Can't Spell, Can't Count...

...that's the 'Mail' for you!

Staff at his restaurant were filmed preparing the fish in a video on social media. But a wildlife campaigner said Stein should be ashamed of himself for cashing in on 'these rare incredible fish'.

A campaigner? Then why the plural in the headline? 

Dominic Dyer, a wildlife campaigner, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'Why are fishermen being licensed to catch these incredible fish? Also, what is Rick Stein thinking, promoting the catch of this rare 150kg specimen to feed to tourists in his hugely expensive Padstow restaurant?

'There is no such thing as sustainable management of these rare incredible fish and Rick Stein should be ashamed of himself cashing in on killing them.'

*sighs* No such thing, eh? 

Fishermen were banned from catching bluefin tuna – the most expensive fish in the world – after overfishing of herring and mackerel depleted its food supply and it vanished off Cornwall in the 1950s. But it has now returned, due to rising sea temperatures, and the ban was relaxed in 2021.

Seems there is indeed such a thing! So global warming ain't all bad, is it?

A spokesman for Stein's restaurants said the fish was caught by 'one of ten boats with a licence to catch some of the small quota allowed by the Marine Management Organisation – a quota that's been carefully decided upon following detailed tracking and research of tuna in our waters'.

And the fishermen caught it because it's their job. Just as it's Stein's restaurant staff's job to feed tourists. 

What have you got against employment, Dyer? Was it your 13 years as a civil servant at MAFF that put you off?

Never let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be

Oh jolly well lost sir!

True story ... I took our cricket team, underage level, to one of the more desirable schools for an annual game ... we were one of the early games "warm ups" in the season for their school's fine set of lads to magnificently display their skills, after which, over a drink in the staffroom, I'd be told, "Hard luck sir ... your boys were plucky today."

That's the way the narrative was meant to have gone and the reader knows, by my even including this story ... that it did not go that way.

Now, whether it was me opening with our spinner, an unheard of thing, and collecting the opener and first drop, or whether it was the entire demeanour of our boys, the determination to "come to play", or whether it was the opposing master, miffed, taking me aside afterwards and speaking of how, "at this level of the game", we just teach the finest principles of the game, at which point I smiled and agreed: "No place for win at all costs then?" 

Whether it was any of these things or the lack of RP accent, though my language was RP ... nevertheless, I was hauled up Monday morning by our Principal, was read the letter from the opposite number at that fine school and reminded that it was a hard enough job securing that annual match in the first place ... etc.

Yes, I'd clearly misread the whole underlying game, which most certainly had not been cricket ... we had stayed not only within the laws but within the spirit ... it's just that we'd played with a great deal of "take no prisoners" spirit and our boys were afterwards right chuffed by the whole thing.

I believe the following year, a more acceptable master took our lads, to be told to bend over and pick up the bar of soap ... and he'd gladly "played the game, as it should be played". Result a foregone conclusion of course.

Why mention this? 👇🏻

Bit of a rant today

 Morning all you Saltirists. (H/T DAD)

Disturbing our routines, plus independence for us aging sods

If I pay Prime, I expect Prime service and yesterday afternoon was bad. The only reason I bother with Amz is their driver tracking, so I can see when to come downstairs, esp. in this cold.

We've been getting continentals delivering, which is fine, some with rudimentary English and yet it's still fine for me, having lived in eastern Europe. What disturbs me is those of other, more dangerous cultures.

Yesterday, there was zero warning onscreen. The buzzer worked here but the driver was not only Chinese, he had not a word of English and was a hard, wizened, soldier type. We don't get many deathculters ... just once or twice. I'm thinking whether to take this matter up but maybe I'll just not give a report this time, at all. What are they doing in middle-America though?

Even more disturbing is that the Indian call centre malaise has crossed the pond it seems. I don't mind the Indians whose English is halfway ok but not the others ... they just add to stress.

But they're at least human ... the worst of all are the press one press two options ... I don't want bleedin' "options", I want a human speaking English, with the power to sort things out.

Independence

It's everything after you sort out your spiritual, mental and physical health. All are vital components and all create independence. Now, each of us has pre-existing, I call it ... mine is the heart disease and various joints but overall, pretty physically fit ... but only because I do not go out unless it's for my own reasons.

Dental is holding up but who knows with dental? Still, sticking to routines is vital. At this age, you have all sorts to sort, inc. children and grandchildren. If, like me, you no longer do, then far from being bad (loneliness and all that), it's how to find minutes in the day ... that's my particular issue, esp. now, early morn ... I struggle to stay on top of the checklist.

Recognising your age limitations, as Clint might say, is a huge hurdle ... if you can stay active and vital, watch the diet, keep it reasonably lean, sip liquid all day, cut out the ciggies maybe ... that's your affair but there's also a thing called doing yourself no favours.

Be ruthless ... if there are one or two real stresses upon you ... you must sort them and now. I don't mean general irascibility, which we all develop, where everyone and everything annoys us ... no, I mean one or two which must be minimised to stay sane and even healthy.

I'd say afap don't dwell, esp. on things we can't change. There's an industrial area near us and some toerag is using some machine which beeps, possibly as it reverses ... it was going late evening and started at 0430 this morning ... a mile or so away. Whom to complain to?  Would it make any difference? Can I go to the other room to escape? All these questions need resolution.

I Thought We'd Abolished Shame, Judge..?

A former police chief who retired while under investigation for possessing indecent images of children was spared jail on Monday after a judge said the 'shame' of admitting his crimes was the greatest punishment he could receive.

Pretty sure the guidelines allowed for something far, far more appropriate... 

