The Night Mail

[Winslow Boy]

9 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I did that today. Also some light pruning of a climbing rose, after careful instruction. Instructions, as in which bits to cut rather than don’t fall off the ladder. The rose is called “The Generous Gardener “ , I don’t think there is a “Generous Horticulturist” yet. 

Oh I'm certain they'll get round to it just give it time.

 

I'm surprised there isn't one called the Gardeners Assistant.

 

Ps the above statement can be used in a variety of situations, however it is copyrighted and if you wish to use it a fee must be paid to the 'Shed with no name' fund

Edited July 9 by Winslow Boy

[iL Dottore]

13 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

The Grauniad had a good story yesterday about some Reform candidates being bogus names, i.e. the candidate didn't actually exist, or wasn't involved in campaigning, meaning they didn't turn up at the count. I think one 'candidate' was actually dead. This should run and run nicely. It fits w their leader not turning up at Westminster on the first day of term, where helpful staff showed other newbies the ropes. 

 

Inevitably a number of new MPs from distant parts arrived by train, and Avanti got it on the neck for cancellations .... Sherry's new MP was pictured at Newton Abbot complete with guide-dog, ready to board GWR. 

Errr, not quite.

 

The Grauniad said "there is no evidence any of the candidates are fake" and "A Reform source said: “All our candidates are categorically real. Given the rush, a few are just paper candidates and didn’t campaign. Some people began as paper candidates but then did campaign, and one of these – James McMurdock in South Basildon and East Thurrock – ended up winning his seat.” as well as "The Guardian has also learned that one Reform candidate suspected of being fake, in part because his official election photo looked AI-generated, is a real person" not to mention "The Clapham and Brixton Hill candidate said he missed the election count because he had pneumonia".

 

Nor have I found any mention in any news feed of Farage not turning up on the first day.

 

By all means voice your support (or opposition) for one team or another, but at least keep it factual

 

 

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

There is a story doing the rounds to the effect that the tourists who appear in the news footage of the new PM entering Downing St. were looking for the Trooping of the Colour, cancelled because of the General Election. 

Unlike Blair who bussed the "supporters" from place to place on his arrival as pm day, some weren't even supporters at all, but were paid actors, because they wanted the project a mix of supporters that doesn't in fact exist.

[Oldddudders]

21 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Errr, not quite.

 

The Grauniad said "there is no evidence any of the candidates are fake" and "A Reform source said: “All our candidates are categorically real. Given the rush, a few are just paper candidates and didn’t campaign. Some people began as paper candidates but then did campaign, and one of these – James McMurdock in South Basildon and East Thurrock – ended up winning his seat.” as well as "The Guardian has also learned that one Reform candidate suspected of being fake, in part because his official election photo looked AI-generated, is a real person" not to mention "The Clapham and Brixton Hill candidate said he missed the election count because he had pneumonia".

 

Nor have I found any mention in any news feed of Farage not turning up on the first day.

 

By all means voice your support (or opposition) for one team or another, but at least keep it factual

 

 

I will let others decide what the Guardian said, although the fact that other parties are taken an interest is significant.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/08/reform-uk-under-pressure-to-prove-all-its-candidates-were-real-people

 

Nigel Farage was in Clacton yesterday. 

[ian@stenochs]

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

Well, it worked for Starmer.

 

Stick the right colour rosette for the safe seat on to a penguin and it"d get elected.

 

The secret is to get the votes in those areas that are not full of party faithful.

 

It didn’t work for the SNP here in Scotland!
 

 

[Compound2632]

18 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I will let others decide what the Guardian said

 

Surely 'what the Guardian said' is a matter of fact (per the link) not something for others to decide? We're getting into dangerously post-truth thought here!

[polybear]

18 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I will let others decide what the Guardian said, although the fact that other parties are taken an interest is significant.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/08/reform-uk-under-pressure-to-prove-all-its-candidates-were-real-people

 

Nigel Farage was in Clacton yesterday. 

 

With all the checks they make now (photo iD etc.) to ensure people are entitled to vote I'd be most surprised if they didn't make similar (if not far more extensive) checks to ensure Candidates (a) existed, and (b) were actually entitled to stand for election.

