[Watchman]

I’ll have you know Mrs Watch has a pair!

[kreuzberger]

Birkenstocks are not "ultra trendy" by any given definition. Easy on the plates, however.

[Abernathy]

Birkenstocks are not "ultra trendy" by any given definition. Easy on the plates, however.

You’ve been away too long, son.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Would they help my fallen arches?

[Abernathy]

Nah. Skechers are what you need. Comfy as fuck.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Not sure I could get away with them

[Abernathy]

Oh, I dunno …

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Srsly - how good are they?

[Oboogie]

Srsly - how good are they?

Mrs O'B swears by them.

[kreuzberger]

Frl. O'K has some for about the house too. They are faintly embarrassing .

Ecco, on the other hand, are a Danish brand which were consigned to the more irrelevant outer-reaches of Geography tuition. Their new sneakers are absolutely the bomb. Same ortho values but with bags of style and the leathers that are used for Red Wing, amongst others.

I have had a couple of pairs through my blogging exploits and they are unbeatable.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Hmm. Are they more declassé than my Clark's pensioner-trainers?

[MisterMuncher]

Birkenstocks are not "ultra trendy" by any given definition. Easy on the plates, however.

Quality has gone to shit of late. I used to get 6 months from a pair of Birki, or Super Birki if I was feeling flush, the last couple of pair barely saw out 2. Doc Marten brogues have suffered a similar decline in useful life. That's the work shoe variants. No idea how the normal people stuff holds up any more, as I pretty much live in fell-running shoes these days.

[Boiler]

Patel freelancing again?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58536126

Labour has called for a probe into reports the home secretary met two airlines and the boss of a hotel chain without any officials present.

The Sunday Mirror said Covid travel rules were among topics at a lunch attended by Priti Patel last month. Ministerial rules say officials should be present or informed if government business is discussed.

Ms Patel has denied breaking the rules - but Labour says she has "questions to answer".

[Youngian]

When all these hung-go fantasy solutions fail, where do you go? A common European asylum policy to share the problem would be of help but as the Italians and Greeks discovered its not just the UK government who don’t want to contribute.

[Cyclist]

Selfish woman calls protesters willing to face criminal charges in their bid to make a better world for everyone "selfish".

Speaking on Thursday, Ms Patel said: "Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and there will always be space for legitimate groups to make their voices heard.

"But this government will not stand by and allow a small minority of selfish protesters to cause significant disruption to the lives and livelihoods of the hard-working majority.

"The guerrilla tactics used by Insulate Britain detract from their cause and I know the public will agree that the scenes on the M25 this week were completely unacceptable."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-58594651

[Crabcakes]

Well that didn't take her long. Will it protect MPs? Probably not much. Will it make it VERY easy for arseholes* to try and get anyone who they disagree with fired or silenced in any other way? Absolutely

*and I include the current govt. in that grouping

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 39775.html

[Youngian]

Priti isn’t the first HS guilty of spurting ill thought-out brain farts to look tough after a terrorist tragedy. Proving ID of all posters is technically unenforceable without Chinese style national firewalls. I do get the frustration expressed by Marc Francois that you can’t even publish a simple planning decision without a tirade about brown envelopes. Might be simpler to turn off comment sections.

[Spoonman]

Priti isn’t the first HS guilty of spurting ill thought-out brain farts to look tough after a terrorist tragedy. Proving ID of all posters is technically unenforceable without Chinese style national firewalls. I do get the frustration expressed by Marc Francois that you can’t even publish a simple planning decision without a tirade about brown envelopes. Might be simpler to turn off comment sections.

From the rabble that keep banging on about "freedom" along with associated other soundbites like "cancel culture".

[Samanfur]

No doubt someone'll try to legislate to get around this:

Border Force refusing to turn back migrant boats

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Has anyone else noticed her makeover? Croydon facelift and permasurprise eyebrows. Makes her look like a vampire. Or even more like a vampire, I should say.

It's what everybody's thinkin'.