JohnfromUK
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Posts posted by JohnfromUK
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2 hours ago, Thunderbird said:
Watch this space, they aren't going to go quietly
It is being alleged that he was instructed by the Queen to discuss plans with Prince Charles before doing or saying anything to anyone else - which makes sense and is just what you would expect in any family - "talk it over with your father" stuff. It seems he ignored the Queen, and simply 'advised' Charles 10 minutes before going public ........
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16 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:
Well she is often known as "Wrong-Daily"
That's not correct though; it should be "Wrong-Several Times-Daily", or is she chooses the traditional left wing path (like Viscount Stansgate, Anthony Wedgewood-Benn 'became' plain Tony Benn) - Becca Daily
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56 minutes ago, Westward said:
Hero to zero. The most popular royal is now a lapdog wagging his tail on command for some social climbing Hollywood bimbo who has a history of always getting what she wants no matter who gets hurt along the way. What a drip he's turned out to be.
It's a pity the Queen and Philip are so old and knackered and Charles is such a washout because someone needs to haul Harry in and explain to him the reality of what it really means to give up his royal duties and responsibilities. They did it to Princess Margaret and when she realised the alternative to her gilded existence would be a semi detached in Luton and holidays at Butlin's she quickly changed her mind.
I hope Boris steps up on this and denies them access to public funds and removes them from the civil list on the principle they can't have their cake and eat it.
This /\
I rather think Piers Morgan (who I don't always agree with) as this quote:
"And instead, they now want to be a 'progressive' force within 'the institution'.
In other words, they want to be super-woke celebrities (with all the outrageous 'Do as we say not as we do' hectoring hypocrisy they've already brought to that status) who get to keep all the trappings of royal life without any of the hard, boring bits and the right to cash in on their status however they choose.
So, they want the glitz, the glamour, the splendour and the stupendous wealth….they just don't want to have to actually earn it."
Harry was born to a position in life - like a family business. It carries responsibilities as well as great rewards. If he doesn't want it, then of course he can leave, but that means leaving the rewards as well as the responsibilities. Megan Markle chose to marry into that life, as did Prince Philip. Just like Prince Philip, she must learn that she is simply in a 'supporting role'. It is reasonably recognised that it wasn't always easy for him, but he worked at it and supported the 'family firm' and made a position for himself (and not without the occasional bump in the road) that has gained great respect form most people.
I feel immensely sorry for HM the Queen. It is a close re-run to the Edward VIII/Mrs Simpson, which so disrupted her own life and probably helped to shorten her father's life. She has been betrayed by her own grandson, (as George V was by his son) who has also fallen for the spell of an American divorcee.
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I use 8 x 20 a lot. Very good in fair or better light, though field of view is less than larger binos. I guess whether that is a problem depends on how you will be using them. If you want a closer look in at something you have spotted by eye, it shouldn't be a problem. If you are looking for well matched deer on a hillside, it might matter. For low light, they are not ideal, but for the vast majority of the time, great and so convenient.
Firstly, second hand should be better value, and you might also be quite happy with a very basic (and cheap) pair if they are to be carried everywhere.
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So much depends on your individual circumstances it is essential to get advice. The Government Pensions Advise Service may be a good place to start.
Some pensions (usually older defined benefit or 'final salary' types) are worth keeping in a pension (rather than take the cash) in many circumstances - because the defined benefit value is much better than you could get elsewhere from an annuity type of product. (They were set up in a different era!). For example an older defined benefit type might offer quite a good monthly pension, but a low transfer value or cash value. At 60, you may well be drawing it for enough years to make it worth taking as a pension - especially if it is index linked in some way.
Generally more recent pensions can benefit from taking as much 'cash' as possible, but where to invest that is another important question - to which the answers will depend on your circumstances and tax position. Making use of tax free allowances and tax free products (that can generate tax free income) such as ISAs may be advisable if you are paying tax, especially higher rate tax.
It is complex, which is why advice is so important.
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There is a very good and clear post (taken from a shared Facebook link) here written by someone who clearly knows their stuff;
So we've been seeing a lot of posts about heather burning in the national park recently so I thought I'd take some time to explain what it is and why it's done.
Seeing the moor on fire with smoke billowing out can be quite shocking, but there are good reasons behind it.
The main reason is to keep the heather plants themselves young and healthy. If left to do it's thing, heather enters a degenerative stage where it flops open and isn't as good of a habitat for birds or insects. The large amount of woody growth is also a fire risk in hot summers as was seen on Saddleworth moor recently.
