Friday 25th September 2020

A home from home
Forum rules
Welcome to FTN. New posters are welcome to join the conversation. You can follow us on Twitter @FlythenestHaven You are responsible for the content you post. This is a public forum. Treat it as if you are speaking in a crowded room. Site admin and Moderators are volunteers who will respond as quickly as they are able to when made aware of any complaints. Please do not post copyrighted material without the original authors permission.
Locked
User avatar
refitman
Site Admin
Posts: 7691
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 7:22 pm
Location: Wombwell, United Kingdom

Friday 25th September 2020

Post by refitman »

Morning all.
User avatar
adam
First Secretary of State
Posts: 3210
Joined: Wed 27 Aug, 2014 9:15 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by adam »

Screen Shot 2020-09-25 at 10.04.13.png
Screen Shot 2020-09-25 at 10.04.13.png (427.38 KiB) Viewed 6795 times
From here
I still believe in a town called Hope
AnatolyKasparov
Prime Minister
Posts: 15624
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 9:26 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

So the latest chatter is that a deal with the EU at the end of the year might be on after all.

Which, if it happens, will be presented as a triumph just as it was a year ago - but will that work this time?
"IS TONTY BLAIR BEHIND THIS???!!!!111???!!!"
gilsey
Prime Minister
Posts: 6173
Joined: Thu 28 Aug, 2014 10:51 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by gilsey »

A triumph for whom, the govt or the people. I'll be astounded if it's the latter.

Since most of the new customs requirements will exist regardless of whether there is a trade deal, the government has been woefully neglectful in leaving the preparations so late. This can be chalked up to general incompetence but there is also a specifically Brexity twist to it. For years talking about the need for such preparations was either dismissed as more Project Fear or made more difficult to admit or be taken seriously because of the ingrained power of the Project Fear narrative.
https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.co ... -left.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
One world, like it or not - John Martyn
gilsey
Prime Minister
Posts: 6173
Joined: Thu 28 Aug, 2014 10:51 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by gilsey »

Also from that piece
It is becoming clearer by the day, especially in the light of the predictable resurgence of coronavirus, that Johnson’s refusal to extend the Transition Period when he had the chance was a major and possibly catastrophic error of judgment.........

Whilst far smaller in magnitude, I think it was also an error of judgment for Keir Starmer not to have at least placed on the record at the time that this was a huge mistake.
One world, like it or not - John Martyn
AnatolyKasparov
Prime Minister
Posts: 15624
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 9:26 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Starmer can reply to that along the lines of "they had a mandate at the election to get Brexit done - but that also means any failure is on them".
"IS TONTY BLAIR BEHIND THIS???!!!!111???!!!"
gilsey
Prime Minister
Posts: 6173
Joined: Thu 28 Aug, 2014 10:51 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by gilsey »

I see that point but agree with Chris Grey.
It's one of a few examples of Starmer going just a tiny bit too far in avoiding tory traps, for me.

Actually the only argument against extending the TP, and it's a very convincing one imo, is that we'd be doing all this again at the end of 2022 so at least we're spared that.
One world, like it or not - John Martyn
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

I think the incarnation of devils inhabiting mortal form in government expires in about a month.
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Good morning, everyone.
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

gilsey wrote:I see that point but agree with Chris Grey.
It's one of a few examples of Starmer going just a tiny bit too far in avoiding tory traps, for me.

Actually the only argument against extending the TP, and it's a very convincing one imo, is that we'd be doing all this again at the end of 2022 so at least we're spared that.
I have to agree.
I sure as hell hope Starmer knows what he's doing.
AnatolyKasparov
Prime Minister
Posts: 15624
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 9:26 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Nobody is infallible (Blair is maybe one who made the mistake of thinking otherwise) but Starmer has a strategy and is sticking to it, and it seems to be getting some results.
"IS TONTY BLAIR BEHIND THIS???!!!!111???!!!"
gilsey
Prime Minister
Posts: 6173
Joined: Thu 28 Aug, 2014 10:51 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by gilsey »

