DJ360

More Privatisation scandal: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/mar/12/private-nursery-chains-profits-england

Privatisation of UK water by Thatcher has created a system of legalised theft, which customers are paying for in rotten service, ruined rivers and increasing bills. Water companies are actually borrowing money to fund dividend payments and being legally allowed to charge customers more to service that debt. When questioned, Ofwat , politicians etc.. all fudge the issue. This has to stop. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2022/dec/01/down-the-drain-how-billions-of-pounds-are-sucked-out-of-englands-water-system

I can't be 100% certain but that doesn't look like the Mick Vaughan I remember. I first came across him when we booked 'Lambs of the World' into the 360 club. He was I think 16 and lead guitarist of what was essentially Clive Lynch (aka Nottm's Lord Sutch)'s band. At that time Mick Vaughan was widely regarded as a very good guitarist for his age and I have to say he acted the part.. Here's a link to a page on Lambs of the World and their later careers. https://playedinaband.com/lambs_of_the_world.htm Mick Vaughan later joined Paper Lace and the rest is histo

My last Fiat.. a Grande Punto 'Sporting', used to show an airbag warning light in very cold weather. It was eventually diagnosed as a 'CAN line' fault, but never fixed. It was effectively a 'phantom' fault.

They were pretty good Jim. In fact the Heart Failure Team are now satisfied that I am on optimum medications and stable, so have discharged me back into the care of my GP. It also seems that my last Echocardiogram, 9 weeks ago, showed no measurable deterioration in Left Ventricular function, so I'm still at the 'moderate' HF stage... which is pretty much as good as it gets. The Phlebotomists said the labelling issues were a product of old style blood forms issued by the HF team, which need the sample bottles labelled in handwriting. However the HF team say they don't Have the more moder

I'm not sure on that. Those cheap diagnostic thingies seem able to 'clear' fault conditions, but that's not quite the same as programming.

So... a couple of weeks ago I received a letter from the Heart Failure Clinic, with an appointment for the 27th March and a 'bloods' form. So.. I set about organising getting my bloods done before the 27th... After an hour online it was apparent that all of the local 'Bloods' centres were booked up until mid April..,but after going round in circles for about an hour.. I found a single appointment at Newton Community Hospital, which is about as far as it is possible to be from the Grand Duchy and still be in Merseyside... I turned up on 22nd March and got my blood taken.. Ne

Main thing Lizzie is that you have a failed/failing bulb. The Mfr handbook should tell you how to replace it, but if you are not confident, Halfords will do it for a few quid. A lot less than some stuck up dealership.

It was originally built as a Summer House by the Winstanley family who owned the area. It used to have a pyramid shaped roof. But as long as I've known it it has had windows and doors blocked, presumably to stop scallies from setting up in there. There is a lot of 'proper' graffiti on there, initials form the early 20th C, including some from US servicemen, presumably based at Burtonwood during WW2.

MND marchers passing throught the village on the way to Liverpool. https://photos.app.goo.gl/iNbiJuiFGQgi4j956

I'd not heard of the one at Blackburn, but the the only time I go to Blackburn is on the way to Burnley. Obviously their hill is a copy but I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. There's also a place called Billinge in Staffordshire.. another fake.. but it would be interesting to discover the etymolgy of the name Billinge. https://wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Billinge

I also wish her well. Absolutely not surprised that the lass has had a Cancer diagnosis. She's always been skinny, but the brief shots of her at a Farm Shop last week showed her looking even more so. I'm pretty indifferent about the Monarchy as an institution, but she's just a nice upper middle class girl who found herself at Uni with a very eligible bachelor and accepted his offer. Could happen to anyone....

Not swerving. If I'm not mistaken, Starmer nominated many fewer people to the HoL and NONE, with the specific objective of solving a recruitment crisis in Govt. caused by serial sackings and a talent vacuum. He would be foolish not to use the limited opportunity he has to try to redress the political balance in the Lords as best he can. I see no hypocrisy in so doing and also holding a long term objective to reform the HoL At present, Labour Lords stand at around 170, c.f. 270 Conservative, 180 'crossbench' 80 Lib Dem and around 70 'others'. In my

Fair question. I have two excellent cameras, my Canon 450 D SLR and my Panasonic Lumix TZ200 compact. The former, with more than one lens,is a bit heavy. The latter is very capable, if you can penetrate the mysteries of the menu..which I'm a bit foxed by.

Yes, correct. My apologies Oz, I forgot that Sunak used aa different questionable method to rehabilitate a failed PM with a record of dodgy dealings.

Love that Margie. And every year I promise I'll drive Mrs Col and our best friends to Treak Cliff for a nosey.. and so far it hasn't happened... Maybe this year.

Whilst you were all carousing in the boozer on Weds, I decided that I'd allowed a bit of D.I.Y. to become a substitute for proper exercise. So.. I determined to get a decent walk under my belt. I 'summitted' mighty Billinge Hill, via the North Eastern route recently opened up. Apart from a couple of brief dips, (which only mean losing height gained) it is unrelentingly uphill, with the last bit being a very steep rocky scramble. Still, on the way, it was good to spot Willow Catkins and other signs of Spring. Also, it being a sunny day, and with few leaves to obscure th

The simple explanation Oz, without the necessity to even remind myself of the detail.. is that all semblance of anything resembling the 'Ministerial Code', is gone, as far as the Tories are concerned. Activities and transgressions which would until quite recently have led to automatic resignation, or sacking, these days are all too frequently brushed under the carpet. Johnson's usual 'The matter is now closed', being a typical summation of complete Tory disdain for any sort of rules.

That's true, but as you say, the article points to a much more serious cause for concern. Put briefly, yes, it is normal for any leader to surround themselves with people whose EXISTING views and politics make them 'natural', sycophants. The activities of extreme Republicans, as illustrated by that nutjob Tommy Tuberville and others, in deliberately blocking promotion for serving military personnel whose views do not precisely align with theirs, is surely designed to try to force the Military away from political neutrality and towards political acquiescence. A very dangerous develop

Send it to Brew.. He can afford to pay Plumbers, so he must be minted..

Anyone as concerned as I am about the rise of the Far Right, might wish to read this, about US Republican attempts to politicise the US Military. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/creeping-politicization-us-military?utm_medium=newsletters&utm_source=fatoday&utm_campaign=The Creeping Politicization of the U.S. Military&utm_content=20240320&utm_term=FA Today - 112017

Some Tory MP on Politics Live actually seriously proposing that Boris Johnson should be brought back into Govt. You couldn't make it up.

So last night I idly checked my 'Euromillions' Lottery numbers against the published 'winners'.. 07, check!, 16, check!, 18, check!.. a slight rise in pulse and then..20..nope.. guess it's another win of abour 3 quid... then 32, check!! pulse rising again.. 4 out of five can't be bad.. then the Lucky stars.. I had 02 and 04.. winners were 01 and 03... So near..yet so far.. still I'm one of only 397 people who've won £22.60. I won't let it change my life...

Surely a diametrically opposed demographic.. if you want to look at it in those terms. Eitherway, even if I accept your analysis that Open Britain is 'left wing', as opposed to both pro Democracy and anti Brexit, ( Which we both are. .),this does not negate their reporting of the Ofcom findings concerning GB News.

Re: State Pension. As I said I 'm baffled by the 2 tier pension system. Especially if, as I recall vaguely, people my age had to work for 40 or 50 years to qualify for the full state pension, but at some point that changed to more like 30 years. I would certainly struggle without my modest works pension.