https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/everything-you-need-to-know-about-big-garden-birdwatch/

https://www.aol.co.uk/dame-esther-rantzen-remaining-optimistic-104024656.html

https://investmentguru.com/trending/british-stars-you-thought-are-long-gone-but-they-are-doing-great-in-retirement-baidu-penny-smith?tbv=0.033000&ts=1674991725433736919&a0v5la7bquf89=4e2b1bc755817e77f3a94c9df6def261&uy3ubftvh0u6o8=39dc547b1fadd1c6957ce2d906db1d1b&cusduxj27i=1597452&xnfrr0ncac=20542&zsmoi87pih9=trace-eu.mediago.io&lzzgnpz8d=9220dd482c2a49631b4e66cca9f5f0ee

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/sun-earth-las-vegas-warning-133037166.html

The girls and women of Afghanistan can no longer have the education they could access when British Soldiers were there.
Can the men stand up for them, as this man is trying to do.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-64374606

A politician dies and winds up standing in front of the pearly gates.

St. Peter looks at him for a second, flicks through his book, and finds his name.

"So, you're a politician..."

"Well, yes, is that a problem?"

"Oh no, no problem. But we've recently adopted a new system for people in your line of work, and unfortunately you will have to spend a day in Hell. After that however, you're free to choose where you want to spend eternity!"

"Wait, I have to spend a day in Hell?" says the politician.

"Them's the rules," says St. Peter, who snaps his fingers, and *WOOSH*—the guy disappears.

He wakes curled up with his hands over his eyes, knowing he's in Hell. Cautiously, he listens for the screams, sniffs the air for brimstone, but hears and smells nothing. Just the smell of fabric softener and cut grass... This can't be right, can it?

"Open your eyes!" says a voice. "C'mon, wakey wakey, we've only got 24 hours!" Nervously, he uncovers his eyes, looks around, and sees he's in a hotel room. A nice one too, a penthouse suite. Before him, there's a smiling man in a suit, holding a martini.

"Who are you?" the politician asks.

"Well, I'm Satan!" says the man, handing him the drink and helping him to his feet. "Welcome to Hell!"

"Wait, this is Hell? But... Where's all the pain and suffering?" he asks.

Satan throws him a wink. "Oh, we've been a bit mis-represented over the years, it's a long story. Anyway, this is your room! The minibar is of course free, as is the room service... There's extra towels next to the hot-tub, and if you need anything, just call reception. But enough of this! It's a beautiful day, and if you'd care to look outside..."

The politician wanders over to the floor-to-ceiling windows through which the sun is glowing, looks far down, and sees a group of people cheering and waving at him from a golf course. "It's one of 5 pro-level courses on site, and there's another 6 just a few minutes drive out past the beach and harbour!" says Satan, answering his unasked question.

So they head down in the lift, walk out through the glittering lobby where everyone waves and welcomes the politician, as Satan signs autographs and cheerily talks shop with the laughing staff. And as he walks out, he sees the group on the golf course are made up of every one of his old friends, people he's admired for years but never met or worked with, and people whose work he's admired but died long before his career started. And out of the middle of this group walks his wife with a massive smile and the body she had when she was 20. She throws her arms around him and plants a delicate kiss on his cheek. He spends the day in the bright sunshine on the course, having the time of his life laughing at jokes and carrying on lively discussions, putting the world to rights with his friends while holding his delighted wife next to him as she gazes lovingly at him.

Later, they return to the hotel dining room for an extravagant five-course meal, each course cooked to perfection and better than the previous one. Afterward, his wife whispers something sensual in his ear, his cue to return to their penthouse suite, and spend the rest of the night making love like they did on their honeymoon. After 6 hours of intense, passionate sex, the politician collapses on the memory foam pillows with Egyptian cotton pillowcases, and falls into a deep and blissful sleep.

The next morning, he is woken by St. Peter. "So, that was Hell," he says. "Wasn't what you were expecting, I bet?"

