Snail Bait
Senior Member
Great evening after a hard week. Thank you. Just can't wait for France now. My hangover should have worn off by then.
Agent Hilda's Birthday/LonJoG Reunion! Fri 1 March.
- Thread starter theclaud
- Start date
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well, thankyou for coming. I had a great time. I was worried about people turning up, but there were almost 40 of us, all chatting away to beat the band. Not that there was a band.
Got kissed by circus girls outside my house at one this morning, so I'm having to be very well-behaved............
Got kissed by circus girls outside my house at one this morning, so I'm having to be very well-behaved............
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Apart from a few absent friends, my only slight tinge of regret is that there wasn't a ride afterwards.....
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Not at all. Model of decorum, as always!
Well that was a fine evening with the promise of great nights to come. And in recognition of the fact that some of us even leant towards a serious conversation I thought this was worth passing on:
A cool-headed analysis of Eastleigh from the blog Liberal Conspiracy - UKIP is a dead end, don't drive down it...
Eastleigh is 93% white British, 95% white, 97% native English-speaking, and less than 1% of the population come from post-2001 EU accession countries. Claimant count unemployment is 2%, compared to 3.9% nationwide. While “I don’t dislike the Poles but they’re taking our jobs” may hold in some agricultural areas and some deprived urban areas, it doesn’t even pass the laugh test in Eastleigh. Same for “I don’t mind the Bangladeshis, but I’m annoyed the pubs have all shut”. If you live in Eastleigh and your main concern is immigration, it’s not that you’re lashing out because the system has failed you, and it’s not that you’re being culturally invaded – it’s that you don’t like being around foreigners. So we can conclude that 23% of Eastleighans are basically xenophobic, and 84% of these people voted UKIP (12% voted Tory).
The anti-immigrant message has been the first response to the election result from many pundits: “My party must win back the xenophobic vote by hating foreigners more!”. But the interesting thing here is that the vast majority of people in Eastleigh are not predominantly concerned about immigration, and almost all of the ones who are voted UKIP. Tory voters care about the economy and local government; and Labour voters care about the economy and the NHS. The question for politicians now should be, do you chase the quarter of voters who are xenophobic, or do you abandon them to UKIP and focus on the issues that your core voters care about?
In a constituency with high unemployment and/or high recent unassimilated migration rates, concern about immigration would not necessarily equate to xenophobia. Eastleigh can only be taken as a guide to I’m-alright-Jack wealthy suburban England, not to deprived rural or inner-city areas.
A cool-headed analysis of Eastleigh from the blog Liberal Conspiracy - UKIP is a dead end, don't drive down it...
Eastleigh is 93% white British, 95% white, 97% native English-speaking, and less than 1% of the population come from post-2001 EU accession countries. Claimant count unemployment is 2%, compared to 3.9% nationwide. While “I don’t dislike the Poles but they’re taking our jobs” may hold in some agricultural areas and some deprived urban areas, it doesn’t even pass the laugh test in Eastleigh. Same for “I don’t mind the Bangladeshis, but I’m annoyed the pubs have all shut”. If you live in Eastleigh and your main concern is immigration, it’s not that you’re lashing out because the system has failed you, and it’s not that you’re being culturally invaded – it’s that you don’t like being around foreigners. So we can conclude that 23% of Eastleighans are basically xenophobic, and 84% of these people voted UKIP (12% voted Tory).
The anti-immigrant message has been the first response to the election result from many pundits: “My party must win back the xenophobic vote by hating foreigners more!”. But the interesting thing here is that the vast majority of people in Eastleigh are not predominantly concerned about immigration, and almost all of the ones who are voted UKIP. Tory voters care about the economy and local government; and Labour voters care about the economy and the NHS. The question for politicians now should be, do you chase the quarter of voters who are xenophobic, or do you abandon them to UKIP and focus on the issues that your core voters care about?
In a constituency with high unemployment and/or high recent unassimilated migration rates, concern about immigration would not necessarily equate to xenophobia. Eastleigh can only be taken as a guide to I’m-alright-Jack wealthy suburban England, not to deprived rural or inner-city areas.
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
I think the number of people capable of a ride afterwards was in the low single figures.Apart from a few absent friends, my only slight tinge of regret is that there wasn't a ride afterwards.....
We had vaguely said that we'd have to get away early, but not having defined"early" it turned out to be only vaugely in line with the usual definition. R was making winding-up motions at me just after someone (I'm afraid I've forgotten who) had gone to the bar to buy me a drink. That pint disappeared rather rapidly, after which we got a Northern Line just too late to pick up the penultimate main-line train and, rather than face a long wait at Marylebone opted for the dubious delights of an all-stations Metropolitan line train.
R emerged this morning reasonably bright-eyed, and made it out to her rehearsal on time. I stayed in bed this morning and have spent the afternoon playing with my new toy.
Tomorrow I shall remind myself what a bicycle is, and fix the back light on my Brompton.
clarion
Guru
- Location
- Exiled from Hyperborea
I've had a divvel of a time uploading these photos. I took 100, and about half are available here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93751227@N04/sets/72157632909532460/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93751227@N04/sets/72157632909532460/
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Nice work TJ!I've had a divvel of a time uploading these photos. I took 100, and about half are available here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93751227@N04/sets/72157632909532460/
clarion
Guru
- Location
- Exiled from Hyperborea
Sorry to everyone who kept being blinded by the flash. Hope it was worth it.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
Thank you AH and DZ for a lovely evening. It was really kind of you to organise it. As ever, sparkling company. Thanks for the photos clarion.
clarion
Guru
- Location
- Exiled from Hyperborea
Christopher
Über Member
Thanks to one and all and especially to Dell and AH for a lovely evening wi' prosecco on tap! Nice to see the FNRTTC'ers again and thanks to TC for organising it!
Would have posted thanks yesterday but was too busy 'fell-running' through Harrow School playing fields. As you do. Well my versiong of fell running is walk, trot, walk, trot, run, walk, collapse, repeat...
Would have posted thanks yesterday but was too busy 'fell-running' through Harrow School playing fields. As you do. Well my versiong of fell running is walk, trot, walk, trot, run, walk, collapse, repeat...
You're very kind - but I didn't do anything except start this thread, show up, drink booze, eat pie (all laid on by Les Dellzeqques) and make a general nuisance of myself.
