We are going to have to push very hard for it, have to be one of Leo Pascal or Simon C I don't think you would get away with the likes of Simon H or McGrath . I think its unlikely but a lot depends on just how pissed off the commission is and how much damage they think we have done to them by inflicting our moral indignation on them.
My guess is that they are all very pissed off because of the precedent that's been set will never go away now.
We are going to have to push very hard for it, have to be one of Leo Pascal or Simon C I don't think you would get away with the likes of Simon H or McGrath . I think its unlikely but a lot depends on just how pissed off the commission is and how much damage they think we have done to them by inflicting our moral indignation on them.
My guess is that they are all very pissed off because of the precedent that's been set will never go away now.
Just give it a rest. You've been completely on the wrong side of this from the start.
You can be fully assured that VDL is completely onboard with this. He had to go and should have done so when Calleary did.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
He could have immediately come out with an apology for everything, explained that he completely understood why all of it was bad & took on an appropriate demeanour, and explained that if the public agreed he would stay on to conduct the Brexit negotiations, he would resign after that. By that stage, it would be all water under the bridge, and he'd have a chance to re-establish his reputation. Unfortunately, it seems Hitch was advising him.
Just give it a rest. You've been completely on the wrong side of this from the start.
I'm not on any side, I simply think we are cutting off our nose to spite our face for something that was a fraction of the breach of regulations Mary Lou orchestrated a few weeks ago without any consequences.
Unusual to see you running with the rabble.
He could have immediately come out with an apology for everything, explained that he completely understood why all of it was bad & took on an appropriate demeanour, and explained that if the public agreed he would stay on to conduct the Brexit negotiations, he would resign after that. By that stage, it would be all water under the bridge, and he'd have a chance to re-establish his reputation. Unfortunately, it seems Hitch was advising him.
Sounds great but 0% chance of that ever happening when RTE have Liveline on the case
I'm not on any side, I simply think we are cutting off our nose to spite our face for something that was a fraction of the breach of regulations Mary Lou orchestrated a few weeks ago without any consequences.
Unusual to see you running with the rabble.
Look at you descending to Hitch levels of nonsense by claiming this is mob justice.
I explained clearly why he had to resign. Read it again as it clearly didn't sink in the first time:
In terms of leadership and the right thing to do, here is my take on this. I doubt I'm alone in this thinking but let's see.
We are in an absolutely unprecedented situation in our history. The closest historical parallel would probably be a major war, which thankfully none of us have ever experienced. This has required the imposition of extraordinary measures to safeguard public health. These measures can only be effective if the population buys in to the need for them and, critically, believes that everyone else, including those at the top, buys into the spirit and the letter of the measures.
This requires clear, consistent messaging from our political leadership both in terms of words and deeds. This leadership goes a very long way to ensuring that the social cohesion required to stick to the measures does not break and that we have an effective response to the crisis.
This lack of consistent messaging is part of the reason why the US and Brazil are so fucked compared to countries that do have good leadership. Their own leaders have actually undermined their own public health experts and this has led to confused, ineffective policy responses which large parts of the population have ignored.
So leadership is absolutely critical to an effective response to this emergency. If our leaders are perceived to be flaunting their own regulations, they completely undermine their own message, leading to the breakdown of social cohesion. Leading to the regulations being ignored by more and more people. Leading to death and long-term chronic illnesses that we don't even comprehend here. That's the outcome here. And that's why anyone in a leadership position - be it medical, political, journalistic, legal - who breaks the regulations has to go. They absolutely have to be held to a higher standard here. O'Rourke, Calleary and Buttimer (to their credit) realise this and resigned pretty much immediately.
Hogan likewise has to go, and for the same reasons. And if he won't quit of his own volition, he should be sacked.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
He could have immediately come out with an apology for everything, explained that he completely understood why all of it was bad & took on an appropriate demeanour, and explained that if the public agreed he would stay on to conduct the Brexit negotiations, he would resign after that. By that stage, it would be all water under the bridge, and he'd have a chance to re-establish his reputation. Unfortunately, it seems Hitch was advising him.
Again.
Hogan is not and never was conducting any form of Brexit negotiation.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
I thought it was generally accepted Kerrygold is the best in the land? Never have i thought of the need for an artisan butter! Im sure if you go to Fresh or Donnybrook fair or the likes theyll wrap the Kerrygold in a diff wrapper and charge you a few quid extra if it makes ya feel better haha!
There's a local creamery down here called Lee Strand that does one that's slightly less salty but creamier that's even better. I don't think it can be got anywhere north of Tarbert though. Kerrygold is delicious anyway.
mine also just arrived 6 x Rubicon, 5 x Meerlust Merlot, 2 x 2019 Midleton, 1 x 2018 Midleton.