"No sir!" says the politician.

"So then," says St. Peter, "you can make your choice. It's Hell, which you saw, or Heaven, which has choral singing, talking to God, white robes, etc."

"Well... I know this sounds strange, but, to be honest, I think I'd prefer Hell!" says the politician.

"Not a problem, we totally understand. Enjoy!" says St. Peter, and clicks his fingers again.

The politician wakes up in a cold, dark place with hard, stone floors, the stench of ammonia filling the air. As he adjusts, he can see the only light is from a flame far away, illuminating the ragged remains of people who were burned with sulfur. A sudden bolt of lightning reveals Satan, wearing the same suit as before and grinning, holding a soldering iron in one hand and a coil of razor-wire in the other.

"What's this?" the politician cries. "Where's the hotel?! Where's my wife?! Where's the minibar, the golf-courses, the pool, the restaurant, the free drinks and the sunshine?!"

"Ah", says Satan. "You see, yesterday, we were campaigning—and then you voted."

Odo was the shapeshifting Changeling who could change from solid to liquid on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Now scientists have created the same in real life.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-create-shapeshifting-humanoid-robot-that-can-liquefy-and-reform

This happened today at a primary school. A friend of my sister has kids at the school, and she knows one of the other mums. The school had phoned this other mum to say her little boy felt really ill with stomach pain and could she come and take him home. So the mum arrived and went with a member of staff to the "sick room". Seeing that he was putting it on, she reached into her bag for a bar of chocolate and gave it to her son. He had no problems eating it.
She then turned to the staff member and said, "if he can eat a chocolate bar that quick, there's obviously nothing wrong with him, so he can stay here. I'll pick him up at home time". She walked out and left him there.

Could go on for weeks about the reasons for the above title. The latest being the poisoning by neighbours of another of my rescue cats. This is the fourth in a short period of time. Not counting the foxes. Friday night i held my beautiful kind loving and gentle Mitsy Bitsy while she was slowly dying. In the morning the vet put an end to her misery. I texted the neighbour i assume is the culprit with his builders -family members-
No apology for the loss of my little girl and no denial of it either. Two areas in their fence have been removed to allow my cats to go into their garden where they leave food such as cooked bones etc….
I cannot and never will understand cruelty.
I end up hating people more and more each day having cruel and nasty neighbours. New car tyre slashed, brick thrown at cats, etc… being part of what living where i have lived the last 40 years is now to be the norm. Even in my garden some of the cats are scared lately. This does not help the socialising in vue to rehoming.
Once all the cats have been rehomed i will probably be in prison having taken revenge on all the punishment i and my rescued cats have to suffer. Prison might be a punishment but it cannot be worse than being abused on and on by vile neighbours! Here is my beautiful and gentle Mitsy Bitsy poisoned by neighbours.

A reader in my paper today....

In a speech before the 1983 General Election in Glamorgan, South Wales, the then Labour Leader Neil Kinnock said. "If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday. I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old"
Nothing changes, does it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64413242

Does this complicate Scotland’s Gender policy

https://news.sky.com/story/novak-djokovics-father-joins-putin-supporters-at-australian-open-12795710

My 2 year old Grandson has been very unwell with a temp and sore throat. He developed a rash yesterday morning. My daughter couldn't get an appt so rang 111. When they contacted her they just said give calpol. Because ,as a mum she knew him well and was worried she took him to a & e yesterday, only to be told that as he wasn't crying and was watching the TV he was fine and it was just a virus.My daughter Insisted it was more serious but was sent home being made to feel she was a silly young mum making a fuss and wasting time.
He woke up this morning with the rash worse, temp higher and a strawberry tongue, all symptoms of scarlet fever. She rang 111 they said a GP would ring in approx 12 hours and to give him antihistamines. They said it sounds like scarlet fever but the gp needs to ring her before antibiotics are given.
I wish hospitals and GPs would listen to mums concerns seriously.Mums sometimes really do know best

Click this link to sign the petition "Retain bans on cat, dog, seal fur imports, and extend to ban all fur imports"

https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/131665560/verify?token=D0CRHiEmqEcrIb9z8saH

I use a professional, paid for, version of a video editor which is used on major film and television programmes. However, they also have a free version for people to use which will have limitations (I think you are limited on high quality output and some technical features), but is perfectly adequate for most amateur users. Many companies issue updates each year which can cost quite a substantial amount annually. I've been using the software for two years now and all updates so far have been free!

