Christmas Bank Holiday Weekend: 26, 27 & 28th December

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sun 27 Dec, 2015 11:04 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:Just watching the BBC news and haven't heard a single word about the Environment Agency unlike in previous years when Chris Smith was the chair...funny that.

Excellent - I seem to have provided that nasty little prick who infests this place every now and again with some new material...nothing better to do Rusty?

Post by **refitman** » Sun 27 Dec, 2015 11:35 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:Just watching the BBC news and haven't heard a single word about the Environment Agency unlike in previous years when Chris Smith was the chair...funny that.
Excellent - I seem to have provided that nasty little prick who infests this place every now and again with some new material...nothing better to do Rusty?

Someone really needs to get a life.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 12:10 am

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 7:33 am

Flooding
Failed flood defences cast doubt on UK readiness for new weather era
An extra 1,000 soldiers are on standby as thousands of people are evacuated amid the threat of more heavy rain to come this week in northern England

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... rn-england" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Three cities - York, Leeds and Manchester - were hit by the severe weather, alongside scores of towns and villages, forcing the evacuation of thousands in what David Cameron described as an unprecedented situation. The prime minister has threatened to visit the stricken areas on Monday."

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 7:40 am

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ll-be-back" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Guardian view on the UK floods: they will be back
Editorial
Empty rhetoric and even the army cannot substitute for coherent policy on flood prevention

"It has emerged that Crosby is to be rewarded with a knighthood for his services in winning Mr Cameron the election. The news is quite as repulsive as anything else that the floods have washed down "

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 7:53 am

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sa ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Safety net' set up after Tory legal aid cuts has helped just EIGHT children
The MoJ revealed that of the 89 applications for help under the scheme from under 18s, just eight had been granted.

Lord Bach, Labour's Shadow Minister for Legal Aid said: “These figures make clear the impact that the Government’s cuts to legal aid have had on some of the most vulnerable children in our society.

“It is shocking that we should leave thousands of children to fend for themselves over an issue as important as whether or not they are allowed to remain in the country.

“This shows yet again the gulf between the Government’s empty rhetoric and the reality of its policies. Ministers now need to get a grip, starting with an immediate review of their legal aid reforms.”

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 9:15 am

Morning all.

HindleA - Legal aid rules are such a mess. The MoJ pretends that all have access to justice, but that's only true now if you happen to have money.
I understand that Gove is planning to stop the criminal court charges introduced by Grayling. They're a total mess too. I wonder if the people who paid those charges will get a refund if the policy is scrapped?

Paul - I hope you and yours are safe up there. There's more bad weather on the way later in the week.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 9:36 am

'morning
I don't feel good
I've gotta get to Bury today
I'm sorry
I ache and I gotta go to Bury

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 9:47 am

Morning all.

Well I see someone at the top of the Environment Agency features in the G live blog on the floods - Rooke. He sounds like he is unwilling to criticise the government - avoiding comment on whether they could have done more since the last 'unprecendented' events in 2013 and 2014. But the union is already calling for a stop to the large number of redundancies planned for the Environment Agency - due to happen in 2016. What do this government think should happen in times of disaster and emergency? Rely on dwindling army numbers to be called in - as the staff from the fire services, Environment Agency, police etc will have been much reduced?

Is there such a thing as 'waterproof plaster' that is referred to on the G blog? Can it cope with volumes of water sitting against it for hours, perhaps days? How high can electrics be moved and still be practical to use? 6ft high power points?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 9:49 am

ephemerid wrote:Morning all.

HindleA - Legal aid rules are such a mess. The MoJ pretends that all have access to justice, but that's only true now if you happen to have money.
I understand that Gove is planning to stop the criminal court charges introduced by Grayling. They're a total mess too. I wonder if the people who paid those charges will get a refund if the policy is scrapped?

Paul - I hope you and yours are safe up there. There's more bad weather on the way later in the week.

They've actually gone now ... stopped on 24th December. Pity the poor sods who were in court on 23rd December.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 9:57 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:Morning all.

Well I see someone at the top of the Environment Agency features in the G live blog on the floods - Rooke. He sounds like he is unwilling to criticise the government - avoiding comment on whether they could have done more since the last 'unprecendented' events in 2013 and 2014. But the union is already calling for a stop to the large number of redundancies planned for the Environment Agency - due to happen in 2016. What do this government think should happen in times of disaster and emergency? Rely on dwindling army numbers to be called in - as the staff from the fire services, Environment Agency, police etc will have been much reduced?

