I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
I noted with a mild sadness after looking at Google maps and then cross checking a few months ago that the Hydroponicum seems to be long gone.
The best named tourist attraction ever.
It was named by Robert Irving, owner of the Summer Isles Hotel and father of Castaway Lucy. Originally just a collection of poly tunnels on the croft below the hotel, to provide fresh veg for the guests, it was later developed as a tourist destination with Wester Ross bananas a headline attraction. Sadly it cost far more to run than it could ever recoup in ticket money and eventually it was demolished. The site has now reverted to a community garden and it looked a bit forlorn when I was there in June.
And the hotel is being revamped and not due to reopen until 2027.
Summer Isles Hotel.
Once had a few beers in there. Marvellous.
Was Britt Eklands stunt double cavorting around stark bollock naked in the room next door trying to tempt you ?
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
She isn’t wrong about an elite group that’s destroying Britain.
But she flatters herself if she thinks her actions were secret.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
People who hate immigrants often hate lots of other people too.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
Have you forgotten already the bloke immediately before Liz Truss?
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
They assume it’s the wrong sort (colour/religion) of people getting the incentives.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
Prosecutions in Virginia in turmoil. The Trump DOJ are insisting that Lindsey Halligan is the top attorney, even though a judge ruled she was not appointed properly (as Trump skipped Senate approval): https://youtu.be/OKLmHXU3w5E Other judges refusing to accept her name on documents. The US government is just ignoring a court ruling they don't like. The rule of law is disintegrating.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I've been enjoying it - but I'm still not sure where it's going with..."it all".
It does have an awful feeling of "Lost". There are only a few possible endings
Carol achieves nothing Carol Joins Carol dies Carol kills the unJoined Carol kills the Joined Carol makes the Joined separate voluntarily Carol makes the Joined separate involuntarily
The Joined separate voluntarily The Joined die The Joined remain joined
The Joined join further with terrestrial nonhumans (trees, elephants, whatevs) and we go full Gaia The Joined join further with extraterrestrial nonhumans (aliens, whatevs) and we go full Galaxia
Pause
Time travel
How about Carol takes a shower and realises it was all a dream?
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I've been enjoying it - but I'm still not sure where it's going with..."it all".
It does have an awful feeling of "Lost". There are only a few possible endings
Carol achieves nothing Carol Joins Carol dies Carol kills the unJoined Carol kills the Joined Carol makes the Joined separate voluntarily Carol makes the Joined separate involuntarily
The Joined separate voluntarily The Joined die The Joined remain joined
The Joined join further with terrestrial nonhumans (trees, elephants, whatevs) and we go full Gaia The Joined join further with extraterrestrial nonhumans (aliens, whatevs) and we go full Galaxia
Pause
Time travel
I'm sad to say I found the writing in engaging, and gave up after an episode. It does the great Rhea Seehorn no favours.
Vince Gilligan's style works when rooted in character and (heightened) reality. With this material, it just seems ... plodding.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
The only thing she had going for her was a dogged determination to get on and make trade deals. The membership approved of that.
But she was the worst choice they could have made, even if they had opened it up to non-MPs.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
To think this woman was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, even if it was only for five minutes. Gladstone would weep.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
To think this woman was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, even if it was only for five minutes. Gladstone would weep.
More likely to try and save her.
Whom or what she would be saved for, I’ll leave up to you…
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
To think this woman was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, even if it was only for five minutes. Gladstone would weep.
More likely to try and save her.
Whom or what she would be saved for, I’ll leave up to you…
Seriously, Liz Truss does need help. This isn't normal.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
To think this woman was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, even if it was only for five minutes. Gladstone would weep.
More likely to try and save her.
Whom or what she would be saved for, I’ll leave up to you…
Seriously, Liz Truss does need help. This isn't normal.
She always was off the wall. Remember cheese? Or pork? Or this?
Nigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.