Good thread.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Prof Fiona de Londras
@fdelond
I don't subscribe to the view unis are just trying to make money by bringing students back btw. I mean this: their financial model is built on a system that cannot be sustained in a pandemic + gov has not stepped in to make temporary non-reliance on this system viable.
One world, like it or not - John Martyn
frog222
Prime Minister
Posts: 5339
Joined: Sun 29 Nov, 2015 1:24 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by frog222 »

gilsey wrote:Good thread.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Prof Fiona de Londras @fdelond
I don't subscribe to the view unis are just trying to make money by bringing students back btw. I mean this: their financial model is built on a system that cannot be sustained in a pandemic + gov has not stepped in to make temporary non-reliance on this system viable.
VERY good thread ! Turning Uni's into profit centres selling a F2F experience to the buyers of that product devalued it already, and then ............. the model is stressed, and everybody is bankrupt !

Daughter teaches lycée with everyone masked, and it's all a bit SAD . So she does overtime on line when they can dispense with the bloody masks !
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Well that's Leeds under lockdown, banned from visiting any other households for months, what a miserable winter this is going to be.

Thanks very much to all the arseholes I've witnessed over the last few weeks and months completely ignoring basic precautions who will no doubt be the ones who will be moaning about this the most despite being warned for weeks this would happen if they didn't behave. Well done you fucking shitheads.
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

where would we be without pregnancy notifications from the royal family
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:Well that's Leeds under lockdown, banned from visiting any other households for months, what a miserable winter this is going to be.

Thanks very much to all the arseholes I've witnessed over the last few weeks and months completely ignoring basic precautions who will no doubt be the ones who will be moaning about this the most despite being warned for weeks this would happen if they didn't behave. Well done you fucking shitheads.
I need a small commando force to rescue Mr citizen from the pestilence office he's been made to return
are you with me
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:Well that's Leeds under lockdown, banned from visiting any other households for months, what a miserable winter this is going to be.

Thanks very much to all the arseholes I've witnessed over the last few weeks and months completely ignoring basic precautions who will no doubt be the ones who will be moaning about this the most despite being warned for weeks this would happen if they didn't behave. Well done you fucking shitheads.
it's a confused population
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

gilsey wrote:Good thread.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Prof Fiona de Londras
@fdelond
I don't subscribe to the view unis are just trying to make money by bringing students back btw. I mean this: their financial model is built on a system that cannot be sustained in a pandemic + gov has not stepped in to make temporary non-reliance on this system viable.
precisely
I appreciate that analysis
I hope a lot of people see it or something like it explaining dangers of commodification
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Regular people don't have enough money to buy a government to work in their interests
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Looking at this map it's pretty apparent what's happened here in Leeds.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewe ... 6912ed7076

The numbers have gone through the roof in Hyde Park, Headingley and Woodhouse which is where the students live, the rest of the city is ticking along much as it has been for months. This is precisely what happened all over the U.S, new influxes of students spread the virus amongst themselves and then into the wider population. But i'm sure we'll be told nobody could have predicted this would happen.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

citizenJA wrote:I need a small commando force to rescue Mr citizen from the pestilence office he's been made to return
are you with me
Not if it involves wading through students, discretion is the better part of valour.
User avatar
citizenJA
Prime Minister
Posts: 20648
Joined: Thu 11 Sep, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Hospital admissions rise to highest levels since June
Daily hospital admissions in England are at their highest level in more than three months as coronavirus cases continue to rise, according to government data.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... 8c714e92c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Ahhh the heady scent of accumulated dust burning in a gas fire that's not been used for months.

The sad smell of the end of Summer.
frog222
Prime Minister
Posts: 5339
Joined: Sun 29 Nov, 2015 1:24 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by frog222 »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:Ahhh the heady scent of accumulated dust burning in a gas fire that's not been used for months.
The sad smell of the end of Summer.
One of my advantages of oncoming Autumn and Winter is that I can keep my woodstove burning for weeks on end ... and do nearly everything from breakfast porridge & coffee to slow cooking of stews on it .
An intense fry-up involves taking off the round top and replacing with a wok -- flames direct .
This kitchen warms up when I've revived the stove in the morning , and my yearly winter woodcutting of the odd tree and the bocage hedges around my garden provide exercise to keep me not too unfit, and firewood !
Being a bit of a hermit, I've had the easiest lockdown imaginable ? In the past I've lived in shared accom in SE London, with noisy drunken neighbours , and that was WITHOUT small children and Poverty. So I know the environment of today's English poor , to some extent.