Is there such a thing as 'waterproof plaster' that is referred to on the G blog? Can it cope with volumes of water sitting against it for hours, perhaps days? How high can electrics be moved and still be practical to use? 6ft high power points?

Agreed. 'Waterproof your homes!' No kidding, that's official diktat. Like George W Bush 'get your duct tape'.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:01 am

Blimey John Gummer has come out and criticised this government for hypocrisy re climate change rhetoric and failure to match that with actions in the UK. Not someone I would have expected to say something that sensible.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:08 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:Blimey John Gummer has come out and criticised this government for hypocrisy re climate change rhetoric and failure to match that with actions in the UK. Not someone I would have expected to say something that sensible.

Lord Deben has been arguing for greater climate change policy solutions from Tory government for a while. Colour me surprised as well.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:11 am

Labour MP Simon Danczuk has become the latest person to question foreign aid at a time when money is needed for floods at home. The UK is one of the few rich nations to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on aid every year.

“Why do we spend money in Bangladesh when it needs spending in Great Britain? What we need to do is to sort out the problems which are occurring here and not focus so much on developing countries. That has to be our priority,” said the MP for Rochdale on BBC Radio Manchester.

Dog whistle Danczuk.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ted-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:20 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Labour MP Simon Danczuk has become the latest person to question foreign aid at a time when money is needed for floods at home. The UK is one of the few rich nations to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on aid every year.

“Why do we spend money in Bangladesh when it needs spending in Great Britain? What we need to do is to sort out the problems which are occurring here and not focus so much on developing countries. That has to be our priority,” said the MP for Rochdale on BBC Radio Manchester.
Dog whistle Danczuk.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ted-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He's been reading the Mail and Telegraph which are saying the same thing.

Odd isn't it - we can't afford both...but apparently we're on the way to becoming the 4th largest economy. So we probably can afford to do both...

Elsewhere, it's been reported that his Cllr girlfriend has dumped him after criticism of them tweeting selfies at a time when there were floods in his constituency...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:29 am

RogerOThornhill wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Labour MP Simon Danczuk has become the latest person to question foreign aid at a time when money is needed for floods at home. The UK is one of the few rich nations to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on aid every year.

“Why do we spend money in Bangladesh when it needs spending in Great Britain? What we need to do is to sort out the problems which are occurring here and not focus so much on developing countries. That has to be our priority,” said the MP for Rochdale on BBC Radio Manchester.
Dog whistle Danczuk.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ted-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
He's been reading the Mail and Telegraph which are saying the same thing.

Odd isn't it - we can't afford both...but apparently we're on the way to becoming the 4th largest economy. So we probably can afford to do both...

Elsewhere, it's been reported that his Cllr girlfriend has dumped him after criticism of them tweeting selfies at a time when there were floods in his constituency...

Couldn't happen to a nicer couple.

He's finding the time to go on Radio Manchester to talk about the Rochdale floods - I see from his tweets. When are the press going to stop using him as the knee jerk go to? (Knee jerk seems an apt term here).

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:34 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Labour MP Simon Danczuk has become the latest person to question foreign aid at a time when money is needed for floods at home. The UK is one of the few rich nations to meet the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on aid every year.

“Why do we spend money in Bangladesh when it needs spending in Great Britain? What we need to do is to sort out the problems which are occurring here and not focus so much on developing countries. That has to be our priority,” said the MP for Rochdale on BBC Radio Manchester.
Dog whistle Danczuk.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ted-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He almost has a good point if he mentioned the large sums of money that go to tax havens, rather than Bangladesh which has had far worse flooding over the years than anything experienced here, with far fewer resources available to deal with it. Choosing not to harness resources available, as Cameron does with his deliberate policy of shrinking the state, is not the same as not having them in the first place. Danczuk would do better to concentrate on the ideological nature of Cameron's desire to reduce public services and investment and the obvious consequences of this, than buying into the false idea that we can't afford both overseas aid and proper spending here. After all, even Cameron himself has admitted that we are, in fact, a very rich country and when it comes to protecting lives and property from flooding "money is no object".

