Meenzer

No, she went of her own accord

Kids do daft stuff that costs you money at the best of times, it's not just an internet-era thing. At her age or maybe a bit younger I racked up £50-ish on my parents' phone bill (so double that now) dialing premium-rate numbers. Not even the dirty stuff either, just pop quizzes and "comedy" and all that other stuff they used to be allowed to advertise in the back of magazines. I totally sympathise with the financial hit (and the general point about microtransactions), but at least you're finding about this straight away rather than when a phone bill pops lands on your doormat months later and can take prompt action to stop it.

I'd echo this. While the numbing effect of booze isn't a viable solution to anything in the longer term, it is undeniable. Which is annoying.

And because they're broadly unaffected by any of the consequences of these people's actions (so far).

I see BBC News have given him a massive platform to defend himself. No pushback on any of his claims or on him misgendering people etc. Terrific. There are a few moments of grim humour in it at least, like when he describes one of the effects of being "cancelled" as "I had my marriage taken away". Aye, your marriage got "taken away", you definitely didn't wreck it with your own actions, you absolute wrong 'un.

I hadn't thought of recommending the Rhine Valley for a road trip because doing it by train is so nice what with how the line hugs the river. But obviously with the way Deutsche Bahn is falling apart, I suppose a convenient railway line with no trains doesn't help anyone much. Lukas Ramsauer 🥰

Some of my favourite places in Germany are up north but (regrettably) I think that end of the country lends itself less well to a road trip as things are just generally a bit further apart and the countryside is less interesting, so you should probably look south instead. The Black Forest (which you can also tie in with e.g. Strasbourg) or Bavaria with a view to exploring the hills and mountains on the way to Austria are the two obvious thoughts there, I'd say. They're touristy, but they're popular for a reason. A more off the beaten track option (at least where British tourists are concerned) is the "Saxon Switzerland" hills over by the Czech border, which are spectacular and weird. Dresden can be your nearby city base for that and is worth your time too. I also really rate the Baltic coast at the top of what was East Germany, lots of islands and relatively quiet beaches and the like, but I imagine that's not really the Germany you're after!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/06/doctor-aseem-malhotra-reform-conference-speech-royal-family-cancer-covid-vaccine Top story on the Graun right now. No mention of it on the BBC News front page, just Chris Mason fawning over how big the Reform conference is. I'm sure this will all turn out fine and we're not going to end up being governed by this bizarro coalition of billionaires, cranks and racist thugs.

Can't believe yet another transfer window has closed without us successfully offloading CT to Mumsnet.

Outlived Jana Novotna by several years. Funny old world.

That's so error-strewn it actually hurts my eyes and my heart. Impressive.

It should be about what she's done but it's definitely more about who she is...

I'm a bit conflicted. Linehan is an odious piece of shit who deserves everything he gets, but I want to have the free speech to say that I think he should be kicked in the balls every time he goes out in public...

Beautiful morning up on Hadrian's Wall. Can't see why any of you would want to go abroad. Can't see anything much at all, to be fair...

You're not going to stop a German from having organised fun. It's their lifeblood.

Hey @RobinRobin, I think CT's hacked your account

Tomasson missing the target? How unlike him

I'd add to this thread but I'm busy trying to fix this crick I've got in my neck from looking for this ceiling Liverpool apparently have

Apologise for the Grok "translation" too and we'll let you off

Bradford at home in the League Cup, by the way

Nice phrasing on the front page of the BBC.