Insuflo

The amount of fireworks noise over a wide area last night couldn’t have just been teenagers messing around. I’m presuming that St. Andrew’s Day (or the eve of) has now been added the ever lengthening list of dates that some people feel need to be marked with ordnance. It doesn’t really matter whether the police or council is responsible for enforcement; if the launch site or the person lighting the touch-paper can’t be identified, how are they supposed to do anything? The only solution is to end the sale of fireworks to the public, which the Fire Brigades Union has lobbied for for decades. All governments since the ‘70s have resisted this. Otherwise, pressure local councils to withhold licenses to retailers. More regulation not less, which goes against the mantra of both Labour and Tories. I personally don’t give business to some local newsagents, who now spend a quarter of the year promoting the sale of fireworks.

It’s probably best described as Tudorbethan. It displays a rather twee, rose tinted yearning for a lost England that never really existed. Much like many posters on this forum.

No, they were not. They claimed that Khan would introduce pay-per-mile for all vehicles in London. That was a lie and Khan had no such plans. The Labour government has now announced pay-per-mile for EVs only nationwide, so they pay a similar duty to combustion engined vehicles.

I never knew that plays were staged at the EDT (upstairs, I presume?). I recall seeing a television adaptation of In Lambeth on the BBC years ago. Jack Shepherd was one of those actors who became a well known face for one TV role but actually had a long running and respected career in the theatre. RIP.

Something like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unst_Bus_Shelter

Are you saying the Bishop pretty rough or pretty pretentious? I haven’t been in for ages.

Paul Sinha said the other day that Auf Wiedersehen Pet is the German version of Animal Hospital.

He certainly comes across a rather decent bloke. Here’s a better one of him taking the knee with his players as an anti-racist gesture:

I’m broadly in agreement with you, Dogkennelhillbilly. But why the meme? It’s a very unfair representation of Sean Dyche, a man who to my knowledge has never engaged in any culture war bollocks. From his Wikipedia entry: Dyche features in an internet meme criticising modern trends in football, in which the phrase "utter woke nonsense" is attributed to him; he said "I wish I'd copyrighted it. Considering I didn’t actually say it, it does follow me around".

I can’t say how shocked I am.

I think there is still a legal requirement that BT keep phone boxes that get used (average number of calls in a year?) or if there isn’t another box within a certain radius. Or if it’s an old red box it might be listed but obviously it’s not. If BT wants to remove it, they need permission from the council , I think. So, I would imagine that the council can also request removal. So, it’s down to someone to ask the Goose Green councillors to have it taken away. I agree it’s a waste of pavement space and an eyesore.

She’s not just toast, she’s M&S toast. I wish she was but sadly, probably not.

Download the TfL Go app. It allows you to search for step free journeys. It also recommends the 345 at 1hr 35mins. You can’t guarantee AI is using up to date sources re closures, diversions etc.

Get Your Brits Out by Kneecap (or is it Elbow?) could be a ready made protest song.

Not if you remember the introduction of the Poll Tax. It galvanised a massive opposition, which eventually persuaded the Tories to bin Thatcher. It could be an anti-Starmer /Reeves focus within the labour movement.

Let’s arm the police. They carry guns everywhere else in Europe. Let’s abolish trial by jury, they don’t bother with juries in France. I’m going to drive on the right, every other European country does.

Yes, I do all of those things as a matter of choice and for my personal convenience. Being compelled to have identity papers, digital or otherwise is another matter entirely. There is no need for a compulsory id system, it is totally unnecessary. It plays into the notion that immigration is the greatest threat facing this country and the root of all problems- it is not.

Incredible. So bring back the Sus Laws, then?

If you and I already have various government id and use them effectively, why do we need another? I need to travel abroad, then I use my passport. I need to drive, I need my licence. I need to check my tax, NI or whatever online, I need a government id. This is all fair enough. However, I should not have to and I will not produce my papers on demand for simply existing in my country. Illegal employers currently exploiting migrants without physical id will continue to do so, knowing the worst consequences they will face is that their limited company might be fined. Can you imagine what misuses a Farage government might put a compulsory id system to? Opposition to what may well become this government’s Poll Tax will be considerable. The petition to parliament is already up to 2.5 million: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194

Yeah, who doesn’t pine for their youth? But it doesn’t alter the fact that in that in the post war period, chopping and changing as we were between Labour and Tory governments, there was still a collective consensus that the country and society was going inevitably forward to something better. Until that cow faced bitch and her minions came in to power in ‘79 and we have been living with the consequences ever since. “There is no such thing as society, there is only individuals and families”

I remember when all this was fields. The United Kingdom between 1945 and 1979. For good and ill.

The root of all these problems is that the model of capitalism pursued in this country for the last 45 years has failed utterly. It’s only true beneficiaries inhabit an ever decreasing circle of have-lots in a sea of have-nots, defended by an increasingly squeezed band of born at the right time boomers, which surely cannot hold.

Amazing analysis here. So the fact that this pub has been closed and decaying since 2012 (following a serious fire) is all the fault of the Labour government elected in 2024? You forgot to blame TfL and cyclists.

This is an utterly foolish and alarmist statement, completely at odds with reality.

Are you Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells?