Rob.L

That’s one of the downsides of LED lights on modern cars. When there’s a problem, the whole cluster usually has to be replaced. A quick search of the internet shows that rear light clusters for an S8 retail at just under £420, so the rest must have been a charge for diagnosing it, fitting it, and reprogramming the car to recognise it. And from my experience, cracks in rear light clusters are mainly down to the screws being over tightened when they were fitted.

Was that Shapps? Thought it was either Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath or Sebastian Fox.

But that has been happening since 2000, when Labour were previously in power. If there was an excessive wait for treatment, the NHS were able to use the private sector.

What the FT has quoted Streeting as actually saying appears to be at odds with what people claim he said. “I can simultaneously want to reduce [NHS] reliance on the private sector by making sure it has the staff, the equipment, the technology it needs to treat patients on time, at the same time as recognising that there is currently some capacity in the private sector and we should seek to use it.” https://www.ft.com/content/f1950c91-617a-46dc-ac36-2ee03d9b1e73

Saw Yes perform a few times in the 1970s, including three times at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, as well as at Reading Festival in 1975. Had all their albums, too. But having seen them on TV a while back, it’s not the same lineup as it used to be. Not one of the original members are still in the band. A bit like Trigger’s broom!

Interesting to hear these problems with Fiats. About twenty years ago, I had a brand new, zero miles, Fiat as a courtesy car while my Peugeot was in for work after a bump. On the way home, I turned the radio on, absolutely nothing happened. Later in the day, went out in it again. As it was dark, I turned the lights on and suddenly, the radio came on! It’s true what they say about Italian electrics.

That. With CANBUS wiring, everything is controlled by the onboard computer - which will need to be told that the bulb is new. https://dewesoft.com/blog/what-is-can-bus# Another nail in the coffin of DIY car repairs.

Back in the 1990s, a book “Holy Blood and Holy Grail” was published by author Michael Baigent, which made claims about the lineage of Jesus, the Merovingian dynasty in France, and Rosslyn Chapel, together with claims of links to the Knights Templar, a secret society in France which protects the bloodline, and the Freemasons. None of it could be proven and much if not all of it was wishful thinking, of course, but it did form the basis of the book and film “Da Vinci Code”, with author Dan Brown even calling one of the characters Teabing (anagram of Baigent).

The good news is that if you came back to the UK, as my father in law did when he returned from over 30 years in Canada, they’d unfreeze your pension and pay the full amount. He also got a full Canadian pension, and the two combined just about covered his care home fees after income tax.

First time I saw Steve Harley perform was in about 1974, at Tiffany’s Night Club in Derby. There were about fifty people there, most of whom were completely disinterested and waiting for the disco music to start. Next time I saw him was only a year later. He was one of the headliners at Reading Rock Festival, playing to thousands and getting a great reception from a very difficult crowd who were known to show their appreciation or otherwise of performers by showering the stage with bottles and cans.

Looking at the media coverage of the two by-elections, you’d think that Reform Party Ltd had won. Instead, we’ve had both the managing director (Tice) and one of their employees (Habib) on virtually every channel, plus their other director (Farage) claiming he could lead the Tory party if they’d have him.

Nottingham University did some number crunching about students back in 2015. It’s likely that the figures are a lot higher now. “Every student studying and living in Nottingham is worth £10,933 of extra annual economic benefit to the local economy, with international students alone contributing £129.7m to the Nottingham, East Midlands and UK economies through their spending off-campus. The £129.7m of economic impact created by the University’s international students, supports 2,200 extra jobs in the UK. The £88.5m of fees they bring to the University helps support Notti

Affordable? From their menu… Battered Line Caught Haddock £18 Skinny Fries, Mushy Peas, Tartar Sauce & The Reindeer Gravy No idea what reindeer gravy is, but eighteen quid, and gravy with fish and chips?

Quite possible that the owners were sick of all the trouble they had to put up with from gangs of youths and late night drunks. Although the reduced footfall since Broadmarsh went could be a contributing factor.

To quote the song played at closing time most nights at Ocean Night Club… Poor old Johnnie Ray Sounded sad upon the radio Moved a million hearts in mono Our mothers cried

10 versus 12 was never going to work out well. Diabolical refereeing saw Boly booked and sent off when replays showed he had actually cleared the ball before being caught on his ankle by the Bournemouth player. And then there’s the clear handball that got ignored… It appears from the internet that the referee is a Derby fan.

Used to do a lot of supermarket deliveries round there. Most of the houses are full to bursting with students these days. A pig of a place to park the van, and spent half my time checking their ages for the booze they ordered.

@woody I had a similar experience twenty years ago with the jobsworth at my late dad’s local Post Office when I asked for them to redirect his post to me. Despite my producing a copy of his death certificate, they refused to do it as he hadn’t signed the redirection form himself. My response was that I would need a few days to dig him up first. They relented and finally accepted the form

“The 100,000 figure is a Conservative party estimate, and is not reliable. It is based on a number of assumptions about a hypothetical returns agreement, including that the UK would be part of an EU quota system even though it is not in the EU, that the UK would be “forced” to relocate migrants rather than contribute financially (as is an option for EU member states), and that the quota system would relocate all asylum applicants arriving in the EU among member states.” From https://fullfact.org/immigration/labour-forced-to-accept-100000-migrants/

Where did Keir Starmer propose 100,000? Or is that more likely a number conjured out of the air by the tories in some strange attempt to discredit?

Why would it be expected/relevant for the Leader of the Opposition to be expected to answer questions at Prime Minister’s Questions? Time and time again, the Speaker has had to remind Sunak that he is there to answer questions, not ask them.

On This Day in 1964… https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/87005/

As regards planning for the pandemic, they did have the output from Exercise Cygnus from 2016, but seem to have conveniently ignored its findings. Although that was based on an influenza pandemic, it would have provided the framework for government action for the covid outbreak. And Hancock was (on paper at least) heavily involved in that exercise, but seemed to have learned nothing from it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Cygnus

I’d hardly describe the (then) prime minister as a scapegoat. He was elected to the highest political position and to be in charge of government policy, expected to make the correct decisions affecting the country, and be accountable for those decisions. He had access to every expert opinion available, some of which he apparently chose to ignore where it didn’t suit his views. He wasn’t nicknamed the shopping trolley by those who knew him well for no reason.

Hopefully, these reported comments from his meeting with Sunak will come back to haunt them. “Why are we destroying the economy for people who will die anyway soon” ”Bed blockers”