Kevin Turvey – a mood and an accent – was great.
He was head and shoulders above all his contemporaries. His comic movement and timing was completely natural, Lee Evans comes close but you get the impression he still has to work at it.

So I’ve been single before but seems like I have no mates left,

All my old school and uni mates are hooked up now, so I rarely see them. But its easy enough to make new ones – in my case, I just spent productive time in local real ale pubs.

Now most my regular mates are quite a bit older, with no young kids to worry about, and either divorced or have Mrs that are quite happy for them to be out of the house down the pub. Also, you get better advice as they’ve seen it and got the T-shirt.

Good luck to you.

They have a xmas dinner for the elderly and alone at nearby school to me. Its a good laugh, well organised, and no shortage of volunteers…what gets to me is why arent these events on throughout the whole year rather than xmas, like once a month.

At home in bed dark room hungover

I think Russia has learnt the mistakes from the 90s crisis period, and on the whole it is a far stronger country (the economy is 10 times bigger than in 91 for a start), with a far stronger leader. Putin will do whatever it takes to stabilise the currency, but in the longer term they need to encourage the small business sector and get Russians reproducing, as they are a dying people.

From bed, soon to go downstairs and write a report, then off to xmas do.

Pretty much done for the year just need to finish a couple of short reports.

Yes but only because it’s a shared office, so I don’t actually work with anyone there, so they don’t piss me off.

Started new job, pretty much doubled my income, although you wouldn’t think that looking at my savings account.
Put on some dinner.
Traveled Italy and Croatia in the summer. Didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Did bugger-all riding, overall.

They’ve picked Birmingham as it would cause a reaction and get them more publicity to hawk their shite lists.

The old mother’s ruin eh. I’d recommend Chase. Never drink cheap gin – it will make you sick as a dog.

Sorry to hear about the bikes, I had a beloved town bike stolen last night.
The insurers will replace it with a newer model, but I’m in two minds, as a new bike will be even more nickable than the last one.

Clarkson surely!

Crap night last night, bike was nicked, and car broke down.
Shouldn’t have left the house.

Used to live just up the road from Gees, although never ate there, it’s a very nice spot for a formal do.

Heavy rain in Hertfordshire all day, not even a nineteenth-century Welsh Baptist minister would walk out in this.
Staying in: reading, five live, writing.

if they ascribed to certain brands of Islam, they could take female sex slaves. treat their wives to a barrage of misogyny and battery and also kill anyone who disagrees with them including leftists, greens, feminists, politically correct types etc etc.

What a politically incorrect depiction of the Muslim faith that is!

Good thread.

I have sent a copy of my book to Mr Hitchens in the past! Although when I wrote it I was still something of an unreformed cultural marxist (without really knowing it).

As with olddog I’m off for a couple of shandies, have a good evening chaps.

Why would anyone, apart from a very specific, painfully narrow demographic, not be hostile to ‘conservative culture’*?

I wouldn’t equate conservative culture with the idea of a small ruling aristocracy.

Working class people in the 1950s were for the most part conservative in terms of cultural issues; people throughout human history have generally preferred conservative culture and lifestyles (heterosexual marriage, the raising of children in families, a negative attitude to sexual promiscuity, and a preference to live in substantially un-diversified communities).

You should talk to someone properly left wing – they see state educational as a way of training the next generation of workers to be obedient and conformist.

I’d argue left-wing politics has moved into a more subtle area, that is cultural politics (promotion of diversity, sex education/permissiveness, along with choosing to study a historical narrative that undermines British culture) rather than economics these days.

I used to like the old school Marxists like Christopher Hill, who were explicit about their economic aims. My supervisor, who had studied under Hill, had largely abandoned traditional economic marxism in the 80s, whilst embracing political correctness and the diversity agenda, which included a very hostile attitude to what he called conservative culture.

I’d search further, but I have to go and chant CND slogans at some first years.

Ofsted inspection?

Binners, how dare you Sir!

Disgusted, Tunbridge Wells.

As I said, until the last few years… Recent policies have pushed teachers toward Labour, but historically it’s been pretty much on a par with the national levels.

Please send a link to a survey which proves your point.

Actually, on reflection, 12% does seem a tad high.

But, you know, facts and that.

A new YouGov poll for the NUT (based on a representative sample of 826 teachers) shows that just 12% would vote Conservative in a general election, compared to 43% for Labour and 6% for the Lib Dems.

Looking forward to your reply, chap.

I’d hardly say it was controversial to label state education a left-wing project, that was certainly my experience of it.

Oh yes, I should have added, the system also teaches how to label anyone who disagrees with the diversity consensus, mentally insane and/or racist.

“Cultural development” as Ofsted term it, is essentially left-wing political indoctrination, hence the public reaction to this particular episode.
All of the grinding cogs in the state education machine tend towards left-wing, egalitarian politics. The teaching union, Ofsted, and the teachers are all working to churn out politically correct youngsters who will rally to support anti-conservative causes, especially multi-culturalism.

edlong makes an excellent point.
Frankly, I’m fed-up propping up the British pub industry by myself, so I’m hoping CAMRA continues campaigning and attracting new drinkers to take the strain. 🙂

Also Jeremy Vine appears to wear a helmet cam!

Yep, we just can’t get enough Jeremy.

The Telegraph is becoming more Daily Mail insofar as it features lots of celebrity trash, but it’s actually anti-UKIP. It’s got pro-Cameron editors and they’ve sacked UKIP sympathisers like James Delingpole and Ed West. All the new pen-pushers are writing anti-UKIP articles.

You are Peter Hitchins

There’s only one Peter Hitchins! One Peter Hiiiiiiiiitttccheeens!

Ofsted is a disastrous organisation run by left-wing bullyboy and bullygirl educationalists. They are participating in the Marxist Adorno’s long march through the institutions. This is an admittedly subtle example of the diversity agenda which the left wants to enforce on the country at large to undermine traditional values.

If you lived now like your grandparents had to live just to survive, then you would be well off, i.e. save a third of income, pay off your mortgage, avoid expensive habits, don’t take on debt.
But if we all lived like that are consumer-debt based economy would collapse.

The Circle of Life re STW
Your 20s – desperate to find a more attractive girl that wants to be with you
Your 30s – increasingly bored with the once attractive girl, who no longer wants to be with you
Your 40s – cleaned out and bitter by divorce

Conclusion: stay single.

As others have said, most people under 40 will be working until they drop.

I studied English at UEA, which has a famous creative writing Masters course.
People I knew on the course said different things, but they all believed being on the course would increase their chances of getting published.
I think there is a creative writing course at Bath.

Ideally no more trips on the M25 after today!

Must book myself in, need a bit of a challenge plus I have lived in hertford for the last seven years so no excuse.

I usually lose interest this time of year havent ridden much in 2014 overall.