dougless

I absolutely 'get it' and I hope you are correct however spanking motorists will create a backlash and there is already a low level of aggression shown towards cyclists in the UK from other road users. I have been cycling for more than 60 years and have cycled in many other countries. Cycling is a viable form of transport and electric bikes makes it even more so. I regularly use a bike to get my shopping and visit town centers. My problem with cycling in the UK is the lip service played to green transport issues; cycle in the Netherlands and you will see how it can be done.

No they don't. Their weather is continental and it tends to result in warmer summers and colder winters. What they do have is a fantastic cycle network that makes anything we have done in the UK look pathetic (as usual). Try doing this in the UK - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht

Fairness and Trump are not two words that sit happily together.

Complete conjecture I know but if only 20% of those furloughed staff are made redundant at the end of the scheme, that amounts to 1.6 million being added to the unemployment figures.

Many but if you like the musicality of Simon & Garfunkel then try these: Buffalo Springfield - the band Neil Young and Stephen Stills formed before they found fame separately. Crosby, Stills and Nash - Crosby and Stills poached Graham Nash from the UK group, The Hollies. Love Forever Changes - a bit left field and the lyrics can seem frighteningly prophetic and funny. Not everyone's cup of tea but many regard this album as one of the best or nearly the best ever made. The Mamas And The Papas - some great arrangements and some good songs which you will almost certainly recognise. Some of their material is not so good but some would be positively non PC in the 21st century which makes them much more fun. When they are good they are brilliant. Nick Drake - his first LP came out in 1969 so just counts as 60's. Poor chap had little commercial success in his lifetime but has subsequently been 'discovered' and is seen as a seminal influence on many artists that followed after him. When you have worked through that list check out The Byrds, early Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Joni Mitchell.

When did you last drive a Volvo? I agree the Fiesta deserves it reputation as a good drivers car but modern Volvo's are superb. The S90 is, by reliable accounts, a very good vehicle. Having said that the discounts available on these 'luxo barges' shows how fragile the automotive sector is at present.

It was used to great effect in The Graduate which was released in 1968 which I can remember seeing in the Cinema shorty after it was released - yikes.

With a bit of luck they wont be able to afford any more props.

New car prices seem to have completely detached themselves from the 'official' UK inflation figures over the last few years. I was in a dealership last year waiting for them to sort out my car and wandered around the showroom to keep myself amused. A brand new Fiesta with a few toys but not a range topper was a few quid shy of £20,000; it seemed a trifle pricey to my mind. I needed a hire car in December and it happened to be a mid range Focus. Quite a nice car and impressive in many ways so out of curiosity I looked up the list price, I think it was around £23,000 - bonkers.

This is an excellent thread and has run to 13 pages in less than 24 hours. Fur is flying and there is an underlying whiff of fear among the 'I bought a house by scrimping/saving/moving to a less desirable area/having 5 jobs/not having a life' brigade. Warning - there are some really nasty types on Mumsnet so it will raise your blood pressure.

I would go back further, this mess started with Thatcher. Tories like tax and they like to put taxes up especially if it hurts poorer people. One of the first things the Thatcher Government did was to raise VAT which affected the lower paid more harshly. Tories really are scum as the OP suggests and managing to get swathes of support from depressed parts of the North was genius and shows how stupid most of us are..

I think you will find that thinking History Repeats Itself is fraught with problems of its own.

http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/c/Clockwork-Orange.php

Thanks for posting this. Intellectually I suppose I knew this was happening but really had no idea it had progressed so far and so fast. Your description is chilling and is a warning to us all. Its not hard to see how these monitoring practices could be used in other occupations. I am fairly circumspect about social media but at least with that type of technology we have a choice. When your boss or an automated system is watching you and that is seen as acceptable, its much harder to opt out.

You can go off people.