My mother in law is so fat that 6 smaller mothers in law orbit her
Wouldn't hear that sort of gag at a Stewart Lee show (unless delivered ironically as a joke on the joke itself). I went to see him recently (first time) and he is very skillful. You get plenty of laughs but - key point - all the time you are laughing up not down and you know everyone else is too because they share the same sensibility. Nothing smug about it, it's just an uplifting communal experience that you feel better for being intelligent and enlightened enough to be a part of.
I just vomited
But did you vomit up or down?
I was going through Gillingham at the time, so I’m not sure it matters
Gillingham (to rhyme with gills of a fish) or Gillingham (to rhyme with Jill)? Its an important difference. One has a Waitrose, and probably a Gails...
He was off to Whistable so it’s the one that rhymes with Jill.
I don’t think there is even a co-op in the town centre anymore - actual the old co-op is now a Londis franchise and the Safeway is a co-op
Actually that’s unfair - there is an Aldi at the old TV studios where they filmed Fraggle Rock
Ah - Fraggle Rock. A much under-rated gem of the 80's.
Gobo, Moki, Boomer, Wembly and Red iirc were the Fraggles
And then you had the Doozers, the litte green men who built stuff wot the Fraggles ate, and the Gorgs, ugly giant-types.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
My mother in law is so fat that 6 smaller mothers in law orbit her
Wouldn't hear that sort of gag at a Stewart Lee show (unless delivered ironically as a joke on the joke itself). I went to see him recently (first time) and he is very skillful. You get plenty of laughs but - key point - all the time you are laughing up not down and you know everyone else is too because they share the same sensibility. Nothing smug about it, it's just an uplifting communal experience that you feel better for being intelligent and enlightened enough to be a part of.
I just vomited
But did you vomit up or down?
I was going through Gillingham at the time, so I’m not sure it matters
Gillingham (to rhyme with gills of a fish) or Gillingham (to rhyme with Jill)? Its an important difference. One has a Waitrose, and probably a Gails...
He was off to Whistable so it’s the one that rhymes with Jill.
I don’t think there is even a co-op in the town centre anymore - actual the old co-op is now a Londis franchise and the Safeway is a co-op
Actually that’s unfair - there is an Aldi at the old TV studios where they filmed Fraggle Rock
Ah - Fraggle Rock. A much under-rated gem of the 80's.
Gobo, Moki, Boomer, Wembly and Red iirc were the Fraggles
And then you had the Doozers, the litte green men who built stuff wot the Fraggles ate, and the Gorgs, ugly giant-types.
And the Trash Heap, uncle travelling Matt and the Lighthouse keeper and dog
Migration is as far as I can see now going to be about illegal only as Labour will likely announce they’ve reduced it a lot by the end of their term.
Have the boats stopped? No. Are the gangs smashed? No evidence. I'm not saying that there was no plan on how to achieve this before government, but there weren't any plans for anything else, so you can make your own deductions.
Total immigration is way down. In terms of what people refer to as illegal immigration, in the most recent figures, deportations were up (a lot) and new asylum applications were down (slightly).
I like @NickPalmer and enjoy his contributions. But, unfortunately, the kind of sentiment expressed here ("I'm tempted by the Greens not because I think their policies add up but because they've taken the necessary first step of recognising the failure of existing policies to offer much hope to people struggling") is why we are facing such dangerous times.
The grim truth is that there are no easy answers, and snake-oil salesmen on the populist right and left, taking full advantage of people's dissatisfaction risk making matters much worse, by destabilising the country, undermining its institutions, and crashing its economy. Culture wars of the type offered by Farage and Polanski are the politics of despair. While there is a lot of ruin in a country like the UK, you could also say the same about the USA, and look where that is now.
Thank you for the kind preface, which I reciprocate!
Don't you think that politics needs a balance between ends and means? The traditional parties seem to me to be preoccupied with day-to-day swings and roundabouts, with little thought to what they trying to achieve in the longer term. I agree that the new parties are frankly sketchy about the short term, but they tend to have a reason why they were created.
