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like sergeant Wilson from dads army nowadays. "do you mind awfully chaps standing to attention"....😉

In my ideal world there’d be little or no pay differentials with the highest rate of pay going to jobs that nobody wants to do. And nobody should earn more than twice as much as anyone else and the only way to earn more is to work longer hours. Imagine a total reset. We all start out with the understanding that there are no jobs that’ll make you a millionaire simply by choosing a certain trade or profession and instead the choice becomes what you want to do and what you’re capable of doing. Of course we can’t all be football players or F1 drivers, so we just let ability take care of that. Let’s face it, if they weren’t paid multimillion-pound salaries, would we only see crap football players or rubbish drivers? I doubt it! The argument that their careers are short lived would now be meaningless because someone like Lewis Hamilton could earn just as much by driving a bin wagon when he’s past his best. Bill 😊

If they were all genuine refugees fleeing persecution or war then as soon as they’re outside their country they’re basically safe. As soon as they continue on looking for what they believe will give them a better standard of living, they’re no longer refugees but economic migrants. It’s glaringly obvious and I can’t understand how some people can’t see this. Bill 😊

I am now 76 years old and I often reminisce about the mid 1950s when my farther used to take me on the cross bar of his bicycle from where we lived in Queens Drive, Newton-Le-Willows, Lancashire to the US Air Base at Burtonwood. We used a narrow side road to the North side of the main run way which ran about 20 yards away parallel to it at the Winwick end. From behind a 6ft high wire fence we would watch the B17, B29 bombers and Super Saber, Shooting Star jets and many more different aircraft. In about 1962-63 6 Avro Vulcan's visited and I remember them very loudly circling over head my house waiting to land. The Base is no longer there only one very large hanger and a couple of very small air strips for gliders etc. The M62 Motor Way was built directly over the top of main run way and the rest of the area is now covered with houses and commercial sites. Many fond memories of my father and the base in my youth. Wayne.

No need for nationalisation: in the event of an actual or threatened emergency in the UK that will affect fuel supplies, the Secretary of State may use emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976 to regulate or prohibit the production, supply, acquisition or use of substances used as fuel. The powers in Section 3 are exercisable by Order in Council, Parliament may debate it but not prevent the order being made. So if supplies need to be assured the sale of North Sea Oil for export can just be stopped by the government of the day. Thus a new longer lasting field DOES provide extra energy security provided a sensible government is in power, no guarantees on that one! Such action would be Force Majeure in supply contracts so exporters could not expect to face commercial loss by court action.

Heard an interesting comment on tv this morning. An activist who was saying how dangerous the air was in her town was asked “If it’s that bad, why don’t you wear a mask then like they do in China?” She said that she shouldn’t have to do that, to which the interviewer replied. “I shouldn’t have to pay £12.50 a day because someone like you can’t be bothered to protect yourself.” 😄 Good point I thought! Bill 😊

Boris Johnson's sentiments are echoed throughout the State and Corporate world; it's all about what's cheaper (more efficient) and more profitable for them, so why worry over old farts that will be gone in a few years. Next, they'll be scrapping cash and moving onto digital currency, if you haven't got a smart phone or don't know how to use it (like me ! ), your goosed. The s/markets are gearing up to go fully self service with the check outs, with the added bonus of being able to sack a load of staff. 😠

I have always thought it was a lab-leak myself. As I understand it the regional government seized all the documentation of the early cases and it went to central Government. That meant there was no documentation for the WHO folks to look at it had been taken away and they didn't know who had it or if it had been destroyed. The locals were told that they couldn't discuss it and that secrecy causes concern in the West but could be seen as normal state paranoia in China. (the handling is described in BBC Sounds - Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin - Available Episodes)

