Tuesday 18th November 2014

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 4:52 pm

letsskiptotheleft wrote:I am a bit bemused too at where the Tories have added 5% points.

Think it can be safely disregarded.

Can't I just have a bit of fun taking the piss out of the Libs before disregarding it?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 4:53 pm

letsskiptotheleft wrote:Government has lost in the Commons over something to do with pubs tied into breweries..

Which just goes to prove Gove couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

Sorry, gagging to write that.

Under Greg Mulholland et.al

Market rate option

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 5-871.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 4:55 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Emma Lewell-Buck MP ‏@EmmaLewellBuck 2m2 minutes ago
Asked Nick Clegg why Lib Dems haven't supported making carers exempt from Bedroom Tax. Lab would repeal it entirely. http://www.emma-lewell-buck.net/emma-ch ... droom-tax/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
Clegg's response was ... well I haven't got a word worthy of it at the ready.

I offer my interpretation of his response as being 'they can fuck off if they think I'm going to stick up for them'

In case anybody does want to know, here's his actual response:

The Deputy Prime Minister:
The hon. Lady is right that, on the basis of research we commissioned in government, we think that amendments need to be made so that new social tenants only receive the housing benefit they need for the number of bedrooms they have, but the Liberal Democrats feel that disabled adults should be treated the same as disabled children and that those offered an opportunity to downsize should have the provisions applied to them. That was the subject of the private Member’s Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George). If we had been granted a money resolution, we could have voted on it in this House.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 4:59 pm

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
letsskiptotheleft wrote:I am a bit bemused too at where the Tories have added 5% points.

Think it can be safely disregarded.
Can't I just have a bit of fun taking the piss out of the Libs before disregarding it?

'Course you can Malcom

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:00 pm

Why Vote Ukip: The Essential Guide
http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2014/1 ... ial-guide/

Excoriating review of 'Why Vote Ukip' by Jamie Reed MP. Although excoriating is probably a gross understatement.

... It is hard to adequately describe the book. Imagine the worst ever episode of Heartbeat or Last of the Summer Wine filmed as a fly-on-the-wall documentary. But even this does not suffice. The book might benefit if it came with a free transistor radio, white pith helmet and a Carry On box-set, but deep down I confess to being troubled. How is it that our politics has allowed such a damaging, incoherent, and cheerfully Thatcherite prospectus to get this far? The one redeeming feature of this book is that it is a reminder of the very real damage Ukip could do to Britain.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:01 pm

The Libs really have got the gift of the gab today haven't they?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:05 pm

Pk1

I offer my interpretation of his response as being 'they can fuck off if they think I'm going to stick up for them'"

He can fuck off with his offer of 250 quid ,the twunt.And I hope people bear that kind of response in mind,when the return of the teary eyed Clegg appears and bollox about ""angels"

Apologies.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:06 pm

Sam Coates Times ‏@SamCoatesTimes 5m5 minutes ago
Matt Hancock reportedly seen grovelling to the PM after he oversaw the first loss of a vote on a government bill since 2010

Hancock and Gove in the doo da .... two of my all time favourite Tories having to grovel ... luvverly.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:08 pm

Emma Lewell-Buck, sounds like one of those posh Labour London politicians....

From a family of shipyard workers, Lewell-Buck was born in South Shields. She is a direct descendant of William Wouldhave, the inventor of the lifeboat.[4] Lewell-Buck studied politics and media studies at Northumbria University,[1] before gaining a Masters degree in social work from Durham University.

As a social worker, she has specialised in child protection, and has represented the Primrose ward in Jarrow as a South Tyneside councillor since 2004.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:09 pm

HindleA wrote:Pk1

I offer my interpretation of his response as being 'they can fuck off if they think I'm going to stick up for them'"

He can fuck with his offer of 250 quid ,the twunt.And I hope people bear that kind of response in mind,when the return of the teary eyed Clegg appears and bollox about ""angels"

Apologies.

Absolutely no apology required. Unlike Clegg and his ilk. They can apologise till their noses drop off ... and I still wouldn't believe or accept it.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:17 pm

Diana Johnson ‏@DianaJohnsonMP 7m7 minutes ago
I hear that Scunthorpe has become the latest A&E in the Y&H region to ask patients to stay away if possible. Winter's not even started yet.

