The Walk Shire

Captain Qahn's picture

"‘Informal discussions’ about the agency’s future took place last week but Welcome to Yorkshire has not confirmed any details of occurred beyond confirming a formal board meeting will take place on October 21 ahead of the AGM on November 1."

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/welcome-to-yorkshire-membe...

"I honestly don’t care where [Johnson] is. What I want is grip from the government. Whether he’s in Spain, whether he is in the UK, it seems just as chaotic when the prime minister is here.  So, frankly, I’m not concerned whether he’s on holiday or not. What I want is grip from the government, and we haven’t got that at the moment."

"Why would anyone want secure guaranteed energy for the next 100 years, avoid the vagaries of world markets and enjoy low energy prices? Much better to look to a combination of wind power (when it works), nuclear power (worry about the fallout later), LPG shipping (float my boat) and imported gas (thank you, Mr Putin)."

"I’m not particularly interested in when and where the prime minister takes a holiday. The important thing is that action is taken here. I think, if necessarily it requires a prime ministerial intervention in any of this, I’m sure that can be done from Marbella or Westminster."

https://www.thisisthecoast.co.uk/news/local-news/revamp-planned-for-scar...

"The face of espionage, the face of spying, is very different from when you and I were growing up and we need to constantly upgrade our capability. These are very serious matters."

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Captain Qahn's picture

The Green Budget

"While the tax raid would help fund an expansion in the state to the highest level of government spending since 1985, the leading independent thinktank for the public finances said several Whitehall departments would still face budget cuts."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-58865883

"A spokesman for the Treasury said the government would continue to invest in the public’s key priorities."

Captain Qahn's picture

'How to Do Nothing'

"After all, we cannot accrue time, or invest it and watch it grow. It runs away from us; we slip and slide in its wake. Perhaps time isn’t a bank account, but a field. We can grow productive crops, or things of beauty; roses for the pruning and topiary hedges to be trimmed. Or we can simply do nothing, and let the wildflowers grow. Everything is of beauty, everything is of equal value."

"I understand what a luxury it is to be able to take three-and-a-half hours out of my day to go for a walk.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/12/time-millionaires-m...

"Some of them make a living from raising semi-domesticated reindeer for their meat and hides."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/11/norway-court-rules-two-win...

"The scary thing is you know there's only one outcome, but you can't stop."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWiccrTB4LM

"Article 27 of the UN treaty states that minority ethnic people “shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language”."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58885555h

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhmp8CtROlE

Phew.

One day Rodders... ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaEPCsQ4608

Keep Busy.

 
Captain Qahn's picture

Tiberius & Theo

"Volunteers are being sought to search through thousands of satellite images to see how many of the tusked animals they can spot.

Scientists need improved population data as they try to asses how this polar keystone species will be affected by climate change."

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/oct/13/from-shakespeare-to-the-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtH0bmPmtMA

"A second phase, once all "empty" pictures have been excluded, will then ask the volunteers to put a dot on every walrus they see."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58901410

Fleeting ... ;-0

"Electoral officers have confirmed residents will go to the polls on Thursday, November 25, following last week’s resignation of Mr Allott just 134 days after he started in the £74,400-a-year job, if the election is contested."

"Senior Tory sources said its candidate to replace Mr Allott would be considered in the next few days. While some former candidates have ruled themselves out, the sources say,  it remains unclear who will stand."

Product Placement.

https://www.scarborough.gov.uk/home/council/elections-and-voting/electio...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etviGf1uWlg

Do they do refunds?

Yul Brynner.

Forever Autumn

"“The board have in private reviewed both the organisation’s finances and its commercial plan,” he said. “The board are confident that the team are working hard to ensure the future of Welcome to Yorkshire. The board are unanimous in saying there is a need for a Yorkshire-wide DMO [Destination Marketing Organisation].”"

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/welcome-to-yorkshire-chair...

“The North America editor role is currently being advertised internally and the role will go through the normal recruitment process; it’s a bit soon to start speculating about the outcome of this, let alone other jobs which aren’t actually vacant.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/oct/21/laura-kuenssberg-talks-ste...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDsCeC6f0zc

""It offers huge potential for The Royal Mint and the circular economy - helping to reuse our planet's precious resources and creating new skills in the UK.""

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/22/christopher-walken-...

"For example, there was no public clamour for a local government review in North Yorkshire, and no need for it either, but Mr Jenrick went ahead anyway and the result will cost £18m or more of public money which could be best spent on other projects.."

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/why-north-yorksh...

"As there was more than one proposal, Mr Jenrick had to set out some criteria, particularly in regard to the optimum size of unitary councils. This was set at a population level of about 400,000.

The North Yorkshire districts foolishly took him at his word, and this is why, as I understand, they included York in the proposed East/West split.

However, when it came to making the decision, Mr Jenrick seems to have taken no notice of the criteria his department had set for judging competing bids against each other.