Apart from being able to download the editing software, they have a comprehensive training programme of videos and the project files so that you can follow the training completely. This is entirely free and is available to anybody (copywrite and royalty free).

I've spent a few happy hours this week creating a trailer with the resources they supplied - which they covered in two videos lasting just under two hours, explaining how to edit. There are about thirty items involved in this trailer including making titles for the locations, however the end credits are ready-made and are supplied as a complete file.

The clever part is that they get you to do something by showing you what to do and then at a future point, they get you to tweak what you've one.

Attached is the trailer I made from their files. Let me know if you would like to try and I'll give you the link.

There are no strings attached.

Sorted!

Ever wonder how many are posters or just readers on any site.

This is just an example from a global pet forum which currently has 232.8K members.

However, this is a public forum that'll allow anyone to just pop in anytime

11.6k Posts with 2.1M Views

*UPDATED*

I imagine that I, like all of you, check our bank statements each month, but I also do a little sum by differencing the increase/decrease each month on the previous month, I then do an algebraic average which tells me how much my income exceeds, hopefully, my out goings.
Having just reached my end of financial year I found the figure to be far in excess of what I expected, happily on the plus side, so I rechecked the figures, all OK.
Digging back I found a somewhat surprising fact and that is that since 2018 my surplus income had increased by almost a factor of four, despite low pension increases and rising inflation.
Question is why?, conclusion is that 2019 was the start of Covid with all its restrictions and a bit due to aging and mobility loss, a quick brouse through the CC statements confirmed this. Now if this conclusion is true then it is likely that, particularly among the older age group, that there is a a substantial pool of money out there that is waiting to be spent and if this is so, then it must be a positive for bringing inflation down.
Has any other member shared our experience?.

Good or bad

As I won’t attempt to degenerate anyone that has?

Don't know when it happened but I noticed that Uncle Ben's has come Ben's and the picture of "Uncle" has been removed.

Just wondering when Aunt Bessie's puddings will become "Bessie's"

I know it’s not just the Met Police it only applies to, rogue officers have always been the scourge of the force but the recent cases in the MET have hit the news with complaints about an officer, with access to a gun, being ignored repeatedly.

What do members think

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/traumatised-victim-monster-cop-david-29017107

Will suing them make them change there procedures?

I was appalled to see the different rules that appear to apply to a member of the police force in Northern Ireland . 18 months ban reduced by a quarter if she completes the course ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64319207

Then they go on to lose 30-31. And he loses $1.4m.
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/fan_loses_14_million_after_betting_on_chargers_in_wild_card_collapse_vs_jaguars/s1_13132_38359396

I find the weather forecast link below very comprehensive, interesting and fairly accurate.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/weather/forecast/in-St-Albans,England?loc=eyJsIjoiU3QgQWxiYW5zIiwiciI6IkVuZ2xhbmQiLCJyMiI6IkhlcnRmb3Jkc2hpcmUiLCJjIjoiVW5pdGVkIEtpbmdkb20iLCJpIjoiR0IiLCJ0IjoxMDIsImciOiJlbi1nYiIsIngiOiItMC4zMzg3IiwieSI6IjUxLjc1MjIifQ%3D%3D&weadegreetype=F

The food nazis have struck again. One of the few good things about working in an office was when it was someones birthday and they brought in a cake selection.
https://www.gbnews.uk/health/now-woke-academics-tell-britons-to-ban-cake-from-the-office-claiming-its-as-bad-as-passive-smoking/426730

