Friday, 7 January 2022
george orwell was correct and levelling up
Meanwhile, l wonder what attracted the 'third' wife to multi millionaire 8th Viscount Taking the Piss
Wednesday, 5 January 2022
a reminder of covid levels
So we have to get driven to hospitals ourselves when having heart attacks, Nightingale hospitals are being built (with no staff) while others declare critical incidents, and Boris says we will do nothing at the moment, despite his own parties information about when measures should be taken.
Can't wait to see the figures in another couple of weeks or so, but l suspect The Tories will use the NHS not being able to cope as an excuse for why it needs to be privatised.
Thursday, 30 December 2021
Monday, 27 December 2021
this is england
No wonder l would rather class myself as Scouse or European than English.
Saturday, 25 December 2021
Friday, 24 December 2021
the hypocritical tories
A reminder that this is one of the many Tories who voted against feeding the poor kids in summer, and that's without stating the bleeding obvious that a rich country like ours should be disgraced by having food banks in the first place.
Merry Christmas!
Toodle pip
Tuesday, 21 December 2021
time to relax
I've sorted out pretty much all of my presents, posted my cards, have today and Friday off work and can now relax.
Excellent!
the new backpack
As our glorious leader Boris says he won't hesitate to take action as he quite literally hesitates to take action, I'm expecting lockdown just after Christmas (as he's probably too cowardly to do so beforehand).
I may have to take up hiking in the wild to escape the madness, but need to get one of these backpacks sorted first.
Monday, 20 December 2021
Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch - I WANNA BE YOUR DOG
This confirms I must be getting old, as, despite the obvious distractions, l spent most of the video marvelling at how easy it was to play on guitar, as it's one of my favourite songs.
Toodle pip
Sunday, 19 December 2021
mop top belgian canaries
After watching (and loving) the recent Peter Jackson 'Get Back' Beatles documentary, l now have a yearning to get myself some Belgian canaries
Saturday, 18 December 2021
protect yourself from the kkk
The way it's going, we won't have to wait have to wait too long until these sort of posters will have to be printed in the UK.
In fact we probably need them already, before it's too late.
Toodle pip
Friday, 17 December 2021
mr parrot's brothers seem to have turned up
I've always wondered what happened to Mr Parrot's brothers.
Now l've got a pretty good idea.
Monday, 29 November 2021
Friday, 26 November 2021
peter jackson's beatles get back documentary and the guardian review
I've seen the first two parts so far (plus the Peter Jackson appearance on the 'Things We Said Today' podcast, so that's been about 9 hours of Beatles watching in the last couple of days, with more to follow tomorrow, and l could happily sit through many more hours if they were made available.
Some great scenes already shown include more from the Paul / George falling out, Paul welling up ('and then there were three'), the moving end to part one, and seeing 'Get Back' slowly arriving from the musical gods Paul was in touch with at that time.
Obviously critics can have their own opinions, and either think it's manna from heaven, or boring hippie crap that should have been condensed into a shorter film, and l have no issue with that (although l am always right).
However, what does bug me (amongst many other things) is when they don't know what they are talking about. Such as the piece below from Jonathan Freedman in The Guardian, a paper l usually have a lot of time for, who states in his article it's a shame The Beatles didn't continue for at least a little longer and produce more.
I guess he has never heard of the Abbey Road album they recorded after these sessions and rooftop performance.
Full article is here
Bloody youngsters!!!
the earth without water
Can't imagine what The Earth would look like without water?
Imagine no more.
Toodle pip
the new health costs and mr parrot's got another job
It's the Tories behaving like Tories - What else could you expect?
And as for the MP's making extra money from second jobs, l think my parrot has been sneaking off while l' at work and doing the same
Monday, 22 November 2021
PISTON - LET US RISE - (Official Music Video 2020)
Also at Newcastle Cluny last Friday as support for Bad Touch. A top night out.
Bad Touch ft. Mollie Marriott - Baby Get It On (Official Video)
Went to see these at Newcastle Cluny last Friday, and they were excellent. Catch them if you can.
