I came across an article concerning the governments new housing policy which they have promised will no longer be car dominated after it released its newest planning guidelines for builders.
Apparently, architects and builders will be told to ensure key services such as shops and doctors surgeries are within walking distance and as a result designers will be told to put motor vehicles at the bottom of their list of priorities behind pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.
They will also be encouraged to reduce street clutter when deciding where to put parking spaces and vehicle chargers, although there was no mention of how to charge your electric car if they remove the clutter of the charger, nor where to park your car, electric or otherwise if there is no space designated for its parking overnight.
As for road safety, with regard to public transport I would have thought all the pedestrians and cyclists would have been safer by not being run over by some of the rather clever new motorcars which stop of their own accord when sensing a pedestrian in the way, than to be squashed to death by the plethora of massive heavy electric busses which are favoured by the government.
Labour promised in their 2024 general election manifesto to build 1.5 million homes by the end of 2029, of which 300,000 could be within ‘12 planned new towns.’
If 300,000 houses are being built in ’12 planned new towns’ that’s an average of 25,000 in each town, which means they will need to build another 48 towns for the remaining 1.2 million in the scheme.
So in total 1.5 million houses are to be built in ‘60 new towns’ and as someone who moved to the countryside some 16 years ago and was overjoyed by how little traffic there was and how much better the driving manners were, unfortunately now a thing of the past with the amount of development we have already, I just hope they don’t wish to put any more ‘new towns’ near me as the traffic locally is now becoming as bad as it was in London when I left.
Who are all these houses for and where are they coming from as I have to wonder who is breeding all these extra people, with the cost-of-living crisis at the moment, it’s a wonder how anyone can afford to have a child.
The official figures for the population in the UK are now getting on for 70 million people, let alone the ones who are not included in the statistics, so if all the land in the United Kingdom were divided equally among its entire population of approximately 69-70 million people, each person would receive a plot of land measuring roughly 0.9 acres (or about 3,750 square metres). For comparison, this is not large enough to house a full-size professional football pitch.
I have nothing further to add, except a note to the government planners;
PLEASE STOP NOW, WE ARE FULL UP.
AT THIS RATE IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE PEOPLE START FALLING OFF THE EDGE.
I was aimlessly searching Facebook, as you do and somehow managed to become embroiled in a discussion about the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. There is a distinct divide between those who knew the hotel before the Inn Collection took over and those who seem to have been encouraged to frequent the establishment after the arrival of the new owners. The following was my last comment on the matter when I thought it might be interesting to hear the views of others who have stayed at the iconic Midland Hotel.
The building is fabulous, it’s the standard of service that lets it down, especially as they are still charging the same sort of money now as they did when they had sufficient staff and did the job properly. I looked back at the reviews and they seem to have removed all the critical ones from the ‘forties’ crowd who were sad to see the standards slipping. Getting a table number from a table with no table cloth and having to walk to the bar to order your food and the lack of waiting staff doesn’t quite fit when you have dressed for dinner in top hat and tails with ladies in evening gowns. I’m sure the ordinary dinner guests enjoyed the added ambience from a room full of properly dressed ladies and gentlemen. To quote quite a few of the old reviews who have said, The Midland Hotel is not an Inn, it was one of the most iconic Art Deco buildings this country has to offer and it would be nice if the Inn Collection were to run it accordinly. We live in hopes!
We stuck it out until 2024 when we could no longer bear to see the old girl treated so badly and finally threw in the towel, vowing never to return until normal service is resumed. Trying to keep our peckers up in difficult circumstances, we left with a cheery wave!
The National Portrait Gallery has given Lawrence of Arabia’s portraits trigger warnings for the cultural appropriation of Arab clothing.
The portraits have been flagged as sensitive artworks depicting the First World War hero in tribal dress and now come with a warning stating that the images may clash with today’s attitudes.
Lawrence of Arabia’s portraits have been given trigger warnings for the cultural appropriation of Arab clothing.
I could be wrong, but this seems to be utter nonsense to me, but I’m curious to hear other opinions, especially those which may make some sense of this decision!