Worlds biggest toad [ a cane toad] found in Australia
Was put down and donated to a museum

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/toadzilla-worlds-biggest-toad-australia-intl-scli-scn/index.html

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/yakutsk-russia-cold-snap-freeze-intl-hnk/index.html?dicbo=v2-19d9999e62ab984c398ce5e30b988b02

And tells us to go green. That he understands the people of Britain as they struggle with the cost of living crisis

But cannot use a seatbelt in his chauffeur driven car

https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/20/rishi-sunak-faces-criticism-after-taking-private-jet-to-blackpool-18134791/

This unwelcome message just arrived from Transport for London:
"From today, Wednesday 18 January 2023, the temporary suspension of free travel for 60+ Oyster photocard and Older Persons’ Freedom Pass holders between 04:30 and 09:00 on weekdays, which was put in place during the pandemic, will become permanent."
That won't help anyone to recruit older people back into office-based employment, will it? Not just the unlovely prospect of commuting in rush-hour but having to pay for it again, too.
I somehow doubt that this will improve TfL's cashflow as much as they hope....

Just found this . Interesting perhaps we have a King in touch with reality

https://www.gbnews.uk/royal/king-charles-iii-to-divert-millions-of-pounds-for-public-good-as-profits-surge-from-new-deal/427504

@adler
Oh dear!

You ask me, why without a compelling reason, Mohamed Al- Fayed would spend large sums of money trying to prove that the crash was not an accident?
He had a compelling reason. He was the owner of the Ritz hotel and it was his employee who had driven his son to his death through a haze of alcohol and drugs. If that had been me, I would have had awful trouble trying to sleep at night knowing that the man who killed my son was in my employment. I would do everything I could to prove that the fault lay elsewhere to absolve myself of any blame whatsoever.

Have a read of this:
Al – Fayed claims
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Al-Fayed
Conspiracy theories
Al-Fayed first claimed that the Princess was pregnant to the Daily Express in May 2001,[63] and that he was the only person who had been told. Witnesses at the inquest who said the Princess was not pregnant, and could not have been, were part of the conspiracy according to Al-Fayed.[64] Fayed's testimony at the inquest was roundly condemned in the press as farcical. Members of the British Government's Intelligence and Security Committee accused Fayed of turning the inquest into a 'circus' and called for it to be ended prematurely.[65] Lawyers representing Al-Fayed later accepted at the inquest that there was no direct evidence that either the Duke of Edinburgh nor MI6 was involved in any murder conspiracy involving Diana or Dodi.[66] A few days before Al-Fayed's appearance, John Macnamara, a former senior detective at Scotland Yard and Al-Fayed's investigator for five years from 1997, was forced to admit on 14 February 2008 that he had no evidence to suggest foul play, except for the assertions Al-Fayed had made to him.[67] His admissions also related to the lack of evidence for Al-Fayed's claims of the Princess's pregnancy and the couple's engagement.[67]

The jury verdict, given on 7 April 2008, was that Diana and Dodi were "unlawfully killed" through the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul,[68] who was intoxicated, and the pursuing vehicles.[69]
Al-Fayed's lawyers also accepted that there was no evidence to support the assertion that Diana was illegally embalmed to conceal pregnancy, or that a pregnancy could be confirmed by any medical evidence.[66] They also accepted that there was no evidence to support the assertion that the French emergency and medical services had played any role in a conspiracy to harm Diana.[66] Following the Baker inquest, Al-Fayed said that he was abandoning his conspiracy campaign, and would accept the jury's verdict.[70]
Journalist Dominic Lawson wrote in The Independent in 2008 that Al-Fayed sought to concoct "a conspiracy to cover up the true circumstances" of fatalities caused by the crash "involving an intoxicated and over-excited driver (an employee of Mohamed Al-Fayed's Paris Ritz)". He "had remarkable success in persuading elements of the tabloid press, notably the Daily Express, to give the conspiracy a fair wind."[71]
Al-Fayed financially supported Unlawful Killing (2011), a documentary film presenting his version of events.[72] It was not formally released because of the potential for libel suits.[73]

