Saturday 3rd October & Sunday 4th October 2015

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:37 pm

One of the joys of getting older is more interactions like this one that's just happened here.

Husband: Can you put Aqua Marina on the shopping list ?

Me: Aqua Marina, Aqua Marina what's that ? Wasn't she in Stingray ?

husband: You know the stuff, erm...Ave Marina. Ave Maria.

Me, getting even more puzzled: Ave Maria ? Give me a clue. Tia Maria ? Since when do you drink that ?

Husband: No, no, no. You know, Hello Vera stuff for rubbing, you know.

He meant Aloe Vera gel for chapped skin, - blooming obvious wasn't it ?

55DegreesNorth · Post by **55DegreesNorth** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:38 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
gilsey wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: Labour needs some short sharp messaging over these cuts - and should be making sure they get heard. The Tories are in a very weak position re this ... there will have to be some kind of back track.
Why wouldn't this be as bad for the tories as the poll tax was?

Serious question.
Some commentators have said it could be, gilsey.

I suppose one reason it might not is that the poll tax hit everybody - this won't - although it's still a large number of people - 3.2 million I think I saw is the number who will be adversely affected.
.

That's not quite true. Newcastle always had a high rate levy, and the poll tax brought my payments down by more than half. It took over a decade for council tax to reach the level of the old rates. The poll tax was very helpful for many people, providing that they lived in big houses in highly rated areas.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:41 pm

: egg.jpg (48.09 KiB) Viewed 7094 times

#Eggate.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:44 pm

yahyah wrote:One of the joys of getting older is more interactions like this one that's just happened here.

Husband: Can you put Aqua Marina on the shopping list ?

Me: Aqua Marina, Aqua Marina what's that ? Wasn't she in Stingray ?

husband: You know the stuff, erm...Ave Marina. Ave Maria.

Me, getting even more puzzled: Ave Maria ? Give me a clue. Tia Maria ? Since when do you drink that ?

Husband: No, no, no. You know, Hello Vera stuff for rubbing, you know.

He meant Aloe Vera gel for chapped skin, - blooming obvious wasn't it ?

Good job you didn't go into the chemist and ask for Hello Vera

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:48 pm

Scene from Belgian BBC 4 thriller Cordon, where a nasty, dangerous virus was loose and people were forced into quarantine.

Looks like the Tory conference was inspired by that.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:51 pm

I can't believe they are actually Tories.

If a casting director sent them along for a screen test the director would say they were too stereotyped to be realistic.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 5:53 pm

G M Police ‏@gmpolice 23 mins23 minutes ago

Ch Supt O'Hare said: "The fact that only four arrests have been made throughout the day so far was particularly pleasing."

Nice one

Edited to add. One egging. Two spits, and don't know what the fourth was for.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:00 pm

ohsocynical wrote:G M Police ‏@gmpolice 23 mins23 minutes ago

Ch Supt O'Hare said: "The fact that only four arrests have been made throughout the day so far was particularly pleasing."

Nice one

So, four arrests out of up to 100,000 people.

Whereas Bullingdon boys, four arrests out of a group of fourteen and more would have been nabbed if the police cells had been more roomy.

''Thames Valley police confirmed that 14 men had been involved in the melee but said only four had been arrested because there were not enough cells to hold them all.''
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... a-pub.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So lefties are more law abiding by a long way

frightful_oik · Post by **frightful_oik** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:04 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
egg.jpg

#Eggate.

It's an Eggstone isn't it?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:14 pm

After today I wonder if it's really sunk into those thick Tory skulls just how unhappy this country is with them.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:15 pm

frightful_oik wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
egg.jpg

#Eggate.
It's an Eggstone isn't it?

Eggactly! Eggcellent guess.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:21 pm

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:28 pm

glynn parry ‏@PARRY1956 38m38 minutes ago

Laughing Tory egged after brandishing Thatcher picture at protesters

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 79071.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PLEASE RT #torybritain

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:32 pm

ohsocynical wrote:glynn parry ‏@PARRY1956 38m38 minutes ago

Laughing Tory egged after brandishing Thatcher picture at protesters

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 79071.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PLEASE RT #torybritain

Lordy, are Tory boys still w***ing over pics of Thatcher ?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:46 pm

yahyah wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:glynn parry ‏@PARRY1956 38m38 minutes ago

Laughing Tory egged after brandishing Thatcher picture at protesters

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 79071.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PLEASE RT #torybritain

Lordy, are Tory boys still w***ing over pics of Thatcher ?

