Debanking

[Yorick]

The locals here stay away from the British bars here.

I stay away from the British bars here, they're generally full of drunk twats.

Very rarely see bad drunken behaviour here. It's mainly a family resort.
PdC is where the piss-heads go

[Mr. Dazzle]

That's the bit I don't understand. On a bus tour you don't aspire to sit with the driver at dinner, on a plane the Captain is just a Driver, Airframe. What is different about a boat?

Old school romance in being a ship captain ain't there?

My wife's Uncle (my Uncle in law?) is a ship captain in the Danish merchant marine. Incidentally he's the most Danish man you could meet, he's 6ft something, he lives in Copenhagen, he's called Jørn and he's captain of a bulk cargo carrier. In his own words it's not romantic at all, he's essentially a mid/high level corporate manager who's office happens to float Most of his job is HR, accounting, filing permits, stuff like that. He' s never even married two people!

Well paid though

[DefTrap]

I've sometimes enjoyed those good old fashioned working class package holidays where there is a cabaret and evening entertainment, a few pints and a game of bingo. I wouldn't want to live that that every weekend, but for the odd holiday we've had a good laugh, put your snobbery to the side for a week and enjoy a bit of a knees up.

I like doing my own thing too much to be stuck on a cruise ship for longer than a week, but I could manage a week of bingo and a wanky magician whilst I have a few pints of an evening.

Noooooo. Had a long weekend in a "faded glamour" hotel in Windemere, chock full of old folks apart from my missus and I. The food was ropey, they had entertainment on site, some poor old bastards crooning in the hotel bar. I would bet my life they were running the bingo later. I doubt there would have been a quiz, they didn't seem up to it, that's for the other sort of thing I'm snobby about and covers that middle-age of nothingness entertainment before you get to the cabaret stage. I'll never know as I'd already legged it to the pub.

My S-I-L runs a 'karaoke evening' in the West Midlands somewhere - apparently pubs are rammed around there even on a Tuesday night with couples pissed on the fruity ciders, singing their hearts out like they're on the XFactors. It's not for me.

It's definitely an each to their own thing. I think it's normal to be at least slightly disparaging about things that you have no interest in. I'm off to spend a week on the beaches of Sicily in a couple of weeks - I'm sure this would bore all sorts of people to tears - but lalala I can't fecking hear you.

[Cousin Jack]

Noooooo. Had a long weekend in a "faded glamour" hotel in Windemere, chock full of old folks apart from my missus and I. The food was ropey, they had entertainment on site, some poor old bastards crooning in the hotel bar. I would bet my life they were running the bingo later. I doubt there would have been a quiz, they didn't seem up to it, that's for the other sort of thing I'm snobby about and covers that middle-age of nothingness entertainment before you get to the cabaret stage. I'll never know as I'd already legged it to the pub.

Been there, done that. The shirt didn't fit and was bloody uncomfortable.

The 'entertainment' was dire!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

It all reminds me of doing BT courses at Yarnfield, near Stone, in Staffordshire, there was an onsite bar with entertainment, usually a ropey woman singing who got better looking the more beer you drank, if that was too tame for you there were the bright lights of Stone, grab a granny night in the Wayfarer or a fight in the Rising Sun.

[Cousin Jack]

It all reminds me of doing BT courses at Yarnfield, near Stone, in Staffordshire, there was an onsite bar with entertainment, usually a ropey woman singing who got better looking the more beer you drank, if that was too tame for you there were the bright lights of Stone, grab a granny night in the Wayfarer or a fight in the Rising Sun.

Ah yes, the delights of Stone!

Marginally better than the Regional schools at Shirehampton and Bletchley Park.

[Count Steer]

My M-I-L was mad about them there cruises - lovely lady but god-rest-her-soul the worst kind of Sun-reading low-level snob you could meet. Her ambition was to spend the entire cruise schmoozing up to some poor bastard 'cruise captain' at the captain's table to try to bore him to death with her light hearted racist chin music.

On the subject of visits ashore, I was in Bar Harbour one day when 3 ships were in port, the QE2 and 2 other behemoths. It was absolute chaos, in a town of maybe 5k people and about 2 or 3 times that number of tourists. It was lovely when they fcuked off back on board for dinner, and funny watching the inevitable stragglers trying to avoid being left behind.

A good few years ago I was on a Greek island (Skiathos) at Easter and, although the weather was marv, the place was v quiet. Then one day there was much activity, shops opening up, people wiping down tables at cafés/bars etc etc. Sure enough a hoooge cruise ship hoves into view, hundreds of aged Americans pile off for a couple of hours waving dollar bills at all and sundry. My mate pointed out the Bureau de Change about 10m away to which the reply was 'No point, we don't get off again until Israel'. The ship was reputed to have the best cardiac unit anywhere on the Med.

Then whoosh...all gone, having 'done Greece', and the place settled down into the natural rhythm of things. Which was nice. It was even quieter 'next door' on Skopelos although again it suddenly got excited and everyone turned out to welcome the first ever 'Flying Dolphin' service to the island. I imagine the Northern Sporades are a bit different now.

[Noggin]

I did a weekend cruise once to the channel islands! Was a 'treat' for some people at work and I was invited as a guest!

