Thread 13 - TalkLair: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.”

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 12).

Looks like spring has sprung! Tulips, apple blossom and early hay fever are upon us. In the TalkLair, we remain hunkered down keeping cosy and warm, because "something something 'til May is out". The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

I do apologise, everyone. I ironed some summer clothes today, because I'm supposed to be going to Spain on Wednesday, and the temperature immediately dropped about 10 degrees. It's all my fault.

Summer is looking unlikely at this point. I want it to be weather to sit out dammit! I did make some delicious raspberry ice cream today though so we had a summery dessert even if the weather didn’t warrant it. And at least it’s not raining all the time.

I’m sad about Michael Mosley but baffled by his decision to go for a walk in the heat of the day when there were extreme heat warnings in place.

I’m enjoying the election build up much more than I expected but mostly because of the Tory campaign’s seemingly infinite capacity for screwing things up. I assume Sunak had plans for the summer and wants to ensure they’re not disrupted by having to run the country. I am now undecided about whether I want him to provide a Portillo moment or whether I’d prefer to see how soon he extricates himself from politics once he’s lost the election. The prospect of Farage in Parliament is scary though. And the results of the Euro elections are pretty terrifying.

Clacton's current Tory MP, Giles Watling, was on The News Agents podcast the other day and sounded surprisingly competent and well-intentioned towards his constituents. If they elect Farage, they'll be in for a surprise.

To distract from the dire weather, recent polling shows Rees Mogg is on course for a trouncing, and there's also a good chance Hunt will be unseated.

Rees-Mogg, Hunt and Shapps would be a good start but I’d really like to see Truss, Braverman and Patel gone too.

And I’d like Farage to lose yet again.

I think the Tory MP for Clayton has something like a 17000 vote majority doesn't he? I'm not convinced Farage will win however unpopular the Tory government is.

Clacton. Damn you autocarrot!

Meanwhile we're looking at the results from our local elections come in, and waiting for the results in the EU elections.

And wondering will our next General Election happen a bit sooner than was expected, since the government parties have done well.

And in other news, I cooked the chickpea/feta/cherry tomato bake recommended by @Britinme a couple of weeks back and it was delicious. I did add (chunks of frozen) spinach which worked well.

I'm much better now, thank you everyone. Lateral flow tests tell me that I am safe to be let out into the community. Residual tiredness/shortness of breath plus an embarrassing post-viral cough. My sense of smell started to return, slightly, over the weekend - it's very weird, I get little hints of odours but when I try and properly smell them, I can't quite - it's like the nasal equivalent of spotting something out of the corner of your eye!

I'm trying not to be too depressed about the European election results, having got the gloomy impression that the hard right are in the ascendant all over our western democracies. Also feeling unaccountably saddened by the death of Michael Mosely - perhaps it was just his public persona, but he seemed like a such a lovely fellow.

Oh and @SqueakyDinosaur I will tell DDs that it is your fault. They're going on their DofE expedition this week and are very displeased about the return of the horizontal driving rain and miserably cold temperatures.

Glad you liked the bake @DeanElderberry . I made it again last week and added a bunch of asparagus, which was lovely. I've also done it with chunks of broccoli, which worked well.

I'm glad to learn that you're de-lurgied, Kuc and hope you don't have too long being exhausted.

As for driving rain, we're off the coast of Norfolk, supposedly in shelter, waiting for the pilot to take us alongside. An hour ago, it was calm, but it's blown up really quickly. I looked at the interactive weather map and we're in the middle of our own little cyclonic system, about 30 miles across.

I'm very glad you're on the mend, @Kucinghitam that is a nice bit of good news.

I woke in a half and half mood today which could have gone either way. It was definitely heading toward being very miserable and then instead of a drama in the 14:15 slot on radio 4 they had Fags, Mags and Bags and I was heading in the opposite direction. I don't know what it is about that sitcom but it makes me smile from beginning to end. I'd say that I've ended up in a neutral to decent mood after that which is better than I thought the day would pan out, so yay for that and everything.

That's good to hear, Mouse. How are things on the medical front? I hope you're feeling a bit stronger? I do wish the bloody weather would warm up a bit - I'm sure it would perk a lot of us up.

I also wish for better weather. It’s June FFS. Why does it feel more like November?

I'm in ThatLondon again, and it's no bloody warmer than it was at home!

Last night, at the Jazz Cafe Camden, saw Masta Ace and Marco Polo with my DS. Probably the best hip-hop show I've ever seen. It's not hard to tell the real superstars from the chancers. Great night, great venue. If he's back next year, I'll be there!

It's so miserably cold and overcast! I've just been hanging out the laundry and was shivering by the time I finished, fingers all seized up. I won't be surprised if the clothes don't actually get dry - but at least with my broken sense of smell, I won't be able to detect that horrible boak-inducing "damp festering fabric" stench. Silver linings.

12° in Lowestoft, it's windy and raining on and off. Glad I'm off shift and in my cabin.

Has anyone come across Sporcle? I've been doing quizzes on it overnight.

https://www.sporcle.com/

I know, I know, it's the Gruinard, but it warmed my heart.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/10/przewalskis-horses-only-wild-species-return-central-asian-steppes-kazakhstan

Six mares and one stallion - he's going to be a busy boy.

And 1500 already in Mongolia from the first wave of the programme. It's excellent news.

Oh- that makes more sense - they already have a population and adding more females will speed up the population increase, and there are enough males to keep up the genetic diversity.

I remember watching a very annoying sci-fi thing a few years ago where the earth was about to be wiped out and they were scrambling to decide which people should be sent to the new colony on Mars or somewhere and didn't start from the obvious point that they would all need to be female, preferably smallish females, at an age point where their remaining fertile years and acquired scientific and technical skills balanced out. Instead it was all rich middle aged men competing with each other. Sorry, chaps, we have a freezer full of straws.