Westminstenders: a feature of the system not a bug

[RedToothBrush]

Tests on the new queuing system in Kent have revealed that lengthy tail backs are a feature not a bug.

We should get used to them because thats normal not the system malfunctioning, but the planned system working as designed.

Today we have found out that there's no money left. The economy is fucked. And tomorrow we will probably all be in T3 with the Isles of Wight, the tip of Cornwall and inner Westminster the only places left in T1.

Christmas has apparently been 'saved' though. Well if you are dumb and lacking in functional brain cells its 'saved'. Trade for Christmas is already thoroughly goosed and indoor family gatherings may come with a extra side of covid. The BBC have done an epic job of 'doommongering project fear' style graphics on this wonderful subject.

Tis the season to be jolly. Jolly fucked.

[quote FatCatThinCat]We got the vaccine approved first as we're a much better country than the French, the Belgians , the Americans, better than every single one of them.

twitter.com/rachaelvenables/status/1334418762909487106[/quote]
And the response from the grownups?

European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the MHRA’s experts are “very good” but “we are definitely not in the game of comparing regulators across countries, nor on commenting on claims as to who is better”.

“This is not a football competition, we are talking about the life and health of people,” he said.

www.thejournal.ie/uk-vaccine-better-country-5287493-Dec2020/

“This is not a football competition, we are talking about the life and health of people,” he said.

Ouch ! Given Englands less than stellar record in the beautiful game, I can only say that was beautifully done. If only there was anyone in government in the UK that could make such a joke in French

Brief aside ..

Back to the flood of good news. Hard to keep up really. I bet Clav is glad that I'm here to help with it all.

www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/01/work-permits-for-eu-players-and-no-under-18-signings-in-post-brexit-regulations

The Football Association has announced a radical post-Brexit shake‑up that will mean Premier League and EFL clubs cannot sign foreign players until they are 18, with all transfers from European Union nations set to be subject to work permits that will be allocated using a points-based system.

In a controversial move that could have seismic effects on the recent dominance of English clubs over their European rivals, a joint statement from the FA, Premier League and EFL confirmed on Tuesday that the new system, which will come into force when the UK’s transition period after leaving the EU ends on 31 December and has been approved by the Home Office, will also see Premier League clubs limited to signing no more than three overseas players under the age of 21 in any single transfer window and a total of no more than six per season.

(contd)

I can see the advantage in football being limited to how many young EU players they can sign - it might just mean that we bother to bring our own young people on. Who knows, if we did that, we might have an England team which could actually win a World cup.

@FatCatThinCat

That's Gavin Williamson's opinion by the way, not mine. I think as a country we're complete knobbers compared to everyone else.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Our local Pharmacy are already struggling and having to order drugs in - what was a 24hr turnaround for a prescription is now taking a week pity they haven't told the GP practice on the floor above, who won't issue prescriptions too far in advance

@Peregrina

I can see the advantage in football being limited to how many young EU players they can sign - it might just mean that we bother to bring our own young people on. Who knows, if we did that, we might have an England team which could actually win a World cup.

I don't think the premier league gives or ever gave a flying fuck about the national team. Not when there's money to be made ...

My scepticism of this shower of arseholes managing any Covid vaccine rollout remains undimmed.

@DGRossetti

My scepticism of this shower of arseholes managing any Covid vaccine rollout remains undimmed.

I really shouldn't have read that while drinking tea.....

Oh to see ourselves as others see us

www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/12/britain-vaccine-brexit-covid/617280/

...
Nicolas Bauquet, an associate director at the Paris-based Institut Montaigne, told me the vaccine was a telling moment in the tussle between Britain and the EU over how best to protect sovereignty in a globalized world. France, like Britain, was concerned with its ability to act independently in the world, but had made a different bet, Bauquet said. “Britain has chosen to leave Europe to reclaim its sovereignty,” he told me. “France has decided to strengthen the EU to reclaim its sovereignty.”

