From Daily Mail

"Abattoirs across France will undergo emergency inspections after latest shocking secret footage shows workers throwing sheep against a wall and quartering one while it is still alive.
Hidden camera caught abattoir abusing animals in south west France.
Footage filmed just before Easter sees cow's throats cut while still alive."

Also please note:
"It is an offence to sell or to supply to another person, meat that has not been slaughtered and health marked in a licensed abattoir. The owner of an animal may slaughter his animal on-farm, but it is an offence to supply the meat to any other person."

Isn't it common practice in rural communities for "home-killed" meat to be readily available?

Your views and information please.

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How lovely is this??

This electrician’s firm dropped this round to a child in the home where they had been working for 6 weeks and the child had been regularly ‘helping!’

It’s just so heart warming.

As a young lad Paddy asked Grandpa Sullivan, "Grandpa, how did you ever get so old?" "Well," replies the grandfather, "every morning, I pour a teaspoon of gunpowder into my coffee, and I guess that's the reason." So the Paddy begins drinking coffee and doing the same. 90 years pass and Paddy finally dies having reached the age of 102. He left behind 5 kids, 18 grandkids, 43 great grandkids, several million dollars, and a 60 foot hole in the wall of the crematorium.

Here's our Nora a boisterous 6 year old cat we adopted in 2015 from the Junction Road branch of CPL. She jumped straight into my bag and then miaowed all the way home. Within a couple of hours she was tight-rope walking along the fence and still knew her way back to our house; I reckon she's a bright little cat!!!

This was a thread a little while ago, and having written to those in power to review the concerns of SL members, here is the political response.
Grant Shapps, our transport minister hasn't replied, as yet.
Ed Davey of the LibDems is my local MP and has sent his thoughts, so please read on.

Dear Jocelyn,

Thank you for your email.

I am sceptical about the safety of smart motorways – and believe you raise some valid points. I raised my concerns about smart motorways with the Transport Secretary, Grant Schapps, last year. I have copied my letter to Grant Schapps below and attach a copy of his response as a PDF.

As you may be aware, the Government commissioned a review of the evidence regarding smart motorways which you can view here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936811/smart-motorway-safety-evidence-stocktake-and-action-plan.pdf

The review made a number of recommendations to improve public confidence and safety and my party has been pressing the Government about the progress towards implementing these recommendations. I believe these recommendations are a step forward – but I’m concerned that they still may leave people vulnerable in certain circumstances. My party and I will continue to scrutinise the Government on this.

Yours sincerely,

Ed Davey

Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey MP

Kingston & Surbiton (Liberal Democrats)

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Dear Grant,

I have been contacted by a number of my constituents who are extremely concerned at the safety implications of introducing smart motorways without a hard shoulder.

I have held back on sending this e mail due to the priority which it has been necessary to give to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, but feel that I cannot leave this matter any longer.

I appreciate that you had already announced a review into driver safety on smart motorways last October as concerns had already been raised then, and that you said then that none of the smart motorways currently proposed would be rolled out until that review had taken place. Now that the action plan to boost smart motorway safety has been published, I should be grateful for your clarification on a number of points.

1) As I understand it, there are currently around 200 miles of smart motorway currently in operation which continued to be in use while the review was in progress. Very few of the proposals set out in the review appear to have timescales set and, where they are, they appear to be unacceptably lengthy. For example, whilst the installation of signs within emergency areas giving information on what to do in an emergency "by the end of spring 2020" is helpful, a period of 36 months to install “stopped vehicle detection” technology is simply too long - we cannot have another three years of unsafe operation and the Government should return these stretches of road to hard shoulders again until radar is installed. Will the "end of spring 2020" deadline be met? Please explain what immediate steps you are taking to ensure the safety of drivers using the sections of smart motorway currently in operation.

2) My understanding is that safety lay-bys were originally envisaged to be every 600 metres, but you are now saying that they will be up to a maximum of one mile apart. Please explain the change in thinking on this.

3) A number of the commitments in the action plan are vague in the extreme; please would you clarify, for example, what actual action is to be taken when you say you are "considering a national programme", "investigating M6 Bromford viaduct …. we will look to make changes".

4) Please confirm that any new sections of smart motorway will only be rolled out after the targeted communication campaigns that you identify as being necessary have taken place and that these new sections will incorporate all the safety features identified in your action plan from the start.

5) At a time when we are increasingly looking to turn to electric cars as the cleaner option, what allowance is being made for the way in which they operate? In particular, as my colleague Baroness Randerson, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson in the Lords pointed out in debate earlier this year: "when an electric vehicle ceases to function, it stops; it does not coast in the way that other vehicles do. Smart motorways are supposed to be the future, but the future is electric. Those vehicles stop very suddenly. They also cannot be towed; they have to be put on a low-loader, which is a much more complex and longer process that will put rescue teams in greater danger."

