Seen in the News

[Stanley]

I am still confused. Don't bother explaining it to me, I'm probably not interested....
See THIS for the BBC report on the World Cup Final. Probably Messi's last World Cup so it was nice that his side won. I saw a bit of the final and it looked interesting but I got side tracked and missed the second half. Before the match i heard some 'experts' talking about the possible outcome and the consensus seemed to be that France were the more sophisticated team and would be the winners.
Ah well, there's always next time!

[Stanley]

I note that Mr Barclay the Health Minister is on record this morning saying that the health unions are to blame for the deadlock because their inflation-busting claims are too high.
This is the first sign of as crack in the government position. The implication is that if the claim was lower it would be listened to. But apart from that his comments are nonsense. Doesn't he realise that in a negotiation you always start with your highest figure and give way to get progress.....

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS Met Office prediction that 2023 will be warmer that 2022.
"Next year will be warmer than this one, and one of the hottest on record, the UK Met Office is forecasting. predictions suggest it will be the 10th year in a row the global temperature is at least 1C above average. The Met Office explained that a cooling effect known as La Niña will likely end after being in place for three years - part of a natural weather cycle."
So when you feel cold this winter you can at least look forward to a hot summer!

[Stanley]

See THIS latest assessment of the ambulance strike. This should outweigh any political or economical arguments. We are looking at the decimation of a vital public service.
See also THIS account of Elon Musk and his reliquishment of the control of Twitter after his vote. Elon Musk has said he will resign as Twitter's chief executive officer when he finds someone "foolish enough to take the job".

[Tizer]

He's obviously put out by the vote judging by this... I suppose he'd like to restrict the US Presidential election to only people who pay?
`Elon Musk: Only blue tick users to vote in Twitter polls on policy' LINK

[Stanley]

I have decided that Elon Musk is loopy and it's a waste of valuable time to regard anything he says seriously.
He seems to be whittling his net worth down quite rapidly..... (Look at the boss of Ftx for an example of how to do it.)

[Tizer]

A pity they didn't attack the Mail, Express and Sun instead!
`Guardian hit by serious IT incident believed to be ransomware attack' Guardian

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the extreme cold weather that is hitting the US in the run up to Xmas. So often our weather follows the States two days later when we are in an Atlantic phase of weather. We can do without this.

[Tizer]

I've been going on about Putin's friends, the Wagner Group for some years now. The leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was one of Putin's school mates in St Petersburg and they met up again decades later when Putin was Russian leader and Prigozhin ran a restaurant. The Group gives Putin a hands-off means of waging terror around the world. Here's the latest news showing how they've proliferated in the Ukraine war.

`Russia-supporting Wagner Group mercenary numbers soar' Wagner

[PanBiker]

Aye, I heard on the radio this morning that minus 42c was on the cards. I have done minus 25c on the top of a mountain in Iceland and that was bloody cold. 5 minutes maximum outside the massive Toyota 4 x 4.

[Stanley]

I congratulated Ethel one morning in New York when I saw that the temperature was -8C, she told me to think again, it was -8F!
I heard a Met Office person saying that those low temperatures would not cross the Atlantic.

[Stanley]

See THIS for breaking news of a shooting in Wallasey.
A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was fatally shot near Liverpool on Christmas Eve. Merseyside Police said officers were called to the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village at about 23:50 GMT on Saturday.
Three men and the female victim were taken to hospital suffering gunshot wounds - the woman later died.
Some things don't change, even at Xmas.....
On an entirely different subject. I note that the BBC are very careful to describe the members of the royal family celebrating Xmas with Chuck at Sandringham are referred to as 'working royals'. Are they distinguishing them from others? I wonder whether Andrew qualifies as a 'working royal' because of his new role as guardian of the queen's Corgis?

[Stanley]

I've just heard this reported on World Service. A man has died from an attack by a brain-eating amoeba.
See THIS report from the Korean Yonhap News Agency.
"The first infection from Naegleria fowleri, or "brain-eating amoeba," has been reported in South Korea, the health authorities said Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed that a Korean national who died after returning from Thailand was infected with Naegleria fowleri, which destroys human brains.
The man in his 50s came back to Korea on Dec. 10 after a four-month stay in the Southeast Asian country and was admitted to a hospital next day. He died on Tuesday last week. This is the first known infection from the disease in the country, which was first reported in the United States in 1937. Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba commonly found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals and ponds throughout the world. The amoeba is inhaled through the nose and travels to the brain to destroy brain tissue.
I've never heard of this before. I hope it's a rare infection, we have quite enough to worry about!

