EDF have changed from their orange-ish decorated envelopes to thinner plain white ones. Barclays now makes paperless notification and statements a condition of using online banking (although you can change back to paper each time, at least for the moment).
I don't know when this happened but they seem to have a new or newish "online portal" for billing etc.
As far as I can see it is totally unusable.
I can't even set or change the password. I've never been give a password or a username for the new portal. All it will do is send email links to log in.
Totally unsecure imho.
A lot of company's are moving to temporary log in links, Esure does it. They say it is more secure, I do not know if that is true though.
Expect beef prices to soar, possibly by the midterms.
Ranchers are refusing to self-report screwworm in their cattle. Why? USDA policy means a positive find triggers quarantine/confiscation of the whole herd—risking everything they’ve built. Renée’s right. This is killing cooperation. 🐄
Used to work: Send in a sample. If positive, USDA releases sterile flies (SIT) that mate with wild ones & crash the population—no mass slaughter.
That’s how we eradicated it before.
Now they’re pushing a $750M sterile fly facility in Edinburg, TX while scaring producers silent. Fix the incentives! Look it up: sterile insect technique worked for decades. https://x.com/anttsinc/status/2063023323710210207
Hate to blaspheme, but not sure the other by-elections are very interesting.
Indeed, I'd say the Makerfield by-election is the most important by-election in 63 years.
Depends on Andy Burnham winning, of course.
I did not care about Burnham until finding last week that I'd backed him ages ago for next PM, so come on Andy! But Makerfield voting for the plumber would be almost as seismic.
The Makerfield Misogynist you mean.
The gender differences in the Survation poll of Makerfield are quite exceptional, a 17% Labour lead amongst women compared to only 2% amongst men, a much bigger gender variation than in national polling. It suggests to me that Kenyon's misogyny has not gone unnoticed by women and has had some impact on voting intention.
Expect beef prices to soar, possibly by the midterms.
Ranchers are refusing to self-report screwworm in their cattle. Why? USDA policy means a positive find triggers quarantine/confiscation of the whole herd—risking everything they’ve built. Renée’s right. This is killing cooperation. 🐄
Used to work: Send in a sample. If positive, USDA releases sterile flies (SIT) that mate with wild ones & crash the population—no mass slaughter.
That’s how we eradicated it before.
Now they’re pushing a $750M sterile fly facility in Edinburg, TX while scaring producers silent. Fix the incentives! Look it up: sterile insect technique worked for decades. https://x.com/anttsinc/status/2063023323710210207
People who can't fucking spell Edinburgh properly deserve everything they get.
Expect beef prices to soar, possibly by the midterms.
Ranchers are refusing to self-report screwworm in their cattle. Why? USDA policy means a positive find triggers quarantine/confiscation of the whole herd—risking everything they’ve built. Renée’s right. This is killing cooperation. 🐄
Used to work: Send in a sample. If positive, USDA releases sterile flies (SIT) that mate with wild ones & crash the population—no mass slaughter.
That’s how we eradicated it before.
Now they’re pushing a $750M sterile fly facility in Edinburg, TX while scaring producers silent. Fix the incentives! Look it up: sterile insect technique worked for decades. https://x.com/anttsinc/status/2063023323710210207
People who can't fucking spell Edinburgh properly deserve everything they get.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
It looked like a great list until I got to number one.
Expect beef prices to soar, possibly by the midterms.
Ranchers are refusing to self-report screwworm in their cattle. Why? USDA policy means a positive find triggers quarantine/confiscation of the whole herd—risking everything they’ve built. Renée’s right. This is killing cooperation. 🐄
Used to work: Send in a sample. If positive, USDA releases sterile flies (SIT) that mate with wild ones & crash the population—no mass slaughter.
That’s how we eradicated it before.
Now they’re pushing a $750M sterile fly facility in Edinburg, TX while scaring producers silent. Fix the incentives! Look it up: sterile insect technique worked for decades. https://x.com/anttsinc/status/2063023323710210207
People who can't fucking spell Edinburgh properly deserve everything they get.
Bet they can't pronounce it either...
Rhyme it with iceburg.
Eugh, I would imagine so. "Edinboro" is another abomination you hear from time to time.
"Bank of England axed Churchill, Turing, and Austen from notes after being told they were 'not representative of the UK's cultural and natural diversity'"
Totally circular logic. Young people who've become largely ignorant of our history and where knowledge is shared, told that it is shameful and wicked, strangely don't like or appreciate representations of it. Therefore we take it off bank notes so even fewer people are aware of our history and the idea that it is shameful is further reinforced. The only thing that should change on the banknotes is they should add text in plain English explaining why these people are there.
The way round this is to "Woke it up" to the powers that be, so they get all excited instead.
Thus, Turing is Gay, Austen a feminist icon and Churchill, with his dual British-American heritage, an internationalist and global citizen; you could try and put on there advocacy for a united Europe as well.
Watch how they lap it up.
It's quite funny. The Daily Mail and Bobajob Jenners are trying a bit too hard in the outrage fluffing department.
The Bank of England's version is 'we held a consultation and the public said they wanted British natural heritage on our banknotes.' It's a bit of an open and shut case.
Aren't populists supposed to want to follow the voters?
What's funny is the tendency of our hip and trendy progressives (average age 62) to leap on any unjustifiable shite as long as it's anti-traditional and Farage wouldn't like it.
I'll give you at least a small amount of credit for not demeaning your own intelligence by going on the 'security' angle, as if dots arranged on a substrate are somehow more secure when they are arranged in the shape of a hedgehog than Winston Churchill.
But the 'public consultation' isn't much better as a figleaf. Focus groups are not a plebiscite, and I think we all know you can get them to say whatever you like. The public are allowed to vote on which animal of farthing wood they want on the notes - if the Bank is so confident that public opinion is behind them, why not allow them to vote for Churchill and the rest too, to test their theory?
These figures from our history have not diminished. Europe still enjoys the freedom from Nazism that Churchill helped to give it. Readers worldwide still fall in love with Austen's books. It is not that our history has become irrelevant, it is that in some quarters we're clearly doing a shit job of teaching it. If young people don't find Churchill relevant, we realise we need to teach them better, we don't welcome their complacent ignorance and change everything to fit around it.