It seems so...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 6:59 pm

The Tories are finally facing up to what makes Parliament too posh: but will their solution work?
http://blogs.new.spectator.co.uk/2015/1 ... tion-work/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is about the newly announced bursary scheme to support parliamentary candidates who may not have the means themselves ...

... The cost of standing for Parliament in a seat that is considered winnable is obscene: candidates can lose £34,000 of their own money on average (that figure comes from this ConHome survey of 2005 candidates, but my own research which I am conducting currently suggests that it is roughly similar for those who stood in 2015: more on this soon). And this means that it’s impossible for some people to ever consider running.

The Conservatives ran their own survey which received 60,000 responses from members and activists, 83 per cent of whom said they wanted bursaries for candidates...

Well fine. But don't then criticise Labour for having union supported candidates for much the same reasons.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:00 pm

rascalblog ‏@rascalblog 6 mins6 minutes ago

First bacon, now eggs... Is there a 'Full English' pattern to recent Tory headlines? Next = Michael Gove caught dry humping a fried tomato?

Not one of AHindle's tomatoes I hope....

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:07 pm

Is anyone taking bets on Cameron mentioning his son again this year?

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:10 pm

THE National Union of Teachers (NUT) has condemned the news that all new academies and free schools, including those that have opened since September 2014, will now be inspected by Ofsted only during the third year of operation, rather than the second.

http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-f9e7-O ... hFkZLRViko

I expect Tubby and Roger will have seen this.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:21 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
THE National Union of Teachers (NUT) has condemned the news that all new academies and free schools, including those that have opened since September 2014, will now be inspected by Ofsted only during the third year of operation, rather than the second.

http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-f9e7-O ... hFkZLRViko
I expect Tubby and Roger will have seen this.

Yep. To be fair, it's all new schools- these just happen to be nearly all free schools and academies.

It's a heck of a risk. Ofsted, for its faults, has been the one that spotted some shocking practice in new free schools and academies. They're hoping the new Regional Commissioners will sort out the problems in new schools but are they up to it?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:23 pm

citizenJA wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
citizenJA wrote: We must have responsible governance and regulatory bodies.
This isn't working here, it's scandalous and I don't notice appropriate authority taking action here.
I hope I'm simply not well enough informed and criminal conduct and conflicts of interests are being resolved.
Any information anyone can give me to help is welcome.
I imagine the body is funded by compulsory levies on industry.

If so, that's not really a conflict of interest.

"A Department for Transport spokesman said: “To help provide value for taxpayers, the VCA cover their operating costs by charging manufacturers for the services they provide. This is the case with many regulators, including the ORR. Whilst the VCA charges the industry for its services, its governance framework is set by Government.”'
We've got conflict of interest problems here, Tubby Isaacs.

Provided the regulator is the only body who can provide those services, and they have to be provided, that isn't really a problem.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:34 pm

yahyah wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:Alan Travis ‏@alantravis40 2 mins2 minutes ago

Texas scheme of investing in probation to cut incarceration rates by 12% behind Gove jail revolution, says Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -Gove.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What Gove means is throwing handfuls of money at private companies to provide probation services, not investing in a public sector service.

It'll depend who he has in mind- highest risk offenders are supervised by the public sector, so that they'll get the blame when the offenders commit serious offences (as some inevitably will). If it's lower risk cases, then the private sector does those. These too will commit serious offences, but proportionately fewer. (And plus they can blame the Probation Service for not putting the offender in the higher risk category).

I think Gove's thing will be education, or how he sees education anyway. That's so far meant everybody doing Latin. How that'll work with offenders, God only knows.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:35 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
THE National Union of Teachers (NUT) has condemned the news that all new academies and free schools, including those that have opened since September 2014, will now be inspected by Ofsted only during the third year of operation, rather than the second.

http://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-f9e7-O ... hFkZLRViko
I expect Tubby and Roger will have seen this.
Yep. To be fair, it's all new schools- these just happen to be nearly all free schools and academies.

It's a heck of a risk. Ofsted, for its faults, has been the one that spotted some shocking practice in new free schools and academies. They're hoping the new Regional Commissioners will sort out the problems in new schools but are they up to it?

