Search found 2056 matches

by tim-b
15 Mar 2024, 8:33am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?
Replies: 920
Views: 831582

Re: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?

Would be interested to hear from supporters of Brexit if 100,000 more civil servants was what they wanted.
I don't know how the figure was determined, I haven't read the article, but UK Border Force (UKBF) are both civil servants and warranted officers.

It seems entirely logical to me that many of our pre and post-Brexit border woes, as one example, would have been far-better managed with more UKBF, rather than housing a few hundred refugees on a barge or none at all in Rwanda.

Talk about a sunk-cost fallacy!
by tim-b
15 Mar 2024, 8:22am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?
Replies: 920
Views: 831582

Re: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?

Jdsk wrote: 14 Mar 2024, 11:12am
Jdsk wrote: 4 Jan 2024, 10:49am
tim-b wrote: 4 Jan 2024, 6:41am
This and many other agreements should have been part of Brexit negotiations. Unfortunately there was an abject failure to conclude negotiations on our side

Anyone with any common sense within both the EU and UK could see what needed to be done following the Brexit vote, but personal power and political interests got in the way here
And the next low-hanging fruit could be (re)joining Erasmus+.
"British semiconductor researchers and businesses now have enhanced access to research funding backed by the UK government and Horizon Europe, now the UK has joined the EU’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’":
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/35-m ... p-research

Coverage by Computer Weekly:
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366 ... initiative

Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan
Why the flop/s this couldn't have been negotiated years ago is beyond me.
I know! We'd have been unable to start building 350 new hospitals on 31st January 2020 :x
by tim-b
14 Mar 2024, 10:20am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?
Replies: 920
Views: 831582

Re: Are you "Infected by a remainer mind virus"?

Maybe the EU could do with an increase in bureaucrats as well, it would lessen opportunities for this kind of EU-funded nonsense... I give you Hungary's Treetop Walk... https://telex.hu/english/2023/05/08/the ... m-eu-funds
by tim-b
14 Mar 2024, 10:16am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

There have been concerns since 2020 about the EUs supply of the Pfizer COVID vaccine and a huge increase in the number of doses and the reported 25% increase in price per dose.
"The public continues to be denied information about the terms of one of the biggest procurement contracts in the history of the EU”
The outcome of a lawsuit against the European Commission to obtain text messages should be known soon

https://www.politico.eu/article/5-thing ... urt-cases/
by tim-b
11 Mar 2024, 6:58am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

It's not going to get any better (see Budget!) even into the medium term.
Brexit was voted for and none of us can change that. I don't see a UK government changing that in the near future.

I do see an opportunity for food suppliers, farmers, etc in the UK, but they'll need a government with vision and we haven't had one of those for decades.

I think that it's time to accept that and "don’t believe them when they tell you it’s not going to hurt."
by tim-b
10 Mar 2024, 1:50pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Many people managing the supply chains and depending on them to work are saying the opposite: that we're not ready for 30 April. The Cold Chain Federation are a typical example, as cited upthread
I don't think that what I said is the opposite.
The Government isn't grasping their role in addressing concerns and making necessary decisions
To compound that they aren't putting the right people in place at the right time
by tim-b
10 Mar 2024, 12:10pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Is there an effect both nationally and in this forum that by continually taking it back to decisions made in the past and whether they were right or wrong we don't get on with managing the future?
I can only say that this system has been worked out and that its respective industry is as happy as it can be with that system

The system is in place to manage the future, what we don't have is a generation of politicians that are capable of grasping their role in this and resourcing that system. I don't expect the next government to be any better
by tim-b
10 Mar 2024, 12:02pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Why is it 'good people' can’t see that high risk foods will now be hidden within low risk consignments? :D
Has that changed?
01/04/11-31/03/12: Products Of Animal Origin were seized on entering the UK on 10,537 occasions, a total of 79,277kg, but only 5.5% were found in freight. 94.5% were personal imports. Tighter controls since Brexit = more seizures

"Inspectors discovered raw animal products stashed in carrier bags and tissue without temperature control, refrigeration or labels.
The items were not separated from products such as cheese, crisps and cake."
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p ... 33827.html
by tim-b
10 Mar 2024, 8:20am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Shane Brennan, (2023) Chief Executive of the Cold Chain Federation looked at this twelve months ago and his opinion then was that smaller suppliers would be put off by "millions of pounds in friction costs", but that larger suppliers would continue business with the UK.
These changes will affect a minority of overall imports from the EU

There's no doubt that costs will increase for certain goods, but "The new food import control model is not all bad. Good people have been working very hard, for many years to try and find innovations. The explicit commitment to a risk-based categorisation of foods means that vast amounts of foods will be classified as low risk, mainly fruits and vegetables, and shelf stable products. By volume, this will be most imports. Importers of low-risk goods will have to do less certification and face low to zero inspections at the UK border."

"There is always opportunity in adversity. This may be the point at which post-Brexit realignments in how we source our food will fully play out. For some the hope will be greater reliance on domestic production, others will see a rebalancing of our import trade away from the EU suppliers to other places in the world. Whether the result is good or bad for the UK economy, our climate goals, or UK consumers, remains to be seen.
This is perhaps the last Brexit-transition sticking plaster that we have to rip off, but don’t believe them when they tell you it’s not going to hurt."
https://ukandeu.ac.uk/what-do-the-new-b ... od-supply/

What we have needed since the 1980s is a Government that would revitalise farming, agriculture, etc to levels where the UK could produce most of the food that we need. That isn't a problem of Brexit and has been worsening for decades
by tim-b
10 Mar 2024, 7:45am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?
Replies: 19
Views: 1051

Re: Best kit for bleeding Tektro disc brakes?

Statement of experience:
I've only ever worked with Shimano systems, however...
  • Epic bleedkits are very good
  • There are alternative mineral oils that can be used, but I try to stick with OEM. Epic can supply these too
  • It can advantageous to hang the bike at a "levers high" angle to encourage bubbles up and out (if necessary rotate the 'bars to raise the levers)
  • When you're done, hold both brake levers on with straps/tape/string and leave it overnight "levers high"
  • Top the reservoirs up the following morning
EDIT to add that a full fluid change is a faff and IME hasn't been needed, just an occasional bleed as described, unless there's a specific issue
by tim-b
8 Mar 2024, 8:42am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

The latest figures are concerning too...
In 2022 there were 5,763 foodborne outbreaks in the EU – a 44% increase compared with 2021
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/to ... e-diseases

The 2023 figures can't be too far from being published, so maybe we'll see something different
by tim-b
8 Mar 2024, 8:26am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

I'd suggest having a look round a commercial poultry production unit before deciding whether the chicken you are planning to eat should be put at risk of lower sanitation standards.
Chlorination practices and handling practices are two separate things.
"The level of pathogens on poultry carcasses may be controlled by applying an integrated control strategy throughout the entire food chain. Provided this strategy has been followed, decontamination can constitute a useful element in further reducing the number of pathogens."
"The toxicological risk for the consumer of poultry decontaminated with either chlorine dioxide, or acidified sodium chlorite, or peroxyacids, or trisodium phosphate, resulting from residues of these agents, is negligible" European Commission paper Opinion Of The Scientific Committee On Veterinary Measures Relating To Public Health On The Evaluation Of Antimicrobial Treatments For Poultry Carcasses
Proper handling methods and chlorination should produce 2% prevalence of certain bugs
(Guidelines For The Control Of Campylobacter And Salmonella In Chicken Meat CAC/GL 78-2011 published by Codex Alimentarius, a joint UN and WHO programme)

Good handling practices alone are not as effective; "EU chicken samples typically have 15-20%" (The Grocer 12/6/2020)
by tim-b
7 Mar 2024, 8:20am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Put a lid on it
Replies: 11
Views: 668

Re: Put a lid on it

Should this go in the Helmut thread. :shock: :lol:
Definitely shouldn't be here...

Mods: please move to "What Has Made You Laugh Today?"
by tim-b
7 Mar 2024, 8:16am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Simples, Buy chlorinated chicken from the States. I'm sure Al would buy it if the price was right. :D
Chlorinated chicken in and of itself isn't a health risk, which has been shown in various studies from bodies including the European Food Safety Authority
by tim-b
7 Mar 2024, 8:10am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart
Replies: 806
Views: 43225

Re: Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

Another couple of examples here from 2022 this time... Buitoni (E.Coli in pizza) and Kinder (Salmonella in chocolate) https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022 ... ny-buitoni

Clearly Brexit as well. Brexit is also the reason for a 30% reduction in health inspectors in France