Seen in the News

[Stanley]

Sory Love I was trying to be amusing.....

[Tripps]

I was amused - wonderful mix up.
There was a news item on BBC East which showed a lady letting her gang of rescue ducks, (how do you rescue a duck?) of all varieties, out into the field and the pond, after serving a long sentence in the pen. Joyful.

Now to serious matters again
I read about a fire on an 'industrial estate' in Bicester which has claimed the lives of a member of the public and two firefighters. The reports I have seen make no mention of the involvement of car batteries. I take no interest in motor racing, but see that now a statement has been released from McLaren which again does not use the word but I suspect that the 'E' in Formula E means electric.

PS.
I note that - rather too late - "McLaren announced last month that they will withdraw from Formula E at the end of the current season following a “strategic review.” Perhaps the Government should do likewise? It will be interesting to see if the FBU get involved - they should do - bigly.


Bicester fire

[Stanley]

I saw the report about the fire at the ex-RAF base at Bicester David and noted the three deaths but hadn't seen any connection with batteries.
Do you think there is some form of 'D' Notice operating?
As for releasing animals into the freedom of the outdoors after long spells of confinement. If you ever get the chance to watch calves going out for the first time after the winter indoors, take it. It's the most joyful sight in the world and once you have seen it you will never again believe any of the PR spouted about the zero-grazing of cattle and keeping them on concrete all their lives.....

[Tripps]

saw the report about the fire at the ex-RAF base at Bicester David and noted the three deaths but hadn't seen any connection with batteries.
Do you think there is some form of 'D' Notice operating?

I don't know, and checked back for the RoRo ferry MV Delphine which caught fire in Zeebrugge last month. There are no updated news items of the event, just AI summaries of what happened. but a search in the maritime data shows she seems to be back in regular service between Zeebrugge and Immingham. Presently in dock but recent passage indicated. MV Delphine location

The Bicester fire will be in the news for some time - one of the firefighters was a woman which will ensure that. Whatever the cause - there has not been any report yet which I have seen that mentions EV's. Be interesting to see what the Pom in Australia has to say about it all.

PS There was a car fire last week in the car park at Brent Cross shopping centre, when a Mercedes caught fire and destroyed several adjacent cars. Classic battery fire in appearance. Problem is - the reg number plate was clearly visible, and a quick check shows it to have been a diesel engine.

[Stanley]

I love the honesty of your postscript David! Well done. It makes me more confident of your general observations.
I saw THIS in the Lancashire news this morning.
A prison governor who had a relationship with a drug-dealing gang boss has been jailed for nine years. Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a "rising star" of the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate to governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire in six years. But her trial heard she "didn't play by the rules" and began a relationship with major Liverpool crime figure Anthony Saunderson, helping him secure day release. Sentencing her at Preston Crown Court, Judge Graham Knowles KC told her: "You betrayed the public trust in you and you betrayed the Prison Service." He continued: "It was shocking and unconscionable that you should have had that relationship. "You knew how you should and should not act. You had training and support. You were warned and you were challenged. "The boundaries were clear and explicit and you knew you were crossing them."
It's a hard sentence but deserved I think. She had all the advantages but couldn't resist crossing the boundaries for her selfish ends. It's hard to think of any way she could have been more wrong. It's hard for a normal person to imagine how she thought she could get away with it......
She was evidently not a normal person.

[Whyperion]

"Bicester Motion" has built up a number of motor repair units mainly in the classic and historic car market with a monthly "Coffee and Chrome" meet up sponsered by one of the classic car insurance specialists . Looking at the pictures there are at least three "hangars" on the site and two a bit of a distance away seen unaffected - as were oddly mature growing trees around the building that was affected. Vehicle maintenance involves gases , fuels, oils and plenty of combustable risks including electrical supplies of all kinds. That the building/s appear not to be properly segregated or equipped with fire suppression does not suprise me , many industrial buildings dont , since effects can be insured and people generally can vacate - the person on site Dave , who died , was one of the creators of the entire premises building up the expertise of passionate restorers (see Dominc Chimera who I think has attended with demonstrations of Ranaleagh Rolling machines for metal bending for example ) .

There are a couple of Classic converters to EV power in the country but I dont know if any are located at Bicester Motion. There is pressure on these ex RAF locations (flat, often in elevated locations with strong winds prevailing) for conversion to new garden village housing developments and it does make it difficult for classic vehicle industry to get locations to work in / store some vehicles at any cost. To me such "Grey" uses are generally good as i feel the need for a return to an uplift in military locations is going to be needed soon and they can work around such light engineering too.

