It’s The Latte Latte Delta Tea Break 2018

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by PeterMorley

Noticed this last night and wondered what you meant, are you saying the EU makes money for itself or for public investment throughout the EU?

Yes, although somewhat tongue in cheek. It is not a Sovereign country as far as I can tell. It doesn't have laws as such, but it works on the basis of Treaties, which is how it gets around the Sovereignty thing.

It is also why the ECJ doesn't operate as a court of law in the truest sense. EU Law is the current treaty thus there is no established formal legal apparatus.

[John Elwin]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of some here, I am going to take the conversation back to Ford Escorts by repeating a very funny joke I was told!

In hindsight I should have posted on Facebook: "I've blown the head gasket on my 1997 XR3i" rather than "I've just buggered a 20 year-old escort".

The police still haven't seen the funny side, my lap top's been confiscated & the wife's gone back to her mother.


Well, it made me laugh!! The perils of sowshul mejia

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

May be John and E.B already had a look to the 2019 Rétromobile poster. Difficult to find a leading idea and budget on usual but I find this one well inspired. Peut être un peu trop franco-française avec la dentelle et petite culotte de Calais with the reference to Citroën using Eiffel Tower to advertise. Was it said "Advert Hall"?
Traction and attraction is the name?

I hadn't noticed the poster 'til now.

I've had an email from them about them having nearly all the existing Bedalia's at the show next year. I can hardly wait...

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

At the risk of incurring the wrath of some here, I am going to take the conversation back to Ford Escorts by repeating a very funny joke I was told!

In hindsight I should have posted on Facebook: "I've blown the head gasket on my 1997 XR3i" rather than "I've just buggered a 20 year-old escort".

The police still haven't seen the funny side, my lap top's been confiscated & the wife's gone back to her mother.


Well, it made me laugh!! The perils of sowshul mejia

That's nothing. I often have to explain what I mean when I say that most weekends I enjoy a good twelve year old. It's a single malt whisky.

[Gerard C]

E.B, glad you find it pretty sexy too! The illumination thing on Eiffel Tower sides was a first.
Yes PeterMorley, André Citroën went bankrupt for several reasons but wasn't it the case of one model he had, Henry Ford?
Before being a car maker, André Citroën was an industrial producing gears found in Poland with a Russian patent. Hence the "Chevrons". Fake news or not, it is said that Ford discovered the benefits of reinforcing steel when studying some debris around an European car found after a race crash.

[Gerard C]

The show will celebrate the Mini 60th anniversary thanks to… Beaulieu and Haynes. From the press release I learn many things… For instance, Sir Issigonis having been inspired by a French engineer's chassis drawings who, of course, was never inspired by a DKW F1. Elementary, Watson!
Since rétro is hype, the press releases from our actual car makers "discovering" their roots are pure wonders if you like to laugh a lot. Some a pure crap too… But fair enough, re-inventing or re-writing History gives a lot of work to communication people. What else could they do?

[midgetman]

Gerard it's a quirk of the English language that we use Sir + First Name and Lord + Surname. Hence that should have been Sir Alec not Sir Issigonis.

So Alan Sugar, who holds both titles, is Sir Alan but Lord Sugar.

Clear as mud? You'll be glad to get rid of us

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Yes, although somewhat tongue in cheek. It is not a Sovereign country as far as I can tell. It doesn't have laws as such, but it works on the basis of Treaties, which is how it gets around the Sovereignty thing.

It is also why the ECJ doesn't operate as a court of law in the truest sense. EU Law is the current treaty thus there is no established formal legal apparatus.

Part of the problem is how the EU (I'm using the term loosely to describe all the "institutions") has been presented by various governments, they imply that it imposes laws when it is basically just a forum where all the countries have agreed laws/rules/(whatever you describe things as) which each country implements in its own way (within the constraints they agreed to).

When govts. take credit for popular things and blames the EU for unpopular ones it's easy to see why the EU is seen as a "baddy", despite the fact that it was the govt. who agreed and implemented the rules (hence UK health & safety is far more intrusive than in some other countries etc.).

Given all laws are sovereign it is clear that the ECJ isn't a court of law, its work seems to be to explain the intention of the "laws" - e.g. deciphering what can be extremely complicated/muddled legalise.