As some of you my have noticed I am not usually a fan of AI but on this occasion I’m finding the following images rather pleasant and produced by our daughter together with the aid of some clever AI whizzkiddery the like of which I never thought to see in my lifetime. You may have seen a photo of Barnie our rescue dog before, well our daughter thought it might be a good idea if he had some female company hence the arrival of her puppy Zola. I present these festive images as a means of wishing all our friends whose company we have enjoyed during the year, a Happy Christmas and look forward to meeting you all again next year. Best wishes to you all, Joe and Angella.
I absolutely hate loathe and detest AI and the following is an example of why, as I have just wasted some considerable time talking with a machine whilst hoping for some assistance from a real human being.
The following is the transcript of my ‘conversation’ whilst the italic comments are my thoughts during the process.
Having purchased an item on ebay, I received a message from Royal Mail to say the item would not be delivered until I paid the missing £5.00 postage which I duly did and the package later arrived. I then contacted the seller to request a refund for the £5.00 postage but a message came up saying I would have to get a refund through ebay.
Knowing what this process might entail my thoughts at the time were something along the lines of; ‘oh deary me, that’s a trifle inconvenient’ or words to that effect.
Hi joseph! I’m eBay’s automated assistant. I can help with any issues you might have, or connect you with an agent.
Connect me with an agent, that’s promising!
We may analyse the content of this interaction to enhance the quality of our customer service, including using artificial intelligence-powered analysis.
In a few words, tell me how I can help.
Dear AI, if your previous sentence is an example of, ‘in a few words,’ we are clearly in trouble here and we haven’t even started yet.
I ordered an item which had no postage on it, so I had to pay £5.00 before they would deliver the item. I have contacted the seller but a message came up saying I had to contact ebay to sort the matter. The item was number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK, before I connect you with an agent, please tell me what you need help with.
I suppose it would be asking too much to be connected to a human being now by any chance?
Refund for postage I had to pay on an item I purchased.
eBay refunds postage costs in certain situations. We take into account postage cost, item price, seller profile, and buyer history.
Sellers are responsible for return postage costs when an item arrives damaged, is defective, or doesn’t match the listing description. When a buyer changes their mind about an item, the seller’s return policy determines who pays for return postage.
In a few words, none of this applies to me, but not to be daunted I shall rephrase the question.
They sent the item to me with no postage paid and would not deliver until I paid the missing £5.00 postage.
If the delivery service asks for additional payment, you can refuse the item as long as the additional fee wasn’t mentioned before purchase.
You’re still covered by eBay Money Back Guarantee for the original order amount if you decide to open a refund request.
However, for international orders, you’ll need to pay any customs fees, import charges and taxes you’re responsible for. Learn more- Postage rates for buyers
Customs due on delivery
The reason all this AI nonsense takes such an infinite amount of time is the necessity to thoroughly read each answer on the off chance that they may have actually answered the question.
Open a refund request
I only want to be paid for the postage I had to pay to receive the item I had purchased.
Select the item you want to track.
Antique Small Box and Case Cabin… Order #xxxxxxxx xxxxx Item no.:xxxxxxxxxxxx Sale date:12/03/25
Checking on…
Antique Small Box and Case Cabin… Order #:xxxxxxxx xxxxx Item no.:xxxxxxxxxxxx
OK joseph, here’s the status of your item:
Didn’t receive item
For crying out loud what is wrong with you, I have the bloody item, I paid £5.00 to receive the item. I have at no time in our ‘conversation’ ever mentioned that the item was missing!
I have received the item, I just want a refund for £5.00 as the postage was not paid to deliver the item.
eBay refunds postage costs in certain situations. We take into account postage cost, item price, seller profile, and buyer history.
Sellers are responsible for return postage costs when an item arrives damaged, is defective, or doesn’t match the listing description. When a buyer changes their mind about an item, the seller’s return policy determines who pays for return postage.
You’re repeating yourself and I have to say I’m finding it a little tiresome to say the least.
Is it possible to speak with a human being, as I am clearly wasting my time here otherwise?
Is this the item you need help with?