Turns out that my seasickness is only to do with engines - I knew that from sailing yachts, I only ever got seasick when using the motor to get back down the river to the club! So I spent a weekend battling nausea and trying to understand why people would go for weeks at sea on something like a cruise liner for fun!! LOL (I think the sea swell combined with the motor is the issue for me - so an ocean liner would be worse I'm sure!!)

I'd love to do some of the smaller river cruises, especially places I'm unlikely to go otherwise. But, not sure it'll happen ever!!

The locals here stay away from the British bars here.
Not everyone, as there are some chavs working here

I only go for a Full English

OMG! This. Well, mostly. I do go to the seasonnaire bars but only if there's a good band on/I'm meet friends or in between apres and evening bands when it's quiet and the pissed brits are at the chalet cooking or eating!!

The absolute worst is being in a nice local bar and then pissed brits come in - or the local brits just get overly pissed!!

Why is it that the french seem to drink a lot but also seem to space it out for long enough not to get obnoxiously pissed whereas the brits just neck alcohol until they are just obnoxious??

[slowhare]

Coin shop owners and dealers in precious metals across the US are having their accounts closed, and those of their families. As a stacker myself i find this ominous.

[Screwdriver]

[Cousin Jack]

Coin shop owners and dealers in precious metals across the US are having their accounts closed, and those of their families. As a stacker myself i find this ominous.

What is a stacker?

[demographic]

Coin shop owners and dealers in precious metals across the US are having their accounts closed, and those of their families. As a stacker myself i find this ominous.

What is a stacker?

HTH.

[Screwdriver]

Coin shop owners and dealers in precious metals across the US are having their accounts closed, and those of their families. As a stacker myself i find this ominous.

What is a stacker?

Bit like a prepper, getting your ducks in a row before the next big disaster. In this case a financial disaster regards CDBC. The authorities are cracking down on buying selling commodities like gold/coin because the whole point of a CDBC is "you will own nothing". It is a bit like bitcoin except state controlled and whereas with bitcoin, no one knows who is doing what with their money, the CDBC system is designed top be able to control spending right down to an individual level. So having a decent stash of actual gold or coins is probably a good idea.

Of course when asked, the WEF will tell you its so they can prevent tax evasion, money laundering, terrorism but of course they will apply it to the entire community (aka the "serfs"), you know, just in case.

Good job there's such a difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion otherwise I 'd have to say the WEF are being a teensy bit hypocritical. Come to think of it, you might say the same about money laundering. Have you seen the list of WEF "supporters"?

[Mr. Dazzle]

If the government were to control all spending surely a stack of gold coins is pretty worthless?

Bit like how I can't spend old Triumph spares and bog roll tubes in Tesco

[Screwdriver]

If the government were to control all spending surely a stack of gold coins is pretty worthless?

Bit like how I can't spend old Triumph spares and bog roll tubes in Tesco

Gold is eternal. It is also finite. You can't make it so at the same time as cracking down on mere plebs from investing in a real commodity (not lit. valueless fiat money) they are of course buying it up themselves as quickly as possible. That and farmland/houses etc...

But no, you are almost exactly wrong> Gold is a much more useful asset for making a transaction in the post CBDC world. And it will only appreciate in value.

That's why people are "stacking" and that's why there is a push from the authorities to crack down on it.

[Mr. Dazzle]

How can it have value if the only way to buy stuff is via this hypothetical CBDC though?

I can't even buy stuff with gold right now. The only exception is using it to buy "normal" money.

[Cousin Jack]

How can it have value if the only way to buy stuff is via this hypothetical CBDC though?

I can't even buy stuff with gold right now. The only exception is using it to buy "normal" money.

That is just not true. I will deliver your week's grocery shipping for 5kg of gold. Just give me your Tesco list and the gold.

[Mr. Dazzle]

What you gonna do with the gold though? And who's gonna pay Tesco? If you wanna use my 5kg of gold (for something other than a door stop) you'll need to convert it to fiat money, or someone else does "downstream" from you.

Its all a bit abstract and it only has value because we all think it does. Pokemon cards and white dog turds are also scarce right?

If you imagine some kind of future where the government controls all purchases via an electronic currency then eventually someone somewhere needs to use that system. The chain must come to an end, so surely the gold ultimately is no use. Unless you want to have a completely separate economy, which is fine...but you can do that already and frankly there are probably more useful things than gold to stockpile for that eventuality.

[Screwdriver]

How can it have value if the only way to buy stuff is via this hypothetical CBDC though?

I can't even buy stuff with gold right now. The only exception is using it to buy "normal" money.

Because gold is the very definition of value. Oil has become the international commodity of trade by shoring up the dollar (which is the only reason the entire military industrial complex is obsessed with keeping oil tied to the dollar). Difficult for the individual to trade in barrels of oil tho’ so for reasons I have highlighted before, gold is the commodity of choice.

Compact, finite, cannot be faked (even China can’t fake it), universally accepted, easily aggregated or split into smaller values etc.

Plus it looks lovely!

If you’re struggling to trade with gold, bring it here and I’ll happily swap it for some highly collectible bikes. I’ll even nail them together for you.

[cheb]

Buying from Tesco? Are you mad? You'll receive your weekly food rations and watch your entertainment whilst staying at home.

Bread and circuses redux.