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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 20:34:43 GMT
oldnatSo the teenage d***head wasn't acting alone. I thought the job looked a bit too expert.
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 20:37:53 GMT
@rafwan I don't know what the problem is. I was simply pointing out to domjg that not all public schools have a "mono cultural, English setting".
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Post by isa on Sept 29, 2023 20:45:25 GMT
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Post by alec on Sept 29, 2023 20:55:15 GMT
oldnat - Treegate; the roots of this crime go deep, it seems.
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Post by isa on Sept 29, 2023 21:04:48 GMT
So might this, although I doubt the 'greased piglet' will actually put in an appearance in Manchester himself. Astonishingly, I find myself in agreement with him when he says that terminating HS2 at Old Oak Common would make even the first leg a white elephant in that Central London-Birmingham would be no faster than currently, possibly even a tad slower. In which case, umpteen billion £s spent, and for what? No news yet on the widely-trailed cancellation of Manchester-Birmingham. I can't see this happening now until after the Tory Conf. news.sky.com/story/hs2-boris-johnson-says-scrapping-manchester-leg-would-betray-the-north-and-levelling-up-12972637
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Post by alec on Sept 29, 2023 21:11:04 GMT
Ukraine: Russian sources suggest they've shot down one of their own SU-35s in the Tomak region, and continued reports that Russian artillery is constrained by a shortage on new barrels. Barrel production has dropped as the effect of sanctions bite, and with a need to regularly replace them, several reports from multiple sources have all said that this is causing a slow down in Russia's ability to deploy artillery.
On the bright side, the news that Ukraine had killed the Black Sea Fleet commander now appear to be false. Ukrainian official sources claimed this, but video evidecne has emerged showing the dead Admiral looking surprisingly alive, all things considered.
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Post by jib on Sept 29, 2023 21:21:06 GMT
oldnat So the teenage d***head wasn't acting alone. I thought the job looked a bit too expert. Awful. It underlines how things have declined since austerity with regards protection of the countryside. Destruction is rife out there. Often with impunity.
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Post by peterbell on Sept 29, 2023 21:35:42 GMT
It was a teenage d***head. If the identity of the teenage dickhead leaks, as it probably will, he will have to be taken into custody for his own safety, as literally hundreds of thousands of people are deeply offended, and some of them will have no compunction in showing it. As someone who has passed Sycamore Gap on numerous occasions on my own and while leading walking groups, I am shocked and saddened by this news. While I am someone with pacifist tendancies, if I was at home instead of enjoying Spanish sunshine, even at my age, I could almost be tempted to go looking for the pair. I suspect that John is almost certainly right and especially those of us from the the area will be seeking revenge. Fortunately. I have a number of photos of the tree from my walks so will have to live with those memories.
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neilj
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Post by neilj on Sept 29, 2023 21:40:58 GMT
Sone shenanigans going on
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2023 21:47:52 GMT
pjw1961“ God knows how a knuckle-dragging bog-standard comprehensive troglodyte like me ever became a Chartered Accountant.” Did you never consider lion taming?
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 21:51:32 GMT
On the the Sycamore Gap tree, which I'd never heard of before, I understand that there is some hope that the stump is healthy and might develop new shoots. However the experts say that it won't be the same because it will develop multiple shoots and will resemble a bush more than a tree. Well, oi ain't got no book-larnin' yer honour but oi been managing trees in moi garding fer nigh on fifty yers and here's wot oi think -
Assuming it does regrow, all they have to do is wait a couple of years and select the sturdiest-looking shoot. Then cut all the others down. It will need regular attention every few years in case other shoots develop but after a few decades there should be one main trunk again. Problem solved. You're welcome.
