Stive Pesley

Whilst that's true, it is and always will be a tiny minority that succeed in gaming the system. Certainly when it comes to claiming long term benefits. I have close friends with disabilities that limit their mobility and ability to work and the hoops they have had to jump through to get PIP payments are unbelievable to the point of being dehumanising. It has actually had an adverse effect on their mental health to even go through it!
In terms of those who get signed off work short-term by a GP for mental health issues - regardless of whether they joke about it or not, if they really hate their job so much that they are willing to go to those lengths then you might argue that they have bigger mental health issues than they realise!
 

Whilst that's true, it is and always will be a tiny minority that succeed in gaming the system. Certainly when it comes to claiming long term benefits. I have close friends with disabilities that limit their mobility and ability to work and the hoops they have had to jump through to get PIP payments are unbelievable to the point of being dehumanising. It has actually had an adverse effect on their mental health to even go through it!
In terms of those who get signed off work short-term by a GP for mental health issues - regardless of whether they joke about it or not, if they really hate their job so much that they are willing to go to those lengths then you might argue that they have bigger mental health issues than they realise!
 

So disappointing to see the Work & Pensions Secretary Mel Stride saying that the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues has gone “too far” and that we should just consider it the “normal ups and downs of human life”
I'm pretty sure that most people who have contributed to this thread have had their mental health struggles and found that it's the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues which has allowed them to open up - and that's a brilliant thing. None of us are alone
It disgusts me that we have dinosaurs like this in positions of power who think we should  go back to the days of telling people to "just get over it" 😞

I think it's dangerous. The link between men (particularly in my age range) committing suicide and their feelings of not wanting to burden/bother anyone is quite large. When I was in my bad place, the feeling of solitude and nobody understanding was quite overwhelming. This forum helped me get away from those feelings and took away my shame and embarrassment for the feelings I had. This, in a long line of out of touch politicians, has been quite stupid here but I hope we have come too far and will continue to.

So disappointing to see the Work & Pensions Secretary Mel Stride saying that the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues has gone “too far” and that we should just consider it the “normal ups and downs of human life”
I'm pretty sure that most people who have contributed to this thread have had their mental health struggles and found that it's the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues which has allowed them to open up - and that's a brilliant thing. None of us are alone
It disgusts me that we have dinosaurs like this in positions of power who think we should  go back to the days of telling people to "just get over it" 😞

Split is nice, and Dubrovnik is stunning (but I'm told that since Game Of Thrones) it's all gone very touristy and expensive
Sibenik is a good alternative - much the same vibe but cheaper and far less busy
But my absolute favourite place in Croatia is Zadar. They have the most amazing sunsets and you can sit on the sea front atop a wave- powered sea organ that makes this incredible gentle humming noise in time with the waves
The videos don't do it justice, as it always sounds a bit distorted, but stick me here at sunset with a frosty karlovacko in my hand and I'll die happy
 

It's a valid point, but for most collectors, it's a store of value. With the shallow kudos attached of being able to say you own it
It's essentially Bitcoin but without the horrible and needless environmental impact of coin mining - and you can actually gaze upon it and perhaps get some aesthetic pleasure from it, rather than just getting wood over some 1s and 0s that you "own"