You will not be surprised that I disagree slightly.
The practice is not even traditional. Traditionally UK banknotes have been plain.
We have only had historical figures on our banknotes since 1970, and Churchill has only been on there since 2016.
There is no attack on tradition, nor is there any attempt to marginalise historic figures. Rather this is an attempt to fabricate a Potemkin tradition out of whole cloth in order to have something to complain about.
It is a manufactured, attention-seeking fuss about a complete non-issue. This is peak snowflake.
Jenrick needs to find something useful to say rather than indulge in his displacement activity of making up nonsense. The Daily Mail is ... the Dai ly Mail.
(Edited)
Manufactured outrage is central to the radical right's approach. It's all about generating clicks on social media. We've seen this with MAGA. The only problem comes when you try to run a country, you're still manufacturing outrage, but people start to notice that you don't actually have a foreign policy that works, and you don't have a response for human and animal health risks, etc.
Dropping back in briefly, one thing I would like to see some serious study on is how much of the UK's radical right outrage bubble is actually an influence operation whether from elements in the USA, previously from Hungary, or from Russia - and what the routes of that influence have been.
International untraceable funding is one issue for the Govt to pick up in their funding overhaul, alongside many others.
I wonder if someone like the group at Sheffield Hallam who dug into online of MPs have been on it?
There is a pervasive and very successful social media campaign in Ukraine to convince them that the SMO and conscription system is engineered to wipe them out so that they can be replaced, in a Great manner, by immigrants from SE and Central Asia. This is almost certainly what's behind the recent spate of punch ups in L'vov and Odessa between the muzhiki and the conscription snatch squads.
I do wonder who is paying for it because it's very slick and must get millions of impressions every day. Russians? Americans? It feels more like product of a Western culture than a Slavic one but who the fuck knows?
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
While it wouldn't be my number 1, or even number 2, Middlemarch is undoubtedly a great novel. But LOTR at number 1? Jeez.
At a quick glance two stand out missing people are Trollope and Greene.
Yes, interesting how out of fashion GG has very quickly become. I recently reread Brighton Rock: it's a really chilling mediation on the nature of evil - and still very relevant.
Glad to see the readers are sensible enough to put Camus on the list. Not on the original top 100 iirc.
The Outsider was on the original list at number 71
On topic. Aberdeen South is interesting. A Tory win (don't personally think it'll happen) would be a considerable fillip for Badenoch.
I don't think it going happen. Too much of the headbanger Tory/unionist vote in Aberdeen is in love with Farage.
Even places that didn't have massive Reform votes in 2024 will have half it's Tory vote doing so now.
A quarter to a third of its 2024 Tory vote at most actually
I'll take your word for it, that's still fatal for theit chances here.
It isn't given the Tories were still second to the SNP in the Aberdeen South area last month and it only needs a few Reform voters to tactically vote Tory to beat the SNP for a Tory win
There are many examples where a party previously came third and yet came through to win. In Scotland as it happens.
I would prefer the Tories to come above Reform, but whilst there are clearly examples of Tories voting tactically for Reform at the moment, is the reverse likely when the Reform leadership seem to despise the Tories?
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
That would be an artificial constraint given they were seeking readers' favourite books.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book and deserves to be in there imo. Indeed, the order is not what I would have chosen I'd say it's a pretty good list - better than the critics and authors who tended to pretentious ponceyness.
On topic. Aberdeen South is interesting. A Tory win (don't personally think it'll happen) would be a considerable fillip for Badenoch.
I don't think it going happen. Too much of the headbanger Tory/unionist vote in Aberdeen is in love with Farage.
The Tories still beat Reform in the Aberdeen South area last month and Reform voters still far prefer Kemi to Swinney, it only takes a third of the them to tactically vote Tory to beat the SNP for a Tory win
Its all about the squeeze... If the Tories can squeeze the RefUk vote, they are in with a shout. However 7/4 isn't especially tempting.
It's all too much. I spent all day yesterday fretting about the colour of eggs, and today I'm totally stressed about the pictures on banknotes that I never use.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
While it wouldn't be my number 1, or even number 2, Middlemarch is undoubtedly a great novel. But LOTR at number 1? Jeez.
At a quick glance two stand out missing people are Trollope and Greene.
Yes, interesting how out of fashion GG has very quickly become. I recently reread Brighton Rock: it's a really chilling mediation on the nature of evil - and still very relevant.
Glad to see the readers are sensible enough to put Camus on the list. Not on the original top 100 iirc.
The Outsider was on the original list at number 71
I have not seen him for 1-2 years, so ... there's a story to find out about.
Surely, the last thing China needs right now is more houses?
Having had a bit of a look, I'd say he's setting himself up for the second last chapter. He's perhaps in the phase equivalent to when @Big_G & Mrs Big_G went travelling and cruising. He's been a Brompton man forever so probably gets the extra healthy life years that come on average with consistent cycling, has done things like car camping, and was one of the people in the Cycling UK High Court action that stopped the Mansfield total cycling ban a few years ago.
He's prosperous Midlands blue collar with a consistent career, and has a nice 4 bed house in an above average suburb. He will have a decent and secure occupational pension, and is shifting to a twin base of small bungalow in Retford (nice small town in North Notts) and his new house in Changping in China. He's on his own now so he's going exploring and life will be interesting.
When he becomes less active, he will I think come back to Retford for small town life. It's a good place for it.
I think he has been disillusioned by the current situation in the UK, media, and local politics.
On topic. Aberdeen South is interesting. A Tory win (don't personally think it'll happen) would be a considerable fillip for Badenoch.
I don't think it going happen. Too much of the headbanger Tory/unionist vote in Aberdeen is in love with Farage.
Even places that didn't have massive Reform votes in 2024 will have half it's Tory vote doing so now.
A quarter to a third of its 2024 Tory vote at most actually
I'll take your word for it, that's still fatal for theit chances here.
It isn't given the Tories were still second to the SNP in the Aberdeen South area last month and it only needs a few Reform voters to tactically vote Tory to beat the SNP for a Tory win
There are many examples where a party previously came third and yet came through to win. In Scotland as it happens.