You state that "Overall, what the evidence shows is that in most ways, smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, the conventional ones. But not in every way" and I am sure that you will have been aware of the allegations made in the Paronama programme at the end of January and the subsequent report by the all-party parliamentary group on roadside rescue and recovery, led by the former roads minister Mike Penning in preparing your action plan.

That report accused Highways England of “casually ignoring commitments” on safety and failing to implement the Stopped Vehicle Detection system. I and my constituents are alarmed at the failings there have been and I should like your assurance that you will personally be ensuring that Highways England will be required to take full account of the Panorama allegations and the all-party parliamentary group's findings in executing your action plan.

Steps need to be taken as a matter of urgency to ensure that no more lives are endangered on the existing smart motorways and that no more sections of motorway will be opened until the problems there have been have been fully resolved and the public can be completely satisfied that the removal of the hard shoulder is not creating any danger to road users.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Ed

Sent: 16 March 2021 10:37

To: DAVEY, Edward

Subject: Smart Motorways

Dear Mr. Davey,

please advise your thoughts on "Smart Motorways".

From what I can find, it appears they are marginally safer than the motorways they are replacing.

This is hard to believe.

I'd invite any MP to park on the inside lane of the M3, 2miles south of the M25 junction.

The night will be dark, wet and windy, and that section is unlit.

Any pet travelling with the driver must be left inside the vehicle, as instructed.

Then he/she driver will stand behind the crash barrier, for their own safety and observe what happens.

In which instance the common sense policy will swiftly become apparent.

Would it be more sensible for Motorways to retain a hard shoulder, and the maximum speed limit to be reduced to 60mph.

it that means slower journeys and more congestion, so be it.

Please note the following statement.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said that she was ‘astonished’ to learn that electric cars slow to a stop comparatively quickly, rather than coasting to a stop like a normal car. There are also concerns that electric cars are more difficult, and therefore slower, to remove.

Smart motorways are supposed to be the future, but the future is electric. Those vehicles stop very suddenly. They also cannot be towed; they have to be put on a low-loader, which is a much more complex and longer process that will put rescue teams in greater danger."

I look forward to your reply.

So upset to see that the Japanese owned 220,000 ton tanker above has many livestock in there, sheep for sure, and because of the delays it has affected other ships going through also carrying livestock...so in all around 130,000 animals are being held in confined conditions, very hot and caged.
Why are countries allowed to cram livestock for days on end anyway...even in lorries is bad enough which I thought we are supposed to have stopped now. Why can’t they just breed their own animals? Can’t be too hard to breed some sheep surely. I have some sheep near me growing up, all peaceful together, minding their own business...not knowing what’s around the corner.

https://www.scooploop.com/thread/can-anyone-help-2

For all of you clever people out there- I have some prints I want to print out for wall art- what is the best paper to use? Helpppp

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The corrupt military have taken power back into their own hands,
They have vested interests in controlling the country and economy.

They protect this by the massacre of anyone who protests.
[we can see it, however hard they try to prevent it]

What should the free world be doing to end this barbarism?

Hopefully more normal times are ahead. I'm looking forward to getting a large dose of vitamin D when our club's cricket team gets back out on the pitch. Unfortunately, our last match was spoilt by an outrageous event. This was captured on the club's camera, and can be viewed here: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AtxiPFXpEKB_gdcYeWg6USGVyfq9jg?e=WxojMa

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Watching Keeping Faith reminded me of something and made me look at a photo that just sits on the shelf gathering dust normally.
The photo has started to peel and got patches on but only on the face - nowhere else, if I hadn't seen that programme i wouldn't have noticed until too late and the whole face would be gone.

.....

I have a photo ( print) that seems to be peeling, leaving white patches - would a professional be able to do anything to save it ?

Now we are into spring, some of you may be thinking about gardening. If you buy compost, don’t forget to check it is peat-free.

Our peatlands store more carbon than the forests of the UK, France and Germany combined, they provide clean drinking water and are habitats for some of our rarest species. It takes ten years to create one centimetre of peat which is being consumed 200 times faster than it forms. As a result, we have lost 94% of our lowland bogs in the UK and there are just 6,000 hectares left in good condition. Yet, every month gardeners in the UK use enough peat to fill 69 Olympic swimming pools.

This video shows just how many brands of compost contain peat. You may be buying peat without being aware of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saPh5-Z5VNM

Take the peat-free pledge. https://seedball.co.uk/conservation/peat-free-pledge/

Call on the Government to ban the use of peat in horticulture and all growing media by 2023.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/562054

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of many of us

Thank you Eilish for this

Have put this on 3 Groups as just think so adorable.🥰🥰

Seal mauled by barristers loose dog

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/24/owner-of-dog-that-attacked-freddie-the-thames-seal-says-she-is-heartbroken

Has anyone had their pension breakdown for this year ?
I haven't but usually have by now - it starts April 6th (albeit paid 4 weeks in arrears).