After days of pressure, Reform UK said on Friday it had revoked Cooper’s party membership. He is also no longer the leader of Staffordshire county council, a local authority responsible for more than a million people.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, Cllr Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”
Nigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.
After days of pressure, Reform UK said on Friday it had revoked Cooper’s party membership. He is also no longer the leader of Staffordshire county council, a local authority responsible for more than a million people.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, Cllr Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”
So it was the "failure to declare" not the racist content that got his membership revoked?
Nigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.
After days of pressure, Reform UK said on Friday it had revoked Cooper’s party membership. He is also no longer the leader of Staffordshire county council, a local authority responsible for more than a million people.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, Cllr Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”
The cardinal rule of Reform, never say the quiet part out loud. Or make sure you did it 50 years ago and describe it as banter and not intentionally racist.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
She rose through the ranks by reliably saying what the party wanted her to say, which made her useful.
She got one of the "next PM in waiting" seats because BoJo put Liz'n'Rishi in them. Partly for lack of alternatives and partly because Big Dog wanted to be surrounded by Little Puppies.
She got the leadership of a traumatised party by being confident when Rishi gave off Rishi-mithering-vibes.
But whilst those in the know were pretty confident it would end in tears (character, destiny and all that, and becoming PM always ends in tears), I don't think anyone predicted that she would blow up quite so spectacularly and quickly.
'A man is stopped by the police for driving erratically. He is asked for a breath test, but produces a card saying 'asthmatic - please do not breathalyse.' He is then asked for a blood test, but produces a card saying 'anaemic - please do not take blood.' In frustration the police demand a urine test. Out comes a third card. 'This man is an England test cricketer. Please do not take...'
Nigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.
After days of pressure, Reform UK said on Friday it had revoked Cooper’s party membership. He is also no longer the leader of Staffordshire county council, a local authority responsible for more than a million people.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, Cllr Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”
The cardinal rule of Reform, never say the quiet part out loud. Or make sure you did it 50 years ago and describe it as banter and not intentionally racist.
Plausible enough deniability has always been Nigel's superpower. That's as true of his economic plans as of his attitudes to the race question.
It's what brilliant political communicators do, because communication is more about the sizzle than the sausage. (Yes, Polanski, I am looking at you.) Obviously the ideal is to have political leadership that can have good ideas and communicate them well, but the 'good ideas' bit is definitely secondary when it comes to winning elections.
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Because neither is an easy option.
Direct electric heating (or high temperature output heat pumps) might be the best option if electricity prices fall sufficiently.
Probably a couple of years ago now but I remember an interesting BBC article about developing electric wallpaper for heating. I rather like the idea, but not heard anything of it since. It would also have the huge perk of not having to rip out old pipes then install new ones.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
All joking aside, I tend to agree that she needs a serious intervention for her mental health. I am no doctor, but if I saw this pattern of behaviour in a work colleague I would be asking for a diagnosis and support for the afflicted. This could end very badly indeed. I met her when she was a Lib Dem and she seemed pretty brittle then. Now she seems to have lost all touch with reality.
Just to show what can be achieved in cricket under adversity, the West Indies saved the test against New Zealand in Christchurch by batting for most of the last two days.
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Because neither is an easy option.
Direct electric heating (or high temperature output heat pumps) might be the best option if electricity prices fall sufficiently.
Probably a couple of years ago now but I remember an interesting BBC article about developing electric wallpaper for heating. I rather like the idea, but not heard anything of it since. It would also have the huge perk of not having to rip out old pipes then install new ones.
It would have to be very bland wallpaper. Some people have a tendency to er, use to show off their personality*. Would mean you woud have to strip out the central heating if you bought such a house.
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Don't fall for the Silver Bullet Fallacy.
We get better by thousands of tiny little improvements. Heating is a problem for another day.
We can't keep pushing it back if we are to achieve 2050 Net Zero.
No politician wants to announce the decision because they know that both options will be deeply unpopular. The "Hydrogen Village" trials were abandoned in the face of local opposition before they even started.