Where is Hunt? Someone should be checking behind all the trees.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:19 pm

Here's the tables for that poll:

http://ourinsight.opinium.co.uk/sites/o ... bles_v.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:20 pm

Anyone hear Willetts on WATO insisting that the student loan scheme is the best thing ever .... for both students and higher education .... they all love it really apparently .... no problems in the pipeline at all .... the report from the committee is silly because it's trying to calculate figures in the future that can't really be calculated .....?

Well that's us public set straight eh ... we must ignore this report because he says it's all OK.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:21 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Anyone hear Willetts on WATO insisting that the student loan scheme is the best thing ever .... for both students and higher education .... they all love it really apparently .... no problems in the pipeline at all .... the report from the committee is silly because it's trying to calculate figures in the future that can't really be calculated .....?

Well that's us public set straight eh ... we must ignore this report because he says it's all OK.

Well, he didn't calculate the future properly, that's for sure.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:23 pm

Response by @TobyPerkins MP to govt's defeat on statutory code on pub companies
Toby Perkins MP, Labour’s Shadow Small Business Minister, commenting after the Government’s House of Commons defeat this afternoon on introducing a proper statutory code on pubs, said:

“Labour has led calls for a proper statutory code with teeth on pub companies, giving tenants the protection they need and putting an end to the unfair treatment they’ve received from large pub companies. Our plans have won support from a broad coalition of campaigners including Camra, the Federation of Small Business, trade unions and the cross-party BIS Select Committee.

“Over the past three years ministers have been dragged kicking and screaming every step of the way on this issue, and now they have been dealt a resounding and humiliating defeat in the House of Commons. Ministers must now act immediately to ensure there is a proper statutory code with a free-of-tie option to protect local pubs, and must not ignore the will of the House of Commons, after their desperate and shambolic attempts to stave off defeat have failed.”

Ends

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sihmtb

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:27 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29702795" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Government borrowing rose to £11.8bn in September, an increase of £1.6bn compared with a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Economists were forecasting that borrowing would hold steady.

Sajid Javid won't say anything because he only comments on completed years.

How confused he must have been by his side attacking Labour before the 2009/10 end of year figures were in.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:27 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Anyone hear Willetts on WATO insisting that the student loan scheme is the best thing ever .... for both students and higher education .... they all love it really apparently .... no problems in the pipeline at all .... the report from the committee is silly because it's trying to calculate figures in the future that can't really be calculated .....?

Well that's us public set straight eh ... we must ignore this report because he says it's all OK.
Well, he didn't calculate the future properly, that's for sure.

Too right Tubby. It was just another example of a representative of this government assuming that if they say it is all OK we plebs (and I use that word advisedly) will simply accept their word for it - never mind the facts and figures. It's what they do with pretty much all of their failed policies ... not least the economic ones ... and assume no one will actually look at the statistics and outcomes. Staggering in their brazen brush offs.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:29 pm

Debbie Abrahams retweeted
Rob Newman ‏@robnewman30 2m2 minutes ago
Chief Whip Gove loses a Commons vote. Basically it's been downhill for him ever since he got locked in the toilet on his first day.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:32 pm

Vince would have put Myleene Klass in her place on the Mansion Tax

http://www.libdemvoice.org/vince-would- ... ent-325807" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, course he would

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:41 pm

HindleA wrote:Pk1

I offer my interpretation of his response as being 'they can fuck off if they think I'm going to stick up for them'"

He can fuck off with his offer of 250 quid ,the twunt.And I hope people bear that kind of response in mind,when the return of the teary eyed Clegg appears and bollox about ""angels"

Apologies.