The new parties also serve as a reminder to the older ones to take their issues seriously.
Starmer is pivoting his pitch in part in response to the Green surge.
Is there any evidence at all that Coe wants the job?
He doesn’t want the job, he has bigger fish to fry, as head of World Athletics he like many fears the 2028 Olympics could destroy the Olympics/make them as notorious as 1936 and his job is to prevent that.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Modern style guides recommend "roofs", but the OED accepts "rooves" as an alternative form, albeit one that is seen as mostly archaic.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Migration is as far as I can see now going to be about illegal only as Labour will likely announce they’ve reduced it a lot by the end of their term.
Have the boats stopped? No. Are the gangs smashed? No evidence. I'm not saying that there was no plan on how to achieve this before government, but there weren't any plans for anything else, so you can make your own deductions.
Total immigration is way down. In terms of what people refer to as illegal immigration, in the most recent figures, deportations were up (a lot) and new asylum applications were down (slightly).
Not the same thing. We were promised smashed gangs and the boats stopped.
I like @NickPalmer and enjoy his contributions. But, unfortunately, the kind of sentiment expressed here ("I'm tempted by the Greens not because I think their policies add up but because they've taken the necessary first step of recognising the failure of existing policies to offer much hope to people struggling") is why we are facing such dangerous times.
The grim truth is that there are no easy answers, and snake-oil salesmen on the populist right and left, taking full advantage of people's dissatisfaction risk making matters much worse, by destabilising the country, undermining its institutions, and crashing its economy. Culture wars of the type offered by Farage and Polanski are the politics of despair. While there is a lot of ruin in a country like the UK, you could also say the same about the USA, and look where that is now.
Thank you for the kind preface, which I reciprocate!
Don't you think that politics needs a balance between ends and means? The traditional parties seem to me to be preoccupied with day-to-day swings and roundabouts, with little thought to what they trying to achieve in the longer term. I agree that the new parties are frankly sketchy about the short term, but they tend to have a reason why they were created.
Agreeing with Burgessian about the issues, and also with appreciation of Nick Palmer.
Parties are only any real use if they do all of three things: Address the issue of running the here and now of the state really well (Tesco is no use if today's shelves are empty). Having principles which issue in long term visions and goals so that elections involve competing visions of what is truly good for the UK and its part in the world (Tesco is no use if it isn't planning for excellence in food in 5, 10, 15 years time). Articulating policies to address the most intractable problems and the things the public and politicians don't want to face (Tesco is no use if it starts believing in MMT, goes bankrupt, every roof falls in, has no water or utility supply or is daily ransacked by thieves without redress. Tesco is no use if farmers can't grow stuff because of climate change.)
In the picture I have drawn, Reform and Greens serve no purpose at all.
"An episode of the BBC’s The Repair Shop was pulled after a TV production worker objected to a “sexist” Bob Monkhouse joke.
The late comedian and presenter’s famous joke books had been brought into the studio for repair by Colin Edmonds, his former comedy partner, and Abigail Williams, his adopted daughter.
The restoration of the books was to be filmed at the show’s barn in Singleton, West Sussex, for a special tribute programme, to be aired this year.
However, a member of Ricochet, the production company that makes Repair Shop, complained about one of Monkhouse’s jokes, claiming it was sexist. Corporation bosses then decided to pull the segment."
Hard to judge without more (I've skimmed the article). What was the joke? Could the joke be pulled and still keep the show (or did the family/partner object to that?). Were there so many jokes that can't be broadcast now (perhaps could never have been broadcast if this was live material) that it wasn't viable to do the show at all?
Monkhouse wasn’t exactly Bernard Manning, anything considered sexist today would have been relatively tame at the time.