Folk just want to keep their natural gas boilers, but that isn't an option.
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Because neither is an easy option.
Direct electric heating (or high temperature output heat pumps) might be the best option if electricity prices fall sufficiently.
Probably a couple of years ago now but I remember an interesting BBC article about developing electric wallpaper for heating. I rather like the idea, but not heard anything of it since. It would also have the huge perk of not having to rip out old pipes then install new ones.
It would have to be very bland wallpaper. Some people have a tendency to er, use to show off their personality*. Would mean you woud have to strip out the central heating if you bought such a house.
*Imagine Leon's wallpaper choices....
Electric wallpaper (which would be an excellent name for a John Peel style music show) is a bit of a misnomer. It's metal sheets behind the plaster;
Key benefit is the control- heat the rooms you want and not the ones you don't, whereas a standard CH system is less intelligent. But it's still 1 unit of electricity or fuel becoming 1 unit of heat. The neat thing about heat pumps is using 1 unit of input to release 3-5 units of heat by grabbing energy from the surrounding air.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
She rose through the ranks by reliably saying what the party wanted her to say, which made her useful.
She got one of the "next PM in waiting" seats because BoJo put Liz'n'Rishi in them. Partly for lack of alternatives and partly because Big Dog wanted to be surrounded by Little Puppies.
She got the leadership of a traumatised party by being confident when Rishi gave off Rishi-mithering-vibes.
But whilst those in the know were pretty confident it would end in tears (character, destiny and all that, and becoming PM always ends in tears), I don't think anyone predicted that she would blow up quite so spectacularly and quickly.
Wort remembering Farage's infallible judgemen5 on the 5russ Budget:
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
She rose through the ranks by reliably saying what the party wanted her to say, which made her useful.
She got one of the "next PM in waiting" seats because BoJo put Liz'n'Rishi in them. Partly for lack of alternatives and partly because Big Dog wanted to be surrounded by Little Puppies.
She got the leadership of a traumatised party by being confident when Rishi gave off Rishi-mithering-vibes.
But whilst those in the know were pretty confident it would end in tears (character, destiny and all that, and becoming PM always ends in tears), I don't think anyone predicted that she would blow up quite so spectacularly and quickly.
Wort remembering Farage's infallible judgemen5 on the 5russ Budget:
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
She rose through the ranks by reliably saying what the party wanted her to say, which made her useful.
She got one of the "next PM in waiting" seats because BoJo put Liz'n'Rishi in them. Partly for lack of alternatives and partly because Big Dog wanted to be surrounded by Little Puppies.
She got the leadership of a traumatised party by being confident when Rishi gave off Rishi-mithering-vibes.
But whilst those in the know were pretty confident it would end in tears (character, destiny and all that, and becoming PM always ends in tears), I don't think anyone predicted that she would blow up quite so spectacularly and quickly.
Wort remembering Farage's infallible judgemen5 on the 5russ Budget:
Some people do actually have more sympathetic/positive memories of her economic efforts. It's a mistake to focus fire on Farage over that, those opposed to him would do better, I think, to focus on his pro-Russian bullshit.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
All joking aside, I tend to agree that she needs a serious intervention for her mental health. I am no doctor, but if I saw this pattern of behaviour in a work colleague I would be asking for a diagnosis and support for the afflicted. This could end very badly indeed. I met her when she was a Lib Dem and she seemed pretty brittle then. Now she seems to have lost all touch with reality.
Thank god she was ousted from power promptly. Imagine what the world would be like if people with similar views to her somehow ended up as, say, superrich billionaires owning social media companies, or vice-presidents of the US.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
To think this woman was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, even if it was only for five minutes. Gladstone would weep.
And yet she's still more correct on Ukraine than Nigel Farage...
Just clicked on. How the fuck has Rio Ferdinand got on this ?