Hear, hear, and with knobs on.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:46 pm

pk1 wrote:
Vince would have put Myleene Klass in her place on the Mansion Tax
http://www.libdemvoice.org/vince-would- ... ent-325807" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, course he would

Vince doesn't have a good track record with attractive young women does he ?
He'd probably be so desperate to impress he'd agree with her.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:48 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
Willow904 wrote:I was an academic bookseller for Waterstones before I left to start a family. I watched my career disappear in a remarkably short space of time. When I started in 1995 I was using Whitaker's catalogue on microfiche to find availability of books and prices in the US of specialist academic titles that students and lecturers wanted. I was phoning publishers in the Netherlands to place orders for specialist engineering textbooks. We were the only people who could source these books for people back then. Now anyone can go online and order these books via marketplaces like Amazon. As a result, there is no longer a bookshop at the university where I used to work, which seems a pity to me, but then, of course, education isn't what it used to be either.

The point I'm making is that the advent of the internet changed supply chains within the book industry that go rather beyond Amazon and aggressive discounting. Youth and enthusiasm for new technology meant the academic sector was the first to find the middleman, the bookshop, bypassed. Quite simply, as people began to have their own computers they didn't need people like me to look things up for them anymore. We have all became experts in procurement and enjoy the challenge of hunting down what we want for the best price. I'm just going to have to find myself a new career when I go back to work!
I tend to use the ABE (abebooks.co.uk) for finding out of print titles for research etc, and I'd much rather use that than Amazon marketplace because it's supporting independent bookshops and helps them extend their reach.

Sorry to hear about your career. I suppose when these technologies develop it's impossible to see what effect they'll have on real people's lives. It's amazing how quickly things have changed. It was only 15 years ago that I was sending out and receiving stacks of press releases by fax.

Mr Ohso's been watching re-runs of Bergerac...Quite weird the other day to see a cassette recorder/player being used by a posh business man. We remarked how quickly things have progressed.
I keep waiting for them to pull out a mobile phone instead they have to use a land line or phone box.

Those days were so slow!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:48 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
Willow904 wrote:I was an academic bookseller for Waterstones before I left to start a family. I watched my career disappear in a remarkably short space of time. When I started in 1995 I was using Whitaker's catalogue on microfiche to find availability of books and prices in the US of specialist academic titles that students and lecturers wanted. I was phoning publishers in the Netherlands to place orders for specialist engineering textbooks. We were the only people who could source these books for people back then. Now anyone can go online and order these books via marketplaces like Amazon. As a result, there is no longer a bookshop at the university where I used to work, which seems a pity to me, but then, of course, education isn't what it used to be either.

The point I'm making is that the advent of the internet changed supply chains within the book industry that go rather beyond Amazon and aggressive discounting. Youth and enthusiasm for new technology meant the academic sector was the first to find the middleman, the bookshop, bypassed. Quite simply, as people began to have their own computers they didn't need people like me to look things up for them anymore. We have all became experts in procurement and enjoy the challenge of hunting down what we want for the best price. I'm just going to have to find myself a new career when I go back to work!
I tend to use the ABE (abebooks.co.uk) for finding out of print titles for research etc, and I'd much rather use that than Amazon marketplace because it's supporting independent bookshops and helps them extend their reach.

Sorry to hear about your career. I suppose when these technologies develop it's impossible to see what effect they'll have on real people's lives. It's amazing how quickly things have changed. It was only 15 years ago that I was sending out and receiving stacks of press releases by fax.

I use Abebooks too - they're very good. Have found and bought some good out of print gardening 'bibles' via them. And it does make me feel good when they arrive with a nice little card from the independent bookshop tucked inside the book.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 5:57 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote: I use Abebooks too - they're very good. Have found and bought some good out of print gardening 'bibles' via them. And it does make me feel good when they arrive with a nice little card from the independent bookshop tucked inside the book.

Do you have this one, very good pruning advice, if any of your customers have old roses. And very pretty pictures.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD ... %3Bsts%3Dt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:02 pm

ohsocynical wrote: Mr Ohso's been watching re-runs of Bergerac...Quite weird the other day to see a cassette recorder/player being used by a posh business man. We remarked how quickly things have progressed since then.

Mr Riots' has taken to watching i player etc on his laptop - sitting in the kitchen (only warm place he can get the wifi signal) with a massive pair of headphones on (which don't really block all the sound so I hear a sort of tinny crackling coming from him). He - on the other hand - is in a little cut off world of his own, blissfully unaware of what is going on around him, or any sounds, gestures or expletives coming from himself. Imagine a slightly modernised Hancock at the ham radio - without the shouting (so far).

