Chartfridays

A work meeting apparently. Ignoring the fact that most work meetings were still taking place over zoom at this point, who drinks at work these days?

I mean it was apparent to anyone that Johnson wouldn't be able to go several months with about partying. What's far less disappointing is how f***ing stupid he is not to have done a better job of hiding it.

God help us. Boris presumably appointing the only person stupid enough to jump on his sinking ship. Wouldn't mind see Tory WhatsApp responses to this...

A Labour-Tory marginal as well, that could be a really useful one for gauging where the trend is headed.

To be fair with clear cut penalties like this not being given - we're not going anywhere other than the championship - even the Sky pundits and comms were laughing at VARs excuses of 'Cancelo came away with the ball...' https://twitter.com/CharliewaughEFC/status/...576383536795658

Anti cancel culture Steve Baker removing Nadine Dorries from the Clean Brexit Global group.... https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/147...5958016/photo/1

I think Savid Javid is about to get an interesting phone call from Boris...... Something along the lines of 'shut the f*** up and read what I've already said to the press....' after that Marr interview.

It's kind of impressive that Corbyn has a brother who makes him look sane.

I didn't clock that one until the nominations came out for some reason. Seems like a good move.

One thing I'm interested in is if the number of tests being taken is sky-rocketing? I'd imagine a lot of people are taking them because there going home or to visit vulnerable family for Christmas when they wouldn't normally take a test to WFH or for their job. Some of the positive test increase is surely just cases that wouldn't be detected outside Christmas?

That thing about the scissors seems ridiculous but I suppose it's because what's acceptable has changed so much in the last just under 60 years. Him having stolen it makes sense. Fast return switch is still a bit deus ex machina though. As I said I really like the character development and the second episode is as good as anything before but I just found the first 15 or so minutes of that first episode to be very much not much happening - might still be adjusting to the evidently slower pace of Classic Who to be fair, and without any visual monster draws a bit of an empty spot for me, not that it's a bad idea. Anyway - the next review may be after a bit of a gap as it's 7 recons on the trot for Marco Polo, something I'm relatively new too. I've heard good things about the story though, so that should help.

I'm fully vaccinated, but with respect the vaccine can't be that effective if we all need a booster now.... Remember when vaccination was 'the end of Covid?'

Talk of a lockdown being announced on 27th for two weeks. Yet again screwing over millions of low paid hospitality workers, NHS staff and essential workers who'd go and see family over New Year. Office staff many of whom are on WFH and could easily go and see family whenever they wanted yet again getting to their Christmas plans protected though. No doubt going to cause a lot of people who would have went to see family in New Year to see them earlier, packing out trains. Yes it's a shit but at some point we need to learn to live with this shit and move on.

The Edge of Destruction 8 February 1964 - 15 February 1964 (2 x 25) Season 1: First Doctor, Ian, Susan, Barbara Possibly the first middling to abjectly bad story in Doctor Who? The serial serves the purpose of dealing with the relative animosity between the characters and airing grievances between them that had as yet been unspoken between them, the conflict between Barbara and the Doctor and for the First Doctor his relative attrition that she actually saved the day here is quite a climb down. In that respect in terms of developing the friendships and making us buy into the first TARDIS team it’s an incredibly important story, that does cover a lot of ground - but the plot and limitation of it being set entirely in the TARDIS are unlikely to make it a super-rewatched one for me. It's certainly watchable - especially in the second episode where it picks up pace but those first 15 minutes of the first episode really drag. We get more sense for the ruthless streak of the Doctor here with him willing to kick Barbara and Ian off the ship regardless of how inhabitable the place actually is - essentially considering their murder to be just recourse for their sabotage. The conflict between characters is well played and helps it hold up and well acted with a few generally exciting moments such as the scene with the scissors - if a bit am-dram in the acting, however what makes it objectively bad is the ending. The Doctor not knowing what the TARDIS is trying to tell him seems a bit illogical, and the fast return being stuck down being the cause of them going so far back to the beginning of the solar system - seemingly a convenient plot device to get some of that much necessary educational value in explaining how a solar system is formed in - just seems like something written for the sake of resolving the plot, especially as we’ve already been told he essentially has no control over where he's going. I'd be somewhat interested to see other people's thoughts on this one tbh, am I being unkind to it?

The fact Radio 1 have the openly misogynistic Flowers on heavy rotation suggests this is more about appearing woke than anything else and I say that as a 'f*****'.

Those by elections normally still happen. Curious the Boris Broadcasting Corporation didn't do one last night.

Came here to post that one literally burst out laughing at.

People need to remember he still has an 80 seat majority. It's only if the rebellions continue to be on the recent scale that he's got problems.

One really interesting thing that should worry the Tories is that a lot of Con-Lib Dem switchers were talking about the cuts in services. Those of us in Labour areas who were hit harder during the coalition and ever since have been moaning about this ever since, but it looks as though Con voters might finally be appreciating the Lib Dems moderating I fluence in the coalition now we've had nearly 7 years of outright Tory rule. If that's genuinely the case it's a breakthrough. A Lib Dem Tory coalition is marginally better for the left than outright Tory rule. The issue the Lon Dems are going to have with this new base is it makes very hard any coalition with Labour.

It's a protest vote. Nothing more. A lib Dem special that will go back to Tories next election.

This is definitely on my watch list, if it's finally killed off the video game curse then that's big.

The Darkness. The last proper Christmas song.

Trailer looks okay but sometimes just wish they'd let sleeping dogs lie. Hope they end it slightly better than the original...

https://twitter.com/bnhwalker/status/1471574262456668172

Judging by the lack of overnight live feeds it looks like the press are expecting a morning announcement.