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:40 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:What do this government think should happen in times of disaster and emergency? Rely on dwindling army numbers to be called in - as the staff from the fire services, Environment Agency, police etc will have been much reduced?

Not to mention the non-existent councils.

Flooding in York is nothing new, of course, and they have serious flood defences.
I've believed climate change was a threat to humanity from the beginning, but I never imagined it would have an impact here, so soon, given how erratic our weather is anyway.

Good morning.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:45 am

Of course ,if so genuinely concerned,rather than gleeful at others' misfortune providing an opportunity for self publicity;donation of ill-gotten gains wouldn't go amiss.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 10:58 am

Twitter is awash (couldn't resist) with pictures of OGRPPFGTCC pointing at stuff. Loads of them.

One in particular caught my eye - Slimy Dave and an elderly gent both pointing at something, bearing the caption "If that's your house we'll be fracking underneath it soon".

Is he so lacking in self-awareness that he thinks these posing opportunities actually make him look good?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:01 am

More cannot believe people buy/bought this sort of crap,in any case I am pissing off before the next election anyway.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:02 am

Or is it carp?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:05 am

Unprecedented levels of finger-pointing bullshit.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:16 am

ephemerid wrote:Morning all.

HindleA - Legal aid rules are such a mess. The MoJ pretends that all have access to justice, but that's only true now if you happen to have money.
I understand that Gove is planning to stop the criminal court charges introduced by Grayling. They're a total mess too. I wonder if the people who paid those charges will get a refund if the policy is scrapped?

Paul - I hope you and yours are safe up there. There's more bad weather on the way later in the week.

Morning Ephemerid

Thanks for the wishes. Thankfully we live near the top of the valley and perched up above the River so we are likely to stay dry. We've just been watching the water rush past and head down the hills and praying for the poor folk down there.

Our friends in Mytholmroyd have not been so lucky. Their house is fine, but the school has apparently been devastated, with all the furniture and furnishings destroyed by contaminated water.

And the thing is, for all the "unprecedented", they had terrible floods almost as bad as recently as 2012 (I think) in Todmorden, Hebden and Mytholmroyd. It was blindingly obvious this was likely to happen again.

Finally, a technical note. Folk may not realise that there were two entirely separate River Calders that caused havoc this weekend, one in Lancs one in Yorks.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:17 am

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 87831.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The UK’s biggest care-home operator has sold £20m worth of properties to an aggressive US investment fund as it reportedly struggles with a debt burden and diving profits.....

A report in November revealed a funding shortfall set to reach £1bn by 2020. Social-care spending by local authorities, themselves experiencing cuts in government funding, has fallen 17 per cent since 2009.

“If nothing in the funding regime changes within five years, there will be a projected loss of 37,000 care beds as funding fails to meet demand,” the report said. “This is greater in scale than the Southern Cross care-homes collapse in 2011, which affected 31,000 older people.”

The Tory government response to a growing elderly population is to squeeze the carehome sector in a perfect storm of skyhigh rents, tumbling funding and increased employment costs. It's hard to see how they'll duck a very damaging crisis in elderly care.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:22 am

I'm sure we are all deeply reassured to know that Donald Rumsfeld is now in charge of official flood pronouncements.

He said this - "Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones"

Well, yes.

So we have, flooding-wise, "known extremes". These are the ones we know about, ie. they have already happened. This is progress!
Then we have "unknown extremes" and we don't know about those because they haven't happened yet and are thus unknowable.
This means, if dear Donald is correct, that we don't know what we don't know and this is a category that could be difficult.

Obviously, the thing to do about the unknown unknowns in the weather department is to "waterproof" our homes in case the unknown extremes become known extremes at some unspecified - ie. unknown - point in the future, which itself is an unknown unknown.

As "money is no object" (see Home Counties) and "everything (an unknown unknown) will be done" (see the desolate North) we have a known known. This is marvellous, because it means that whatever it is that we don't know will not be an unknown unknown to be scared of but an unknown unknown that we are waterproofed against. When it becomes a known known everything will be fine and dandy.

Waterproofing is vital. As we do not know when the next unknown unknown will be coming along, and by then there will be no soldiers or firecrews or police or emergency services any more (and that is a known known) we must do what the government says and get waterproofing.

G4S, Serco, and others will be supplying sheets of durable plastic for the waterproofing, complete with holes for the nails required to attach the sheets to the floor. The holes pose no danger whatsoever. These waterproof sheets will be charged at £9.99p plus VAT per square metre.

