sonyc

Apologies then. But truly, I'm not getting on your 'case'. And I'm happy not to respond to any posts by the way. That way, no room for misinterpretation. I don't agree by the way with avoidance as a method for going about life but sometimes it's a necessary strategy if folk feel 'got at' and I'm sensitive enough a person to do what I think is right - rather than what I feel. Feelings can mislead anyway. Happily, feelings pass and are temporary. Life is far too short for falling out - with anyone. I think I've mentioned before I just slipped away / became more remote from two Brexit and racist friends. I reckon everyone is happy and all can lead their respective lives and not one cross word has been spoken. Avoidance has its place. It's just not useful in the longer term. And I'm not someone either who gives it back (i.e. in kind ...of the stuff they receive). I'm not into internet forum battles or angry exchanges. I tend to absorb stuff and then let it just fall away, dissolved. It's my expertise really and have had a lot of practice. It's a rare occurrence to be annoyed by anyone. Have a lovely day in France anyway. The weather here has been wonderful for many weeks and I cannot wait for rain. Sunday looks hopeful.

I don't do accusations LYB...not my style, if you're looking for a fight. I was referencing a comment I think you made in reply to Yellow Fever about his anecdote in a recent post. So, I remembered that and hence tried to qualify my comment about my own so as not to annoy you. To head that off at the pass as it were. I tend to be mindful of what angers people. So, rather than accuse you perhaps you'll see it was instigated by quite a different intention. If I was to be more direct then you'd surely know about it. I would be very explicit in my criticism. If you remain aggrieved then my apologies.

I disagree with you very strongly. There were many stories at the time about how government was hamstrung. The sheer amount of preparatory work was unappreciated. And I happen to know this is true but don't wish to add an anecdote here because you dislike firsthand experience and mistrust it. Which is fair enough, though sometimes we need to accept another's account. I don't think it's a weak argument whatsoever. Even if one accepts that it was true then it's hardly an earth shattering revelation. It was clear that the administration struggled. You only had to watch those daily press conferences during Covid. Truly extraordinary. There was a paucity of talent in that cabinet. I would have preferred you to be in the cabinet than many of those characters. There were lies upon lies made about Brexit. There is a great website (think it was the Yorkshire Post) outlining every single one (based on David Davis' comments at the outset). The lies all covered up a great deal of technical problems, accompanied by bluster and faux humour by the leader, Johnson. And yes, Brexit is a fact and I know you dislike people posting about it but it is alive as a subject as any other political issue we've lived through. It continues to affect society and our economy. It's not the end of the world but certainly it's a subject worthy of ongoing debate.

Thank you very much D. I will look up The Coming Storm and also Boston Legal. Likewise, regarding Barry, I've stayed with it (series 1) so far but I'm less convinced that there is an underlying story or theme that might keep me with it. There's something missing at the moment. I've also been listening to the short set of programmes about conspiracists. There was a political / psychological 'phase' just after the turn of the last century (irrationalism) and I wonder at times whether this is a 21st century re-entry. I must admit I find it disturbing and even think as a nation some parts are harking back to a medieval time period! Witch finding and all that. It's the same with 'Brexit freedoms'...it feels utterly irrational and counter reality to me. Having been in Brexiter company, some views are very worrying. I can also see now, first hand, how Hitler used the German people to create hatred. That history is not very old is it? I know I'm digressing. Apologies As for TV I'm not sure. You may well have a point about too much choice. And with that comes a reduction in quality. Football now is just about money. In the top tiers. I'm close to giving up on it. I understand how others feel too who've posted. There is something very cynical afoot. Like you, I love the cricket season coming around (I was asked when aged 10 by a friend who lived on the street to pick a county. I selected Sussex. So that's been my team for years. Loved the 1970s Lancashire teams too. And all test cricket. Test Match Special is special, even after Blowers and Jonners have gone. Life is special in our autumn / winter years and I have no wish really to waste too much of it!

Think you may well be very right. The big thing for me is that an inquiry is okay but will we act on the findings? Will we actually think about the recommendations and then either legislate or fund the things that were lacking? There will be a furore and serious grievances levelled but will things change? My fear is that they won't. And whatever they say will also be criticised! Hancock and care homes? Johnson and following the science and not even following the spirit of the law he gravely announced for the rest of us? The fast lane contracts? The lack of preparedness? Will the NHS be better prepared ahead? Will 40 new hospitals be built? Let's face it, we had the wrong government for a national crisis and pandemic. I think it's positive that people affected by the pandemic are heard. It may help them find some kind of closure for their grief I'm sceptical it must be said about our government - but then, many of us are.