[Tizer]

I've always thought wild swimming was a risky hobby!

[plaques]

I've always thought wild swimming was a risky hobby!

Taking off big style at our end. Keep telling them they are wrong in their heads. But that's sewage under the bridge now.

[Stanley]

I've often had the same thought Ken. I remember the one time we went swimming in the river up the Dale and we all got sore throats....
I saw THIS in the BBC news feed. A £20 a day bonus would go down well with the ambulance workers.... There is something wrong with the logic here....

[Tizer]

It's only the other day that I heard Ian Hislop live on Today and saying about a Russian millionaire that he'd probably die `accidentally' by falling from a hotel balcony. I knew about other Russian oligarchs dying that way and I don't know if Hislop referencing those earlier deaths and the timing was a coincidence or had he just heard it on the news? This chap's death was on Sunday...
`Russian sausage tycoon Pavel Antov dies in Indian hotel fall' LINK

[Stanley]

I read the link and two out of four of the party dying seems quite a high proportion!
This is on a par with the Iranian footballer's wife taken off a diverted plane as she flew out to join her husband on holiday. I'd guess the government didn't want them all out of the country together or they could defect.
I don't think our lot have quite reached those depths yet. A reason to be cheerful.

[Stanley]

See THIS for the Met Office verdict on 2022.

"The Met Office has said 2022 will be the warmest year on record for the UK. According to provisional figures, every month was hotter than average, with the exception of December when the UK experienced a notable cold snap. The year's average temperature will likely beat the previous all-time high of 9.88C, set in 2014. The exact mean temperature is set to be confirmed in the new year but the Met office said the consistent heat this year had been noteworthy."
For many years there has been argument about whether global warming was fact of fantasy. The deniers are now silent as they are relegated to the same corner of reality as those who believe the earth is flat.
However, we saw at COP27 that despite accepting the reality of climate change and the causes of it we still pump out the same or even greater levels of harmful emissions. I fear we have missed the boat and will suffer for it before technology eventually rescues us but then presents us with a new set of problems.....

[Tripps]

I had to search for this to confirm it. Very low key in the honours news from the main news channels.

"Tony Blair is to be knighted with the highest possible ranking in the new year honours list, Buckingham Palace has said.
Blair, who held the keys to No 10 between 1997 and 2007, will be appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British order of chivalry."

Hon y soit qui mal y pense to coin a phrase.

[Stanley]

It had slipped by me David but then I did hear someone refer to Sir Tony and thought I had misheard....
It did strike me that there was a flavour of Charles more than any outgoing PMs in the make up of the list.

[Tizer]

I read a bit more about the killing of that man in a night club in Birmingham. When the police arrived the place was in chaos, the crime scene evidence was messed up and club staff were rushing about tidying up. The police say the floor was covered in nitrous oxide canisters, both small ones and `the large ones with balloons'. Obviously the club staff had been told to remove evidence before the cops arrived.

[plaques]

Well Tripps she's done it. Katie Price comes home by a neck, head or is it a bust in the New Years news papers

Katie Price has hit back after a Channel 5 documentary was aired on Friday, December 30, as she wasn't consulted for the making of it

Got to get our priorities right, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

[Tripps]

I'm still very worried about her damaged feet, which I'm sure have not yet recovered from that awful accident in Turkey. I'm sure we will be heading for a relapse at an opportune moment.

***************************************

I tried to explain to my young lad recently what I didn't like about modern life - and I don't think I got through to him. Lack of descriptive ability I guess. I saw this today, and it goes a long way towards explaining it all. Read it and weep. It's all a long way from Barlick for which I apologise, but surely something similar applies everywhere. I suspect some people enjoy it all.

Didn't Stanley post a picture a long time ago of a street party for VE day or the Coronation in 1953? I'd like to see it again.

Poor image I'll try for better. . . This link improves things ? Turn to page 11 for the full nausea.

PS. Turn to page 15 for some mitigation. The gardening article is written by my next door neighbour 'Mr Poet' who is one of the 'good guys'.

Coronation Street Party

[Big Kev]

I like the article on pickling chillies