En Passant

2/10/24 28 Billy Joel- The River of Dreams 26 The Sisters of Mercy ft. Ofra Haza- Temple of Love (1992) +4 25 Spin Doctors- Two Princes 25 Richard Marx - Hazard 24 Rage- Run To You 22 Whitney Houston- I Have Nothing 22 Vanessa Williams- Save The Best For Last 21 Ugly Kid Joe- Everything About You 20 Michael Jackson- Remember the Time 20 Mr. Big- To Be With You 20 Curiosity- Hang On in There Baby 20 Madonna- This Used to Be My Playground 20 Bizarre Inc ft. Angie Brown- I’m Gonna Get You 20 Madonna- Erotica 20 Take That- Could It Be Magic 20 Snap! ft. Niki Harris- Exterminate 20 Faith No More- I’m Easy/Be Aggressive 20 West End ft. Sybil- The Love I Lost 20 Sub Sub ft. Melanie Williams- Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use) 20 Chaka Demus & Pliers- Tease Me 20 SWV- Right Here (Human Nature Remix) 20 Dina Carroll- Don’t Be a Stranger 19 Annie Lennox- Little Bird/Love Song for a Vampire 14 Shabba Ranks- Mr. Loverman 14 Inner Circle - Sweat (A La la la la Song) 00 Right Said Fred- Don’t Talk Just Miss -6 Not voted for a while, nothing I feel strongly about really, but that Sisters of Mercy track is one of the few things lately that I actually have on playlists and in the car. Ofra Haza's addition is awesome.

A good rectifying is extra.

It's a posting disease - that's now metastacized.

I find it unlikely that she could have been oblivious to the fact there was a 'town festival' occurring and what that festival entailed. Aside from what appears to be a few maniac bull baiters everyone else looks to be behind some form of railings though admittedly it's not the best angle or video. I agree she does seem to have forgotten that at about the most inopportune moment. To be honest even if one puts aside the animal rights argument, having a ton of animal with effectively two swords attached to the front end and capable of 30mph - deliberately enraged and swerving all over the shop - doesn't on the face of it seem a very wise idea in the first place.

I'd assume he's telling the truth too, it must have been something - secret or not, why lie about it? Still, I suppose it's possible he did since pathological liars sometimes don't need a reason. Incidentally - probably need to change that "enrusted with barnacle, but still unsinkable' subtitle, since, well, she sank.

No, quite, she's not even 50 49 until Saturday. I know there's no real age bar, but it does seem to have a bearing.

No, not one for the kids and the popcorn really. Exactly how I feel about it and with something like 30 years distance that hasn't changed.

Forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go Downton You'll be a DBE, never a mystery, Downton Things will be great when you're Downton Just don't make the mistake - Downtown Or summat. You ought to be able to do better than that.

It seems I'll have to retract my accusation of non-professionalism, you're outpacing me as of now I'm only on a feeble 36 Doh!(herty was a miss for me). However Godley, should she succumb, would see me surge ahead in this race to last place.

Amateur. I'm already miles out of it also having picked Toby Keith (at #7) and others.... So Godley at #10 will have me pushing an unbeatable score.

Then that's your opinion and you are entitled to it. But you ought to make it clear it's an opinion and you haven't, you just called them both perverts. You may say that doesn't matter, but if either of them ended up in gen-pop in a uk jail whether it's factual or an opinion would matter a great deal. Look, I've already said don't like Schofields behaviour either, but there's a difference. One has broken the law and there is empirical evidence proving that, the other has not. We don't live in a world where thought-crime is a crime. At least not yet.

This is legal. Had they been in any form of sexual relationship when he was 15, then yes, but 'first met' doesn't qualify or practically the whole population would be in trouble. No doubt. But these are moral transgressions. I'm not. And I agree his behaviour was utterly reprehensible. But I get annoyed when people are described as perverts and paedo's when they are not - that's all.

Except that: Edwards is sexually attracted to children or at least pictures thereof and is thus categorically a pervert. Schofield likes other adult (if younger than himself) men and is thus not a pervert - legally or otherwise. Morally questionable behaviour? Sure.

I'm sorry crem but that is simply speculation again. Partly yours. There are numerous examples of media outfits asking if something is going to happen on the basis that a non-commital answer implies its a possibility or even probability, this creates news when there is none. I scan The Guardian (as the only 'broadsheet' available freely now) and ask of each article "Is this news? Or woulda/coulda/shoulda?" You may be surprised at the number of articles that are the latter even when not marked as 'opinion'.

I'm not sure how that's a U-turn since they never expressly said they were implementing it in the first place. So far as I'm aware they've simply said they're not ruling any measure out that hadn't been previously (i.e. income tax, VAT and NI) Further, since they've already got a good deal of bad press over the cessation of Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners I'd imagine that whacking all solo pensioners for another 500 quid a year (based on a 2k average council tax) is not going to look pretty (this only my opinion)

And for those under the misapprehension that council tax is mostly spent on bin collection, the police and fire services and potholes or suchforth (nobody really does but it's oft quoted) -around 60p in the pound in 2020 went on either adult or childrens social care (split about 70/30 adult/child). The table quoted was a forecast at the time not hard data - it's the best I found with a short search. Re-iteration, I'm not saying these costs should not be paid, of course they should - I am saying I can see no justifiable reason why folks in Hartlepool should pay more for them because more care homes are located there than in Oxford Street, Pall Mall or Mayfair. As to this, it's a fudge at best anyway. What would be the point in Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea having a huge surplus whilst poorer areas were still left with Councils going bust? It needs a complete overhaul and the only reason I can think of that it hasn't is that all parties are terrified of it electorally - especially those with memories long enough for the poll tax riots.

He's already been given a final warning. After adding quotes to his posts for a while has somewhat slipped back to his old habit of wildly speculating. The ice will crack at some point with one or other of the Admins finally losing patience and hitting it with a hammer.

They'd better bloody not. It's already one of the most wildly unfair taxes where a two up two down in Hartlepool or somewhere similar pays more for 'local' services than a mansion in Westminster. It needs reform without question, but not that way. Any decent society should pay for services such as adult social care. it should not however do it on the basis that more social care is required in poorer local areas than in rich Central London ones on the basis that thats where the social care is required (and even possibly that's where they put the recipients in the first place because it was cheap). In my view even the poll tax was fairer - why should a single person pay effectively double what a couple does? They already pay 1.5 times the amount. There's nothing 'local' about it - it's a nationwide obligation and should be paid for nationally.

So it's Musk's fault. Figures.

We will look back fondly on all it offered when we remember it in years to come. There's a word for that, can't think of it offhand. *actually never seen it or even heard of it until now, but that's no reason not to do a daft gag about it.

Movement? -No Breathing? - No Pulse? -No Check. He's almost certainly dead then.

And then, when you do manage to order the right thing....

My guess is he's simply the slipperiest turd in a barrel full of turds. I've not forgotten his planning duplicity - the turd. In brighter news, it definitely won't matter in any meaningful way for at least 4 years and hopefully longer .

I know this isn't what you meant but this does read like a record attempt for youngest entrant in any dead pool comp ever - not even born yet?