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As anyone who watches the news will know, it’s been unusually stormy here in the westcountry
I was in Devon last week and the rain was indeed biblical, and my plans for several invigorating walks were more or less cancelled.
A friend reported that his garden in the village of Topsham had standing water in it for the first time in the 15 years or so he’s lived there.
I had a train ticket for the return home on Tuesday but the line near Exeter was flooded. Fortunately I was allowed to use it for travel on Wednesday. The Somerset Levels were a near-continuous lake; all very picturesque from a train window, revelling in other people’s misery
Briish PMs from Teresa May on seem so deferential now, looking for scraps from the US, China and India. Since Brexit the big shots really do consider the UK to be small beans. As an influential part of the EU we carried some weight, but those days are gone.
A guarded welcome for Starmer’s attempts to renew relations with China: turn your back to the west and look east would seem a wise move henceforth
Pleasingly, Trump is annoyed by Starmer’s visit
China undoubtedly has appalling human-rights record within its borders and it might pose a cyber-security threat to us; but it doesn’t pose a military threat, so a circumspect thawing of relations gets the thumbs-up from me
“China might have an appalling human-rights record within its borders and it might pose a cyber-security threat to us”.
There really isn’t any “might” about the first one!
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/east-asia/china/report-china/
Yep, far too polite, I’m just that kinda guy. Duly edited from ‘might’ to ‘undoubtedly has’
Hope that’s satisfactory
Of course!
Good to see someone else here recognises the threat posed by the vicious human rights abusing dictatorship. A few posts here were beginning to look like a China love-in.
I wouldn’t say China love in, having spent years in USA and China. One is more safer than the other and deals with crime very well.
If someone committed a clear cut murder in China, they would not be given 29 years in a soft jail with TV and food. Their organs may live longer than the body though.
Considering our history I don’t think we can hold our nose in the air when it comes to human rights …..
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Not to mention those on the right who like to get on their high horse about human rights yet represent parties whose stated aim is to abandon the European Convention on, er, Human Rights.
Like it or not, China is a massively wealthy and powerful country. I’d rather be in their good books and they are a far more reliable trading partner than the USA at present which is showing itself to be unreliable at best and downright hostile at worst depending on the whims of it’s mentally unstable leader with a fragile ego.
As Drone says, a cautious welcome.
Of course there is an element of realpolitik here. China will be the dominant power in the world in the latter half of the 21st century. As such, it is (to an extent) given a free pass which other countries that commit similar acts do not receive. Likewise, Saudi Arabia has been indulged for many years.
It just goes against the grain to welcome good relations with them. And I can’t help feeling that the British Left would be a lot more vocal about a regime it perceived as “right wing” which behaved in a similar manner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Uyghurs_in_China
For what it’s worth, I personally didn’t have any issue when Starmer was accused of cosying up to Trump. The State Visit didn’t particularly bother me for example. Diplomacy is going to involve dealing with people you don’t like and if Trump needed his ego massaging with a State Visit then go for it. You have to be realistic and deal with the world as it is.
From page 102: “I suspect a more significant issue (but much less talked about) is people driving while under the influence of drugs”.
I noticed a report in one of the more disreputable tabloids that Jeremy Noseda, Classic winner ex-trainer, was recently arrested near his home and has been charged with driving while under the influence of cocaine. He is to stand trial later in the year.
The next time a Newmarket trainer tries to have us believe he is living on the breadline, it might be worth pointing out that one of their former colleagues is so poor that he can afford to be (allegedly) high as a kite on the Colombian marching powder whilst behind the wheel of his Aston Martin.
Having just looked him up, on top of that you can add retiring at age 55 to that last paragraph although I do realise that he may have done other things for money since then.
A reminder that drug use is not purely a young person’s game.
Beth Rigby has really got it in for Starmer. I don’t know why he lets her interview him. I’ve complained to Sky several times; she never gives Reform such a hard time.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/31/publicans-bemused-single-file-queue-trend-pubs
Good news, pubs are now so busy that the way people queue at the bar is becoming a problem.
I actually think queuing makes more sense. There’s nothing worse than standing at the bar while the bar staff serve regulars/their mates first and studiously ignore you. I have experienced this many times.
When I was young, nearly all customers adhered to basic pub etiquette – if someone came to the bar after me but were served first, they would point out to the barman that I was there before they were. Sadly, even basic manners such as these appear to be dying out in my experience.
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