A patchwork of heather at different lengths in a small area is also the best habitat for ground nesting birds. The longer heather is good for nesting while the short heather is ideal for feeding (either eating young heather shoots or insects which like young heather). And it's not just good for grouse! It's great for lapwings, curlew, snipe, ring ouzels and many other breeding birds.
When gamekeepers burn the moors they burn small patches (to create the patchwork mosaic of habitats) in "cool" burns. These burns take off the heather stems on the top but don't burn into the litter or peat layers of the soil. This means that they don't damage the peat unlike wild uncontrolled fires which burn much hotter and are extremely damaging.
The moors are only burned in the winter. This is because it's wet, so the fires can be easily controlled and don't damage the peat, and also because no wildlife is nesting. The small area of the individual burns also means any wildlife can easily escape out of the way.
Heather moorlands are an extremely rare habitat of international importance. The peaty soil of the UK uplands also stores as much carbon as the combined forests of Britain and France! Many amber and red listed birds breed on managed moorlands and they have very diverse invertebrate populations. This is why it's important to look after Heather moorland and manage it properly.
The Langholm moor project (http://www.langholmproject.com/) has produced some real independent scientific study results.
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1 hour ago, wymberley said:
We need to contradict him forcefully whenever the chance arises before the brain washing becomes ingrained and accepted as fact.
To be fair to them, at least one organisation did do a good presentation during the moor fires outside Manchester last(?) year. They did it well, but the problem was - it didn't get the anything like the coverage Packham gets. Since he has craftily got himself 'known' as a 'top naturalist and TV presenter' - he gets loads of coverage and Joe Public laps up every word he utters. He has been very clever manoeuvring himself into that role.
He has also (with the dead fox matters covered elsewhere in this thread) presented himself as a persecuted 'victim' of vicious bloodsports enthusiasts. Again he has won the public's support despite very doubtful 'facts'.
The reality is that his very strong and obvious bias, his lack of objectivity, his continual habit of ignoring facts that don't support his ideas and his rigid pre-conceptions (all of which are characteristics of people with Aspergers) make him a poor naturalist and quite unsuited to being a factual presenter on a 'national network', but try telling the BBC that!
I do not wish to be against people with mental illnesses and issues like addictions, but such people in some instances can be very manipulative and clever - and he is a very good example of this.
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Packham stoking the flames again. I quote " Australia are trying to put the fires out ......... meanwhile, driven grouse moor owners are lighting fires, destroying wildlife ....... so that people can then kill even more animals ......"
He knows how to tap into public sympathy for Australia and twist it round in his manipulative way to play to that sympathy on completely different issues. He is a very manipulative person.
Thse in the know will explain very cl;early how regular and controlled moorland management by burning to reduce stored fuel load can dramatically reduce the risks of fires becoming severe and unmanageable - and thus be hugely beneficial to wildlife.
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Just now, Old farrier said:
you do seem to know when a gun is right for you when it all comes right
I completely agree, but it is the fine tuning of the reflexes and muscle memory that needs to come together as well as the actual physical fit.
For example, I have two s/s (one English, rather over 100 years old, the other Spanish, about 40 years old), same weight (as near as makes to difference) and physical dimensions, but the slight differences in handling (balance, moment of inertia, trigger pulls) mean that if I change it always takes a little time for my subconscious to adjust.
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Whilst I am a great believer in trying different guns before buying, they all take a bit of getting used to - which takes practice. For me - I think that the amount of 'effort' your body needs to exert to get the movements exactly as your brain wants to see them needs 'learning'.
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Veganism is what we used to call "a fad". That is all it is.
There have been lots of 'fads' about food related things - some are based in fact, others just 'crank ideas' that get 'celebrity' publicity, usually from a so called celebrity no one has ever heard of. Back in the 70's there was a big fad against animal fats and dairy (we were supposed to use Flora and similar instead) and to eat polyunsaturates instead. This was discredited.
Certain religions have food restrictions, some (Buddhists I believe?) and some don't eat certain meat types (Jews, Muslims, Hindus). That is a different matter.
Different cultures eat different meats - for example the French eat horse meat, but most British wouldn't (knowingly anyway), the Japanese eat whale - and again many other nations wouldn't for either conservation reasons, or because it isn't to their tastes.
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I use Emtec/Ear Mould Technology/EMT/Noisebreaker. Very pleased with them.
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1 minute ago, JDog said:
I am now on the mend as they say.
I hope you get fully recovered soon.
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5 hours ago, Demonic69 said:
I've noticed they can interfere with my gun mount a bit.
