Well, the polls show that not only are politicians not to be trusted, but neither are the bloody electorate. The lying bastards - who do they think they are, changing their intentions at the last minute!
If the swing away from the Lib Dems was due to broken promise on the issue of university fees (which is all the swing could be blamed on in terms of broken promises), why on earth did so much of it go to the Conservatives (as they did in our constituency), who were the very party who increased university fees to £9k in the first place? Totally illogical!
People moan incessantly about waiting to see a doctor and the Tories selling off the NHS, and then they perversely go and vote in a Conservative majority! The UK electorate never ceases to amaze me. However, I think we can safely say that Labour can either blame the Scots or themselves for the result. I guess it may have been down to one of three things (or even an amalgam of the three):
Spotted Douglas Hurd on the TV at about half past five in the evening talking utter bollocks, Thought he was going to have a thrombie during the interview.
The SNP could have put Kevin Phillips-Bong up as a candidate, and the Scots would have voted for him.
Farage resign? No - UKIP is lost without him, he's their strategic weapon. Clegg resign? No, I think he should stay - he has good potential and is a natural. Just a pity the electorate was so fickle. Miliband Minor resign? Yes, then I might be persuaded to vote Labour, unless it's the unions who shoe-in the next leader.
Continuing with the saga of the DeLonghi Nespresso coffee machine. Well, the rubber seals worked, as evidenced by the photo below (the pod on the right shows the seal in situ):
It provides just the right amount of additional thrutch to ensure the pod lid is evenly perforated. Even works with just a lid made of common or garden tinfoil crimped over the top of the pod. The taste was still dishwater though, but I believe the Lidl cafetiere coffee is unsuited to one of these jobbies.
Now for the Lidl pods, which work out at £0.175 per pod, just over half the price of the Nespresso ones.
No added thrutch required, as they fit perfectly. Also, the coffee is somewhat stronger than the standard Lidl brick of coffee, so a good taste. Not only that, but the construction is very similar to the reusables in that they don't get fatally pierced in the bottom, meaning they can be reused with simple crimped tinfoil, but you need to find a coffee of suitable strength. I wouldn't use the bought stick-on lids on these, as the remains of the old lid adhere to the pod and is difficult to remove in order to get a good seal.
Note that you can get stainless steel reusable pods on eBay which can be reused 100 times. I've yet to try them.
Hay's still not convinced it's worth it. Her main gripe is that it takes up too much kitchen counter space. She thinks they're just a middle-class style statement with no practical use whatsoever. I was of that opinion till I tried the Lidl pods.
If the swing away from the Lib Dems was due to broken promise on the issue of university fees (which is all the swing could be blamed on in terms of broken promises), why on earth did so much of it go to the Conservatives (as they did in our constituency), who were the very party who increased university fees to £9k in the first place? Totally illogical!
People moan incessantly about waiting to see a doctor and the Tories selling off the NHS, and then they perversely go and vote in a Conservative majority! The UK electorate never ceases to amaze me. However, I think we can safely say that Labour can either blame the Scots or themselves for the result. I guess it may have been down to one of three things (or even an amalgam of the three):
- A fear of a Labour / SNP alliance,
- The economy, stupid - the psychological fear losing what you have gained, also known as the bird-in-the-hand is worth two in the bush effect, and
- A desire for a referendum on Europe (which I think is a mistake, as most of the electorate - myself included - is as ignorant of the effects of leaving as they are of quantum entanglement. Leave it to the experts).
Spotted Douglas Hurd on the TV at about half past five in the evening talking utter bollocks, Thought he was going to have a thrombie during the interview.
The SNP could have put Kevin Phillips-Bong up as a candidate, and the Scots would have voted for him.
Farage resign? No - UKIP is lost without him, he's their strategic weapon. Clegg resign? No, I think he should stay - he has good potential and is a natural. Just a pity the electorate was so fickle. Miliband Minor resign? Yes, then I might be persuaded to vote Labour, unless it's the unions who shoe-in the next leader.
Continuing with the saga of the DeLonghi Nespresso coffee machine. Well, the rubber seals worked, as evidenced by the photo below (the pod on the right shows the seal in situ):
It provides just the right amount of additional thrutch to ensure the pod lid is evenly perforated. Even works with just a lid made of common or garden tinfoil crimped over the top of the pod. The taste was still dishwater though, but I believe the Lidl cafetiere coffee is unsuited to one of these jobbies.
Now for the Lidl pods, which work out at £0.175 per pod, just over half the price of the Nespresso ones.
No added thrutch required, as they fit perfectly. Also, the coffee is somewhat stronger than the standard Lidl brick of coffee, so a good taste. Not only that, but the construction is very similar to the reusables in that they don't get fatally pierced in the bottom, meaning they can be reused with simple crimped tinfoil, but you need to find a coffee of suitable strength. I wouldn't use the bought stick-on lids on these, as the remains of the old lid adhere to the pod and is difficult to remove in order to get a good seal.
Note that you can get stainless steel reusable pods on eBay which can be reused 100 times. I've yet to try them.
Hay's still not convinced it's worth it. Her main gripe is that it takes up too much kitchen counter space. She thinks they're just a middle-class style statement with no practical use whatsoever. I was of that opinion till I tried the Lidl pods.
2 comments:
It was always said that if you live in the Cotswolds or Westcountry that if a donkey was painted blue, the people would vote it in to parliament.
As for coffee we drink illy when out and about and Lavazza wen at home.
Absolutely brilliant that The Scots have unified behind their national party and I wish them well. The Welsh seem not to have that sense of pride or perhaps it is because they are too Anglofied ?
That's not the case round here though - we've been Lid Dem for many years, till now. There again, I suppose you could call us Cotswold borders.
I have no truck with nationalism in a country so small as the UK. Genetically we're all the same (it was mainly the aristos who came in the various invasions with the hoi polloi remaining the same).
I agree there are regional needs, but that applies as much to Northumbria as it does Wales or Scotland. Where will it end?
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