News of the day

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Taz could pass as one.

[randomlegend]

As if you'd get a suit which could accommodate his nose.

[Don]

These 2 of all people :D :sst:

[Spikey M]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66255727

Absolutely mental. It's not quite that bad where I work, although it's certainly heading that way for anyone wanting one of the Dagenham or Barking properties.

It's the result of yet more inexplicable decision making (well, inexplicable if we're to believe the government actually care about solving this). Why are we so anti-building-shit?

"We need the population to start growing again"
We'll need more houses then"
"...No. Our countryside must be protected. Also, we must grow our economy"
[I]OK, so we need more infrastructure and homes
"We've built 10 miles of HS2 track, what more do you want?"
Hospitals, homes, schools...
"No."

Recently they have kind of backed down and agreed that more homes can be built in pre-existing cities (no new infrastructure though, obviously) and they want to turn Cambridge into our Silicon Valley. Finger on the pulse shit, that. We're only 3 decades behind. But if you want a new estate in Nimby-on-Thames, then good fucking luck.

[Jimmy Floyd]

On that theme, in Twickenham someone's put a stairwell up for sale for £20,000: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64988715/

I'm struggling to work out what the 'development potential' is there.

[niko_cee]

Is that a fire escape or the main entrance into the building?

Either way a fair levy to be had off the remaining residents for use of it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's disused apparently. Could you make back £20k by putting advertising on it? If so I'm piling in.

[Ben]

Leasehold as well. :D

London is such a racket.

[niko_cee]

Leasehold as well. :D

London is such a racket.

1000 year lease on a peppercorn rent though, so not really.

[Gray Fox]

An on-site Starbucks too. What more do you want?

[Don]

You turn that into a cute compartmentalised modern living quarter and you're set. The BBC article mentioned work spaces or vertical farm (:cab:).

[Jimmy Floyd]

I suppose you could house two giraffes and sell their milk.

[Shindig]

£25k houseboats? Hmmmm....

[niko_cee]

Geezer 'has a plan' [which sounds mad] so he should probably try to turn it into some sort of IRL version of that dojo you had to fight through the levels of on FF7.

[Don]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/01/lizzo-lawsuit-sexual-harassment-weight-shaming-former-dancers

Lol. Fat people and bad personalities really do go hand-in-hand. Is the grease blocking neural signals that lead to a positive, well-rounded human being or do they project the self-loathing that led them to their state? I suspect the latter.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

On that theme, in Twickenham someone's put a stairwell up for sale for £20,000: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64988715/

I'm struggling to work out what the 'development potential' is there.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66369705

Sold for £25k.

[igor_balis]

I don't know anything about the bloke, but he sounds like a culture-war version of a bloke wearing half and half kit.



Team Woke or Team Gammon. Does he care or does he not give a fuck? Pick a side mate.

Pretty much. He was a guest on the (hilarious) cumtown, which is exactly the bolded bit, but I don't mind it from Nick Mullen cus he's hilarious.

[Lewis]

Does the disused stairwell come with the land underneath it? Because that might make a decent punt if they ever come to re-develop the current flats and nothing can go ahead without him agreeing to it.

[Spikey M]

I think someone said it's a 999 year leasehold.

[Jimmy Floyd]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-66307905

I'd like to think they both go away forever.

[Spikey M]

The mum has somehow avoided a murder charge. She fed the baby it's own puke, so I'm going to assume she was almost certainly involved in the beatings too.

Oh well, we'll have to settle for some good ol' fashioned jailhouse shanking instead.

[randomlegend]

The fact that I am inevitably going to have to deal with a case like that at some point is...I don't even know how to put it into words.

Fucking ghouls. I've seen the cases where a sleep-deprived parent at the end of their tether snaps and is immediately sickened by what they've done; whilst it's awful, you can at least get your head around it. This kind of case is just so far beyond my comprehension.

[niko_cee]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66387994

:D

Pretty sure that I, as a 42 year old lazy shit, could run the 100m in sub 20s.

Although, given much of the story, it's probably not right to laugh.

[Spikey M]

When I worked forbthe MOJ I had the pleasure of speaking to a couple of baby / child killers after they got out. The overwhelming takeaway from it is that it was always someone else's fault and they're misunderstood. Bless their hearts.

I also had the mum of this cunt (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Colchester_murders) on the phone after her sons court fine paperwork turned up.

Apparently he's been through enough without having to pay a fine when he comes out. I just said "Sorry, I can't discuss it unless he's there to give consent :baz:" and lolled to myself after she hung up in a huff.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66387994

:D

Pretty sure that I, as a 42 year old lazy shit, could run the 100m in sub 20s.

Although, given much of the story, it's probably not right to laugh.

Not as good as Eric the Eel though:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rqI8xwXVac

"Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a 50-metre-long (160 feet) Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming eight months before the Olympics and had practiced in a lake, and later a 12-metre swimming pool in a hotel in Malabo"

Eric :cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Here's the Somali sprinter:

1686819008098484239

Genuinely like what sports day was like for me when I had to run the 100m.

[randomlegend]

Even the kids who usually had a note to get them out of PE could do the 100m in under 20 second, wtf.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I read something recently about how a college in the US had to field a women's golf team at a particular event in order not to lose all its funding for everything, but didn't have any women golfers, so fielded a couple of random women who had never played before. Went round in about 300 each and got on the beers.

Somali athlete will probably end up being something like that.

[niko_cee]

Yeah, I did think it might be like the Belgian [?] shot putter who did the hurdles to get team points for coming last quite recently.

Maybe she was a So Solid Crew fan.

[niko_cee]

I've never been a fan of the fuckers, but it is funny to see the dickheads of the see putting their shithousery to more entertaining use than to murder seals. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-66384518)

[Shindig]

I like the article about them wearing funny salmon hats.

