Bell's Banter 2022

[midgetman]

EUR1.78 per litre? Cheap compared to what we've been paying here!

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[Gerard C]

In our area any fuel is around 2 € per liter and diesel much more. They "offered" a bargain just before our nat elections. But the taxes go from 56 per cent for the diesel to 59 per cent for the SP 95. Many small transport companies or taxis are really concerned atm.

[Lancsbreaker]

Filled up my Giulietta after about 500 miles and it cost £93.93, at supermarket (Tesco) price - £1.719/litre......getting perilously close to the card-only pump limit of £100 .... eek!

[Mike_Powell]

Originally Posted by grantp

But in an urban situation or on typically busy A and B roads there do seem to be considerable advantages that more than offset the fact that the thing is notably bigger and heavier than the car it replaced yet probably more economical. (I don't really have any figures for the old Corolla but I doubt it was ever bettering the mid 40s mpg that this thing seems to achieve without effort and the low 50s that often appear even for relatively short trips starting with a cold engine.).

My 12 year old Octavia VRS diesel has averaged 56.3 MPG since I've owned it - I've managed a best of of 75.9 from Calcott to Maidenhead when the M4 was a 50mph zone. My ex-wife's Prius struggles to better 48.....

[Peter Mallett]

My Grand Cherokee averages 23mpg, the Fiesta ST can get to 39, the XJS does around 25 and the MGB does around 22. Gotta keep using those fossils.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by midgetman

EUR1.78 per litre? Cheap compared to what we've been paying here!

Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

Just checked - the actual price was 2.009 euros/litre.

It has now dropped back to around 1.89

[Gerard C]

Lucky you, John, living in a blessed area in this respect. Cant imagine things going back to the old prices after his re-election…

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Lucky you, John, living in a blessed area in this respect. Cant imagine things going back to the old prices after his re-election…

His re-election! Don't - that's too awful to comprehend. He'll probably have us all back in masks too...

[Gerard C]

He has a lot of different masks to wear himself. Just praying for him and his new or old sidekicks not to change again the rules allowing only two times five years… ATM! What a disaster.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

He has a lot of different masks to wear himself. Just praying for him and his new or old sidekicks not to change again the rules allowing only two times five years… ATM! What a disaster.

It's nearly as bad as America - a big country but it seems there is nobody of any quality/ability who wants to lead it.

[Gerard C]

I had a dream… Why dont the main opponents join their forces to fight together? A problem of ego and brain I suppose. There we go, another five years. What a shame.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

It's nearly as bad as America - a big country but it seems there is nobody of any quality/ability who wants to lead it.

Same as most countries it seems to me, inc this one.
Zelensky is doing well (but his popularity had dwindled before the war) and I quite liked the NZ PM without delving in to the details, but I see that their media have turned against her now.
I have always said, that if someone expresses the view that they want to be a politician then they should be barred anyway, on the grounds of insanity and supreme arrogance!

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by andy97

I have always said, that if someone expresses the view that they want to be a politician then they should be barred anyway, on the grounds of insanity and supreme arrogance!

Well said. VOTEZ ANDY!



No worry, Andy, its just for fun, your words do make sense. Cheers.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by andy97

Same as most countries it seems to me, inc this one.
Zelensky is doing well (but his popularity had dwindled before the war) and I quite liked the NZ PM without delving in to the details, but I see that their media have turned against her now.
I have always said, that if someone expresses the view that they want to be a politician then they should be barred anyway, on the grounds of insanity and supreme arrogance!

Belgium seemed to manage quite well for a time without a government, so there is hope!

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Well said. VOTEZ ANDY!



No worry, Andy, its just for fun, your words do make sense. Cheers.

Hmmm!

And what really winds me up is “career politicians” that study something like Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University and then get a “job” as a researcher for one party or another before being found a safe seat to be elected to, without ever doing a proper job first.
Perhaps politicians should also be barred from standing in my world if the6 are under the age of 40 to try to ensure that they have some life experience first!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by andy97

Hmmm!

And what really winds me up is “career politicians” that study something like Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University and then get a “job” as a researcher for one party or another before being found a safe seat to be elected to, without ever doing a proper job first.
Perhaps politicians should also be barred from standing in my world if the6 are under the age of 40 to try to ensure that they have some life experience first!

Couldn't agree more...

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by andy97

Hmmm!

And what really winds me up is “career politicians” that study something like Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University and then get a “job” as a researcher for one party or another before being found a safe seat to be elected to, without ever doing a proper job first.
Perhaps politicians should also be barred from standing in my world if the6 are under the age of 40 to try to ensure that they have some life experience first!

That's an interesting take on it.

We need people to run our country, and we have chosen a political system to decide who does this. Therefore we need politicians, which makes it a 'proper job'.
So who best to take on that role - someone who studied it at university and then took on that job?