[Happy Hippo]

20 minutes ago, ian@stenochs said:

 

It didn’t work for the SNP here in Scotland!
 

 

That's because they  used cockroaches instead of penguins

[Compound2632]

11 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Well, it worked for Starmer.

 

Stick the right colour rosette for the safe seat on to a penguin and it"d get elected.

 

The secret is to get the votes in those areas that are not full of party faithful.

 

Which, you may not have noticed, is exactly what Labour did - recognising that safe seats are few and far between. The Labour vote increased most in those seats where the electorate came to the conclusion that they were better-placed to defeat the Conservative than was the Liberal Democrat. 

 

But it is true that Labour was helped generally by former Conservative voters staying at home or voting Reform; it's that that will be the challenge at the next general election and why the new government is very keen to be seen to be delivering good government.

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

 

With all the checks they make now (photo iD etc.) to ensure people are entitled to vote I'd be most surprised if they didn't make similar (if not far more extensive) checks to ensure Candidates (a) existed, and (b) were actually entitled to stand for election.

Electoral offences do get followed up. A previous local MP was found guilty and got six months suspended for irregularities in collecting signatures for the nomination process for an elected position. 
I did wonder why political parties put up “paper candidates “, real people who don’t bother to campaign or even visit the constituency. It is to do with “Short Money” which is distributed to help opposition parties with expenses, so,even if you only get one or two MPs your total vote share (and money) is increased by paper candidates. If the winner doesn’t take their seat and swear the oath they can’t have Short Money but there is another fund available. 

[rockershovel]

Generally speaking, I find the Guardian to be the source of some quite good journalism - particularly their "long form" pieces - although they certainly aren't impartial. I wouldn't regard any part of the Daily Press as impartial, nor would I regard this as any particular secret. 

 

The Telegraph have spent the last few years in the fools' errand of trying to give a coherent account of the thinking of the late Conservative administration. They also appear to have paid off all their sub-editors. I'm very disappointed in the standards now prevailing at this once-distinguished organ.

 

I dont read The Times these days. 

 

The BBC are an embarrassment. They are publicly funded and under a legal obligation to be impartial. 

 

 

[Compound2632]

1 minute ago, rockershovel said:

The BBC are an embarrassment. They are publicly funded and under a legal obligation to be impartial. 

 

Which results in extreme positions being given disproportionate exposure with insufficient challenge. In a Utopia, they would be under a legal obligation to broadcast no word (by either interviewer or interviewee) that was not demonstrably true.

[rockershovel]

18 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Electoral offences do get followed up. A previous local MP was found guilty and got six months suspended for irregularities in collecting signatures for the nomination process for an elected position. 
I did wonder why political parties put up “paper candidates “, real people who don’t bother to campaign or even visit the constituency. It is to do with “Short Money” which is distributed to help opposition parties with expenses, so,even if you only get one or two MPs your total vote share (and money) is increased by paper candidates. If the winner doesn’t take their seat and swear the oath they can’t have Short Money but there is another fund available. 

There is also the matter that a vote for a "paper candidate" is still a vote. Reform are playing a very specific game here - to put pressure on the Conservative Party. 

 

In that sense, the specific qualities of a candidate who is in effect a stalking horse, are of no real importance. No-one expects them to be elected. 

 

This is the real answer to the earlier comment about the candidate dressed as a tin of baked beans. Yes, he is an idiot whose sense of humour may extend to a constituency numbering well into double figures; but Reform (who have a serious political agenda) are able to field candidates quickly and cheaply. Mr Beans Head and his like are doing us the service if keeping that option open. 

[rockershovel]

5 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Which results in extreme positions being given disproportionate exposure with insufficient challenge. In a Utopia, they would be under a legal obligation to broadcast no word (by either interviewer or interviewee) that was not demonstrably true.

Quite so. Radio Four offered an extended and very largely unchallenged platform this morning to a certain Mr Blair, formerly of this parish. 

 

I was greatly disappointed. This once charismatic speaker appears to have quite lost his former ability to charm the birds from the trees.

 

The Portrait of Dorian Blair, indeed 

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

……a fee must be paid to the 'Shed with no name' fund

Oh, haven’t you got a shed WB? I had no idea.