He was in this headphoned world the other evening while I was cooking when I noticed him giggling - there's no other word for it - shoulders shaking, the odd snort and snigger being let loose. I tapped him on the shoulder and - when he had lifted one headphone away from his ear - asked him what he was watching. He actually looked embarrassed (not something he's prone to) as he said 'Scrotal Recall' and couldn't stop himself giggling a little more. When I asked him what it was about - he couldn't tell me - just said it was very puerile - and had another giggle.

I've still no idea what Scrotal Recall is about - but have clocked it up as a few brownie points to be used in any future debate about viewing habits ....

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:08 pm

More on the judicial review BTax

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... edroom-tax" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it's" only a few" just exempting them surely would save money given the legal costs trying not to.How does IDS's "changing behaviour" )non)justifications apply in this case.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:10 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: Mr Ohso's been watching re-runs of Bergerac...Quite weird the other day to see a cassette recorder/player being used by a posh business man. We remarked how quickly things have progressed since then.
Mr Riots' has taken to watching i player etc on his laptop - sitting in the kitchen (only warm place he can get the wifi signal) with a massive pair of headphones on (which don't really block all the sound so I hear a sort of tinny crackling coming from him). He - on the other hand - is in a little cut off world of his own, blissfully unaware of what is going on around him, or any sounds, gestures or expletives coming from himself. Imagine a slightly modernised Hancock at the ham radio - without the shouting (so far).

He was in this headphoned world the other evening while I was cooking when I noticed him giggling - there's no other word for it - shoulders shaking, the odd snort and snigger being let loose. I tapped him on the shoulder and - when he had lifted one headphone away from his ear - asked him what he was watching. He actually looked embarrassed (not something he's prone to) as he said 'Scrotal Recall' and couldn't stop himself giggling a little more. When I asked him what it was about - he couldn't tell me - just said it was very puerile - and had another giggle.

I've still no idea what Scrotal Recall is about - but have clocked it up as a few brownie points to be used in any future debate about viewing habits ....

A man has to have his secrets.

Seriously, you should write a blog about life chez Riots.
You've got a lovely turn of phrase, always makes me giggle.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:14 pm

gilsey wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: I use Abebooks too - they're very good. Have found and bought some good out of print gardening 'bibles' via them. And it does make me feel good when they arrive with a nice little card from the independent bookshop tucked inside the book.
Do you have this one, very good pruning advice, if any of your customers have old roses. And very pretty pictures.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD ... %3Bsts%3Dt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No I don't - thank you, it looks very interesting. What a price differential on that link - from £68 new to £0.64 used. I will investigate more thoroughly. I started to get properly into roses last year - when we had finally got some of the right kind of space cleared here to plant some. And then, of course, suddenly customers appeared who had roses that needed attention - or transplanting to better spots etc. Funny how these things coincide.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:25 pm

John Stevens ‏@johnestevens 53m53 minutes ago
Among the Lib Dem rebels to Jo Swinson's pub bill... her husband Duncan Hames! #awkward

Someone will be cutting the top off their boiled egg with a little more vigour tomorrow morning ....

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:34 pm

Kevin Maguire @Kevin_Maguire
Danny Alexander looked sheepish when Telegraph's Chris Hope claimed a @SkyNews tape shows him breaking wind, unaware the camera was filming
2:09 PM - 18 Nov 2014

Beaker's got form for letting rip.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:38 pm

Willow904 wrote:I was an academic bookseller for Waterstones before I left to start a family. I watched my career disappear in a remarkably short space of time. When I started in 1995 I was using Whitaker's catalogue on microfiche to find availability of books and prices in the US of specialist academic titles that students and lecturers wanted. I was phoning publishers in the Netherlands to place orders for specialist engineering textbooks. We were the only people who could source these books for people back then. Now anyone can go online and order these books via marketplaces like Amazon. As a result, there is no longer a bookshop at the university where I used to work, which seems a pity to me, but then, of course, education isn't what it used to be either.