I also note the fire started around 530pm, (on Thursday) and I know from experience the problems that occur when packing up for the working day with a rush to go home or elsewhere can result in things being overlooked or a simple mistake made. (leaving the heater on when you were sure you turned if off being an example )

[Tripps]

I also note the fire started around 530pm, (on Friday) and I know from experience the problems that occur when packing up for the working week with a rush to go home or elsewhere can result in things being overlooked or a simple mistake made. (leaving the heater on when you were sure you turned if off being an example )

In the interests of accuracy and to prevent the birth of a myth - the fire started on Thursday 15th May 2025.

"Ten fire crews attended the incident at Bicester Motion having been called to the scene at 18:39 on Thursday."


PS Meanwhile this did happen on Friday - Jacksonville FL airport car park fire

[Stanley]

Meanwhile in the real world I saw THIS
Updated 1 hour ago
Former US President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday. Biden, who left office in January, was diagnosed on Friday after he saw a doctor last week for urinary symptoms. The cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 out of 10. This means his illness is classified as "high-grade" and the cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK. Biden and his family are said to be reviewing treatment options. His office added that the cancer was hormone-sensitive, meaning it could likely be managed
Im sorry to hear that and wish him well....

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS BBC in-depth article on the new semi-conductor factory being built in the States. If half of what is said is true, this is a very important development.

[Tripps]

Initial thought - Faisal Islam is a very good journalist. He went to Manchester Grammar School.

Not sure whether to be excited or scared 13 trillion transistor equivalent seems to be a lot.

[Tripps]

Following up the Bicester Motion fire from last Thursday - I found the one of the companies in the Bicester Motion complex was Kingsbury Racing. who restore classic Bentley cars - magnificent work. No news yet of the cause of the fire.
I found this still picture from the company promotional video. I wonder why the room was called "Incendiary Store"?

Incendiary store.png

[Stanley]

Coates Brothers had a store like that and I found later that they used solvents with names like 'Nitro Cellulose'.....

[Stanley]

See THIS for an interesting article on Trump's US.....
For the last five years, a loud hum has been a continual backdrop to birdsong and the occasional barking dog in the village of Dresden, New York state. Coming from the nearby Greenidge Generation power plant, which had been mothballed for years before, the sound has angered some local people. "It's an annoyance," says Ellen Campbell, who owns a house on Seneca Lake a short distance away. "If I sit out by the lake, I would rather not hear that. "We didn't sign up for the constant hum."
This is worth reading, it's a story about bit-coin mining (About which I know nothing beyond it demands enormous amounts of electrical generating capacity.....)

[Wendyf]

Reading that article has caused my brain to burn out and fail completely. What????

[Stanley]

Yes Wendy.... It's unbelievable isn't it. They start up in a place because of cheap energy and make it more expensive.
The other thing that I can't get my head round is that they say Bitcoin can be 'manufactured'..... I thought they were just notional.
This is not a world I understand.

[Tripps]

This is not a world I understand.

Amen to that.

I read that the quantity of Bitcoin is fixed so no Central Bank can print any more, and thus inflation is not possible - then I read that new Bitcoin can be 'mined'. The two statements seem to be contradictory.

As Judge Judy often says - "If it doesn't make sense - than it ain't true"

She's right.

[Stanley]

Certainly not a world that is accessible to rational thought!
Meanwhile, in the real world..... See THIS
2 hours ago
"This is a big deal for the King to do this," says Jeremy Kinsman, former Canadian high commissioner to the UK, as King Charles prepares for a historic visit showing support for Canada, which is facing pressure from US President Donald Trump. "I hope that Trump understands," says Mr Kinsman, ahead of the King becoming the first monarch to open Canada's Parliament in almost 70 years. So what can we expect from his speech as Canada's head of state, to be delivered in French and English in Ottawa on Tuesday? It will be written on the advice of Canada's government. But along with the workaday lines on policy plans, Mr Kinsman expects a message, loud and clear, that Canada will not be the US 51st state.
It's not often I find myself approving of Royal actions but I like this and think it shows Chuck is thinking along the right lines politically....

[Stanley]

THIS may be the precursor of the biggest global economic disaster we have seen for many decades......
The resumption of the global trade war by Donald Trump comes after a period of relative calm. But the US president's threat of a 50% tariff on all goods from the European Union in a week's time suggests the trade war tensions were merely on hold. They have now resumed in earnest, alongside market uncertainty, and social media diplomacy. It indicates significant volatility in the coming weeks, ahead of a crucial G7 summit in Canada next month. The crux of what is happening right now is that after the US opted to row back on its trade-stopping tariff conflict with China, most of the rest of the world, especially key US allies, slowed up on their own negotiations with the US. Allies would not expect to be treated worse by the US than China. Friday's intervention by President Trump is much worse that what was considered the worst-case scenario - a 20% tariff rate on the EU in early July at the end of the 90-day pause. As his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent openly admitted, these threats are designed to "light a fire" under such stalled talks.
The biggest problem that these stop and go policies being adopted by Trump is causing is the lack of uncertainty across all global trade. Many trade routes are being slowed if not halted because nobody wants to consign goods that may not have a market when they arrive at their intended destination.
There must be some quite serious news management going on in the US because we have heard nothing about the effects this uncertainty is having on the US domestic economy.