[Lofty]

Not as good as Eric the Eel though:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rqI8xwXVac

"Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a 50-metre-long (160 feet) Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming eight months before the Olympics and had practiced in a lake, and later a 12-metre swimming pool in a hotel in Malabo"

Eric :cool:

Basically me at the scout swimming gala as a kid when someone on our team dropped out of the breast stroke race so I decided to do it 'to not let the side down'. Except instead of praise I was mocked by a scout leader :moop:

[Lofty]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-66243058

Police absolutely toothless as per usual.

[Don]

They don't close long-established ones with hourly marketing, leave ol' Katerina and her girlfriends alone ffs.

[Lofty]

Wilko aka Wilkinson's on the verge of administration, no surprise.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Whenever this sort of thing happens I always think of Mark Corrigan securing a job with Bathrooms, Baths & Fittings and immediately declaring 'I reckon the high street's going to make a comeback'.

[Spikey M]

We went in Wilko's for the first time in years last week and I said then "I'm surprised they're still going". Pointless shop, full of shite.

[Lewis]

The most obvious explanation is that they've just been done in by B&M and Home Bargains, who sell the exact same stuff but aren't being mugged off paying high street business and rental rates.

[Lofty]

I am assured by my wife who works in haulage that Wilkos are turbo cunts so good riddance. Apparently they pull some bullshit where they have a really finnicky delivery system no-one else uses and if any element of it is wrong they try to fine hauliers hundreds of quid.

[Spikey M]

The most obvious explanation is that they've just been done in by B&M and Home Bargains, who sell the exact same stuff but aren't being mugged off paying high street business and rental rates.

Not really. B&M and Home Bargains are essentially just the middle aisle of Lidl/Aldi on steroids with a bit of Pound Shop thrown in.

Wilkinsons is basically just Woolworths, minus the CD's.

Speaking of dead shops and CD's. HMV is on borrowed time aswell (again). I went in one on my lunch break this week and it's an absolute state. "Plushies", Comics, endless DVD's and 12 varieties of Stranger Things t-shirts on sale. Fuck off.

[Lofty]

There are physical media saddos like me to give them business but I suspect they might go online only soon.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If I were HMV I'd have sold all the town centre stuff ages back and bought small ones on cheaper plots to use as mock-ups of old fashioned record stores. Could have cornered the neckbeard/boomer pound sterling. Mugs.

[Lewis]

B&M is the only place round here that always has Caramacs in (Iceland and Farmfoods are hit 'n' miss) so I'm a steady customer. They sell everything.

[Giggles]

Transform a Snack too :drool:

[Baz]

The thing I hate more than I should actually let it get to me is that this shop used to be called Wilkinsons. Round here, NOBODY called it that. Literally every single person called it Wilkies. Everyone knew Wilkies. It was a starting point for giving directions. It was reference point for taxi rides. It was a meeting point for a night out. It was Wilkies. And then they went and changed their name to Wilko? I’m sorry, what? Wilko? It’s Wilkies, mate.

[Shindig]

Probably the worst thing about Gateshead town centre. And the statue.

https://www.soultsretailview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/gateshead_wilkinson_new_logo_graham_soult.jpg

[Ben]

Despite having lived about 10 minutes up the road from Gateshead for about five years, this is the first I'm hearing of them having an actual high street. I thought you all just went over the river.

[Spikey M]

What in the 1990's Sonic The Hedgehog Baddy is that statue?

[Spikey M]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66319064

Get your Health Insurance policies ready, lads.

[Shindig]

What in the 1990's Sonic The Hedgehog Baddy is that statue?

https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/article/4545/Sports-Day

I've never liked it.

[Boydy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66319064

Get your Health Insurance policies ready, lads.
"That’s the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital."

[Spikey M]

1687371359423209472?t=_j6ubSeh5o4odvtZWN-Bgw&s=19

What a channel.

[Lofty]

I mean, Supertanskiii somehow retains the support of the left despite her 9/11 conspiracy theory, and all the nazi/jewish/spastic jokes surfacing. Never mind her blog stuff about 'depressed people should just kill themselves' and 'fuck the scroungers'. Probably closer to Wooton's politics than she'd like to admit.

[Spikey M]

I have no idea who she is.

[Lofty]

She asks the truly pathetic to give her money in exchange for her following them on social media and 'holding the government to account' by calling Rishi Sunak a 'minge waffle' in twitter videos.

[Boydy]

I'm only aware of who she is because all the leftists I follow on Twitter fucking hate her. She's much more of a "liberal" from what I know so please don't tarnish the left with her thanks very much.

[Jimmy Floyd]

There's a big grift market in pro-NHS, pro-animal rights, anti-THIS GOVERNMENT type twitter waterworks/concocted 'anger'. Mostly by and for women.

I'm becoming a right misogynist in my old age. I swear you lot only put up with them because you want to shag them.

[Spikey M]

There's a big grift market in pro-NHS, pro-animal rights, anti-THIS GOVERNMENT type twitter waterworks/concocted 'anger'. Mostly by and for women.

I'm becoming a right misogynist in my old age. I swear you lot only put up with them because you want to shag them.

We don't date / marry women like that. And those that do end up like Igor. No offence intended, like.

[Lofty]

The future is bleak:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66368733

[Spikey M]

I know "mongs" isn't appropriate language anymore, but I'm struggling to think what else you could call them.

[Lewis]

Try one and take the points.

[Yevrah]

If he gets convicted of causing a riot.. :D

That said, fuck AI, the internet itself is going to cause the fundamental breakdown of society at this rate.

[Yevrah]

Now this is a headline I never thought I'd see....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-66415545

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I saw the headline from the Daily Sport on a newspaper ROUND UP and thought it was a fake story.