The quick answer to your question, Tubby, is no. Unless they get a whole load of bureaucracy underneath them and/or increase the numbers of them. In which case they'll start to look exactly the same as LAs except for the small fact that they are all controlled by the DfE.

I can imagine the Select Committee might ask about this.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:38 pm

gilsey wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote: That and, "Eight out of ten typical families will be better off!"
Yeah, Justine, but two out of ten will be worse off and that's two-tenths to many for me...
So how many out of 10 were worse off when Brown made those changes including abolishing the 10p rate?
I don't know the answer but I'd guess it was fewer, and it was only worth £200 a year, wasn't it? A bit less than £1350.
Brown's mistake was introducing the 10p rate, not abolishing it. Unlike some here, I wasn't a fan of GB as chancellor.

I was a fan of his. Tax credits were a big achievement, I think.

It wouldn't have been many worse off, you're right.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:43 pm

Kevin Maguire ‏@Kevin_Maguire 10m10 minutes ago
Five things we learned from Day One of the Tory conference http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fi ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:52 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Alan Travis ‏@alantravis40 2 mins2 minutes ago

Texas scheme of investing in probation to cut incarceration rates by 12% behind Gove jail revolution, says Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -Gove.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hold on! Didn't we used to have a thing called the Probation Service? And the Prison Education Service? And day-release for work/training? And, and an employment service for former prisoners? And, well, funding for stuff! Wonder what happened to all of that... And I'd look to the Scandinavian model long before I looked at bloody Texas, had I wanted inspiration for improving all of the above...

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 7:53 pm

Actually, I'm expecting Gove's interest in prison education will take the form of him moaning about the failed education system he inherited.

If he stays till 2020, that'll be a steady supply of offenders whose problems he can trace back to "Labour's education system". Doubtless they'd have been family doctors instead if only they'd had Gove directing them towards Latin GCSE. They'd not have got passed over by one of his free schools, or kicked out before they took any exams, oh no.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:06 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: I expect Tubby and Roger will have seen this.
Yep. To be fair, it's all new schools- these just happen to be nearly all free schools and academies.

It's a heck of a risk. Ofsted, for its faults, has been the one that spotted some shocking practice in new free schools and academies. They're hoping the new Regional Commissioners will sort out the problems in new schools but are they up to it?
The quick answer to your question, Tubby, is no. Unless they get a whole load of bureaucracy underneath them and/or increase the numbers of them. In which case they'll start to look exactly the same as LAs except for the small fact that they are all controlled by the DfE.

I can imagine the Select Committee might ask about this.

I hope they do ask, though nobody takes any notice.

Much as I dislike the SNP, I noted the Auditor General complimented them on aligning their practice with the relevant select committee. Quite a contrast with Tory Westminster, they'd probably say, and they'd be right on this occasion.

Agree with you. The Commissioners look too distant to me. Especially with those daftly-shaped regions.

They

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:07 pm

Rowson's latest...

http://linkis.com/www.theguardian.com/x1jg8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:15 pm

SimonNRicketts ‏@SimonNRicketts 23 mins23 minutes ago

Robert Peston is leaving the BBC to become ITV's political editor and have his own show.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/o ... cal-editor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:16 pm

So are we taking bets on which celebs the Tories will rol out onto the conference platform?

I'd take a punt on the Birbalsingh in a "look, I opened a school! (eventually) And it's great - the kids have to stand up when I enter the room which does so much for my ego and teachers have to teach from the front and....and...er...well, it's all great and we didn't have any help at all. Well, apart from Christodolou and that Tory pundit and Anthony Seldon and another HT. No help at all!"

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:25 pm

Phillip Blond ‏@Phillip_Blond 15 mins15 minutes ago

I am hearing rumours of a high profile resignation from Labour tomorrow

Ooh - er

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:27 pm

If true. Planned for maximum damage? We shall see.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:43 pm

ohsocynical wrote:If true. Planned for maximum damage? We shall see.

I'm trying to think of someone it might be that I would care a sod about

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:44 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Libby Wiener ‏@LibbyWienerITV 7m7 minutes ago
Are Tories worried over fallout from tax credit cuts? Osborne won't say - and PM's adviser Craig Oliver storms off #toryconference @itvnews
Labour needs some short sharp messaging over these cuts - and should be making sure they get heard. The Tories are in a very weak position re this ... there will have to be some kind of back track.
This is one of my frustrations with the leadership election. Sure, it's great to have Trident queried but if Cooper had won, she'd be hammering away at tax credits.