You are unbelievable. Gaza has insufficient water and relies on supplies from Israel. The Gaza strip cannot support the population in it and in normal circumstances needs to send its workers into Israel for economic reasons. If that happened in this country you would no doubt be quick to point out that the Government was irresponsible in not coming to agreements and negotiating with our neighbours. That cannot happen in Gaza because Hamas is funded by Iran which aims to destroy the state of Israel because it gave support to the Shah. This is about power and control, Iran does not fund Hamas because Gaza is a fellow Muslim country; Iran is Shia and Gaza is Sunni - they just hate Israel and the US (who also helped the Shah). Hamas does not behave like a normal government and it cannot be trusted. The only reason that the casualty figures are not weighted more heavily on the Israeli side is that the Hamas weapons did not manage to reach Tel Aviv and now there are better missile defences. It is not a case of fighting back for Hamas it is a case of fighting instead of behaving like a responsible Government. One might argue that is perhaps inevitable since following the election in 2006 when Hamas came to power - to be attacked shortly afterwards by Fatah - there have been no more elections in Gaza. So what is it that you think is appropriate - two separate and warring Palestinian states in difficult land, one sworn to destroy Israel. This view of yours is worse than idealistic. My problem with Hamas is nothing to do with religion but it is do with terrorism and they are a proscribed organisation for a reason.

From what I’ve just seen on TV, the rocket that hit the hospital was 100% certainly fired from within Gaza. The whole event was broadcast live on the Al Jazeera news channel. It showed a rocket ascending from Gaza that seemed to partially explode then a few seconds later a flash of light from the hospital below. Bill 😊

he was arrested for racial hatred against the police,not for carrying a flag. probably arrested for his own protection. the police will only put up with so much before they act. they would have asked him to stop several times and issued a final warning of arrest if he didn't. he didn't and was arrested, the fact he had a union flag is neither here nor there, being abusive to police officers will eventually get you arrested.

That China is the world leader is excellent for two reasons: 1) since they are the world's major emitter and likely to continue to be it is good that they are doing the best they can to reduce the damage left to be done 2) if they are already number one there is clearly no rational point in us trying to outdo them, it would just be a crass act of self-harm. Virtue signalling in this case comes at a cost we cannot afford in my opinion.

Sad remainer. I've not noticed any difference.

the question that crops up in my mind is do we need to get from A-B so quickly. Unless it is to prevent loss of life then the answer is probably not. Video conferencing is now well established so any meeting does not require the attendance physically of all the members or even any of the members. I had to contact my doctor this week and was told that they would call me later on. i received a text to ask for pictures of the particular problem which i uploaded to the link provided. when the doctor called they asked me a couple of questions gave me a diagnosis based on the pictures and my answers and sent a prescription to the pharmacy. all done without leaving my house. people seem to be rushing around to get to various places as fast as they can so that they can then rush back again. it is a bit like all those labour saving "smart" devices that will save you time during your day so that you have more time to rush around or spend what time you have saved programming the Smart devices so you have more time.

Correct, as well as reducing the capacity needed south of Northampton to allow maintenance which currently occurs at too low a rate on the WCML. Not building the Manchester leg also prevents traffic from the East Coast using Manchester as an alternative to the ECML to reduce congestion at the southern end towards Kings Cross. HS2 was about much more that a faster journey time from Birmingham and Manchester.

Can't say I was ever in favour of HS2, as it seemed to me to be all about London. What the North needs is more connectivity E-W .

because the major contractors know that once the gov have accepted the tender then they are committed to finish it at any cost rather than lose face by scrapping the project. the mere mention of a gov contract has contractors rubbing their hands and booking the next holiday in the Bahamas.

Yes and if that happens Dave, it’ll be our turn to become illegal immigrants as we try to move to warmer climates. 😂 Bill 😊

Well that just reinforces what I’ve always believed in that while human activity has definitely contributed to an increase in CO2 levels, the majority of it is natural. Whether it’s cause or effect though it doesn’t alter the fact that the planet is warming significantly which will lead to some bigger problems further down the line. Reducing our emissions might slow things ever so slightly and give a bit more time for us to adjust but whether things could be stopped or turned around looks increasingly impossible. What we’re doing at the moment is an expensive process and the money could possibly be better spent preparing for the inevitable. The way I see it is that it’s all part of evolution. Where our energy comes from and what sort of cars we drive will change with time and if that leads to a cleaner more sustainable environment then it can’t be seen as a bad thing. Bill 😊

It was interesting to note the significant increase in mean temperatures right across the States during the no-fly period following the 9/11 incident. This wasn’t just a random bit of nice weather; it was most definitely due to the lack of vapour trails allowing more sunshine to get through. This sort of effect gives some credibility to suggested alternative ways in which global warming could be reduced. I reckon it’d be far easier to make machines capable of generating clouds than it is to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere. End of conversation, it’s beer time 😊 Bill 😊