The point I'm making is that the advent of the internet changed supply chains within the book industry that go rather beyond Amazon and aggressive discounting. Youth and enthusiasm for new technology meant the academic sector was the first to find the middleman, the bookshop, bypassed. Quite simply, as people began to have their own computers they didn't need people like me to look things up for them anymore. We have all became experts in procurement and enjoy the challenge of hunting down what we want for the best price. I'm just going to have to find myself a new career when I go back to work!

Whitakers on microfiche .... luxury!

For most of my time we were still using the hard copy, those massive red tomes; we got microfiche about a year before I left, but Geoff (the buyer/overall manager for 30 years, a virtual clone (physically and mentally) of Sir Lancelot Spratt and an absolute legend) still used the book version. Somewhere there is a dictionary with a picture of Geoff being used to illustrate the word "luddite".

I get your point that the internet has changed things and not all of it is bad; several of you have mentioned Abebooks and I know of more than one independent secondhand bookshop owner who says they are the difference between him staying in business & folding - but then the secondhand trade has always been, shall we say, interesting!

@Ohso, I'll pay living wage and as many copies of the Little Book Of Calm as you can eat! Ah, one day ......

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:42 pm

: RochesterSweetJarPoll.jpg (39.91 KiB) Viewed 10531 times

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:42 pm

pk1 wrote:
Journalists Matthew d'Ancona and Isabel Oakshott are among a number of high-profile individuals to provide character witness statements for Andrew Mitchell in the Plebgate libel trial today.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/plebgate- ... -have-used" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look at the cast list Mitchell has coming out for him:

Matthew d'Ancona

Isabel Oakshott

Bob Geldof

and

Painter and decorator Richard Robinson, who worked on Mitchell's house in Nottingham in 1998, also gave evidence.

That's in then, the judge should have been calling an end to the trial with that line-up......

He isn't going to talk to Sir Bob like he does to plebs is he?
Those characters wouldn't instill much confidence in me.And are there no plebs that Mitchell has been courteous to in the last 16 years?
I rest my case mlud.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:51 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
gilsey wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: I use Abebooks too - they're very good. Have found and bought some good out of print gardening 'bibles' via them. And it does make me feel good when they arrive with a nice little card from the independent bookshop tucked inside the book.
Do you have this one, very good pruning advice, if any of your customers have old roses. And very pretty pictures.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD ... %3Bsts%3Dt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
No I don't - thank you, it looks very interesting. What a price differential on that link - from £68 new to £0.64 used. I will investigate more thoroughly. I started to get properly into roses last year - when we had finally got some of the right kind of space cleared here to plant some. And then, of course, suddenly customers appeared who had roses that needed attention - or transplanting to better spots etc. Funny how these things coincide.

You may be aware,if so ignore me,but when it comes to roses only two words need to be said;Peter Beales.
I have spent many a happy hour with the catalogue,beautiful photography and an amazing choice of old and new roses,Stanwell Perpetual is one of my favourites.You can order the catalogue online,it's beautiful and very helpful about where to plant etc.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 6:54 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
pk1 wrote:
Vince would have put Myleene Klass in her place on the Mansion Tax
http://www.libdemvoice.org/vince-would- ... ent-325807" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, course he would
Right after he giggled like a schoolboy and gave away confidential and commercially sensitive government information?

Seeing as the libdems refused to support Labours' mansion tax bill,Vince probably would have agreed with the gobby cow.
Sorry,but the first few comments in the guardian piece really pissed me off.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:02 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
Willow904 wrote:I was an academic bookseller for Waterstones before I left to start a family. I watched my career disappear in a remarkably short space of time. When I started in 1995 I was using Whitaker's catalogue on microfiche to find availability of books and prices in the US of specialist academic titles that students and lecturers wanted. I was phoning publishers in the Netherlands to place orders for specialist engineering textbooks. We were the only people who could source these books for people back then. Now anyone can go online and order these books via marketplaces like Amazon. As a result, there is no longer a bookshop at the university where I used to work, which seems a pity to me, but then, of course, education isn't what it used to be either.

