udderlyoffroad

No argument from me on that one. But I don't want to become an industry in this country, precisely because of what I've seen in Switzerland. I'm sorry but the law of unintended consequences will absolutely bitch-slap you in this case. This is the UK, we will have to involve an army of 'public health professionals' and 'safeguarding' and still we'll end up executing otherwise perfectly healthy people suffering from depression.' I did, several posts back. It's nearly 2024, I couldn't possibly give practical advice other than say the internet is a thing.

I know generally national pride is something we look down our noses at, or at least a lot of people in this country seem to conflate patriotism with nationalism. But try to imagine, for a moment, that the average Swiss person was proud of being Swiss. Of their heritage, of their culture, of their fierce independence. Now imagine that a unscrupulous 'Hilfswerk' exploited a referendum result to allow assisted dying and provided 'death tourism' to all and sundry- do you really think it would go over well with your average proud Eidgenosse? Of course it doesn't. But what do I know, I only lived there, was educated there, speak the local dialect. Ending human suffering as a business opportunity. Despite Brexit. So we've now moved from should be available, with strong safeguards, in this country to "it's a growth industry, lads". Exactly why it must never be allowed in this country.

Correct; the are numerous organisations offering this but only Dignitas has extended it to non-Swiss nationals as far as I'm aware. 'Exit' is another one, these offer a come to you service, as chosen by a family friend. As for 'evidence' to back up my assertion that your country becomes known for death tourism, is somehow not popular in Switzerland...really? How do you think it would go over?

No. If you've ever tried to get something done in Switzerland without state involvement, especially medical/elderly care - at which they beat us, hands down all day - you're doing well. My elderly parents live there. Seen the inside of far too many Swiss hospitals. What I think you're alluding to is, it's a paid sub you buy into*, and neither the health insurance companies or the state elderly care are directly involved. So, in a UK context, you're suggesting voluntary membership of an euthanasia organisation, operating entirely outside of the NHS or social services? It will not happen, or if it does, it will make Shipman look like a warm-up act. In any case, where, precisely, would we be drawing the 'death panel' pool of doctors from who would decide if you were fit candidate for execut...sorry, voluntary euthanasia? The NHS of course. *This is not unusual, this is how they fund the e.g. Swiss air ambulance or the paraplegic support organisation. You actually pay a certain amount per yer to be a 'member' of the organisation and can expect not to be presented with a bill should you be unfortunate enough to require their services. The tie is not as good as WAGBI's though. The Swiss hate this 'death tourism' from the UK, and want to see the back of it. Specifically Dignitas providing their services to non-Swiss nationals. But whilst our 'envy of the world' system remains so broken, we should not touch so-called 'voluntary euthanasia' with a barge pole. Once again, we for some reason, allowed our health system to *stop* treating people with serious, but treatable illnesses in the pandemic and clapped for them. The rest of the world did the latter but not the former.

👆 This. People on here have obviously never been young, skint, and ran your ancient Fiesta out of fuel then? A fiesta, that incidentally, had a fuel gauge that seemed to work...occasionally. I always had a spare can with me...after a the first time I did that.

I do admire your idealised versions of things, I really do. But we all know it practice it would be different. We can't even get GP's to treat patients as part of their contracts in this country. Doctors about to go on strike, again, perfectly timed to give them the maximum time off over the Christmas period, and it's barely being talked about in the media. People will die, prematurely, as a result of this. What hope of 'sensible safeguards' and 'individuals right to choose' do we really, honestly have? I'd suggest somewhere between zero and none. Fix the basics in health care first, before we start ending people anymore than we already are. To Scully's point, I would agree, having a power of attorney in place before you lose your faculties ought to be legal requirement over the age of, say, 35. Wholehartedly seconded, even if my posts give the opposite impression

This is a contradiction in terms when it comes to giving the state the power to kill you. Correct, if guns, alcohol, or cars for that matter, had been invented yesterday, they wouldn't let us have them. No amount of safeguards will work in this case. Did you miss the last 3 years? The most fundamental, egregious removal of our civil liberties ('human rights' if you prefer), i.e. locking us in our homes unable to see our families, was done with little, if any, recourse to law. It simply happened, ministers made up rules, police enforced them brutally. Pensioners were all but executed because of one man's ego. Honestly, if you personally wish euthanasia as an option, you have the internet. Or, pay for dignitas membership and spend your last moments on an industrial estate outside Zuerich.

I think all of you are being naiive in the extreme - euthanasia is *not* about going the individual the power to decide, it's about giving the state the power to do so. Oh sure, it'll start with putting the poor **** with end-stage MND out of their misery, but it will end with pensioners getting on a bus to the clinic when their care goes over x amount on a spreadsheet. The "not if it's done properly/safeguards in place" arguments are as bunk as the "communism has never been done properly" heard so often in Student Union bars, and for the same reason. If that doesn't convince you, just what about the horrendous treatment of pensioners in care homes in the last 3 years has convinced you the medical establishment in this country should be given any more powers over life and death than they already have?

Oh hell no, not in this country. We are already prematurely killing off many hundreds a year due to the NHS not treating treatable cancers because it inconveniences them, do not give them the power officially to decide who lives or dies. It. Will. Be. Abused. See also: Netherlands, Canada, ad nauseum.