[Ian]

What a dreadful thing to happen to a person.

Being in Skegness, I mean.

[Yevrah]

When you read it it's seriously disappointing. I can only apologise for linking it.

[Spikey M]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66417103

How the fuck was this allowed in the first place? Jesus christ. :|

[niko_cee]

It's like a mad extension of the NHS taxing you a slice of your personal injury compo for treatment. Do they still do that?

[Yevrah]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66429339

A lovely tale of reaping the benefits from capitalism from less desirable places, making a 'stand' and having it blow up in your face that.

[Spikey M]

He may have actually achieved career suicide here, it's quite impressive how wrong he's managed to get something so simple.

Either take the money and say nothing, or don't go and make your public statement. You aren't getting away with taking the money AND making a statement as a straight white man. Especially while literally spitting on your brown fans from above. Bad move, Coloniser.

A quite spectacular lack of self awareness all around.

[Yevrah]

Quite. I saw Greta Thunberg pulled out of an event the other day due to the sponsors of said event having links (investing in?) the Oil and Gas industries. Say what you want about that Woman, she's absolutely nailed the approach to taking the moral high ground totally consistent with her beliefs and being beyond reproach for it.

[Spikey M]

She does, and that's because she actually believes in her cause. Matty boy just sniffed some headlines, and he got them, I guess.

[niko_cee]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66429736

Love the pic.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/14A4B/production/_123355548_273225536_5387239747969927_317495344151 5970260_n.jpg.webp

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Absolute fucking don.

[Yevrah]

Is that a man in a costume again...?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Four men in a costume, maybe.

[Bernanke]

Lofty in a costume innit

[Lofty]

1667126730790952960?s=19

[Ben]

Is that a satire account?

[Jimmy Floyd]

My best guess (assuming they weren't stolen) was there might be some rules and regs about having to comply with business standards if you're re-selling groceries, but I think laying it all out on the table as if they've just busted the Sinaloa Cartel has to go down as a questionable communications decision.

[Yevrah]

I mean there are, but what if I just want to eat £367's worth of chocolate?

[Jimmy Floyd]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-66434719

You don't need to be Hercule Poirot to work out what's gone on here. Hopefully the owners end up in jail.

[SvN]

It's near where I grew up, and my Facebook feed is currently full of seething locals. It was a great pub though, went there loads as a kid.

[Gray Fox]

Not very far from me that and my feed is the same. A great amount of SEETHE at how transparent the whole thing is.

[John Arne]

Who is this aimed at? Who exactly is going around discriminating against people with Diabetes? Who cares? What is this?

1689352102223482881

[Baz]

A lot of people think diabetes = type 2 diabetes (T2D), where it’s your own fault for being obese.

[Yevrah]

That's existed for years and the only response required for it is "yeah, the person who believes that is a fucking idiot", and not an awareness campaign, which will no doubt be a front for grifters to trouser 6 figure salaries for doing fuck all or yet another Chinese or Russian weapon to rot our brains.

In other (follow up) news.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65141057

Jim, if you ever get bored trapsing round the eateries of Southern and Central America, Dudley police have a spot for you.

[phonics]

Knowing Midlands Police. The coppers have been paid off prior to any of this happening anyway.

[Spikey M]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12396541/B-Q-apologise-book-called-White-Supremacy-bizarrely-placed-radiator-website-ad-appliance-sparked-social-media-backlash.html?ito=push-notification&ci=Hn_YbWTwbS&cri=2I5M5yVgq6&si=avDRAZsBN0Zk&xi=d133c45f-b498-4de3-a728-373b335ae8e4&ai=12396541

:lol:

[John Arne]

And also, what's Matt Healy doing about all of the people in the UK who share those views?


I don't know anything about the bloke, but he sounds like a culture-war version of a bloke wearing half and half kit.



Team Woke or Team Gammon. Does he care or does he not give a fuck? Pick a side mate.

The band are now being sued for $2.68 for breach of contract resulting in the cancellation of the festival :)

[Lofty]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-66514759

Quelle surprise.

[Spikey M]

This mushroom murder story is pretty mental. Not least because it looks like she's actually going to get away with it. How do you make a poisonous Beef Wellington, somehow manage to only kill you inlaws and get away with it? Surely you'd have to microdose yourself to cover your tracks or something.

[mo]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-66514759

Quelle surprise.

He's punching, based on his blurry picture there.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I was trying to armchair-Poirot that one the other day. She's a wrong un, she and hubby want to get back together, the church-going family say no. She therefore needs them out the way. She invites them all round under pretence of putting her case to take him back. Hubby doesn't show. The kids get a kids' meal (kids don't eat beef wellington, after all) and she pushes hers round the plate. They all get poisoned and she cries on TV.

Right?

[Spikey M]

It's as good a theory as I've seen. She should have got a Dingo in. Stick with the classics.

[Shindig]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66533602


She is believed to have followed them to their hotel, where she was forced to have sexual intercourse and was filmed by her alleged aggressors.

:| "Lads, just so we're clear. Let's all record this crime."

[Spikey M]

One unforseen bonus of the culture wars is I am starting to hate both men and women more and more. True equal rights. No discrimination.

[Lofty]

Chess trying to stay relevant:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-66538328

[Spikey M]

This bitch (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-65960514) is going to have fun in prison for the next 40/50 years. Hopefully she gets the Ian Watkins treatment.

[wullie]

"Letby deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin."

Fucking hell

[SincereTheRebel]

What a disgusting animal.

[randomlegend]

Concerns of 7 paediatric consultants ignored (and those raising the concerns threatened with GMC referral) by cretin managers to protect the reputation of the unit. Classic NHS.

[Baz]

Nice one Lee you bell

[Yevrah]

This bitch (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-65960514) is going to have fun in prison for the next 40/50 years. Hopefully she gets the Ian Watkins treatment.

