44 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Speed cameras - are they out to get you?

Channel 5 8pm Wednesday 11 June

No need to watch, the conclusion will be, 'Yes'. Anyone that thinks that 'speed cameras' are not simply an additional tax revenue is naive. It happened decades ago when 'road tax' stop being ring fenced for road improvement and became another generic money collection scheme for government...

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

Anyone that thinks that 'speed cameras' are not simply an additional tax revenue is naive.

And has probably never been caught out. Is there such a person left, though?😀

I've never been caught speeding. Or had a parking ticket.  More luck than judgement?  Maybe...

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I've never been caught speeding.

As a bit of an ice breaker, the instructor on my speed awareness course asked us now long we'd had a licence and how many times we'd been caught. When I told him it was my first, he said "Ah, so almost 50 years of undetected crime, then!"😀

On 4/14/2025 at 4:43 PM, StephenFord said:

If possible, can you leave him alone?? He has enough on his hands trying to get moronic government to drop 'net zero' ambitions which will bankrupt us all!

As an illustration to democracy, when he recently ran for London Mayor, he ran on a ticket that if elected, on day one he would abolish ULEZ & congestion charges. Yet, dear Londoners voted Sadiq Khan straight back in, so obviously there are millions quite happy being ripped off...

At the end of the day, Howard lobbies for saving money, you'd be lobbying to spend.

Howard Cox has just been on Talk Radio sounding off about motorists paying a total of about one million pounds over one year in fines for blocking box junctions (36 of them  AFAIK). I have to say I am not sure if a £35 fine (if paid straight away) is excessive for blocking a box junction, hopefully the errant motorist would learn from it and not do it again, but the point here is that Cox thought it worth taking up one million pounds in fines from all box junctions on motorists, yet, apparently, would not be interested in the dropping of a speed limit (on a primary route DC with no history of serious accidents....) next to a speed camera and then extracting over TWO million pounds from motorists, by increasing the numbers caught from about 40 a year to 11,000 in the first year....... From one speed camera.
I have to say I think Mr Cox, by ignoring my e mails, missed a trick there.

On 6/7/2025 at 3:13 PM, StephenFord said:

No need to watch, the conclusion will be, 'Yes'. Anyone that thinks that 'speed cameras' are not simply an additional tax revenue is naive. It happened decades ago when 'road tax' stop being ring fenced for road improvement and became another generic money collection scheme for government...

Ironically I do not agree with you, not for all of them anyway. I'd like a speed camera in our village to catch the cretins hammering it through at way over the obvious (and clearly signposted) 30mph limit.

What I object to is speed cameras in combination with unexpected low speed limits that catch motorists by accident. I got done when we were lost for doing 37mph on a primary route DC.
We have a similar example in Sheffield (the A61 here, a primary route DC with an unexpected 30 limit) and I feel sorry for any motorists who ever get done for doing over 30 on that, though there is no speed camera there as it happens. But if they were doing over 40 I'd have no sympathy for them however.

On 4/11/2025 at 10:52 AM, Justin Smith said:

Ahh I see what you're saying.

I do not want to divert this thread so I will simply say I very much support Ukraine and distrust Russia in general and Putin in particular. Arguably, as a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, means we are morally bound to support Ukraine anyway :

 

Morally bound? What does that even mean? What a load of waffle.

Just in case you are unaware: you are free to follow your morals and go over there and fight the moral fight. Absolutely nothing and nobody is stopping you.

14 hours ago, weesam said:

Morally bound? What does that even mean? What a load of waffle.

Just in case you are unaware: you are free to follow your morals and go over there and fight the moral fight. Absolutely nothing and nobody is stopping you.

I did not want to divert this thread, earlier someone said something I disagreed with and I answered him and then dropped it.
But since you have bought it up again I will answer your post.

I think we are "morally bound" to support Ukraine for two reasons :

1 - They have been invaded by a dictatorial madman (I recommend reading some of the books on that evil SOAB). Quite apart from anything else if he succeeds that puts other countries (incl our own) at greater danger.

2 - More objectively, we were signatories to the Budapest Memorandum :
Budapest Memorandum - Wikipedia
Basically the Ukraine gave up its huge stocks of nuclear weapons and in return its security and independence were, supposedly, guaranteed.

>>Just in case you are unaware: you are free to follow your morals and go over there and fight the moral fight. Absolutely nothing and nobody is stopping you.<<

Not sure what point you are making here TBH.

7 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

I did not want to divert this thread...

You can divert this thread as much as you want - no one cares...

41 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

Not sure what point you are making here TBH.

Oh, I am sure you do.

 

45 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You can divert this thread as much as you want - no one cares...

So anyhow.....

Has anyone done a comparison on the price of Baked Beans ?

Is Aldi or Lidl the cheapest?  Does it matter if you heat them in the microwave or a pan?

🤣🤣🤣

 

9 minutes ago, unofix said:

So anyhow.....

Has anyone done a comparison on the price of Baked Beans ?

