Scrutable

Wow. Must remember that if I'm worried about my eyesight I should load my family into a car and go for a drive.

And the "no one would care if you hadn't reported it" line. It's not a crime if you don't get caught? Eh, Dom?

ETA - we so need Spitting Image back. This is definitely feeling like the early to mid 90s all over again.

The quarter-wit Ben Bradley wades in with an ill-timed request that we all just move on now.

Apparently an endless litany of people demanding Cummings resign is distracting from the important work the government is doing bungling the COVID response.

If only there was some way Cummings could somehow stop these demands that he resign...

Ah, we’re onto the “it’s the media’s fault” stage. So soon as well.

jimbob wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 3:29 pm

Little waster wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 3:05 pm

Andrew Bridgen
@ABridgen
Many have judged Dominic Cummings without hearing his side of the story. That will change this afternoon and will be unprecedented. It’s possible that people will be surprised

Short of him confirming the rumours about what he did with the three bits of celery and a pangolin with a cough I doubt it, Andrew.

Unless he gives a full mea culpa, now that would be surprising.

Ah, my former MP, before he was replaced by a good Labour MP, and now a rather unpleasant Tory

Silly me, that was Andrew Bingham

I gave up watching because the journalists were so sh.t and I got annoyed. Did anyone ask the following two killers?

1. The rule is clear: if you or any member of your household shows symptoms you must stay indoors immediately for 7 days. Mrs Cummings showed symptoms and you have described running home to be with her. Yet you now admit later that same day you chose to break the 7 day quarantine and return to work after being with your symptomatic wife. Do you understand this is a direct breech and by breaking it you could have infected other workers at No. 10?

2. The rule about not moving to a second home was clear, and so was the reason for it. It was because health services in rural areas could be overwhelmed by outsiders needing treatment and not having the capacity. Did you understand this reason for the second home rule? You have today admitted your family needed local healthcare when your son showed worrying symptoms and was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he spent the night, and your own condition became so severe you yourself could have needed local hospital care. Do you accept moving to a second home was a mistake?

plebian wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 4:12 pm

Andrew Bridgen
@ABridgen
Many have judged Dominic Cummings without hearing his side of the story. That will change this afternoon and will be unprecedented. It’s possible that people will be surprised

Wtaf was this about? His side of the story appears to be what was reported but sneered. Nobody is surprised by this tale of Northumbrian buck passing.

Durham is in County Durham. Not Northumberland.

The other angle is his disregard for road safety. Nobody should ever drive 5 hours non stop - particularly after on a Friday evening after a very tough week at work, with an ill passenger, a child and potentially feeling ill yourself.

That's even without the "driving to test your eyesight" absurdity, which will become famous.

I believe the guideline is 2 hours, then a break.

Rich Scopie wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 5:18 pm

plebian wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 4:12 pm

Andrew Bridgen
@ABridgen
Many have judged Dominic Cummings without hearing his side of the story. That will change this afternoon and will be unprecedented. It’s possible that people will be surprised

Wtaf was this about? His side of the story appears to be what was reported but sneered. Nobody is surprised by this tale of Northumbrian buck passing.

Durham is in County Durham. Not Northumberland.

Apologies, I get this is probably a common error so doubly annoying.

County Durham is one of those imaginary counties, like Middlesex.

I think I may have had too much beer tonight to be in control of a vehicle, but I’m just going for a quick drive to check.

plebian wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 6:43 pm

Rich Scopie wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 5:18 pm

plebian wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 4:12 pm

Wtaf was this about? His side of the story appears to be what was reported but sneered. Nobody is surprised by this tale of Northumbrian buck passing.

Durham is in County Durham. Not Northumberland.

Apologies, I get this is probably a common error so doubly annoying.

Actually ...

Northumbria is loosely related to the ancient kingdom and covers Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle, its a shorter way of referring to the North East of England. For example, Cummings parents' local water company is Northumbrian Water.

From one of my friends on Facebook:

Was it me or did that whole speech sound like a man explaining himself for stumbling in pissed at 3 am after saying he would be home for tea? " the strip club wasn't my idea Boris said it was a kebab shop" etc....

lpm wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 5:14 pm

I gave up watching because the journalists were so sh.t and I got annoyed. Did anyone ask the following two killers?

