Made today with a Christmas present vermouth.
https://www.alburyvineyard.com/products/vermouth

It's good, but I'm a bit of a traditionalist, liking Cocchi & Carpano best. This one's quite wormwood forward and a little too sweet for me. Probably should drink straight and finish the bottle before passing judgement.

#Cocktail - Gin & It (Gladman)

50ml Gin, 50ml Red Vermouth, dash Orange Bitters, Rocks, orange (lemon) twist

https://newsletter.anthonygladman.com/p/all-hail-the-gin-and-it
@drinkswriter

A Vermouth heavy version instead of being a Gin Manhattan (50:25 Angostura) served up.

@drinkstodon

Mildly disappointed that I haven't seen any Smiley Riot Shields in the news footage coming out of the USA.

https://jamescauty.com/work/smiley-riot-shields/

Pseud's Corner

> Well, pisco leaves no such room to hide. What you’re tasting when you taste pisco - i.e. sunshine refracted through Andean waterfalls, dew on a desert morning, the shadow of a condor over a dying conquistador, the theme to the greatest children’s TV show of all time - is more or less pisco as it comes, straight from the still.

#Cocktail
@drinkstodon

If the Government won't do it, is there any potential for a simple website where people self report LFT tests and the system then collates and graphs the results? Back in the day, the ZOE Covid tracker allowed you to self-report +ve Covid tests.

How hard would that be?

#Cocktail - Juliet & Romeo

50ml gin, 15ml lime juice, 10ml dbl syrup, Three mint leaves, Three slices cucumber, Pinch salt, dash Angostura, single drop of rose water, muddle, shake, dbl strain.

A Gimlet with a bit extra. Rose water is strictly optional unless you bake.

If you're leaving it late to vote today, note that Veteran Soldiers ID, Police Warrant card ID & NHS staff ID are not valid Voter IDs.

https://stopthetories.vote/

Completely unrepresentative numbers are on the rise. Probably means the real numbers are rising as well.

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

New Covid wave incoming? Sudden rise in positivity of the few tests still being made.

Just in time for the May bank holidays & summer term. With exams in big rooms with no filters.

https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1786027708184515036

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1786027708184515036.html

UK Covid Vax

Has anyone managed to get a private, paid, Covid Vax yet? Or heard of anyone getting one?

Spring 2024 campaign is starting with a quick initial ramp up, but a much reduced eligibility.

Total
1,335,793
Older adult care home resident
121,140
Aged 75+
1,057,228
Immunosuppressed (aged 6 months+)
118,948

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/

New post from Richard Godwin. An index to all the recipes published on his blog so far.

https://thespirits.substack.com/p/the-recipes-indexed

@drinkstodon

Not all good, but he introduced me to non-trad sours with less citrus and more balance. Like this
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/5802/takumis-aviation

Haven't seen this before. All the UK elections where you can vote Green and still get the Tory out.

1) Should Vote Green to #GTTO
2) Can Vote Green and still #GTTO

https://stopthetories.vote/for/greens

Same for LibDems
https://stopthetories.vote/for/libdems

VOTE!

If you haven't used your postal vote, you can hand deliver it to any local polling station. I believe.

Today's the day we start getting the Tories out. #GTTO

VOTE!

https://stopthetories.vote

They're all Hunts. #ATAC, right?

ps don't forget your ID

First swift on 1 May. A week early. Huzzah!

#Cocktail - French Daiquiri

50ml Light Rum, 20ml Lime, 20ml Cassis, 6 mint leaves, muddle, shake, dbl strain, mint sprig

A bit weird but not unpleasant. Would make again.

Is there any connection between Covid infection episodes and new diagnoses of M-S? I've tried some google searches but studies (if they exist) don't seem conclusive.

Could it be one of the more extreme long covid outcomes?

Not for me.

24 hours till we start getting the Tories out. #GTTO

VOTE!

https://stopthetories.vote/

#ATAC, #ACAC, #ATAB, #ACAB, right?

Don't forget your ID. Remind your family, friends, fans and colleagues.

April's average 60S-60N Sea Surface Temp was definitely another record month. Well above last year's all time record (Aug) for the whole month.
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/

April's average Global 2m Air temp was probably another record month but it was close compared with April-23.
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/?dm_id=world
https://pulse.climate.copernicus.eu/

#Climate

This week I have mostly been ...

