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My comments were only intended to address the factual matter of attending the COBR meetings, a situation where many people misunderstand the realities of responding to emergencies, and think that the PM should be involved at the outset. Those comments were based on my 30 years in the disaster management business with BT and my interactions with goverment, and have no political motivation whatsoever. The rest of the comments in the opening post made were political opinion, which I happen to disagree with on many levels, but I really don't want to get into a political debate. Mainly, this is because people tend to allow their dislike of a politician or party cloud their judgment about what that person or party is actually doing, to the point where their generalisations can be easily shown to be biased. Unfortunately, this often leads to unjustified acrimony, something I have no desire to engage with. If people want a civilised debate based around facts not personal opinions then I'm fine with that, but otherwise not. Life's too short, and it won't change anything. However, if people have a reasoned argument about a subject then make it to the relevant politician. If its any good it will be adopted.

Boris Johnson who presides over an administration of sleaze, chumocracy and graft faces questions about exactly who paid for the refurbishment of the 11 Downing St flat and his 2019 New Year Caribbean holiday. He also poured a lot of public money into his four year affair with Jennifer Arcuri. He missed five consecutive emergency COBRA meetings in the build up to the coronavirus crisis, and has proven himself to be an amoral dissembling chancer. What kind of leadership is that?

I enjoy the way she attempts a pop at the privileged members of the cabinet etc. If you do too, have a look at her Wikipedia entry and get your head round who her family are/were..... Aha!! In my sister's house, she is genuinely only ever referred to as " 'Ol bendyface'"....

Unfortunately, few have as many as the blond excrescence.

I'm sorry you have had problems with BT, though knowing how the company has been changing recently, I'm maybe not surprised. In my time, I saw pretty much all the major disasters in the UK: Deal bombing, Zeebrugge Ferry, Dunblane, Lockerbie, Hurricane 1987, 9/11, 7/7 etc. plus a blur of internal incidents affecting exchanges and cable systems. You'd be surprised how many exchanges caught fire, got flooded, exploded or got struck by vehicles. And how the operators of thrust borers manage to unerringly find a major cable system is amazing. Back in those days though we were pretty well organised, but also well resourced. Nowadays, I'm not so sure. As to your last point, I was pleased to leave the endless reorganisation behind. I missed the people, and to some extent the work, which was incredibly varied and interesting, but not the politics and the ridiculous decisions that were regularly made. Having said this, there is a limit to how many emergency plans can be written and re-written before it becomes tedious, and how many exercises and training courses that can be run, before there is nothing new to say or do. By the time I got to this point I tended to rely on experience rather than original thinking, but once you have a system in place that works, my view is that you change it at your peril. Review the process and documentation by all means, but don't make wholesale changes. Unfortunately, new brooms rarely understand this, which is frustrating for us old gits. Hey ho, I've been gone a while now and no longer really miss it.

I've been on a Youtube trawl, looking at old HIGNFY stuff etc, and I suddenly realised what a hole is left from Charles Kennedy's passing nearly six years ago. Not my politics, but he was a proper funny sharp-witted bloke with the skills to do politics. I know, he had his flaws, but that's often the way. Even Alistair Campbell said he 'spoke fluent human'...... Not enough politicians around like him now, sadly, in any party.....

So, not quite this then. An oldie, but always worth another look....

Don't hold back, Blake. Just say it how it is.

She always looks as though she's just chewed a wasp's nest.

I loved the way Matt Hancock slapped down Laura Kuenssberg at the last covid press briefing. By making her only question about Boris, she insulted all those who have lost people to covid. Well deserved.

Also...the top leg of the 3 should point to the the upper part of the zero!

You are correct Bob its not an open 3 both the top and bottom are not right and just a normal one.

Hmmm, the perils of micro varietals.....

"They're dead Jim"

yuk , tastes HORRIBLE!

Another one bites the duster