Josey Wales

King Charles' personal notes for his State Banquet speech with Donald Trump.

......however, Elon Musk retweeted a picture that clearly shows that the crowds stretched all the way to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris! So his own Grok must be wrong!

@tittyfalar is currently having an argument with Grok about how many attended yesterdays march......

Hi Johnsond - Not sure how you came to all those conclusions, i don't recall anyone making all those assertions, but hey ho! There is so much there to unpick, it would waste too much time for us all. Better to disagree agreeably and move on. Hi Oldfeller and Stubby - I kind of agreed with your posts. However differently we all view the world, the end result is that one way or the other we are all heading for hell in a handcart. Enjoy your dinners!

Hi Johnsond - Never said the Dublin Agreement was a roaring success, rather that there was a facility to return migrants that no longer exists. It worked both ways in that the UK was also responsible for asylum seekers in other parts of the EU who had family members already in the UK. Numbers of returns were indeed low......but a damn sight higher than currently! My main point, in trying to be as brief as possible, was that as limited as it was, it was still a way to return people that we no longer have. Numbers of boat crossings have increased since 2020 when we formally left the EU. Add that with the French waving the boats off as there is no longer a shared EU border...and hey presto, it just got even easier to get to the UK! Nothing exists in isolation, rather a series of events combined once we left the EU to make it more worthwhile to try. P.S. I'm getting the distinct impression we need to change the subject to soup!

1) Steven P is correct in pointing out that since we left the EU we also left the Dublin Regulations whereby someone crossing the Channel 'could' be returned to the first 'safe' country they arrived in. Is it coincidence the numbers of those attempting to cross the Channel rose sharply in 2020 when we formally left? 2) Yes, tree-fancier123 is correct that migrant numbers are on the up due to global events, but two things can both be true at the same time. Brexit has exacerbated it, especially as regards to returning those who have crossed the Channel! This is further underlined by.... 3) .....Johnsond's post whereby the French are waving off those in dinghies with a 'Bon Voyage'! Since we left the EU to 'take back control' of our borders, why should the French care who leaves their own borders when the numbers of those claiming asylum there, as in most of Europe, are far higher than those claiming asylum in the UK? Or did we 'take back control' as long as the French would do it for us? Before, when we were both members of the EU, it was a shared border, with shared responsibilities and a reason to work together. Not anymore. I can imagine more than a few Frenchmen having a good chuckle at this thread. 'Bon Voyage' indeed! 4) As ever, the numbers of immigrants (across Europe and including the UK) coming over legally on work visas to work in the NHS, construction etc, is far higher than those crossing the channel, both under the current Labour administration and under the last Conservative one. This is the point Sime42 is trying to make. 5) On this last point, if you think this would be any different under Reform, then Linden Kemkaren, a Reform county councillor in Kent clearly did not get the memo, as this last week she wrote to the government to express her 'grave concern' about the possible exodus of care staff from overseas, y'know, the immigrants that are coming over here taking all our jobs.

1) Sime 42 is correct, there really needs to be a greater distinction, or even understanding of, the differences between legal and illegal immigration. It does muddy the discussion. 2) Dan has a point in that whilst we were still in the EU, under the Dublin Agreement, those who crossed the channel 'could' be returned to the first 'safe' country they arrived in. With Brexit we left this agreement and 'took back control' of our own borders, however the numbers returned previously would not appear to be massive. There is no current asylum policy or agreement between the UK and EU. What can be said is that awareness of there being no legislation to return those attempting to cross the Channel, has probably contributed to more attempting it. The numbers since 2020, when we formally left the EU have risen sharply. 3) Worth noting here that the 1951 Refugee Convention does not require a person to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. From what little i understand, UK case law would appear to support this. 4) Regarding tree-fancier 123's point, worth noting also that other European countries receive a far larger number, or quota, of asylum claims than we do, and always have. 5) All major European countries are seeing a rise in legal immigration, with a tripling of work permits this last decade granted to non - EEA nationals. The UK is no different, so in this case is nothing to do with being in or out of the EU. The reasons are many. 6) I offer the above merely as counters to some claims i see about immigration that do not measure up to scrutiny. I am not saying there is not a problem. 7) As this is the POTUS thread, i should just say that, though i'm no Chelsea fan, i did feel sorry for them celebrating their Club World Cup with the current POTUS being dragged off the stage by Infantino. Cole Palmer's face was a picture! Before there's a pile on, i would say this for any POTUS!