The above, confirms that there is no legal basis on which any conspiracy theory should exist. However, you maintain that anybody who accepts the findings of the French Inquest, The UK Inquest and the Report produced by Lord Stevens as a result of Scotland Yard's Operation Paget, is gullible.
Dare I suggest that the reverse is true? It occurs to me that if Al-Fayed paid millions of pounds to get evidence that his son and Diana were killed in some sort of conspiracy and that no evidence had been found, resulting in him withdrawing every associated claim, the person who is gullible is the one of us who still has “doubts”.


You mention a “mysterious white car, travelling at high speed that was seen to enter and leave the underpass at the time of the accident but was never traced.”
As mentioned in the Operation Paget inquiry report into the allegation of conspiracy to murder - Page 389
“If the presence of another vehicle, the Fiat Uno for example, had been necessary in
order to force such a fatal collision, then many of the arrangements and logistical
details mentioned in Claims 12 and 13 would need to form part of the conspiracy to
ensure that the Mercedes was in that location at that time.
There is no evidence that any intelligence agency attempted to do this, or had the
opportunity to do so.”

Furthermore, the white Fiat Uno was deemed by both Paget and the French authorities not to have been involved in, nor a contributing factor to, the crash. It’s a red herring the conspiracy theorists throw in to make their case appear more plausible.

As for tracing the car, the Daily Mail think they found it – read this:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-424546/Found-The-mystery-white-Fiat-Uno-driver-Diana-death-crash.html

Speaking of gullible people, however, you seem to feel that although you were thrown out of SL under your Ron Teague name, you can waltz back in and attempt to belittle people who have challenged you about it. Especially that little game whereby you tried to spin little circles around them by claiming to be able to get them to believe what you wanted them to believe – which of course they didn’t. What you haven’t succeeded in doing is to explain why you created the name Richard, before Robin and yet used Robin as your login.
Twenty-eight days ago I mentioned it to you here: https://www.scooploop.com/thread/earth-shattering-news-perhaps asking for a plausible answer as to why you had created two names. Thus far there has been no response from you. When can I expect the answer?

Scientists in the US. have successfully achieved nuclear fusion that produces 50% more energy than the amount used in the process, while at the same time does not produce the toxic waste that results from nuclear fission.
I'm no nuclear physicist but thoughts that occur to me are:-
1) Can they develop this technology quickly enough to solve the global energy problem?.
2) Can the process be used to change Co2 atoms into something that is not a greenhouse gas, thus "clean up" our atmosphere?.
3) Will they share this technology with rest of the world?.
4) Can 1) to 3) be done it time to save the Planet or have we, as I believe, already passed the point of no return. Let us hope that I am wrong.

What are your thoughts?.

Not exactly that bad but they only get halfway.
https://www.gbnews.uk/news/electric-car-warning-range-of-battery-powered-vehicles-collapses-by-up-to-50-in-cold-weather-they-cant-cope/426156

Source RSPB

"Cuckoos getting restless?

Can you guess where our satellite-tagged Cuckoos are? They will soon be leaving their wintering grounds in the Congo Basin. Their journeys back to the UK can start anytime from early January to early March and the first leg typically takes them up to a few hundred km north within the rainforest. Over the last few days Llangollen Cuckoo JAC has flown 200km north in the Republic of the Congo, and Norfolk Cuckoo Joe has flown 275km west, from Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Republic of the Congo. Scottish Cuckoo Victor II has been moving around within Gabon, close to Worcestershire Cuckoo Ripple. Take a look at the latest positions of our tagged Cuckoos."

www.bto.org/our-science/projects/cuckoo-tracking-project?dm_i=IG4,862WK,9WHJFJ,XH96H,1

My own view is Harry came across rather well and gave up his life of unimaginable privilege for the love of Megan and their two children. Nothing wrong with that surly?