Monday, 15 November 2021
causes of death in 1632 london
Some of the causes of death here are just baffling. Teeth??? Planet???
And don't get me started on the unlucky 46 people that were killed by 'Several Accidents'.
peter jackson's get back beatles documentary is nearly here!
To say l am looking forward to the Peter Jackson Beatles Get Back Documentary at the end of the month would be something of a massive understatement. Here's the poster.
Toodle pip
jurgen klopp speaks sense
Jurgen Klopp might be the manager of Liverpool, a team l always want to see beaten, but he talks a lot of sense, especially here, although he could also have included Trump.
Toodle pip
Ames Window illusion with pen
This is still amazing after seeing it for years. Never trust your brain!
toodle pip
Tuesday, 26 October 2021
Sunday, 24 October 2021
Monday, 18 October 2021
sir david amess, hate, lies, yellowhammer, brexit, covid and the national minimum wage
As the debate rages about whether politicians require more protection following the killing of Sir David Amess, it might be worthwhile considering how all the hate and disenchantment is stoked. It will come as no surprise, bur possibly with the likes of the following. It would be impossible to shield and protect ministers when they are out and about, so maybe we should try cutting down on the hate speech and preaching for a better and just society instead, with a lot less naked corruption thrown in for good measure.
Remember, the Conservatives did not have one member that voted in favour of the National Minimum Wage in 1997
Meanwhile, there is at last a couple of good news items!! The governments own Yellowhammer Brexit predictions has nearly got the full card completed. Should soon be time for the disorder part.
Plus we are still top of the Covid cases league! Take that Johnny Foreigner!!
Toodle pip
Friday, 8 October 2021
the spirit of britain and uplifting foodbanks
I'd like to unleash something on Boris. Fucking twat.
Does he and his supporters actually realise the Conservatives have been in power for the last 11 years?
More empty rhetoric that means nothing, while the country goes to the dogs and the rich get richer.
Toodle pip
Monday, 4 October 2021
bird photographer of the year 2021
Some impressive photographs from the Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 competition. More winning photos and details of the pics can be found here
samuel earle nails it in the new york times
An excellent piece by Samuel Earle in The New York Times that pretty much nails the current situation
LONDON — Long lines outside gas stations. Panicked drivers fighting one another as the pumps run dry. Soldiers deployed to distribute fuel across the country. And in the background, the pandemic stretching on, food rotting in fields and families sinking into poverty. This is Britain in 2021.
Not long ago, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted all pandemic restrictions in July, the mood across the country was cautiously optimistic. A successful vaccine rollout had finally restored cherished freedoms to daily life: visiting friends and family in their homes, socializing with strangers, eating in restaurants. Cases of the virus continued to multiply, but the number of hospitalizations and deaths fell markedly. The nightmare, it seemed, was over.
But any sense of normality has been banished in the past few weeks. A dramatic fuel crisis, which has been caused in large part by a lack of truck drivers and at its peak forced around a third of all gas stations to close, is only the most glaring concern.
A convergence of problems — a global gas shortage, rising energy and food prices, supply-chain issues and the Conservatives’ decision to slash welfare — has cast the country’s future in darkness. Even Mr. Johnson, known for his boosterish optimism and bonhomie, has struggled to make light of the situation.
The panic of the past week, which recalled old memories (and myths) about the tumultuous late 1970s, was a long time coming. For many months, industry leaders across the economy have warned about chronic labor shortages — of truck drivers, yes, but also fruit pickers, meat processors, waiters and health care workers — disrupting supply chains and impeding businesses.
The signs of breakdown are everywhere: empty shelves in supermarkets, food going to waste in fields, more and more vacancy posters tacked to the windows of shops and restaurants. Meat producers have even called on the government to let them hire prisoners to plug the gap.
One of the main causes of this predicament is Brexit, or at least the government’s handling of Brexit. Britain’s protracted departure from the bloc, undertaken without any real effort by Mr. Johnson to ensure a smooth transition, led to an exodus of European workers — a process then compounded by the pandemic. As many as 1.3 million overseas nationals left Britain between July 2019 and September 2020.
