You Are Suggesting The Impossible

Thirteen months after the UK supreme court delivered its landmark ruling that sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, and 10 days after an updated draft “code of practice” from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was laid before parliament, the UK is once again rowing about single-sex spaces, and particularly toilets.

Once again, the purpose and value of those spaces for women are at risk of being eclipsed by complaints from people who would prefer that they didn’t exist in a way that complies with the current law.

The code confirms that there is no legal way to open a single-sex service to people of the other sex, even if they are trans.

Why the 'even if...' there?  They are still the sex they were born into, no matter what cosmetic surgery thay have had!

Trans campaigners see the guidance as a mandate to exclude them from ordinary life.

Well, they are mentally ill, by definition, so why should we care what they see it as?  

But for entry to single-sex spaces, the criteria must be sex, and the code is clear that any checks – for example, if a trans man were to be mistaken for a biological man in a women’s health setting – must be made “sensitively” to avoid discrimination or harassment.

Cue the TRAs shrieking about 'genital inspections' when no such thing is likely to be needed, just eyes and ears.

The vast majority of public spaces and activities are already mixed-sex – which is why the Equality Act refers to single-sex ones as “exceptions”. What is not OK is the removal of this option on grounds that it is bigoted to seek a female-only space; or the claim that a service is single-sex when it is not. 

The threat posed by men to women is not the only reason why single-spaces matter. Fairness in sport and the right of women, including lesbians, to have their own groups, are also important.

Men can too, then. will we see no more campaigns to get women into men's groups? Fair's fair,,

But with 739,000 female victims of sexual offences in England and Wales last year, and grim trends including the huge rise in camera-enabled crimes (indecent exposure, voyeurism, filming of abuse, image-sharing), many women see the case for single-sex spaces getting stronger rather than weaker, both as a tool of prevention and as a resource for survivors.

The trans population faces its own challenges. The code is emphatically not a reason to disregard these. But it should not have taken the supreme court, or the EHRC, to make it clear that sacrificing single-sex spaces is not the answer.

The challengres it faces are not for women to solve. They are for better psychiatric treatmemt to solve. 

🎵Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours...🎵

Especially when you are wrestling with a drugged up fugitive who is trying to steal your car. 

Dr Thame said he attempted to drag Smith from the Astra and punched him on the nose before his arm slipped beneath Smith's armpit and into a headlock. He told the inquest that Smith suddenly stopped struggling while a neighbour screamed nearby. Dr Thame said: 'The neighbour said the man was unconscious. I released him immediately.' Senior Devon coroner Philip Spinney concluded that Smith's death had been accidental.

 At least he wasn’t arrested, this time.

Mr Spinney praised Dr Thame's actions, describing them as courageous and carried out in self-defence while protecting family members and neighbours.He also said post-mortem evidence showed excessive force had not been used by Dr Thame.  The inquest heard Smith had taken a combination of drugs, including cocaine and ketamine, before the incident unfolded.

But the neighbour was still happy to try to stick the boot in:

Dr Thame and neighbour Deborah Day then attempted CPR after discovering Smith was not breathing.Mrs Day had previously claimed in a statement that Dr Thame placed his knee on Smith's neck, although Geoff disputed this account, saying his son's feet were still outside the car.

Great neighbour she turned out to be! I know who I’d rather live next door to!

Day told the hearing that Dr Thame put Smith in a headlock, 'but did not intend to kill the man', adding that his actions may have saved her own life by preventing Smith from driving towards her.

And he must now be wondering why he bothered. 

Are You Sure?

It might be that Diane Abbott's just enjoying a day at the seaside...

"The horror! The horror!"

 

Famous movie quote updated for 2026 by the inimitable Matt...

Sunday Funnies...

 It really doesn't pay to listen to the lyrics and not just the music sometimes...

Deliberate Uglification

A heritage railway on the edge of Bristol has sparked controversy after it commissioned three of the city’s most famous street artists to cover one of its vintage carriages in graffiti as if it were a New York subway carriage in the 1970s.

Why? Heritage railways have a unique selling point - nostalgia, a longing for the good old days when grafitti would have been unknown? Whywould anyone want to piss all over that? 

But there has been quite the backlash against the Avon Valley Railway when they revealed the project on their social media. The railway operates as a charity, and runs steam trains up and down a former line across the eastern edge of Bristol that was closed down in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

The firm attempted to rein in the furore that they deliberately caused for no clear benefit in the first place:

Avon Valley Railway had to reassure heritage railway enthusiasts that the windows of the carriage was covered with latex first so the paint can just be peeled off, that the carriage is yet to be restored by the volunteers at the charity so nothing was damaged - and the paint will actually help protect the carriage until it is restored.