Don’t know if it’s online anywhere, but his “An Audience With” show was absolutely brilliant. The last act of which is doing a word association game for a good 10 minutes, working his way around the names of the “celebrities” in the audience.
He did a couple of hrs in a club shortly before he died. He was superb.
Saw Monkhouse at a charity event at Ronnie Scott's in Broad Street Birmingham.
He did a 90 minute stand up, no scripts.
Every table had a dozen cards and marker pens.
Before started each table was invited to write a word or topic on a card.
The 90 mins consisted of random people holding card up and Monkhouse would do a joke on topic
He went round twice.
One a Tom Vine quick one liner then a 2 minute type joke.
Instant recall, phenomenal
No one like him
I saw Monkhouse live a couple of times. I used to see a lot of comedy shows but his really stood out. Virtually the whole audience was in hysterics both times.
He had about 50x the talent of today's generation of wokester comedians combined.
A true great.
So of course he's censored and cancelled by the jealous, humourless woke left, and none of the supposed guardians of free speech have the balls to stand up to them.
A sad commentary on the hard left drift of the young and the spinelessness of the older generation since the 90s.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Modern style guides recommend "roofs", but the OED accepts "rooves" as an alternative form, albeit one that is seen as mostly archaic.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
The oddest to my anglo-saxon mind is that the plural of mongoose is properly mongooses when it plainly isn't.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Roofs.
Roof, roof.
As Conservative Mayoral candidate?
I suppose Baroness Davidson would be a potentially attractive candidate; better than Susan Hall, anyway. Not much connection to London, though.
“Middle class” is Telegraph euphemism for pensioners.
They get the WFA already !
Yep
They spaff that up by spending 2 or 3 weeks in nudwintrr in holiday lets, paying a hundred quid a week for some if the mug second home absent landlords who spend more than the rent they earn to keep the bluerinses warm with the rental Central heating on full blast.
Town car park full of 10 to 15 year old jags, mercs and bmws that was company car they kept at retirement all in mint condition
You need to get your spelling sorted, and this pensioner does not own a second home, buys his own car, and doesn't have mid winter holidays
But then let your prejeudices flow and why not add denigrate pensioners as you do with Kemi
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
Migration is as far as I can see now going to be about illegal only as Labour will likely announce they’ve reduced it a lot by the end of their term.
Have the boats stopped? No. Are the gangs smashed? No evidence. I'm not saying that there was no plan on how to achieve this before government, but there weren't any plans for anything else, so you can make your own deductions.
Total immigration is way down. In terms of what people refer to as illegal immigration, in the most recent figures, deportations were up (a lot) and new asylum applications were down (slightly).
Not the same thing. We were promised smashed gangs and the boats stopped.
I think public sentiment is more complicated than a soundbite, but relates to multiple factors.
I don't think number of gangs smashed was ever a KPI, certainly not a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) one. The number of boats is a recorded metric, although ultimately I suggest the number applying for asylum is the more meaningful metric.
More deportations solves the problem from the other end: removing the people who are here illegally, rather than stopping them from entering. However, it also provides a disincentive for those entering without a legal claim. What's the point of spending money on getting into the country if you are going to be deported?
Politically, total immigration being massively reduced and some positive stories to tell on illegal immigration provide the government with ammunition for a narrative that they are fixing the problem.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Modern style guides recommend "roofs", but the OED accepts "rooves" as an alternative form, albeit one that is seen as mostly archaic.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
I had toofache after the dentist prodded my tooves
The OED accepts all sorts of nonsense. Its roofs, whatsoe'er anyone else sayeth
Edit - i once used whatsoe'er in an essay at school and was told if i did it again i'd be made to write the whole thing in middle english. Bloody fascists.
Migration is as far as I can see now going to be about illegal only as Labour will likely announce they’ve reduced it a lot by the end of their term.
Have the boats stopped? No. Are the gangs smashed? No evidence. I'm not saying that there was no plan on how to achieve this before government, but there weren't any plans for anything else, so you can make your own deductions.