That'll work. And that's a known known.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:34 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
ephemerid wrote:Morning all.

HindleA - Legal aid rules are such a mess. The MoJ pretends that all have access to justice, but that's only true now if you happen to have money.
I understand that Gove is planning to stop the criminal court charges introduced by Grayling. They're a total mess too. I wonder if the people who paid those charges will get a refund if the policy is scrapped?

Paul - I hope you and yours are safe up there. There's more bad weather on the way later in the week.
Morning Ephemerid

Thanks for the wishes. Thankfully we live near the top of the valley and perched up above the River so we are likely to stay dry. We've just been watching the water rush past and head down the hills and praying for the poor folk down there.

Our friends in Mytholmroyd have not been so lucky. Their house is fine, but the school has apparently been devastated, with all the furniture and furnishings destroyed by contaminated water.

And the thing is, for all the "unprecedented", they had terrible floods almost as bad as recently as 2012 (I think) in Todmorden, Hebden and Mytholmroyd. It was blindingly obvious this was likely to happen again.

Finally, a technical note. Folk may not realise that there were two entirely separate River Calders that caused havoc this weekend, one in Lancs one in Yorks.

I'm glad you're OK - and sorry to hear about your friends and neighbours.

When we had floods in Gloucestershire in 2007 (I was living in Cheltenham at the time) we still had a PCT responsible for public health. The DAAT I worked in - and most other PCT staff - were told to stop anything other than acute work and concentrate on the floods.
We treated the whole thing as a major incident, and all of us did our turn on the helplines or liasing with the army to get bottled water out to housebound people etc. plus a lot of media stuff on how to stay safe from contaminated water.
Those floods happened in July - and some parents were letting their kids play in what was effectively raw sewage. At least it's winter and that won't be an issue now; but I do wonder how cuts in other services will impact on what is basically a health crisis on top of all the usual blether about damage to property etc. Yes, that's important - but so are water-borne diseases, and that's a serious issue for cleaning up once the water has receded.

I hope things don't get any worse for you all up there.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:38 am

Danczuk needs to do three things. First he needs to learn some economics. Second, he needs to shut up until he has. Third, he needs to apologise when he realises how wrong he is

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015 ... en-he-has/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

: ScreenShot01349.jpg (110.57 KiB) Viewed 8200 times

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:38 am

Give my love to your family and community, PaulFromYorkshire, thank you for your informative posts, stay safe.

I'm sending my spouse on to Bury without me today. I'm not well enough for travel. Apologies for the personal
chatter - I'm heart-broken not to go.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:43 am

ephemerid wrote:I'm sure we are all deeply reassured to know that Donald Rumsfeld is now in charge of official flood pronouncements.

He said this - "Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones"

Well, yes.

So we have, flooding-wise, "known extremes". These are the ones we know about, ie. they have already happened. This is progress!
Then we have "unknown extremes" and we don't know about those because they haven't happened yet and are thus unknowable.
This means, if dear Donald is correct, that we don't know what we don't know and this is a category that could be difficult.

Obviously, the thing to do about the unknown unknowns in the weather department is to "waterproof" our homes in case the unknown extremes become known extremes at some unspecified - ie. unknown - point in the future, which itself is an unknown unknown.

As "money is no object" (see Home Counties) and "everything (an unknown unknown) will be done" (see the desolate North) we have a known known. This is marvellous, because it means that whatever it is that we don't know will not be an unknown unknown to be scared of but an unknown unknown that we are waterproofed against. When it becomes a known known everything will be fine and dandy.

Waterproofing is vital. As we do not know when the next unknown unknown will be coming along, and by then there will be no soldiers or firecrews or police or emergency services any more (and that is a known known) we must do what the government says and get waterproofing.

G4S, Serco, and others will be supplying sheets of durable plastic for the waterproofing, complete with holes for the nails required to attach the sheets to the floor. The holes pose no danger whatsoever. These waterproof sheets will be charged at £9.99p plus VAT per square metre.

That'll work. And that's a known known.

Brilliant, thank you for this.

Temulkar · Post by **Temulkar** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:49 am

From 1983- 2000 the Thames barrier was closed 39 times. In 2014 it was closed 50 times no figures for 2015 yet. When that fails (and it will sooner than 2030) and London gets doused, then the govt may start to wake up to what is happening, as will the general population. Climate change is only a part of the problem. The culture change needed wont come until London gets wet.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 11:54 am

Good morfternoon.