“We were delighted to host ‘Inkie’, ‘Jody’ and ‘Cheo’ to our station site at Bitton,” said Mark Hill, the general manager at Avon Valley Railway.

Why? It's as if Sciaperelli attempted to chase the clientele of Primark...

It's Schrödinger's Stabbing!

The married father-of-one confirmed he sustained wounds to his neck and hand as it was also announced that Counter Terrorism Policing would now lead the investigation with support from Greater Manchester Police. Police confirmed the attack has not at this time been declared a terrorist incident.

It simultaneously is and is not a terrorist incident! 

Chief Superintendent David Meeney, Commander for Manchester, said: 'Our local detectives have been investigating this incident at pace ever since we arrested a schoolgirl suspect on Tuesday morning. She remains in custody in Manchester. 'This has included ensuring the suspect is checked by health professionals to make an assessment while under the Mental Health Act, and to explore all available evidence to understand why this incident took place. 'Since our last update, further information has come to light that we have made Counter Terrorism Policing North West aware of. 

I wonder what that information might be - something they found at the girl's address, perhaps?

'I know this update will only continue to make our local community concerned by Tuesday's events.

It's so vague it can't very well do anything else, can it? 

And of course thanks to our justice system, we can't know anything about her, with the exception of her likely defence, apparently...

Stress All You Like, No-One Has Any Confidence In You...

A 14-year-old schoolgirl arrested after a teacher was stabbed in the neck at a school in Manchester yesterday has been detained under the Mental Health Act. Police confirmed the girl had been arrested on suspicion of assault after officers were called to reports of a stabbing at the Co-op Academy in Blackley on Tuesday morning. The 'serious incident' saw the school go into lockdown after a teacher was stabbed in the neck as he heroically shielded pupils from a girl allegedly attacking students at the school with a knife.

And of course, of most concern to the filth is that people don't talk about it, especially as social media is reporting the girl in question is other than white native English:

Chief Inspector Shilvock added: 'As our investigation progresses, we are aware that names relating to the incident are being circulated on social media, which are unhelpful for the investigation.'This is also causing concern with the victims and those that have been impacted, therefore we would stress that people do not speculate regarding this incident. 'Officers will remain in and around the area to provide support to ensure staff, students and the wider community feel safe. 'If you have any concerns, please speak to our officers who are there to support you.'

Who still believes that the police are there to support us?  If you still do, I've got a bridge for sale... 

A mother, whose son was already on his way home when she received the news, said on social media: 'This is all so scary. Parents found nothing out from school, it was all from Facebook. My child should be enjoying the last few days in school and not worrying and being in lockdown.'

This is why people take to social media, Chief Inspector. And it's why our snivelling coward of a Prime Minister wants to ban it.

All Part Of Life In A Big City, Eh, Sadiq?

Tributes have poured in from stars of the music industry to singer-songwriter Talay Riley, after he was stabbed to death in London. Riley, 35, was found at an address in Silvertown, east London, at around 9am on Friday having suffered stab wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ah the glamourous life of a singer-songwriter, getting shanked by wannabe gangstas in exotic locales! Does Andrew Lloyd Webber know what fate may have in store?

Still, I’m sure the Met Police have things well in hand…

A man in his 20s was also taken to hospital with multiple stab wounds and remains in hospital, with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing. Three people were arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday. 

A 27-year-old man has been released on bail pending further enquiries, while a second man, 24, and woman, 25, have been released with no further action.

Oh… 

The day after the incident, two men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a large fight in Barking on Saturday night. The incident occurred around 11.20pm on River Road, where three men, aged 28, 23 and 22, were discovered by emergency crews with stab wounds.

Another glamorous locale, another 'benefit of diversity', I have no doubt... 

 

I Don't Believe Any Grieving Family Wrote This...

 As Belfast erupts again for another night, as locals attempt to rid their community of the deadly threat the authorities have planted in their midst, the mutilated victim's family speeaks out..in someone else's words?

Meanwhile, Mr Ogilvie's family said they were 'completely devastated' by what had happened and called for calm.  

In a statement posted on the Facebook page of DUP MLA Phillip Brett, they said: 'We want to say a profound thank you to the local people who bravely stepped in during the attack. 

'We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident. We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward. 

'We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work.'

Noe, the appeal for calm I can believe, it's a natural response, not wanting your loved one's memory tarnished, but the appeal for migrants? Sorry, I just don't buy that as a typical response to having an imported  low IQ savage who doesn't belong in the country butcher your loved one on the street. I wouldn't expect that from a 'Guardian' columnist, much less an ordinary family from Belfast! I sense the dead hand of the government behind this statement.