QE II was always going to be a hard act to follow - Racing has problems as well, but I did not forsee such a major collapse. They're panicking now and trying to "stop the bleeding". I think it's probably too late, and further collapse is inevitable. I'd be more convinced if they made someone else the Duke of York. That would surely be a point of no return, and an end to it then.
He's surrendered his personalised number plates with DOY in them, and I've checked out similar with AMW (Andy Mountbatten Windsor), but found nothing attractive. However the Domain Name www. amw.org .uk has a certain apt ring to it and is available for just £12.99 per month.
Born to be mild Sapere Aude Ego Lego Preferred pronouns - Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine My non-working days are Monday - Sunday
The titles being stripped are: Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh.
The honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order will also be removed
and he will no longer have the right to be called His Royal Highness.
Why do we still have things like Barons, Earls , Counts , Dukes (whats the 5th one ? - Marquis ? )
I think the Order of The Garter is limited to 24 ? persons at any one time, I assume Starmer might get the award
About time to..... The farce has gone on long enough and as David says, Brenda was a hard act to follow. I have always seen one of the problems facing the King in any attempt to rein Andrew in has been the fact that Charles isn't the best example when it comes to the highest standards of propriety. Some of us can't forget that he is an adulterer. I suspect the plan is for him to sink out of sight and sound in the Fens...... (Will Fergie stay with him?)
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
31 October 2025, 06:21 GMT via BBC Website
Calls have been made for a Lancashire town to develop its own "curry mile", similar to the one in the Rusholme area of Manchester that is nationally famous for its large array of Asian restaurants.
A Nelson Plan for Neighbourhoods board meeting was told the town needed more leisure and social activities to bring life to the town centre.
While nearby Colne has been revitalised with cafes and theatres in recent years, councillors have been told Nelson must come up with its own distinctive offer.
Independent councillor Faraz Ahmad told the meeting the town has "takeaways galore" which could be developed into a curry mile and help make the streets "more welcoming".
Ahmad added: "Yes, we have issues with cars on double-yellow lines but these ideas are still worth thinking about.
"We have strips of takeaways but maybe a 'curry mile' destination can be developed?"
One local resident told BBC Radio Lancashire it was "a great idea".
"The curry mile is a special place in Manchester, full of a wide variety of cultures left and right and curry everywhere," he said.
"I adore it, it's the best food in the world and it would bring a lot more people into Nelson."
Ahmad said there was also a need for entertainment to attract visitors to the town.
Nelson Town Council is planning a winter festival and winter wonderland in Victoria Park this year.
He added: "We're trying to spread out, including winter markets. We've also contacted Hyndburn Council about youth markets and young entrepreneur ideas."
The £25m government-backed Nelson Town Deal, launched in 2020, has focused on property redevelopment and business growth, including the demolition of Pendle Rise shopping centre this winter.
The new 10-year £20m Plan for Neighourhoods was announced by the last Conservative government but given a wider community remit by Labour.
See THIS BBC article on energy prices. Bills for some of the country's most intensive business energy users will be cut by £420m from next year, the government has said. Speaking to the BBC, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said about 500 businesses in industries including steel, glass and cement would benefit from a 90% discount on their electricity network charges - up from 60%. Unite's secretary general Sharon Graham said she welcomed help with costs, but the amount saved would be "quite small" and that profits made by energy providers were "obscene". It comes less than a month from the Budget, with the government facing questions about how it can unleash growth, while keeping its commitments on employment rights. Last year, the UK's energy costs were the highest in the G7 group of developed nations. For the same year, the International Energy Agency reported that UK industrial energy costs were almost double the average across its members.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
Bonfire night is approaching - it was always a major event when I was young. I never felt anything other than safe" during the several weeks long ritual - but then again anti social behaviour had not yet been invented.
A BRADFORD mosque will be opening its doors to young people on Bonfire Night - providing them with a "safe space".
JTI Southfield Square Mosque in Manningham will be open to anyone over the from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday.
There will be a range of activities on offer, including a PS5 console, board games, live football, quizzes and food.
Mohammed Azeem, a youth worker who has organised the evening, said: "This Bonfire Night, the mosque will be open as a safe space for young people to come together, have fun and stay safe. "It will be an evening of games, snacks and good vibes – while making informed choices and keeping away from any kind of anti-social behaviour on the night."
Perhaps they could have treacle toffee and parkin and baked potato making lessons.
Born to be mild Sapere Aude Ego Lego Preferred pronouns - Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine My non-working days are Monday - Sunday
I saw a news item yesterday discussing this very subject David. Apart from perceived dangers they were talking about Guy Fawkes being supplanted by Halloween and such commercial imports.
It looks as though a bonfire in the orchard and a packet of sparklers doesn't cut it any more.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
A lot of bonfires were of raked up leaves. Fall comes later these days , and we manage ecology different not doing ashes , smoke causes chest problems and the fires are not good for hedgehogs. With global warming do we need to light up the sun again , and given the Head of the CofE and The Pope are sharing prayers in the Vatican then maybe Fawkes (not that he was the main leader) have had the ideological win in the long run.
Labour reported in a few on line sources as moving more front line resources in NHS leading to more same day treatments and discharges from hospital ( how many have to come back though as not fully recovered ?) Have appealed to OBR that this. along with more evening and Saturday appointments is increasing productivity which should be reflected in growth statistics.
They might be right - we have lost for now the statistics thread and not enough detail to check anyway , I think Labour might be right.