On the topic of whiskey - I have bought 2 x Irish Whiskey lately that are trying to break into the aged/premium. 17yo O'Connell and 18yo Teeling. Both fall well below expectations. Seems buying aged casks and finishing them for 6 months in madeira casks is the approach du jour. It isn't working and the whiskey is being totally overpowered.
May be of no interest but there's a guy on boards who does splits of large bottles of expensive cologne. They come exceptionally well packaged and usually a very good discount on store prices. He's trying to branch into expensive whiskey so I guess you would get like a nagan worth for pennies on the euro to try stuff out before committing to a full bottle. Can dig out the link if you might be interested.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
lols if you post the same wrong thing 50 times I suppose we will all give up and let you on with the dodgy thinking process. So you are winning in a way
Arguing any further with you on this topic is clearly fruitless, particularly when considering how stunningly wrong you've been on it. Note how many people agreed with you on here. None (except a half-hearted troll by Strewel).
So I'll let the last word here be yours:
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Ah, I don't want to act like I'm excusing them, even if that's the way it comes atcross. Ultimately its fully on the person. Let them all resign.
​​
Although this rare outbreak of clear thinking was swiftly followed by a rather jaw-dropping lack of judgement:
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Big Phil is amazing and luckily is in no danger
Au revoir Monsieur.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Thats a pretty cool idea. I like it.
I'm not sure how much traction he's getting on the whiskey but the cologne splits he does are brilliant. It ends up being an expensive hobby but you're getting a 50ml bottle for say 80 quid that would be approaching 200 blips in BTs. He packages them insanely well also.
I'm not sure how much traction he's getting on the whiskey but the cologne splits he does are brilliant. It ends up being an expensive hobby but you're getting a 50ml bottle for say 80 quid that would be approaching 200 blips in BTs. He packages them insanely well also.
Buying repackaged booze off some random on the internet will surely put a lot of people off. Wonder if there's any legal issues he could run into doing that.
A neighbour who I never talked to knocked on my door with a big box of bath tub booze saying he was moving to the states and did I want it. I took it off him to be polite but everything was marked 80% and up. Poured it down the drain after a few failed attempts to offer it to friends when they came over. Just not worth the tiny risk attached to booze I know nothing about.
Buying repackaged booze off some random on the internet will surely put a lot of people off. Wonder if there's any legal issues he could run into doing that.
A neighbour who I never talked to knocked on my door with a big box of bath tub booze saying he was moving to the states and did I want it. I took it off him to be polite but everything was marked 80% and up. Poured it down the drain after a few failed attempts to offer it to friends when they came over. Just not worth the tiny risk attached to booze I know nothing about.
Yeah that's fair enough. In this case I can vouch for the cologne splits this guy does, they are A1 and would expect the whiskey to be similar. His thread is here, I think it's been universal positive feedback for the years he has been doing it
**NB the move to Vanilla has made it impossible to update this OP properly (please excuse the formatting etc - not much I can do I'm afraid). Full details etc.
On the legalities of it I was surprised it got off the ground without issues but all the major websites for aftershave (there appear to be many!) look to have been doing similar for years. I'd say it's probably a trademark greyish area. It's possible there are more stringent rules around spirits but I wouldn't know
​
Mad to watch HH repeatedly defend a politician who's clearly unfit for office, in the face all of logical and reasoning, and against the rest of the BBV.
Mad to watch HH repeatedly defend a politician who's clearly unfit for office, in the face all of logical and reasoning, and against the rest of the BBV.
Yeah that's fair enough. In this case I can vouch for the cologne splits this guy does, they are A1 and would expect the whiskey to be similar. His thread is here, I think it's been universal positive feedback for the years he has been doing it
**NB the move to Vanilla has made it impossible to update this OP properly (please excuse the formatting etc - not much I can do I'm afraid). Full details etc.
On the legalities of it I was surprised it got off the ground without issues but all the major websites for aftershave (there appear to be many!) look to have been doing similar for years. I'd say it's probably a trademark greyish area. It's possible there are more stringent rules around spirits but I wouldn't know
​
There is a whiskey shop in Dublin, L Mulligan, doing similar. 100ml bottles. Basically paying retail, use a few euro for mini bottle and postage. Although the it's more of a sample of a midrange bottle you might buy rather than a rare and expensive one that you'll never own.
There is no issue with Trademark. Whisky bonding is the bulk buying, aging blending and selling of spirits and has existed for centuries. Many pubs and brands are simply reselling whiskey made by others (especially any new distillery set up in the last 5 years). The only issue would be if he is selling it without a license to do so.
But if the money is pooled before he buys the main bottle, and used to buy the main bottle. Then I supposed he is giving it away rather than selling it and all above board. Especially as duty is paid on the original purchase. And even if not, private sales are common on the secondary market.
