So just in order to be clear that we got the sentencing right – how many hours of motorway closure are equivalent to burning a refuge full of asylum seekers?

None. Not all things are equal, or binary.

It costs a fortune to reopen a motorway, both in Police/Highways Agency costs, but also to the overall economy. It’s in the region of £2m for a few hours of closure for the direct overheads; if it’s a premeditated closure then the financial impact will (presumably) have a result at sentencing. Rioters tend to be planning ahead a little less, I’d imagine.

It’s the same at football grounds in this country, when you get a wobbly plastic bottle…

Always have a spare screw top in your pocket for that reason. Saves a fortune in not being kicked over when things get exciting, but then again maybe not at OT.

There was indeed, at the Vuelta. Annemiek van Vleuten attacked when SD Worx decided to stop for a comfort break; SD Worx had done the same the day before to Movistar, so it wasn’t as simple as Vollering was implying.
I miss AvV for the absolute joy of watching her fired up and on a mission!

Get the orginal floor tool, and enjoy cheap, fuss-free vacuuming for another 20 years.

Absolute carnage at the end of stage 5!

True. They probably stopped at Tebay services for an overpriced beaker of gruel.

Yeah, great finish to a really exciting stage. So pleased for Puck!

“That is not funny”.

Much like Tory policy on the economy, immigration, Brexit, education, the NHS and, well everything, we’ll have to agree to disagree, Liz.

Possibly, but going back 30 years to the examples of non-telescopic forks in those days makes me wonder if it’s just a design cul-de-sac.
Telescopic forks work well enough, I suppose.

A pork pie. One of those big ones.

I don’t know what the outcome was supposed to be, but I remember the horror well.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/08/jack-karlson-dies-succulent-chinese-meal-death-democracy-manifest-dead-aged-82

“And you, sir, are you waiting to receive my limp penis?”… “ta ta and farewell”.

Spokes rubbing where the pattern crosses over? Dab of chain oil on that point if so.

An intellectual heavyweight explains the situation

Bless. They can always leave if they don’t like it.

I don’t want locks on my doors either, and I’d like to leave my bike outside the shops knowing it’ll be there when I get back.
As is obvious at the moment, society is a mixed bag.

If you’re burgled or the dog is stolen you’re insured, no? Often there’s little to no argument.
It’s a different scenario if a road user puts you in harm’s way through no fault of your own; you’ll need to prove no wrongdoing on your part, and from (sore) experience, the Police and insurers aren’t sympathetic. A camera can help to validate your version of events.

We had a sensible debate nationally, with a result at the polls last month; a section of society – whipped up by certain characters – refuses to accept the path the country is now on. They lost, so they’ve got to get over it, right?
Can’t remember many riots and acts of thuggery in 2016 as a result of that collective decision. If knuckle-draggers don’t get what they want, they’ll kick & scream for it.

The school holidays also coincide with the summer break from football. All those firms not getting to meet up for cordial drinks and a game of chess or backgammon must be a bit bored.

I’m not implying that all of the throbbers involved are members of football firms, but I’d be amazed if there aren’t the usual suspects well known to match-day Police in the mix; worth remembering that the EDL formed as a result of members of the Luton Town firm.

Money often seems to be the driving force of a lot of the vitriol I see and hear – from refugees getting free hotel rooms/cars/houses at UK taxpayer’s expense, to not being able to get a dentist appointment, all because there’s not enough money for people ‘who belong here’.
If the same people waste their disposable income on grifters like Farage, then when it all goes wrong they’ll be demanding his head on a platter. Money is their obsession, plainly not spending it on ‘others’.

Gloucestershire is very much in the South West; both geographically and for BBC purposes (there’s an overlap with Midlands Today historically due to early transmitter strength, but Points West is the primary coverage – it very much isn’t classed by the Beeb as Midlands).
Can also confirm that the FoD is all in the South West.

p.s. I’d go for Malvern.

I’ll be very, very happy & relieved to revisit those posts above in a few months time if he doesn’t get elected, and give respect where it’s due.

I’m really not so sure, however.