What is stopping her?

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:45 pm

Please let it be Simon Danczuk.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:48 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:Please let it be Simon Danczuk.

I thought the tweet said "high profile"!

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:49 pm

Willow904 wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:Please let it be Simon Danczuk.
I thought the tweet said "high profile"!

Bear in mind that was from Phillip Blond...for a Tory any defection will be "high profile".

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:51 pm

I wonder if there is any significance in the wording "resignation" rather than "defection". Could it be some media/celebrity figure?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:54 pm

OK it is me,I am resigning to spend more time with my tomatoes.

frightful_oik · Post by **frightful_oik** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 8:57 pm

Probably someone resigning their SC job.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:10 pm

HindleA wrote:OK it is me,I am resigning to spend more time with my tomatoes.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:13 pm

frightful_oik wrote:Probably someone resigning their SC job.

That's not giving it much of a go, though. Perhaps it's Peter Mandelson, or is that wishful thinking!

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:30 pm

Phillip Blond ‏@Phillip_Blond 17 mins17 minutes ago

A high profile lord will resign the labour whip tomorrow - that's what I am being told

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:45 pm

On Twitter I'm hearing its Lord Sugar?

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:49 pm

ohsocynical wrote:On Twitter I'm hearing its Lord Sugar?

When I saw the post saying it was a Lord, I would have guessed Sugar.

He's a maverick - no great loss. Doubt if many people listen to him as they might have at one time.

Post by **refitman** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 9:52 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:On Twitter I'm hearing its Lord Sugar?
When I saw the post saying it was a Lord, I would have guessed Sugar.

He's a maverick - no great loss. Doubt if many people listen to him as they might have at one time.

Didn't he quit in May?

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 10:08 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
LadyCentauria wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:WATO interview with Justine Greening on the tax credit cuts ... me gnashing teeth. She's just spouting that a 'typical family will be £2,400 a year better off'. That's it ... that's all she's really prepared to say. 'Typical family' - that's really what they are going to hide behind?
That and, "Eight out of ten typical families will be better off!"
Yeah, Justine, but two out of ten will be worse off and that's two-tenths to many for me...
So how many out of 10 were worse off when Brown made those changes including abolishing the 10p rate?

Far too many. Two wrongs don't make a right.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 10:09 pm

Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is the UK automotive approval Authority and a Technical Service so has the responsibility for witnessing or carrying out the tests as well as issuing the approval certificates.

Tests can be witnessed at any suitable facility anywhere in the world, whether they are owned by the manufacturer or hired by the manufacturer for the period. An approval issued by one Authority will be accepted in all the Member States. If you make large numbers of vehicles each year and/or you plan to sell across Europe, ECWVTA is the best approval option.

The European approval scheme is based on the concept of ‘type approval’ and put simply; this process provides a mechanism for ensuring that vehicles meet relevant environmental, safety and security standards. As it is not practical to test every single vehicle made, one production vehicle is tested as being representative of the ‘type’. A number of performance requirements will apply to a given vehicle type ranging from tyres through to exhaust emissions and braking systems. To ensure a consistent approach, the test methodology is outlined in the relevant EC Directive / Regulation or UN Regulation and the tests are carried out at an appropriate facility. If you are a vehicle manufacturer, your supply chain will probably have system and component approvals in place already.

Once all of the system and component approvals are in place, the vehicle will be considered as a whole by a designated approval body; in the UK this is VCA. A successful inspection accompanied by the submission of the relevant manufacturer’s information documents will result in the issue of a European Whole Vehicle Type Approval Certificate. This certification will be accepted throughout the EU without the need for further testing...

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca//vehicletype/ ... ective.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What could possibly go wrong.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin's web page linked below includes the link to VW.
Advice from VW.
That's McLoughlin's advice to you.

Find out more
People who are concerned their vehicle is affected can seek advice from VW.
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/dieselinfo

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gove ... -tax-costs

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sun 04 Oct, 2015 10:12 pm

Willow904 wrote:
frightful_oik wrote:Probably someone resigning their SC job.
That's not giving it much of a go, though. Perhaps it's Peter Mandelson, or is that wishful thinking!

Wishful thinking