Morning Taz, he was cringe making , well suited among the other muppets trying to make it like the Oscars or the Superbowl. The peace prize was vomit inducing, Infantino has to be the biggest arse licker in the world.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
Red, we also did Ayrshire to Dover in a day, got ferry and then hotel once we got off. Cars were not limousines either
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Was she always this bonkers or did she go completely hatstand after her fall from office?
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
She was bonkers beforehand, I couldn't understand how the Tories put her in charge - although even I didn't expect her to implode that spectacularly. She has definitely become more unhinged since though. It's sad actually - someone close to her should intervene. A former British PM shouldn't be behaving like this, it demeans the office and the country.
All joking aside, I tend to agree that she needs a serious intervention for her mental health. I am no doctor, but if I saw this pattern of behaviour in a work colleague I would be asking for a diagnosis and support for the afflicted. This could end very badly indeed. I met her when she was a Lib Dem and she seemed pretty brittle then. Now she seems to have lost all touch with reality.
If we plan to treat the mental health of all the MAGA adjacents who have lost touch with reality we would need to double income tax!
Just clicked on. How the fuck has Rio Ferdinand got on this ?
Morning Taz, he was cringe making , well suited among the other muppets trying to make it like the Oscars or the Superbowl. The peace prize was vomit inducing, Infantino has to be the biggest arse licker in the world.
Hey Malc, hope you’re good. It was terrible, wasn’t it. The whole peace prize stuff was embarrassing.
FIFA is a shockingly awful organisation.
Need to go back to the days when Sir Rod did a cup draw.
Apparently there is a second one today to work out where they play !
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
Red, we also did Ayrshire to Dover in a day, got ferry and then hotel once we got off. Cars were not limousines either
Solo I’ve done Surbiton to North Durham in a day. A couple of stops along the way.
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Don't fall for the Silver Bullet Fallacy.
We get better by thousands of tiny little improvements. Heating is a problem for another day.
We can't keep pushing it back if we are to achieve 2050 Net Zero.
No politician wants to announce the decision because they know that both options will be deeply unpopular. The "Hydrogen Village" trials were abandoned in the face of local opposition before they even started.
Folk just want to keep their natural gas boilers, but that isn't an option.
Here's the thing.
There's a lot of evidence that going for in the next year we'll get 2% better works. Why? Because you can get 2% better while also improving living standards for everyone.
By contrast, big targets invite pushback. If people see their living standards as likely being hit, they'll shrug their shoulders, and nothing will happen.
If you want to save the world, you'll do it 2% at a time.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
Red, we also did Ayrshire to Dover in a day, got ferry and then hotel once we got off. Cars were not limousines either
Solo I’ve done Surbiton to North Durham in a day. A couple of stops along the way.
Solo I've done the Lizard to Darlo in a day. Problem is always getting round Bristol...
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Don't fall for the Silver Bullet Fallacy.
We get better by thousands of tiny little improvements. Heating is a problem for another day.
I'm at a loss as to how hydrogen ends up being the price of natural gas - because until it does heatpumps are probably cheaper.
It largely comes back to batteries.
For a long time, the trouble with electrical energy was that you couldn't store it in bulk. Hence Economy 7 tariffs, the comedy value of the Sinclair C5, the attractiveness of tidal, pumped storage mountains and the apparent impossibility of running a grid mainly on solar and wind.
And the potential of hydrogen. It's not as if we have loads of hydrogen molecules floating around, and we know what happens to the ones that do. The point is largely to store energy from other sources in a convenient(ish) chemical. That's kind of been overtaken by events.
First time ever, all kilted up for my wife's son's wedding. He is very proud of his Sinclair clan roots. Am wearing the Black Watch tartan - seems they are still at war with a bunch of other clans, but Black Watch was safe.
I can see why Scots love wearing it - makes you feel very...martial.
He's marrying a Labour MP, with at least one of the Cabinet there. Should make for unusually spirited conversation!
Just clicked on. How the fuck has Rio Ferdinand got on this ?
Morning Taz, he was cringe making , well suited among the other muppets trying to make it like the Oscars or the Superbowl. The peace prize was vomit inducing, Infantino has to be the biggest arse licker in the world.
Hey Malc, hope you’re good. It was terrible, wasn’t it. The whole peace prize stuff was embarrassing.
FIFA is a shockingly awful organisation.
Need to go back to the days when Sir Rod did a cup draw.
Apparently there is a second one today to work out where they play !
Hi Taz, Yes not bad at all, I watched it from hospital bed , recovering from a procedure , made my blood boil. Well seen Trump is involved when tickets are more than 10x the cost of last one and FIFA grifting 15% of it as well. For millionaires only, mind you they will get FIFA freebies. @Taz
Expressing care work as "bum wiping" is (pun intended) a bit of an arsehole thing to say.
Yes, poor choice of words by Zack, and demeaning to both care workers and those in Social Care in an otherwise good appearance.
It's the preamble that's done for him: "I don't know about you, but I don't want to..."
I’m green and not impressed, but it isn’t reason to join the Lib Dem’s quite yet.
I would have preferred … ‘don’t want to clean my mums’s bum’, or similar, where dignity is a part of the reluctance, but as it stands it’s up itself.
I hope he learns from this, thinks again, addresses his underlying attitude. I suppose he’s on a journey and the buzz is encouraging grandiose thoughts?
We weren't far off achieving Net Zero for electricity transmission last night.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
Decarbonising electricity generation is the easy bit.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Because neither is an easy option.
Direct electric heating (or high temperature output heat pumps) might be the best option if electricity prices fall sufficiently.
Probably a couple of years ago now but I remember an interesting BBC article about developing electric wallpaper for heating. I rather like the idea, but not heard anything of it since. It would also have the huge perk of not having to rip out old pipes then install new ones.
It would have to be very bland wallpaper. Some people have a tendency to er, use to show off their personality*. Would mean you woud have to strip out the central heating if you bought such a house.
*Imagine Leon's wallpaper choices....
Wouldn’t you use it as lining paper and then have your de Gournay on top?
Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilford_North#/media/File:Ilf_N_Election_Results.png
Henry Hill"
https://conservativehome.com/2025/12/04/what-would-the-basis-of-a-tory-reform-pact-actually-be/
Cricket needs a decent Windies side.
If you add Wind, Hydroelectric and Nuclear I think it came to about 78% of electricity generation.
If only the rest of the world could do the same, and electrify everything.
What on earth were the Tories playing at by putting her in charge?
But she flatters herself if she thinks her actions were secret.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=msWfIkyDzH0
(Even if it is roast leg of insurance salesman)
https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/john-locke-on-the-idea-that-wherever-law-ends-tyranny-begins-1689
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_(1978_TV_series)_season_9
Vince Gilligan's style works when rooted in character and (heightened) reality. With this material, it just seems ... plodding.
It's just more Trump balls.
But my imagination just isn't up to it.
That’s the weakness of Bazball and why it isn’t going to work against a side as good as Australia.
"it’s an
earlierarea he is vulnerable"The route I took measured 1,150 miles.
Ivory Gull, if you were wondering.
But she was the worst choice they could have made, even if they had opened it up to non-MPs.
F1: no tip, but here's today's early pre-qualifying ramble. Advantage Norris:
https://morrisf1.blogspot.com/2025/12/abu-dhabi-2025-pre-qualifying.html
I was driving for 17 hours, so averaged under 70 mph, officer. (Although I suspect most of the motorway driving would have averaged 90....)
Was thirty years ago. Traffic is so much heavier now you couldn't get close.)
Whom or what she would be saved for, I’ll leave up to you…
Presuming those with the telly rights have "had a word..."
Neither Root nor Stokes have ever been on the winning side in a Test in Australia.
And that doesn't look likely to change.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/liz-truss-equality-foucault-b1776142.html
I think the difference now is people pay more attention to just how off the wall she is.
