Boris has ‘no plans’ to visit flooded areas

I think you'll find that Boris has waterproofs, a stout pair of Wellies and a pretty good understanding of country/farming life. The family have a farm on Exmoor where he's spent a good part of his life, both living there and visiting. DH and I lived on Exmoor for 20 odd years,(DH was born there) and bought a generator from Birdie Johnson (Boris's great aunt, I think!) and to say that the farm is at the back of beyond is an understatement!! So I don't think floods or mud would phase Boris!

Thats his parents though, Charles dedicates much of his life to countryside maintenance and has a great bank of knowledge, as well as equipment and fleets of suitable vehicles.

He also rent relatively quietly.

People want Boris seen / photographed there. On show. Which would definitely ^not be helpful

Oh yes, notanan2, I take your point! I was just remarking that the countryside isn't totally alien to Boris as it was, lets say, to Mrs Thatcher, and may be Tony Blair!
The farm on Exmoor had no mains electric till the mid 1990's, which is how we who also had no mains came to buy Birdies generator when we first moved into to our (very) small holding! Still no mains but the people who bought it from us, a few years ago now, have a wind generator and only use the diesal generator as back up! We are now on the mains in civilised Wiltshire!!!

We could photo shop him in then people can say 'oh, he went there, how wonderful/thoughtful etc' or 'what did he come for, he just got in the way of the clear up'.

Take your pick.

Yes, he was brought up on a farm on Exmoor which is still in the family.

And spent time there agonising over whether to support Cameron to stay in the EU or to campaign to leave.

Jabberwok could you explain how Boris lived on a farm on Exmoor please? All the biographies say he moved about a lot because of his father changing jobs. He lived for a while in Brussels and went to school there. He was then sent to an English Prep school No one mentions a farm.

Easy enough to Google, trisher, sorry I haven't got the hang of doing links on this device.

There was a programme on recently with Stanley and Rachel Johnson, walking the walks they used to tramp on Exmoor when the children were growing up.
My DH went to boarding school at an early age but did not regard it as 'home'.

I thought Stanley Johnson spent part of the year in Greece?

Callistemon he spentless than a year on the farm in 1969 and then a short period in 1971. The family were always moving.
In 1969, the family settled into Stanley's family farm, West Nethercote Farm, near Winsford in Exmoor in the west of England.[20] There, Johnson gained his first experiences with fox hunting.[21] Stanley was regularly absent from Nethercote, leaving Johnson to be raised largely by his mother and au pairs.[22] As a child, Johnson was quiet and studious,[16] and suffered from deafness, resulting in several operations to insert grommets into his ears.[23] He and his siblings were encouraged to engage in highbrow activities from a young age,[24] with high achievement being greatly valued; Johnson's earliest recorded ambition was to be "world king".[25] Having few or no friends other than their siblings, the children became very close.[26]

In late 1969, the family relocated to Maida Vale, West London, where Stanley began post-doctoral research at the London School of Economics.[27] In 1970, Charlotte and the children briefly returned to Nethercote, where Johnson was schooled at the Winsford Village School, before returning to London to settle in Primrose Hill,[28] there being educated at Primrose Hill Primary School.[29] In late 1971, another son, Joseph, was born to the family.[30]

^ Stanley secured employment at the European Commission, he moved his family in April 1973 to Uccle, Brussels, where Johnson attended the European School, Brussel^
Hardly a long country childhood!!!!

They're very good at image cultivation....

AKA fake news

I remember thinking back in the day that if I ever had an accident and woke up in hospital to find Margaret Thatcher peering at me in faux concern I would have an immediate relapse!

Frankly, I don't know what Johnson could usefully do in a flooded town, apart from hide in a fridge or something. He'd be better employed looking at some projections about flooding in the future, and sorting out some defences to stop it happening again, and maybe doing something to underwrite the insurance policies of those affected. A lot of people will not only lose their possessions, but will also find their houses uninsurable, and so, effectively, worthless, as buyers won't be able to get mortgages on them.

Did anyone else feel as uncomfortable as I did seeing 'as a mother' Leadsome and Priti Patel sitting in Harry Dunn's parent's living room having a cup of tea and looking all concerned. With a film crew of course.

Hang on; who's looking after the dog. I mean, a dog is for Christmas, not just for electioneering purposes...

I certainly wouldn't want him visiting me in such a horrible situation - or indeed in any situation. He has shown scant concern and respect for all sorts of people in vulnerable situations and I suspect any visit he made would just be for PR purposes.

Being referred to as a "minion" is, I think, probably on a par with saying, in a roundabout way of course, that those who supported Corbyn are insane and gullible.

anniebach Corbyn is going so I don't know why you feel the need to go on and on about him. You and many others loathed him but some of us thought he was a decent man.

Callistemon Tue 24-Dec-19 17:07:40
Oh, I see now

So what you are saying is that anyone who voted blue or yellow ie Tory or Lib Dem, is a minion, ie child-like and gullible.

What an insult.
You've WAY overthought me Callistemon. It was LITERALLY a response to BlueBell's minions reference. The little blue and yellow cartoon figures are called Minions. No more, no less.

Eloethan Wed 25-Dec-19 00:39:33
Being referred to as a "minion" is, I think, probably on a par with saying, in a roundabout way of course, that those who supported Corbyn are insane and gullible.
Exactly. Now BJ is PM, he should apparently be beyond attack while Corbyn, as the loser, is an acceptable target. Sorry. Doesn't work that way.

anniebach Corbyn is going so I don't know why you feel the need to go on and on about him. You and many others loathed him but some of us thought he was a decent man.
I agree. Although it seems to me it is only the Leave voters that are now obsessed with Corbyn. His previous supporters have seamlessly moved on since he is leaving.

anniebach Corbyn is going so I don't know why you feel the need to go on and on about him. You and many others loathed him but some of us thought he was a decent man.

Our system of governmebnt works best with a strong opposition.
Corbyn and Momentum are trying to keep Labour in their grasps by replacing JC with another Momentum mouthpiece. Thats not good for anyone. Including people who vote Tory

Corbyn is not really going anywhere until Momentum is purged, it doesnt matter who has the official job title.

Boris visited flooded areas in Yorkshire back in November.

Corbyn isn’t going, he can’t even stand down as leader for several months .

I guess videos of Johnson's visit to Yorkshire could be shown to the people currently experiencing severe flooding in the West Country , but there wouldn't be much point. The election's over.

Anniebach That might not be a bad thing in the long run. It might give the Labour Party some time to reflect rather than rushing in to select a Corbyn Mark 2.

What a horrible bitter thread (with a couple of exceptions) this has turned out to be. I hope other replies have answered your question trisher, though no doubt you'll sadly find something to sneer about.
Annie, I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful Christmas.??☺️

Thank you Jabber I wish you the same.

growstuff perhaps so, months of Long Bailey may be too much for members

I think a long Baileys might be more appropriate for this time of year .