Yet as it became clear that Britain faced substantial shortages in labor, the Conservatives refused to respond. They bloviated, calling it a “manufactured situation.” They prevaricated, assuring the public there was nothing to worry about. And, seeing the chance to recast their negligence as benevolence, they claimed their failure to act was because they wanted companies to pay British workers more instead of rely on cheap foreign labour.
This alibi for inaction is unconvincing. In the Netherlands, for example, new legislation has improved the pay and working conditions for truck drivers. In Britain, conditions remain among the worst in Europe. The government’s belated response — offering 5,000 temporary visas for drivers from E.U. nations — is too little, too late.
Instead of higher wages, the British public has so far encountered only higher prices. Inflation has risen faster than at any point since 1997, and the climbing price of gas globally is placing further strain on people’s lives, making energy more expensive than anywhere else in Europe.
Whereas other governments, in Spain and Italy, have ensured that struggling families are protected from rising costs, the Conservatives have offered no such clemency. Three million households in Britain already live in fuel poverty, made to choose between heating and eating in the winter. After the Conservatives raise a cap on energy prices in October, that number is expected to increase by half a million.
Mr. Johnson nonetheless claims to have given British Conservatism a kinder face. He speaks rousingly of “leveling up” and “turbocharging” left-behind communities. But the behavior of his government suggests otherwise.
On Sept. 30, it ended a program that compensated people for up to 80 percent of lost income during the pandemic. And on Oct. 6, the Conservatives will cut Universal Credit, Britain’s all-encompassing welfare program, by 20 pounds, or $27, a week — just when more people than ever rely on it. The largest single reduction to the welfare state in British history, it’s forecast to push half a million more people below the poverty line, including 200,000 children. (A newly announced winter hardship fund worth £500 million, or $678 million, will do little to soften a cut 12 times its size.)
This grim confluence, from fuel shortages to spiraling poverty, has been described by many as a perfect storm. Yet the metaphor erases the active role the Conservatives — and in particular, the prime minister — have played in orchestrating these foreboding conditions. The bleak winter ahead is of their making.
But Mr. Johnson is unlikely to bear the consequences of his actions. His government, resting on a large majority, remains secure. And for him, crises are always opportunities. A master shape-shifter, unburdened by any sense of accountability or honesty, he thrives in conditions of adversity. The rest of the country won’t be so lucky.
german national day cartoon
To mark the German National day (Oct 3rd) which celebrates East and West Germany unification in 1990.
The travel agents cartoon translates as 'For the day of unity we recommend trips to empty British supermarkets so you can feel you are in East Germany again'
Makes you proud to be British. Sunny uplands ahoy!
Toodle pip
Sunday, 3 October 2021
men's health - the keith richards way
At last!! A men's health magazine l can get behind!! Get fit the Keith Richards way!!
Tankus the Henge - god, oil, money (Official Music Video)
Went to see Tankus the Henge at The Cluny a couple of days ago and they were excellent. If you're looking for a New Orleans type band mixed with Tom Waits and Dexy's Midnight Runners (with added Paolo Nutini) this is the band to see.
Check them out at their website here
Toodle pip
camille rainville nails how ladies should behave
The best bit of writing regarding the recent killings of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa and how ladies 'should behave'.
It's by Camille Rainville and from her blog, which is here
Be a lady they said. Your skirt is too short. Your shirt is too low. Your pants are too tight. Don’t show so much skin. Don’t show your thighs. Don’t show your breasts. Don’t show your midriff. Don’t show your cleavage. Don’t show your underwear. Don’t show your shoulders. Cover up. Leave something to the imagination. Dress modestly. Don’t be a temptress. Men can’t control themselves. Men have needs. You look frumpy. Loosen up. Show some skin. Look sexy. Look hot. Don’t be so provocative. You’re asking for it. Wear black. Wear heels. You’re too dressed up. You’re too dressed down. Don’t wear those sweatpants; you look like you’ve let yourself go.
