Hobby

Fine, Andy, but this isn't the first time we've seen blatant political comments. I haven't accused you of any bias, just that these posts by being left to stand and not deleted/modified would appear to to say that political bias is allowed.

If people had taken the time to look beyond the headline pictures they'd have seen that the "mask photo" was dubious at best, there are photos on Twitter that show Keir in very close proximity with other members of his party in the last few days without any masks present. Although the two people concerned haven't tested positive it is clear that the mask wearing was only done in the Commons and was a typical case of "do as I say, not as I do". I'd have more respect for all parties if they all behaved responsibly, the catalogue of going places they shouldn't, non mask wearing, hugs, etc., etc., from all sides of the political spectrum and even the "experts" clearly show a lack of understanding of "acting responsibly". Which makes the opposition's mass mask wearing look stupid.

39 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

These things generally go badly wrong if any of us rises to the bait dangled by someone of an opposite persuasion, or starts calling politics when someone expresses a view that challenges our own too deeply.

 

Which is to say it takes at least two to make a fight, and it’s sometimes worth turning the other cheek for the sake of continuing peace.

I'd just rather they didn't make the first post.

38 minutes ago, Zero Gravitas said:

 Just corrected that second quote for you :-)

Yes, Zero Gravitas I'm afraid I was guilty of taking the bait... Though in my defence I only pointed out the obvious irony of the situation which seemed to be lost on the OP, and didn't try to make a politically bias post like they did. Perhaps you missed that.

Alternative viewpoints are fine, and are not politics, but there are certain people that clearly are using this thread to make digs at the party they clearly dislike whilst ignoring what their own favourites are up to. And it seems to suit some people to allow it.

As the thread title says, it's about Covid and there should be no politics, we've managed that for nearly 200 pages, it's a shame that it's now reappearing just like the locked thread and is spoiling it for many of us who are trying to discuss Covid and not taking part in cheap party politics, surely there's enough of that in the Commons without it having to spread here?!

"No Polictics"...

Except when it suits.

They weren't doing too badly until the last twenty minutes when I think tiredness took over, I doubt most of the Latvian players are playing at anywhere the same level as the English players on a week by week basis. 

I just found it amusing that it was the leader of the party who were plugging mask wearing that got it, perhaps he wasn't as careful when not on camera!? 

The impression I got was that they didn't quite have enough  but did a deal with a centre left party to get one! 

11 hours ago, peanuts said:

Talking of vauxhalls this Carlton GSI3000 popped up at one of my deliverys the other day in for a services and some minor TLC realy was very tidy and very original. 

Neat parking as well, fully on the pavement and across a dropped kerb! 

9 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

The politics are incidental, I was trying to point out that they are not mainstream.  They might equally be very left wing and for all I know the Romanian Peasants party may be.

Just for the record it's called the Christian Democratic National Peasants Party and is centre-right... And has one MEP but no representatives in their own parliament!!

10 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Are you detecting a drift in that direction in England then? Because, I can't say that I am.

I must admit that is what I see as well and was therefore surprised at Eddie's comment. However I also find that it very much depends on the location, my experience of city centres such as Birmingham, Leeds and Newcastle is very different compared with small towns such as where I live where mask wearing, for instance, is still very much in evidence. Seems people living in the big urban conurbations don't care as much?

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

On the 4 tier system where 1 is "the  risk of danger and COVID is the same as faced here in Australia" and level 4  is "Just don't go there!" the UK is at level 2  -  "Exercise a high degree of caution due to the risk of COVID and warm beer with bits in it".

Only level 2? I feel very let down, we should be at least level 3!!

(At least you can taste our "warm" beer!  )

10 hours ago, Zomboid said:

Is one of the pit stop guys really going to go at a pop star with a wrench?

Oh I don't know, I could be tempted if I was one!

Just been watching the end of England Women's annihilation of Latvia, some pretty impressive play by the England team and a result the current men's team would dearly like to have!

On 25/10/2021 at 13:51, Steamport Southport said:

They've got to lower their expectations a bit.  They aren't the massive club anymore that's going to win everything, every season without opposition. They need to step back a bit and rebuild. Stop buying the big name flops that cost £100 million and buy quality hard working players. Or bring a few good youngsters through from the youth system.

 

If you get rid of the manager, you just start the same thing again. Then again.  Any manager needs time and needs the boo boys to get off their back. 

As far as results are concerned, no, not at the moment, but they are still the biggest club in the world so they are still "massive"!

I agree wholeheartedly with the rest of that paragraph, though their fans need to give them time, as do the owners, and I don't see the patience from either of them to allow it to happen, hence the sticking plaster expensive players and up and down results.

Regarding the manager, whilst I have some sympathy with what you say, for it to work you have to have the right manager in place to do that and be trusted to do it, I'm not convinced that Ole, nice bloke that he is, is that manager at that level.