I would prefer the Tories to come above Reform, but whilst there are clearly examples of Tories voting tactically for Reform at the moment, is the reverse likely when the Reform leadership seem to despise the Tories?
An SNP win, with the Tories trailing in 4th behind Labour and Reform, would do nicely. In both seats.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
That would be an artificial constraint given they were seeking readers' favourite books.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book and deserves to be in there imo. Indeed, the order is not what I would have chosen I'd say it's a pretty good list - better than the critics and authors who tended to pretentious ponceyness.
Just seen the 1946 version of Great Expectations (Mills, Guinness, Jean Simmons) on the Beeb, thought it rather quite nice!
On Abdn S bear in mind the Tories are turning this into a referendum on oil and gas. It's an approach which worked surprisngly well in Uxbridge when Boris stood down.
And they came close in the equivalent (sort of) Holyrood seat.
It'll be close.
Labour have zero chance in Arbroath.
Pretty much agree with this Burgessian
Labour floundered at the Scottish elections last month. They managed to hold onto 2 FPTP seats and gain one (narrowly), thats the only positive you could say.
The rest of it was damage limitation. Arbroath should be a relatively comfortable SNP hold.
Aberdeen South will be much closer, with the Tories running the SNP close. Maybe be less than 1500 votes in it. With the Tories now in to 7/4, I do wonder if the value is coming off them now, having started out at 3/1.
The extra wards in the Westminster seat which are not in Aberdeen Deeside (holyroood) around the harbour are not as Tory friendly.
As HYUFD said in previous thread, it will come down to whether enough Reform voters can hold their nose and vote Tory to kick the SNP out. The SNP will also be hoping to get tactical support from Green voters in the part of the seat which is in the Aberdeen Central Holyrood seat.
"Bank of England axed Churchill, Turing, and Austen from notes after being told they were 'not representative of the UK's cultural and natural diversity'"
Totally circular logic. Young people who've become largely ignorant of our history and where knowledge is shared, told that it is shameful and wicked, strangely don't like or appreciate representations of it. Therefore we take it off bank notes so even fewer people are aware of our history and the idea that it is shameful is further reinforced. The only thing that should change on the banknotes is they should add text in plain English explaining why these people are there.
The way round this is to "Woke it up" to the powers that be, so they get all excited instead.
Thus, Turing is Gay, Austen a feminist icon and Churchill, with his dual British-American heritage, an internationalist and global citizen; you could try and put on there advocacy for a united Europe as well.
Watch how they lap it up.
It's quite funny. The Daily Mail and Bobajob Jenners are trying a bit too hard in the outrage fluffing department.
The Bank of England's version is 'we held a consultation and the public said they wanted British natural heritage on our banknotes.' It's a bit of an open and shut case.
Aren't populists supposed to want to follow the voters?
What's funny is the tendency of our hip and trendy progressives (average age 62) to leap on any unjustifiable shite as long as it's anti-traditional and Farage wouldn't like it.
I'll give you at least a small amount of credit for not demeaning your own intelligence by going on the 'security' angle, as if dots arranged on a substrate are somehow more secure when they are arranged in the shape of a hedgehog than Winston Churchill.
But the 'public consultation' isn't much better as a figleaf. Focus groups are not a plebiscite, and I think we all know you can get them to say whatever you like. The public are allowed to vote on which animal of farthing wood they want on the notes - if the Bank is so confident that public opinion is behind them, why not allow them to vote for Churchill and the rest too, to test their theory?
These figures from our history have not diminished. Europe still enjoys the freedom from Nazism that Churchill helped to give it. Readers worldwide still fall in love with Austen's books. It is not that our history has become irrelevant, it is that in some quarters we're clearly doing a shit job of teaching it. If young people don't find Churchill relevant, we realise we need to teach them better, we don't welcome their complacent ignorance and change everything to fit around it.
You will not be surprised that I disagree slightly.
The practice is not even traditional. Traditionally UK banknotes have been plain.
We have only had historical figures on our banknotes since 1970, and Churchill has only been on there since 2016.
There is no attack on tradition, nor is there any attempt to marginalise historic figures. Rather this is an attempt to fabricate a Potemkin tradition out of whole cloth in order to have something to complain about.
It is a manufactured, attention-seeking fuss about a complete non-issue. This is peak snowflake.
Jenrick needs to find something useful to say rather than indulge in his displacement activity of making up nonsense. The Daily Mail is ... the Dai ly Mail.
(Edited)
Manufactured outrage is central to the radical right's approach. It's all about generating clicks on social media. We've seen this with MAGA. The only problem comes when you try to run a country, you're still manufacturing outrage, but people start to notice that you don't actually have a foreign policy that works, and you don't have a response for human and animal health risks, etc.
Dropping back in briefly, one thing I would like to see some serious study on is how much of the UK's radical right outrage bubble is actually an influence operation whether from elements in the USA, previously from Hungary, or from Russia - and what the routes of that influence have been.
International untraceable funding is one issue for the Govt to pick up in their funding overhaul, alongside many others.
I wonder if someone like the group at Sheffield Hallam who dug into online of MPs have been on it?
There is a pervasive and very successful social media campaign in Ukraine to convince them that the SMO and conscription system is engineered to wipe them out so that they can be replaced, in a Great manner, by immigrants from SE and Central Asia. This is almost certainly what's behind the recent spate of punch ups in L'vov and Odessa between the muzhiki and the conscription snatch squads.
I do wonder who is paying for it because it's very slick and must get millions of impressions every day. Russians? Americans? It feels more like product of a Western culture than a Slavic one but who the fuck knows?
Being serious (I sometyimes do serious), there is also an entrepreneurial stream. I have seen some from India, who recognise that they can grift profitably online just as Tommy Robinson and his various mini-me Tommy Robinsons do (eg "Active Patriot", who was the main pusher of the demonstration in Ashfield last year).
Was not "inevitable west" exposed as Indian, as were a whole layer of Russian Cybernats who temporarily went off air when Russia had internet problems iirc?