The paperwork submitted to him comprised long reports by consultants and officers. His decision letter is three pages long, is in general terms and there is no detailed examination or comparison of the respective cases offered by either county or districts.

His decision letter was an insult to everybody concerned, bearing in mind the money spent on experts, the potential cost of the reorganisation itself, and the ramifications and impact on residents. He clearly could not have cared less if he had got the decision right or wrong.

The decisions made by Mr Jenrick were not only inconsistent with his own criteria, but also inconsistent with each other."

"It is an outrage that residents of historic towns like Harrogate or Scarborough should not be allowed to elect councillors to run local services or to plan their future. How can a 10-person executive in Northallerton possibly know how to run a bath, for example?"

"Then there is the issue of assets. All the financial reserves and assets of the councils which are taken over will go to the new authority. These are assets which have been used for the local community which has paid for them in full.

All these will be transferred to the new authority, which may decide to sell them, and there is no guarantee that money received from any of the district councils will be spent where they were taken from or that the value of any assets sold will be spent in the district which built them.

Districts administered by spendthrift councils will benefit at the expense of districts whose councils have been careful with their money. Mr Gove should pause the proposed reorganisations and allow time to reflect."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDIYvFmgW8

Hmmm ...

"Usually vast walls of rock or concrete would be used as a first line of defence - but these hard structures can change the coastal dynamics, and speed up erosion elsewhere."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58919791

'Gummy Worms'

""Legal action has begun against an overhaul of local government in Cumbria which will see two new unitary councils replace the current system.  The east of the county is set to have an authority for Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland, while the west will encompass Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland.

Supporters argue it will bring better services and savings, but critics say it is politically motivated.Cumbria County Council has now lodged a judicial review application.

Opponents believe the government's decision to create two authorities is aimed at consolidating Conservative power in the north west of the county. The current council is controlled by a coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrats."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-59007448

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsKUgl-gnVc

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/oct/23/a-locals-guide-to-glasgow...

"The Leader of the Council felt that, even if the costs of the appeals had to be included, the cost was minimal compared to the cost of moving to a two unitary structure.  He moved that Cabinet restate its decision to issue proceedings for judicial review against the Secretary of State.  The Deputy Leader was unable to support this. He stated that his position was not based on the financial cost,  but based on the effect it would have on the process, the timeframe of which was already extremely challenging.  Mr Southward commented that he supported the view of the Leader in that even if the costs of the appeals had to be included, the cost was minimal compared to the cost of moving to a two unitary structure, which would cost a great deal more, and would not realise anywhere near the savings of those if moving to a single unitary.

Upon conclusion of the discussion, this was put to a vote, and with 6 votes for, 0 against and 4 abstentions it was

https://councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=65007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-yQaMbQ3o

"Scavengers, trophy hunters and “metal pirates” are looting the treasures under the seas..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g18jFHCLXk

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/24/as-metal-pirates-...

Captain Qahn's picture

Joint Administrators

"At its meeting yesterday (28 February 2022), the Yorkshire Leaders Board – made up of council leaders and metro mayors from across Yorkshire – unanimously agreed that a new approach was needed to the marketing of the Yorkshire region"

"CEO Carl Les is to form a new public body to sap the local authorities directly and oust the D-Bid from its position, subject to coastal erosion and the shifts of time."

"Sociologists at the university of Yeovil have found that these individuals have found new ways to be smug and condescending about something they actually know very little about."

"Leaders will meet again in May 2022 to agree the
timeline for the establishment of the new organisation."

https://www.thisisthecoast.co.uk/news/local-news/welcome-to-yorkshire-en...

"All queries should be directed via email to WelcometoYorkshire@armstrongwatson.co.uk"

https://newsthump.com/2022/03/01/all-ukrainian-refugees-to-get-signed-ph...

"“If you were a priest you wouldn't have to do this, but you are a warrior and you have to perform it. In the larger scheme of things, presumably The Bomb represented the path of the battle against the forces of evil, which were epitomised by the forces of fascism.”"

Oh, Just a minute...  didn't Elon Musk invent the Swift System...

"... a non-linear concept of time"

The Chronological Order.

Captain Black's picture

‘Are you anybody?’

"Over coffee, he explained his refusal: been there, done that, got the nylon polo neck tunics. But the petitioners asked if they could still make a pitch. They spoke for 20 minutes, Stewart recalls on Zoom from his Los Angeles home, after which he was intrigued enough to ask if they could send him something on paper. Reading those 36 pages “convinced me that there was enough new stuff to explore”."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/civilised-european...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vo9C9gIOR4

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/02/patrick-stewart-int...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2RXgHfqYx0

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60561379

Prospero...

"... and I’m choosing these words carefully"

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jul/09/patrick-stewart-80-tribu...

The Box Set.

A 'Litmus Test'

"I believe I'm the most northern Chancellor for our party since the Second World War. My constituency is 20 minutes down the road so I think I understand almost better than anyone in this leadership race about the importance in delivering for the North."