All spending has to offer added value, apparently over the 2007-13 period the return on investment saw about 2.75 euro return for 1 euro investment by the EU in regional spending which is a pretty good return.
Of course how you calculate such things must be rather difficult!

Things like the 1.6 million investment in the Vale of Rheidol railway's new museum (which will still go ahead with an agreed withdrawal) will be of benefit to the local economy as well as the railway and couldn't have been met by the local govt. due to all the cuts that have been imposed on them.

It's interesting to compare the size of "the EU", the total number of staff is similar to that of the city of Vienna (or half the size of a French ministry)! It's not a massive organisation - UK civil service is about 5 times the size!

That's my contribution, I'm bored by it assume everyone else is as well!

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

At the risk of incurring the wrath of some here, I am going to take the conversation back to Ford Escorts by repeating a very funny joke I was told!

In hindsight I should have posted on Facebook: "I've blown the head gasket on my 1997 XR3i" rather than "I've just buggered a 20 year-old escort".

The police still haven't seen the funny side, my lap top's been confiscated & the wife's gone back to her mother.

Well, it made me laugh!! The perils of sowshul mejia

Ford Escorts came up in a much less amusing conversation I had yesterday, apparently there is a problem with the new 1600 crankshafts - they have been known to crack.
The use of steel cranks in Formula Fords has been suggested as a solution to the problem which isn't really respecting the original rules but it suggest that anyone with a good original crank might be sitting on a fortune.

[Gerard C]

Thanks for noticing without shouting at me, midget, just hope this can't be taken as a lack of respect it was absolutely not meant to be. Thing is, in French, using First Name is more familiar… Anyway, Sir or not, Issigonis or Alec if you would prefer he was… Grèque!

About getting rid of you please note that its not the case. Well, not for all of you! We can't be either happy or unhappy. We have fake news, false lies, true lies or no news at all to make up our opinion. Only yesterday, our politicians started to seem worried about you leaving, suggesting new rules or laws, all in a hurry with a typical "bordel Ã* la française" ambiance.

Talking about bordel… Want to know what put a large smile on my face this morning? May be you know John Elwin? Expatriate. Living with a French Michèle? I was just about to suggest him to place his sentence "I buggered Lala" in the Reverso translator and show what it gives in French to his Lady! Not all know what it gives while many know what it takes!

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

E.B, glad you find it pretty sexy too! The illumination thing on Eiffel Tower sides was a first.
Yes PeterMorley, André Citroën went bankrupt for several reasons but wasn't it the case of one model he had, Henry Ford?
Before being a car maker, André Citroën was an industrial producing gears found in Poland with a Russian patent. Hence the "Chevrons". Fake news or not, it is said that Ford discovered the benefits of reinforcing steel when studying some debris around an European car found after a race crash.

Someone suggested a reason Citroen went bankrupt was the huge electricity bill for the advert on the Eiffel tower!

Of course many such companies had a history of going bankrupt - Zagato, Aston Martin etc. - most of them manage to start again running the same business but avoiding paying some of their suppliers.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by PeterMorley

Someone suggested a reason Citroen went bankrupt was the huge electricity bill for the advert on the Eiffel tower!

What you'll find about him on Wiki is rather interesting. The man was a pioneer having few interest for the financial aspect of things. probably he became somewhat mégalomaniaque. At the end, he had to stand the first negotiations between the boss, workers and unions.

[Peter Mallett]

Actually I don't find it boring since I've studied it and worked with it for many years. I do find the constant remain/leave carping tedious; we voted, so let's leave.

The problem is that instead of being a trading institution the EU imposes regulations which then have to be ratified by each state as law (usually by Act of Parliament in the UK). States may derogate for a short period but after that they must implement the regulation. Hence it is imposing its will via the back door, since it can't do it in a similar way to the only other Federal Country which is the USA.

It is an unelected institution and therefore must either be an NGO or a business. To get around this problem it has a "parliament". Can anyone honestly say what the European Parliament does, apart from ratify the regulations prepared and issued by the Commission?

Whether it is a large organisation or not, bribes like the one you mention in Wales do not cut much ice with realists. Likewise did you know they've spent your tax money on various financial programmes in Albania? Euros 1.4 million recently on "market gardening". The fact that the market gardens are very well catered for here pretty much sums up the thinking. (You should see the fruit and veg stalls by the roadside and the quality is second to none). Alternatively if you have the time check out the product that forms 22% of Albania's GDP. It ain't fruit.

