Batley and Spen by-election

[Loose meat]

In your case, a strange internet addict, projecting

One's a Cambridge prof, one's an Old Etonian, son of a Tory MP, from the Lehman Brothers family. You know, exactly the sort of people who've got the most insight into life in deindustrialised West Yorkshire towns.

You ignorant fool. You don't even know essential commentators of the past decade.

Never mind, I'm sure you're huge on the internet.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

those are clearly people I should definitely give a shit about yes

 

[hitmouse]

In your case, a strange internet addict, projecting

You ignorant fool. You don't even know essential commentators of the past decade.

Never mind, I'm sure you're huge on the internet.

Gor blimey guv'nor, where's up norf?

 

[hitmouse]

I love essential commentators of the past decade. Where else can you hear the neglected, forgotten voices of left-behind Old Etonians with jobs at Policy Exchange?

 

[Argonia]

I love essential commentators of the past decade. Where else can you hear the neglected, forgotten voices of left-behind Old Etonians with jobs at Policy Exchange?

My headmaster at the Grammar School in Guildford Tim Young taught the dreaded David Cameron at Eton. He couldn't stand me for being a Socialist. I once wrote a short story in the school magazine about a serial killer and paedophile and his wife wanted it banned.

List of headmasters of the Royal Grammar School, Guildford - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Loose meat]

I love essential commentators of the past decade. Where else can you hear the neglected, forgotten voices of left-behind Old Etonians with jobs at Policy Exchange?

Read the reviews and try to remember to change your pants once a week.

The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics (Audio Download): David Goodhart, Simon Bubb, Penguin Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics (Audio Download): David Goodhart, Simon Bubb, Penguin Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[PR1Berske]

those are clearly people I should definitely give a shit about yes

They're all the rage at the Batley Wetherspoons.

 

[Raheem]

They're all the rage at the Batley Wetherspoons.

Possible that Batley has more than one Wetherspoons, but it has one called the Union Rooms, which is a pretty good Wetherspoons. Newcastle also has one called the Union Rooms and these are the best two Wetherspoons I have been in.

This may not be very relevant or interesting, but I felt the thread could do with an aside.

 

[hitmouse]

Possible that Batley has more than one Wetherspoons, but it has one called the Union Rooms, which is a pretty good Wetherspoons. Newcastle also has one called the Union Rooms and these are the best two Wetherspoons I have been in.

This may not be very relevant or interesting, but I felt the thread could do with an aside.

I had a mate who used to work in the (Newcastle, not Batley) Union Rooms for a while back in the day! Pretty sure I once thrown out of there for being underage as well (this was before my mate worked there).
Do you know about the Cardiff Wetherspoons with the very fancy toilets? They really are proper fancy, them toilets. There's also a pretty impressive one in Forest Hill that used to be an art deco cinema.

 

[Raheem]

I had a mate who used to work in the (Newcastle, not Batley) Union Rooms for a while back in the day! Pretty sure I once thrown out of there for being underage as well (this was before my mate worked there).
Do you know about the Cardiff Wetherspoons with the very fancy toilets? They really are proper fancy, them toilets. There's also a pretty impressive one in Forest Hill that used to be an art deco cinema.

Haven't been in either of those.

The Moon Under Water in Manchester (also a Wetherspoons) is supposedly the world's biggest pub, but don't quote me.

 

[two sheds]

I had a mate who used to work in the (Newcastle, not Batley) Union Rooms for a while back in the day! Pretty sure I once thrown out of there for being underage as well (this was before my mate worked there).
Do you know about the Cardiff Wetherspoons with the very fancy toilets? They really are proper fancy, them toilets. There's also a pretty impressive one in Forest Hill that used to be an art deco cinema.

pah

grade 1 listed are they? These are the finest toilets i've been honoured to visit

Liverpool pub with spectacular loos becomes first to be Grade I-listed

Philharmonic Dining Rooms first purpose-built pub in England to gain top heritage status

www.theguardian.com

 

[Raheem]

pah

grade 1 listed are they? These are the finest toilets i've been honoured to visit

Liverpool pub with spectacular loos becomes first to be Grade I-listed

Philharmonic Dining Rooms first purpose-built pub in England to gain top heritage status

www.theguardian.com

Wow. That's a piss to put on my list.

 

[two sheds]

Wow. That's a piss to put on my list.

while you're there ....

just down the road this is one of my favourite ever pubs, was there of a saturday afternoon oooh nearly 50 years ago with music ...

The tiny Liverpool city pub that was loved by John Lennon

The Beatle was known to even take girls on dates to the pub

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Raheem]

while you're there ....

just down the road this is one of my favourite ever pubs, was there of a saturday afternoon oooh nearly 50 years ago with music ...

The tiny Liverpool city pub that was loved by John Lennon

The Beatle was known to even take girls on dates to the pub

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Looks nice but must be awkward to ask directions for.

Can you show me the way to...

...hang on I'll start again...

 

[BillRiver]

while you're there ....

just down the road this is one of my favourite ever pubs, was there of a saturday afternoon oooh nearly 50 years ago with music ...

The tiny Liverpool city pub that was loved by John Lennon

The Beatle was known to even take girls on dates to the pub

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

I've been in there! I took myself and my brother on a self guided Beatles related tour of Liverpool when I was a teenager and it included that pub. My brother was living in Manchester at the time, in an all male student house with a disgusting toilet.