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/council-calls-fresh-inv...

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswKizinfJY

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tees-freeport-crab-lob...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY

"The tools of their trade?"

https://www.offshore-energy.biz/no-oil-for-shell-in-north-sea-well/

"Shell claims seismic surveys are a “low impact” method to gather information about the geology under the seabed, using an acoustic signal that is generated on the ship and picked up by sensors towed behind the vessel as the signal bounces back off the rocks."

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/fishermen-lose-out-oil-giant...

 

'Thermals and Fleece'

"In July the council’s Harbour Executive said the hoist had “broad support” and was an “essential requirement” to remain commercially competitive.  West Pier is about to be redeveloped using £5m Town Deal funding and £6m from Scarborough Council. But the proposals – which include improved artists’ studios, new public toilets and an “improved food and drink offer” – have been criticised by some businesses.

MP Sir Robert Goodwill said around 25 car parking spaces would be lost but existing businesses had been accommodated. He said the deal had “passed the stage where new suggestions like this can be bought forward” as it might risk the Government funding package. “The money has been signed off. The ship has sailed,” he added."

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/widespread-child-hunger...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOILZ_D3aRg

‘Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious’

Passing Yachts...

'Woke the Plank'

"Stuart Slade, museum deputy director, wants to claim the king of pirates and the legend of the missing treasure for Cornwall. He cites a tantalising 19th-century document in Cornwall’s Record Office in Redruth that purports to reveal the treasure’s location. It says: “About three miles to the east of the Lizard … under three grey stones or rocks in a cove to the south west. It is near where the corner of the high promontory just out into the sea. He said, the spring tides now cover the place.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZx1Zr3WIG0

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/apr/04/woke-plank-pirate-s...

lol

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-66051126

'A Cracker of A Day'

"I hunched over my Ordnance Survey map, trying to protect my phone’s light from the blowing rain and lamenting my lack of a headtorch. When I looked up, every sweep of my light made the slightest open area look like a footpath. So I decided to cut my losses and leave the river behind. Nearby, a quiet B-road would be mostly deserted at this hour, and would convey me straight into my destination.."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/21/video-games-gaming...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSBFehvLJDc

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/aug/21/trek-to-the-source-of-the...

"“Oh don’t worry, it’ll be all right – it’s waterproof.”"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xf-Lesrkuc

'Leave No Trace'

"The mystery began earlier this summer when two waymarks vanished from the moor above the quarry village of Mynydd Llandegai. Gwynedd council workers, helped by volunteer ramblers, replaced the two posts and added a couple of extra ones. But now all four new waymarks – posts and plastic signs – have disappeared. “I don’t think it was vandals – they’d have just chucked them to one side,” said Owen. “Who knows what the motivation is but I think whoever is doing this must have a quad bike or some other transport because they are heavy.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/22/mystery-phantom-post-sna...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfEF-wICHxM

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/aug/22/pyrenees-catalonia-spain-...

"This is partly because there were more low-latitude events where smoke and gas is transported quickly around the globe by high-level winds and remains suspended for longer than events closer to the poles."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66578870

"Ebor is the abbreviation of the Latin Eboracum, an early Latin form for York in Britain.."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBOI9Nc3zpQ

"Please note that no further news letters will be sent to those who have not paid their 1992 subs before publication of the next letter."

Captain Qahn's picture

What are Rediranes?

"A Downing Street spokesperson instead suggested that ministers would need to balance the interests of "passengers and taxpayers". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt met on Wednesday and discussed the HS2 project."

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23789159.legendary-flying-scotsman-haul...

""What we are going to end up with here is in the southern half of the country, a modern, high-speed rail network, and the northern half of the country left with crumbling Victorian infrastructure. That won't level us up, it will do the exact opposite.""

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/14/miriam-margolyes-to...

The Giggle.

Captain Qahn's picture

'A Lot of Folklore'

"“Biodiversity as a whole, having a flourishing biodiverse environment, is key in terms of protecting those who are going to be most vulnerable from extreme weather events,” she said.

“Having a green shield which reduces reflective heat and causes urban cooling and improves air quality is vital for all of us.”"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/14/ufo-nasa-research-chief-an...

"“Most events are explainable as planes, balloons, drones, weather phenomenon and instrument features. In any search for interesting anomalies the first step is to eliminate the chaff of conventional events before moving on to identify novel phenomena. In this, the public’s role cannot be overstated.”"

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/14/nasa-ufo-boss-secret-00116075

"“That’s in part why we are not splashing the name of our new director out there, because science needs to be free.”"

'Winter Walks'

"A new economic strategy built not on nostalgia or wishful thinking, but on our actual strengths. Britain has some great manufacturing industries, from aerospace to booze, but there is no plausible route ... far from Civilisation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001772c

"Good work is the bedrock of a fair economy. "It's not rocket science, it just needs effort" he added."