The New Coffee Room

Perhaps he's envious of our Sovereign, who technically issues our passports, and so is the only person who doesn't need one. Our Sovereign's image appears on all passports so it would be a little strange giving yourself permission & authority.

The Sovereign is also the only person not required to have a driving licence or pass a test.

Funny thing about these forms of ID is that, although the driving licence has your current address on it and must by law be kept up to date, the passport doesn't yet still seems to bear more weight as the ultimate ID.

but I'm retired.

@klot
Where's the nearest toilet?

Ah, good point.

WW3

But drone remote command signals can be blocked?

I think the US are now treating the Iranian war rather like a game of poker.

In contrast, Iranian leaders today said
•they were in charge of opening the Strait as and when
•they would have nuclear power if they want
•they would like the US and Israeli presidents to be assassinated

(on BBC radio news)

A larger stack is a winning hand if you are fully committed to a particular outcome. Witness the Pacific war against Japan.

Are we simply playing carrot or stick with these fanatical terrorists?
Give them $300 billion or nuke Kharg Island?

It's a strange game we're witnessing.
You'd think the US has all the winning cards. And Iran only a straight.

1. When I was at school in the 1970's, gym was the disliked alternative to outdoor sports when it was raining hard.
   Gym consisted of climbing ropes, bars, vaulting horse, press ups. On better days we played basketball.
   On even worse days with only light rain we we went for a cross country run.
   After school I played a bit of badminton, tennis and regularly squash. No gym.
   In fact I don't recall commercial gyms being available until quite recently. Every town has one or two, despite the local public sports and swimming centres.

Yesterday I noticed two large adjacent shops, one a carpet showroom and the other a fireplace showroom had both shut. And the replacements... a gym and coffee shop.

2. Parents were traditional, anachronistic even. Housework, maintenance, and gardening. They belonged to the church rambling club. Wanted us to be university educated.
   Never encouraged or discouraged sports, a shame as I was a damn good tennis player

Beggers belief that people vote for these people.

These are international waters correct? Closed because a terrorist state threatens to destroy any ship using them.

I have to say I'm dissatisfied and impatient for change.

We ought to do the same to all Iranian ships and planes using any international waters and any international airspace worldwide.
Isolate Iran to the best of our ability.
Bomb their airfields, their border infrastructure to other countries north and east, bomb their leaders and all military, and just suck up the increasing price of fuels. Make their coastal land areas to the west and south uninhabitable. Encourage the Kurds to take back their land.
Reduce the size and influence of Iran and these hateful Mullahs who kill thousands of their own protesting people, and have exported their murder worldwide over the last five decades

Of course it isn't going to happen. We barely raise a finger to protest when Putin invades a European neighbour, twice. Having said that I actually recall when Ukrainian people were called Russians by us.
Change takes time and trouble.

It's always surprising, but I get Jon's point about the sheer size (and cost involved) of broadcasting to the US.
About 25 years ago I met the inventor of PowerPoint and he had BBC radio4 piped around his London flat, and he said he had the same in his San Francisco house!
Like me he didn't suffer The Archers, but everything else was given a listen.

With a country & population the size of the States you must surely have some good stations?
Anyway, we have Radio 4 and the Worldservice, Radio 3 and Classic FM, Jazz/Smooth Radio. And all the usual pop & talk stations.

My new SW/FM/AM radio arrived

Maybe, or for lovers lane.

Radio for me still trumps all other car media. My kids like streaming.

Petrol is still around $7.00 a gallon in the UK (£1.55/L, and diesel is 1.70)
The taxman and shareholders must be happy happy happy.

Gawd, the first in-car cd players were jumpy, wonder how that needle played?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18Va43GzR1/

I've read only a handful of his plays in full (Tempest, Macbeth, a couple of Henrys)and like most folk have seen quite a few of his other works on the screen.
They're bloody hard work to read, I found none enjoyable, certainly not the way Jane Austen is (and who I far prefer over both Shakeyspeare and Dickens).

Our lascivious bisexual poet may best first be approached through the BBC comedy series,
Upstart Crow.
Written brilliantly by Ben Elton, on DVD for £20. I feel no need to read more...

What probably irks Kier Starmer most is the fact he, as leader, won such a large majority for the Labour Party, and yet those people who owe their jobs as MPs to him have no loyalty.

It's not like Kier Starmer is doing a bad job; and really I don't know what magic they expect from Andy Burnham.

And he's going, as soon as mid July, or September latest.
The list of his achievements was optomistic and to be fair the UK economy appears to be on the up from what I read.
However our high streets may never be the same and certainly show no sign of recovery here in the North.

If only he was a more likeable and or robust personality.