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 22:05:50 GMT
Re: HS2 Most posters on here won't like the source, but this is an interesting article on why costs are out of control: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12576983/GUY-ADAMS-HS2-costs-diversity.htmlHere are a couple of quotes "Its 2020 fact sheet on 'land acquisition', an endeavour that had by then cost taxpayers about £4 billion, runs to just five pages. A document explaining what would happen to thousands of residents of homes facing the life-changing prospect of compulsory purchase comes in at a mere six pages. A guide to 'tunnelling costs', which have eaten up tens of billions of public money, is a feeble 12 pages. In contrast, the most recent edition of HS2's annual report on 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' comes in at 52 pages long." "Last year, £67,000 went to the Bengali Workers Association, a charity helping Bengali residents of London's Camden hold 'activity sessions' for over 50s, £28,000 went to the Camden Town Shed, which runs woodwork and pottery classes, and some £32,000 was given to a nature reserve in Buckinghamshire so it could make its paths wheelchair-accessible." Amongst difficulties in building the Crewe to Manchester leg, a report says: "Then there are the aforementioned 'sex workers'. If HS2 is built, the report notes that they will lose the use of a 'drop-in centre' on Fairfield Street near Piccadilly that provides 'sexual health services' and a needle exchange." Read it and weep.
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Post by Rafwan on Sept 29, 2023 22:12:34 GMT
@rafwan I don't know what the problem is. I was simply pointing out to domjg that not all public schools have a "mono cultural, English setting". Hehe! Well, I was just wondering, in the light of our previous exchange, how you managed with this “majority” of schoolboys, and their, ahem, ‘odiferousness’?
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Sept 29, 2023 22:18:12 GMT
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pjw1961
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
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Post by pjw1961 on Sept 29, 2023 22:18:57 GMT
pjw1961 “ God knows how a knuckle-dragging bog-standard comprehensive troglodyte like me ever became a Chartered Accountant.” Did you never consider lion taming? My parents owned a cat - does that count?
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Sept 29, 2023 22:28:54 GMT
On the the Sycamore Gap tree, which I'd never heard of before, I understand that there is some hope that the stump is healthy and might develop new shoots. However the experts say that it won't be the same because it will develop multiple shoots and will resemble a bush more than a tree. Well, oi ain't got no book-larnin' yer honour but oi been managing trees in moi garding fer nigh on fifty yers and here's wot oi think - Assuming it does regrow, all they have to do is wait a couple of years and select the sturdiest-looking shoot. Then cut all the others down. It will need regular attention every few years in case other shoots develop but after a few decades there should be one main trunk again. Problem solved. You're welcome. It is famous because in the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" Robin, played by Kevin Costner, arrives on a beach in front of the white cliffs of Dover and sets off to walk walk to Nottingham (apparently a short distance away) and a couple of hours later is on Hadrian's Wall (including the now deceased tree) despite that being 235 miles north of Nottingham and almost 400 miles from Dover. This reveals something of Americans grasp of overseas geography.
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Post by isa on Sept 29, 2023 22:33:06 GMT
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 22:35:34 GMT
@rafwan I don't know what the problem is. I was simply pointing out to domjg that not all public schools have a "mono cultural, English setting". Hehe! Well, I was just wondering, in the light of our previous exchange, how you managed with this “majority” of schoolboys, and their, ahem, ‘odiferousness’? Weird.
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Post by jib on Sept 29, 2023 22:37:04 GMT
On the the Sycamore Gap tree, which I'd never heard of before, I understand that there is some hope that the stump is healthy and might develop new shoots. However the experts say that it won't be the same because it will develop multiple shoots and will resemble a bush more than a tree. Well, oi ain't got no book-larnin' yer honour but oi been managing trees in moi garding fer nigh on fifty yers and here's wot oi think - Assuming it does regrow, all they have to do is wait a couple of years and select the sturdiest-looking shoot. Then cut all the others down. It will need regular attention every few years in case other shoots develop but after a few decades there should be one main trunk again. Problem solved. You're welcome. It is famous because in the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" Robin, played by Kevin Costner, arrives on a beach in front of the white cliffs of Dover and sets off to walk walk to Nottingham (apparently a short distance away) and a couple of hours later is on Hadrian's Wall (including the now deceased tree) despite that being 235 miles north of Nottingham and almost 400 miles from Dover. This reveals something of Americans grasp of overseas geography. They had a wonderful High Speed Cart network back then.