 

[Rimbaud]

I had a mate who used to work in the (Newcastle, not Batley) Union Rooms for a while back in the day! Pretty sure I once thrown out of there for being underage as well (this was before my mate worked there).
Do you know about the Cardiff Wetherspoons with the very fancy toilets? They really are proper fancy, them toilets. There's also a pretty impressive one in Forest Hill that used to be an art deco cinema.

The Union Rooms in Newcastle is a great building, however it is no longer a Wetherspoons as of recently. I've never been in since it was under new ownership though.

I learned to drink there when I was 16. Me and a friend from a different school used to sometimes skip school together and meet up in town. He had a black blazer for his school uniform and my school uniform had a white shirt. Around lunch time the place was full of civil servants or something wearing suits and having a liquid lunch, I would wear his black blazer over my white shirt and try to pass myself off as a young looking civil servant in a suit to get served, right there in my school uniform.

Happy memories of that place.

 

[two sheds]

Looks nice but must be awkward to ask directions for.

Can you show me the way to...

...hang on I'll start again...

No need - just down the road

 

[hitmouse]

There's also a Tunbridge Wells spoons that used to be an opera house, that always sounds like it'd be a proper fancy impressive spoons experience but unfortunately I have never had any other reason to go to Tunbridge Wells and going all that way just to sit in a fancy spoons feels like it'd be a bit excessive. Will definitely have to try and visit the Philharmonic some time though.

 

[BillRiver]

There's also a Tunbridge Wells spoons that used to be an opera house, that always sounds like it'd be a proper fancy impressive spoons experience

I expect that would have pretty decent toilets. I'd hope so anyway!

 

[hitmouse]

Haven't been in either of those.

The Moon Under Water in Manchester (also a Wetherspoons) is supposedly the world's biggest pub, but don't quote me.

D'you know about why there's so many spoons called the Moon Under Water, btw? Comes from an Orwell essay about his ideal pub. Which always feels like a slightly sick joke to me, since as much as I appreciate a good cheap pub I don't think that JD Wetherspoons is quite what Orwell would have imagined the perfect pub being like.

 

[BillRiver]

D'you know about why there's so many spoons called the Moon Under Water, btw? Comes from an Orwell essay about his ideal pub. Which always feels like a slightly sick joke to me, since as much as I appreciate a good cheap pub I don't think that JD Wetherspoons is quite what Orwell would have imagined the perfect pub being like.

I didn't know that, but totally agree. Awful.

 

[belboid]

D'you know about why there's so many spoons called the Moon Under Water, btw? Comes from an Orwell essay about his ideal pub. Which always feels like a slightly sick joke to me, since as much as I appreciate a good cheap pub I don't think that JD Wetherspoons is quite what Orwell would have imagined the perfect pub being like.

I always mean to use the essay for what I would introduce as ‘the perfect pub quiz’

but most of the things he includes are shit now

 

[BillRiver]

D'you know about why there's so many spoons called the Moon Under Water, btw? Comes from an Orwell essay about his ideal pub. Which always feels like a slightly sick joke to me, since as much as I appreciate a good cheap pub I don't think that JD Wetherspoons is quite what Orwell would have imagined the perfect pub being like.

I'm sad he doesn't mention the toilets, in his imaginings.

If I was to describe my fantasy ideal pub I'd definitely mention the toilets.

 

[hitmouse]

I always mean to use the essay for what I would introduce as ‘the perfect pub quiz’

but most of the things he includes are shit now

I've never drunk a pint out of a strawberry-pink china mug, I'm curious about what I'm missing now. Being fair, I think most of the Wetherspoons called the Moon Under Water do tend to not have a piano in, so in that very specific respect I suppose you could say they're living up to Orwell's vision.

 

[BillRiver]

I've never drunk a pint out of a strawberry-pink china mug, I'm curious about what I'm missing now. Being fair, I think most of the Wetherspoons called the Moon Under Water do tend to not have a piano in, so in that very specific respect I suppose you could say they're living up to Orwell's vision.

But do they have children and chutes and plane trees and ladies bars? I think they do not.

 

[two sheds]

I always mean to use the essay for what I would introduce as ‘the perfect pub quiz’

Who performed "Something in the air"? That's my perfect pub quiz question

 

[PR1Berske]

 

[Southlondon]

tbh, I don't think that many people in Batley would get a knock on the door from Philip Normal and immediately go "oh no, it's Philip Normal, the first HIV+ mayor" when he asks them if they're voting Labour or not.

In the north, which famously has no LGBTQ+ people and none of their relatives either

More likely they’ll just think “ oh another annoying London political activist with no connection to the area parachuted in to beg for our vote”

 

[tim]

I've been in there! I took myself and my brother on a self guided Beatles related tour of Liverpool when I was a teenager and it included that pub. My brother was living in Manchester at the time, in an all male student house with a disgusting toilet.

I remember when it had a beach, or at least a lorryload of sand dumped on an adjacent vacant lot.

 

[Leighsw2]

Really though: you think there's something about this guy that would be particularly repugnant to the people of Batley & Spen - he just looks like a guy to me though? I'm pretty sure neither his HIV status, or where he's got the train from that morning are likely to come up on the doorstep, if those things are things people in Batley & Spen care about (I'm unconvinced). Yet his presence is somehow an indication that Labour want to lose - I don't get it?

Maybe the issue here is why does the Batley Labour Party need someone to come from Lambeth to help out with their election campaign? It does all feel very much like 'centrists together' (dear Philip being such a Progress-groupie as he is). I wonder what their ground game is like in such a pivotal bye-election? Apparently in Hartlepool they had to rely on office holders because no-one else turned up!