'Join the Queue'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

"The House of Commons reconvenes on Tuesday to elect the speaker, after which MPs, old and new, will be officially sworn in, a process that can take several days."

https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jul/06/labour-starmer-rig...

"Each of these pre-eminent technologies shaped the societies that they enveloped. Print shaped the world for four and a half centuries, followed by broadcast, which ruled for 50 years or so. None of this would have surprised a biologist, who would see human culture as something that grows in an enveloping nutrient. Change the nutrient and you change the culture that grows in it."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/29/closing-th...

"To make things worse, we also invented a technology that enables every Tom, Dick and mad Harry to publish whatever they like on opaque global platforms, which are incentivised to propagate the wildest nonsense. And to this we have now added powerful tools (called AI) that automate the manufacture of misinformation on an epic scale. If you were a malign superpower that wanted to screw up the democratic world, you’d be hard put to do better than this."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9gOQgfPW4Y

"Starmer’s first session answering prime minister’s questions, probably with Rishi Sunak putting the questions as leader of the opposition, has been pencilled in for 24 July, the week after the state opening of parliament on 17 July."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/07/commons-334-roo...

5 Comments

'Time for a few Zeds'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

"Still, I suppose there are a lot of unemployed ex-Tory MPs, so maybe they might like to retrain for the construction industry. I can just see Liz Truss as a plasterer. Jacob Rees-Mogg as a chippy."

Cottingham Day...

"The curfew announcement comes as Naidoc week celebrations kick off in the town of about 25,000, attracting about 5,000 visitors from across the NT, Western Australia and South Australia."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/08/less-is-more-ke...

lol

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8807nkvy2lo

"It is the second time a precious item has been taken from the caverns, after the fossilised tooth of an extinct shark was stolen last year."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUL_yawY6Ks

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/nov/08/kids-these...

A 'Search for Spook'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

"A week on Saturday, the Conservatives will elect their new leader. Rishi Sunak, a symbol of what went before, will finally exit the stage and his successor will enter it - and so become one of the central characters of the years ahead. And on Wednesday, the highly anticipated and long talked about Budget will be published."

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/25/astronaut-hospitalized-n...

"He was at his most animated when I put it to him that his party seemed to be struggling to adjust to the realities of government."

https://ynygrowthhub.com/

"Before we know it, though, the long schlep home will begin – via Hawaii, California and Winnipeg - and Westminster’s tilt towards the Budget will become total."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE

"If they are out of work, learners are guaranteed a job interview with an employer after completing a Skills Bootcamp."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c774xjz3m7do

""And for that to be stolen… it’s absolutely terrible.""

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF1qfLMczNo

"Sandwiched between the soil and permafrost lie unusual metre-thick ponds of very salty water known as cryopegs, which are underlain by crystalised methane-water solids, kept stable by the high pressure and low temperature."

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/23/terrawatch-mystery-of-si...

"Quantum computers promise to solve problems too hard for even the most powerful supercomputers - like those requiring vast numbers of parallel computations like complex weather simulations, the binding of drugs to their targets, or the vagaries of financial markets."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/25/state-backed-loans-firms-i...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbuFLUJ89Kw

"So he got out and said to Sir George 'I was hired to drive a coach not to fly your contraptions', and handed in his notice."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7481gev0k3o

'Remember, she did everything backwards and in heels.'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/oct/24/thanks-to-this-unsung-magi...

Little Ears.

'Organic Frameworks'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

Never Count your Chickens...

"Just half a pound of the stuff may remove as much carbon dioxide as a tree can, according to early tests. Once the carbon is absorbed by the powder, it can be released into safe storage or be used in industrial processes, like carbonizing drinks."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/11/27/angela-rayner-meets-pope...

"Following his Budget, the head of McVitie’s has said that it has been harder to understand what the case for investment in the UK is."

Broomsticks.

"We define political consciousness as a way of seeing, caring about and acting in the world. It is guided by a commitment to human rights and justice and an understanding of power and inequity in social, political and economic systems, relations and values."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/25/san-francisco-navy-lab-h...

The Ironic.

"“Speak not of the wild animal, lest he should appear,” because you're simply too afraid of seeing one. The name bear is a euphemism; it's a good word substituted for a bad one. It's probably the oldest known euphemism in world ."

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/nov/30/how-is-glitter-made...

Sleep Tight.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/29/covalent-organic-fra...

Hmmm...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjbQEEdVcDI

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qdj80py3no

lol

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/nov/29/houseplant-of-the-w...

Straight Face.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/24759156.nandos...

The Silence.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/understanding-plants/how-plants-breathe

"“There’s one thing for sure, whatever political position I hold, I will always fight for the coast and moors and the opportunities of the renewable sector.”"

Best not mention Harry Potter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52chF7DWJcY

""I always bring some different elements - improvisation, the piano, the flute, the jazz harmonisation - so that the music is going through another process of creolisation."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7vwlg8rmo

'Never Rest'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

"If this sounds farcical, vaguely embarrassing for all concerned and massively irrelevant to your life, you would be right. But in between the first chapter and the last (or perhaps the penultimate, given the aftershocks still reverberating through No 10), the episode acted as a masterclass in the patterns that define the stakes of British politics and characterise the stakeholders. It is also a portent of the future."

https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/jan/26/earth-tot...