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 22:39:04 GMT
On the the Sycamore Gap tree, which I'd never heard of before, I understand that there is some hope that the stump is healthy and might develop new shoots. However the experts say that it won't be the same because it will develop multiple shoots and will resemble a bush more than a tree. Well, oi ain't got no book-larnin' yer honour but oi been managing trees in moi garding fer nigh on fifty yers and here's wot oi think - Assuming it does regrow, all they have to do is wait a couple of years and select the sturdiest-looking shoot. Then cut all the others down. It will need regular attention every few years in case other shoots develop but after a few decades there should be one main trunk again. Problem solved. You're welcome. It is famous because in the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" Robin, played by Kevin Costner, arrives on a beach in front of the white cliffs of Dover and sets off to walk walk to Nottingham (apparently a short distance away) and a couple of hours later is on Hadrian's Wall (including the now deceased tree) despite that being 235 miles north of Nottingham and almost 400 miles from Dover. This reveals something of Americans grasp of overseas geography. From what I've read it has long been a famous local tree. From long before the film (which I've never seen). More importantly, what did you think of my arboriculture tips?
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Post by crossbat11 on Sept 29, 2023 22:41:06 GMT
It has just occurred to me that Mercian's recent advice to "Read it and weep" may as well go at the bottom of all his posts, irrespective of whether he is quoting others or writing them himself.
😉🤣
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 22:42:29 GMT
It has just occurred to me that Mercian's recent advice to "Read it and weep" may as well go at the bottom of all his posts, irrespective of whether he is quoting others or writing them himself. 😉🤣 Nice one. Yet another who doesn't appreciate arboriculture wisdom.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Sept 29, 2023 23:01:20 GMT
On the the Sycamore Gap tree, which I'd never heard of before, I understand that there is some hope that the stump is healthy and might develop new shoots. However the experts say that it won't be the same because it will develop multiple shoots and will resemble a bush more than a tree. Well, oi ain't got no book-larnin' yer honour but oi been managing trees in moi garding fer nigh on fifty yers and here's wot oi think - Assuming it does regrow, all they have to do is wait a couple of years and select the sturdiest-looking shoot. Then cut all the others down. It will need regular attention every few years in case other shoots develop but after a few decades there should be one main trunk again. Problem solved. You're welcome. It is famous because in the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" Robin, played by Kevin Costner, arrives on a beach in front of the white cliffs of Dover and sets off to walk walk to Nottingham (apparently a short distance away) and a couple of hours later is on Hadrian's Wall (including the now deceased tree) despite that being 235 miles north of Nottingham and almost 400 miles from Dover. This reveals something of Americans grasp of overseas geography. They probably use BBC weather maps - the ones that show that GB shrinks as it goes further north.
As to the tree itself, as mercian says, it can be coppiced to develop a single dominant shoot, and in 150-200 years will once again stand in it's former glory - except that England's first Tory government since 2024 will cut it down and distribute a bit or two to each pensioner household as their winter fuel allowance.
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Post by Rafwan on Sept 29, 2023 23:02:32 GMT
Hehe! Well, I was just wondering, in the light of our previous exchange, how you managed with this “majority” of schoolboys, and their, ahem, ‘odiferousness’? Weird. You don’t remember? Goodness, i still lose sleep over it!!
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Post by lens on Sept 29, 2023 23:14:58 GMT
What precisely is being banned, drivers can still drive it's just they need to keep their speed to an appropriate level in a residential zone. I heard a curious justification of lower speeds arguing it would only add 1 minute to average journeys. All sounds very negligible until you consider that maybe ten million journeys each year one minute longer? More? And was that really a calculated 1 minute or just a wild guess? Mathematically very dubious. And obviously depends on the length of the journey. A 1 mile journey will take 2 minutes at (a constant) 30mph - and 3 minutes at 20mph. I also heard the "only a minute per journey" claim (was it Mark Drakeford?) - is the claim therefore based on an *average* journey being only 1 mile!!!? OK, it may be argued that congestion will limit speed to 20mph or less even if the limit is 30, but the 1 minute extra claim assumes the average congestion free part of each journey length is only a mile. I find that impossible to believe. So yes, a wild guess with not much grasp of basic maths. I'll go along with a 20 limit on some roads, but the blanket limit has much less justification.
