LOL. Just being mischievous as usual. Nice pub, used to visit regularly in the 70's to mid 80's. Last visited in 2007. Like what they have done to the place.

LOL. Just being mischievous as usual. Nice pub, used to visit regularly in the 70's to mid 80's. Last visited in 2007. Like what they have done to the place.

Likewise. Been there a couple of times on Mike's visits from Germany. Nice view of the gallows at low water mark - all we need now is a ducking stool (for the witch-hunt trials) to complete the set.

Mmm...

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However, the path forward seems overly complex...

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The trouble is, Britain has two questions to resolve.

1) Our relationship with the European Union. That requires an answer on an IN -- OUT axis (with some nuances about soft, hard, or no agreement).

2) Who will run our country for the next five years. That requires an answer on a LEFT -- RIGHT axis: capitalist or socialist. Again, with nuances.

The two axes are orthogonal.

A general election will answer the second question only. It can't answer the first question - that requires a single-issue referendum, divorced from party politics - because both major political parties are internally split on the EU question.

Because of the internal mis-management of the Conservative party over the last three years (or arguably thirty years), we are facing a deadline of 31st October. If we leave the EU on 31st. October, that's it. We can never undo that action. It's a one-way trapdoor.

Which means that we absolutely, must, make the right decision. In my view, we still haven't resolved the 48-52 problem. We're still shouting at each other, no one is listening, and - crucially - nobody's mind is being changed by the fake facts which are flying around.

A general election now would simply change the language in the shouting matches again. We'd use the language of left-right, when we should still be using the language of in-out. Except for the people who answer in-out when the question is left-right.

A general election is less important. That only supplies a temporary breathing space: if we change our minds later, we can do it all over again in five years time (or probably sooner).

We can't redo the in-out decision. We have to be certain - all 100% of us - that we get it right first time. That's why it's more important the Boris should be in Berlin, Paris, Brussels right now, negotiating. And Parliament should be sitting, waiting with bated breath for Boris to land at Heathrow and wave his little piece of paper with the answer written on it.

Yup, you got it.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association, said: "A 20mph speed limit is pretty academic.
Critics pointed out traffic meant average car speed in London was 6mph.

What the critics should have said was that "the average speed in London is 95% faster than Brexit over the last 3 years". :-)

... It will be interesting to see which side of his persona is exposed to Jeremy Paxman next week (Monday 2 September, Channel 5, 9 pm).

Not all that interesting, it turned out - just more of what we knew already.

But while Channel 5 were broadcasting that, BBC2 was broadcasting Rise of the Nazis. I didn't watch it at the time, but recorded it, and played it back yesterday - after all the events of this week.

It's frightening. A lot of the events portrayed in the first ten minutes of the Rise of the Nazis have exact parallels in the events of the last week in the UK - and with very similar motivations. If you are interested in these subjects, I'd recommend catching the repeat at 19:30 on BBC2 tonight (20:00 in Northern Ireland: Scotland and Wales unstated). There are two more episodes to come - 21:00 Monday on BBC2, plus repeats. Or for those who can access it, on the i-Player for a month. If you only have access to BBC World, watch out for it: it's classified as a historical docu-drama (reconstruction, but seemingly well-sourced).

Thanks for that, I'll watch It later.



I thought it already had been. :-)

Just finished watching all 59 minutes. Scary parallels.
Just left wondering if Dominic Cummings is the modern equivalent of Kurt von Schleicher.

I came away with the impression that Kurt von Schleicher was a sort of combination of Dominic Cummings and Jacob Rees Mogg. Now there's a scary thought.

Now that is even scarier than my original thought.

Is there any relationship between the Cummings who is destroying the British Government, and the Cummins who is destroying the English cricket team?

Hahahahahaha, knowing our luck, probably.

It's frightening. A lot of the events portrayed in the first ten minutes of the Rise of the Nazis have exact parallels in the events of the last week in the UK - and with very similar motivations.

What I find facinating is the Internet. Either through links provided on forums or news sites, one can be taken off in a tangent by seeing something that catches one's interest.

It happened again yesterday evening while on Youtube. The recommended list listed Pt 1 of The Road to Irish Freedom, a 3 part documentary.
Pt 1: Dan Breen
Pt 2: Tom Barry
Pt 3 Ernie O'Malley
Watched all 3. I'm well aware of Irish History but Pt 1 caught my attention. What Dan said regarding 1921 (interviewed a few years before his death in 1969) eerily paralleled what is happening here now.

The to & fro'ing between Dublin & London with regards to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a treaty that divided the country which eventually led to the civil war of 1922/23. Many felt that one of the issues with that treaty was to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown, was a case of deal or no deal. Dan himself said this close to the episode end - over 50 years before Noel Edmonds & the media/government of today brought the term to prominence.

New faces
One that Blondie won't like.

Her nomination may cause technology firms to sit up and take note. She has already earned the wrath of US President Donald Trump: "Your tax lady, she really hates the US," he is reported to have told her boss, Jean-Claude Juncker.
But she believes companies must pay their way.

Labour still sitting on the fence
There has been plenty of focus on May with her repetition 108 times.
Corbyn asked 138 times for a general election, yet when offered it, refused, don't see that mentioned often.

The more I see & hear him, the more I think he's a British version of Eamon de Valera - the most hated hero in Ireland.
A politician who knew that the Anglo-Irish Treaty will be a death warrant for those who signed it, which is why he sent Michael Collins & Arthur Griffiths in his stead.
Before his death, de Valera said "History will show Michael Collins as the greatest man in Ireland, unfortunately at my expense" He got that right.
Harsh this may seem, but Griffiths was fortunate to die from a cerebral haemorrhage, as had he not, the possibly is that he too would have been killed.

Wonder what May, Johnson & Corbyn will say in their autobiographies. I think Cameron could be a student of history by realising that the EU fiasco is just bad as what the Irish faced in 1921, so got out.

It's been mentioned plenty of times. I think he's showing considerable wisdom (which is not my default opinion). There will most certainly be a general election - probably in November - but between now and 31 October it's the wrong question at the wrong time. We need to be focusing on in-out for the next 7 weeks, not left-right.