Anyone felt the pinch yet?

Notice a good proportion of my hotels are quiet this week. But with the jubilee round the corner and pride the week after maybe folk are simply saving their trips for that.

Cant help but feel the media are driving a lot of it. They seem hell bent on us heading into a recession. Making people panic and stop spending.

They should be telling everyone its all gravy.

Only area Ive felt it is diesel. £154 to fill my van the other day. That's taking the piss.

7 hours ago, mickbrown said:

Energy, water and transport should all be nationalised still. 

Whilst I have some sympathy with that, that they are all basics, perhaps not including all modes of transport, these industries let us down in the 70s/80s, due to the exercise of undue Union power.

34 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Think Trafford Center would be rammed if there was a flesh eating apocalypse.

Some fantastic fanny on show there.

Your not wrong about the fanny. 

First time I've been in probably 10 years, hate the place, but last week the Mrs made us go cos she "needed" to go the Levi shop. Jesus wept, hotties everywhere. Head nearly fell off was turning that much. Mrs called me a dirty old cunt when she eventually caught me, and she is, of course, correct. 

1 hour ago, globaldiver said:

Whilst I have some sympathy with that, that they are all basics, perhaps not including all modes of transport, these industries let us down in the 70s/80s, due to the exercise of undue Union power.

 

As it stands our fares go towards subsidising the fares of passengers of nationalised rail companies in Europe.

Whatever your political persuasion, that is madness.

2 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

 

As it stands our fares go towards subsidising the fares of passengers of nationalised rail companies in Europe.

Whatever your political persuasion, that is madness.

I’m not sure that trusting the state to run businesses is a good idea, though. 

1 hour ago, globaldiver said:

They are paying windfall taxes

I meant additional to the current amount.

I don’t think a basic need such as energy should be allowed exploitative profits. Certainly not when wholesale prices are (or were) so high.

7 minutes ago, globaldiver said:

I’m not sure that trusting the state to run businesses is a good idea, though. 

Agree with that. But I’m sure a halfway house arrangement isn’t beyond the smartest folk we have.

 

14 minutes ago, globaldiver said:

I’m not sure that trusting the state to run businesses is a good idea, though.

Maybe they shouldn't be businesses in the true sense.

55 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

Maybe they shouldn't be businesses in the true sense.

Fair point, but I’d certainly want them to be run on business lines, rather than an excuse for spunking our money!

Again, see the nationalised industries until Maggie said enough was enough.

 

1 minute ago, globaldiver said:

Fair point, but I’d certainly want them to be run on business lines, rather than an excuse for spunking our money!

Again, see the nationalised industries until Maggie said enough was enough.

 

You see Maggie as a success, I see that as billions of pounds leaving the country and ending up in others folk's pockets.

It's not benefitted consumers.

Just now, mickbrown said:

You see Maggie as a success, I see that as billions of pounds leaving the country and ending up in others folk's pockets.

It's not benefitted consumers.

I think that’s a different question; I don’t know how to compare the costs, benefits and disadvantages of privatisation since the 80s, which is why it probably comes down to philosophy.

12 minutes ago, globaldiver said:

I think that’s a different question; I don’t know how to compare the costs, benefits and disadvantages of privatisation since the 80s, which is why it probably comes down to philosophy.

Aye, fair enough

4 hours ago, gonzo said:

Think Trafford Center would be rammed if there was a flesh eating apocalypse.

Some fantastic fanny on show there.

Bit different from whenever I went to Meadowhall

Seemed it was a day out for families from Barnsley 

 

 

23 minutes ago, DirtySanchez said:

Bit different from whenever I went to Meadowhall

Seemed it was a day out for families from Barnsley 

 

 

So it looked like a Zombie  Apocalypse  Then  

4 hours ago, gonzo said:

Some fantastic fanny on show there.

 

3 hours ago, boogs said:

Your not wrong about the fanny. 

First time I've been in probably 10 years, hate the place, but last week the Mrs made us go cos she "needed" to go the Levi shop. Jesus wept, hotties everywhere. Head nearly fell off was turning that much. Mrs called me a dirty old cunt when she eventually caught me, and she is, of course, correct. 

These here ultra-tight shorts the girlies are wearing; whilst at Trafford Centre I’d spied this girl walking towards me and MrsD from about 100 yards away. Bloody fantastic! 
The closer she got, the better the view. You could see her fanny lips and everything. It looked like her lady bits were chewing a caramel.

Anyway, she’s walking towards us, I’m nonchalantly trying to look but not stare. As she passed us, MrsD said, “Did you see her? She may as well as well have had nothing on!”

”Where?” I replied, lying like fuck and pretending I wasn’t arsed.

 

If jesus was still alive and he had made 44k a day since he was born, he would have a tad less than shells profits last year

2 hours ago, globaldiver said:

I think that’s a different question; I don’t know how to compare the costs, benefits and disadvantages of privatisation since the 80s, which is why it probably comes down to philosophy.

