Seen in the News

[Stanley]

No mention of cause in reports this morning Kev. It's a major fire. However, they did day the fire brigade had been seen with one car on fire at the start of the blaze so you'd think they would have an idea.....

[Big Kev]

Unconfirmed reports that it was a diesel car that initially caught fire.

[Tizer]

`British ship sinks Russian cruiser'

That news headline would cause some some concern at the present time. But before anyone rushes to send it viral on social media let me explain. I've been reading an old booklet I got at the IWM Duxford in 1985 which describes the museum's exhibits and their history. My attention was caught by Coastal Motor Boat CMB4 which had recently been restored and was the focus of a story I hadn't heard before. The 40-foot boat was used by Lieutenant Augustus Agar in 1919 for secret ops in the Baltic Sea during which he sank the Soviet Russian cruiser Oleg and then guided a force of more powerful boats to a successful attack on the Russian naval base at Krondstat. He was awarded the VC and DSO.

A little more than a century later the Ukrainian military's special forces have recently used small high-speed boats to attack Russian warships and naval headquarters in Crimea. They received training from British special forces and had UK and US intelligence support. Perhaps the memory of Gus Agar's exploits was behind the attack?

The Wikipedia page on Agar is fascinating! Augustus Agar

[Tripps]

Facebook meets Andrew Carnegie in his library in Batley.

Advert on Facebook said -
1. Bring a bag
2. Fill it with books
3. Pay £1

What could possibly go wrong?

Batley library

I was quite indignant until I saw the wording of the advert. Then it's just a bit more understandable. I think the participants have watched too many Tik Tok or You Tube shorts, and lost touch with reality. To continue when told that it was not what was intended, and wrong, is a poor show though.

[Stanley]

My understanding would have been the same from the wording of the advert David but with crucial differences, If I had taken advantage of it I would have asked first. I think what it demonstrates is the fact that there are many people to whom social media, in this case Facebook, is the main governing force of life!
I agree with you, it's disgraceful behaviour. Whoever put that post up will be keeping quiet but they are the real culprit.

[Tizer]

I enjoyed hearing Grant Schapps being exposed for the fool that he is by the lady BBC presenter on the Today interview at about 08.15 this morning. She asked him if the UK government supported Israel's impossible demand that a million Palestinians evacuate to the south of Gaza in the next 24 hours. He wouldn't answer yes or no and simply kept trying to change the subject. She kept on at him and he became increasingly at a loss for words and ended up a like a blethering idiot.

[Stanley]

Have a look at my cartoon Peter.... I agree with you, increasingly the politicians haven't a leg to stand on particularly after the latest edict from Netanyahu. I have always regarded Shapps as a lightweight, well out of his depth and situations like this show such people up.

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz has beaten me to the The Times this morning and reports that I'll enjoy Matthew Parris's Comment column - he's criticising Schapps's performance on the Today programme.

Here's an interesting development...
`Brexit: 'Call us' on trade, says German finance minister Christian Lindner' LINK

[Stanley]

I saw that report as well Peter. The German economy is suffering from the Brexit settlement just as badly as us.
Was there ever a worse political initiative than Brexit? How come we could see it at the time it was being mooted and thanks to contributions from Richard Broughton we saw the Irish problem coming long before the government admitted to it? The damage has been done and I don't see how any amount of 'talks' with Germany or Europe as a whole can possibly repair the damage......

[Tizer]

I'm sure the civil servants at Whitehall were aware of all the dangers but the Tory ministers wouldn't listen to them.

[Stanley]

It makes you wonder why we put politicians in charge of any practical matters. All the evidence goes towards barring them from executive power..... Before anyone scoffs, can you please point out to me any recent successful policies?