On Monday, the 55-year-old stood grim-faced in the dock at Manchester Crown Court as his barrister described his 'humiliation' at how his 30-year policing career had been ended by what his bosses branded the 'abhorrent' crimes.

But a judge accepted there was no evidence that Sansbury had been deliberately looking for images of children after hearing he had been searching for 'twinks' – pornographic pictures of adolescent-looking men.

Oh, well, that's OK then. He'd probably have got a promotion for that if he'd told his management... 

Imposing a community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, Judge Nicholas Dean KC, the Honorary Recorder of Manchester, told Sansbury he had 'served, no doubt with some distinction, as a senior police officer'.

The judge said the reasons why Sansbury saved the images was 'not now clear', but accepted he was not someone who 'consistently' sought illicit photos.

'The loss of your good character and the shame of your departure from the police force in these circumstances is plainly a significant punishment,' he added.

I don't concur. 

The tragedy of Thomas de Crépol

Thomas de Crépol

Thomas who?  Never heard of him?

If you look at the map, you’ll see a small, dotted line commune at the foot, to the left of Saint-Marcellin.

Euro Conservative says:

A Morsel of Justice for Tommy

If there was a GoFundMe campaign to aid @tommyrobinson  in his defence against the trumped-up charges which subjected him to serious bail conditions including banning him from London until January, I'd chip in a couple of quid, and I reckon a million more might do the same.

Experts! What Do They Know?

Well, as it turns out...not a lot. 

It was almost 36 years ago that experts agreed to ban the production of a damaging class of man-made chemicals, known as CFCs.At the time, research had shown that CFCs depleted the ozone layer, the protective layer of our atmosphere that shields us from cancer-causing UV rays.

But this might not be enough, as the ozone hole has been 'remarkably massive' over the last four years, scientists in New Zealand now reveal.

Whoops! 

The authors of this new study claim there's been a 26 per cent loss in the core of the ozone hole in the past 19 years – but again, they're not sure why.

They've learned a little humility then. They were sure nearly 40 years ago, and look what effort went into something as a result. 

The findings suggest that 'changes in the Southern Hemisphere atmosphere' are contributing to a persistent Antarctic ozone hole. These changes could be related to the polar vortex – an atmospheric circulation pattern that sits high above the poles, in the stratosphere.

Gosh! Will we eventually see the global warming 'experts' have to similarly admit that that huge glowing ball of hydrogen in the sky might be the main driver of rising temperatures and not humankind? 

Wets versus Dries

In the 80s, seen as a financial divide among the Tories in Britain, nonetheless the term has application in a wider context today … for example conservatives versus RINOs in the US, mavericks such as the Donald versus corrupt career politicians.

First the 1980s British context. I mentioned Ruairidh as “heavy going”, data heavy but this youtube is really excellent as a view from the outside:

Were you to look up wets versus drys in Wiki, remembering that that Woke left site is hardly going to be sympathetic:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wets_and_dries

… and was your attention then to wander more widely … say to the list of wets and drys, some interesting names appear on the wet side … dare I say even evil names:

Edward Heath the (alleged) Morning Cloud paedo and holder of EU secret meetings to lie to the British people pre-1975, Heseltine the EU communist shill, Lord Carrington the evil muvver himself (posts passim at N.O., Ken Clarke and don’t forget Major.  Boris in all his infamy is One Nation as well, as is the egregious May … Haig’s another bad ’un … it’s like a roll call of sell-out traitors to Britain. There’s an awful lot of Round Table and C300 influence in that lot as well.

Criticism of Maggie can be fair or ridiculous … the poll tax was not a great idea, the monetarist ideas … weeeellll … but overall, better dry than wet in terms of loyalty to this country.

Trouble is … the only truly true to Britain are in Reclaim, Reform, UKIP and until Geert in the Netherlands, there was not great hope we could get anywhere.  Dire times though make for strange bedfellows.

The girl factor

At t’other place, I was on about the maverick factor, not forgetting the God factor … well this now is about the girl factor:

This is good:

This is good:

This is stupidity and comes from the evil side:

Together … no huge egos in isolation … Friedan and Helen Reddy were utter fools … together … chemistry … that will not be defeated … the other is nothing but divide and rule.

Those who discount the power of the gals are ignoring the role of the women with the Northern Irish peace train, the way, en masse, they withdrew nooky from the mad men … much of the Good Friday agreement was down to the gals … just as the troublemaking had also been down to the Bernadette Devlins. 

There are too many bad women led astray … best countered by uncompromising good women … boys please note.

Every longterm successful man has a strong woman beside him … it’s a wise officer who taps into that chemistry, harnesses that chaotic female factor, blends it in with the male factor. Fine being maverick but first build your citadel to defend … that citadel needs men plus women.

Where's The Justice Here?

Sickening footage shows the moment a surly teenager killed an 82-year-old Army veteran with a single punch after being told off for causing trouble in a Derby bus station.

Omar Moumeche, who was 16 at the time, violently attacked beloved Dennis Clarke at Derby bus station after he told off his friends for messing about on an escalator.

That's a good old Derby name, isn't it? 

Moumeche, now 18, was found guilty of manslaughter in July and was sentenced to two years in youth detention at Derby Crown Court today.

*sighs* 

Detective Inspector Mark Shaw said: 'Our investigation was assisted by the capture of CCTV footage and many witness accounts, all of which were presented during the trial. 'The defendant claimed he acted in self-defence, and the jury on the balance and high threshold required refused to accept his version of events.'

Yeah, it was a pretty open and shut case but I wouldn't congratulate yourself too much, if I were you:

No further action was taken against two other teenage boys who were arrested at the time in connection with the attack.

Why not? They acted in concert, after all. They should be facing the very same (utterly pathetic) consequences, shouldn't they?