peterwstone.bsky.social
Englishman, living in rural France. Forty years earning a living as a photographer have diminished that passion somewhat but paintings, music, birds and enjoying life are enough to fill the void. The older I get, the more to the left I find myself leaning.
41 posts
136 followers
271 following
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On the day of the referendum, my wife and I had a discussion with a waiter in our local café, here in France. He assured us that France would be next because "On paie, on paie." Loads of Frexit posters appeared around that time but none since. As a neighbour says "Brexit.. c'est une catastrophe."
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An interesting thread but there seems to be one dominant feature; that the UK has an overwhelming appetite for 'out with the old and in with the new.' The ensuing demise of traditional party loyalties allows Reform, the new kids on the block, to hoover-up the disaffected - and there are many.
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In my case, tests are 'à domicile' with results posted - along with 'étiquettes' - for future tests. No email sent but I go online, later the same day, to get my results direct from the lab. It's a great system, that puts the patient first.
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“The British public is more liberal and tolerant..." I wish I could agree but we must face the fact that there is a sizeable minority that rather likes what it hears from Reform. And Reform doesn't need a majority to win a GE. It might require a concerted effort to keep Farage out of government.
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I have no doubt that Labour will deliver. But what? They've already delivered foolish EU red lines, cuts to fuel allowance, hard-nosed posturing on immigration and threatened cuts to disability benefits. Another prolonged period of austerity is not what people voted for. I despair.
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After years of austerity under the Tories, little has changed for the better under Labour. Keeping the frozen tax threshold, scrapping winter fuel payments and cutting disability benefits are hardly vote winners. Then we have their idiotic EU red lines. What's to like?
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The Tories don't deserve to survive but they are needed, even if it's only to split the right-wing vote. The left-wing vote has been split 3 ways for some time, while the right has raced away, unbroken and unchecked. But Reform has changed all that.
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Disappointing but not surprising. Starmer has been adamant all along that there'd be no return to the Customs Union or Single Market, so I've never held out any hope that it would happen. As leader of the Opposition, Starmer didn't once hold the Tories to account over Brexit during PMQs.
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It's so tedious and predictable and no different to Remainers being blamed for the utter failure that is Brexit.
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"...going backwards" is a deliberate verbal sleight of hand with negative connotations. In reality, the UK has been moving inexorably backwards since 2016, thanks to Brexit. You don't need to be a genius to work out how to stop the slide.
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Damaging the life-chances of teenagers! How can Johnson, who removed the right of young people to move freely, seek work and live within the EU, even dare to speak on the subject?
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Yes, daily. I have a friend who insists that "nobody uses email anymore" and I have to correct him every time!
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We occasionally get a venomous centipede in our house in France - Scutigera coleoptrata or House Centipede - which has been found (more rarely) in the UK. However, its colour is generally brown rather than green, which probably rules it out.
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This is true. Shortly after I started my own business, a wealthy client asked me if I paid tax, which he described as "entirely voluntary."
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The first time I saw Tim Curry was in a Dennis Potter play - I think it was Schmoedipus - and he was quite brilliant. Some time in the early 70s I think.
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I know someone who might find this useful - have sent her a link!
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Oh, you just wait till they shoot the prequel.
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Same for me in France. This is infuriating for those of us who used to be able to order from the UK, without punitive Customs charges, pre-Brexit but it must be significantly worse for those businesses that depended on exporting products into mainland Europe.
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"We've been clear..." Here we go again, the same old hackneyed phrase, so frequently used by the last government, to prop up depressingly muddled thought. I'd hoped for more from Cooper, if not Starmer.
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It's the only way I can listen. This is why I hate incidental music in drama - I can either listen to the music or to the words, not both at the same time. The BBC and ITV ruin many productions with music. Music demands to be listened to in its own right.
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I was five at the time and it's one of my early memories. I can still hear, vividly, the grown-ups discussing the devastation with an urgency to their voices that made a lasting impression on me.
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"Spades in ground" is the same hackneyed phrase that Liz Truss used in her maiden speech. Reeves needs to be careful that her career doesn't end in the same way that Truss's ended - in ignominy.
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You need to return to that state, long forgotten, where you own the books and not vice versa.
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There is no case to be made for the government's continued resistance to a customs agreement with Europe - an agreement that could be reached while still honouring the referendum. Are they that terrified of a mauling by Murdoch's press? A mauling that is guaranteed whatever they do.
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I applied shortly after the election was announced but only received my papers on Monday of election week. Post from France to the UK takes about five days, so little chance of getting them back in time. Why the delay in getting papers out to voters? I think we waited around four weeks.
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It as a while ago but I'm pretty sure I sent a letter of appreciation to the author's publisher. He wrote back to thank me for my comments - so, two happy people!
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Always good to question these things but it's worth noting that Reuters ends the piece with this line “it is a reasonable summary of Goebbels’s views— but he never would have put it in that way."
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I rarely initiate posts but like to reply if I see something that piques my interest. I assume you don't intend to knock out those who tend only to respond to posts, rather than start them? I think both are needed to provoke broad debate. Not that it will affect me as you're not following me.
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Looks to be an excellent solution for people suffering from claustrophobia who avoid taking lifts, opting for stairs, no matter how many floors need climbing.
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As someone who lives in France, Brexit has had a profound effect. Huge and ongoing financial cost and disenfranchisement - I can no longer vote in local and EU elections. I have zero say in decisions that could directly affect me.
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The fact that some people are taken in by this satire is surely a sign of how low our expectations are when it comes to politicians in general and, perhaps, the Tories in particular.
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Divided those who pronounce it into two camps - those who say "Tue..." and those who say "Tur..."
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If it's a reference book, then only a physical edition will do. But for most novels, which are read just once, I much prefer to read on a tablet. But books which have been passed down or given as presents will almost invariably find a place on the bookshelves - whatever the genre.
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Once you control the media, you control the message. This takes money. Brexit was, and remains, an obvious example of this. It's too late now to reverse the catastrophe of Brexit (for the foreseeable future) but Farage must be thwarted.
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This is a disturbing poll. If nearly a quarter of those polled are unsure of the need for the ECHR, we're in trouble.
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I'm not sure how anyone can live with the colours of his vacuum cleaners. If we're to give up some part of our house to such an object, surely the least we can expect is that it's not aesthetically offensive?
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As a photographer, when on location, I would often erect umbrellas as a part of the lighting set-up. From time to time, someone would ask "Are you expecting rain?" to which I invariably replied "Only light showers." I never received a response other than a concessionary nod.
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Absolutely agree. Wonderful book.
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Broadly true but I think the age thing is perhaps overstated. The crossover from remain to leave seems to start in the 40-49 age group. From my perspective as someone in his seventies, that seems enviably young!
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Listened to an in depth report on France Info last night about the exodus from Twitter to BS, particularly in Britain where Twitter is regarded as "toxique." This kind of coverage will no doubt help spread the word to more distant shores.
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Ambiguity of expression is something that Manet seemed to be drawn to. For example, the same questions could be asked of the central figure in Manet's "Luncheon in the Studio" and, to a lesser extent, the woman (servant?) in the background.