NOAA August CO2 was 420ppm so 0.042% of the atmosphere, up by 1.53ppm from the previous year. What matters is the amount of extra heat retained on balance by the CO2 but we ought to remember that other thing have a bigger effect on heat retention than CO2, and that include water vapour. The problem I have with all this is that there are things they do not look at and do not understand well in the models. To my mind the most significant are clouds, which have a a significant effect because they prevent insolation in the first place. There is also little understanding of the mechanisms and rates with which the oceans absorb CO2. Clouds form on nucleii in the atmosphere which are essentially pollution. As we reduce air pollution the formation of clouds gets reduced and heating goes up. I have a concern that this will become worse as we ban dirty marine oil burning over the oceans where so many clouds form. There are other natural phenomena such as natural variation in the sun combined with local changes in clouds that can increase surface temperatures leading to changed weather. Some scientists believe that the human caused part of warming is close to the same order human caused warming. The IPCC is only charged by governments to look at human caused warming so the natural changed are no ignored but get less attention. If the amount caused by natural effects, natural animal and plant cycles as well as earthquakes, is not such a large part of the warming effect the final temperature will be lower than predicted and the consequences less severe. Efforts to reduce consumption disrupt the economy far more than effort to deal with the consequences and we need the latter anyway. That means that the efforts for stop consumption make us poorer and have less economic capability to address the effects of warming. They are a quasi religious distraction and governments need to stop encouraging it. Davy, there is an effect as earth moves around the Sun and there are long term cycles based on astronomical effects prom the giant planets such as Jupiter which slightly increase or decrease solar power. From memory the effects are rather small and less than the variation in Total Solar Insolation (TSI). Just to show the state of the science the TSI is measured by satellites to avoid atmospheric effects, none of the satellites agree on how much insolation there is or how it varies either with time or wavelength/frequency. Science does not work on consensus, it needs experimental proof of the correct scientific models. Note that climate models are not scientific models they are just numerical computer models and they generally only work for the period for which the data has been used to calibrate them. To be useful as proof of understanding they need to work for any period at all, they currently do not do so. That is why there are multiple points of view: the science is not settled but some people have settle opinions!

It can work the other way round of course if your unfortunate enough to look as old and grumpy as me. For many years before I retired I was often asked if I qualified for pensioner rates. A quick look in the mirror though and that explained everything. 😊 Bill 😊

would that i could run. best i can do these days is medium paced hobble. last race i was in i got lapped by long john silver and his parrot.....🤦‍♂️

WOW, "they've stopped many"; they are in a position to stop them all. Instead, their coast guard vessels have been seen escorting migrants towards the UK coast. If they were being co-operative, they would allow the UKBF to deliver them to Calais, and accept the return of all illegals in our hotels. 😠

The European Convention on Human Rights which is used with its case law from the Strasbourg Court bears little resemblance to the document which was signed by the UK. It has been modified over time by a process of "dynamic interpretation" which means that the court feels free to overturn its own case law in favour of a more modern position. This is a feature which is simply not present in normal UK law (unless you are Lady Hale) and not a single parliament in Europe gave the court permission to do it, they just did it for themselves. This leaves governments unable to predict what they will be stopped from doing next. The UK is not the only place where the legitimacy of the court is being questioned. This subject was also covered by former Supreme Court Judge Jonathon Sumption in one of his Reith Lectures where his view was that Judges are intervening too much in Politics particularly on the subject of Human rights. The Strasbourg Court of Human Right needs checks on its powers so that the changes in interpretation are agreed by members. That is done in the UN treaties where Member states do not accept some changes by claiming reservation but they are clearly identified and the treaty or convention document itself is modified. In the case of the ECHR the convention document is unchanged and does not tell a member state what its responsibilities are, it is fundamentally undemocratic.

I would rather be at the back, leading by example is an indulgence we should not make the public pay for. When the markets for electric vehicle are well formed the costs will be lower, people need to choose vehicles to suite their own needs and aspirations and not what someone else thinks is all they deserve. Would the "do-gooders" have endorsed your Alfa when you wanted it if the new regime applied then?