You can’t claim Job Seekers on remand, innit.

Yep, it’s appalling.

Yet he did almost the same thing to Obama and still got elected. He’s tapping into the emotive gutter voter; he’s saying what they’re thinking and saying themselves, and he’s been bigly successful in their eyes. He’s a white* billionaire*.

The trick is to create a false narrative and go after the people who swallow it whole, much like Reform over here. It’s binary politics, but it’s effective if left unchecked or unchallenged by a mass media muzzled or even controlled.

Ah, Newton Heath. Where the Huguenots escaped to after fleeing persecution on mainland Europe in the 16th century, bringing with them their advanced cotton & linen weaving skills, which lead to the textile mills. As worked in by the Irish immigrants that up to half of all Mancunians are related to.
It’s a funny old world.

I Want Your Lunch

The Lunchcats

Lunch Bites

Lunch Buzz

Lunch Don’t Cost a Thing

Lunch is in the Air

Lunchfool

Munchies for your Lunch

Lunch Will Tear Us Apart

I’d argue that there are some very clever, manipulative people preying on some less intelligent, frustrated, often scared people.

The internet is a prime example of something promising so much, but being so insidious in action.

Pidcock moment of the race for me was leaving the pits with a bottle in his mouth, going full throttle, and then clearing the drop off & jump still clenching the bottle in his teeth. Chapeau!

https://x.com/VelonCC/status/1817954468060635394

Great race, brilliant battle for the win by Pidcock and Koretzky, but (slightly) tarnished by unsporting behaviour from the audience at the finish line. Fair enough if you’re upset that the home rider didn’t win, or you don’t understand the rules, but it’s an Olympic final; show some deference.

Looks like a bumper:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-spares/shimano-deore-xt-rdm8100-bumper-y3fw50000/

Edit: as above!

I’d say it’s utterly understandable.

To be played *loud* once you’ve got your house (& life) back:

I’d be spending tomorrow ordering a new mattress and bedding for the guest room. Must be a biohazard in there?

It’s as if someone (tried) describing the plot of The Handmaid’s Tale to Trump, and he thought “Great idea! Bigly great!”.

Warms the cockles to think those people vox-popped at the start get one vote as well, isnt it?

I’ve never believed that enough change will happen in the UK towards car-culture to make cycling truly safe, but lately I’ve become almost defeatist in thinking that urban roads are pretty much lost to the majority of people on bikes for utilitarian usage.

If Pog and Vingegaard are doping then I’d be very, very sad for the sport. If G doped to win I’d be devastated to the point of throwing in the towel with ever believing in a sportsperson; it isn’t likely, right?

Plastic spider (a big one) in one of the tubs.

For clarity, have the walls been replastered? If it’s fresh plaster then mist coat (watered-down base coat) or it’ll absorb all your basecoat and nice paint. I’d wait for the plaster to dry fully, of course.

Old plaster: basecoat and get the desired colour on as requested by SWMBO.

When I’m at a workplace I assume I’m being monitored, for performance, safety and to identify any wrongdoing should it occur. CCTV is a part of that.

I’ve never seen that as anything other than part & parcel of work and the transaction that comes with it: I want paying for my work; they want the security of being able to check things are OK. If things go wrong, it’s an insurance policy of sorts. It’s been 30 years, so I don’t know any different, to be honest.
I don’t subscribe to the ‘I’ve got nothing to hide’ concept per se, but like having a dashcam, it can change some behaviour.
I can well imagine that there are some industries or workplaces where it would be verging on impossible to be implemented – like healthcare, due to privacy and sensitivity issues for patients. It could, however, remove a lot of malpractice if installed. Some high-profile cases would be resolved almost immediately.

Vuelta instead?

You could combine that with living life on the edging.

Think a camera or two got me

Where’s that platinum level like button when you need it?

Glad to see the system works; people driving who are unable or unwilling to control a vehicle get caught out instead of far worse consequences, including for those on bicycles. I’d call that a win.

As for the England/Wales thing; there’s plenty of 20mph in England, so hand in your licence or get it taken off you, but adapt either way.