Bustling in the hedgerow

So farewell then, MC Conrad

Legendary jungle and drum & bass vocalist, collaborator with LTJ Bukem.

52

https://ra.co/news/80633

Thread critiquing just one of the graphs in the survey report. A deliberate deception on people's reports of when their long covid started. To make it look like long covid is less common now after a bout of covid than it was 2 years ago. It turns out the incidence of new "Long Covid" sufferers is actually flat & constant. And the cumulative numbers of "Long Covid" sufferers is rising.

Surprise!

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1785018574572228912.html

Bonus link https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/25/about-2m-people-long-covid-england-scotland-ons-figures

Two articles and not a single mention of Covid.

Schools can't recruit or retain teachers
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/30/parents-voters-ministers-run-out-teachers-recruitment-schools

Tories should stop making us ill
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/29/prime-minister-signed-off-work-tories-sicknote-government

Lots of reasons for both. Covid denial is one of them.

Special Forces Tourism
- Everything in a city in 24 hours, repeat, 7 cities in 7 days

Hit & Run Tourism
- Fly in, see the one attraction, fly out

Last Chance Tourism
- After the Polycrisis, it'll be gone

https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1cg92nl/what_is_a_last_chance_tourism_opportunity_you/

Two more days till we start getting the Tories out. #GTTO (don't forget your ID)

VOTE!

https://stopthetories.vote/

@MVTFWD

After several long phone/message/TwitterDM conversations I have at least got TNT-SP back on. Hopefully the rest of the deal will be honoured in due course.

Huzzah, for the help desk staff!

#Cocktail - South by Southwest

25ml Scotch, 25ml Red Vermouth, 25ml Campari, Cherry

It's a scotch negroni, innit!

UK Politics

Thursday 2-May Councils, Mayors, PCCs are really important.

Tell and help your family, friends, colleagues to Vote. Don't forget voter ID. VOTE!

Job one is hold your nose and "Get The Tory Out" #GTTO

Tactical Voting FTW! https://stopthetories.vote/

Don't vote for the Red Tory unless they really are the most likely to beat the Blue Tory.

And if you've always voted Tory, just don't vote. It's easy!

#Cocktail - Loudspeaker (aka Announcer, Winchell)

25ml Gin, 25ml Cognac, 20ml Cointreau, 20ml Lemon

Sidecar family, innit.

Why cancel the old contract and turn off features before the new contract is active and when I'm still paying? And doing that to a 15 year customer?

Luckily I can still use my Dorna MotoGP sub and cast it to a Chromecast on the TV. So I won't miss the races.

Then I get an email of my predicted bill in 14days time. Same old contract but with the price rise. Then another email saying thank you for changing your contract but which is missing TNT-SP as an addon.

Try the Help line messaging system. Explain it all again. He confirms I'm right. Says he'll escalate it and send me an email confirmation which should arrive in 5 hours. Still waiting.

Sheer incompetence, mismatch between website, accounts, delivery and helpline.

Jerez MotoGP weekend.

Virgin Media got to really piss me off. My old contract had TNT Sports included. On 17 April I took up their offer of a renewal with TNT Sp as an add-on. Received the confirmation of order and "pre-contract" on same day. Expected delivery 24-Apr.

Yesterday TNT Sports 2 worked. Today it's cut off and they want me to subscribe for extra money. Phone the help line, he can see my order and contract including TNT-Sp. promises to get it turned back on in 48-72 hours.

Seems like everyone I know has some small or large health problem.

This keeps going though my head.
Walking Wounded - Everything But The Girl

Out amongst the walking wounded, every face on every bus
Is you and me and him and her and nothing can replace the us I knew
Nothing can replace the us I knew

Out amongst the walking wounded, every face on every train
Is you and me and him and her, some days I think I could go insane
Some days I think I could go insane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBQmlWVamFM

Gaza : Can you see what it is yet?

https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1783749582532251948

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/04/worse-than-you-can-imagine/

Huge & important thread on the effect of Long Covid on children in the UK.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1783789111582638210.html

#Cocktail - Bristol (French) Pearl: 40ml Tanquaray, 10ml Psychopomp Bristol Absinthe, 20ml Lime juice, 10ml dbl Syrup, 6 mint leaves, muddle, shake, dbl strain, mint sprig

Craft Bristol Psychopomp Absinthe is good but it doesn't have as much aniseed-pastis flavour as say Absente 55

#Cocktail - Prosperity

50ml Scotch, 20ml Cointreau, 20ml Lemon, Angostura, lemon twist

It's a Sidecar, innit.