1. The rule is clear: if you or any member of your household shows symptoms you must stay indoors immediately for 7 days. Mrs Cummings showed symptoms and you have described running home to be with her. Yet you now admit later that same day you chose to break the 7 day quarantine and return to work after being with your symptomatic wife. Do you understand this is a direct breech and by breaking it you could have infected other workers at No. 10?

2. The rule about not moving to a second home was clear, and so was the reason for it. It was because health services in rural areas could be overwhelmed by outsiders needing treatment and not having the capacity. Did you understand this reason for the second home rule? You have today admitted your family needed local healthcare when your son showed worrying symptoms and was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he spent the night, and your own condition became so severe you yourself could have needed local hospital care. Do you accept moving to a second home was a mistake?

Not quite, because DC is having it both ways with his wife (ahem). She was ill, but not showing covid symptoms (she had a stomach upset). In fact, he went back to work/downing st after rushing back to her, iirc, when she was feeling a bit better. It was only later they packed up for Durham.

But of course the "if we both get ill" line implies he thought she *might* have it. I don't think he was worried about looking after their kid if they both had the shits for a bit.

Also, why get in the car for a long journey when your partner is recovering from a stomach upset and you are worried you might get it? And if he thought it was Corona, why get in the car for 5 hours when, full tank of petrol or not, there's a real chance of having to make a pit stop?

If he did think it might be Corona, why did he go back to work before heading up north? (Apols if I misheard on this). And why is a five hours drive the "least risk" scenario? And also, if he did have to end up using his nieces to help, how is that different from any of his London family or other childcare helping?

Am sorry be got ill and it must have been horrible with his kid getting I'll, but no one is picking him up on those first few days. The media/public pitchforks at the gate angle appears to have worked for him (today, at least).

Silly people. It’s only 5 hours if you keep to the speed limit. Possible to do the trip in less than 4 hours if your child needs you to. Won’t somebody think of the kiddies?

Also he was clear that it wasn't his second home, but no one asked him if he stays in the same property when he visits his parents under normal circumstances (as far as I heard)

Of course it's a second home, under the rules. Nobody said "You can go to your brother's second home, and your brother can go to your second home, but don't go to your own second home".

Don't let people pretend little technical semantics have real world meaning.

I didn't say I agreed.

Conspiracy alert: was the change in advice last week, from stay at home to stay alert anything at all to realising the guardian and mirror were about to wollop Dom?

Looks like only the Sun is willing to come out in support for Cummings tomorrow. Here’s hoping they’ve badly misjudged their own readership.

Meanwhile the Maybot’s former Director of Communication (insert joke here about shouting the instructions on programming a VCR in Welsh through a vuvazela during a rock concert) has confidently predicting this story won’t be headlines a week from now.

Thank f.ck for incisive commentary like that, it’s a mystery how May ever performed so badly.

People have been posting stills of Sir Norman Fry from Little Britain ("And suddenly my clothes fell off and I accidentally took a picture of myself naked"). But Cummings's weird stories remind me more of Clive from Monkey Dust.

Meanwhile, it seems that Cummings may have been editing his blog post hoc to make himself look like a superforecaster.

sTeamTraen wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 11:19 pm

People have been posting stills of Sir Norman Fry from Little Britain ("And suddenly my clothes fell off and I accidentally took a picture of myself naked"). But Cummings's weird stories remind me more of Clive from Monkey Dust.

I'm glad it's not just me.

sTeamTraen wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 11:19 pm

Meanwhile, it seems that Cummings may have been editing his blog post hoc to make himself look like a superforecaster.

Quote from That Twitter. The Orwell stuff can get overdone but this one seems on point.

1984.

"In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct, nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record."

jdc wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 11:40 pm

sTeamTraen wrote: ↑

Mon May 25, 2020 11:19 pm

People have been posting stills of Sir Norman Fry from Little Britain ("And suddenly my clothes fell off and I accidentally took a picture of myself naked"). But Cummings's weird stories remind me more of Clive from Monkey Dust.

I'm glad it's not just me.

Dominic, that's actually the plot of a rejected advert for Specsavers.

What were you really doing during the coronavirus lockdown?

Cold War Steve on the case

The Secret Barrister doesn't sound too impressed by Dominic's defence.

https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJ ... e&ie=UTF-8