I hope all Women and mothers have taken this on board and are challenging any examples they see from mild neglect right up to babies being injected.

[niko_cee]

I got very confused reading earlier that some verdicts were handed down 10 days ago [thinking how had I missed what I would assume would have been major headline news] but am I right in thinking they were under reporting restrictions?

[randomlegend]

Nice one Lee you bell

I'm sure there were some Lee-tards involved but sounds like the main perpetrators were careerist bellend doctor/nurse manager types.

[Spikey M]

It has quite alot of overlap with an American Nurse that was killing pensioners by dosing their IV drips with Insulin, but while trying to find his name I have stumbled upon several similar cases. Everywhere from Brazil to Japan.

New fear unlocked, I guess.

[randomlegend]

It has quite alot of overlap with an American Nurse that was killing pensioners by dosing their IV drips with Insulin, but while trying to find his name I have stumbled upon several similar cases. Everywhere from Brazil to Japan.

New fear unlocked, I guess.

She killed some of them by injecting air into their lines, which is virtually impossible to prove. You're welcome for your newer, better fear.

[randomlegend]

https://i.imgur.com/2Z0KWtA.png

Watch this consultant's career get burned to the ground for speaking out whilst the pondlife who enabled Letby to continue killing babies - and who deserve to go to prison - get top jobs at other hospitals or (in the case of the medical director who threatened them with the GMC) continue to love life on their massive pensions.

NHS management is absolutely rotten to the core, it's a national disgrace.

[Spikey M]

It's the same in every large organisation. It's why Snowden is a criminal and the military wing of the baby killer franchise is still going strong.

See also Wayne "The Rapist" Couzens and every Yank cop that's ever beat the shit out of anyone on camera and walked free.

You'd have to be very principled to whistle-blow, because the chances are you're the one that's getting your career ended.

[phonics]

Bet Lee ticked the box that said 'kill more babies' to save 4 grand so he could get a comission as well.

[Giggles]

On past form he would if he could.

[randomlegend]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66120934

It's beyond belief. I'm not even surprised that this was the management response; NHS management is absolutely toxic.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Shameful lustage thread? Because I would.

[Ian]

https://i.ibb.co/FHKct3N/image.png

Fair play Mahow but not for me.

[Don]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/18/police-name-father-as-one-of-three-sought-over-of-sara-sharif

RIP bride of Chucky. Pakistani culture ��

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.ibb.co/FHKct3N/image.png

Fair play Mahow but not for me.

Fucking homophobe.

[Lewis]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/18/police-name-father-as-one-of-three-sought-over-of-sara-sharif

RIP bride of Chucky. Pakistani culture ��

You knew it was Pakistanis (Bengalis at a push) when they were still being sketchy with the specifics, and anybody who didn't probably shouldn't be allowed to vote.

[Shindig]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66104004

The closing statement is something else.


The smiling nurse with the sing-song name who went to salsa classes is now Britain's most prolific child murderer. Can anyone make sense of that? I know I can't.

How do you follow this court case for 11 months and come to that conclusion? The evidence brought up suggests she fucking loved the attention it got her.

[Clunge]

I read that piece earlier and was utterly baffled by the pay off. It was absorbing and then came to... nothing? Not a single conclusion at all?

[Baz]

A sing-song name?

Lucy Letby kills babies
Kills babies, kills babies
Lucy Letby kills babies
Cos she’s mental

Mahow feel free to change the last line to and she’s fi-it

[Spikey M]

She's no Shamima.

[Dark Soldier]

Fecking hell we're gonna have some calls about this at work Monday from those who don't understand we don't regulate nurses. Cannot wait.

[randomlegend]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/19/lucy-letby-police-urged-to-investigate-hospital-bosses-for-corporate-manslaughter

Burn these cunts.

[Spikey M]

I'm watching the Panorama special tonight, and I'm 90% sure it's going to push me into a murderous rage going off what I've heard.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Babies have been through enough already, dickhead.

[Max Power]

Could the doctors who raised concerns not called the police themselves? Or did they and I’ve missed this.

[niko_cee]

Dunno if we have an athletics thread, but assuming we don't, lol at all the people falling over on the final straight in the World Champs tonight. Something odd is going on.

[randomlegend]

Could the doctors who raised concerns not called the police themselves? Or did they and I’ve missed this.

Seen that mentioned a few times; perhaps they should have, although my feeling working in a hospital is the police would've just contacted the same managers who were already covering it up and they'd continue to cover it up.

I also cannot impress upon people how terrifying the threat of GMC referral and whilsteblowing against a trust really is. If a trust properly goes after you as a doctor it literally ruins your life forever.

[Dark Soldier]

Yep I can actively say that our Confidential Helpline calls, which are essentially the whistleblowing line, are taken VERY seriously. They take hours also as we require everything.

Actually contemplating applying for FTP too tbh.

[randomlegend]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scottish-health-secretary-pay-dispute-30743022

:lol::lol::lol:

[Lofty]

New fear unlocked:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-66643241

[Spikey M]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66689042

Thanks Pepe, son's crying.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If (and this is a big if) I tuned into a Mexican baking contest, and they were doing a British themed week and were wearing bearskin hats and doing cod posh accents for a laugh, would I write in to Mexican TV in furious complaint? Actually, fuck it, I would. Disgusting even thinking about it.

[Spikey M]

Hollywood is awash with British stereotypes. Fill your boots, Floyd. I'd start with Bridget Jones.

[Giggles]

Was there uproar after the German week?

[niko_cee]

Without reading anything beyond the headline, wasn't the main problem with 'Mexican Week' that it involved virtually no actual baking whatsoever?

[Lofty]

The Yanks cant comprehend our regional accents or the fact Wales is a seperate country.