By comparison, my colleagues on this project have just raised Euros 5,000 for a charity because the government does nothing, absolutely nothing, for disabled people. The charity supports disabled children and provides an education for them. Why doesn't the EU get involved with that kind of thing? You tell me, because their reps share the office building with us and not one of them turned out for our fund raising events, even though they were made aware.

No, there is nothing that anyone can tell me that would make the EU palatable. The carping about free movement is also complete ********. From info. received today it costs approx 6.5 euros to obtain a three year free movement permit/visa, if you are a non EU citizen. Why is that a major gripe for remainers, most of whom seem to be major celebrities with an axe to grind?

But back to the EU as an organisation. It's actually an offshoot of the German Bundesbank thus there is no means of equalizing the debt burden arising from the Mediterranean countries. That is why Italy and Greece are falling apart. No (Welsh) bribes for them I'm afraid. And of course France is about to join them.

[Mike Bell]

Not brexit- Christmas records. I’m sure many hate them, but as long as they’re not rammed down my throat, there are many I really enjoy. Just heard for first time this Dec Harry Belafonte’s version of ‘Mary’s Boychild’, so I googled to see when it was originally released- 1956!

62 years ago and still class..... However, don’t mind Boney M’s interpretation either!

[The Fat Clerk]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Not brexit- Christmas records. I’m sure many hate them, but as long as they’re not rammed down my throat, there are many I really enjoy. Just heard for first time this Dec Harry Belafonte’s version of ‘Mary’s Boychild’, so I googled to see when it was originally released- 1956!

62 years ago and still class..... However, don’t mind Boney M’s interpretation either!

My favourite is 'A Spaceman came travelling' by Chris de Burgh.

[Peter Mallett]

Also covered by Matt Monro among others.

My favourite is I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Not brexit- Christmas records. I’m sure many hate them, but as long as they’re not rammed down my throat, there are many I really enjoy. Just heard for first time this Dec Harry Belafonte’s version of ‘Mary’s Boychild’, so I googled to see when it was originally released- 1956!

62 years ago and still class..... However, don’t mind Boney M’s interpretation either!

Thanks for that Mike. I too was 'released' in 1956 (although my mother maybe described the process slightly differently) and hope I'm still class too...

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by The Fat Clerk

My favourite is 'A Spaceman came travelling' by Chris de Burgh.

I’ll give you that. For something a bit dark, the Pogues ‘Fairy tale of New York’ takes some beating. And a bit more recent- Coldplay ‘Christmas Lights’....

Less well known, the Ray Conniff Singers ‘Carol of the Bells’ definitely hits the Xmas spot!

OK, back to brexit....

[Gerard C]

Aaaah, Christmas market songs… At the moment we have "I shot the sheriff" doing good, a kind of cold play………

[morninggents]

Elvis - Blue Christmas.
Chuck Berry - Run, Run Rudolph.


Both take a bit of beating though I do like Fairytale and Mary's Boy Child perhaps the best more traditional song.

[Peter Mallett]

Fairytale of New York is banned by the beeb for being, well, non PC. The Beach Boys did Run Run Reindeer a take on the C Berry chooon.

I have a CD of classic Christmas Songs which is always employed at around 10am on Christmas morning when the Turkey is cooking and the Champagne is opened. Don't believe I've heard it all the way through though.

[Dan Rear]

Peter Mallett, quite brilliant, your posts on Brexit are spot on I think! And Wham 'Last Christmas' for me.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Fairytale of New York is banned by the beeb for being, well, non PC. The Beach Boys did Run Run Reindeer a take on the C Berry chooon.

I have a CD of classic Christmas Songs which is always employed at around 10am on Christmas morning when the Turkey is cooking and the Champagne is opened. Don't believe I've heard it all the way through though.

Surely Slade's "Here it is, Merry Christmas!" beats them all hands down.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Dan Rear

Peter Mallett, quite brilliant, your posts on Brexit are spot on I think! And Wham 'Last Christmas' for me.

I'll second that. Thank you Peter, for taking the trouble to set things out so clearly & eloquently.

[bauble]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

I'll second that. Thank you Peter, for taking the trouble to set things out so clearly & eloquently.

I agree with the sentiments expressed Peter, however, I can think of a few choice words that would also sum up the EU in much shorter form.