The point I'm making is that the advent of the internet changed supply chains within the book industry that go rather beyond Amazon and aggressive discounting. Youth and enthusiasm for new technology meant the academic sector was the first to find the middleman, the bookshop, bypassed. Quite simply, as people began to have their own computers they didn't need people like me to look things up for them anymore. We have all became experts in procurement and enjoy the challenge of hunting down what we want for the best price. I'm just going to have to find myself a new career when I go back to work!
Whitakers on microfiche .... luxury! For most of my time we were still using the hard copy, those massive red tomes; we got microfiche about a year before I left, but Geoff (the buyer/overall manager for 30 years, a virtual clone (physically and mentally) of Sir Lancelot Spratt and an absolute legend) still used the book version. Somewhere there is a dictionary with a picture of Geoff being used to illustrate the word "luddite".

I get your point that the internet has changed things and not all of it is bad; several of you have mentioned Abebooks and I know of more than one independent secondhand bookshop owner who says they are the difference between him staying in business & folding - but then the secondhand trade has always been, shall we say, interesting!

@Ohso, I'll pay living wage and as many copies of the Little Book Of Calm as you can eat! Ah, one day ......

My dad used to dabble in second hand books. He kept a corner of his business [antiques] premises specially for books. He taught me a lot about what illustrators to look our for. We lived in the same house, and sometimes he'd come home with a car load of books. We had a big hall; he'd bring them in we'd sit on the stairs going through them...Good days.

I would work in an old fashioned book shop for nothing!

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:03 pm

Labour Whips ‏@labourwhips 15m15 minutes ago
Tory & Lib Dem MPs vote by majority of 67 against Labour amdt that would have brought in apprenticeship requirements in public procurement

Like HindleA earlier .... another Lib Dem vote to remember when they come bleating for yours at the election.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:17 pm

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:The Libs really have got the gift of the gab today haven't they?
...a successful nationalist...

30+ years to plan, 2 years to campaign at the taxpayers' expense, a Tory government, a free hand in the Scottish Parliament... a 'No' vote. I wouldn't call Salmond successful!

Interesting take from Alistair Darling though:

ALISTAIR Darling has claimed the SNP and the anti-EU Ukip are “two sides of the same coin” as he accused both parties of using blame as a campaign tactic.
Mr Darling, who led the anti-independence Better Together campaign, said that falling living standards had allowed nationalist parties to thrive.
The former Labour Chancellor suggested that the electoral success of Ukip and the 45 per cent of the vote for Yes in the referendum was partly due to people’s anger at years of cuts to public services.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... -1-3608491

Bet Clegg's glad he didn't think of this:

A quote from the outgoing First Minister, illustrating the policy of providing students north of the border with free university education, has been engraved into a commemorative stone.
The words “The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students” have been carved into the monument, which has been installed at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/education/ ... -1-3608685

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:23 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:The Libs really have got the gift of the gab today haven't they?
...a successful nationalist...
30+ years to plan, 2 years to campaign at the taxpayers' expense, a Tory government, a free hand in the Scottish Parliament... a 'No' vote. I wouldn't call Salmond successful!

Interesting take from Alistair Darling though:

ALISTAIR Darling has claimed the SNP and the anti-EU Ukip are “two sides of the same coin” as he accused both parties of using blame as a campaign tactic.
Mr Darling, who led the anti-independence Better Together campaign, said that falling living standards had allowed nationalist parties to thrive.
The former Labour Chancellor suggested that the electoral success of Ukip and the 45 per cent of the vote for Yes in the referendum was partly due to people’s anger at years of cuts to public services.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... -1-3608491
Bet Clegg's glad he didn't think of this:
A quote from the outgoing First Minister, illustrating the policy of providing students north of the border with free university education, has been engraved into a commemorative stone.
The words “The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students” have been carved into the monument, which has been installed at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/education/ ... -1-3608685

But it's ok to send kids home from school and give 5 year olds a gap year to save money?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:26 pm

: AmberRuddOnSolarFarms.jpg (103.61 KiB) Viewed 10486 times

Paul Barlow ‏@paul_barlow 5h5 hours ago
Energy Minister Amber Rudd's hypocrisy exposed! #solarpv #solar #decc #solarpower #SolarEnergy #anythingforvotes

55DegreesNorth · Post by **55DegreesNorth** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:29 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
Willow904 wrote:I was an academic bookseller for Waterstones before I left to start a family. I watched my career disappear in a remarkably short space of time. When I started in 1995 I was using Whitaker's catalogue on microfiche to find availability of books and prices in the US of specialist academic titles that students and lecturers wanted. I was phoning publishers in the Netherlands to place orders for specialist engineering textbooks. We were the only people who could source these books for people back then. Now anyone can go online and order these books via marketplaces like Amazon. As a result, there is no longer a bookshop at the university where I used to work, which seems a pity to me, but then, of course, education isn't what it used to be either.