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 23:35:47 GMT
You don’t remember? Goodness, i still lose sleep over it!! Well I suppose it's a good thing that you lose sleep over something I've forgotten, but I don't even know what 'oderiferous' means if that's what this is about and i sure as hell aren't going to waste time looking it up this late at night.
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Post by lens on Sept 29, 2023 23:36:44 GMT
The initial reports were that just one from 31 needed hopsitalisation, but it actually turns out that 8 others needed urgent medical attention, including 4 that needed oxygen, but these treatments were given in the care home. Sadly thats what covid does, which it has in common with many other diseases. It attacks the old and weak. Throughout the epidemic it was when covid reached care homes that a wave of deaths began. As this is predominantly a site concerned with statistics, do we know how many residents in total were in the home? When my aunt went into a care home, a fairly sobering statistic we found out was that very roughly the average time a resident was in the home was 2 years. Which means that in a typical care home with 50 residents you would statistically expect on average roughly 25 deaths a year, or one every 2 weeks. Given that, 2 deaths after 16 days from an infection is arguably less than may be expected with an outbreak of such as flu in such a setting. In an ideal world you would want to keep all diseases out of such environments, but those figures hardly point to Covid now as being a fraction of the threat it was in 2020. (And I believe latest stats show the hospital cases figures peaked a week or so back, at a much lower level than previous peaks?)
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Post by mercian on Sept 29, 2023 23:38:23 GMT
I heard a curious justification of lower speeds arguing it would only add 1 minute to average journeys. All sounds very negligible until you consider that maybe ten million journeys each year one minute longer? More? And was that really a calculated 1 minute or just a wild guess? Mathematically very dubious. And obviously depends on the length of the journey. A 1 mile journey will take 2 minutes at (a constant) 30mph - and 3 minutes at 20mph. I also heard the "only a minute per journey" claim (was it Mark Drakeford?) - is the claim therefore based on an *average* journey being only 1 mile!!!? OK, it may be argued that congestion is will limit speed to 20mph or less even if the limit is 30, but the 1 minute extra claim assumes the average congestion free part of each journey length is only a mile. I find that impossible to believe. So yes, a wild guess with not much grasp of basic maths. I'll go along with a 20 limit on some roads, but the blanket limit has much less justification. If a car goes at 20 mph where it used to do 30, it will take longer and won't it therefore give out more pollution?
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Post by lens on Sept 29, 2023 23:53:24 GMT
OK, it may be argued that congestion is will limit speed to 20mph or less even if the limit is 30, but the 1 minute extra claim assumes the average congestion free part of each journey length is only a mile. I find that impossible to believe. So yes, a wild guess with not much grasp of basic maths. I'll go along with a 20 limit on some roads, but the blanket limit has much less justification. If a car goes at 20 mph where it used to do 30, it will take longer and won't it therefore give out more pollution? Interesting question. Assuming petrol or diesel it's likely to need a lower gear, but on the other hand air resistance will be less. You also need to distingush between pollution in the sense of such as NOx, and carbon emissions to cause climate change. (Something Sadiq Khan doesn't seem to know about - the ULEZ expansion is actually bad for CO2 and climate change, even if a slight air quality benefit. ) My guess would be the lower gear driving would probably be of greater significance, so you're probably right.
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Post by guymonde on Sept 29, 2023 23:55:34 GMT
If a car goes at 20 mph where it used to do 30, it will take longer and won't it therefore give out more pollution? No. "The health benefits of slowing traffic as part of the Healthy Streets Approach will dwarf any dis-benefits. Most of these benefits will come from supporting a shift to walking and cycling. Congestion can increase local air pollution but it is complex. Even where congestion increases local air pollution, the health impacts are likely to be negligible and outweighed by the health benefits of slowed traffic. 20mph zones do not appear to worsen air quality and they dramatically reduce road danger. They also support a shift to walking and cycling, generate less traffic noise and reduce community severance. In 20mph zones vehicles move more smoothly with fewer accelerations and decelerations. This driving style produces fewer particulate emissions. Speed bumps generate small, local increases in emissions, but the health impacts are likely to be negligible. They dramatically reduce road danger and support the Healthy Streets Approach" content.tfl.gov.uk/speed-emissions-and-health.pdf
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