Have you learned anything today?

[WASA38]

I learnt today that the most important headline news on BBC TV was about some radio dj called Scott getting sacked. 

+1

Likewise on the beeb's website this morning and even last night's ITV 10 o'clock news.

Unbelievable.  Never heard of him.

[RandomGuy99]

+1

Likewise on the beeb's website this morning and even last night's ITV 10 o'clock news.

Unbelievable.  Never heard of him.

The police decided there was insufficient evidence and didn't proceed with an investigation but the BBC has now decided to be the jury and sack him about a relationship he had between 1997 and 2000 when he had a relationship with a teenage boy and Scott was 23 to 26 yrs old himself.

[PilotMan]

the BBC has now decided to be the jury and sack him about a relationship he had between 1997 and 2000

Philandering is dead 

[Blackpool Rock]

The police decided there was insufficient evidence and didn't proceed with an investigation but the BBC has now decided to be the jury and sack him about a relationship he had between 1997 and 2000 when he had a relationship with a teenage boy and Scott was 23 to 26 yrs old himself.

Assuming they are using the same set of information / facts then it could well be that the bar for a criminal prosecution (decided by the CPS) is far higher than any internal BBC rules
Given that the BBC have been slated recently for multiple sex / abusive behaviour claims that they seemingly failed to deal with or certainly failed to deal with properly they are probably just doing due diligence and mopping up a few stains before they come back to haunt them

Quicker / easier / cheaper to sack someone and get sued than for a claimant to drag everything up and it go through the courts anyway, plus less "reputational" damage 

[Bonker]

It was 'breaking news' when I tuned in.

Breaking balls, more like.

[Thephoenix]

....and I always thought he seemed like such a nice boy.

[RandomGuy99]

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I think it's an April Fools' story

[Jonestown]

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I think it's an April Fools' story

Dr Conor Boland clearly does not have enough proper work to do.

[Blackpool Rock]

The police decided there was insufficient evidence and didn't proceed with an investigation but the BBC has now decided to be the jury and sack him about a relationship he had between 1997 and 2000 when he had a relationship with a teenage boy and Scott was 23 to 26 yrs old himself.

It did say on the news yesterday that the teenage boy was in fact under 16 at the time so that again puts a different perspective on things

[southcoastpunter]

Assuming they are using the same set of information / facts then it could well be that the bar for a criminal prosecution (decided by the CPS) is far higher than any internal BBC rules

In criminal law , someone has to be guilty “beyond all reasonable doubt “ whereas that does not apply in employment law! An employer only  has to show that they acted in a way and come to a conclusion that a “reasonable employer “ would! So yes the “bar” is considerably lower!

However I doubt that he was engaged on a normal employment basis - he probably was a “contractor” of some sort where even employment law does not always apply!

[PilotMan]

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I think it's an April Fools' story

The Guardian do a great April Fools story - undoubtedly their best ever was a 10 page special on the fictional island of San Serriffe. It has entered literary folklore and is still referred to.

I sometimes joke and tell people I'm going on holiday to San Serriffe.

Many of the pranks in the story revolved around printing terms and fonts, the fictional island was even in the the shape of a semicolon.

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[timsussex]

The gorgeous Ms Fry asks how do planes fly ?


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[RandomGuy99]

That Erika Eleniak was in the ET movie

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[puntingking]

The price of stamps has risen again, as the postal service faces criticism for failing to hit delivery targets.

A first class stamp now costs £1.80 - an increase of 10p - while a second class letter has risen by 4p to 91p. 

[catweazle]

I'd never thought about it until I read a short piece on the subject: why are manhole covers always circular?
Simply because, no matter how it is dropped, it can never fall into the manhole itself. Square or oblong  ones can, potentially injuring a workman below.

[Blackpool Rock]

I'd never thought about it until I read a short piece on the subject: why are manhole covers always circular?
Simply because, no matter how it is dropped, it can never fall into the manhole itself. Square or oblong  ones can, potentially injuring a workman below.

An excellent observation about round ones not being able to fall inside the hole 

However just one small drawback in that they are available in square and rectangular shapes, indeed just looking at this 1 website they list 53 manhole covers / frames of which only 4 are round 

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[PilotMan]

An excellent observation about round ones not being able to fall inside the hole 

However just one small drawback in that they are available in square and rectangular shapes, indeed just looking at this 1 website they list 53 manhole covers / frames of which only 4 are round 

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However  lthere is usually a smaller round insert immediately below the cover, that stops it falling in.

[Vice Admiral]

Today I have learnt that the number of possible combinations from shuffling a pack of 52 playing cards is approximately 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000.

Not many people know that.