It would be something I was interested in, although only when it was a niche quiet thing. As soon as there was demand, or a waiting list I'd be out as the temptation for skulduggery is always there.
You really have no way on knowing if the Cognac or Whiskey you are being sent is legit. So, a deal of trust involved.
All this WFH lark is a complete and utter load of bollix when the vast majority of kids seem to get driven to school.
First day back for schools today and the traffic was shite. OK, it was not quite as bad as pre lock down rush hour but it was an extra 15 minutes onto my commute this morning which doesn't seem a lot but that is an additional 50%-60% travel time compared to previous transit times coming into work in the morning.
I had got used to that extra time in bed which is now gone, gone forever as I'll need to go back to getting up earlier to get ahead of the rush.
Where do I set up a petition to bring back home schooling permanently?
2 * kids (the primary ones) go back to school today. Both trying to pretend like it's a normal day ("ugh, school").
A good day.
Three small ones in our family who were due to go back this week got a call last night that their Aunt who was minding them last week has come down with the covid so they will have to stay at home for another fortnight at least, they are all in bits having been completely hyped up for getting back.
She had tested negative about a week ago after an outbreak at the hospital she works in but she became sick over the weekend and is a fairly bad way at the moment. She's young and fit so hopefully will be fine.
All this WFH lark is a complete and utter load of bollix when the vast majority of kids seem to get driven to school.
First day back for schools today and the traffic was shite. OK, it was not quite as bad as pre lock down rush hour but it was an extra 15 minutes onto my commute this morning which doesn't seem a lot but that is an additional 50%-60% travel time compared to previous transit times coming into work in the morning.
I had got used to that extra time in bed which is now gone, gone forever as I'll need to go back to getting up earlier to get ahead of the rush.
Where do I set up a petition to bring back home schooling permanently?
Also, screw you Raoul and your smugness
If it makes you feel any better, all of mine will be walking\cycling to school this year.
I guess that makes me more smug though, not less. If that were possible at this moment in time.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
So now that the great Affairs of State have been dealt with to general satisfaction, I wish to bring our attention to another burning question: are Quality Street chocolates only sold around Christmas time?
One of our neighbours did a small favour for us so in order to preserve good neighbourly relations (and to protect the possibility of future favours), I went to buy her a box of Quality Street. I happen to know she likes these as we gave her a box at Christmas and she effusively praised them as her favourite chocolate.
I searched high and low (well, I went to 4 shops) and couldn't see any sign of Quality Street. So I bought Roses instead and presented them to the lady in question. She accepted them gratefully but I felt a certain degree of reserve that told me I had messed up here and that future favours may have diminished in likelihood.
So, are they a Christmas-only treat or what?
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
So now that the great Affairs of State have been dealt with to general satisfaction, I wish to bring our attention to another burning question: are Quality Street chocolates only sold around Christmas time?
One of our neighbours did a small favour for us so in order to preserve good neighbourly relations (and to protect the possibility of future favours), I went to buy her a box of Quality Street. I happen to know she likes these as we gave her a box at Christmas and she effusively praised them as her favourite chocolate.
I searched high and low (well, I went to 4 shops) and couldn't see any sign of Quality Street. So I bought Roses instead and presented them to the lady in question. She accepted them gratefully but I felt a certain degree of reserve that told me I had messed up here and that future favours may have diminished in likelihood.
So, are they a Christmas-only treat or what?
I think I've only ever seen them around Christmas time although it would seem an odd business strategy to confine your sales to 2-3 months of the year.
I think the more pressing matter should be why you are cohorting with individuals whose favourite chocolates are Quality Street? There should be a legal class action taken by the masses to prevent them using the word 'Quality' in their name as it sends out all the wrong connotations.
Keep going down this path and your membership of the HHE will come up for review...
I think I've only ever seen them around Christmas time although it would seem an odd business strategy to confine your sales to 2-3 months of the year.
They seem to be on sale on Tesco.com but not Tesco.ie. Maybe they are a year round thing in the UK market but only Christmas in Ireland.
Hopefully you've introduced her to a much better product anyway, and she'll see the error of her ways.
Maybe retailers have entered into a secret pact to only sell them at Christmas?
I have checked with my contact (store manager in Tesco)
He says and I quote;
"Tubs are 100% seasonal. Thought maybe the cartons are all year round but checked the app and can't find any Tesco to stock them. The tubs are due to arrive in stores from 9th Sept. On offer at €7 a tub"
I have checked with my contact (store manager in Tesco)
He says and I quote;
"Tubs are 100% seasonal. Thought maybe the cartons are all year round but checked the app and can't find any Tesco to stock them. The tubs are due to arrive in stores from 9th Sept. On offer at €7 a tub"
Mystery solved, ty.
