Frantic 🇬🇧 + 🇪🇺

Retired IT worker, reformed BOFH. Former wireman, brylcreem boy, petrol pump jockey and civil servant.
Politics are mostly left wing & I was an active trade unionist.
Musical tastes range from classical to heavy metal
Top 5 authors are Tolkien, Moorcock, Pratchett, Asimov & Frank Herbert
I like pulling computers apart & putting them back together.
An atheist believe in abortion rights & reduction of human population as outlined by Population Matters Org

Country: UK-England
Gender: Male
Politics: Left wing
Favourite Band: Hawkwind

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frantictdrinker_at_mastodonapp.uk@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2026-03-20 09:12:18 UTC

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was the audience member also staged or just luck?

2025-12-30 16:23:09 UTC

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from observing my own grandchildren since June 2009 my personal belief is that they are very keen observers of what people around them do. They're particularly good at working out how to operate TV remote controls, they have no fear or understanding of breaking something, changing the default language to something nobody in the household understands is a piece of cake, the temperature setting on the washing machine is fair game and can be changed at any time.
It's really a case of monkey see, monkey do. Understanding of actions and consequences comes much later, they are both clever and unbelievably stupid at the same time.
I am currently worried about grandchild 6 of 6, she is far to quiet and doesn't seem to do much. I am told this is normal for a 3 week old.
No offence is intended to other grandparents or their descendants.

2025-11-05 08:57:40 UTC

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Happy Birthday

2025-10-17 08:36:34 UTC

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Wow!

2025-10-13 16:50:31 UTC

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a fascinating history, I saw a TV programme about them once.

2025-07-25 10:28:48 UTC

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this is a bit of a tangent to your post but it was because of the impact on the middle class that the Tories added £20 a week to Universal Credit in 2020. Because of the lockdowns they were suddenly faced with thousands of people having to claim UC. People who lived in the Tory heartlands. People who would suddenly realise that the benefits system was not in fact the luxury free for all that the Nasty Party and right wing press had been banging on about for years.

2025-07-12 08:12:27 UTC

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some people have the wrong idea about unclaimed benefits.
There is not a pot of money assigned to individuals that they can collect at will, they either claim it or they don't and if they claim and qualify it is paid. The government does not have a ledger that says Tommy Atkins has sufficient money assigned to him so he can be paid.
Government data in DWP and HMRC gives an insight into how many people could potentially make a successful claim but haven't.
This information can and has been used to invite claims.
However the government doesn't use this information to set aside money every year just in case Doris Archer decides to claim Pension Credit.
The idea that unclaimed benefits could finance something else is a fallacy. There is no benefits budget as such, government spending is funded by taxation with borrowing making up the shortfall. In essence unclaimed benefits are in reality borrowing that hasn't happened yet.

2025-05-13 07:56:45 UTC

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It's ironic and annoying that some junior civil servants are on the National Living Wage. They might well be working on MW enforcement work.
For example in my old department there are some staff in the Executive Officer grade, which is the first managerial grade, who are on the NLW.

2025-05-08 19:17:41 UTC

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It's bad enough that the CPS saw fit to bring this case to trial. The prosecution then questioned her sexual preferences.
The final insult is that some of the newspapers have created needlessly salacious headlines when announcing the not guilty verdict.
I'm glad she has won, I'm glad the jury have reached a sensible verdict.
I hope that some people in the CPS get a proper bollocking, are forced to take some sort of training on appropriate cases to pursue and receive a promotion block for a number of years.
#Gender #Abortion #Politics #UK_Politics

2025-04-01 13:28:52 UTC

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any chance of a radical government creating rent controls that will reduce rents back down to 1999 levels?
Just imagine the number of landlords scrambling to sell properties that cost them more in mortgage payments than the new rent brings in.
Just imagine the drop in property values as the market gets saturated.
Just imagine the auctions full of repossessed properties nobody wants to buy just in case the values continue to drop.
Now imagine a radical government that jumps in and finances a national body to buy all these properties at knock down prices and rent them out for 1989 levels, which will be the new rent control level. Thereby forcing another round of private landlords exiting the rental market for good.
#UK #Rent #RentReduction #PropertyPrices

2025-02-23 09:23:17 UTC

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I haven't got the same worry regarding our existing boiler as you have so I haven't been chasing anyone.
I started the ball rolling in December with EON, British Gas and Octopus.
I think EON gave up when I told them I was getting quotes from elsewhere as well, they never got to the survey stage. The British Gas guy was OK but he seemed overly interested in the Octopus quote. When he asked how much they quoted I told him a higher amount and his quote was slightly less.
Overall I'm happy with Octopus so far.