Total immigration is way down. In terms of what people refer to as illegal immigration, in the most recent figures, deportations were up (a lot) and new asylum applications were down (slightly).
Not the same thing. We were promised smashed gangs and the boats stopped.
I think public sentiment is more complicated than a soundbite, but relates to multiple factors.
I don't think number of gangs smashed was ever a KPI, certainly not a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) one. The number of boats is a recorded metric, although ultimately I suggest the number applying for asylum is the more meaningful metric.
More deportations solves the problem from the other end: removing the people who are here illegally, rather than stopping them from entering. However, it also provides a disincentive for those entering without a legal claim. What's the point of spending money on getting into the country if you are going to be deported?
Politically, total immigration being massively reduced and some positive stories to tell on illegal immigration provide the government with ammunition for a narrative that they are fixing the problem.
My argument would be that Starmer was ALL soundbite before the election. Of course immigration/asylum is more complex than the simple soundbite but I think many of the public will see the arrivals across the channel in small boats and wonder what happened.
Sorting the process of asylum out is admirable. It does no-one any favours to be in limbo. And I applaud the government for making genuine progress.
But the boats have not been stopped, nor the gangs smashed, whether it was a KPI for the person getting the job or not.
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
"The Philippines has declared a national emergency as its fuel and energy supplies continue to be crippled by the Iran war.
"A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply," an executive order shared by President Ferdinand Marcos said."
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
Or because the first time they heard about it was this week?
Migration is as far as I can see now going to be about illegal only as Labour will likely announce they’ve reduced it a lot by the end of their term.
Have the boats stopped? No. Are the gangs smashed? No evidence. I'm not saying that there was no plan on how to achieve this before government, but there weren't any plans for anything else, so you can make your own deductions.
Total immigration is way down. In terms of what people refer to as illegal immigration, in the most recent figures, deportations were up (a lot) and new asylum applications were down (slightly).
Not the same thing. We were promised smashed gangs and the boats stopped.
I think public sentiment is more complicated than a soundbite, but relates to multiple factors.
I don't think number of gangs smashed was ever a KPI, certainly not a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) one. The number of boats is a recorded metric, although ultimately I suggest the number applying for asylum is the more meaningful metric.
More deportations solves the problem from the other end: removing the people who are here illegally, rather than stopping them from entering. However, it also provides a disincentive for those entering without a legal claim. What's the point of spending money on getting into the country if you are going to be deported?
Politically, total immigration being massively reduced and some positive stories to tell on illegal immigration provide the government with ammunition for a narrative that they are fixing the problem.
We're not seeing boats turned around at gunpoint in mid-Channel, though. With TV cameras on the boats carrying the 'gunners'.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Modern style guides recommend "roofs", but the OED accepts "rooves" as an alternative form, albeit one that is seen as mostly archaic.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
I had toofache after the dentist prodded my tooves
The OED accepts all sorts of nonsense. Its roofs, whatsoe'er anyone else sayeth
Edit - i once used whatsoe'er in an essay at school and was told if i did it again i'd be made to write the whole thing in middle english. Bloody fascists.
I think 'saith' is to be preferred to 'sayeth'. And apostrophe alert by the way.
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
Or because the first time they heard about it was this week?
You dont know the police that didnt investigate it. They go to another school.
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Roofs
Modern style guides recommend "roofs", but the OED accepts "rooves" as an alternative form, albeit one that is seen as mostly archaic.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
I had toofache after the dentist prodded my tooves
The OED accepts all sorts of nonsense. Its roofs, whatsoe'er anyone else sayeth
Edit - i once used whatsoe'er in an essay at school and was told if i did it again i'd be made to write the whole thing in middle english. Bloody fascists.
I think 'saith' is to be preferred to 'sayeth'. And apostrophe alert by the way.
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
By great good fortune all his messages will be retained on the other receiving/sending device in the hands of the receivers/senders. At least we can be sure they will have taken great care to preserve them, so MMcS needn't worry unduly.