Big thread on Deaths in 5-9 year olds. in England. Note: We never did vax 0-5 and we stopped the vax for 5-11 when we'd only got to 11% takeup. Then we stopped testing and reporting tests.

So why do you think death rates of 5-9 are so much higher now than 2019?

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1783446223438913543.html

Jan 23.
https://mastodon.social/@jbond/109738496853567957

- 5-11 11%
- 12-15 47%
- 16-17 63%
- 18-24 70%
- 25-29 67%
- 30-34 69%
- 35-39 71%

Probably still the same

UK Covid Stats day.

I'm sure I remember some official UK Gov / UKHSA report that had % takeup of first & second Covid jab by age cohort? And probably by sex, region, ethnicity cohorts as well. But I can't find it again even digging back into the archives.

Anyone got a pointer? Especially interested in % who got/never got their first jab, for age ranges under 40.

I think that as of mid 2023, England < 12 was about 9%, 89% never getting any jab.

I've been waiting for this. Some fine Cool Bap, Jazzy HipHop from Summers Sons & C.Tappin

It's all grainy monochrome, up in your head, walking round Peckham.

https://summerssons2.bandcamp.com/album/still-nothing-still

https://www.discogs.com/release/30345662-Summers-Sons-Still-Nothing-Still

Track 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzmdoW_Dk4Q

ONS release Long Covid Report

> 2 million people living in private households in England and Scotland were experiencing self-reported long COVID [most of whom, longer than 2 years]

> Long COVID symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of 1.5 million people (74.7% of those with self-reported long COVID).

> 381,000 (19.2%) reported that their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”.

https://twitter.com/ONS/status/1783418864954417185

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/selfreportedcoronaviruscovid19infectionsandassociatedsymptomsenglandandscotland/november2023tomarch2024

Now published.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/findingsfromthewintercoronaviruscovid19infectionstudyselfreportedcovid19infectionsandassociatedsymptoms

Text: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/selfreportedcoronaviruscovid19infectionsandassociatedsymptomsenglandandscotland/november2023tomarch2024

data: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/datasets/selfreportedcoronaviruscovid19infectionsandassociatedsymptomsenglandandscotland

There's a lot to digest here.

Keep an eye out for this publication being released today.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/findingsfromthewintercoronaviruscovid19infectionstudyselfreportedcovid19infectionsandassociatedsymptoms

Also this thread
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1783021861942513752.html

The UK Covid Propaganda Machine seems to be trying really hard to bury "Long Covid" ahead of today's ONS report.

Like this.
https://theguardian.com/education/2024/apr/24/pupils-in-england-facing-worst-exam-results-in-decades-after-covid-closures-says-study

Nothing to do with repeated infections, endless pupil sickness, endless teacher sickness, endless parent sickness. Extra large classes with supply teachers. And so on.

BBC 10pm News on pupil mental health/absences
"Any problem any schoolchild has today is the result of the brief lockdowns 3-4 years ago".

Long thread here.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1783012714761072821.html

2-May-24 Mayor, Council, PCC Elections

One week to go. VOTE!

Get the Vote Out. Remember your Voter ID.

Get The Tory Out #GTTO

Tactical Voting FTW! https://stopthetories.vote

@drinkstodon There's a big family of 50:20:20, Spirit:Citrus:Grenadine + Modifier that it ought to have a name. And more than just "Non-Traditional Sour". Anyone?

Ring the changes. Spirits, half and half (eg Cognac +Gin), Lime/Lemon/Orange/Grapefruit, Angostura/Orange/Peychauds. Citrus twist, mint, even an olive! The Grenadine always overpowers the other tastes so they're all pretty much the same. So sub the Grenadine for Cassis or some other sweetly fruity syrup thing from Monin or Briottet.

#Cocktail - Occidental

50ml Cognac, 20ml Lime, 20ml Grenadine, 2 big Mint leaves, shake, double strain, mint sprig garnish, twisted.

Finally got a good crop of mint growing in the garden. And this morning 6 plugs of Indian Mint arrived in the post.

@drinkstodon