"The problem is that none of this has any connection whatsoever to the real world. Streeting, our new political behemoth, was voted back in on a dramatically slashed majority of just over 500 votes, and is leading an NHS reform process blasted as "chaotic and incoherent'  by the Institute for Government."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc16Y9fiCvQ&list=RDHc16Y9fiCvQ&start_rad...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/17/labour-briefing-of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BwzP1laWkQ&list=RD3BwzP1laWkQ&start_rad...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/16/is-there-a-dark-side-to-gr...

It's like Pandora's Box, innit...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c2059g6757qt

So, Erm... 

Migrants don't like each other? Is that what she's trying to Say? 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/nov/17/starwatch-trace-cetus-se...

It's a bit like South Cliff, innit. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1at7kKzBYxI&list=RD1at7kKzBYxI&start_rad...

"Legislation there also allows for the seizing of assets at the border - including jewellery - though the Danish Immigration and Integration ministry told me this rarely happens."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9kwe27pvpo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr7pyggTmmY

"Every member was given the opportunity to stare him in the whites of his eyes."

Proudfoots are selling Kelloggs Frosties @ £ 2.50 

I just thought I'd announce that...;-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BH-Rxd-NBo&list=RD6BH-Rxd-NBo&start_rad...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/17/shabana-mahmood-puts-th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZdjT1472Y&list=RD3BwzP1laWkQ&index=3

""Don't let stories like this deter you. You just need to have some confidence in yourself and go for it.""

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/25634987.scarborough-town-council-full-...

"An amber weather warning has also been issued for Thursday, with the Met Office predicting that “as much as 15 to 25 cm” of snow could accumulate over the North York Moors."

Awwe... 

'Maybe This, Maybe That'

Submitted by Captain Qalypso on

"The state of play on North Yorkshire Council saw it controlled by the Conservative Party who hold 47 seats, as against 43 opposition seats with Liberal Democrat and Liberal (14), Labour (11), NY Independent (10 seats), Green (4) and Unaffiliated (4)."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/25/nigel-farage-reform-lea...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXnqZo03PHY&list=RDqXnqZo03PHY&start_rad...

The height of basketball players...

lol

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/25/rfk-erotic-poetry-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjqoALycOis&list=RDCjqoALycOis&start_rad...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy8vz032qgpt

lol

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93n7nl3pq0o

I'll be Bach.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2025/nov/26/budget-2025-rachel-...

Dunno why they can't legalise those EV Scooters and give providence to free bus & travel for students & the homeless mesen but hey ho...

Here we go; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azpVGxpxWaY&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&start_rad...

Ya don't spose 'Dirk' would consider joining the Labour Party do ya? 

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/your-council/councillors-committees-and-me...

Stranger Things. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/25/rebuilding-human-made-abys...

I feel a Wes Anderson movie coming on ...

"It appears it was uploaded onto the OBR’s website by mistake."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL5f8awRGOU&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=3

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2025/nov/20/you-be-t...

I'm already losing interest...

Can ya believe the Who have done a last farewell? 

"Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch are going through the motions of a PMQs before the Budget. The prime minister just said that it’s “literally 25 minutes” until the measures will be unveiled."

Bless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYF1JqVx-dk&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=4

Best not mention the Yellow Brick Road.

"We're still going through it, but here are some main lines:

  • The freeze in income tax thresholds "were extended for another three years until April 2031 in this Budget", the report says. That's a year longer than was expected. It means more people will pay higher rates of income tax as their pay rises
  • There will be a new mileage tax for electric vehicles from April 2028. "In 2028-29, the charge will equal £0.03 per mile for battery electric cars and £0.015 per mile for plug-in hybrid cars, with the rate per mile increasing annually with CPI," the report says
  • The two-child benefit cap "within universal credit" is being lifted from April 2026. "Its removal costs £2.3 billion in 2026- 27 and £3.0 billion in 2029-30," the OBR says
  • "Salary sacrifice" pension contributions above £2,000 will face National Insurance from April 2029. "This means that salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000 will be treated as ordinary employee pension contributions in the tax system," the report says
  • There will be a new tax on houses worth more than £2m. The report calls it a "a high value council tax surcharge on properties worth over £2 million, raising £0.4 billion"
  • Lower growth is forecast. "Real GDP is forecast to grow by 1.5 per cent on average over the forecast, 0.3 percentage points slower than we projected in March, due to lower underlying productivity growth," it says"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtb10ZwbReY&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=5

Anyhoos, there I was thinking about that Monolith.

"Prime Minister's Questions has just ended, which means it's time for Rachel Reeves to deliver her Budget (although we already know what's in it, thanks to the OBR)."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp3D1v_pO6k&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=6

Fact Checking...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2025/nov/26/budget-2025-rachel-...

Best not mention Brexit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quAfLC-9LUo&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=7

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d6zwppjvjo

"The results of the North Sea review will not directly reference the decision being considered by ministers over whether to give the go ahead to the controversial Rosebank field, which Ed Miliband was vocally opposed to while in opposition."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3TvOYAdMGU&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=8

"She mentions other infrastructure, including Northern Powerhouse Rail, which she says the government still supports."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbBDrceCy8&list=RDazpVGxpxWaY&index=14

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2evnd6zlyo

Bingo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPlb5PLBvg&list=RDwqPlb5PLBvg&start_rad...

"Rachel Reeves has finished, and sits down to a large pat on the back from Prime Minister Keir Starmer while the rest of the Labour benches wave white papers and cheer."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy8vz032qgpt

Wotdoyamean wit's ya birthday in four weeks... ;-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL53EUbHazo&list=RDjL53EUbHazo&start_rad...

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/26/the-death-of-the-li...