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
Police not investigating a mobile phone theft? A bit "dog bites man", to be honest.
If the police had tried to catch the thieves, then you might have had a story, Stevey.
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
By great good fortune all his messages will be retained on the other receiving/sending device in the hands of the receivers/senders. At least we can be sure they will have taken great care to preserve them, so MMcS needn't worry unduly.
And of course official guidance was that the messages must be safely backed up. I'm sure that was adhered to.
Much as I think the Greens are peddling fantasies, the purpose of politics is to provide solutions to people's problems. Same with Reform, who are a more malign version of the same thing. The other parties need to work harder.
Quite.
Yes - I'm tempted by the Greens not because I think their policies add up but because they've taken the necessary first step of recognising the failure of existing policies to offer much hope to people struggling. In addition, they haven't bought into the proposed surge in military spending, which seems to me unlikely to be either useful or needed (I know that most contributors here disagree). If they start to look as though they'll get into a governing coalition, I anticipate some quiet adjustment to their promise-everything approach.
Labour seems to be governing a month at a time, trying out different policies with no particular overall direction. I wouldn't consider Tories or (shudder) Reform for a moment, and the LibDems seem even vaguer on overall policy than Labour. I'd stay Labour if we had a clear sense of direction, even if I didn't agree with all of it (cf. Blair and Brown).
Would I vote for someone else to keep disgusting Reform out? Maybe - but it doesn't arise in rural Oxfordshire. With the exception of Didcot (which has an urban feel), they're not visible locally. A lot of local calculations like that will be playing out where there are elections (not here this year).
I like @NickPalmer and enjoy his contributions. But, unfortunately, the kind of sentiment expressed here ("I'm tempted by the Greens not because I think their policies add up but because they've taken the necessary first step of recognising the failure of existing policies to offer much hope to people struggling") is why we are facing such dangerous times.
The grim truth is that there are no easy answers, and snake-oil salesmen on the populist right and left, taking full advantage of people's dissatisfaction risk making matters much worse, by destabilising the country, undermining its institutions, and crashing its economy. Culture wars of the type offered by Farage and Polanski are the politics of despair. While there is a lot of ruin in a country like the UK, you could also say the same about the USA, and look where that is now.
I think it's a bit patronising and insulting to describe the Reform and Green parties in this way, as being about despair. It's more that the traditional parties are in despair that so fewer people are supporting them.
Use of either 'roofs' or 'rooves' is acceptable. Further discussion of this topic is prohibited. Go talk trans instead.
I would like to mention the story about Tolkein and his publisher who objected to the author pluralising dwarf as dwarves.
The publisher tried to quote the Oxford English Dictionary at which point Tolkein pointed out he was one of the editors of the OED and knew perfectly well what was in it.
"An episode of the BBC’s The Repair Shop was pulled after a TV production worker objected to a “sexist” Bob Monkhouse joke.
The late comedian and presenter’s famous joke books had been brought into the studio for repair by Colin Edmonds, his former comedy partner, and Abigail Williams, his adopted daughter.
The restoration of the books was to be filmed at the show’s barn in Singleton, West Sussex, for a special tribute programme, to be aired this year.
However, a member of Ricochet, the production company that makes Repair Shop, complained about one of Monkhouse’s jokes, claiming it was sexist. Corporation bosses then decided to pull the segment."
Hard to judge without more (I've skimmed the article). What was the joke? Could the joke be pulled and still keep the show (or did the family/partner object to that?). Were there so many jokes that can't be broadcast now (perhaps could never have been broadcast if this was live material) that it wasn't viable to do the show at all?
Article implies the employee simply found the joke looking through the books... no suggestion it was to be broadcast.
"A production employee stumbled across a joke – no doubt written in the 1960s – and took offence, believing it to be sexist.
They flagged the problem, and a ‘collective decision’ was made to cull the whole thing."