I also saw a post on facebook the other day about the next Bond being British and the amount of people wittering on about 'what about the Welsh one? What about the Scottish one?' Was beyond belief, there was even squabbling about the Irish one though technically Ireland is part of the British Isles even if it isn't part of Great Britain.

[niko_cee]

Is Wales really a separate conutry though? [No] - cf the infamous "Is Scotland a Real Country thread?" from way back when [think consensus was also no].

[Boydy]

Matt Lucas gone from bakeoff though? That's a result.

[Giggles]

The Yanks cant comprehend our regional accents or the fact Wales is a seperate country.

I also saw a post on facebook the other day about the next Bond being British and the amount of people wittering on about 'what about the Welsh one? What about the Scottish one?' Was beyond belief, there was even squabbling about the Irish one though technically Ireland is part of the British Isles even if it isn't part of Great Britain.

British only refers to the United Kingdom (and southeast Dublin) though. Brosnan was from Navan.

[Lofty]

Oh I agree, I just put that bit in to be pedantic.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The more time goes on the more I think we (the English) should vote Wales out and let them fend for themselves. We'll hang onto Scotland though to wind them up.

[Spikey M]

We should go back to the borders of Viking days. I'll take any of you Kentish or Mercian slags on anytime.

[thommo]

God no. They mess it up enough as it is. Case in point, the blanket 20mph limit coming in later this month. An absolute shambles and it stinks of them just wanting to be contrarian to England, to show that they're making a difference with their devolved power. I'm genuinely dreading it, my daily commute is going to be so painful.

[Pepe]

I remember my wife watching the Mexican week episode and if I remember correctly, the only weird thing was that, as niko said, there was not much baking. I don't give a fuck about anyone wearing a sombrero.

[Pepe]

If (and this is a big if) I tuned into a Mexican baking contest, and they were doing a British themed week and were wearing bearskin hats and doing cod posh accents for a laugh, would I write in to Mexican TV in furious complaint? Actually, fuck it, I would. Disgusting even thinking about it.

My guess is that not a single complaint came from an actual Mexican person.

[Spikey M]

Of course it didn't. It will the blue hairs as per usual.

[Spikey M]

How the fuck has Birmingham Council managed to go bankrupt? I get it when it's Thurrock Council. Thurrock isn't a proper place. It's just a shopping centre and an Overflow Council House for East London. Birmingham "The Largest Local Authority in Europe" Council should have a bit more about them.

I can't wait to find out what type of irresponsible investment in fraudulent businesses has gone on this time.

[Shindig]

The council has paid out almost £1.1bn in equal pay claims since a landmark case was brought against the authority in 2012.

That'll do it.

[Gray Fox]

They still owe another £760m for that too.

[Spikey M]

Lol.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They went heavy into Mellin's get rich quick scheme.

[Yevrah]

Someone is going to have to explain to me how a fucking local authority runs up a £1.8bn+ bill on equal pay claims. I mean, what in the actual fuck? If you take the Coutts rule of £3m in the bank to live an amazing life and never have to work again that equates to six-hundred of those people. Er wut?

[Lewis]

If it's a few thousand quid (at least) to every woman that has worked for/under the council since whenever it would easily add up. I can't imagine the council is particularly wealthy anyway with half the city in social housing.

[Don]

6th council to go bankrupt? Get me the demographics of them and how they line up in the general distribution pls.

[Yevrah]

If it's a few thousand quid (at least) to every woman that has worked for/under the council since whenever it would easily add up. I can't imagine the council is particularly wealthy anyway with half the city in social housing.

What did they actually do that warranted everyone being paid out?

[Yevrah]

6th council to go bankrupt? Get me the demographics of them and how they line up in the general distribution pls.

I think if you consider how many shit people there are these days in frontline politics and then consider that these people in local councils are too shit to even get close to that then you have your answer of what's driving this.

[Gray Fox]

There were over 5,000 claimants on the case I believe.

Seems like a move to get out of the remaining balance to me. I wonder if they find people suddenly wont pay them council tax.

[Shindig]

Northumberland apparently went under because their CEO kept giving herself £230k a year.

[Don]

I think if you consider how many shit people there are these days in frontline politics and then consider that these people in local councils are too shit to even get close to that then you have your answer of what's driving this.

I'd like to think it's just the tip of the iceberg of the anarchy we (Spikey and I)'ve been thirsting for for years. There's surely too much in the way of controls to Nigeria this up, this is the govt's doing.

[Yevrah]

I'd like to think it's just the tip of the iceberg of the anarchy we (Spikey and I)'ve been thirsting for for years. There's surely too much in the way of controls to Nigeria this up, this is the govt's doing.

Well, with LTN's coming to a city near you (if they haven't already) the tinderbox is warming up nicely.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I have a bit of itk on Birmingham council, and the answer to why they have gone bankrupt is that the Pakistani community there simply do not pay any tax.

[Yevrah]

So (assuming what you're saying is true) are we doing that thing we did with the vaccine uptake again and simply not addressing the issue properly because it would involve singling a community out?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Pretty much. I'm not sure about residential council tax, but if you go to a street in Sparkbrook or any of the heavily Pakistani areas, you can be looking at shops and businesses as far as the eye can see and not a single one of them will have paid any rates ever. They also won't have paid VAT, although that deprives the exchequer rather than the council.

[Yevrah]

I thought you were referring to cash in hand - how on earth is anyone getting away not paying rates?

[Spikey M]

I thought you were referring to cash in hand - how on earth is anyone getting away not paying rates?

I don't know how they do it, but it appears to be fantastically easy to run a bent business if you don't fear the possible consequences of being caught. I imagine it's often as simple as winding a business up (with all of it's debt) and having your brother start a new one with the assets / cash you managed to strip from it. Rinse and repeat until Lambo.