[Jonestown]

An excellent observation about round ones not being able to fall inside the hole 

However just one small drawback in that they are available in square and rectangular shapes, indeed just looking at this 1 website they list 53 manhole covers / frames of which only 4 are round 

 External Link/Members Only

Wasn’t it only coal holes that were round ?

[PilotMan]

Wasn’t it only coal holes that were round ?

We had a coal hole in the house I grew up in East London, it was round.

You could get in to the house through it, although you would get very dirty ⚫

[pbrown355]

Today I have learnt that the number of possible combinations from shuffling a pack of 52 playing cards is approximately 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000.

Not many people know that.

Anyone who read the previous page knows

[Vice Admiral]

Anyone who read the previous page knows

Oh dear.  Vice Admiral - always last with the big stories! 

[puntingking]

Rapist who infected men and boys with HIV jailed

A "dangerous" rapist who deliberately infected five young men and two boys aged 15 and 17 with HIV has been handed a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 23 years.



I don't understand how some people's brains work, this is despicable 


Finally someone receives a fair lengthy sentence for a despicable crime.


The full news article can be found on the bbc news website 

[puntingking]

DJ Bob Harris says prostate cancer spread to his spine


This is Sad news, he is a great radio presenter.

[RandomGuy99]

DJ Bob Harris says prostate cancer spread to his spine


This is Sad news, he is a great radio presenter.

BBC News - DJ Bob Harris says prostate cancer spread to his spine
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[DastardlyDick]

All of the nearby Sainsbury's supermarkets closed their cafés a few years ago, and Starbucks have taken over.

Except St. Albans - they have Carluccio's

[Jonestown]

Except St. Albans - they have Carluccio's

Does Carluccio’s still exist, they have all disappeared in London.

[Thephoenix]

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[PilotMan]

Does Carluccio’s still exist, they have all disappeared in London.

I used to rate them, but they seem to have gone downhill.

They have suffered financially and almost went bankrupt. I met their FD and Management team around 12 or so year's ago, clueless and inept.

There's still one in Cambridge, the last time I ate there it was awful. The food was poor and the service was lacklustre at best.

[B4bcock]

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And Reg Varney was an accomplished pianist who played professionally.

[catweazle]

And Reg Varney was an accomplished pianist who played professionally.

He also made the first proper withdrawal from a cash machine in the UK.

[Dr Talueng]

He also made the first proper withdrawal from a cash machine in the UK.

... from a branch of Barclays, in Enfield Town, and the maximum you could withdraw in a single transaction was £10!

[scouting]

... from a branch of Barclays, in Enfield Town, and the maximum you could withdraw in a single transaction was £10!

I wish that was still the case when a whore lifted my card in Hong Kong 

[catweazle]

... from a branch of Barclays, in Enfield Town, and the maximum you could withdraw in a single transaction was £10!

I remember when ATMs first arrived  locally, and my Dad trying to withdraw money. Something went wrong, and he ended up having to go inside to the counter,  and the cashier sneered at him for wanting to withdraw £2.

[puntingking]

Brighton football club is building Europe's first purpose built women's football stadium. It is scheduled to open no later than 2030.

I like the fact though that men and women football teams share stadiums as it is good for the wider society, if every big club went down this route then a lot of uk land will be wasted in my opinion. We are only a small country after all. 

[webpunter]

Brighton football club is building Europe's first purpose built women's football stadium. It is scheduled to open no later than 2030.

I like the fact though that men and women football teams share stadiums as it is good for the wider society, if every big club went down this route then a lot of uk land will be wasted in my opinion. We are only a small country after all. 

For Brighton the land is already there so hardly wasted
As for the WSL i see it long term as being as viable as LIV golf
Wokeyness will help preserve it
Brighton is cosmopolitan as a city so it could be more popular than elsewhere
Whilst the cost is £80m thereabouts there will be contributors like Amex who sponsor the club wanting to jump on the bandwagon
& Brighton could enhance their U21 teams & younger playing there good for player development which they excel at
The new stadium could be paid for with but one transfer to Chelsea so all round not a bad idea
I can see it being popular with kids, batting footy fans, lesbians & the trans lot so maybe it will work
A dual use for summer concerts could be built in adding additional income 

[timsussex]

1) it wont count for FFP rules
2) it can be used for U21s as well as womens
3) freeing up the main stadium for other things - Brighton have always been proactive in using the stadium for other things eg WRU  world cup games last time
4) with 2 stadiums for concerts etc a large diverse population and good road links it could well be a success

[webpunter]

Brighton has some decent R&T + indie options
I've been there in the summer for some of our fave sport
Parking a ball ache by the pier however further along going west easier & some good spots for eats
Took a beach blanket deck chair coolbox etc & had a v.nice post shoot snooze for a couple of hours
Had a paddle gave the helmet a healthy cleansing salt water bathing & caught some rays whats not to like

[daviemac]

Brighton football club is building Europe's first purpose built women's football stadium. It is scheduled to open no later than 2030.