Brought over from MSL

Someone posted the photo below on Facebook for the purposes of identifying the uniform (this has been done), and someone demonstrated what can be done with still images: http://bit.ly/3senbbS If you want to try it for yourself, you will have to sign up for a free trial.

What is woke?
If you know please advise, and offer your thoughts on wokefulness.

https://tinyurl.com/27e2tfct

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-60-card-and-freedom-pass?bucket=&source=messenger-share-button&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=messenger&share=956c51cc-a833-4907-a26b-35b0f327ecf3&fbclid=IwAR3nceKgrCjvd87N4p2cRZ6pt_b6cXsA6rF51OHH-nG5hr6gkbvLsOf5344

My laptop is now in laptop hospital so I am relying on my tablet which is a bit limiting - please forgive any errors for a while.

This site may be of use to you...
https://olderdriversforum.com/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Orlo

Note-no one got it ALL right! You will argue some got more right than others.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56455030

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-56254309

28 Mar 2021 - Daylight Saving Time Starts

When local standard time is about to reach

Sunday, 28 March 2021, 01:00:00 clocks are turned forward 1 hour to

Sunday, 28 March 2021, 02:00:00 local daylight time instead.

Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later on 28 Mar 2021 than the day before. There will be more light in the evening.

Hope you have all filled it in or are filling it in today

Strange thing I suddenly remembered from my childhood - my Dad and Granddad used to make little cups out of silver paper, put wet cigarette paper on the bottom and then throw them up so they stuck to the ceiling.
In time the paper would dry out and the cups would fall down.
Does anyone else remember this or was it just a family thing ?

This week's BBC Click shows the Police squad that tracks and arrests the text scammers. The scammers even have phone banks, similar to the way that video pirates copied tapes: http://bbc.in/3c19aIT

World Sparrow Day Date in the current year: March 20, 2021

World Sparrow DayWorld Sparrow Day is one of the days, designated to raise awareness of birds, especially of the house sparrow and the ones common to urban environment. This holiday is observed annually on March 20.
World Sparrow Day was created under initiative of Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation of France. The initiative was supported by numerous international and national environmental organizations across the world.

This holiday is aimed to provide a platform for people from different parts of the world working on conservation of the house sparrow and other birds. The participants can collaborate, exchange their ideas on environment conservation and network, that will lead to better science and improved results.

Nature Forever Society created a special Sparrow Award, that is presented annually on March 20 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This award is presented to those “unsung heroes”, who contribute into environment conservation without governmental funding and do not seek any recognition.

https://www.ailuna.com/world-rewilding-day/

I'm debating (with myself) whether to get one of these. I've currently an Ercol Gina (swivel and recline) but the recline is stuck on the back position and the upholstery is now so hard it's like sitting on a rock. I'm not interested in recline anyway, just the swivel bit which I love. As previously mentioned, I'm of an age where I want a high seat and good back support but don't really want to go down the winged-fireside just yet. I've always thought Stressless were huge things stuck in a corner but I think you can now get small - and always seem to be in leather which I hate. Problem is they are not cheap (cheapest I've found is about £800 in sale to about £1,500) and I go through different chairs/sofas constantly (not an exaggeration, had two sofas since moving and neither was comfortable after a month or so or too bulky for little room). Would be grateful for any pros or cons - thanks.

Our Council have introduced a charge of £40 per bin for period March to end of November. A payment sticker has been provided for those households who have registered.

24/7 media drives our daily lives and many topics that appear on Scooploop.
Can you contribute a headline that has dominated our lives? for at least two days...

And what is your most trusted source of news?

click on

5 Parrots Get Removed From Public View At A Wildlife Park After Teaching Each Other To Swear During Quarantine.

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Sadiq Khan is considering charging motorists to enter Greater London. Not really fair on those who live outside the London area but work inside it.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/11/khan-considering-350-daily-charge-for-drivers-entering-london.

Any thoughts?

I just signed the petition "Extend the Freedom of Information Act to companies awarded government contracts" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/extend-the-freedom-of-information-act-to-companies-awarded-government-contracts?bucket=email-blast-17_3_2021_democracy-cfoi-flt-17-march&share=67373c93-8588-4ab9-8e67-70fae77fe98d&source=&utm_campaign=17_3_2021_democracy-cfoi-flt-17-march&utm_source=

I wanted to do a serious message so please forgive me and scroll past if you aren’t interested.
TRIGGER WARNING - Suicide
Yesterday afternoon a young lady in her 30’s who was local to me was posting tweets on a local Slough group. She described her low mood, wrote her thoughts, spoke of her conversation on the phone with her nan and thanked everyone for reaching out to her to help.
She then typed “this next train is for me,” told everyone that her password to her phone was her date of birth, and jumped to her death in front of the train.
Please please reach out to someone if you need help. Scream it at the top of your lungs if you need to be heard. There are so many people who care.
Samaritans no is 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org . Reach out to someone. Please