I confess to a great intolerance towards the Idiots , even tho I know it's not their fault their parents were such shitheads that their progeny think 'freedom' is getting rat-arsed, spreading disease, and killing a few oldies , PLUS the longterm corollary of many MORE Long Covid victims of all ages .

Two holidaying Frogs infected 100 or so Icelanders by going into Irish pubs and a resto in Rejkavik while knowingly infected , with a resulting two people hospitalised ... I'd sentence them to Community Service, hospital-cleaning/portering fully PPE'd .......

in a Covid Ward where they can witness people dying .
User avatar
RogerOThornhill
Prime Minister
Posts: 11115
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 10:18 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by RogerOThornhill »

Evening all.

In the wake of Andrew Neil's announcement about not rejoining the BBC, this is worth a read.

Woke Conspiracies

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n18 ... short-cuts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
But Davie surely realises that the organised forces pitted against the BBC are not fundamentally interested in song lyrics or panel shows.

‘Impartiality’ towards mainstream political parties, during election campaigns, say, can be exercised in a roughly scientific fashion, though it would be easier to persuade people that the principle was being upheld if there weren’t a revolving door between the media and politics (the door through which Gibb walked). But ‘impartiality’ with respect to culture is a trap, as Gibb, Murdoch and the right-wing press understand very well. Davie may be able to answer demands over patriotic songs or individual shows, but resentment towards the ‘cosmopolitan elite’ can always be topped up with fresh outrages and insinuations. The monster he is now feeding cannot be – and does not want to be – satisfied.
If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Right so I'm now not allowed to leave Leeds and visit any other household outside the city. Fuck that. They'll have to have guards seize me in the railway station. I'm supposed to be visiting my parents next weekend after quarantining myself for a week and won't be changing my plans unless I'm physically stopped. I feel no obligation to follow the law when those 'running' this country have shown time and again they're happy to treat the law with contempt for their own benefit. I will do everything within my power to ensure I'm not infected and won't infect others but I will not be dictated to by those whose criminal negligence has led to this situation. My brother told me earlier there are currently 272 covid outbreaks in schools in Greater Manchester, here in Leeds it's patently obvious the return of university students has led to a massive rise in infections. These are things that should have been planned for months in advance, mitigating measures put in place, but we've had next to nothing. Not even a functionining tracking and tracing system and local authorities left blind in one eye with a hand tied behind their back trying to deal with cases in their own cities. And don't think I'm blaming the students, they were encouraged to return or begin their degrees, while universities rely on their rent to survive, what did our imbecilic government expect was going to happen?

So no, I'll weigh the risks with my family and do as we see fit and I'll do everything I can to protect myself and those a round me, but I won't be obeying the rules of this lockdown. I'll be breaking them in specific and limited ways.

Rant over.
User avatar
adam
First Secretary of State
Posts: 3210
Joined: Wed 27 Aug, 2014 9:15 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by adam »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:
citizenJA wrote:I need a small commando force to rescue Mr citizen from the pestilence office he's been made to return
are you with me
Not if it involves wading through students, discretion is the better part of valour.
Discretion
by Roger McGough

Discretion is the better part of Valerie
(though all of her is nice)
lips as warm as strawberries
eyes as cold as ice
the very best of everything
only will suffice
not for her potatoes
and puddings made of rice

Not for her potatoes
and puddings made of rice
she takes carbohydrates
like God takes advice
a surfeit of ambition
is her particular vice
Valerie fondles lovers
like a mousetrap fondles mice

And though in the morning
she may whisper: "it was nice"
you can tell by her demeanour
that she keeps her love on ice
but you've lost your hard-earned heart
now you'll have to pay the price
for she'll kiss you on the memory
and vanish in a trice

Valerie is corruptible
but known to be discreet
Valerie rides a silver cloud
where once she walked the street.
I still believe in a town called Hope
User avatar
adam
First Secretary of State
Posts: 3210
Joined: Wed 27 Aug, 2014 9:15 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by adam »

[youtube]e91L6TZKd7Q[/youtube]
I still believe in a town called Hope
User avatar
adam
First Secretary of State
Posts: 3210
Joined: Wed 27 Aug, 2014 9:15 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by adam »

More Mersey poets - this is my favourite one, I think.