[Stanley]

Kev raises another failure of the government to run their pension accounts properly.
When our leaders get around to it no doubt they will be holding up THIS as an example to show that the economic position is changing....
Average pay growth rose above inflation for the first time in almost two years, in a sign that the squeeze on living costs may be starting to ease. Wages rose at an annual rate of 7.8% between June and August, figures show. That was higher than average inflation over the same three months, which measures the rate at which prices rise. Revised figures showed pay overtook inflation in the three months to July, meaning wages are outpacing prices for the first time since October 2021. However, the rise in wages is an average and does not mean that cost of living pressures are subsiding for everyone. There continues to be a big gap between public and private sector pay.
Another matter to make clear is that this doesn't mean that prices are not a problem any more. Not everyone is getting the increased income and inflation has not stopped.
The bottom line is that for the majority of us things are steadily getting worse with no signs of any reversal in the trend.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

Bumped in case anyone hasn't seen the PE cover....

[Tripps]

Bumped in case anyone hasn't seen the PE cover....

Mine arrives on a Thursday now - after years if being on a Wednesday. Not conclusive, but I suspect the Royal Mail have quietly stopped the daily delivery. Anyone know anything about that? Pete?

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

Trigger warning for Mailophobes.

French Wine 'manifestation'
No intervention from the police so presumably they approve. Can't help wondering if Brexit is a factor in all of this.
Doesn't affect me as I don't drink wine anymore.

[PanBiker]

Barlick posties and staff in general are in short supply. We are lucky to get two deliveries per week at the moment.

[PostmanPete]

Bumped in case anyone hasn't seen the PE cover....

Mine arrives on a Thursday now - after years if being on a Wednesday. Not conclusive, but I suspect the Royal Mail have quietly stopped the daily delivery. Anyone know anything about that? Pete?

I've noticed a big deterioration in postal deliveries since I retired....

....but seriously, under the Universal Service Obligation the post is supposed to be delivered to every address, 6 days a week. I think the problem is that staff have either left the job or are on sick leave and haven't been replaced like for like. The limited staff that are working have to deal with the huge increase in tracked packets before letters and normal post (as these have to be scanned and can be proved to be delivered or not.) If the tracked packets haven't had an attempted delivery, the sender would have to be compensated. I have a sneaking suspicion also that Royal Mail will just accept the two million or so fine from Ofcom for the failed delivery of letters, which must surely be coming and continue saving money on staff wages (their biggest outlay) by only paying for a skeleton crew.

[Stanley]

That sounds like a fairly accurate summary Pete and until I hear anything more authoritative it'll do for me.

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS, something I am sure you have all been waiting for with bated breath.....
Long-awaited plans to reform recycling in England have been announced by the government. Most households will have a weekly food waste collection by early 2026 and there will now be a standardised list of items that councils must recycle. The government says the new rules are designed to make recycling simpler and to avoid people needing what it called an "excessive number of bins." Critics called it "fiddling with a system that's fundamentally broken". "Simpler recycling will help us all recycle more easily," environment secretary Therese Coffey said. "Alongside weekly food waste collections, we are ending the postcode lottery of what you can put in your bin so that wherever you live in the country, you will be able to recycle the same products with confidence."
I'll bet you can't wait!
This one was heard actually..... on BBC World Service in a programme about the false information circulated during the recent campaign for the referendum on whether to have a First Nation Voice in Parliament. Have a look THIS PDF issued by the Australian Police.
A very disturbing trend and it follows what is happening world wide....

[Tripps]

I'm warmimg to Katy Hopkins

[Stanley]

I watched her and I have to agree with you......

[PanBiker]

I would have to disagree with her view of the BBC being "leftish". They helped to do a pretty good job on Jeremy and their stance on the conflict in Gaza seems to be reciting ad infinitum that Hamas is a terrorist organisation as recognised by Britain and reporting daily in depth on individual Jewish folk killed in the initial assault. Oh, and apparently there is no longer any war in Ukraine or apparently no point in reporting the ongoing carnage there.

[Stanley]

I too have noted that Ukraine gets less attention even though it is just as serious.....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the number of banned dogs living at home with their owners.
There are almost 3,500 banned dogs living at home with their owners in England, Scotland and Wales, data released from the government to the BBC has revealed. With a ban on XL bullies expected by the end of the year, one police officer says tracking down additional dogs will pose a challenge - as it is unclear how many animals they will have to deal with.

[Tizer]

Talking of banned dogs...
`Boris Johnson: Former prime minister to host GB News show' BBC