Is Aldi or Lidl the cheapest?  Does it matter if you heat them in the microwave or a pan?

🤣🤣🤣

 

I find Lidl is the best, of course, just treat them like a blank canvas as they really come to life with some Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Feeling exotic? Then a splash of garlic paste and some chili flakes. You do them gently in a pan, don't boil them, you;'ll impair the flavour 🤣

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

You can divert this thread as much as you want - no one cares...

But to be fair, it wasn't Justin who raised Eastern European matters in the first place, on either occasion. 

15 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

But to be fair, it wasn't Justin who raised Eastern European matters in the first place...

I've been told that Lidl in Eastern Europe sell tastier baked beans than the Eastern European Aldis...

On 6/27/2025 at 12:32 PM, weesam said:

>>Just in case you are unaware: you are free to follow your morals and go over there and fight the moral fight. Absolutely nothing and nobody is stopping you.<<

Oh, I am sure you do.

I really really don't.

56 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

I really really don't.

So, you don't have an opinion on the burning question, you know, the one that we're all actually interested in about baked beans? 😂

Well Aldi baked beans came second out of 14 on a recent blind tasting test (they used drivers who couldn't see road signs)🤣.

8 minutes ago, unofix said:

drivers who couldn't see road signs)

Just to be boring and vaguely on topic, road signs on a lot of the roads I use a lot have vanished entirely in the recent weather conditions. No, they haven't been stolen, just hidden beneath vegetation. So you could drive for miles with the TSR warning flashing because if you can't see the sign, the camera certainly can't. Or you risk being rear-ended and drive at whatever speed the system last picked up, which is hard luck if you're in a 60 but the camera last saw a 20.

This is bad enough if you drive a road regularly and know it well, but visitors or infrequent users are just sitting ducks for camera vans or hand held speed guns.

2 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

... No, they haven't been stolen, just hidden beneath vegetation.

Hence why sensible drivers would never rely on such fragile technology. Sensing GPS is fine, the only time I've ever 'lost signal' is inside a parking garage, but asking a car to 'read' the road sign is just folly. If I had a car fitted with such nonsense, I'd be looking a way to disable it...

5 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Hence why sensible drivers would never rely on such fragile technology

I certainly don't.😀 However the point is that in these circumstances no-one, human or otherwise, has any way of determining what the speed limit is. Unless we try using the old street lighting yardstick, which as many of us have discovered doesn't always apply these days.

Even GPS isn't always that clever. I usually see the TSR correct itself when GPS finally identifies the limit has changed, but that could take several miles, for which time you haven't a clue unless you're familiar with the road.

Yet Governments still want to push autonomous vehicles. Presumably they'll have to send speeding tickets to the vehicle manufacturer because it can't be the drivers fault if there isn't one!

 

 

1 minute ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

...the point is that in these circumstances no-one, human or otherwise, has any way of determining what the speed limit is....

Oh dear, the OP will be back now with untold excitement wanting to set up a huge petition to label the roads 🤣🤣🤣

Whereas me, I still like the baked bean debate!

Or the relevant highways authority could just trim a few bushes!😀

12 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Whereas me, I still like the baked bean debate!

Oh, alright then.😀 I favour Branstons (when they're on offer, which they usually are my way). 

Strange that Heinz are still regarded as a brand leader, when so many tests/reviews don't rate them at all well.

On 7/1/2025 at 2:56 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Just to be boring and vaguely on topic, road signs on a lot of the roads I use a lot have vanished entirely in the recent weather conditions. No, they haven't been stolen, just hidden beneath vegetation. So you could drive for miles with the TSR warning flashing because if you can't see the sign, the camera certainly can't. Or you risk being rear-ended and drive at whatever speed the system last picked up, which is hard luck if you're in a 60 but the camera last saw a 20.

This is bad enough if you drive a road regularly and know it well, but visitors or infrequent users are just sitting ducks for camera vans or hand held speed guns.

This is absolutely right.

On the subject of road signs :

On 7/1/2025 at 3:23 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I certainly don't.😀 However the point is that in these circumstances no-one, human or otherwise, has any way of determining what the speed limit is. Unless we try using the old street lighting yardstick, which as many of us have discovered doesn't always apply these days.

Even GPS isn't always that clever. I usually see the TSR correct itself when GPS finally identifies the limit has changed, but that could take several miles, for which time you haven't a clue unless you're familiar with the road.

Yet Governments still want to push autonomous vehicles. Presumably they'll have to send speeding tickets to the vehicle manufacturer because it can't be the drivers fault if there isn't one

I don't use GPS myself, but the Mk1 eyeball cannot see through bushes.....

31 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

I don't use GPS myself, but the Mk1 eyeball cannot see through bushes.....

Here's an example on the entrance to our village I posted on here a while back. There is (or was*) a 30 in the cluster of bushes on the right.

*I repeatedly contacted the council on the issue and suggested they relocate it somewhere it could be seen. Amazingly, they did!