[niko_cee]

What did they actually do that warranted everyone being paid out?

They got paid way less for doing the same grade of work. Dinner ladies were paid like half of what binmen got and they were apparently at the same level of pay [and obviously the gender breakdowns on those two were pretty extreme] as an anecdotal example.

[Baz]

I realise I’m a month late but it seems like the paracetamol challenge (https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/23724476.southampton-tiktok-paracetamol-challenge-investigation-launched/) has made its way up north.


young people aged 15-17 decided to challenge each other to take a paracetamol overdose to see who could get hospitalised and who could get hospitalised the longest, with the person remaining in hospital for the most hours being the person who won the challenge.

Reason number whatever that TikTok is dreadful and/or people are idiots.

[Don]

We had a similar thing where we scratched a mark on the back of our hands using a combination of the thumb and index finger fingernails. Wild.

[Yevrah]

They got paid way less for doing the same grade of work. Dinner ladies were paid like half of what binmen got and they were apparently at the same level of pay [and obviously the gender breakdowns on those two were pretty extreme] as an anecdotal example.

See that's just rank incompetence. Being a binman is a horrible job and should be paid more than a dinner lady, which I guess was the thinking, but if you have documentation that shows they're on the same grade but paid differently then :face:

[Spikey M]

My wife used to work for Asda and they've had this shit recently. Apparently the geezers in their massive storage warehouses are paid more to move shit around than the birds sat on the tills in store are. To which my wife responded "no shit. It's a harder job.". Which... it just is and you'd have to be thick to not see it.

Running around the street grabbing bin bags ≠ spooning chips and beans onto a spotty kids plate. Now, if there's inequality in how they're picking those men/women for the positions, then fair enough, but we'd need to see the application data to know that.

[Lewis]

I think there was also an element of bin men (and some other roles) were allowed to go home once they had done their bin collecting, where as others were working set hours, which meant that the bin men were effectively on more per hour because they got paid for the full allotted time. And?

[Boydy]

My wife used to work for Asda and they've had this shit recently. Apparently the geezers in their massive storage warehouses are paid more to move shit around than the birds sat on the tills in store are. To which my wife responded "no shit. It's a harder job.". Which... it just is and you'd have to be thick to not see it.


I dunno, if you gave me the option of working in a warehouse versus dealing with the general public, the warehouse would win every time.

[Spikey M]

I dunno, if you gave me the option of working in a warehouse versus dealing with the general public, the warehouse would win every time.

I agree. See last winters mental breakdown in the Job Thread for more info.

But there's a clear difference in effort required between the 2. Beeping a 4 pack of beans is just alot easier than shifting 200 4 packs around a warehouse and I don't see why the wage shouldn't reflect that.

If women want that wage, then apply for the job. As long as they're given a fair chance of getting the job then happy days. If they aren't, then yeah, drag those fuckers to court.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Aren't wages mainly a reflection of how hard it is to recruit for the role? So basically any physical job which can't be done by most women (sorry, feminists) is going to be paid more than jobs which anyone can do.

The same reason why brain surgeons get paid more than me.

[Spikey M]

Aren't wages mainly a reflection of how hard it is to recruit for the role? So basically any physical job which can't be done by most women (sorry, feminists) is going to be paid more than jobs which anyone can do.

The same reason why brain surgeons get paid more than me.

In theory, yes. But Carers are criminally underpaid and overwhelmingly women. What they do is far harder than what either of us do and the constant vacancies tell me they are having no easy time recruiting. Yet the wage remains minimal.

I'm be pointing sexism claims at that rather than Binmen and dinner ladies.

[Lofty]

The same thinking that has 5ft tall female police officers patrolling on their own. I know it is an old joke about police officers getting younger but I saw one the other day who really did look more like she was dressed up for world book day or whatever. Wouldn't fancy her chances responding to anything more serious than an egged window.

[Jimmy Floyd]

In theory, yes. But Carers are criminally underpaid and overwhelmingly women. What they do is far harder than what either of us do and the constant vacancies tell me they are having no easy time recruiting. Yet the wage remains minimal.

I'm be pointing sexism claims at that rather than Binmen and dinner ladies.

The market should adjust as described given that men / most people don't want to shovel shit out of old people's arses all day. If they aren't upping pay to reflect an inability to recruit then that's a failure.

Believe in the market and it will believe in you.

[Ian]

A friend of mine did some temping recently and did a bit of work for a care company and the whole thing sounded like a shambles and very depressing.

She was told she'd be shadowing for the first month or something but was being sent to do stuff herself by week 2, the person who she'd been meant to be shadowing was herself quite new and already leaving which turned out to be reflective of massive turnover of staff and as discussed, not even good money for doing it.

That wasn't in home medical care or anything obviously so this is a little different again but still, people aren't gonna stick with shit disorganisation for garbage hours so the old people in question are probably getting new faces every week other than the ones who have more specific needs who were seemingly being catered to by a hardcore of people who were actually sticking with it and presumably on slightly better money.

[Lofty]

The market:

https://i.ibb.co/h7DKvYb/artworks-000297294660-25751n-t500x500.jpg

[phonics]

Belive in the market :D

What a load of old shit.

[Spikey M]

A friend of mine did some temping recently and did a bit of work for a care company and the whole thing sounded like a shambles and very depressing.

She was told she'd be shadowing for the first month or something but was being sent to do stuff herself by week 2, the person who she'd been meant to be shadowing was herself quite new and already leaving which turned out to be reflective of massive turnover of staff and as discussed, not even good money for doing it.

That wasn't in home medical care or anything obviously so this is a little different again but still, people aren't gonna stick with shit disorganisation for garbage hours so the old people in question are probably getting new faces every week other than the ones who have more specific needs who were seemingly being catered to by a hardcore of people who were actually sticking with it and presumably on slightly better money.