The point I'm making is that the advent of the internet changed supply chains within the book industry that go rather beyond Amazon and aggressive discounting. Youth and enthusiasm for new technology meant the academic sector was the first to find the middleman, the bookshop, bypassed. Quite simply, as people began to have their own computers they didn't need people like me to look things up for them anymore. We have all became experts in procurement and enjoy the challenge of hunting down what we want for the best price. I'm just going to have to find myself a new career when I go back to work!
Whitakers on microfiche .... luxury! For most of my time we were still using the hard copy, those massive red tomes; we got microfiche about a year before I left, but Geoff (the buyer/overall manager for 30 years, a virtual clone (physically and mentally) of Sir Lancelot Spratt and an absolute legend) still used the book version. Somewhere there is a dictionary with a picture of Geoff being used to illustrate the word "luddite".

I get your point that the internet has changed things and not all of it is bad; several of you have mentioned Abebooks and I know of more than one independent secondhand bookshop owner who says they are the difference between him staying in business & folding - but then the secondhand trade has always been, shall we say, interesting!

@Ohso, I'll pay living wage and as many copies of the Little Book Of Calm as you can eat! Ah, one day ......
My dad used to dabble in second hand books. He kept a corner of his business [antiques] premises specially for books. He taught me a lot about what illustrators to look our for. We lived in the same house, and sometimes he'd come home with a car load of books. We had a big hall; he'd bring them in we'd sit on the stairs going through them...Good days.

I would work in an old fashioned book shop for nothing!

I don't know if any of you have heard of Barter Books in Alnwick. It's a great place, one of the biggest second hand book shops in the country, set in the converted railway station. I was there today, for tea, cake and coal fire. If you are in the area, it's worth a visit.

55DegreesNorth · Post by **55DegreesNorth** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:30 pm

http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About ... okshop.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:32 pm

norman smith @BBCNormanS · 5h 5 hours ago
Nick Clegg offered to visit #Rochester but Lib Dem candidate said don't bother.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:36 pm

@RobertSnozers Thanks for the sympathy, but although I do rather miss my old job I don't miss the rather miserable pay so hopefully the fact I can't go back to it will inspire me to find something better.

@TheGrimSqueaker Ha! Suddenly I feel young and hip again. Whitaker's print edition for goodness sake. That's so quaint!

55DegreesNorth · Post by **55DegreesNorth** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:44 pm

Grrrr. A personal bugbear. Just sat down to watch England-Scotland, and the ITV intro was an aerial shot of Hadrians wall.
Which separates England from Newcastle, North Tyneside and most of Northumberland.

I haven't decided who, as a neutral, I should support.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:55 pm

Watch: German town plays prank on neo-Nazis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wor ... neo-nazis/

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:55 pm

I spent a long time building that wall.

http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/ ... eview-ssac" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Freud announces review into the Social Security Advisory Committee on whether it needs to exist.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:57 pm

55DegreesNorth wrote:http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About ... okshop.php

I love that shop,used to drive up from Sunderland for a browse.It has the best atmosphere,and the loos are a delight!

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 7:58 pm

55DegreesNorth wrote:Grrrr. A personal bugbear. Just sat down to watch England-Scotland, and the ITV intro was an aerial shot of Hadrians wall.
Which separates England from Newcastle, North Tyneside and most of Northumberland.

I haven't decided who, as a neutral, I should support.

I'm English and I haven't decided who to support either. England haven't had any passion for the game for many years and if they can't be bothered I don't see why I should be.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 18 Nov, 2014 8:09 pm

55DegreesNorth wrote:http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About ... okshop.php

Brilliant! Mr Ohso would have to leave me there for the day.