I don’t think it was mentioned last night but apparently in the actual book he mentioned that he killed twenty five Taliban soldiers. That, if true was a massive mistake as it has probably put him and his beloved family in danger for the rest of their lives.

Until the question came up on a quiz show over the weekend I had not heard of or realised the law is changing next month regarding the age of marriage in this country.
No longer will a 16 year old be able to get married or have a civil partnership, even with consent from a guardian. This, I understand has been considered particularly to protect young children from being coerced or forced into marriage. I agree it is time for this change, what do members think?

https://www.holmes-hills.co.uk/news/2022/may/legal-age-for-marriage-change-in-england-and-wales/

How long will that person be in post? Before a complaint forces them out

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11636037/Rishi-Sunak-plans-appoint-anti-woke-tsar-investigate-universities-censure-academics.html

Will it even happen?

Hi
I've been experimenting with making my own oat milk - It's a lot simpler than I thought. Put rolled oats and water in a liquidiser with a pinch of salt and a bit of sweetener, blend on high speed for about 45 seconds and strain the resulting mixture.
It works well and ends up much cheaper than buying it in the shops.
At the end of the process I end up with a dollop of very finely chopped oatmeal. It will have lost some of the nutrients into the oat milk but I'm thinking that there must still be quite a bit of nutritional value in it so I'm wondering if there's a recipe out there which it can be used for.
Do any of you have any suggestions?

just to make people aware that my husband received this email yesterday - it’s worrying as people could be taking in by it as it looks genuine

Just Eat to deliver Sainsbury's groceries in '30 minutes'
Sainsbury's shoppers will soon be able to get groceries delivered to their door within 30 minutes after the supermarket announced a partnership with Just Eat.

Just Eat's network of couriers will serve customers of 175 stores across the UK by the end of February, according to Retail Gazette.

The companies plan to roll out the service to cities throughout 2023.

The move promises to delivery groceries such as fresh milk and vegetables and also household essentials.

https://news.sky.com/story/fertiliser-made-from-human-faeces-and-urine-is-safe-to-use-on-food-crops-say-scientists-12787999

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11639625/10-minute-scan-rid-millions-adults-high-blood-pressure.html

My fixed rate energy supply ends at the beginning of March (Octopus). The option to go for a fixed rate no longer seems possible.

Good to know: The Energy Price Guarantee

The Government has introduced an Energy Price Guarantee that caps variable energy prices at £2,500 for a typical home.

This represents a discount of around £1,000 for a typical home compared to the Ofgem price cap for October to December, and is in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme that will reduce all monthly payments between October and March, and the further support already announced for low income or vulnerable households.

In light of these reductions, we're not currently offering fixed price tariffs — they're simply not a good choice right now.

Instead, the best option for you is to roll onto our Flexible Octopus tariff at the end of your fixed term. This will happen automatically: you don't need to do anything.

Anyone got one on their car? Pros or cons?

https://carsandyachts.com/trending/soap-opera-stars-time-to-shine-who-aged-gracefully-and-horribly-tinobaidu?tbv=0.032000&ts=1673802250178889115&a0v5la7bquf89=882637d893e47638cc3f98fc7867266b&uy3ubftvh0u6o8=022fb81208778f8dae7af9ee28986a1d&cusduxj27i=1581026&xnfrr0ncac=20701&zsmoi87pih9=trace-eu.mediago.io&lzzgnpz8d=9220dd482c2a49631b4e66cca9f5f0ee

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64264069

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/byron-burger-shut-westquay-restaurant-170902887.html

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/01/why-everyday-stress-could-be-the-key-to-a-healthy-old-age Very interesting.

https://ecohustler.com/culture/asc-label-now-allowing-more-parasites-on-factory-farmed-salmon

Up to a dozen Grenfell Tower firefighters are now ill with ...https://www.dailymail.co.uk › news › article-11629989