 

Dave

[bbishop]

1 minute ago, Dave Hunt said:

Oh, haven’t you got a shed WB? I had no idea.

 

Dave

We were having an interesting intellectual discussion - and now someone has turned it personal.

[Dave Hunt]

Simply because I am getting fed up with bl**dy politics Bill.

 

Dave

[PhilJ W]

One of the first countries to embrace PR was Germany in 1920/21 and we all know how that ended up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8vt9qt/revision/3#:~:text=Proportional representation - Each party got,and often short-lived governments.

[Dave Hunt]

At the risk of downgrading this forum, I thought that I would drag the subject back to model railways.  Hence, here are a few piccies of the shearlegs I am working on for my layout:

 

 

More details when it’s finished.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

At the risk of downgrading this forum, I thought that I would drag the subject back to model railways.  Hence, here are a few piccies of the shearlegs I am working on for my layout:

 

 

More details when it’s finished.

 

Dave

I recognise some of those bits🤣

[Happy Hippo]

I decided against a trip down to llandrinio this morning.

 

It was wet and miserable and cold.

 

I have decided to use the time I would have spent getting there and back, plus the inevitable gum bumping time, doing something to my railway instead.

[PupCam]

Morning

 

11 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

That's one of the reasons I say I'm a horticulturist rather than a gardener when asked. If you say your a gardener they ask if you can cut the grass and sweep the leaves up. Or horticulturists know the names whilst gardeners say those 'green things'

 

Ah that confirms it then.  @polybear is definitely a gardener.

 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Using a friendly hacker, how about creating an internet meme whereby they are encouraged to go streaking in Tehran, graffiti “tagging” buildings in Pyongyang and waving Ukrainian flags in front of the Kremlin.

 

It might help cull the herd….

 

I think that idea might have legs.   Unlike those that participate.  Come to think of it it's not only legs they won't have.

 

3 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

YOu've missed your chance to  get to the Baked Bean Museum Of Excellence unfortunately.

 

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/captain-beany-museum-tripadvisor-closing-26089504

 

Now those are the characters that make Great Britain great.      Aren't they? 🤔

 

3 hours ago, polybear said:

"#1 of #17 things to do in Port Talbot"

 

That's not exactly much of a recommendation in Port Talbot.......

Are there really 17 things to do in Port Talbot?    Are there that many roads leading out of it?    

 

I'm reminded of the signs around Stevenage proclaiming tourist attractions.    The only ones I can think of are the slip roads onto the A1M *

 

* Now the CMRA exhibition there is a thing of the past, but I may be biased

 

1 minute ago, Dave Hunt said:

Simply because I am getting fed up with bl**dy politics Bill.

 

It says something when so many of the population (myself included) are totally disenfranchised by something as important as the running of the country (I was going to say "our" country but that might sound far too much like a recent incumbent of Number 10) and clearly demonstrated last Thursday.    I'm still of the opinion that the way to see if a politician is lying is to see if their lips are moving .....

 

ION

 

It's dull out there so it looks like a morning to go rootling in the garage and rustle up a tool to assist a certain Bear in the assembly of a chassis for a miniature horse of the iron road.

 

 

 

 

 

[PupCam]

17 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

At the risk of downgrading this forum, I thought that I would drag the subject back to model railways.  Hence, here are a few piccies of the shearlegs I am working on for my layout:

 

 

More details when it’s finished.

 

Dave

 

I say!   That looks very nice Dave.

 

 

[jamie92208]

18 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I recognise some of those bits🤣

And so do I.  Some modelling may take place today as there is a rumour that some parts have now arrived in the village and may be delivered later today.  Meanwhile, Lancaster Road has been moved further up the shed so that I can get the trailer out for a tip run tomorrow. 

 

Jamie 

Edited July 9 by jamie92208

[Tony_S]

32 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Hence, here are a few piccies of the shearlegs I

When you first mentioned building shearlegs, I in total ignorance I assumed  they were something to do with holding the layout up. Later mentions made me realise they were something you were making for the layout. Really impressive modelling. Thank you for posting those photos.