I said before that one player can't "save" a club. I was chatting with a United  fan a day or two ago and we both agreed that whilst they have some great individual players they are just that, "individual" players, and don't seem to like playing as a team. The top three on the other hand also have some great players but they play as part of a team and don't do their own thing. Of all the United players Pogba is the best example of this lack of team play, though Ronaldo isn't a great deal better. Contrast that with Salah who was often seen going to help out the defence when needed on one match I saw a week or two back. There's nothing wrong with buying in older players, plenty of clubs have done it successfully, but they have to fit in and play as part of a team. I just don't see that at United, sadly. Trouble is next time Ronaldo or Pogba turn up and score goals they'll be hailed again as United's saviours whilst the truth is very different.

I recon the argument back would be that they are also flimsy enough for a vehicle to push them to one side, albeit (hopefully) with some damage... Though I doubt they'd get very far with their argument because the highway code is VERY clear (291):

"Never drive onto a crossing until the road is clear on the other side and do not get too close to the car in front. Never stop or park on, or near, a crossing."

So unless they break down (that's covered in 299 and advice is to get out and leave the vehicle where it is) there is no time when that should happen if the vehicle is being driven legally.

I can't decide whether it that he was let down by his players or out of his depth?

1 hour ago, durham light infantry said:

Back in the distant past when we were paid cash, weekly. It was in a little brown envelope, on a Thursday afternoon.

The supermarkets changed their offers on Thursdays for that reason. Late Thursday afternoons and evenings would see couples out shopping, and the Husband opening the envelope at the till.

When I worked in one of our sub branches the local factory must have paid Thursday morning as we were mobbed at lunch time with all the women workers paying their Grants (and other) catalogues with screwed up £1 notes. It was so bad we couldn't get the paper wrapper round a hundred of them! Rest of the week it was dead!

10 hours ago, melmerby said:

That's total utter rubbish

Last Thursday I took my car for it's service & MOT

Most in the reception (staff & customers) were not wearing masks. I did.

I then instead of waiting 6 hours for my car I got the bus into Birmingham anddespite frequent announcements on the bus asking passengers to wear them, few (maybe 1 in 10) wore them. I did.

In the centre of Birmingham I went in a few shops and also had a coffee, most did not wear masks and neither did the staff, some shops had even removed the notices and sanitisers.

Ermm, I know that!!I think you misread my post, I was querying who they'd asked to get a figure of 82% actually wearing masks because it wasn't what people on here were saying was happening (including me!)... The bit I quoted was from the article that someone else posted (on the Beeb I think)!  

As for the "new normal" that went out of the window as soon as foreign holidays came back, just the same as any concern about climate change... 

Well out of the way of the inevitable crash at the front...

Ah, 'Spoons... I'm becoming increasingly worried about them, we've had some dire experiences in them recently with especially poor beer which wasn't our experiences a year or two back. The latest was in Stourbridge where my pint was so bad I took it back, got a pint of something else (replaced with no argument which was a plus) and I gave up with that one as well. We ended up in The Duke William, a Craddocks pub, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone having to wait for a bus/train in that town! (I'd also recommend the one in Droitwich as well!)

"And 82% say they wear a face covering now, down from 97% in mid-June."

Judging by the comments from those of us on here I do wonder who they asked! 82%?!! 

Also from the same source (formula racers on twitter):

"Daniel Ricciardo has been arrested at the circuit for the style of his beard."

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

A lot of things have to change, because we’ve spent too long living too high on the hog for our own good, and those changes are going to be bl@@dy uncomfortable for a lot of us.

 

Thing I find disturbing isn’t that ‘the times they are a changing’, see foregoing, but that so much focus is put on continuing to do as we have done, but somehow in less impactful ways. It won’t work, and will maximise the grief.

1 hour ago, APOLLO said:

I'm all for the above BUT I will not comply willingly as long as I see the rich and entitled / elite / 0.0001% (or whatever you wish to call them) getting richer and richer beyond imagination (World's first Trillionaire soon ?). Bezos & Branson in "space" etc etc.

Anyone put this to Ms Thunberg?

(BTW I agree with both posts and therein lies the problem... Typical "do as I say, but not as I do", politicians I expect that from sort of c**p from, they have history, but it's the self righteous "celebrities" that really p' me off!)

I think the pont he was making was that she thought that everyone else should change their lifestyles to suit her, something that is often an accusation made about our young people. So she is just doing the same as they. I think most of us on here have taken a more practical outlook and adjusted our lifestyles to suit rather than expecting everyone else to act in accordance with our wishes to the detriment of their own. 

Most i see, though, when out and about aren't the medical use versions, as that photo of the Commons actually shows, there's only one of the type we see in our local hospital, the rest seem to be a combination of home made and those cheap ones you can buy in the shops... From what I remember they aren't as effective, though better than nothing. It was still just a stunt, though, and so was the response form the opposite benches, neither did anything positive for mask wearing.

Big open country = big cars... The US seems to be the same!