Antique Small Box and Case Cabin… Order #:xxxxxx xxxxxx Item no.:xxxxxxxxxx Sale date:12/03/25
YesNo
Select yes
Yes
OK joseph, you can:
Contact an agent
I seem to remember this is where we started, trying to contact an agent!
Start return request
I don’t want to return the bloody thing, all I want is my effing £5.00 which I had to pay for the postage.
Contact an agent
At long bloody last.
Sure, I can help you get in touch with an agent. Currently, you can:
Let’s see if I can get one of our agents to help you.
An agent can call to help you once you enter your phone number.
Estimated wait time: 3 minutes
Location
United Kingdom +44
Great! An agent will call you at 07XXX XXX526 in about 3 minutes to see how we can best help you.
Consider checking your phone, as spam or notification settings may affect our ability to reach you. If you like, you can ask me something else while you wait.
Your call may be recorded for training and quality assurance purposes. If you prefer not to be recorded, please contact us by another option. For more info, see our User Privacy Notice- User Privacy Notice.
Very good.
Thanks for your patience as I continue to learn. So I can help get you to the right place, try using short phrases like, help with a return, or getting paid.
You don’t seem to have learnt very quickly, all I wanted in the first place was to speak to a human being.
You can also contact an agent during our regular operating hours.
Rather amazingly they actually phoned fairly promptly, whereupon I repeated the whole of my previous conversation this time to a human being who noticed I had emailed the seller and suggested I wait twenty-four hours and should I not have any satisfaction to contact ebay again. Now, I imagine a goodly percentage of you are wondering as did I and sadly the answer is; the only way to contact a human being is through the AI first, although next time round I too shall repeat myself with the request to speak to a human being in answer to every question AI can come up with.
I may update this post but taking an example from ebay I’m hoping to do it in only a few words, the ones I dearly wish to use are. GOT ME FIVER BACK!
Some of you may have seen the rather lovely Cockapoo we rescued called Barnie who is by all accounts a family dog as we all share in his wellbeing, although he has bonded most with our eldest daughter who is virtually a dog whisperer.
However, she rather thought he might benifit from some companionship and went and purchased a Poodle puppy which we picked up on Sunday. She is currently only 10 weeks old and is quite amazing in her toilet habits and her ability to sleep right through the night without problem, although we did stay up the first night to keep her company.
Today is the anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade, which took place on 25th October 1854 during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. It was a disastrous frontal assault by British light cavalry against Russian cannon, which became a symbol of both bravery and military incompetence, so says the history books.
It was Captain Louis Nolan who received the order to charge and after receiving the order, Nolan rode towards Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan and pointed vaguely toward the Russian guns, stating “There, my lord, is your enemy, there are your guns.” He rode ahead of the first line, and while it’s debated whether he was correcting an error or simply urging the brigade on, he shouted the command “Charge for the guns” as he rode past Lord Cardigan.
Into the Valley of Death charged the Light Brigade, their sabres and lances initially useless against the Russian heavy artillery which left some 110 British cavalrymen killed and 160 wounded, 40 percent of the brigade
Some may see this a futile gesture but I see it as typical British bravery in the face of overpowering opposition. I am slightly biased in that my birth name before I was adopted was Michael Nolan and although I have no idea if I am related to the unfortunate Captain Nolan who shouted the order to charge, I would like to point out that in these modern times where everyone believes they are entitled to compensation or reparations for events that happened years and years ago, don’t come chasing me, I wasn’t responsible and I’m not paying up for something that wasn’t my fault.
On the other hand, as my Nolan ancestors came from Ferns, County Wexford in Ireland, if there’s any chance of reparations for the Irish potato famine, I’m open to negotiations.
We went to Bletchley Park at the weekend and had a fabulous time meeting friends and one of them who has a very good sense of humour suggested they might like to form the 1940’s Trollops Society which to me sounded like a splendid idea, for they’re all no better than they ought to be, allegedly!!
In an effort to help the cause, I came across this image which I thought might be of some use, now all they need is a banner, a flag and the colours for the scarf.
The Diary of a Country Bumpkin 