The Manchester Evening News has this story about the Mark Addy pub, which was flooded by the River Irwell. Allen Caldwell, the owner, says it’s a write-off.

"We don’t have insurance for flooding – no one would cover us because of the location." (Guardian)

I trust people realise that this is the face of things to come under this government. For all sorts of things. Health, to take just one example.

I was unfortunate enough, yesterday, to see the BBC's 2015 election round-up with footage of Ed Miliband. Tragedy. I still haven't recovered.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 12:06 pm

I know exactly what you mean, PorFavor.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:00 pm

UK floods: people told to waterproof homes because of increase in 'unknown extremes' - live
David Cameron: ‘Let’s see whether more needs to be done’

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... t-65767228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've no confidence in his government's capacity to keep me or anyone else safe and secure.

danesclose · Post by **danesclose** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:04 pm

Good afternoon all.
Bit worried about my step-father in Hurworth, where he lives close to the Tees. My brother reckons they are safe at the moment but are keeping a close eye on things.
Apologies if this is considered an inappropriate bit of levity, but I couldn't resist posting the attached which my son sent me. Apparently this was the joke in his mate's Christmas cracker

: Cracker.jpg (32.51 KiB) Viewed 8104 times

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:12 pm

We knew Cameron et al were extreme arseholes bereft of sense and decency,how many homes/lives ruined before deciding more could have been done,the arse about facery nonGovernment .Apologies for overuse of posterior imagery.Keep safe,all those in danger.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:12 pm

Uppermost in David Cameron's mind appears to be that this is the "festive season". I can't help but translate this into, "I could be at a warm and comfortable drinks party were it not for these bloody northerners and their flood." He does have the knack of bringing out the worst in me.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:14 pm

Your worst is better than his best.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:21 pm

Air pollution 'darn sarf' must be pretty horrible again.

Mr Ohso and I woke bunged up and coughing and sneezing. When we went to get in the car a bit later, it was covered in thick fine dust, as is every other car on the road.

The Eastern European car wash team in Sainsbury's car park are doing a roaring business, including ten quid of ours plus tips. They do a brilliant job and by God they work hard.

nickyinnorfolk · Post by **nickyinnorfolk** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:37 pm

Danczuk and his now former girlfriend, councillor Claire Hamilton, have been attacked on Twitter for their 'moronic' selfies while his constituency was being ravaged by floods.

Apologies for link to Daily Heil - if Danczuk thought his regular Labour bashing missives for them were going to stop them having a (justified) go at him, he was sadly mistaken.

Incidentally, I seem to remember reading here that Claire Hamilton was a lone voice backing him up on his anti Corbyn tweets, as if she was just an objective Labour 'moderate', when all the time she was in a relationship with him!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... loods.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:47 pm

citizenJA wrote:
UK floods: people told to waterproof homes because of increase in 'unknown extremes' - live
David Cameron: ‘Let’s see whether more needs to be done’

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... t-65767228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I've no confidence in his government's capacity to keep me or anyone else safe and secure.

What's the difference between waterproof and water tight? I suppose he means the newest plastic doors and windows, but from my experience in a flash flood with four foot of water, even they won't keep it out eventually. There's no holding back a flood if it's high, or fast enough. Some of my neighbours who lived in a dip, said they watched the water creep up their patio door and it didn't leak, but as it rose higher they got panicky in case it suddenly gave. They'd have been trapped and in trouble, so they hoofed it out of there quick and let the water do its worst.

Has anyone asked Dave who's going to pay for all this waterproofing? Last year I was quoted just over a thousand pounds for the cheapest plastic front door and frame. [I didn't buy] My new windows cost over £3,000. That was twelve years ago, and their rubber seals are beginning to rot...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:49 pm

Home Office puts plans to cut interpreters' pay on hold
Proposals to reduce pay of more than 2,000 workers deferred amid fears that boycott could throw immigration system into chaos
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... ay-on-hold" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... Home Office interpreters are highly trained and have to go through counter-terrorism security clearance so it would not be easy for the Home Office to find replacements at short notice. The interpreters planned to boycott all interpreting assignments offered on 1 January 2016 and to roll out a series of one-day boycotts after that. These plans are on hold while discussions continue.