I think I get your point - but if we want to have a society with a media, legal, justice, political system etc. - then surely the best people for the job (in the main) are those who studied for it and make a career out of it?

If we barred people from standing under the age of 40, we'd soon have complaints that everyone is too old and out of touch with the younger generations.....

[Peter Mallett]

It's a dilemma but clearly the career politicians have reduced the quality of decision making. It seems more decisions come from the civil servants and focus groups rather than clear thinking politicians. I guess its unsurprising really. Principled politicians like Thatcher, Attlee etc. are fewer than ever.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

That's an interesting take on it.

We need people to run our country, and we have chosen a political system to decide who does this. Therefore we need politicians, which makes it a 'proper job'.
So who best to take on that role - someone who studied it at university and then took on that job?

I think I get your point - but if we want to have a society with a media, legal, justice, political system etc. - then surely the best people for the job (in the main) are those who studied for it and make a career out of it?

If we barred people from standing under the age of 40, we'd soon have complaints that everyone is too old and out of touch with the younger generations.....

I wasn’t being entirely serious about the “40 thing”, however, I do think it’s important to have people making policies and decisions who have not just studied it but might also have an appreciation of the consequences of those policies/ decisions based on some experience.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by andy97

I wasn’t being entirely serious about the “40 thing”, however, I do think it’s important to have people making policies and decisions who have not just studied it but might also have an appreciation of the consequences of those policies/ decisions based on some experience.

I totally understand your point - I just think it would be too difficult (in practice) to define what a suitable level of experience is.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

It's a dilemma but clearly the career politicians have reduced the quality of decision making. It seems more decisions come from the civil servants and focus groups rather than clear thinking politicians. I guess its unsurprising really. Principled politicians like Thatcher, Attlee etc. are fewer than ever.

Agree, but I do think many of the decisions are also made on the basis of what the Daily Mail / Evening Standard headlines might be.
As for the influence of civil servants, my wife is one (albeit a late joiner after years in the IT and airline industry and then mental health care) and she is continually frustrated and appalled by the quality of management and decision making in her branch. Again, the vast majority of civil servants are career people who join at 18/21 and know nothing else and have never had to enact the policies and rules they draft or enforce.
In my world, I am often responding to tenders published by civil service and other (quasi) government bodies, and you do wonder where they get their ideas from; they are often poorly specced, unrealistic and change all the time, it’s no wonder that projects are over budget and late. As a nation we are far better at reactive stuff than planning stuff!
We do need the theorists but we also need people with experience of practical applications.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

His re-election! Don't - that's too awful to comprehend. He'll probably have us all back in masks too...

Would you rather Marine Le Pen then?

I really know very little of French politics, sorry, except what we are told in our media about her being the “far right candidate”. What that actually means in terms of headline policy and philosophy compared to Macron I am not sure.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by andy97

Agree, but I do think many of the decisions are also made on the basis of what the Daily Mail / Evening Standard headlines might be.

Yes I should have added that, which IMO is a consequence of lack of principles. No moral fibre to be old fashioned.

Originally Posted by andy97

As for the influence of civil servants, my wife is one (albeit a late joiner after years in the IT and airline industry and then mental health care) and she is continually frustrated and appalled by the quality of management and decision making in her branch. Again, the vast majority of civil servants are career people who join at 18/21 and know nothing else and have never had to enact the policies and rules they draft or enforce.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by andy97

In my world, I am often responding to tenders published by civil service and other (quasi) government bodies, and you do wonder where they get their ideas from; they are often poorly specced, unrealistic and change all the time, it’s no wonder that projects are over budget and late. As a nation we are far better at reactive stuff than planning stuff!
We do need the theorists but we also need people with experience of practical applications.

I've been in construction for far too many years and sadly those who now run things have about as much clue as a dead slug. I recall arguing with a shareholder rep of around 30 years old, who suggested we give a contractor's scope to another entity because they'd offered to do it cheaper. Not only a clear breach of contract, but in this case a breach of the civil code of the country we were working in. But she had an MBA in business studies and was clearly far cleverer than me. The company subsequently got sued. Hey ho.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by andy97

I wasn’t being entirely serious about the “40 thing”, however, I do think it’s important to have people making policies and decisions who have not just studied it but might also have an appreciation of the consequences of those policies/ decisions based on some experience.

I think having what I would call 'real life experience' is useful for a number of 'jobs'. I feel the same about teachers as a lot of them appear to be lacking in that respect too. They leave school and go to university/teacher training college (big school) and then go back to working in a school. This may not have a detrimental effect on their academic knowledge and teaching, but there is more to what they do than that.

[Peter Mallett]

I know it's not the F1 forum, but I just like this interview. https://twitter.com/F1/status/151357...M4_M0_bew&s=19