Would seriously suggest downloading the Radio Box app Dylan. It has hundreds of stations, from across the world too. I tend to have a 'diet' of R3 (but at specific times...there is a great J to Z programme if you like jazz for example and a whole mix of classical programming that you can pick and mix). R6 is very decent - again trial and error on who you may like. I tend to stay away from Mary Ann Hobbes because she just reminds me of a modern day Smashie & Nicey DJ. The evening stuff is eclectic and late afternoon too. Sunday mornings are great with Cerys Matthews and the output is what the BBC do very well..i.e. very eclectic. It opens up tons of stuff for more exploration. Thanks to Herman in the past for suggesting her. I've never looked back. Radio Caroline as WOAS suggests is good for the breadth of 60s/70s/80s/90s output - might appeal to people of a certain age (born very late 50s / early sixties). I also dip into French music as I'm a fan. But a rarer habit. RFM is non stop. But again, I've got into some weird things I would never have listened to before. Again, trial and error. They tend to have a French song and then English one alternated. Scala is good after 10pm (The Space) as is R3 Mondays to Thursday after 11pm (Night Tracks) and you get some decent mellow music, electronic, occasional folk or nouveau classical. Friday and Saturday nights (late) you get new music - the really weird and wonderful (mostly the former). R4 again is about pick and mix. Wonderfully eclectic. Would recommend the German ABC Jazz too. Whoever curates does a very good job. I realise some are not keen. The Verb on R3 can be a good listen as can The Essay each day (after 10pm). I'm someone increasingly bored by TV. I can watch for an hour or so but then get restless and want my mind activated. Succession was very good and now I'm into Barry (Netflix) but after an episode I want to tune away. Radio does it far better because it allows imagination. Just by taking one sense away somehow makes the experience better. Even R4 plays can be excellent. Sorry for the long reply. I cannot help but be very enthusiastic about radio! I veer away from politics on the whole and leave that to the online papers for just an hour in the morning. There was a great podcast thread too not long ago. That's if you want to follow a topic right the way through. I tend again to be more pick and mix in my listening as I want to keep ideas going and get material from different places. But we are all different.

Brexit planning and Covid. No deal scenarios took up huge resource time...Covid policy made up on the hoof....leaving the country more unprepared. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/13/no-deal-brexit-planning-crowded-out-efforts-to-prepare-for-pandemic-covid-inquiry? Early messages from the Covid inquiry which started today. I seem to recall our earlier thread on the pandemic and similar thoughts posted.

Ah ....but we gave them Andy Hughes and Steve Morison Just for some balance here...

Yes, that is a decent end of term score and summary.... I noted that even in his resignation statement he talks about staff who have grown and developed. That's just reflected self- glory. It feels odd him doing his mid May press conference and not even a hint that he was leaving. It now feels like he was giving himself a bit of justification for what he knew was coming by criticising the pressure and abuse from (some) fans. If he goes to Leeds (do we add 2 & 2 together?) it will be a club with a bigger ego than Norwich City. Then, many clubs have (and why I love my club too in some respects). That bigger club ethos is what he is searching for to match his own. Could be a decent match for him. Assume the timing is to get this right out in the open now (and again I assume it's because of the increasing amount of media suggesting he is "in talks"). In other words, he was waiting to know where he was landing before telling people he was off. I'm grateful for his time with us but like many am pleased that we will have no longer have an association with him. Now ...we have a really crucial appointment. Hope our recruitment is solid in this field.

Spent far too long in my bedroom as a young teenager listening to it. It used to blow good and bad with the signal fading at points in songs. Still, it never stopped me taping stuff I could not normally hear even with the poor signal on my crappy transistor radio. I've still got a tape or two I think (reckon 1973 ish). I did try out Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes later in life so that product placement must have been effective. Thankfully, I didn't follow up on being a smoker.

There is that old saying "if you're not at the table you're on the menu" and that describes Brexit well. Exceptionalists seem to think the UK is the UK of around 100 years ago. That ship has sailed (to use a colonial kind of cliche).

Lots of Twitter talk yes. I would imagine that as a Leeds fan he definitely would give them the extra 10%. No 90% for them. It would be a good fit for him. He has intimated a few times that his time with us is borrowed. That he would leave. A new project too for him. It's often the case that very ambitious people need to keep finding new jobs. As for a link up with DF, it's a possibility - a reset. I'm quite sure they'll still be in touch and DF knows how football works. You don't get results on the pitch and you'll know what might happen. He is a realist and a philosophical sort. I could easily see him working with Webber again. Better the devil you know. Will be sickening to see really, especially at Leeds. But (if it transpires) such is life and it is only football.

I don't know the first question but seem to recall reading about E M Forster for the Hawkwind link? I got rid of an old cassette not too long ago (my 'freaky' 70s stuff). ....but I might be wrong?

https://unherd.com/2023/06/boris-johnsons-theatre-of-the-absurd/ An interesting read on Johnson and how he works. It's a psychological insight into his failure and there are many references that link to my own impressions formed over many years of Johnson being the eternal child (puer aeternus) archetype. Would recommend to anyone. This short extract stood out for me especially: "The philosopher John Gray told me that the key to understanding Johnson was that the “mask has moulded to the face”. Just as we all have our public and private personas, so does Johnson. But with him, the chaos and mockery, jokes and shallowness, are both real and performative. This is the key to understanding Johnson. He uses chaos to distract; but he is also chaotic to the point at which he undermined his entire premiership". The problem arrived when his schtick of mocking and joking about the failure of past political elites became impossible when he "became part of that failed political class" himself. So many people have been in thrall to this man, which I can only assume demonstrates (a) the power of his persona and (b) an inability to see a 'whole' of a person. Hoodwinked? A poor radar for people? A lack of depth on one's ability to read people. We all come across ****holes in life, even those with a powerful personality - but we can suspend our judgement on such folk. All that glistens and all that. Perhaps his wife sees more of the real person he hides from everyone - the doubter, the worrier, the misunderstood. The human parts that we all have, the weaknesses, the insecurities... but we of course are not keen to show others. That must be true of celebrities and politicians alike. All in the public eye, all putting on a 'jolly good show'. We need people in power and with huge responsibility to have done much more work on themselves before they've entered public life and on such a big stage as government. Johnson, I'm convinced, has demonstrated that by playing a game he could live it - and it worked for a long while. But, gradually people see more behind the mask.