[Stanley]

See THIS example of strange group-think in the US.....
"A lot of people ask me: 'Father Moses, how can I increase my manliness to absurd levels?'" In a YouTube video, a priest is championing a form of virile, unapologetic masculinity. Skinny jeans, crossing your legs, using an iron, shaping your eyebrows, and even eating soup are among the things he derides as too feminine. There are other videos of Father Moses McPherson - a powerfully built father of five - weightlifting to the sound of heavy metal. He was raised a Protestant and once worked as a roofer, but now serves as a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in Georgetown, Texas, an offshoot of the mother church in Moscow. ROCOR, a global network with headquarters in New York, has recently been expanding across parts of the US - mainly as a result of people converting from other faiths.
I have seen reports elsewhere about young men having doubts about their masculinity and this seems to be another example of it.
I think the moral of the story is that if you want to start a weird cult, the US is a good place to go....

[Stanley]

See THIS live report on BBC News....
Four children are among the dozens of people injured after a car ploughs into a crowd at the Liverpool FC parade. Twenty-seven people were taken to hospital, and two suffered serious injuries - including one child, the North West Ambulance Service says. A 53-year-old white British man has been arrested and is believed to be the driver of the vehicle, Merseyside Police say
Reporting is still ongoing.

[Cathy]

Hopefully he won’t see the light of day, for a while.
It’s worrying that you never really know who is out there.

[Stanley]

See THIS update on the Liverpool car incident....
The driver of a car that ploughed into football fans during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, police have said. Merseyside Police say a Ford Galaxy avoided a roadblock by tailgating an ambulance responding to reports of a member of the public having suffered a heart attack. The force say the man, 53 and from the city's West Derby area, was also being detained on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs. Fifty people, including children, were treated in hospital following the incident in Water Street, which happened shortly after 18:00 on Bank Holiday Monday.

[Stanley]

See THIS wildlife news....
1 hour ago
After years of absence, golden eagles are beginning to venture back into England from the south of Scotland, leading to hopes they might nest. Among those crossing the border in 2025 was a young male called Talla. Wildlife enthusiast Ian Glendinning has seen the UK's second biggest bird of prey many times in the Scottish Highlands, but he never expected to encounter one in his home county of Northumberland. "It was the end of March and I was driving in a remote corner of the national park with a couple of friends and the rear passenger suddenly shouted out 'what on earth is that?'," he says. "I looked over to my right and about 30 metres away there he was, sitting on a rocky outcrop. "Before I could get my phone out for a photo it glided away, but it was absolutely colossal, there was just no doubting what it was. "I would defy anyone not to be impressed seeing such a huge bird at close range."
Wouldn't it be great to see one on Whitemoor?

[Tizer]

`The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine' LINK
....In an ever-evolving conflict, soldiers have had to rapidly adapt to new threats posed by changing technology. And the latest threat comes from fibre optic drones. A spool of tens of kilometres of cable is fitted to the bottom of a drone and the physical fibre optic cord is attached to the controller held by the pilot. "The video and control signal is transmitted to and from the drone through the cable, not through radio frequencies. This means it can't be jammed by electronic interceptors," says a soldier with the call sign Moderator, a drone engineer with the 68th Jaeger Brigade. When drones began to be used in this war in a big way, both militaries fitted their vehicles with electronic warfare systems, which could neutralise drones. That protection has evaporated with the arrival of fibre optic drones, and in the deployment of these devices, Russia currently has the edge. Ukraine is trying to ramp up production....

[Stanley]

See THIS report about the court ruling on the US tariffs.
Updated 1 hour ago
US President Donald Trump can keep collecting import taxes for now, an appeals court has said, a day after a trade ruling found the bulk of his global tariffs to be illegal. A federal appeals court granted a bid from the White House to temporarily suspend the lower court's order, which ruled that Trump had overstepped his power by imposing the duties. Wednesday's judgement from the US Court of International Trade drew the ire of Trump officials, who called it an example of judicial overreach.
It doesn't really matter who is right over the tariffs, the greatest damage is being done by the uncertainty that has been injected into the global supply chain. The buffer up to now has been bonded storage in the US where goods could be quarantined until the position becomes clearer. These are all now full and the cost of them has increased four fold. The wonder is that the US domestic economy isn't showing signs of stress yet. I get the feeling that there is some serious 'news management' going on.