Unfortunately they didn't realise how good they had it with White people running farms and Industrie for them, My Uncle lived there for a long time and he said the locals are good workers but most lack being able to work unsupervised which is their downfall.. Leaving their home is far easier for them rather than setting up their own Business and taking over responsibilty for themselves.. Not to forget corruption being everywhere and everyone out for themselves.. Africa is rich if it wasn't for corruption and mismanagement it could well be a great wealthy Country which the people could live in prosperity and the people wouldnt want to leave.. I am sure others will see it differently but this is how i see it

He'll be telling us next he dosn't trust a water meter. Bill

either farmers of the NHS... whomever it was needs to have a word with the typist who is deaf and possibly bad at inglish....🤦‍♂️

both work..real ale and model trains.....🍺

Russia has been ignoring ECHR decisions it doesn't like, ever since it started, The Yanks aren't even involved in it. Time to forget image and what other countries may think, and look after our own National interest, UK First. We have allowed the destruction of our society, culture and cohesion, by this invasion, aided and abetted by lefty liberal lawfare. 😠

I know it is unheard of but I phoned the council Customer Service Helpline and the young lady there in the Concessionary Pass admin team told me you can apply for the bus pass two weeks ahead of becoming of pensionable age. You can do that online, over the phone or visiting the office at 1 Time Square. I would choose the visit to the office as I did and Obs did too.

For those still singing the praises of the EU, they'll be pleased to know that the EU wants to dictate where the migrants will be allocated, which could be your country, whether you like it or not. Seems the Poles and Hungarians are not having it, with Poland now set for a Polexit referendum against this Brussels dictatorship; seems we got out just in time. 😠

That’s basically the same as I suggested Sid, but we couldn’t use trawlers. Why? Because the government would spend at least a couple of years debating net sizes and quotas. 😂 Bill 😊

perhaps we could hire a few trawlers to scoop them up in the nets. leave them dangling over the side and drop them off just short of the French coast. that way technically they would not have boarded a British vessel and they would be safe from drowning until they were dropped off and allowed to swim back to the Shore of their choice. the cost would be covered by the saving in paying legal aid to the hr lawyers and the cost of housing them when they do manage to make it over. would also provide a bit of extra income for the trawler men.

I remember when all this first started, and my first reaction was "just sink them", had we done that the problem would no longer exist. 😠

and here is me thinking it was because the police shot a teenager who refused to stop when requested despite having guns pointed at him. no mention of him being an immigrant illegal or otherwise. he was a muslim, not that that makes any difference. as for the riots the french,like the americans, will use any excuse to kick off.

i identify as a billionaire but i still can't get the bank to cash a check for a fiver..... simple solution next time said pupil wants to be excused point out the cat litter tray in the corner......🤦‍♂️

when you gotta go you gotta go. eating healthy is something that not two 'experts' can agree on. watch any program about healthy eating and they will say avoid fatty food such as butter or salt in your food. watch any cooking show and they will put half a pound of butter into whatever they are cooking and add a handful of salt to taste. experts wil tell you to make sure any food is thoroughly cooked and chefs will serve you a steak that a decent vet would have up on it's feet and mooing in half an hour. it's gets worse if you have certain health issues. my mother had a heart condition and diabetes. the diet recommended for each of these conditions were direct opposites. what was good for her heart condition was bad for her diabetes and visa versa. genetics also play a roll in this as well. most of my wifes side of the family have lived well into their nineties. so eat what you want and like and don't worry about the effects, after all you could be run over by an elephant tomorrow....🐘

Try googling the sun keir-starmer-secret-talks-just-stop-oils-bankroller-labour

Oh dear, swearing in public isn’t good but advocating hate, how wrong is that? That woman typifies my view of many of the people involved with politics, whether elected or simply as party members. As I said in a recent post, they can’t help doing or saying things like this because they’ve effectively allowed themselves to become brainwashed by only engaging with groups of likeminded nasty people, I’ll leave it at that. On the swearing issue, last night, my wife decided to watch a new series on TV. I only caught small bits of it but every other word was “f”ing, so much so that even I felt uncomfortable. I was brought up in a family with Christian values and beliefs so for me, swearing was something that other people did. We all swear at times and these days I suppose I’m no different, but it depends on circumstances, where you are and who you’re with. I think anyone that knows me well enough will know that I’m not nor ever have been that foul mouthed troublemaker that had to be banned from this forum. Little story… A few years back, I had a young school lad doing work experience. At the end of his stay, he had to present a report on his time with us. He wrote “I was warned to expect some bad language but in the two weeks I’ve been here, I’ve not heard a single swear word!” New "F"ing batteries for his hearing aid I think. 😂 Bill 😊

