United Kingdom VI: Summer Lovin'

[Dogg Thang]

Wasn't Piers part of the phone hacking scandal and he managed to slip away like a bar of soap.

Yep. And my first memory of him is him being on Have I Got News For You and threatening to send paparazzi outside I think Ian Hislop's house. He was deadly serious and it came across so menacing. He has a real nasty streak and a total lack of morals.

[fishbowlhead]

My point is that I find him fascinating, like watching some kind of natural phenomenon. It just amazes me how he manages to find the course, no matter how enormous the storm, that will eventually suit his notoriety. Seriously, it's a gift. Also the sign of a sociopath. It's not a good thing. But he's amazing at it. I also hate it.



Oh **** off; who has bought a house in the UK post-2000 with a raw £5k deposit outside of a council estate in Hull

Absolutely nobody thats who. Clearly the guy has never had to buy a house before and is old money.

[saif]

They would not go on Good Morning Britain for months. They are so scared of any questions unless they are from their mates (who they pretend are hard hitting political journalists) that Johnson literally hid in a fridge to ensure Morgan didn't ask him stuff.

And the British electorate laps this up. There is no apparent downside to this approach as they lose so few votes - fewer than if they answered.

[saif]

The scary thing about Bailey is that he isn't, as far as I remember, from old money. He was a criminal (or criminal adjacent) when younger and then a youth worker. I believe there are a few years which are not publicised so isn't clear what he did then. In that sense, like Cummings.

[Hirst]

Yep. And my first memory of him is him being on Have I Got News For You and threatening to send paparazzi outside I think Ian Hislop's house. He was deadly serious and it came across so menacing. He has a real nasty streak and a total lack of morals.

It was based on a previous incident where he had actually done that - he was upset about his nasty practices being repeatedly outed in Private Eye, so for a length of time as revenge/intimidation he was posting journalists outside Hislop's house and having them ring up local people asking for any gossip about him, including the vicar of his church. He only gave up when it became apparent that he had nothing on him, because he lived a completely unremarkable life free of any dodgy dealings.

Despite this, he's managed to become some sort of loveable "champion for the people" when it is absolutely clear to me that he doesn't care in the slightest about the public and has only done it to further his career. He is an awful person who deserves zero respect.

[Anpanman]

Oh **** off; who has bought a house in the UK post-2000 with a raw £5k deposit outside of a council estate in Hull

We did.

[fishbowlhead]

We did.

How much was the house 20k?

[cutmymilk]

This is why people need to vote Starmer. He actually gets Boris to answer and then batters him using his own answers.

It took a while to get there but its pretty easy for him now, the lawyer that he is. Its a shame the vast majority will never see a PMQ.

[Blobcat]

Got the jab today, was told it would be 12 weeks till the next one.

You're observed for 15 minutes after the jab in case of reactions, luckily I had non not counting my sore arm. This observation waiting room was like the waiting room for heaven, so many elderly people and actually pretty cramped about 1M appart with the seats. Appart from the waiting room to leave being rather crowded everything was run very well despite an earlier computer problem, only ran about 15 minutes late in the end.

Gotta mention the 2 in front of me in the queue to the GP surgery who were very, very drunk before 3pm (especially the bloke). The guy couldn't stand still, he was struggling to stand straight and was swaying all over the joint. They realised they would be waiting forever for the prescription they wanted so they left to come back later (anyone with a GP appointment or prescription for the pharmacy inside were allowed in if numbers allowed, did not find that out until I was nearer the front.

So most of our staff by today have had the jab, one receptionist who always has something going on in her life, was gobbing on how she wasn't going to have it in an opinionated way, then because she has so many allergies (I don't know of what but I know she has kidney issues). She must have changed her mind as she posted on Facebook she got one by the end of the day. This is the same woman who before Christmas said she was visiting whoever the hell she wanted even if she had to break the rules (and went to Tunisia when she knew she would have to quarantine for 2 weeks). Turns out before Christmas her mum got sick with it and stayed in hospital and, to check they were ok visiting other grandma, all got tested to find 2 of her kids had it so no idea if she visited anyone in the end. She does my head in that woman!

One of the younger girls is unsure about it and has declined a vaccine as has our HR manager.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/15/uk-heads-for-double-dip-recession-as-gdp-falls-26

UK set to enter double dip recession

[fallenangle]

One thing really irked me this morning on the C5 Jeremy Vine TV show that 'saff-London' Pimlico Plumbers geezer getting some free publicity by effectively threatening to sack his workers if they did not get the jab.

I think this is almost an entirely self-serving exercise and not the philanthropic, community minded action it appears to be.

Just like getting natural immunity from having had the disease and survived getting vaccinated does not stop you from infecting others. What this means is it protects you but the moment you enter somebody's 'bubble' any C-19 contamination you've bought with you could be passed on.

A plumber might visit half a dozen houses a day or more; are they really changing their masks, overalls, gloves, washing their hands after every visit? I doubt it anyway but this idea he was trying to suggest that the vaccination requirement made his workers safer than others is disingenuous in the extreme.

My suspicion is that he is much more concerned that his plumbers aren't forced to take 10 days off if they test positive and he'll have to pay for that. Now that vaccination is a possibility I'm not surprised a business minded owner might do this so I'm not criticising that. What I am doing is objecting to the way this is being presented in the media.

Only once there is a critical mass of vaccinated and post C-19 naturally immune people (who I know do still have to be vaccinated eventually) will the infection rate roller coaster stop and hospitalisations drop. Until then prevention of hand or other types of secondary contamination, which I'm now even more convinced is the primary source of infections, will remain just as important as they have been right from the start.

It might actually be more important to emphasize this as people who've been vaccinated may think they're suddenly free to act as they like. They're not.

[Neon Ignition]

Our work has already floated the idea of rushing to increase office presence in a month or two's time on the basis some people will be vaccinated which will be a fun debate given it completely ignores the hieghtened risk to all staff family members that introduces.

[saif]

I honestly do not understand why people, who are in charge of workplaces and in receipt of a lot of facts about how people interact *and* what the vaccine does, are so, so stupid.

[fishbowlhead]

I think the traditional office is basically dead at this stage.

[Soundwave]

I think the traditional office is basically dead at this stage.

Ours is still operating like normal & I'm glad to be honest, I don't want to work from home

Katie had her jab earlier
Pfizer one again
This one was done at Basildon Hospital, said it went ok & was handled well, all distanced & no problems

Neil