THAT I understand
It's beautiful, and a bit sad, in a lovely way, like Knoydart
Freemasons Arms and The Hill
I guess anyone who spoke to the late Queen (I didn't) wins this, so royalty is disallowed, because a series of answers saying The Queen will be boring
Mine is probably Mick Jagger, then Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Then Keanu Reeves, maybe. Cameron Diaz once passed me a beer at a party
And I would walk five hundred more
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da dum diddy dum diddy dum diddy da da da
We didn't win. We did creditably well. I beat my egghead, but it was only Judith.
My father met Prince Phillip.
I actually think spotting Kate Moss is a right of passage for a Londoner.
On a similar note, reading a few too many horror stories about the state of primary schools right now and so again thankful we decided to destroy the life chances of several years of children to add a few extra months to the life expectancy of the most selfish generation in history.
Actually he suits this site too.
IIRC we did this same test a few years ago, and in the end we disallowed royalty and politicians, as their job is to go out and talk to people meaninglessly, so they're kind of a cheat
Angelina Jolie is good, tho. As beautiful in real life?
And another. Its ridiculous.
The RSS used to hold talks in its then-HQ in Errol Street. A popular strand is psephology/polling/elections, and he used to pop along occasionally. One time I was talking about how one of the better electoral predictors was Prof Stephen Fisher, and a guy about eight feet away from me said "Actually, I'm Stephen Fisher": I yodelled in embarrassment.
If you look on Eventbrite or the RSS or NCRM, there are lots of little talks like this. It's in those talks that I met OGH (genial) and Matt Goodwin (intense). It's funny what you can pick up.
Mr and Mrs T were on holiday at the height of the IRA wanting to kill her. I was adult sized human as a 11/12 year old, I came around the corner and knocked Denis flying. All hell broken loose, security services came from everywhere, jumped on me, and detained me, to find they had gone all code red on a 12 year old kid.
Despite not being his fault, Denis bought me and my parents lunch.
I did also end up on holiday with Gareth Southgate once. He was as boring as you would expect. Different holiday, ended up at the bar with Sean Dyche, was a great laugh.
She has seen Angelina Jolie naked, and reported that she was indeed the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
Which is pretty incredible in itself, but at the same meeting was the guy who played the bass in the regular band on the Kids' show Rainbow, the one with Bungle and Zippy
Yep. True story. All in the same room
Though that could also be said of a noisy novelist.
A police Range Rover asked me to pull over.
Can’t imagine Donald Hewlett going to N.A.
I am breaking loads of NA rules here but they are both dead (RIP) so I'm not
F1 introduces pre-race ‘half time’ show with ‘Grid Gigs’ concept
At this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, the pre-race build-up will feature a “pre-race opening show” courtesy of American Express.
Ahead of lights out at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, country music artist Drake Milligan will perform on the grid as cars begin to leave their garages for their sighting laps.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/f1-introduces-pre-race-half-time-show-with-grid-gigs-concept/ar-AA1Osd2E?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ASTS&cvid=68ee8d5ddecd4dd993ed69807ca0c9c2&ei=52
Be kind is treat people respectfully, support them, but require them to wait until 18 before making any irreversible decisions
Two weeks from an election in the Netherlands and the latest seat projection from the Verian pollster as follows (changes from ther 2023 election):
PVV: 31 (-6)
Green/Labour: 25 (nc)
CDA: 23 (+18)
VVD: 14 (-10)
D66: 14 (+5)
JA21: 13 (+12)
The big losers are NSC who are going to lose all their 20 seats.
Make some sense of it if you can. Would the CDA under Bontenbal go into Government with the PVV? Seems implausible but is there a coalition possible which can get more than or at least close to 76 seats in the House of Representatives? The old Labour Party went into coalition with the VVD (akin to a Conservative-Labour coalition here). Could that happen with the CDA and D66 getting involved - they would have 76 on the above projection.
I feel I win the crap celebrity connection award.
"Sean Thomas
The madness and myth of the Faroe Islands
A journey through wind, rain and legend on Europe’s wildest islands" (£)
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-madness-and-myth-of-the-faroe-islands
He would have to be a bit more of a terrorist than he is now, of course. But I think he could rise to the challenge.
She was curious who I was and why I was in her house, and I couldn't remember the appropriate formal greeting so she turned around and walked away
Ministers and security chiefs have written to leading UK companies about cyber security.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-letter-on-cyber-security-to-leading-uk-companies/ministerial-letter-on-cyber-security
Subtly different and much more insidious.
An “I feel your pain” approach
And Michael Portillo filming outside Ely station.
He said "I'll be back" when he got in, to the people seeing him off, then "I'll be back" to me and the others in the lift when he got out
He didn't seem to be tired of it
Oh - and Jackie Stewart - who was - of all of them - the most charming, delightful and impressive.
He'd come to chat to schoolkids who had dyslexia (as did he). Inspired a whole bunch of kids to do something in life where-as the education system had told them they'd be lucky to make it as a shelf-stacker.
https://x.com/rcolvile/status/1978057203476013275#m
I WIN THE INTERNETZ
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/14/forget-sumo-wrestling-bring-back-big-daddy/
One or two on here have praised the Danish Government's stance on immigration but within the country the three-party coalition of the Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates has seen support fall from near 50% in the 2022 election to 34% now.
The shattering of the traditional "Red" and "Blue" blocs (which were led traditionally and respectively by the Social Democrats and Venstre) has led to new alliances in Danish politics.
The opposition to the Government has developed on both flanks - on the "left" flank it is led by the Socialist Folkeparti which runs joint second with the leading "right" group, the Liberal Alliance. Both trail the Social Democrats who are still supported by around 20% of the electorate.
The Danish Democrats and the Dansk Folkeparti are polling around 9% each so you have in effect four groupings - the Government coalition, the "left" bloc, the "right" bloc and the "populist bloc". If that remains, the Government could well be re-elected but as with the Netherlands, there is huge volatility.
In Austria, the governing parties (OVP, SPO and NEOS) have 45% between them in the latest poll with the Freedom Party on 38% and the Greens on 10%. That's a 10% swing away from the governing coalition since the last election.
Sweden is also less than a year off an election and the opposition Social Democrats and their allies have a decisive lead over the Government coalition and its supporters. The latest polls put the opposition on 51% and winning 193 seats in the 349 seat Riksdag, a comfortable majority.