It's exactly the same down here. Loads of our tenants work in Care at somepoint and few of them survive long. Going from what I've heard though, anyone that doesn't have kids to care for them in old age should be planning an early death, because living in a care home sounds worse than being in prison.

[Lofty]

Chinese every night it is.

[Spikey M]

They'll have to put you in the hospital basement ward.

[randomlegend]

The same reason why brain surgeons get paid more than me.

They probably don't in most cases.

This isn't a flippant comment about shit doctor wages either, it's actually true.

[Lewis]

In theory, yes. But Carers are criminally underpaid and overwhelmingly women. What they do is far harder than what either of us do and the constant vacancies tell me they are having no easy time recruiting. Yet the wage remains minimal.

I'm be pointing sexism claims at that rather than Binmen and dinner ladies.

As much as care work must be depressing and/or gross, it can't actually be 'hard' other than in a physical sense. Would you rather wipe arses or work in an abattoir?

[phonics]

Work in an abbatoir.

[Spikey M]

I'm not sure there's much to choose between old man shit and cow brains (and shit), so fuck doing either, frankly.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Cow brains and shit is a delicacy for Taz.

[randomlegend]

As much as care work must be depressing and/or gross, it can't actually be 'hard' other than in a physical sense. Would you rather wipe arses or work in an abattoir?

In what sense is working in an abattoir "hard", other than a physical one?

[Spikey M]

In what sense is working in an abattoir "hard", other than a physical one?

I would find killing cows pretty hard to be fair. I've also seen some grim footage of how they sort girl chick's and boy chick's and where the boy chick's... erm... go.

It would definitely be a hard place to work, but I guess half the battle here is defining what "hard" means. But then, is difficulty what defines a wage? It kind of is, but I think it also has to provide economic value if you want it to amount to anything.

Being an engineer is hard and it pays well because the economy relies on machinery working properly.

Being a carer is also hard, but unfortunately nobody gives a fuck if the vulnerable are being cared for properly because there's no benefit to anyone's balancesheet.

Pretty depressing stuff, really.

[Jimmy Floyd]

In an abattoir you can get kicked in the face by a violent dying cow, although in fairness the carers to my great aunt Elsie also suffered this indignity.

[randomlegend]

I would find killing cows pretty hard to be fair. I've also seen some grim footage of how they sort girl chick's and boy chick's and where the boy chick's... erm... go.

It would definitely be a hard place to work, but I guess half the battle here is defining what "hard" means. But then, is difficulty what defines a wage? It kind of is, but I think it also has to provide economic value if you want it to amount to anything.

Being an engineer is hard and it pays well because the economy relies on machinery working properly.

Being a carer is also hard, but unfortunately nobody gives a fuck if the vulnerable are being cared for properly because there's no benefit to anyone's balancesheet.

Pretty depressing stuff, really.

Yeah I agree, but he'd already excluded depressingness and disgustingness from his definition of hard in the first half of the post.

[Lofty]

It isn't all doom and gloom in the slaughterhouse, apparently you can blow a lung up like a balloon for a jolly jape.

[niko_cee]

The guy that has to go around and execute male calves [is that a knacker?] probably has a worse gig in sadness terms than the slaughterman

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Welsh farmer is worse surely.

Legally obligated to fuck your sheep.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66733230

Before I ever opened this (the BBC headline on the main site is "US man stopped in 'hamster wheel' ocean crossing") I knew he'd be from Florida.

[Spikey M]

Just let him try. Fucking kill joys.

[niko_cee]

Imagine getting almost all the way across before being sunk by one of Rishi/Suella's gunboats.

Or worse, ending up on that barge thing.

[Shindig]

Nah, the tide will be the biggest dickhead to him.

[randomlegend]

I wonder how much he'd have to raise for public services to offset the cost to public services of rescuing him three times.

[Lewis]

In what sense is working in an abattoir "hard", other than a physical one?

I'm classing it alongside care work as depressing and/or gross but not actually intellectually challenging or requiring any particular skills. Would I like to do either of them, no, and I wouldn't even if they paid slightly more than I earn; but I feel like I could if I really, really had to. By contrast, I couldn't simply be a plasterer (say) with minimal training and patience exercises.

Another reason care workers get paid crap money is that it's on the government's list of shortage occupations, which means you can bring foreigners over to do it for minimum wage (which then creates shortages, because nobody wants to do it for that money, which means more foreigners, which means more shortages, which...).

[randomlegend]

No it's true it's not intellectually challenging or requiring particular skill. But it is most certainly physically and particularly emotionally challenging to a point where I think plenty of people genuinely wouldn't really cope. They are also put under immense time pressure and treated like absolute shit with regards to their shifts (stuff like not being told whether they have a shift or not until the day of, meaning they can never plan anything, which I understood to be illegal but is common practice with care agencies).

[mo]

Just want to say fuck you to Spikey because I looked up what happens to male chicks :(

[Shindig]

I knew but it sucks to see it written out. Just robs them the chance of becoming food. :(

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's fine, in the UK they just gas them.

[Waffdon]

Daniel Khalife has donned his escape so far.

Hopefully we get another Raoul Moat

[Shindig]

I loved that statement bigging up our armed services. :D

Anyway, speaking of Gazza ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-66743220

[Spikey M]

Daniel Khalife has donned his escape so far.

Hopefully we get another Raoul Moat

Clinging onto the underside of a van is such a 70's Hollywood way to escape. :cool:

[phonics]

He's clearly a very smart guy which makes the whole thing 10x more interesting.