I like the fact though that men and women football teams share stadiums as it is good for the wider society, if every big club went down this route then a lot of uk land will be wasted in my opinion. We are only a small country after all. 

Man City women's team play at the Joie Stadium is that not a dedicated ground for them and under 21's? 

[puntingking]

Man City women's team play at the Joie Stadium is that not a dedicated ground for them and under 21's? 

yes, it appears to be after i had just googled it

[mr.bluesky]

Everton's women football team play their home games at Goodison park now. It must cost Everton a fortune to run two large stadiums now or is this a clever way of getting around the FFP regulations 

[Jumping Jack Flash]

An article in The Times yesterday quoted a source from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons that said that breast reduction and implant removal procedures have surpassed enlargements for the first time. This is, apparently, a cultural move away from exaggerated curves to a smaller, lighter  more delicate shape aka ballerina boobs or yoga tits.

As a guy that prefers small tits this is a wonderful development, although the acronym BAAPS did make me laugh!

[Blackpool Rock]

An article in The Times yesterday quoted a source from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons that said that breast reduction and implant removal procedures have surpassed enlargements for the first time. This is, apparently, a cultural move away from exaggerated curves to a smaller, lighter  more delicate shape aka ballerina boobs or yoga tits.

As a guy that prefers small tits this is a wonderful development, although the acronym BAAPS did make me laugh!

This is good news as I also prefer a flat chested spinner 

[Doc Holliday]

An article in The Times yesterday quoted a source from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons that said that breast reduction and implant removal procedures have surpassed enlargements for the first time. This is, apparently, a cultural move away from exaggerated curves to a smaller, lighter  more delicate shape aka ballerina boobs or yoga tits.

As a guy that prefers small tits this is a wonderful development, although the acronym BAAPS did make me laugh!

Thanks for that 

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Interesting data. Humans, as ever, are influenced by trends.

There is  tendency to forget the historical number of breast reductions that take place every year. Having naturally very large 'heavy' breasts, can be hugely uncomfortable. In addition many women are very self conscious about them.

Combine this total with the number of implant removals (850) and yes it seems for the first time it exceeds the number of breast augmentations.

This was an interesting stat too

Meanwhile, Superficial Gluteal Lipofilling (SGL), a safer BAAPS recommended alternative to traditional Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL), designed to prevent fatal pulmonary fat embolisms, has plummeted by 38%, suggesting the once-fashionable exaggerated hourglass silhouette may be losing its appeal.

[Jonestown]

So baywatch boobs are out and yoga tits / ballerina boobs are in, that’s great news, someone tell all those tiny Thai SPs quick.

[I like natural boobs]

Just built a Lego Model T Ford which is based on a 1913 version of the car and have learned things about the car that I didn't previously know. I didn't know that it had a drag rod steering system rather than rack and pinion. According to an Internet search rack and pinion was pioneered in production cars by BMW in 1933 and popularized by the Citroën 2CV in 1948.

I also didn't know that early versions of the Model T only had a passenger side door. A driver side door was introduced to later models in the mid 1920's.

I'm pleased with the Lego build. Other features not mentioned above include:

Butterfly hood that opens up to show the engine.

Crank handle that can be turned and a pulley on the crankshaft which drives the fan belt and fan.

Folding, split windscreen.

Foldback  roof.

Lifting the driver's seat reveals the fuel tank.

Rear boot opens.

Model T experts can probably find inaccuracies with the model but it looks great to me.

[timsussex]

The Navy is going to spend £1/4 million on moving the top buttons on Female Officers uniforms which are "inappropriately placed"  that is over the nipples

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They have been fine for 80+ years but now ......

[RandomGuy99]

The Navy is going to spend £1/4 million on moving the top buttons on Female Officers uniforms which are "inappropriately placed"  that is over the nipples

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They have been fine for 80+ years but now ......

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[Vice Admiral]

The other evening I was watching an old episode of Cunk on Britain (these days I get much of my knowledge of history from Ms Cunk’s accessible, fast-paced, fact-filled shows) – where I learnt that, if all of human history were compressed into a single year, the Stone Age would last from New Year’s Day until about 3.00 pm. on December 31.

In other words, the Stone Age constitutes around 99% of human history, going back roughly 3.3 million years.

I never knew that.  (You probably did.)

[puntingking]

Some people out there are celebrating "half birthdays" according to an article I saw today.