OneGuyFromBarlick

So the PM pitched up in Florence to ‘restart’ the Brexit negotiations. I’m not sure what to make of the content of the speech but for some reason the image of one my cats depositing a freshly killed bird at my feet in recompense for sh****ng on the rug springs to mind. Let’s be clear: this was about...

It’s the old joke about the chap who keeps going to the Dr’s and the Dr says he’s a hypochondriac, to which the chap replies: ‘Oh not that as well!’ ‘’Sandwich bread rolls we call cobs not baps or barmcakes or breadcakes’’. Bill – cobs in Leicester too, where I spent 3 years. There’s a thread on the...

Tripps - My mother-in-law is Swiss and when she was young girl in Switzerland the first boy who was 'sweet' on her was called Freddie Nutter. I laughed my head off when that cropped up in conversation, given Barlick's own Fred Nutter.

Richard Broughton

Just to add, worth copying the relevant section from Juncker’s address, which so upset Farage. "My hope is that on 30 March 2019, Europeans will wake up to a Union where we all stand by our values. Where all Member States firmly respect the rule of law. Where being a full member of the euro are...

Quite right Stanley. Nothing to do with us. We’re leaving and the EU will go its way. So what if it develops an EU army? There’s lots of cooperation anyway – the Dutch armoured Corps are under German command I think as it’s more efficient for them. Plus the Dutch have got over ‘the war’ so cooperati...

In some respects, it’s refreshing to see his (Mogg’s) honesty in noting that as a Catholic he’s against gay marriage and abortion in any circumstance. Too many would hum and hah over that. But the refreshed feeling soon vanishes. What is it with religious nut jobs? They have this unhealthy obsession...

Just on us being a laughing stock – here’s some German reporting: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/grossbritannien-may-und-ihre-minister-taumeln-ahnungslos-in-den-brexit-1.3647563 Egal, was man von Großbritanniens Ausstieg aus der EU hält: Um seine Regierung ist das Land nicht zu beneiden. Die Pre...

Brexit negotiations and the fun continues. Cake and eat it is the order of the day. Usefully, someone has noted what ‘cake and eat it’ is in other countries. Italy – the bottle full and your wife drunk French – the butter and the money for the butter (and for added emphasis: ....and the smile from t...

A consistent problem when communicating risk. ‘Safe’ is very often interpreted as meaning zero risk as the ordinary dictionary definition would suggest that. But zero risk does not exist and arguably shouldn’t exist as the acceptance of risk is a trade-off against benefit that is, one accepts risk(s...

‘……At the moment the sums vary from £100billion to Nowt’. Just to be clear, these figures are press speculation, largely in this country I might add. The EU side have come up with no hard figures at all. All they have produced is a paper on the budget lines, with Treaty base I think, to estimate th...

‘…….during The Detectorists recently..’

I have just caught up with this programme the past week, as it’s passed me by. It is really funny. And beautifully filmed too.

Richard Broughton

Is that the old ‘fever hospital’ on that map just on the right past Lane End? My dad used to note that an alarum would sound from the kids playing out and they’d all leg it whenever the ‘fever wagon’ came round to cart some unfortunate with scarlet fever off to the hospital.

Richard Broughton

Some pubs were called Vaults. For example, the Bakers Vaults in Stockport, in the old market area. Used to frequent that a lot in the early/mid-1980s as I was friendly with a girl from Stockport.

Still a pub, run by the local Robinsons Brewery.

Richard Broughton

My wife has graduated from the University of Liverpool. Doesn’t seem 4 years ago that she informed me she was packing in work as she’d been offered a place to read psychology. I was so chuffed. She had left school at 16 with no qualifications at all and had worked ever since, running her own busines...

They are magnificent boots. What make are they, Lobb? In Italy last year we walked past a cobblers shop and he was making boots. They looked magnificent and I wanted a pair but they were expensive, high hundreds of Euros so I didn’t. But they’d last years suitably looked after so are good economy re...

The Art50 letter said we're coming out of the customs union, so there will have to be a whole new system in place with respect to custom checks at Dover and every other entry port as well. Or else there will be chaos. I read one analysis that said in the absence of this, the delays to freight and go...

Always happy to admit that I’ve not got it right, and my apologies for this. I waded in half-cocked and conflated safeguarding (which is about ensuring there is no misuse, and nuclear material is used for peaceful purposes) with the supply of nuclear material and so segued into the issue of the supp...

About sums it up Tizer. We’re a laughing stock now, and not before time. The latest hilarity is the belated recognition here that when we leave Euratom, and we will as we said we would in the Art50 letter, there will be consequences. Euratom is the European Treaty that deals with nuclear safety and ...

As someone who regularly splits infinitives I tend to stay out of grammar debates. And I have a tendency to start sentences with words that some say I shouldn’t. That said, some constructions you see are toe-curling. I was reading a book review a few months now on a flight from Florence to Munich (j...

The BBC has political editors and political correspondents. In fact, it seems they have editors and correspondents for everything. I’ve always thought that correspondents give you the story if you like and then the editors provide you with context and commentary. The latter in particular you can tak...

What’s a ‘trick of the trade’ then?

Richard Broughton

Well quite. Just becaue you are a physicist doesn’t mean you know everything about physics. If you are given a diagnosis for your tachycardia from a cardiologist, would you seek a second opinion from an obstetrician if you weren’t happy? After all, both are Drs. I would also note that just because y...

It’s the Dunning-Kruger effect Plaques. Rees Mogg and his ilk are clueless about trade (they have this quaint idea it’s ‘selling stuff’) they don’t actually realise the extent of their cluelessness and so blather on assuming they are the font of all expertise. On some occasions it strays into ‘that ...

It really can’t be emphasised enough how calamitous this is for the UK and the Brexit process and Mr Clegg has more or less nailed it on R4 a few minutes ago. Whatever we might think of Mr Clegg given his time as DPM on Brexit he is one of the few, very few, politicians who are absolutely telling th...

The most recent events in London struck it a bit close to home for me. From 1997 – 2009 I worked 2mins walk from Borough Market/London Bridge and walked through the market every day. I was in The Wheatsheaf pub having a pint the week before last; I am off down to a retirement do next week at a pub j...