Dont the govt subsidise parts of the railway operation

Be it trains or tracks, i dunno?

1 hour ago, Casino said:

Dont the govt subsidise parts of the railway operation

Be it trains or tracks, i dunno?

 

2 hours ago, Casino said:

If jesus was still alive and he had made 44k a day since he was born, he would have a tad less than shells profits last year

Tru dat.

3 minutes ago, Traf said:

Tru dat.

But could he heat our homes and fuel our cars? 

6 hours ago, globaldiver said:

I think that’s a different question; I don’t know how to compare the costs, benefits and disadvantages of privatisation since the 80s, which is why it probably comes down to philosophy.

Since Maggie sold off our national assets on the cheap for short term gain it's been difficult to guage which has been the biggest disaster. In the short term rail and water were a fiasco with years of companies buying OUR water infrastructure/rolling stock/stations etc at knock down prices and then collapsing - and they still can't make it work efficiently or maintain the exacting standards. The Steel industry, along with Mining are almost extinct so no longer a factor other than the cost of lost jobs, tax revenue, export markets and the price of expensive imports. Airways, airports and aerospace are debatable especially around national security issues although the income loss has been felt as it has from all the sectors she pillaged. But I think the biggest long term effects have been, and will continue to be the most disastrous for UK PLC was the privatisation of electricity and North Sea Oil and Gas - sure we still get the fees for licensing and taxation but the really big bucks go to the companies who do the offshore extraction and build and run our nuclear plants (mainly EDF i.e. the French Government.)

Only recently has the issue of us no longer controlling our own power production been brought into focus after years of cheap imported coal and (relatively) stable fuel costs and the £'s relative strength - which Maggie mistakenly assumed would last forever - leaving the UK poorer and vulnerable.

Philosophy-wise it's clear that before these sectors were nationalised there were cost and operational inefficiencies - but we at least owned the assets and thereby commanded the income - so we would have been much better off doing what other nations did i.e. focusing on standards and efficiencies whilst retaining what we used to own.

Somehow it irks that the primary beneficiaries of OUR resources and infrastructure are foreign companies and governments.

Edited February 17, 20233 yr by Wanderlust

1 hour ago, royal white said:

But could he heat our homes and fuel our cars? 

No, because he's just a character from the best selling work of fiction.

3 hours ago, Wanderlust said:

Since Maggie sold off our national assets on the cheap for short term gain it's been difficult to guage which has been the biggest disaster. In the short term rail and water were a fiasco with years of companies buying OUR water infrastructure/rolling stock/stations etc at knock down prices and then collapsing - and they still can't make it work efficiently or maintain the exacting standards. The Steel industry, along with Mining are almost extinct so no longer a factor other than the cost of lost jobs, tax revenue, export markets and the price of expensive imports. Airways, airports and aerospace are debatable especially around national security issues although the income loss has been felt as it has from all the sectors she pillaged. But I think the biggest long term effects have been, and will continue to be the most disastrous for UK PLC was the privatisation of electricity and North Sea Oil and Gas - sure we still get the fees for licensing and taxation but the really big bucks go to the companies who do the offshore extraction and build and run our nuclear plants (mainly EDF i.e. the French Government.)

Only recently has the issue of us no longer controlling our own power production been brought into focus after years of cheap imported coal and (relatively) stable fuel costs and the £'s relative strength - which Maggie mistakenly assumed would last forever - leaving the UK poorer and vulnerable.

Philosophy-wise it's clear that before these sectors were nationalised there were cost and operational inefficiencies - but we at least owned the assets and thereby commanded the income - so we would have been much better off doing what other nations did i.e. focusing on standards and efficiencies whilst retaining what we used to own.

Somehow it irks that the primary beneficiaries of OUR resources and infrastructure are foreign companies and governments.

What a great post.

I’ve been in Engineering in Utilities for 30 years and watched the decline in our own infrastructure and reliance on foreign technology and investment.

worked recently with great bunch of cloggies who work for Dutch national water board PWNT and flogging technology they have developed around the globe

Might jump to the lithium gravy train about to boom in Cornwall before get really bitter.

I can’t defend the energy companies making so much money at the detriment of so many. I’m all for capitalist opportunity but this is amounting to robbery what they are doing. Wankers.

36 minutes ago, tomski said:

I can’t defend the energy companies making so much money at the detriment of so many. I’m all for capitalist opportunity but this is amounting to robbery what they are doing. Wankers.

Have a chat with @birch-chorley...he doesnt see it this way and explains in his usual eloquent way why.

Shame hes kicked it on here.

 

2 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Have a chat with @birch-chorley...he doesnt see it this way and explains in his usual eloquent way why.

Shame hes kicked it on here.

 

I’ll book some time with him in our London rendezvous place when I see him next ha.

He should get back on here as he loved doing his own research