I didn't read it that way. Seems crazy if if that's the case.
When the original ammunition buying team in the MOD was disbanded, one of the reasons was that a young civil servant, seconded to the team, had been grossly offended.
By the images of the effects of projectiles.
Which made it a hostile workplace.
To be replaced by a bunch of the junior CS who couldn’t tell the difference between a 120mm and a 155mm round. Oh, and that big guns kill people by design.
The replacement team bought the cheapest ammunition they could find.
When M2 machine guns started jamming in Afghanistan, they tried to claim that this was because the M2 was unreliable…
The problem is nobody serious can flirt with the Greens on the basis of their policy on NATO.
(Narrator: for the benefit of younger readers, "NATO" was an organisation, now defunct, where the Americans would come to the aid of Europe in the event of an invasion by the USSR. It disintegrated in the 2020s when the Americans made it clear they would not)
The problem is nobody serious can flirt with the Greens on the basis of their policy on NATO.
I think I could have a go flirting with the Greens.
"Hey, yeah, I was really intrigued by what you were saying... and can I just say I love your dress? Is it made of hemp? Oh, wow, great. Well, look, maybe we can continue this discussion of your policy on NATO over dinner? I know a great vegan restaurant. Great! And maybe afterwards you'd like to come back to my place and I can show you my solar panels?"
Use of either 'roofs' or 'rooves' is acceptable. Further discussion of this topic is prohibited. Go talk trans instead.
I would like to mention the story about Tolkein and his publisher who objected to the author pluralising dwarf as dwarves.
The publisher tried to quote the Oxford English Dictionary at which point Tolkein pointed out he was one of the editors of the OED and knew perfectly well what was in it.
I have heard a very similar story. Defence counsel was making a somewhat misconceived objection on the basis of a commentary on the Criminal Procedure (S) Act. The commentary was written by Peter Ferguson QC (as they then were) who happened to be the AD in the case, something the Judge appreciated but apparently the defence counsel did not. Peter, being ever tactful said, "what I think the learned author meant by that was..."
Can somebody explain how if you plug a solar panel into your plug socket energy goes back into the grid? Does that just work somehow?
Electrical flow is reversible.
The key there is 'flow' (alongside electrical pressure). All that happens is the co-mingling of different power sources e.g. panels, batteries and grid with the grid topping up what the other sources don't provide for the total load you are using.
So MattW states that in Germany these are limited to 800W. That's not much energy when you have the kettle on, but if you are out for the day and the only electricity being used in the house is for appliances on standby, and the fridge, then I'd have thought there would be an excess that would find its way onto the local grid.
Potential problems start to crop up as the amount generated by home solar systems increases. A single panel is fairly immune from any of that.
It's only really a problem if there are a lot of panels on a lot of rooves, such that (during peak insolation) an area is 'exporting' power. Home batteries solve a lot of these problems.
Use of either 'roofs' or 'rooves' is acceptable. Further discussion of this topic is prohibited. Go talk trans instead.
I would like to mention the story about Tolkein and his publisher who objected to the author pluralising dwarf as dwarves.
The publisher tried to quote the Oxford English Dictionary at which point Tolkein pointed out he was one of the editors of the OED and knew perfectly well what was in it.
I have heard a very similar story. Defence counsel was making a somewhat misconceived objection on the basis of a commentary on the Criminal Procedure (S) Act. The commentary was written by Peter Ferguson QC (as they then were) who happened to be the AD in the case, something the Judge appreciated but apparently the defence counsel did not. Peter, being ever tactful said, "what I think the learned author meant by that was..."
Use of either 'roofs' or 'rooves' is acceptable. Further discussion of this topic is prohibited. Go talk trans instead.
I would like to mention the story about Tolkein and his publisher who objected to the author pluralising dwarf as dwarves.
The publisher tried to quote the Oxford English Dictionary at which point Tolkein pointed out he was one of the editors of the OED and knew perfectly well what was in it.
