samantharad.bsky.social
Interested in politics, history, food and music. Have a level of professionalism in at least one of them. Spend a lot of the time agog at the world for good and bad reasons. All opinions my own etc.
63 posts
23 followers
255 following
Active Commenter
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In my part of the North East our band C council tax is more than double that in Westminster
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Hear this guff from business people a lot. "We need more vocational education...to many going to university...micky mouse degrees....blah..blah"
"So what are your kids doing?"
"Oh, they're at university"
It's always someone else's kids who shouldn't go to university
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Wet paper towel
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Swings in and out as well as round and round so anyone on the inside risks bruising an broken limbs. We were made of stern stuff
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external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%...
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Witches hat roundabout with wooden seats rotted to sharp splinters.
Big puddle at the bottom of the slide
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Glorious commentary on the website Simon, you’ve had us in stitches thank you. We’ve followed xrrf for years and look forward to the annual seance
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Actually scratch the “new” that exactly what gave Boris his springboard of course
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Interesting thought around new Mayoral routes to the top job. I imagine (Lord) Houchen has designs on the Tory leadership
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Wicked Little Letters of Credit
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Literally and metaphorically
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I always thought Robert Glenister would make a good Ron. That's how I saw him when I read the books.
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Same on Escape to the Country. Kitchen you could park an aircraft in "It's a bit small"
See also "We want some land, about 5 acres would do". You've come from a 2 up 2 down in Tooting Derek! you haven't even got a lawnmower
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Oh and sometimes having grandchildren to care for to alleviate sky high childcare fees. As well as juggling everything else
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Caring for elderly parents, navigating a crumbling/non-existent social care system and still having adult children at home - the demographic doing it all. Well, the women are - the men not so much (usually)
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Not one for those of a nervous disposition if it is the R v Brown I'm thinking of
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I always smile with Donoghue v Stevenson imagining the reaction of the Partners in a high street law firm today when a potential client walks in demanding her snail in ginger beer be taken all the way to the Supreme Court
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Exhausted but flinty thin woman heading West down a dusty road with a large bundle
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He is wearing a suit though
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But..but…there’s a new tunnel under the Thames and a shiny new runway at Heathrow, we should be grateful
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John Peel, Keith Moon, Alan Rickman and Bez
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Elbows up Europe!!!
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"Non of the federal workers in the Department of Education have noticed I'm an intellectual.🤣" Outstanding!
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Stanley is bigger than Prudhoe as well
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The residents of Stanley, County Durham will be outraged - an they are prime GB News demographic
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Prudhoe - South Northumberland. It's tiny as towns go so I'm just impressed it made the list
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I'm reading it for the first time at the moment (no spoilers!). I find the descriptive nature of it really rich. I had to re-calibrate my reading to a slower pace which I'm actually finding quite soothing (if sometimes a little frustrating where the plot could rattle along a bit more quickly).
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I'll do my bit for French and Italian wine...I mean I already do a lot...but I think I can rise to the challenge #hic
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I for one am happy to pick up the slack and drink as much French and Italian wine as I can #TakethatTrump .....and probably #Takethatliver
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The Amin of admin
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How’s that libertarian, individual freedoms thing working out for them?
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Gone one better, switched our travel plans from the US and just booked a lovely vacation in Mexico.
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My favourite is the one about sending woollen socks. Living not too far from the Wall I can confirm the need for thick socks is still very much a thing.
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I'm no Houchen fan but you need to be a bit careful about these stats. Stats by region are from PAYE by residence of employee. Those working in Tees Valley but living outside will be counted elsewhere. Agreed, employment of TV residents may be down but doesn't mean overall jobs necessarily are
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Collective sigh from the North as they watch large chunks of infrastructure funding chug South AGAIN
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The whole thing is baffling
Lisa:"Charlotte and Minah I'm looking at you as Traitors"
Claudia: "Lisa, please reveal who you think is a Traitor"
Lisa: "Leon"
[Facepalm]
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Not a journalist but I have sat in the room when Starmer has been taking questions. Journos look daft when 5 ask the same question & have to politicians wearily trot out the same answer, then that's it, time up. I do think you are right on Starmer's approach though, Blair's was far more human
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The man behind us was an ill-informed know-all
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I read it on a campsite in France. I think the dutch couple in the next tent were quite startled when I shouted "oooh you absolute shit" at Angel Clare. It's probably the only book which has made me do that.
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For A Level
King Lear (High body count)
Henry IV Pt 1 (Pretty good)
Heart of Darkness (Miserable, did lead me to a bit more Conrad though)
Hard Times (Moralising misery)
Silvia Plath Poetry (Not happy reading)
Death of a Salesman (20th Century misery)
It wasn't the most cheerful syllabus
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I'd also like to see -
Satisfactory infrastructure built first before starting houses
Full infrastructure assessment for every site & impact on locality
Developers properly held to account. If your planning says 30 no building 50 and then relying on the Council being too poor to enforce/fight
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Maybe with each team in impossibly large foam rubber suits getting each piece of the marbles over a swimming pool obstacle course whilst other teams chuck foam at them? Or has that already been done
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Not just to Greater London www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2468825... to communities who can least support it
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When my son was about 3 he looked confused and said "Mummy, I've got fizzy feet!"
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If you can have a second, so can I
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Well there's this one
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I wish they would speak like real people & not the staccato, monotone they all seem to have adopted when answering questions. They sound like robots. Agree or not, Prescott spoke like he was having a conversation, Blair did, Anna Soubry was good too. Easier to connect with folk when you sound real.