Bauquet said French President Emmanuel Macron, who is spearheading moves to reform the EU in order to make Brussels more powerful and effective, was, in effect, betting that in the 21st century, being in a bloc of hundreds of millions of people was better than being among “dozens of millions,” like Britain. However, he said this bet depended on Europe itself being able to act decisively, which it was not able to currently. “It’s because of this, I think, that the choice Britain has made resonates here, even if most people do not agree with it,” he said. “We understand that in this world where there’s an absolute need to be agile and for this reason Europe can be a liability or an asset.”

The vaccine story, then, is a Brexit story and isn’t, at the same time. Britain is gambling on being quicker and better than the EU. In 2020, it was anything but—but that doesn’t mean it can’t be.

So how come other countries aren't refusing to approve the vaccine at present as essential data is missing? Are our scientiest better than all the others that they can make this decision without all the necessary data, or our we being lied to again?

www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/incomplete-data-stalls-swiss-authorisation-of-covid-19-vaccines/46196598?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_content=o&utm_medium=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR3pmpiy04fBBaeke9tXjZDyAiDDS0gRIBHeyR7sx3nS1Fr4IA4qMhmZ84c

*are refusing to approve

• are we being lied to

I've got my illiterate hat on today.

At least the government are thinking about HGV driver welfare,

Driver welfare
Drivers who plan to travel through Kent in early 2021 should be aware that there is potential for disruption in the event of delays at the border.
Plan your journey to ensure you take breaks and rest periods before entering Kent to minimise the risk of hitting drivers’ hours limits.
Make sure you have enough food and water. Welfare will be available for drivers stuck in stationary queues for extended periods of time.

www.gov.uk/guidance/kent-traffic-management-on-m20-motorway-to-dover-and-eurotunnel

So Farage Garage won't be ready for all those trucks that won't be coming after 31st December?

You couldn't make it up.

I share your scepticism DGR

Breaking laws is just so addictive

Boris Johnson chose to mark international day of persons with disabilities in the same week that the Home Office has admitted that its new immigration rules discriminate against disabled people. It's just another example of how this government will not only break the law, human rights legislation in this case, but be perfectly open about doing so with no intention to remedy the situation.

Jason
But that link

(a) is only in English - a language which most of the affected drivers do not speak well
(b) mentions the Farage Garage which will not be ready

@ListeningQuietly

Jason But that link (a) is only in English - a language which most of the affected drivers do not speak well (b) mentions the Farage Garage which will not be ready

Mais leurs Anglaise est mellieur de notre Francais, n'est ce que pas ?

It's almost like in writing something down, they think it's all they have to do.

[quote Jason118]At least the government are thinking about HGV driver welfare,

Driver welfare
Drivers who plan to travel through Kent in early 2021 should be aware that there is potential for disruption in the event of delays at the border.
Plan your journey to ensure you take breaks and rest periods before entering Kent to minimise the risk of hitting drivers’ hours limits.
Make sure you have enough food and water. Welfare will be available for drivers stuck in stationary queues for extended periods of time.

www.gov.uk/guidance/kent-traffic-management-on-m20-motorway-to-dover-and-eurotunnel[/quote]
All joking aside, I read the link, and it's absolutely appalling that any country is planning this for anything other than dealing with a natural disaster, severe weather event etc. That the UK has basically done this to themselves because of intransigence and arrogance is actually shocking.

A really harsh winter across the UK - in particular the SE - isn't going to help either.

DGR
Mais leurs Anglaise est mellieur de notre Francais, n'est ce que pas ?
Peut etre
mais les Italiens et les Romaniens n'aime pas les sandwich et cafe Anglaise

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-55160499

Concerns over M6 lorry customs queues at new inland border

The site and six other inland facilities were given permission using special government orders which allowed them to bypass local councils' planning departments, meaning normal traffic assessments were not carried out.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs said traffic assessments had been carried out and the impact on traffic would be "minimal".
HMRC guidance said: "When the site is operational, monitoring and reporting of potential traffic effects on neighbouring roads caused by vehicles travelling to and from the Warrington Inland Border Facility may be carried out if required."

No doubt it will be a world-beating queue.

pussycat
All the lorries will be diverting to take selfies by the I'm a Celeb site !