I have heard a very similar story. Defence counsel was making a somewhat misconceived objection on the basis of a commentary on the Criminal Procedure (S) Act. The commentary was written by Peter Ferguson QC (as they then were) who happened to be the AD in the case, something the Judge appreciated but apparently the defence counsel did not. Peter, being ever tactful said, "what I think the learned author meant by that was..."
Comments
Starmer is pivoting his pitch in part in response to the Green surge.
By the way, if something has grooves, does that mean one can have a singular "groof"?
Parties are only any real use if they do all of three things: Address the issue of running the here and now of the state really well (Tesco is no use if today's shelves are empty). Having principles which issue in long term visions and goals so that elections involve competing visions of what is truly good for the UK and its part in the world (Tesco is no use if it isn't planning for excellence in food in 5, 10, 15 years time). Articulating policies to address the most intractable problems and the things the public and politicians don't want to face (Tesco is no use if it starts believing in MMT, goes bankrupt, every roof falls in, has no water or utility supply or is daily ransacked by thieves without redress. Tesco is no use if farmers can't grow stuff because of climate change.)
In the picture I have drawn, Reform and Greens serve no purpose at all.
He had about 50x the talent of today's generation of wokester comedians combined.
A true great.
So of course he's censored and cancelled by the jealous, humourless woke left, and none of the supposed guardians of free speech have the balls to stand up to them.
A sad commentary on the hard left drift of the young and the spinelessness of the older generation since the 90s.
I suppose Baroness Davidson would be a potentially attractive candidate; better than Susan Hall, anyway. Not much connection to London, though.
Are peers allowed to stand for Mayor?
But then let your prejeudices flow and why not add denigrate pensioners as you do with Kemi
"It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for."
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-tom-baker-video-message-newsupdate/
Exclusive:
Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts
I don't think number of gangs smashed was ever a KPI, certainly not a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) one. The number of boats is a recorded metric, although ultimately I suggest the number applying for asylum is the more meaningful metric.
More deportations solves the problem from the other end: removing the people who are here illegally, rather than stopping them from entering. However, it also provides a disincentive for those entering without a legal claim. What's the point of spending money on getting into the country if you are going to be deported?
Politically, total immigration being massively reduced and some positive stories to tell on illegal immigration provide the government with ammunition for a narrative that they are fixing the problem.
The OED accepts all sorts of nonsense. Its roofs, whatsoe'er anyone else sayeth
Edit - i once used whatsoe'er in an essay at school and was told if i did it again i'd be made to write the whole thing in middle english. Bloody fascists.
PB official style guide update
Use of either 'roofs' or 'rooves' is acceptable. Further discussion of this topic is prohibited. Go talk trans instead.Sorting the process of asylum out is admirable. It does no-one any favours to be in limbo. And I applaud the government for making genuine progress.
But the boats have not been stopped, nor the gangs smashed, whether it was a KPI for the person getting the job or not.
"A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply," an executive order shared by President Ferdinand Marcos said."
https://news.sky.com/story/iran-war-latest-trump-tehran-israel-strikes-us-drone-live-sky-news-13509565
If the police had tried to catch the thieves, then you might have had a story, Stevey.
The publisher tried to quote the Oxford English Dictionary at which point Tolkein pointed out he was one of the editors of the OED and knew perfectly well what was in it.
When M2 machine guns started jamming in Afghanistan, they tried to claim that this was because the M2 was unreliable…
What is the correct plural of trans?
Like sheep and sheep.
"Hey, yeah, I was really intrigued by what you were saying... and can I just say I love your dress? Is it made of hemp? Oh, wow, great. Well, look, maybe we can continue this discussion of your policy on NATO over dinner? I know a great vegan restaurant. Great! And maybe afterwards you'd like to come back to my place and I can show you my solar panels?"
NEW THREAD
Lol.
What d'you think this is? Latin or sumfink?