After days of pressure, Reform UK said on Friday it had revoked Cooper’s party membership. He is also no longer the leader of Staffordshire county council, a local authority responsible for more than a million people.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Following an investigation into the failure to declare social media accounts during the candidate vetting process, Cllr Ian Cooper has had his membership of Reform UK revoked.”
'England now bowling at Boland and Doggett having spent most of the day bowling dogshit.'
Or make sure you did it 50 years ago and describe it as banter and not intentionally racist.
Although, narked he never got on the Epstein jet...
She got one of the "next PM in waiting" seats because BoJo put Liz'n'Rishi in them. Partly for lack of alternatives and partly because Big Dog wanted to be surrounded by Little Puppies.
She got the leadership of a traumatised party by being confident when Rishi gave off Rishi-mithering-vibes.
But whilst those in the know were pretty confident it would end in tears (character, destiny and all that, and becoming PM always ends in tears), I don't think anyone predicted that she would blow up quite so spectacularly and quickly.
'A man is stopped by the police for driving erratically. He is asked for a breath test, but produces a card saying 'asthmatic - please do not breathalyse.' He is then asked for a blood test, but produces a card saying 'anaemic - please do not take blood.' In frustration the police demand a urine test. Out comes a third card. 'This man is an England test cricketer. Please do not take...'
It's what brilliant political communicators do, because communication is more about the sizzle than the sausage. (Yes, Polanski, I am looking at you.) Obviously the ideal is to have political leadership that can have good ideas and communicate them well, but the 'good ideas' bit is definitely secondary when it comes to winning elections.
Domestic heating is the big challenge. Heat pumps in every home or a hydrogen network. The decision just keeps on being delayed.
Direct electric heating (or high temperature output heat pumps) might be the best option if electricity prices fall sufficiently.
Just to show what can be achieved in cricket under adversity, the West Indies saved the test against New Zealand in Christchurch by batting for most of the last two days.
We get better by thousands of tiny little improvements. Heating is a problem for another day.
*Imagine Leon's wallpaper choices....
No politician wants to announce the decision because they know that both options will be deeply unpopular. The "Hydrogen Village" trials were abandoned in the face of local opposition before they even started.
Folk just want to keep their natural gas boilers, but that isn't an option.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64402524
Key benefit is the control- heat the rooms you want and not the ones you don't, whereas a standard CH system is less intelligent. But it's still 1 unit of electricity or fuel becoming 1 unit of heat. The neat thing about heat pumps is using 1 unit of input to release 3-5 units of heat by grabbing energy from the surrounding air.
https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1573278502790791168
Do they have spare jackets to put on over their whites?
Good morning, everyone.
FIFA is a shockingly awful organisation.
Need to go back to the days when Sir Rod did a cup draw.
Apparently there is a second one today to work out where they play !
There's a lot of evidence that going for in the next year we'll get 2% better works. Why? Because you can get 2% better while also improving living standards for everyone.
By contrast, big targets invite pushback. If people see their living standards as likely being hit, they'll shrug their shoulders, and nothing will happen.
If you want to save the world, you'll do it 2% at a time.
NEW THREAD
For a long time, the trouble with electrical energy was that you couldn't store it in bulk. Hence Economy 7 tariffs, the comedy value of the Sinclair C5, the attractiveness of tidal, pumped storage mountains and the apparent impossibility of running a grid mainly on solar and wind.
And the potential of hydrogen. It's not as if we have loads of hydrogen molecules floating around, and we know what happens to the ones that do. The point is largely to store energy from other sources in a convenient(ish) chemical. That's kind of been overtaken by events.
I can see why Scots love wearing it - makes you feel very...martial.
He's marrying a Labour MP, with at least one of the Cabinet there. Should make for unusually spirited conversation!
@Taz
I would have preferred … ‘don’t want to clean my mums’s bum’, or similar, where dignity is a part of the reluctance, but as it stands it’s up itself.
I hope he learns from this, thinks again, addresses his underlying attitude. I suppose he’s on a journey and the buzz is encouraging grandiose thoughts?
He needs a week off.