I held off thinking or Commenting on the Stabbing situation on an LNER service train southbound from Doncaster. Probably just as well I did. One person arrested has been released CCTV on board showing he was not a perpetrator , leaving just one suspect. Apparently boarded at Peterborough , which I had not realised was a calling point , as I didnt think trains started at that time normally from Doncaster so assumed it was from further north with a last stop Doncaster then London - so I was wrong in that though. One person with Life Threatening Injuries being a LNER employee.
See THIS BBC rep[ort on 'forever chemicals' in water supplies.... Published 1 hour ago
Water companies have been ordered to tackle potentially harmful levels of so-called forever chemicals in drinking water sources for more than six million people, the BBC can reveal. Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are a group of thousands of substances used in everyday products. They are persistent pollutants which build up in the environment, and a small number have been linked to increased risk of some serious illnesses. The BBC examined 23 enforcement notices issued by the Drinking Water Inspectorate over elevated levels of PFAS which could "constitute a potential danger to human health" to see how many people were affected. Industry body Water UK said it was confident drinking water was safe. But Water UK called for a ban on the chemicals to prevent accumulation. Amid growing worries about these chemicals, water companies have been required since 2021 to test for 47 of the most concerning ones in water supplied to customers' homes and drinking water sources such as aquifers and reservoirs. In the last four years, 1.7 million tests for individual forever chemicals have been carried out across the network. At least 9,432 of those recorded PFAS levels above the level which the DWI says could constitute a potential danger to human health, external.
Read on for the companies. I'm happy to report Yorkshire Water aren't on the list.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
Reports that the Knife wielding man on the train from Peterborough had earlier been reported as stabbing/ attempted murder at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London earlier that day, ( its near Canary Wharf on the Docklands Light Railway ). He would have needed to travel by train from somewhere around Bank or Via Stratford into London to get to Moorgate or Kings Cross (maybe Finsbury Park) to get a train to Peterborough - it quite a pain of a journey to make and CCTV should be interesting.
Meanwhile the Department of Defence army (mainly) housing to be transferred to an arms length Quango (Defence Housing Service) why another one - because the MoD has not been good at maintaining the housing apparently. (Can anyone explain why Quango NHS England gets taken into the Department of Health ?)
See THIS BBC report from Rome..... Updated 37 minutes ago
A worker who was trapped after part of a medieval tower collapsed in the heart of Rome, has died, according to hospital officials. Octay Stroici was pulled free at 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT), nearly twelve hours after a section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, gave way and trapped him beneath. His heart stopped in the ambulance, and doctors at the hospital he was rushed to were unable to save him. The Romanian foreign ministry said Stroici was a Romanian national, as was another worker among three others pulled from the rubble. One is said to be in a critical condition. Stroici's rescue was initially described as an exceptional feat by firefighters who had worked late into the night. Rescue teams used drones and rubble clearers to try to reach him, despite the risk that the fragile tower could collapse further. He had been conscious and talking to the emergency workers throughout the rescue. His wife was also at the scene. Stroici had been carrying out conservation work on the medieval tower which is part of the Roman Forum, one of this city's busiest tourist sites. But this particular building had been empty and abandoned for many years. The Rome Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the incident. Efforts to rescue Stroici - reported to be in his 60s - were interrupted when a second section of the 29m (90ft) high tower began crumbling again, with bricks raining down, creating a huge cloud of dust. Earlier, Rome prefect Lamberto Giannini had described it as a "very complex situation". Giannini said that after the initial collapse firefighters had "put up some protection" around the trapped man, so when the second collapse happened, "they obviously shielded him".
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
I saw THIS in the BBC news.... Zohran Mamdani, 34, is projected to become the youngest ever mayor of New York City. Democrats are also projected to win governor races in Virginia and New Jersey in the first electoral test of President Trump's second term. Trump has threatened to cut NYC's federal funding if Mamdani won over independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. And Californians vote on plans to redraw the state's congressional districts to favour the Democratic Party ahead of elections next year
Encouraging to say the least!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
See THIS BBC report of proceedings in the US Supreme Court. Updated 47 minutes ago
President Donald Trump's use of sweeping tariffs faced sharp questioning at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, in a case with major implications for the president's agenda and the global economy. A majority of justices, including several conservatives, expressed doubts about the White House's justification of the import duties, which the president has said are necessary to restore America's manufacturing base and fix its trade imbalance. The measures are being challenged by a number of small businesses and a group of states, which contend that the president has overstepped his authority in imposing the levies, which are in effect a tax. America's top court - which has a 6-3 conservative majority - usually takes months to reach big decisions, but many expect it to move faster in this case, which is also seen as the first major test of the Trump administration's push to expand presidential power. "And so is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? I mean, Spain? France?" asked Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed to the court by Trump. "I could see it with some countries but explain to me why as many countries needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy as are." Billions of dollars in tariff payments are at stake. If the Trump administration loses, the government could have to refund some of the billions of dollars it has collected, a process that Barrett noted could become a "complete mess". The White House, which sent Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to the hearing, has said that they will turn to other tariff authorities if the court does not rule in its favour.
It seems as though a Right Wing Supreme Court might not be automatically in Trump's favour every time. Good!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
See THIS BBC report Updated 1 hour ago
Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA, has died aged 97. In one of the greatest breakthroughs of the 20th century, he identified the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 alongside a British scientist, Francis Crick, setting the stage for rapid advances in molecular biology. But his reputation and standing were badly hurt by his comments on race and sex. In a TV programme, he made claims about genes causing a difference in average IQ between blacks and whites. The death of Watson was confirmed to the BBC by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he worked and researched for decades.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