Exactly my problem; bought a set of EMT Edit: also known now as Emtec and Noisebreaker, see link https://www.noisebreaker.com/) passives about 30 years ago - still have them, wear them at least weekly - and they have been superb. When standing (i.e. not shooting) with others I still use over ear types.
5 hours ago, Cawdor118 said:I should really get new moulds as my ears are bound to have changed a little.
Apparently ears don't change significantly. I have had my EMTs for a great many years and still fit fine and comfortable.
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I don't know a lot about it, but I read that the bush used to be control burned and fire breaks maintained, but that has been stopped in recent times for 'environmental reasons' (or cost savings depending on who you listen to).
I find it hard to believe that where the areas are so VAST as they are in Australia - that the bush could be 'maintained', but it is what some are saying. Others have said it has been too dry to do controlled burns safely.
Reminds me of our moors that burned so badly due to lack of proper regular management by controlled burn at a low risk time of year.
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28 minutes ago, Taileron said:
How they are still in business amazes me.
One of the reasons is that they 'inherited' a very large customer base from the old 'pre deregulation' days of a state owned monopoly ...... a good proportion of whom have never shopped around or moved. State owned monopolies with a totally captive market do not need to 'please' customers.
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I was with Flow - who were amalgamated with Co-operative Energy - who have been taken over by Octopus.
- Flow was pretty good. (Chosen from a comparison site originally about 3 years ago)
- CoOp seemed less competitive on price.
- Octopus - OK so far, but early days yet.
Whoever you go to - you may well end up with another provided because the market is a mass of takeovers and new start ups. Last year (around April) I did a comparison. Flow were then 'reasonably' priced. Not the cheapest, but not all that much more. I decided to stay with them as service had been good on the rare occasions I had contacted them. Since then two of the possible 'cheaper ones' suggested by comparison sites have ceased trading.
Note that if you provider goes out of business - you are not 'cut off' but will end up with another provider who may not be cheapest, and there may be some confusion about any refunds of any credit balance. It is not a good idea to get a long way in credit.
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3 minutes ago, old man said:
Out on bail? Bless the system?
It is indeed a strange system where someone on multiple assault charges (and against health workers and police) gets bail. But I suppose if you are a well known (one might even say notorious) politicians offspring ........
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There are plenty who are themselves on either the left or the right (Chomsky is known for his 'well left of centre' views) who claim political bias from various presenters. The very fact that such claims come from both sides speaks volumes.
I am not a big watcher of Andrew Marr, but I have seen him being a tough interviewer against both Labour and Tory politicians.
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2 hours ago, oowee said:
Retirement is the only way forward at least then you have more time to fill. Everyone says the same 'that in retirement they don't know how they had time for work'.
That is very true, but I have my shooting, gardening, cooking, collecting, horology, industrial archaelogy, visiting NT and country house properties (UK only), not to mention the occasional go at fishing (read untangling line). Plus an large(ish) listed house and garden to keep up, an ageing Defender to keep on the road ........
I'm never short of a long list of 'jobs that need doing'.
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17 hours ago, Dave-G said:
Onasanya... Osamor ... Abbott... seems some kids feel entitled to be louts given their parents VIP status.
I believe the Labour party operates a candidate selection process that favours "minorities" such as female, ethnic minority, LGBT, etc. (but presumably not Jewish in the present regime). It may not produce the best candidates who may simply be normal mainstream white family men.
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Topically - this has just been posted on a local site (although it appears to originate in Devon & Cornwall Constabulary) and clearly advises to call 999
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4 minutes ago, GingerCat said:
I'd love a lazy evening, seldom see them.
They got lucky then. I had one fire engine and one police car right outside my house - and near midnight (they were there for about 4 or 5 hours) my tub of chocolates went down very well!
Fortunately, although quite a lot of damage to a neighbours property, no one hurt.
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2 minutes ago, GingerCat said:
Go and ask the local police for a ride along and point out all their faults as you do it. You may be surprised how few of them there actually is.
I had a long chat with the two police who were stationed right outside my house, and gave them (and the Fire Brigade) some Quality Streets for their trouble. Nice people, but they freely admitted that it was a great lazy evening for them (even the weather was nice!). They were certainly able to produce 6 people at short notice.
Harry, oh, Harry!
in Off Topic
Posted · Edited by JohnfromUK
Anne (and to a lesser extent) Edward do a lot; but since they are 'non controversial' it doesn't get reported much. From the Express:
The working engagements for the Royals for 2019 are as follows: