Trampa501

To be honest, even in the days when I could afford to buy a round of drinks, I would never suggest going to central London to do it. Plenty of pubs around once you get outside central London where a beer will cost £4 or less. I've heard rumours of beer costing less than £2 in Spoons establishments.

Were they? I suspect you are misremembering. It was a group of Tories who published the book "Britannia Unchained" that claimed the Brits were the world's worst idlers British workers 'among worst idlers', suggest Tory MPs - BBC News What you may be remembering is the claim migrant workers were doing jobs the Brits didn't want to do, barista or crop-picking etc. If you're in a better-paid job, or don't want to move to the countryside, then you wouldn't want to do those jobs. Doesn't make you lazy. But we can see now in news report after news report how crops are going unharvested, bars forced to close, because they can't get staff.

Don't worry, the Tories never stopped blaming Brits for being idlers. Fairly sure some of those were Brexiteers too (ok not Truss, she's a recent convert). British workers 'among worst idlers', suggest Tory MPs - BBC News The article is from 2012.

I keep hearing the brand name Lurpak being mentioned. Has there been a shortage, or a sudden increase in price?

The other big thing I remember from the 1976 summer, was the English cricket team getting walloped by the West Indian fast bowlers.

The suspicion is that Mordaunt is popular because she doesn't appear to have strong links with the Johnson regime (although she served under him). Easier to say to the electorate - look we've got a new start, nothing to do with the previous failures and sleaze!

What people really noticed was that lawns and grass verges had totally dried out and gone brown. This was down to a dry spring (like this year), as well as the heatwave. Quite unusual to see the land in such a state then. Now, sadly becoming more regular.

It's not just the number of food banks rising. It seems that the incidence of shoplifting and aggressive behaviour us soaring too. So you can't put it down to the increased publicity of food banks. Iceland boss' stark warning over worrying new supermarket trend (msn.com)

If memory serves me right, the hot period lasted nearly two months - until the government apointed a Minister for Drought measures - and then it rained heavily for weeks! Not sure of the time scale but the price of potatoes rocketed - and consequently even a bag of chips became expensive. One or two places had already put up standpipes in the streets, as the water pressure wasn't enough to supply people's homes.

To be fair, we didn't have access to Polish and Romanian workers back then...

Are you saying we get a lot more "feckless" under a Tory government? Used to say the same about homeless numbers. Always rose under Tory regimes.

Not if the membership can vote for a Penny or Liz. I smell a stitch-up being brewed.

It looks like it's going to be Rishi vs Penny, and the membership will plump for Penny. But no doubt there will be dirty tricks ahoy to attempt to stop this.

But there were other candidates who supported Brexit...however I wonder if the skin shade is affecting Tory MPs' choice. They know they have to choose a candidate that the membership will approve of.

"how much do we depend on house prices?" Here's something to mull over. If you ask someone from France, Germany or Spain, the square meterage of their home, they will normally know it. I know apartment living is more common on the continent, but how many Brits (even if they live in a flat or apartment) have the slightest idea of the square meterage (or footage)? On the other hand, possession of a front garden seems far more popular here.