A meeting lasting more than two hours took place between interpreters and the Home Office on 21 December. At the meeting, officials warned the interpreters against speaking to the media. Following the meeting, the Facebook page for the Fair Payment Campaign has been removed...

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:55 pm

nickyinnorfolk wrote:Danczuk and his now former girlfriend, councillor Claire Hamilton, have been attacked on Twitter for their 'moronic' selfies while his constituency was being ravaged by floods.

Apologies for link to Daily Heil - if Danczuk thought his regular Labour bashing missives for them were going to stop them having a (justified) go at him, he was sadly mistaken.

Incidentally, I seem to remember reading here that Claire Hamilton was a lone voice backing him up on his anti Corbyn tweets, as if she was just an objective Labour 'moderate', when all the time she was in a relationship with him!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... loods.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

His wife or soon to be ex, wife, also got her ear bit off for Tweeting 'C'mon Rochdale' with a few pouting selfies to get the message across.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:55 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Air pollution 'darn sarf' must be pretty horrible again.

Mr Ohso and I woke bunged up and coughing and sneezing. When we went to get in the car a bit later, it was covered in thick fine dust, as is every other car on the road.

The Eastern European car wash team in Sainsbury's car park are doing a roaring business, including ten quid of ours plus tips. They do a brilliant job and by God they work hard.

http://aqicn.org/city/united-kingdom/lo ... sworth-os/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm so sorry, Ohso, it's not good in Stoke today either - my husband left for Bury with a hacking cough.
Lamentation emoticon insert here
No joke, life is currently difficult as hell.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 1:56 pm

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton 3h3 hours ago
Forensic piece by @sjwrenlewis on flood defence spending and the "missing billion": http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... ainlyMacro+(mainly+macro" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)&m=1 …

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 2:04 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
UK floods: people told to waterproof homes because of increase in 'unknown extremes' - live
David Cameron: ‘Let’s see whether more needs to be done’

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... t-65767228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I've no confidence in his government's capacity to keep me or anyone else safe and secure.
What's the difference between waterproof and water tight? I suppose he means the newest plastic doors and windows, but from my experience in a flash flood with four foot of water, even they won't keep it out eventually. There's no holding back a flood if it's high, or fast enough. Some of my neighbours who lived in a dip, said they watched the water creep up their patio door and it didn't leak, but as it rose higher they got panicky in case it suddenly gave. They'd have been trapped and in trouble, so they hoofed it out of there quick and let the water do its worst.

Has anyone asked Dave who's going to pay for all this waterproofing? Last year I was quoted just over a thousand pounds for the cheapest plastic front door and frame. [I didn't buy] My new windows cost over £3,000. That was twelve years ago, and their rubber seals are beginning to rot...

And to add when you've seen a wall of water lift up a fridge freezer and jam it in a door way, you're not going to hang around to see if the 'weatherproofing' you've forked out for works.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 2:10 pm

I wonder if Danczuk is thinking ahead and trying to earn some Ukip points before the next election - possibly considering if he might be running as a Ukip candidate then?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 2:28 pm

Probation reforms: Fresh blow for troubled part-privatisation as another provider slashes jobs
Exclusive: Working Links is planning hundreds of redundancies across the country
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 87891.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... The group, which is a public, private and voluntary-sector company whose shareholders include Capgemini, Manpower and the Department for Work & Pensions, is understood to be planning 200 job cuts in the Welsh probation service alone.

This has prompted Natalie Bennett, the Green Party leader who is a former probation worker, to write to Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, demanding he “use whatever powers you have to mitigate job losses”. The letter, seen by The Independent, added that Ms Bennett has “grave professional concerns about our capacity in Wales to give offenders the care, attention, and time they require”.

The reforms were overseen by the former Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling. He privatised 70 per cent of the service in England and Wales, with only the most dangerous offenders still looked after by the state. ...

I'm not sure what it is she thinks Carwyn Jones might be able to do ... this is Tory central controlled ... one of Grayling's many masterblows which have turned out so well. But I share her concern for the impact on services and jobs in Wales. The HMRC closing virtually all their offices bar Cardiff here - lots of court closures and so on - it makes for grim times.

TobyLatimer · Post by **TobyLatimer** » Mon 28 Dec, 2015 2:31 pm

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