Bad loser or not, what Hamilton did was not against the rules – he did what he felt he needed to do to attempt to win the championship, unsuccessfully.

No one died, or even had to retire in the attempt (Senna and Prost, 1989 Japanese GP), there were no team orders other than a few ‘weighted’ requests from his team bosses – if he was driving slowly then it was on those following him to overtake rather than bleat he was cheating. Did it change the result?

Not having a good month, is ol’Farage Gump.

Not being given the American ambassadorship despite his mate Manwhore Trump being the only one to suggest it (plus all the others agreeing, well, all three including John Green) is a little humiliating. And more humiliation at that party in a hotel, where he wandered around serving gold wrapped chocolates like a waiter, despite not having a Polish accent nor a subservient attitude, and being asked for a menu. Then, in an effort to maintain his humiliation, he becomes a front page story (but only in the Sunday Express, so not that humiliating from a reader numbers thing) about being afraid for his life because of his high profile association with Trump and, incidentally, his part in Brexit. Plus the next albatross takes on his old role as leader of UKIP tomorrow, giving him a few weeks of not being leader until they step down and he has to pick up the poisoned baton again. But the ultimate in his humiliation, despite being Nigel Farage, is that when Katie Hopkins needed a stand in on her LBC radio show he felt to be was the right winger motor mouth of choice. Or maybe it was that he was available on the day.

“Look, I’m not saying I should be an ambassador, but I do think I could be a senior envoy. I know Donald Trump very well and I think he’s a good man. We should put behind us the things he said in the election campaign,” was his plea for being made someone official in Washington. “I’m happy to help formally or informally, I’m happy to make an introduction. But I just think it is ridiculous, petty and potentially against the national interest not even to ring me up and have a chat with me, let alone ask me to make some introductions. It isn’t just Trump, but quite a few of Trump’s team now taking senior positions that I have known and got on with for years. I have a slight advantage but I promise you I’m not bigging myself up in any way.” No, not bigging himself up, no, no, not at all…said the man talking about himself, incessantly, on a radio show he had been invited to stand in for the usual host. (If he has known quite a few of them for years does that mean he recognises them dancing around the fiery cross in their white hoods? These questions must be asked!)

Not bigging himself up, and being Britain’s apologist too. At the end of the week he is going out there to meet with his mate Donald (Trump, the one with dreadful interior decorating taste who should apologise for his misogynistic views and actions) and beg forgiveness for all the people in Britain who said horrible things about him whilst he was campaigning for office (Trump, not Farage – he didn’t make it into any office, unless you count as gauleiter of UKIP and he really doesn’t want that). All that and without official government backing – unforgivable? Let us hope he packs an awful lot of toothpaste and mouthwash, his breath is going to be utterly rank by the time Trump gives him the nod and a wink.

Anyway, back to hosting the radio show.

One wonders what sort of listener Farage was told actually listen to a Katie Hopkins radio show; I mean, they’re not going to be all mellow and understanding are they – they usually listen to Katie Hopkins, which means they are either huntin’, fishin’, and hangin’s too good for ‘em types, sitting in their bathchairs reminiscing about when Britain really was great whilst being watched over by their nurse and a chemical cosh, or the kind of person who enjoys disagreeing with Hopkins’ usual flights of right wing political fantasy and will happily ring her up to tell her she is totally barking, which is what her show is on every other occasion: LBC love it. I’ll leave you to guess which is Farage’s type of listener, and which type was actually tuning in.

And being the host meant he had to take part in the wild circus that is the phone in!

First up was Jason from Sutton who announced that Brexit had been a total disaster so far, what with the level of debt increasing and the value of the pound falling. “That’s just not true,” Nigel declared firmly. “Sterling had been falling before the referendum.”

“It fell by 1% before the referendum and by 19% afterwards,” Jason pointed out.

Nigel wasn’t having that. It wasn’t part of his script. “Well even if sterling has fallen, I think it’s great news for Britain. I only wish it would fall even further. Brexit has been nothing but a triumph so all this talk of Britain falling off a cliff has been complete nonsense.” Jason was probably about to say that Britain hadn’t actually left the EU yet, so it was too early to say, but Nigel cut him off. Facts are so inconvenient during radio phone-ins.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/27/nigel-farage-lbc-phone-in-politics-sketch

So that is alright then. A caller says one thing, Farage disagrees, the caller uses facts and Farage grabs those suddenly agreeable facts and tells the listeners that it is good news for Britain: don’t forget Farage is a (wannabe) politician – that is why he has been invited to sit in…