2025-02-23 04:31:18 UTC

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I've not been pushing at all, my experience so far.
Octopus survey January 9th.
NOD survey February 10th - required works have a 4 to 6 week lead time.
Asbestos testing done February 21st - results due next week.

2025-01-31 19:19:30 UTC

My #FANuary boost for a person or account on Mastodon that makes my Mastodon experience a little better goes to –
@npub12pw…zvxn for his insightful commentary on a whole range of subjects related to #UK political, social and economic matters.

2024-12-16 18:09:24 UTC

Nationalising essential utilities – like water – should not cost taxpayers anything at all. Sounds like a bloody good solution to me.
https://youtu.be/TlVbKVBLOiM?si=DdJ1uYCSiyokV7L3
#UK #Money #Economy #Politics #Government #Tax #Labour #Starmer #KeirStarmer #Water #Nationalisation

2024-12-11 08:04:43 UTC

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the Bank Of England has an explanation that I didn't find very explanatory so they may not know either, in my defence I've only had 1 coffee so far this morning and I'm childminding the latest grandson.
This paragraph I did understand "GDP also doesn’t tell us anything about how evenly income is split across the population. Growth could mean everyone becoming better off or just the richest segment getting even richer. In practice it usually lies somewhere between the two."

2024-11-08 10:49:15 UTC

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I'm fully in favour of ending RtB across the entire stock of social housing and the sooner the better. I'm not sure why the focus on new properties unless a phased approach is intended. What will be defined as new? This feels like a muddled policy to me.
As for Rayner buying under RtB, no crime was committed so there's nothing to be answered. That purchase was one in a collection of approximately 2 million.
#UKHousing #Housing

2024-11-01 19:23:03 UTC

Really enjoyed watching the biographical film The Life And Deaths Of Christopher Lee that I recorded on Sky arts earlier this week.
That he was fluent in German, French and Italian and that he worked in Europe for some time making non English language films was unknown to me.
#ChristopherLee #HammerHouseOfHorror, #Hammer #Horror #007 #JamesBond #Saruman #Tolkien #LOTR

2024-10-27 10:07:25 UTC

Invoking the Blair 1997 election victory doesn't inspire me with confidence. The initial euphoria of that election wore off as it became apparent that we were getting Tory-lite policies.
The failure to end the cruel and punitive two-child benefit cap at the first opportunity is something that will make me re-evaluate my voting habit.
#UKPolitics #Labour #Budget2024 #RachelReeves
https://files.mastodonapp.uk/media_attachments/files/113/378/768/365/916/294/original/1b04c169404fb33b.jpg

2024-10-23 18:45:30 UTC

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The #UK #Housing market needs complete reform.
End the right to buy scheme ASAP.
Scrap affordable home schemes or put covenants in place that restrict future resale prices to no more than 1% or 2% increases PA - 0% for years where there's been a general price collapse.
End buy to let mortgages.
Private landlords to divest themselves of their portfolio within 5 years, roughly = chunks each year.
Allow charitable/non profit housing associations 0% loans to build new homes.

2024-10-20 08:20:09 UTC

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I have lived and worked in NE England amongst the Geordie and Mackem tribes since 1989. Many of them think of Manchester and Liverpool as the Midlands or Southern.
I'm a child of the Home Counties and still have my Mockney accent, I am still considered an incomer.

2024-03-31 19:30:58 UTC

Originally from the bird site, source not known. Also did you know that in the case of the water privatisation debts were taken on by the taxpayer.
"Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson did incalculable damage to this country, selling off all the assets at a loss to their mates. Cutting taxes for the rich to nothing. Creating massive unemployment and inflation.
RT if you know they're the villains."
#GTTO #NigelLawson #ThatchersDead #ToryScum #Tories
https://files.mastodonapp.uk/media_attachments/files/112/191/885/490/457/876/original/8a8b586cd3edd6ab.jpg