'tub' is a bit of a misfortunate name there. Given that's what you will resemble if you eat too many of them.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
I see Ursula has adopted a nice balls-in-a-vice (vice?) approach as Irish politics is clearly away with the fairies at the moment by firing top public servants at the instigation of IPB lunatics and has demanded the names of two candidates - a male and a female candidate. Maybe opening the door for Frances Fitzgerald. As a fair few top top candidates won't want their name going forward if it could be rejected.
Useful to see which personages we have dispatched to Brussels in the past: on the low side it contains such luminaries as Charlie McCreevy, Maire Geoghan-Quinn and Pee Flynn. Probably the only true heavy hitter we even sent was Peter Sutherland.
Point being we don't really have to send someone of the stature of Leo or Paschal.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Useful to see which personages we have dispatched to Brussels in the past: on the low side it contains such luminaries as Charlie McCreevy, Maire Geoghan-Quinn and Pee Flynn. Probably the only true heavy hitter we even sent was Peter Sutherland.
Point being we don't really have to send someone of the stature of Leo or Paschal.
Ignoring the fatuous remarks you have been making about the trade commissioner having no role in the trade talks with the British and Americans relating to post Brexit arrrangements.
You seem to think that having someone on top of the political game who has a deep and sympathetic understanding of the significant and complex local issues involved for Ireland at the forefront of ongoing trade negotiations is irrelevant and maybe some Hungarian appointed by Orban would do just as well.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
The only thing is, I can't imagine when Big Phil was sent to Brussels that anyone in Ireland thought he was a top dog. Because he had struggled with an impossible domestic agenda. Yet clearly he turned out to be. That probably explains the deep bitterness towards him, that we'd labelled him a loser and shipped him away, only to find it was us who were mistaken.
​​​So maybe our criteria for a top dog is wrong. Someone successful in Irish politics (a Pee Flynn for example) might be a candidate to end up as a gimp in Brussels.
Are you saying we should choose an under-performer on the assumption they will develop into a top dog in EU, based on a sample size of 1?
So now that the great Affairs of State have been dealt with to general satisfaction, I wish to bring our attention to another burning question: are Quality Street chocolates only sold around Christmas time?
One of our neighbours did a small favour for us so in order to preserve good neighbourly relations (and to protect the possibility of future favours), I went to buy her a box of Quality Street. I happen to know she likes these as we gave her a box at Christmas and she effusively praised them as her favourite chocolate.
I searched high and low (well, I went to 4 shops) and couldn't see any sign of Quality Street. So I bought Roses instead and presented them to the lady in question. She accepted them gratefully but I felt a certain degree of reserve that told me I had messed up here and that future favours may have diminished in likelihood.
So, are they a Christmas-only treat or what?
I only opened a bag of them yesterday. A customer dropped them into our reception. They're definitely on sale somewhere.
Your neighbour is correct, QS are the absolute best. The toffee penny should win awards.
Although, she was probably just being nice.
I hold silver in tit for tat, and I love you for that
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Well as Raoul pointed out, we haven't had much success with who we've consciously sent in the past so a random luck strategy could only be an improvement.
Or it could go worse. I think choosing someone that has shown strength is the v obvious stronger play
Ignoring the fatuous remarks you have been making about the trade commissioner having no role in the trade talks with the British and Americans relating to post Brexit arrrangements.
You seem to think that having someone on top of the political game who has a deep and sympathetic understanding of the significant and complex local issues involved for Ireland at the forefront of ongoing trade negotiations is irrelevant and maybe some Hungarian appointed by Orban would do just as well.
Nope, you just incorrectly inferred these things.
Whoever we appoint to drive the policy agenda of the EU (key point; not the policy agenda of Ireland) in whatever Commission role VDL chooses to give them should first and foremost be good at negotiating detail and complex subject areas. Hence why I suggested Bruton who was generally recognised as being on top of all his portfolios in the last two governments.
Bruton would be good alright. Don't he think he has much of a chance getting back in cabinet anytime soon (despite his bizarre late emergence as a sex symbol)
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
We're planning to celebrate the end of quarantine which kicks in tomorrow and go somewhere. The kids birthday is Wednesday which will probably be a sparse quaker-ish affair given the move to a new country. Is there anything nice on the Southside we could bring her to tomorrow or Sunday? Nothing fancy, just something to jump around in, build or break things, play something unexpected.
We were looking at Rainforest Golf in Dundrum but the dumbasses don't allow reservations presumably on the grounds that they would prefer that everyone get corona queuing up to get in.
You could try Zip it in Tibradden wood
I was jogging by the little bastards a few weeks ago and looks like great crack... all ages
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Comment