The Daily Express has tried very, very hard to find something positive from Thirsty Farage’s appearance to help quiet the stirrings from the kind of people who read the Daily Express (all thirty one of them, plus their nurses – see above). Since all the sycophantic callers really were too damned obsequious (and either straight from the John Green school of Farage-worshipping oral proctologists, or were Farage’s mates from UKIP head office – I mean pub) to be believable, not even to Express readers, they had to twist one interaction with the tasteful headline (on the website, anyway) Farage brilliantly shuts down enraged Dad who brands him ‘Britain’s most hated man’ (helpfully boosting their own story about him needing security because of his Brexit connection and Trump fixation, whilst turning him into a figure of hate in the malleable minds of Express readers) and present it as a towering success thus:

Launching a fiery tirade against the interim-Ukip leader, Paul snapped Mr Farage would be the most hated person in Britain within two years as he said he wanted his country back.

The father, who was out driving with his children, was so outraged with the anti-EU politician’s bid to become the UK’s ambassador to the US, he pulled over to take Nigel Farage to task.

Paul roared to the LBC host: “In a year or a year and a half’s time, you will be Britain’s most hated man.

“I’m an average guy, I’ve got four children, I’ve got my son in the back of the car asking me: are Mexicans rapists? My son is scared.

“And you want to be the Ambassador? It’s ridiculous…I can’t even say some of the stuff that [Donald Trump] said.

“I remember you saying: ‘We’ve got our country back.’ Well my country is gone.

“I’ve got Polish friends being told to go home.”

However, despite the furious attack on him and the President-elect, the Brexit-architect stood his ground.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/736981/Nigel-Farage-Brexit-Trump-enraged-dad-LBC

Tell us, Nigel, please do, shine your all radiant light on the problem and let us rejoice in a wondrous solution…[/sarcasm]

Putting the LBC caller on the spot, Nigel Farage told Paul to look at how Mr Trump has addressed the US since he won the election earlier in November.

Taking no prisoners, he demanded: “Whatever you think about Trump and his comments about Mexicans, or whatever it may be, the fact is he is becoming President.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/736981/Nigel-Farage-Brexit-Trump-enraged-dad-LBC

Or you could just point to a possibly more damaging world problem and hope that we are satisfied – or just too plain scared with this terrifying possibility – with the lesser of two evils.

Poor old Farage – the self proclaimed ‘saviour’ of Great Britain, reduced to being questioned by the LBC-listening section of the great unwashed…

“Can more people ring in to say how much they dislike Tony Blair, John Major and Tim Farron?” he begged. As it happened they couldn’t. Perhaps not that many people were listening.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/27/nigel-farage-lbc-phone-in-politics-sketch

One wonders if he went straight home (escorted by his dark glasses wearing security guards, in his bulletproof limo with the four motorcycle outriders of the apocalypse) or took the opportunity to go for a little settling drink or three after this all too close encounter with his adoring public. After all, to actually come face to face (or ear to ear, I guess) with the real man in the street who you claim to represent (rather than the usual big businesses or your mates) does come as a shock.
Just ask Gordon ‘Bigot’ Brown.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/27/nigel-farage-lbc-phone-in-politics-sketch
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-us-elections-forgive-british-criticism-donald-trump-president-elect-ukip-a7442376.html
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/736981/Nigel-Farage-Brexit-Trump-enraged-dad-LBC
http://news.sky.com/story/nigel-farage-says-government-petty-over-his-links-with-donald-trump-10674737

No problem here – I think/hope. But there appears to be fewer people around, or at least posting.

Are they playing safe and staying away?

Rather than worry/guess/speculate/gripe & moan….I’ve called Pima and asked the question. I’ll let you know what I find out. Today is pretty much a holiday here, so don’t hold your breath.
Has anyone here thought of asking the RAFM? (I’m pretty sure they have phones/email and won’t bite).

I know it’s more fun to worry about or accuse the Americans of “stealing” an airframe (even though it wasn’t doing anyone much good in storage), but you can always try to get the facts first. 🙂

I’m pretty sure the RAFM won’t be out transportation costs, my guess is either by ship container (colleagues send historic autos to the UK for events, it’s not THAT expensive..and Pima is not some hand to mouth enthusiast group) or perhaps in an empty USAF airlifter…(possibly RAF…IF the RAF sends their Globemasters to the U.S. for heavy maintenance.)

Since Pima is a frequent advertiser in the magazine which pays for this forum…not that many here seem to actually pay for and read it (as I mentioned above, they seem to have sponsored the “free” 2017 calendar in the last issue), perhaps they know something.

Gee… Didn’t somebody got out of bed the wrong side this morning already.

I was asking because no one else seemed to have posed the questions – see the can of worms? Now big guns like Mark12 are asking (ok, different) questions, which makes it seem like less of the clique-y thing which frequently happens (the ‘I know something you don’t know and I don’t have to tell you…’ sing-song thing), so maybe this actual info has not come out yet.