Be a lady they said. Don’t be too fat. Don’t be too thin. Don’t be too large. Don’t be too small. Eat up. Slim down. Stop eating so much. Don’t eat too fast. Order a salad. Don’t eat carbs. Skip dessert. You need to lose weight. Fit into that dress. Go on a diet. Watch what you eat. Eat celery. Chew gum. Drink lots of water. You have to fit into those jeans. God, you look like a skeleton. Why don’t you just eat? You look emaciated. You look sick. Eat a burger. Men like women with some meat on their bones. Be small. Be light. Be little. Be petite. Be feminine. Be a size zero. Be a double zero. Be nothing. Be less than nothing.
Be a lady they said. Remove your body hair. Shave your legs. Shave your armpits. Shave your bikini line. Wax your face. Wax your arms. Wax your eyebrows. Get rid of your mustache. Bleach this. Bleach that. Lighten your skin. Tan your skin. Eradicate your scars. Cover your stretch marks. Tighten your abs. Plump your lips. Botox your wrinkles. Lift your face. Tuck your tummy. Thin your thighs. Tone your calves. Perk up your boobs. Look natural. Be yourself. Be genuine. Be confident. You’re trying too hard. You look overdone. Men don’t like girls who try too hard.
Be a lady they said. Wear makeup. Prime your face. Conceal your blemishes. Contour your nose. Highlight your cheekbones. Line your lids. Fill in your brows. Lengthen your lashes. Color your lips. Powder, blush, bronze, highlight. Your hair is too short. Your hair is too long. Your ends are split. Highlight your hair. Your roots are showing. Dye your hair. Not blue, that looks unnatural. You’re going grey. You look so old. Look young. Look youthful. Look ageless. Don’t get old. Women don’t get old. Old is ugly. Men don’t like ugly.
Be a lady they said. Save yourself. Be pure. Be virginal. Don’t talk about sex. Don’t flirt. Don’t be a skank. Don’t be a whore. Don’t sleep around. Don’t lose your dignity. Don’t have sex with too many men. Don’t give yourself away. Men don’t like sluts. Don’t be a prude. Don’t be so up tight. Have a little fun. Smile more. Pleasure men. Be experienced. Be sexual. Be innocent. Be dirty. Be virginal. Be sexy. Be the cool girl. Don’t be like the other girls.
Be a lady they said. Don’t talk too loud. Don’t talk too much. Don’t take up space. Don’t sit like that. Don’t stand like that. Don’t be intimidating. Why are you so miserable? Don’t be a bitch. Don’t be so bossy. Don’t be assertive. Don’t overact. Don’t be so emotional. Don’t cry. Don’t yell. Don’t swear. Be passive. Be obedient. Endure the pain. Be pleasing. Don’t complain. Let him down easy. Boost his ego. Make him fall for you. Men want what they can’t have. Don’t give yourself away. Make him work for it. Men love the chase. Fold his clothes. Cook his dinner. Keep him happy. That’s a woman’s job. You’ll make a good wife some day. Take his last name. You hyphenated your name? Crazy feminist. Give him children. You don’t want children? You will some day. You’ll change your mind.
Be a lady they said. Don’t get raped. Protect yourself. Don’t drink too much. Don’t walk alone. Don’t go out too late. Don’t dress like that. Don’t show too much. Don’t get drunk. Don’t leave your drink. Have a buddy. Walk where it is well lit. Stay in the safe neighborhoods. Tell someone where you’re going. Bring pepper spray. Buy a rape whistle. Hold your keys like a weapon. Take a self-defense course. Check your trunk. Lock your doors. Don’t go out alone. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t bat your eyelashes. Don’t look easy. Don’t attract attention. Don’t work late. Don’t crack dirty jokes. Don’t smile at strangers. Don’t go out at night. Don’t trust anyone. Don’t say yes. Don’t say no.
Just “be a lady” they said.
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