Mick - I read your post/review of the Husqvarna 542i, looks to be a good saw. Certainly like that it has a clutch. Loved the power of the Stihl MSA 300 when i tried it, but curious to see what the Husqvarna 550i looks like when it comes out. 'When' being the all important word with Husqvarna. For how you describe your work set up, i get it, battery works.

As others on here have often said, its a case of the right tools for the right job and the right place. After using my Stihl FS460 to strim my small lawn, and peppering the windows with debris and finally cracking one, i realised i needed something more suitable than something i normally use to cut bramble and scrub, so got the Stihl KMA135 R kombi engine with strimmer head and polesaw attachment. I love it for work around the garden, and can see the benefits for some one man band gardeners as against estate guys, but personally, for work, i prefer committed tools. The merits of 2 stroke versus battery are many. Still a little nervous with battery, a 2 stroke will give you notice that something is not quite right, a battery tool is either working or its not. So far, completely sold on battery hedgetrimmers, the run time is fantastic, i can get virtually a whole day out of one battery, and can see the same benefits with a battery polesaw, but for chainsaws and brushcutters, the battery run time and power for what i need is just not quite there yet....nor, looking at some of the later comments, any suitable charging points.

Hi Mark Bolam I am in complete agreement with you as regards our animal welfare standards in comparison to some countries within the EU. As far as the current negotiations are concerned, my understanding so far is that the Common Veterinary Area (CVA) agreement will, among other things, mean the UK's ban on live animal exports will remain in place. Further, from what i have read so far, the deal also empowers the UK to negotiate opt outs in future discussions so that our, as you correctly say, superior animal welfare proposals are not put at risk. The devil is in the detail, which is why i replied to Squaredy's post originally. Nothing is signed yet. You never know, i might end up slighting the bastards alongside the rest of you, and eating humble pie. Lets see. I respect your view of the EU, and believe me, i am not someone who subscribes to the view of it being a Utopian ideal. There is a lot i do not like, but ironically they were often a good brake upon the worst excesses of our own governments, red or blue. It is illuminating to see what EU laws our past governments did say 'no' to, and the majority were concerning workers rights and environmental protection. I try not to be so politically dogmatic that i refuse to see where one party can do both good and utter shite at the same time. Currently, i agree with Labour trying to improve upon the disastrous Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that Johnson and Frost agreed with the EU in their rush to 'Get Brexit done!'' It gave the EU so much, they are happy with it and unwilling to dramatically change it. It works better for them, to our detriment. It needs to be changed. Labour are trying that. On the other hand, i hate Labour for the current planning and infrastructure bill currently going through parliament. Out of the EU, and the protection their legislation gave some of our designated wildlife sites, Labour are planning to utilize this loophole to bulldoze wildlife rich sites for development. Lodge Hill, in Kent, a fantastic Nightingale habitat on former MOD land in your county, and where i am from originally, is under threat again. FFS! Twats, all of them! Like the EU, or hate it, Labour or Tory, leaver or remainer, it truly makes no difference now, but Brexit has caused more problems than it could ever solve. It's done. We left the EU. We are not going back. Time to move on. This is our future, which is why i said we need to address it, not glower across the channel and never speak to our most important trading partner ever again, and why i said in my last post that we are more similar in our current situation to Switzerland, with an economy not too different to ours, also not in the EU, and that perhaps we need to learn from the never ending discussions they have with the EU and see our future in that. Not great, no, but that is where we are.