Meanwhile my favourite recent escapee

1699607362531741747

[niko_cee]

Is it just me or has there been a somewhat massive overreaction to this random nobody escaping from prison? Searching every boot going through the channel tunnel? Am I missing something? If he was really such a risk to the nation, why was he being housed in some two-bit category B prison and being allowed to run amok in the kitchen? Fair play to him. Maybe they need to get that old twat from Hunted to start manning the ANPR.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If they don't catch him rapido it adds to the crumbling state narrative that's been building up recently. Tony Blair would have shrugged it off and smilingly subcontracted the kitchen in question to Ginsters.

[niko_cee]

Prison escapes actually seem to be the one metric by which the nation hasn't gone to shit over the last 25 years.

Well, there are obviously others, but you know, this one's in the spotlight.

[phonics]

Part of my job last week was to print off intricate blueprint plans of a prison which had me frantically checking my email to make sure I wasn't aiding and abetting.

However if someone escapes from HMP Birmingham next week I am royally fucked.

[-james-]

Is it just me or has there been a somewhat massive overreaction to this random nobody escaping from prison? Searching every boot going through the channel tunnel? Am I missing something? If he was really such a risk to the nation, why was he being housed in some two-bit category B prison and being allowed to run amok in the kitchen? Fair play to him. Maybe they need to get that old twat from Hunted to start manning the ANPR.


It's an engaging story innit. I don't really read the news any more but this has me ctrl+r-ing the bbc home page every 10 minutes.

He surely has help, right? How has he known how to disembark from his ride at a spot where he's not going to get caught on CCTV in the middle of London? How has he not been spotted at all?

[Ben]

Clever lad, fair play to him. I'm not sure whether I want him to stay free forever to really cement his legacy, or for him to be caught (pretty soon, before the furore dies down) so they can tie it all in a neat little bow for TV.

[-james-]

I'd have him about 100/1 to make it until Monday. If he does then just let him off and give him some mega MI5 job.

[Ian]

Clever lad, fair play to him. I'm not sure whether I want him to stay free forever to really cement his legacy, or for him to be caught (pretty soon, before the furore dies down) so they can tie it all in a neat little bow for TV.

Ideally they'll get the bloke who Martin Clunes played to catch him so we can get Manhunt series 3.

[Spikey M]

Just get Martin Clunes to have a go at it. Manhunt: Live.

[Lofty]

It's definitely more a case of UK prisons are dogshit than he is the next Houdini.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Hopefully this doesn't end with him going to India and writing a 1,000 page novel about it.

[Spikey M]

Honestly hope he makes it to Iran. :drool:

[Adramelch]

We've had a bank robber escape twice from the same (maximum security) prison using a helicopter both times and he's still at large 15 years later. That's the level of incompetence you should aspire for.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hopefully this doesn't end with him going to India and writing a 1,000 page novel about it.
:D

[randomlegend]

If they don't catch him rapido it adds to the crumbling state narrative that's been building up recently. Tony Blair would have shrugged it off and smilingly subcontracted the kitchen in question to Ginsters.

It's not a narrative, it's just reality.

[Kikó]

I have recommended Bantaram as the next book.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's not a narrative, it's just reality.

Perhaps but the narrative is more important in terms of what happens next. If things were crumbling but no one thought they were, then nothing would happen.

[Don]

He looks like a proper cutie/don.

https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/09/07/18/daniel%20khalife%20split.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp

[Raoul Duke]

Fucking giant swede on the lad. He's like the opposite of Spikey. New nemesis right there

[Giggles]

If that cock was a nose then he is indeed a don.

[randomlegend]

Fucking giant swede on the lad. He's like the opposite of Spikey. New nemesis right there

It's like 3/5 the length of his torso, mesmerising.

[wullie]

Someone wished their Funko pop could be a real boy.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The outie belly button will get him captured.

[Shindig]

"He was last seen carrying a polkadot travel ironing board."

[Waffdon]

One sighting of him at that massive circle in Wandsworth. Is there no CCTV in that part of London? And how could only one bloke witness someone rolling from out of a lorry in kitchen gear I don’t know.

[niko_cee]

It's South London. It's like an alternate reality down there.

[Spikey M]

Nobody grasses in South London. It's rivalled only by Liverpool in its love for protecting scumbags.

[Jimmy Floyd]

There are enough Clapham wankers that look a lot like him that he's probably just blended in.

[Ben]

I just thought he was a little lad but the Beeb reckons he’s 6’2” so yes, that’s an unbelievably massive dome and surely it’s just a matter of time before he gets his collar felt.

[Don]

£20k reward and mofo is down my neck of the woods the weekend I decide to come back to MK? Fuck arrrf.

[niko_cee]

I rather enjoyed T. Robinson's costa del rant on the subject of the escapee.

Had no idea he was still a thing.

Twitter [or perhaps the modern world] really has ruined parody. So hard to pick it now. I mean, is this guy (https://twitter.com/alexstein99) real? Seems like a character being played by Richard Kind 30 years ago.

[Shindig]

The idea of him being collared whilst riding a (children's) bike is just wonderful.

[Lofty]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-somerset-66775434

[niko_cee]

Poor effort to not smash through the van at the end as well.

[Disco]

Probably the most exciting thing to ever happen in Taunton.

[Clunge]

As a Taunton native, I can confirm this is just about the most exciting thing to have ever happened ever. I love how they dodge the final van with such a significant degree of caution and finesse.

[Don]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/12/police-investigate-incident-black-shopper-apparently-grabbed-by-throat

I read the mysterious headline and was intrigued. Reading the rest of the article I soon got suspicious.

I then look at the footage and...well, this society is finished. Even Bellingham and his John Agard bullshit ain't mending these broken fuckers.

1701669814807282056

[Don]

Jesus, there's even more. The state of that thing but cause she's black and he's not, we're doing all this again.

1701659307400438068

[Lewis]

Decent turnout for a weekday afternoon.