I am not accusing Americans of stealing Spitfires (not even the really paranoid ones who believe they are being smuggled in hidden in diamond-plated crates of cocaine to fund Donald Trumps extensive collection of weird wigs made from the hair of extinct pygmy capybaras) and I haven’t seen any indication that anyone else has either. Buying them, maybe, but not stealing…;o)
And MT847 (the Spitfire we are discussing) might have been in store recently but not for very long: I last saw it in 2014 (I think) at MOSI, Manchester (where it went on display in 1995; incidentally, I was surprised to see it had notices actually attached to it warning about radiation from instruments – probably the stuff that made the dials glow? Hmm…) shortly before it moved for exhibition at Hendon (2014-16), so it isn’t as though it has spent the last 50-odd years hidden away, out of sight in the attic.
As I have earlier stated, I think America has got sufficient Spitfires – a contradiction in terms to some, maybe, but there are several on display at US museums and more are airworthy to the point that, with a little travelling, the eager American Spitophile (my made up word) could see one, even if it might mean crossing into Canada (warning – most of them seem to be on the Atlantic side) to see the nearest one. Counter this with the South American continent where there is just one – in Brazil – or Africa where there are seven (including one flyer, in Israel) spread out over four countries.
In addition I figured that the transportation would probably be on a ‘freebie’ basis, probably classified for the bean counters as an air force transport training exercise, freight, but felt that it needed to be flagged up if only to make sure that it is understood how helpful they can sometimes be; then there is always the chance that there is no opportunity for a ‘free’ flight and somebody has to pay, and you can guess what the answer would be from those who count the pennies on this side of the pond.

Plus it doesn’t matter if Pima is an advertiser or not – as far as I am concerned this was not about or against Pima, as I have said all along. It is also nothing about or against MOSI Manchester or Hendon, which I have also mentioned, nor Americans (well, except the paranoid ones, but they already know that…): this is JUST about me asking about the process around loaning a Spitfire.
For JB I shall make it utterly clear:
i/ Pima has no intention of doing anything evil to the borrowed Spitfire, like sticking bunny ears on the canopy or make it wear flared trousers
ii/ Pima is not a naughty place, no matter how much JB might enjoy twisting the gist of the thread in that direction: you could ask yourself why he wants you to think that…;o)
iii/ I am not concerned about the loaned Spitfire whilst it is with Pima; they will look after it and not stick obscene bumper stickers on it, nor paint it pink
iv/ If I have any concerns at all it has nothing to do with Pima as a museum or a location; more about the fact that into a land with a thriving aviation scene – and lots of airworthy Spitfires – the Royal Air Force Museum has seen fit to loan another one. Canada has been loaned a Hawker Typhoon, the only one in the world, which might cause enthusiasts from across the North American continent to plan a journey to see it before it is returned, if they want to see it; I just don’t see the same sort of enthusiasm to rush hundreds/thousands of miles to see…oh, another Spitfire
v/ It is nothing against or about Pima. I’ve been there, it is lovely, Spitfire or no Spitfire. I saw no fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirrors of any of their aircraft. Honestly
vi/ See points ii & iii, repeat until you achieve unconsciousness or enlightenment, whichever comes first

I am guessing that Pima has nothing to hide so they have nothing to fear from a process of free speech (or is that forbidden here?) about what goes into the decision making for the loan of a preserved airframe from a national museum in Britain, certainly not enough to pull any advertising just because they are only incidentally connected with the discussion, and certainly not slagged off in said discussion, which they are not. No.
Seriously JB, you are probably causing more concerns by bring up the worrying spectre (to non enthusiast advertising executives, especially) of we can’t discuss this, it might frighten the advertisers than is natural – please calm your headless-chicken-running-around-in-blind-circles panic act for the sake of your own coronary prospects. Why not ask the mods to delete this thread and really start something worrying if you are that concerned?

Jealousy should be avoided.

Sorry, just by me or in general? After all, wasn’t Farage Gump recently bemoaning his lot against career politicians?

UKIP did get more votes than the Lib Dems in the last election though.

And? Didn’t Clinton get more actual votes than Trump? And who got the seats?

Proves nothing, it seems.

Likewise, it strikes me that a historical aviation item the Brits should proudly revere, the one surviving Hawker Typhoon (“…utterly unique, being the last complete example of the type in existence…”), was so unregarded that it required the Smithsonian to respect, preserve, and display it until offered to Blimey.