Here's an account from Wired (April) of an Indian medical student who generated an AI fake female conservative influencer called Emily Hart looking like Jennifer Lawrence, and says he made thousands a month from less than one hour per day, and put her on an OnlyFans copycat site. MAGA Loofs (and their UK versions) are not known for IQs of 150 and hinterland. https://www.wired.com/story/ai-generated-maga-girls/
I have not seen him for 1-2 years, so ... there's a story to find out about.
Surely, the last thing China needs right now is more houses?
Having had a bit of a look, I'd say he's setting himself up for the second last chapter. He's perhaps in the phase equivalent to when @Big_G & Mrs Big_G went travelling and cruising. He's been a Brompton man forever so probably gets the extra healthy life years that come on average with consistent cycling, has done things like car camping, and was one of the people in the Cycling UK High Court action that stopped the Mansfield total cycling ban a few years ago.
He's prosperous Midlands blue collar with a consistent career, and has a nice 4 bed house in an above average suburb. He will have a decent and secure occupational pension, and is shifting to a twin base of small bungalow in Retford (nice small town in North Notts) and his new house in Changping in China. He's on his own now so he's going exploring and life will be interesting.
When he becomes less active, he will I think come back to Retford for small town life. It's a good place for it.
I think he has been disillusioned by the current situation in the UK, media, and local politics.
And this is his reaction. I say good for him.
Report visiting Retford, with historical commentary.
On the subject of Aberdeen. I am currently staying 3 days a week at the house of a friend (a South African) in the city whilst I work on decomm jobs up there. His house is in one of the nicer parts of the city close to Duthie Park. He had intended selling up last year and moving back to South Africa with his family.
He bought his house in 2012 for £600,000. He has had about £150,000 in work done on the place. When he tried to sell in spring last year he priced it at £500,000 on the recommendation of various estate agents and got no interest at all. He has now taken it off the market. The collapse in house prices in Aberdeen in the last 2 years has been remarkable.
Aberdeen house prices have always been boom and bust, they may have finally come to the point where the market realises there is going to be no more boom. Without oil Aberdeen prices should have been on a par with those of Dundee, and they’re probably now converging.
I wonder if the people of Dundee regret or are relieved that their leadership screwed up the arrival of the Oil industry in the early 70s? The original plan was for Dundee to be the main centre for UK O&G but the local politicians rejected the plans and hence it all went to Aberdeen.
Total disaster for Dundee from which we have never recovered. Aberdeen has its problems now, seriously aggravated by the idiocy of Miliband, but it has also had many good times which set the City up in ways we can only dream of. And, as I am sure you have, when you go around the industrial estates around Aberdeen there are still a lot of hi tec firms working away, often far away from the North Sea.
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I have not seen him for 1-2 years, so ... there's a story to find out about.
Surely, the last thing China needs right now is more houses?
Having had a bit of a look, I'd say he's setting himself up for the second last chapter. He's perhaps in the phase equivalent to when @Big_G & Mrs Big_G went travelling and cruising. He's been a Brompton man forever so probably gets the extra healthy life years that come on average with consistent cycling, has done things like car camping, and was one of the people in the Cycling UK High Court action that stopped the Mansfield total cycling ban a few years ago.
He's prosperous Midlands blue collar with a consistent career, and has a nice 4 bed house in an above average suburb. He will have a decent and secure occupational pension, and is shifting to a twin base of small bungalow in Retford (nice small town in North Notts) and his new house in Changping in China. He's on his own now so he's going exploring and life will be interesting.
When he becomes less active, he will I think come back to Retford for small town life. It's a good place for it.
I think he has been disillusioned by the current situation in the UK, media, and local politics.
And this is his reaction. I say good for him.
Report visiting Retford, with historical commentary.
I visited Retford a few weeks back, in order to do the connection between the ECML and the Sheffield to Lincoln line. Also visited Worksop and Sheffield the same day.
After historical allegations, which he denies. He lives in Theydon Bois. Met him once, quite a character and the only billionaire I have met though he did like young ladies but given how he initially made his money no surprise there
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
Depends entirely on the Reform vote not the SNP vote, if the Tories can squeeze it to beat the SNP they will win.
The Murrell scandal broke after the recent election, where the SNP lost seats and though comical if still illegal it was hardly crime of the century Murrell using SNP funds to buy fancy pepper grinders and a motor home
On the subject of Aberdeen. I am currently staying 3 days a week at the house of a friend (a South African) in the city whilst I work on decomm jobs up there. His house is in one of the nicer parts of the city close to Duthie Park. He had intended selling up last year and moving back to South Africa with his family.
He bought his house in 2012 for £600,000. He has had about £150,000 in work done on the place. When he tried to sell in spring last year he priced it at £500,000 on the recommendation of various estate agents and got no interest at all. He has now taken it off the market. The collapse in house prices in Aberdeen in the last 2 years has been remarkable.
Aberdeen house prices have always been boom and bust, they may have finally come to the point where the market realises there is going to be no more boom. Without oil Aberdeen prices should have been on a par with those of Dundee, and they’re probably now converging.
I wonder if the people of Dundee regret or are relieved that their leadership screwed up the arrival of the Oil industry in the early 70s? The original plan was for Dundee to be the main centre for UK O&G but the local politicians rejected the plans and hence it all went to Aberdeen.
Total disaster for Dundee from which we have never recovered. Aberdeen has its problems now, seriously aggravated by the idiocy of Miliband, but it has also had many good times which set the City up in ways we can only dream of. And, as I am sure you have, when you go around the industrial estates around Aberdeen there are still a lot of hi tec firms working away, often far away from the North Sea.
The city centre (which I love by the way - great city) doesn't seem to have ever become the Dubai of the North though sadly.
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
On topic. Aberdeen South is interesting. A Tory win (don't personally think it'll happen) would be a considerable fillip for Badenoch.
I don't think it going happen. Too much of the headbanger Tory/unionist vote in Aberdeen is in love with Farage.
Even places that didn't have massive Reform votes in 2024 will have half it's Tory vote doing so now.
A quarter to a third of its 2024 Tory vote at most actually
I'll take your word for it, that's still fatal for theit chances here.
It isn't given the Tories were still second to the SNP in the Aberdeen South area last month and it only needs a few Reform voters to tactically vote Tory to beat the SNP for a Tory win
There are many examples where a party previously came third and yet came through to win. In Scotland as it happens.