Would this be the 'expert' advice that said, and I quote: Which was an utter, blatant lie at the time and caused yet another over-reaction by government, resulting in needless suffering. Listening to these so-called experts is tantamount to criminal neglience, and it took far too long for Boris et al to grow a pair and tell them to sling their hook, IMHO. But of course we'll never know, because, once again, the terms of the inquiry preclude even asking these questions. What utter fraud. Mone is frankly a (doubtless welcome) distraction by comparison.

I know this is rather Mandy Rice-Davies ("Well they would say that, wouldn't they"), but I thought this video covered it rather elegantly re the Beeb's output.

You're only considering one subset of 'classic' owners. If you wish to be a 'rivet counter' - by all means, but that isn't only type of person who owns a classic. Restomods are definitely 'a thing' - that is making subtle improvements to make the car more drivable on a daily basis. In the case of Land Rovers, this generally consists of insulation and improving heater performance. Are they not 'proper' classic owners? Obviously, an EV conversion is taking that to, some would say, its illogical conclusion. But if a car ends up being driven more, and the drive train that is removed is used to keep other classics going, how is that not a win-win all round? In general terms, you're wrong. Plenty have been done. The battery pack enclosure is often a structural member in modern cars, true. But there are ways round that. Take a look at Superfast Matt's channel on Youtube, he's currently re-powering an ancient Jag with the innards of a Tesla.

We've already spent £100m on an inquiry whose terms of reference preclude even asking if lockdowns were wise or effective in the first place. I hope the chair, who was allowed to set the terms, gets a whole life term. And Valance and Whitty get the rope.

You've lost the battle on that one; I would move on if I were you. 🤣 Apparently, the original Star Trek at the time was considered rather 'woke'? Amongst other things, they had the first inter-racial kiss on screen. It's weird, my generation grew up watching 'Red Dwarf' in the 90s, at the time we barely noticed or cared that 2 of its lead cast were black/mixed-race actors, or that they did a male-female transition of another of the lead characters. Mostly because they were more interested in gags and story telling than 'messaging'. Yes; not that I've paid for its output in 5+ years, but everytime I see any (staying at parents, stuff online etc), it seems to me as though they find 95% of their audience contemptible ignoramuses who must be 'educated'...

That is an excellent analogy. Though, on thinking about it....I will say that the previous New Labour administration was death hired armies of civil servants and resulted in avalanches of legislation. Subsequent governments have barely slowed that down. The public sector is now so bloated and full of openly-Labour supporters that there's no stopping 'the blob', only diverting its attention and reacting to consultations. When we're inevitably dragged, kicking and screaming, back into the ponzi scheme that is the EU, they'll be so busy trying to work out how legislation they've invented marries up with the EU stuff (that other member states continue to ignore unless convenient) that we might even get break. My that's depressing for a Monday morning. 🤣 Back on topic, JP is becoming a bit of a parody of himself. He's got some good advice for young men going through an educational environment that actively seems to hate them. But beyond that, I find his analysis of politics occasionally spot on, occasionally wildly off. But I suppose he is also the product of his environment, i.e. the 'progressive' hell-scape that is Canadian Politics with that Blair 2.0 creature, ****-eau. I assume you mean his new-found enthusiasm for the 'mythology' in the book of Genesis?

This, amazing how many people look through layers and layers of dross and complain about glare or their own headlights being dim.

DeLorean with a flux capacitor is usually the best bet. I'll get me coat.

The older I get, the more sympathy I have with Peter Hitchens' viewpoint (on this topic only) viz. "what war on drugs?" - there appears to be minimal effort expended to catch and punish drug dealers and users. As for the USA - broad brush strokes. When I was most recently in the Republic of California (admittedly Jan 2020) I saw the effects drug abuse in general and fentanyl in particular was having. Just across the border in Arizona, it was like a different world. Aesop and his famous quote springs to mind...

Fixed that for you 🤣

Watching this thread with interest as I might be in the market soon. Not wishing to drag this thread too much off topic, but I predict there may be a glut of threads like this, if the "Online Safety Bill" is enacted as its currently written, it's going to be like the GDPR fallout, only worse. A lot of foreign sites will simply choose to block UK IP addresses, rather than doing the work of complying.

Have you been in Bristol recently? Avon & Somerset seem to be actively ignoring these things, and the crime they facilitate. Someone will be killed soon. For some bizarre reason the government is complicit in allowing their use on pavements. They need to be treated as any other vehicle, licence plates, on roads only, third party insurance minimum. Helmet and high viz compulsory at all times.

If I had a pound (in cash) for every time the some of the older members of our DIY syndicate turned up completely unprepared at work parties, it'd cover a round of drinks at the end of season meal. No knife, no water on hot days or anything to keep the sun off. For the sake of your personal security, I strongly recommend you refrain from this practice. At the least withdraw your cash from an ATM in a well lit area.

Did he never tell you the joke then? Ahem...

Does this table help? Should help you narrow down the date of manufacture anyway. I know you have a proof date, but of course those can differ. So, you should be seeing 'AD' stamped on the barrel somewhere if it is indeed a '78 model.