Well, if the imperialistic and expansionist Russia hadn't started the war we wouldn't have needed to react would we?

Call the repair shop and see if they can restore it.....🧙‍♂️ Time to get the pushbike out bill ask the missus if she can ride tandem...😱

When it comes to the economy, there’s a lot of things I don’t understand Davy. I tend to think of it all like running a home or a business but where wage income comes from taxation. The aim is to balance things, so everyone is comfortable and maybe set aside a bit for a rainy day. Wouldn’t life be easier and better if only it were that simple? A while back, I remember seeing an interview with a junior doctor who was asked “What drew you to the medical profession?” He replied, “The thought that I can become a consultant before the age of 30 and run five surgeries from somewhere sunny.” About the that time, I was in Mc Donald’s where a middle-aged woman with two walking sticks and clearly with some difficulty, was clearing tables. Speaking with her she said, “It isn’t easy, but I just have to do what I have to do.” Life’s just not fair for some and ethics seem to count for little. Bill 😊

Well, that puts us back to what I said in the first place. Whether its agriculture or care homes it doesn’t matter. If you don’t want immigrant labour doing all the jobs then we’ve got to pay wages that'll attract UK folk rather than put them off, and if that puts up costs so be it. Bill 😊

You would have expected Brexit to encourage self sufficiency policies, but that thinking seems to have passed by the powers that be .

I think Prof Curtiss summed up the result quite well, by saying that, rather than Labour winning, it would be more accurate to describe these elections as Conservatives losing. Clearly, most of those "leave" voters who gave the Tories a 70 seat majority in 2019, just didn't bother voting. Let down by a Tory Gov that has failed to deliver on Brexit, failed to stop illegal immigration and is allowing the civil service to sabotage the Gov; so they are not getting what they voted for. The tragedy is that the lefty alternative would be even worse, with a Leader who drops pledges at the drop of a hat, hasn't got a manifesto that can be afforded and will likely bring the indecision of the pre-2019 hung parliament back. So the basic message for the Tories is to get a grip or lose. 😠

Just listened to a black historian claiming that the Manchester United & City badges, hold a reference in the ship to historical slavery - thus he want's the ship removed from the badge. The facts are that many Cities in Britain benefited from trade links throughout the British Empire, and many stately homes owe their existence to the profits made by a small number of owners. But this was in the 18th C and Britain subsequently led the world in combating the African slave trade. Also, the working classes in Manchester and the N/West refused to work on cotton from the Confederacy during the American Civil War, causing themselves hardships. There is no definitive evidence that the ship on the logo, was a "slave" ship, but merely a ship. But listening to this "historian", he gave the game away, by suggesting that "reperations" should be paid to the decendants of "slaves", which would redress current alleged economic imbalances between blacks and whites in modern Britain. So just another excuse for obtaining compo - again. 😠

Good example of historical revisionism on TV today - "the Dam Busters - subtle change to Guy Gibson's dog's name from N****** to Trigger, which was also the code word for mission success. Sadly the dog got run over while Gibson was on the mission, and was buried at RAF Scampton their base. Alas, the woke RAF changed the headstone to remove the name of the dog. Now the site is being turned over to house illegal migrants, and the latest speculation is, that net immigration will reach 1 million this year. The saddest aspect to this, is the Tories can't sort the problem out, and the Lib-Labs-SNP have no intention of sorting it out. Wonder what those brave Airmen in WW2 would be thinking now ?

arresting them is what they want the police to do so they can get more publicity for the cause. rather than a cordon just have two pc's watching them and if there is any trouble between the protesters and the public at large they walk up and say in a loud clear voice "would you mind not doing that"