I would prefer the Tories to come above Reform, but whilst there are clearly examples of Tories voting tactically for Reform at the moment, is the reverse likely when the Reform leadership seem to despise the Tories?
Tactical polls show if anything Reform voters are more likely to vote Tory than Tory voters Reform if they can't win, just most seats at the moment see Reform ahead of the Tories so no need for Reform tactical votes but Aberdeen South is a seat the Tories are still ahead of Reform
On topic. Aberdeen South is interesting. A Tory win (don't personally think it'll happen) would be a considerable fillip for Badenoch.
I don't think it going happen. Too much of the headbanger Tory/unionist vote in Aberdeen is in love with Farage.
Even places that didn't have massive Reform votes in 2024 will have half it's Tory vote doing so now.
A quarter to a third of its 2024 Tory vote at most actually
I'll take your word for it, that's still fatal for theit chances here.
It isn't given the Tories were still second to the SNP in the Aberdeen South area last month and it only needs a few Reform voters to tactically vote Tory to beat the SNP for a Tory win
There are many examples where a party previously came third and yet came through to win. In Scotland as it happens.
I would prefer the Tories to come above Reform, but whilst there are clearly examples of Tories voting tactically for Reform at the moment, is the reverse likely when the Reform leadership seem to despise the Tories?
Tactical polls show if anything Reform voters are more likely to vote Tory than Tory voters Reform if they can't win, just most seats at the moment see Reform ahead of the Tories so no need for Reform tactical votes but Aberdeen South is a seat the Tories are still ahead of Reform
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
Things not looking too good for the New Zealand cricket team. 200 to get, with just 5 wickets left. And the ball swinging about like crazy.
I love test cricket, absolutely love it and one of the reasons is that it is much more than the bish, bash, bosh of shorter formats. But this is ridiculous. You just can't bat in these conditions on this pitch. If I was there (god forbid) I would be playing T20 mode because you can guarantee that one with your name on it is coming.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
While it wouldn't be my number 1, or even number 2, Middlemarch is undoubtedly a great novel. But LOTR at number 1? Jeez.
At a quick glance two stand out missing people are Trollope and Greene.
Yes, interesting how out of fashion GG has very quickly become. I recently reread Brighton Rock: it's a really chilling mediation on the nature of evil - and still very relevant.
Glad to see the readers are sensible enough to put Camus on the list. Not on the original top 100 iirc.
I have read 17 of the books,
And while Lord of the Rings would probably make my top 100, it certainly wouldn't be in the top 10.
It's also utterly shocking that not a single Christopher Brookmyre novel made the list. A Big Boy Did and Ran Away and The Sacred Art of Stealing are -without a doubt- two of the finest books ever written. (And the first of these is even set partially in Aberdeen, and is therefore pertinent to this thead.)
Where do they find these people. Sherelle Jacobs representing the Telegraph is so hopeless you wonder how she could have got herself a job.
Has she said something you disagree with ?
Hopeless or not prior to the 2019 election on QT she absolutely called what was happening out in the country and what the result will be. She wasn’t that hopeless then.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
While it wouldn't be my number 1, or even number 2, Middlemarch is undoubtedly a great novel. But LOTR at number 1? Jeez.
At a quick glance two stand out missing people are Trollope and Greene.
Yes, interesting how out of fashion GG has very quickly become. I recently reread Brighton Rock: it's a really chilling mediation on the nature of evil - and still very relevant.
Glad to see the readers are sensible enough to put Camus on the list. Not on the original top 100 iirc.
I have read 17 of the books,
And while Lord of the Rings would probably make my top 100, it certainly wouldn't be in the top 10.
It's also utterly shocking that not a single Christopher Brookmyre novel made the list. A Big Boy Did and Ran Away and The Sacred Art of Stealing are -without a doubt- two of the finest books ever written. (And the first of these is even set partially in Aberdeen, and is therefore pertinent to this thead.)
now the plot would no longer work cos of the new bypass
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
In general it looks like a list where it is safer to choose a book from it and you won't end up hating the experience of reading the book.
But fecking Middlemarch is still second. And To Kill A Mockingbird at number five?
I also think the list still lacks breadth. Three Austen novels, Two by Orwell. Multiple Dickens. The list would be a lot more interesting if it was limited to one book per author.
While it wouldn't be my number 1, or even number 2, Middlemarch is undoubtedly a great novel. But LOTR at number 1? Jeez.
At a quick glance two stand out missing people are Trollope and Greene.
Yes, interesting how out of fashion GG has very quickly become. I recently reread Brighton Rock: it's a really chilling mediation on the nature of evil - and still very relevant.
Glad to see the readers are sensible enough to put Camus on the list. Not on the original top 100 iirc.
I have read 17 of the books,
And while Lord of the Rings would probably make my top 100, it certainly wouldn't be in the top 10.
It's also utterly shocking that not a single Christopher Brookmyre novel made the list. A Big Boy Did and Ran Away and The Sacred Art of Stealing are -without a doubt- two of the finest books ever written. (And the first of these is even set partially in Aberdeen, and is therefore pertinent to this thead.)
I've read 11. I also have a copy of "A Suitable Boy" in my reading pile, but it is a bit on the heavy side to take to work and read on the train.
We need another lock down - that's when I read "War and Peace".
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
It’s about the average standard for Scottish journalists. In fact, the words Scottish and journalist shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
It’s about the average standard for Scottish journalists. In fact, the words Scottish and journalist shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.
I have not seen him for 1-2 years, so ... there's a story to find out about.
Surely, the last thing China needs right now is more houses?
Having had a bit of a look, I'd say he's setting himself up for the second last chapter. He's perhaps in the phase equivalent to when @Big_G & Mrs Big_G went travelling and cruising. He's been a Brompton man forever so probably gets the extra healthy life years that come on average with consistent cycling, has done things like car camping, and was one of the people in the Cycling UK High Court action that stopped the Mansfield total cycling ban a few years ago.