Indeed, although the circumstances are somewhat different – the Typhoon was in America for comparison testing and stored after those were complete whilst the Wright Flyer, having been offered to the Smithsonian in the 1920s but turned down since the guy in charge was/had been friends with someone whose aeroplane didn’t fly in 1903 (can’t remember if it ever did fly) and it was felt that he had more of a foot in the ‘first to fly’ camp (or something – but you couldn’t make it up!) over the Wrights…so Orville Wright offered it to the Science Museum.

Anyway, both nations got back what they needed.

Your ignorance is excused: it is a genuine German aircraft – unless to avoid causing offence they have decided to misidentify it a Spanish built version, in which case well done on appearing ignorant!

Of course not. Commonsense.

Thank goodness – you recognise that common sense will kick in and Thirsty will be reduced to propping up his local, rather than being an official embarrassment in some bar in Washington.

If you “don’t care” Don’t pose the question.

Yep, don’t pose a question because there is absolutely no way John Green will bother with something as low and demeaning as actually answering it.

I don’t think that it was ever meant to be a serious statement of intent – from either side. What it was meant to do, was to make sure that the name of the politician who turned the world upside down wasn’t relegated to pub chatter.

Too late – he was elected US president. We’re talking about Farage Gump now…

There will be more of this as the public realise that The Blessed Nigel is being wafted under the carpet. If Nigel needed an ally could there be one more effective than the Trumpeter ? If that doesn’t make me a hostage to fortune, I don’t know what does !

Poor sod – never realised John was that desperate.
“The Blessed Nigel”?
He’ll be admitting he has devoted his spare room as a shrine to dread Nigel next.

I’m not sure I understand why somebody who lost at his last parliamentary election (South Thanet 2015) should be entitled to any special treatment more than anybody else who failed to win in a parliamentary election?

Because he is the saintly Nigel, who was persecuted by those in authority. All we need now is to crucify him and in 2,000 years time John will have raised a religion about all this on the basis of a book of positive propaganda he is writing – just look at the name of this thread if you doubt my word!

It hasn’t got that much to do with parliamentary elections; more to do with recruiting, almost from scratch, nearly four million voters to support your political party and its aims and thus to intimidate the Govt. of the day into making rather rash promises.

Very decent of you to back a lame duck John, if only he had a reputation for actually winning elections rather than jumping on passing bandwagons and organising the deckchairs on sinking political parties…

I don’t think that I’ve ever referred to the ‘criteria for a ‘good’ ambassador’. I haven’t a clue, you seem to be the expert.

Being chosen by the government might be a good start as an ambassador; even Peter Jay went along that route, rightly or wrongly, rather than be chosen by the US president.
And it is remarkable that there is something you admit to not being an expert on. Or are you going for sarcasm?

Alarmingly, I do agree with John’s viewpoint that Farage has been a very successful politician. He has driven an agenda that has pushed the government of this country well to the right of its previous position, and has forecast what would happen in the USA. I may not like it, but I cannot deny it..

Seriously?
Many people can try and claim success on many policies but what, exactly, has Farage down to warrant a charge of being successful? He was not the initial instigator of the vote, just another motor-mouth who leapt on a bandwagon as it gathered speed. He has not won his local parliamentary election, which sort of takes away much of his legitimacy, he barely attends his actual job as an MEP in Brussels (although he still takes the money), and his party is falling to pieces (although he did try to get out before it came crashing down around him). Ask The Sun who won the election for Thatcher and they won’t say it was John’s sainted Nigel, and it will be the same with Brexit – it will be The Sun what won it, same as with the Mail, the Express, etc.
As for forecasting what would happen in the US…it was a two horse race! Could you seriously see Farage backing Clinton anywhere except in an alternative universe? She is a woman, a leftie (well, more left wing than Trump, anyway), and he wouldn’t have been able to banter with her in the bar.
It is emerging that rather than Trumps ‘suggestion’ that Farage be made ambassador being out of the blue it was planned, with UKIPs ex chief of staff Raheem Kassam plotting with his Breitbart boss (the white supremacist and Trumps chief strategist) Steve Bannon to grab an early rung into Downing Street, which was why Farage was waiting for the tweet so early in the morning and therefore ready made up to appear ‘surprised’ and ‘delighted’ for enquiring hacks. Trump gets more publicity and Farage stays in the limelight.
But have you asked yourselves why Trump wants to have a friend like Farage? It probably comes down to Trump, his golf club in Scotland, and his loathing of environmentally friendly energy …;o)

There are times when the particular situation doesn’t merit the qualities you mentioned or, perhaps they aren’t so important. Instead, the assembly of alliances and personal friendships can transcend whatever it is that you translate as standard ambassadorial virtues.

Be a bit difficult for him to say no to Trump though, when he knows he owes Trump for his job and Trump believes he owns Farage.

Still, it isn’t going to happen.