chrisp65

but their hearts aren't pure enough. Mine just pumps blood. I don't know if you've ever watched much late night american aspirational / prosperity christian TV (I suspect the answer is 'not that much')? The views on there are really quite amazing, sermons and presentations telling you that all you have to do is believe in the absolute power of God to bring you prosperity, send $20 and touch the screen and a better wealthier life will be yours. All you've got to do is really believe. Not send the money and hope, that won't change anything. but send the money and truly believe. The test is, if you really believed you'll get rich. If you don't get rich, it's your own fault. It's fascinating stuff. Then there's the end of days stuff, I love it. Essentially it's power point presentations explaining that the USA is actually the devil and either Israel of the UK is the little devil. Their military adventures in the middle east are a proven pre cursor to the end of days. As such, all good christian americans should support the escalation of all wars and conflicts because the more the US Army gets involved, the closer we are to end of days. Then an auditorium of middle aged americans claps and whoops. Then I get an e-mail from the local Methodists about the foodbank rota, about handing over some property to the local community and asking people that are members and non-members to vote on what to do with some money that's been raised and it's really quite an extraordinary contrast.

I used to watch the occasional Stafford Rangers game back in the day! That would have been early to mid 1970's and from memory, they were pretty hot stuff back then.

jeesh, I've apologised twice for that, let it go.

if he was genuinely busy he wouldn't even notice that, just work through it, like I did when I had the Great Cold of 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOtUbVBmA34

I quite liked the interviewer's 'belief' that she gets whatever she prays for from God. If only all those poor souls living a starved life across africa knew of this simple tactic.

Why would somebody conceal their identity with a scarf through fear, but give their own name in their own voice?

I did actually forget it was on. But that's just a coincidence, not proof of altzywotsit. I was watching some crap called Chuck on Netflix.

I'm utterly torn as to whether I should give this a like. It's very funny, but to press like kinda endorses the point. Should I mention here that I once flew to Malta for a meeting on the wrong day? Turned up in their office all suited and booted and ready to rumble. Their boss wasn't there because he rarely sits down for a Thursday meeting on a Tuesday. Told my office the scheme was much more complicated than we'd thought and they needed to extend my tickets and hotel reservation. The only Friday flight back they could get me was 1st class, so they offered me either the 1st class seat or a free weekend r&r in Malta. I went for the seat, as I'd already spent two days sight seeing.

I gave people the wrong time and date for my own wedding. Wedding was 11:00am on the 8th, for some brain fart of a reason I told a bunch of people it was 1:00pm and another bunch that it was on the 9th. On the upside, there was stacks of food to go around at the reception. This has just caused me to go check in the diary when my wedding anniversary is......it's Monday. Deffo Monday. Monday.

You can't have the same time and date twice in the same year can you? 365 days in a year, exactly one year is 5th Sept to 4th Sept = 365 days, 5th to the 5th is 366 or, a year and a day (except leap years obvs)

technically, he could argue that's 10 years exactly, tomorrow will be 10 years and 1 day

not 'history' strictly speaking, but somewhere to stick a photo of Wembley, 1923 it's a bit more built up around there now I believe

turns out the under cover police have been working here for quite a while

I think its because we're the only foreigners that have bothered to learn american.

unless you mean 'fairly obscure reggae', nope

Swn Festival coming up 18th October. This year will be the first year I've been home for this so I'm going to love it. Already looking forward to: Candelas / Cian Ciaran / Golden Fable / Telegram and a whole host I've never heard of http://swnfest.com/lineup/

Donuts, hot dogs, chips the lot, they hoovered up everything, it was like old fashioned miner's fortnight. My personal fave, the black speedboat full of blokes in black that powered across the bay to pick up an order of coffees. A proper Milk Tray moment. 9,500 extra police, 7 warships, helicopter gunships constantly circling, tanks parked on hilltops, miles and miles of steel fence and police in groups of 8 or 12 on just about every corner. It's like when we beat the scum 5:1

Two days working from home tomorrow and Friday because of this NATO thing. It really is a sight to behold the level of security. Couldn't get a bench down the waterfront on Sunday afternoon because the place was absolutely rammed with police from all over the country eating icecreams and hot dogs.Anyway Today has been odd, fleets of unmarked white transit vans driving round in blocks of 6 or 8 at a time. each with 3 blokes in sunglasses, black suits and black ties. Like some rubbishy Die Hard movie. Anyway, they are closing roads tomorrow, so it's work from home. As a little bonus, as of today the kids went back to school.