He's prosperous Midlands blue collar with a consistent career, and has a nice 4 bed house in an above average suburb. He will have a decent and secure occupational pension, and is shifting to a twin base of small bungalow in Retford (nice small town in North Notts) and his new house in Changping in China. He's on his own now so he's going exploring and life will be interesting.
When he becomes less active, he will I think come back to Retford for small town life. It's a good place for it.
I think he has been disillusioned by the current situation in the UK, media, and local politics.
And this is his reaction. I say good for him.
Report visiting Retford, with historical commentary.
I visited Retford a few weeks back, in order to do the connection between the ECML and the Sheffield to Lincoln line. Also visited Worksop and Sheffield the same day.
He's using a pretty decent set of criteria.
Market town with independent shops, flat for cycling with good links, good rail connections so he does not need a car.
On the subject of Aberdeen. I am currently staying 3 days a week at the house of a friend (a South African) in the city whilst I work on decomm jobs up there. His house is in one of the nicer parts of the city close to Duthie Park. He had intended selling up last year and moving back to South Africa with his family.
He bought his house in 2012 for £600,000. He has had about £150,000 in work done on the place. When he tried to sell in spring last year he priced it at £500,000 on the recommendation of various estate agents and got no interest at all. He has now taken it off the market. The collapse in house prices in Aberdeen in the last 2 years has been remarkable.
Aberdeen house prices have always been boom and bust, they may have finally come to the point where the market realises there is going to be no more boom. Without oil Aberdeen prices should have been on a par with those of Dundee, and they’re probably now converging.
I wonder if the people of Dundee regret or are relieved that their leadership screwed up the arrival of the Oil industry in the early 70s? The original plan was for Dundee to be the main centre for UK O&G but the local politicians rejected the plans and hence it all went to Aberdeen.
Total disaster for Dundee from which we have never recovered. Aberdeen has its problems now, seriously aggravated by the idiocy of Miliband, but it has also had many good times which set the City up in ways we can only dream of. And, as I am sure you have, when you go around the industrial estates around Aberdeen there are still a lot of hi tec firms working away, often far away from the North Sea.
The city centre (which I love by the way - great city) doesn't seem to have ever become the Dubai of the North though sadly.
They clearly need to build a big island in the sea in the shape of England and Wales and sell off houses on it to Premiership footballers at £10m each. I'd be delighted to help all the Premiership footballers move to the North (ignoring that the southern part of the Shetlands are The South).
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
It’s about the average standard for Scottish journalists. In fact, the words Scottish and journalist shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.
I don't know when this happened but they seem to have a new or newish "online portal" for billing etc.
As far as I can see it is totally unusable.
I can't even set or change the password. I've never been give a password or a username for the new portal. All it will do is send email links to log in.
Totally unsecure imho.
A lot of company's are moving to temporary log in links, Esure does it. They say it is more secure, I do not know if that is true though.
Pedantic Betting point of order. That's left me singularly feeling that I am afflicted by a surfeit of apostrophes.
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
It’s about the average standard for Scottish journalists. In fact, the words Scottish and journalist shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.
I still remember Henry McLeish and his fiasco. The Scottish media messed around his story for weeks. And then he made the mistake of going on Newsnight. 20 minutes later his career was over. It was painful how inept and ineffective the Scottish media were. And have been ever since.
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
Good analysis HYUFD, in fact my Scottish Conservative MSP increased his majority in the North East in the Holyrood election and speaking to activist friends during the campaign Kemi Badenoch's increasingly positive personal polling was starting to be picked up on the doorsteps. She was back campaigning in Aberdeen South yesterday.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
After historical allegations, which he denies. He lives in Theydon Bois. Met him once, quite a character and the only billionaire I have met though he did like young ladies but given how he initially made his money no surprise there
Hard to knock what he did for Birmingham City FC
Bought us in early 90s on a day bailiffs we're literally locking the gates, invested, went down, reinvested, rebuilt 75% of the ground, got Barry Fry in, quids for a quid 27000 on a Monday night for lower league Cup game.
Bought it Trevor Francis, then Steve Bruce, League Cup final as EFL club v Liverpool robbed by David Ellary from a great win. 4th play off, season saw promoted to PL
4 great seasons dominated the Vile, got relegated promoted right back..
Dugarry signing a master stroke.
He shot from the hip never popular with fans, David Gold was though.
Lost interest got involved in horse racing.
Sold us to a Chinese moneylaunderer hairdresser who got sentenced in HK he sold us to feck knows who.. Cambodian, Vietnamese money launderers who would issue and buy shares to prop up hid knows what.
Thankfully some very genuine Yanks came in
All started with Sullivan but his wealth creation methods were always questionable too.
Don't see it myself. The Murrell scandal would have killed almost any other party. The SNP remain bullet proof as the recent election showed. I expect a fairly comfortable SNP win.
I heard a Scottish journalist on the radio the other day, not an SNP nor Murrell supporter.
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
I can guarantee that no 12 person jury would find her guilty. We have 15 on a jury up here. If that was the extent of his knowledge of Scottish affairs I would be cautious.
It’s about the average standard for Scottish journalists. In fact, the words Scottish and journalist shouldn’t be used in the same sentence.
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
Good analysis HYUFD, in fact my Scottish Conservative MSP increased his majority in the North East in the Holyrood election and speaking to activist friends during the campaign Kemi Badenoch's increasingly positive personal polling was starting to be picked up on the doorsteps. She was back campaigning in Aberdeen South yesterday.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
I've put a few pennies on the Tories at Aberdeen South at 3.0 based on this.
I know the weather forecast is awful but the number of empty seats at Lords is startling.
Because people know what the weather forecast is, and there's lots of things to do just outside the ground at Lords. It isn't usual to sit in your seat for a long time when you know there won't be any play soon.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
I know the weather forecast is awful but the number of empty seats at Lords is startling.
Because people know what the weather forecast is, and there's lots of things to do just outside the ground at Lords. It isn't usual to sit in your seat for a long time when you know there won't be any play soon.
Sure, but this was when cricket was being played. When your not going to see as much as you hoped its pretty daft to miss what there is.
