My kid’s school do a trip to Harry Potter World. I think it will be next year for him. I really don’t want to give my money to that vile woman, but I also don’t want him missing out. Looks like it’s time to start petitioning the school to go somewhere else.

Even if he had been able to return the forms, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have got it.

I used to do a load of reconsideration and appeals for work and the ignorance of the decision makers is staggering.

One claim was denied, among other reasons, because my client could play a guitar. Another client, with epilepsy, was told that he didn’t need supervision when showering, as he should just sit down in the shower to mitigate injury from seizures.

I found they ignored what we put in the form so frequently that it wasn’t worth doing more than the bare minimum and instead putting the work into the reconsideration.

This poor man had nobody to fight for him, but the system should not be set up so that so many people have to fight. I don’t believe anyone with any cognitive or learning impairment, or mental health condition, would be able to go through the application process without support; it’s that difficult.

And I would put money on them reinstating it after hearing of his death. The shit I have seen them pull, I think it’s likely.

Pillock is the one I try to use in the car when the kids are there.

It’s also a village in Worcestershire, although that’s two words.

I just found it funny in contrast to the others, but if it works, it works.

Wally

I love all these. But what I particularly love is that there are three really clever ones and the fourth is like, fuck it, let’s just call him a bellend.

I love my induction hob for all the reasons you mention. It is by far the best hob I’ve used - much better than gas - and I cook a lot. The only slight downside is ensuring you have the right pans, but they’re widely available. My enamelled cast iron casserole pot works a treat.

Another recommendation is Joe Abercrombie. His First Law series scratched the ASOIAF itch for me as is is similarly gritty. The full series is 2 trilogies with 3 “stand alone” novels inbetween them, and a book of short stories.

Also Preston Jacobs on YouTube is working on a collaborative alternative Winds of Winter. I really enjoyed their Alayne chapter.

Can we get this man some help. Not saying he’s not an absolute wanker - that’s a given - but isn’t anyone close to him concerned about his mental health?

He’s fallen out with the leader of the far-right Reform UK now, because, apparently that frog-faced fuck Farage does have a line in the sand (at least for appearances’ sake), and isn’t comfortable with Musk’s support for fascist thug “Tommy Robinson”.

Hopefully this means no donation (bribe) to Reform UK, but I’m sure that piece of shit will continue to try and fuck with our democracy.

Very good advice, thank you. NDN is an animal lover too, so we are both going to do our best.

The good news is, I may be mistaken that she was getting pet stuff delivered as I saw the same vehicle today and they were visiting another house. So hopefully it is the friend of the person who lives there.

Thank you. I’ve done a web chat with RSPCA and let them know the concerns. I need to find some more details if we need to take it further.

But, I can report that the person I saw delivering the stuff may not have been going to her, as I saw them come and visit a different house. NDN still thinks she will try and obtain animals though, so we are staying vigilant.

In a message directly to them, and referencing having come out as gay, he said: “I know it’s not easy being a trans kid in our country today, the trans community is at the wrong end of all of the statistics for mental ill health, self-harm and suicide."

I just wanted to quote this bit of the article, as I feel this is often used in bad faith arguments such as: “I don’t hate trans people, I just want to protect them from the bad outcomes that come with being trans.”

Do these people ever stop to think that it may be the way that trans people are treated, talked about, and denied essential medical care that contributes to poor mental health outcomes? Maybe if we didn’t treat people shittily, they wouldn’t feel shit.

I’m just speaking for myself here, so not saying this is true for everyone or even many people, but the cost of the gym isn’t the biggest barrier for me.

I like what you say about expanding availability - there isn’t a gym within (reasonable) walking distance of me. I think facilities being in communities makes a difference.

However, one of the biggest barriers to me is childcare. Somewhere where I could take them to do their own activities while I worked out would make it far more likely that I use it, and I suspect this is the case for others. My partner works long, unpredictable hours, so I can’t sign up for the weekly classes (that I did before having children) as I don’t know that he’ll be around to look after them.

I also have chronic health issues, which don’t prevent me exercising all the time, but there are days where I cannot leave my bed because of migraine, so again, committing to something regular is difficult. (Again, persoal to me, but I’m not alone in having a chronic condition.)

I tend to walk everywhere I can as accessing formal exercise has too many barriers for me, so I do have an acceptable level of fitness, but I miss doing classes as I found these really motivating.

Sorry for the long reply - I don’t disagree that price and access are issues, but there are more besides that I think need to be addressed. Stress and available time being factors in additional to the others I mentioned.

I also think there are issues with the weight loss drugs besides cost, one of those being the need to stay on them longterm. That’s not even getting into using weight as the sole metric of health.

You might enjoy the podcast Maintenance Phase if you don’t already know it. They have a Dr Oz episode and Oprah has a few of her own too.

We did it :)

Just voted for Labour. Need to get out the Tory MP who was sycophantic in her defence of Boris partying.

Thank you for sharing.