somebody deciding in westminster they can frack wherever they want has slightly undermined the local tory MP here, we've a few posh villages not quite sure what the frack to do about it anyway, way OT

When he's been ever so lightly challenged on this view that foodbank users are just con artists, alcoholics, drug users and the financially incompetent, he simply hasn't wanted to talk about it. Being lovely people, and all with a wide variety of views and not wanting to go political on our social time, we've never really pushed him on this. But there's an election coming, so in a different environment it will be ok to challenge him. But this is way off topic.

Yep, I'm one that has said Alun Cairns my local MP has been very good locally. Beyond very good, he was exceptional. But that was on local issues. As soon as something bigger comes along, even just the need for a comment on foodbanks, he's forced to toe the party line and do as the whips tell him, which means on all the big stuff he votes and talks right wing. So I can shake his hand, chat to him at the football and share his softmints. But I can't vote for him, which is very unfortunate. I don't think that's 'dealing with a mindset', I think that's recognising how it works.

I'd definitely agree with you that the reasoning on the yes side is a bit shallow and a bit romantic. But unfortunately, whilst that should make it an easy win for the no campaign, they've proved equally vague, but with heavy negative tones. But who's fault is it if the money situation hasn't been clearly and simply explained? It's not the yes campaign's fault. They are the wrong side of logic so they are happy to keep it all a bit vague. It's where the no campaign has abjectly failed. Such a simple thing to explain - you won't be in control of your own money, your safety net will be a foreign bank with southern business interests at heart. There will be no aid from London there will be no EU deprived area funding. Stay with us and enjoy the benefits of being in the big boys club with a decent credit rating. Stay with us and have access to EU money. Stay with us and have a great chance of benefiting from increasing military spending and scholarships and apprenticeships. Stay with us and a pound will be worth a pound. The Labour MP with the bizarrely sad and slow voice, Jim Murphy was back on the TV yesterday. His campaign has recently been dogged by particularly aggressive hecklers. He did everything but blame Salmond directly for this. When finally asked the straight question do you blame Alex Salmond for sending out abusive gangs his answer was ' ermm no, but....'. He may or may not be right but it's a negative message. He then went on to give thinly veiled threats about jobs on the Clyde, he worried about jobs in the public sector, he worried about the service and banking sector jobs he was particularly concerned about the flight of capital. On and on it went saying scary negative things. Not once did he say one good thing or give one actual fact or proveable statistic. It was just a 2 minute sound bite where he basically said 'we're all dooooomed, dooooomed!'. Utterly negative, not a single positive note. Then, when asked if he would stand to be an MP in an independent Scotland, he gave a bit of a complicated non-answer about the legal quirks of the system. Surely the no campaign have some people briefing their side on what possible questions they might get asked and why an evasive answer sounds bad. Same goes for Darling, telling lies about how the oil is all going to run out a week next Tuesday. They actually dared to put a conservative spokeman on Radio 4 yesterday to talk about the polls getting tighter. I presume they were thinking, it's only radio 4, no Scottish people will be listening to that. When asked what he thought of the polls getting tighter he went into a plummy toned monologue about how polls never worried Margaret Thatcher and Margaret Thatcher knew how to run a campaign and Margaret Thatcher won 2 elections against the odds. I mean seriously, your message to Scotland is to stand firm and be more like Thatcher. Cynics might suggest that guy wants Scotland to leave. All of which has played right into the hands of the happy, positive, upbeat and smiling snake oil salesman, Salmond.

Scotland get a pretty good deal from being part of the UK. If they want to piss that away for 20 years of North Sea oil then they can go ahead. Be assured though the SNP do not want the **** of governance issues independence would bring. I really don't think the UK would be the biggest problem in terms of EU membership. Try Spain with their autonomous regions, Catalonia with their independence claim, they would be the first obstacle. But not as good a deal as London, the South West or Northern Ireland so it's not like they are getting a deal that's too good to refuse. Their biggest issue with EU membership is that if they go independent then the Spanish don't want to let them in. If they stay 'better together', then the tories/ukippers want them out.