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
Good analysis HYUFD, in fact my Scottish Conservative MSP increased his majority in the North East in the Holyrood election and speaking to activist friends during the campaign Kemi Badenoch's increasingly positive personal polling was starting to be picked up on the doorsteps. She was back campaigning in Aberdeen South yesterday.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
I've put a few pennies on the Tories at Aberdeen South at 3.0 based on this.
It's win win for Kemi really. If the Tories win it's evidence of her growing popularity. If they lose, well of course they lost, it's Scotland.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
"Middle-class white men banned from public sector internship National Audit Office’s six-week paid programme only accepts female, black heritage or lower socio-economic applicants" (£)
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
"Middle-class white men banned from public sector internship National Audit Office’s six-week paid programme only accepts female, black heritage or lower socio-economic applicants" (£)
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
Good analysis HYUFD, in fact my Scottish Conservative MSP increased his majority in the North East in the Holyrood election and speaking to activist friends during the campaign Kemi Badenoch's increasingly positive personal polling was starting to be picked up on the doorsteps. She was back campaigning in Aberdeen South yesterday.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
On a pedantic point, Gordon and Buchan was technically a notional hold, with a one-third reduction in the vote.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
War and Peace is number 6. So people really have finished reading it?!
Not a lot of laughs in that list. In general, to my slight frustration, people seem to devalue things which make them laugh. But being genuinely funny at the same time as doing creativity should be genuinely impressive. This is also true of poetry and pop music.
"Middle-class white men banned from public sector internship National Audit Office’s six-week paid programme only accepts female, black heritage or lower socio-economic applicants" (£)
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
Amazed to see Memoirs of Hadrian on there. And deservedly. I thought I was the only person that had read it.
"Arrived at Britannia Superior. Gazed upon vistas of grass, gorse and heather. And the first thing I thought was: what this place really needs is a whacking great wall..."
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
Amazed to see Memoirs of Hadrian on there. And deservedly. I thought I was the only person that had read it.
"Arrived at Britannia Superior. Gazed upon vistas of grass, gorse and heather. And the first thing I thought was: what this place really needs is a whacking great wall..."
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
How is going from 31 MSPs to 12 in Scotland one of the Tories' "better results"?
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
How is going from 31 MSPs to 12 in Scotland one of the Tories' "better results"?
Because the rest were worse. Hardly a difficult concept.
"Middle-class white men banned from public sector internship National Audit Office’s six-week paid programme only accepts female, black heritage or lower socio-economic applicants" (£)
Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.
Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.
Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held
Good analysis HYUFD, in fact my Scottish Conservative MSP increased his majority in the North East in the Holyrood election and speaking to activist friends during the campaign Kemi Badenoch's increasingly positive personal polling was starting to be picked up on the doorsteps. She was back campaigning in Aberdeen South yesterday.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
I've put a few pennies on the Tories at Aberdeen South at 3.0 based on this.
It's win win for Kemi really. If the Tories win it's evidence of her growing popularity. If they lose, well of course they lost, it's Scotland.
I wouldn't say losing is a win, but the big news of the night will be whatever happens in Makerfield Tories losing wouldn't really register much.
After historical allegations, which he denies. He lives in Theydon Bois. Met him once, quite a character and the only billionaire I have met though he did like young ladies but given how he initially made his money no surprise there
Hard to knock what he did for Birmingham City FC
Bought us in early 90s on a day bailiffs we're literally locking the gates, invested, went down, reinvested, rebuilt 75% of the ground, got Barry Fry in, quids for a quid 27000 on a Monday night for lower league Cup game.
Bought it Trevor Francis, then Steve Bruce, League Cup final as EFL club v Liverpool robbed by David Ellary from a great win. 4th play off, season saw promoted to PL
4 great seasons dominated the Vile, got relegated promoted right back..
Dugarry signing a master stroke.
He shot from the hip never popular with fans, David Gold was though.
Lost interest got involved in horse racing.
Sold us to a Chinese moneylaunderer hairdresser who got sentenced in HK he sold us to feck knows who.. Cambodian, Vietnamese money launderers who would issue and buy shares to prop up hid knows what.
Thankfully some very genuine Yanks came in
All started with Sullivan but his wealth creation methods were always questionable too.
Perfect summary.
I think you’re right too. He was never loved at the Blues but the Golds were and when one sadly died a lot of Blues Twitter were very effusive in their praise
Dugarry, brilliant then he got a long term contract and phoned it in before leaving.
O/T with apologies for diverting a thread right away but the Guardian have now published their readers' list of 100 greatest novels and it looks a lot better to me than the authors' and critics' list from a few weeks ago:
War and Peace is number 6. So people really have finished reading it?!
Not a lot of laughs in that list. In general, to my slight frustration, people seem to devalue things which make them laugh. But being genuinely funny at the same time as doing creativity should be genuinely impressive. This is also true of poetry and pop music.
I've just read Paper Towns by John Green. Bits of it had me LOLing on the train.
Comments
EDF have changed from their orange-ish decorated envelopes to thinner plain white ones. Barclays now makes paperless notification and statements a condition of using online banking (although you can change back to paper each time, at least for the moment).
Ranchers are refusing to self-report screwworm in their cattle. Why? USDA policy means a positive find triggers quarantine/confiscation of the whole herd—risking everything they’ve built. Renée’s right. This is killing cooperation. 🐄
Used to work: Send in a sample. If positive, USDA releases sterile flies (SIT) that mate with wild ones & crash the population—no mass slaughter.
That’s how we eradicated it before.
Now they’re pushing a $750M sterile fly facility in Edinburg, TX while scaring producers silent. Fix the incentives! Look it up: sterile insect technique worked for decades.
https://x.com/anttsinc/status/2063023323710210207
A friend from Mansfield - late 60s / early 70s who is a widower - has just moved to semi-rural China, and is currently building a house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPZEtRuzJ2U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMIIsVJ3lhY
I have not seen him for 1-2 years, so ... there's a story to find out about.
The gender differences in the Survation poll of Makerfield are quite exceptional, a 17% Labour lead amongst women compared to only 2% amongst men, a much bigger gender variation than in national polling. It suggests to me that Kenyon's misogyny has not gone unnoticed by women and has had some impact on voting intention.
Rhyme it with iceburg.
But if its got to be wildlife - then Billy the Fish?