The Stolen Orange - Brian Patten

When I went out I stole an orange
I kept it in my pocket
It felt like a warm planet

Everywhere I went smelt of oranges
Whenever I got into an awkward situation
I'd take out the orange and smell it

And immediately on even dead branches I saw
The lovely and fierce orange blossom
That smells so much of joy

When I went out I stole an orange
It was a safeguard against imagining
There was nothing bright or special in the world
I still believe in a town called Hope
User avatar
RogerOThornhill
Prime Minister
Posts: 11115
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 10:18 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by RogerOThornhill »

Alex Andreou
@sturdyAlex
Had Andrew Neil left the BBC four years ago, I would have mourned the loss of a legendary interviewer. But he got increasingly, sneeringly unfair with anyone progressive and his anti-EU bias became a huge blind spot. I think the UK equivalent of Fox is the right home for him.
9:51 PM · Sep 25, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
If I'm not here, then I'll be in the library. Or the other library.
AnatolyKasparov
Prime Minister
Posts: 15624
Joined: Mon 25 Aug, 2014 9:26 pm

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

There are already signs the Scottish government may be about to row back on the "students have to be imprisoned in their halls over Xmas" directive.

Some of the other restrictions coming in now may be unenforceable in the longer term, certainly the full six months that the PM floated.

Sky's annoyance above is certainly noted - and he won't be alone.
"IS TONTY BLAIR BEHIND THIS???!!!!111???!!!"
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

In response to PorFavor's post from last night...
I had a visit from Sky'sGoneOut which went by all too quickly. I had a great time. We went out and about and I saw local places that I really should have seen long ago. I can only hope that he enjoyed his stay here as much as I enjoyed having him here. I'm usually not too good at being around people for any length of time. You would be forgiven for describing me as the hostess with the leastess. But with him it was so easy and such a great pleasure. I know Constance would concur.
To be fair, when not out exploring the delights of the South coast I mostly lay on the couch drinking wine which I don't mind saying I'm pretty good at. And PorFavor is being modest, she was a charming host who made me feel welcome and at ease, I'd happily have stayed another week and if it weren't for this damn virus I'd be back enjoying her and Constance's company sooner rather than later.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Sky's annoyance above is certainly noted - and he won't be alone.
I'm not merely annoyed, I'm furious.

Leeds council have been requesting various measures over the last few weeks to try to curb the infection rates only to be turned down by the government. This is entirely the government's fault for allowing a situation to arise and fester while ignoring pleas to do anything about it. And it's all to do with money. Leeds is the driving force behind much of Yorkshire's economy so they left it until they had no choice which is precisely what's going to happen to London. London has a higher infection rate than the North East which has been locked down, we are in the absurd situation where parts of Northumberland that haven't reported any new cases for weeks are in lockdown while parts of London that have case numbers comparable to Leeds are allowed to go about their business.

There's nothing scientific about this, these decisions are being driven by economic concerns alone and if I were a Londoner I'd be very worried.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

As for Andrew Neil he's welcome to take his brillo pad head and fuck off to Brexit TV.

It's a sad indictment of the BBC that a man who was essentially a joke a decade ago, seen as filling his retirement pot with the execrable and painfully unfunny 'This Week', became their heaviest hitting political interviewer.

But they do like chippy tory Scots.

Maybe they'll give Laura her own late night show.

Where she sits on Michael Portillo's knee.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

These lot have been nominated for the Mercury prize.

I've seen them a few times and I hope they win.

[youtube]pEKBQ9oUtSU[/youtube]
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Way ay man. Geordie Cocteau Twins fans.
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

[youtube]ViUTztFB-80[/youtube]
User avatar
Sky'sGoneOut
Prime Minister
Posts: 8078
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2014 1:11 am

Re: Friday 25th September 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

[youtube]dms5WyiNZJU[/youtube]
Locked