Ah, the money. Well that's an unsurprising change of tack, isn't it and one that's consistently at the very root of your complaints. The sense that others of lower intellect and ability, have somehow unfairly got more than you. It's a theme that runs through almost every one of your acerbic little diatribes, which have become increasingly bitter and commonplace as the years have gone by. It's a shame, as whilst you're clearly not as clued up as you believe, you're obviously no fool either. Ah well, such is your life.
As to your question, what has he achieved, well since you ask, precisely what he set out to; that is to illustrate how vacuous a number of those who claim to understand modern art really are. Unwittingly, you've given an example yourself, though typically, your facts are rather muddled, perhaps because you rushed to make the point about the value of the painting, rather than addressing its purpose. For clarity, this painting (Love in the Bin) had already been sold when it self-shredded, but for £1 million, nowhere near the figure you cite. It was the new 'owner' who then resold it three years later for over £16 million, but it doesn't take a genius to understand that Banksy has no sell-on fee. That's not how art ownership works. As an aside, and while we're discussing money and not art, the painting Game Changer (see below), also sold for that kind of sum, but in this instance, Banksy had gifted it to the NHS, with the agreement that it could be sold to help fund NHS initiatives, the clue being in the subject matter. In other words, he didn't make a penny from it's sale. And frankly, if he had, a less green-eyed observer might think fair play for relieving fools of far greater net worth of their often not so hard-earned cash. Not you though, obviously. Perhaps if the government you so fervently supported had done a better job with your taxes, he might not have needed to, but doubtless you'll just label that as 'wokeism', or some other such trite, catch-all label of the kind you evidently favour.
For the record, and as it's no longer a secret, so I betray no confidences in saying as much, Banksy, as many folk have know for decades, is Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack fame. He's also a pal of mine and I can assure you, he's not the person you assume him to be. I could bore you with other good works he's undertaken with the monies derived from the sale of his works, but I've learned now that doing so would only elicit another sneery evaluation of someone you've never met and clearly know nothing about (as well as yours truly, no doubt!), so I shan't bother. Instead, I'll simply wish you a pleasant evening and suggest you Google 'Merde d'Artiste', which may or may not inform your understanding of what the establishment refer to as avant garde, or anti-art and it's place in modern art history.

I like the political intent behind a lot of his work, much more than I like his artistic style (stencilled graffiti art is not exactly original)
 

Most importantly PW has pledged to start the bounce if we get promoted 😁

There was a good question on "would Paul Warne at the height of his playing days get into the current Derby team?" 
He gave a good answer, but the subtext was that he likes athletic players, and that he knows whether a player is Championship standard or not (saying he has no idea why he got games in the Championship because he wasn't good enough!)
In the context of the later comment  about contract renewals and changes - I think we just have to trust that he will make the right choices (within whatever financial restraints he has)

"Hear the fallout of @angieram and @Ambitious's fallout over fallout at 6pm"

I remember hearing a story about someone at Bill Shankly's press conference when he said about football being more important than life or death. Said it was clearly ironic aimed at people who were taking it too seriously.
I actually just looked up the full quote and it's 'literally' dripping with irony: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

Jude who???  We've got Sibley remember...

if that is to occur we need a GIF of it to be pinned to the front page of the forum, so certain members' piss can be boiled every time they log in.  Admin, make it happen 👍

Yup - our Guy Fawkes mask-wearing pal has made himself look a chump yet again, but at least now we know what jejune means

Seems to me that a few have rather missed Banksy's point. He has an extremely successful career away from his graffiti exploits and if anything, he's thumbing his nose at the art establishment, not trying to join it.
The fact is, he's an activist, pure and simple and makes no claim whatsoever to being a serious artist. The irony is that those who 'tritely' assess his art using the usual hackneyed metrics, are his targets, not his audience. 
 

Best season we have had in a bloody long time , ground was full to the ginnells Saturday with most staying long after the whistle to celebrate and leaving extremely happy , I was surrounded by singing all the way back to the car , seen some great goals scored and seen some not so great performances in games at times over a long season , if we get promoted this season will live long in the memory of this old boy who’s seen the great times and the lowest of lows ,it will live long as the warne promotion season that I really enjoyed ,
simple fact is we have one or two posters who are intent on rubbishing anything achieved and winding people up trying to stop them enjoying all the good stuff that’s happening for our club and us fans,
honestly ? Just stick them on ignore or read there stuff , see it for what it is , laugh and move on without replying and giving them the pleasure of winding you up ,
it really is that simple 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Most importantly PW has pledged to start the bounce if we get promoted 😁

You're right.
But now he'll more than likely use that as an excuse to bash Warne's recruitment 🙄 

It could also be argued that 2 of the 9 listed have been at Championship clubs and failed to break into the team.
The rest have form at Championship level although 2 of the named are clearly in the twilight of their careers.
I'd say that leaves 5 out of our 21 man squad.

Wrong. Fallout is almost always used in a negative context. Its dictionary  definition is 
"the adverse results of a situation or action" 
 

Ignoring Hourihane as he's already said he is retiring next season apparently - that's 9 players
I'm not great at maths but in a 21 man first team squad, I'd probably describe 9 as "less than half" rather than "the vast majority"
 

Most importantly PW has pledged to start the bounce if we get promoted 😁

Most importantly PW has pledged to start the bounce if we get promoted 😁