I do wonder who is paying for it because it's very slick and must get millions of impressions every day. Russians? Americans? It feels more like product of a Western culture than a Slavic one but who the fuck knows?
I would prefer the Tories to come above Reform, but whilst there are clearly examples of Tories voting tactically for Reform at the moment, is the reverse likely when the Reform leadership seem to despise the Tories?
To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book and deserves to be in there imo. Indeed, the order is not what I would have chosen I'd say it's a pretty good list - better than the critics and authors who tended to pretentious ponceyness.
If LLMs Have Human-Like Attributes, Then So Does Age of Empires II
https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.31514
Labour are introducing automatic voter registration
He's prosperous Midlands blue collar with a consistent career, and has a nice 4 bed house in an above average suburb. He will have a decent and secure occupational pension, and is shifting to a twin base of small bungalow in Retford (nice small town in North Notts) and his new house in Changping in China. He's on his own now so he's going exploring and life will be interesting.
When he becomes less active, he will I think come back to Retford for small town life. It's a good place for it.
I think he has been disillusioned by the current situation in the UK, media, and local politics.
And this is his reaction. I say good for him.
I used to have a T-shirt featuring them. Plus one with Sid the Sexist "The Silver-Tongued Cavalier".
Labour floundered at the Scottish elections last month. They managed to hold onto 2 FPTP seats and gain one (narrowly), thats the only positive you could say.
The rest of it was damage limitation. Arbroath should be a relatively comfortable SNP hold.
Aberdeen South will be much closer, with the Tories running the SNP close. Maybe be less than 1500 votes in it. With the Tories now in to 7/4, I do wonder if the value is coming off them now, having started out at 3/1.
The extra wards in the Westminster seat which are not in Aberdeen Deeside (holyroood) around the harbour are not as Tory friendly.
As HYUFD said in previous thread, it will come down to whether enough Reform voters can hold their nose and vote Tory to kick the SNP out. The SNP will also be hoping to get tactical support from Green voters in the part of the seat which is in the Aberdeen Central Holyrood seat.
Still SNP favs for me, but only marginal
Was not "inevitable west" exposed as Indian, as were a whole layer of Russian Cybernats who temporarily went off air when Russia had internet problems iirc?
Here's an account from Wired (April) of an Indian medical student who generated an AI fake female conservative influencer called Emily Hart looking like Jennifer Lawrence, and says he made thousands a month from less than one hour per day, and put her on an OnlyFans copycat site. MAGA Loofs (and their UK versions) are not known for IQs of 150 and hinterland.
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-generated-maga-girls/
There's an appetite for it.
SNP 1.46
Con 2.68
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.258320914
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcd-ObtmeFk
The Murrell scandal broke after the recent election, where the SNP lost seats and though comical if still illegal it was hardly crime of the century Murrell using SNP funds to buy fancy pepper grinders and a motor home
He said something very interesting
Firstly he doubted that any 12 person Jury would ever find Sturgeon guilty had she have been charged with any linked offence
Secondly he doubted if the scandal would have any material impact on SNP v Reform or Tory battles as Farage was viewed as US and, Russian sponsored crook and The Tories would never be forgiven for Boris, Truss corruption and incompetence.
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54117-what-is-the-tactical-voting-landscape-in-february-2026
On eighth reading, I think I've got it.
I was told a few weeks ago that a gagging order has been recently lifted and that's why Brady recently jumped ship.
And while Lord of the Rings would probably make my top 100, it certainly wouldn't be in the top 10.
It's also utterly shocking that not a single Christopher Brookmyre novel made the list. A Big Boy Did and Ran Away and The Sacred Art of Stealing are -without a doubt- two of the finest books ever written. (And the first of these is even set partially in Aberdeen, and is therefore pertinent to this thead.)
Hopeless or not prior to the 2019 election on QT she absolutely called what was happening out in the country and what the result will be. She wasn’t that hopeless then.
We need another lock down - that's when I read "War and Peace".
Market town with independent shops, flat for cycling with good links, good rail connections so he does not need a car.
That's roughly where I will be in 12-15 years.
All they need is a big sun like the Truman Show.
And as I posted yesterday, Harriet Cross gained the new neighbouring Westminster seat of Gordon and Buchan for the Scottish Conservatives against the political tide in 2024 and the losing SNP incumbent MP is now standing for the SNP in the Aberdeen South by-election.
Bought us in early 90s on a day bailiffs we're literally locking the gates, invested, went down, reinvested, rebuilt 75% of the ground, got Barry Fry in, quids for a quid 27000 on a Monday night for lower league Cup game.
Bought it Trevor Francis, then Steve Bruce, League Cup final as EFL club v Liverpool robbed by David Ellary from a great win. 4th play off, season saw promoted to PL
4 great seasons dominated the Vile, got relegated promoted right back..
Dugarry signing a master stroke.
He shot from the hip never popular with fans, David Gold was though.
Lost interest got involved in horse racing.
Sold us to a Chinese moneylaunderer hairdresser who got sentenced in HK he sold us to feck knows who.. Cambodian, Vietnamese money launderers who would issue and buy shares to prop up hid knows what.
Thankfully some very genuine Yanks came in
All started with Sullivan but his wealth creation methods were always questionable too.
I've read it twice.
Or so says Elaine Benes, anyway.
National Audit Office’s six-week paid programme only accepts female, black heritage or lower socio-economic applicants" (£)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/06/middle-class-white-men-banned-from-public-sector-internship/
In general, to my slight frustration, people seem to devalue things which make them laugh. But being genuinely funny at the same time as doing creativity should be genuinely impressive.
This is also true of poetry and pop music.
Andreeva beats Chawlinska 6-3 6-2 in an underwhelming final.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/insight/thames-water-defends-refugee-only-careers-day-amid-backlash/gm-GM8D04174F?gemSnapshotKey=GM8D04174F-snapshot-1
https://x.com/kumbdotcom/status/2063221487729795330?s=61
I think you’re right too. He was never loved at the Blues but the Golds were and when one sadly died a lot of Blues Twitter were very effusive in their praise
Dugarry, brilliant then he got a long term contract and phoned it in before leaving.