Share this page!

John Bull Profile picture
Twitter logo
15 Mar, 8 tweets, 2 min read
UPDATE: Got to the surgery in the pissing hail, only to be told this is, in fact, a TELEPHONE appointment.

This is information not included on the text message in any way.

Not that I've had a phone call yet.
I'm fully expecting now not to get one, and then to be told that they rang my landline - the number of which even I don't know. Despite them being aware I was standing outside the surgery at 11:05am and do not own a warp drive.

And, obviously, sending me the text on my mobile.
Thing is, if they DON'T call now I'm not just going to be super annoyed at how much this has fucked up my day, but also massively disappointed.

I've turned my phone off silent for this now so I don't miss it.

After 3yrs I'm excited to find out what my phone actually sounds like
Also, the irony Gods now means this will 100% turn out to be related to that appointment request I put in ages ago about my leg not working/sciatica:

"How's the leg?"

"Not great after a 25min fast walk in the pissing hail, doc. I'll be honest."
UPDATE:

The appointment has now disappeared completely from myGP.

So I'm going with this now not happening at all.
BREAKING NEWS:

They rang!

Just very behind on calls (Which was the other thing i wondered). So that's good news.

More amusingly though, he's asked me if I can pop down later to the surgery to do some tests. 😆
Also my ringtone is all bleepy and bloopy. Was exciting to learn.
Well. Blood (and other) tests now booked.

Initial verdict is I may have a hernia. Which, if it's the case, I suspect I did getting out of bed too quickly.

Which is embarrassingly impressive.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with John Bull

John Bull Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @garius

John Bull Profile picture
17 Mar
A quick morning follow up thread on this, now I can see which why the big paper stories are going.

Let's revisit the subject of narrative, why controlling it is important to Uber, and I'll explain how they exploit the lack of continuity in UK newsrooms. /1
Controlling the narrative is important to Uber because, as I've talked about before, they're an investment package first and a provider of services second.

To be snarky, the services don't pay the bills (they make a loss). Fresh investment is a continual need.
For investors to invest, Uber needs to at least be able to claim that:

1) They are meeting minimum legal obligations
2) They have a path to profitability.

I won't go into why 2) is dodgy. Short version: transport doesn't scale like tech. See thread:
Read 14 tweets
John Bull Profile picture
16 Mar
Before everyone starts getting excited:

1) Uber didn't reclassify its drivers as workers, the COURTS did. Uber is just doing the paperwork
2) Drivers already earn more than the minimum wage
3) They're still refusing to count idle time as work

So what's it mean? /1
Well first up, a reminder that if you've not read my previous Uber stuff over the years, and how they tech-broed themselves into an unnecessary (but hilarious) encounter with the Duck Test in UK law, then start here:

Now you're caught up, what does this announcement mean?

Well... nothing really. Nothing new anyway. They're doing what they had to do. If they hadn't made these changes promptly they'd have lost their operator licenses.

Uber are just very good at writing press releases.
Read 12 tweets
John Bull Profile picture
15 Mar
Agreed. To be slightly facetious, something you quickly realise if you study WW2 beyond the 'Channel 5 documentary' level is that Churchill largely saved the nation by not being Lord Halifax, and then being a stubborn git when required.

Both skills, but not that interesting.
The REALLY fun history is the social, logistics, codebreaking, tactical, politics etc stuff that went on AROUND him. And the people involved in doing all that.

Although Churchill's interactions with Roosevelt are pretty fascinating and important. That's true enough.
But the obsession with the myth gets in the way of exploring the darker consequences of his mindset, approach and biases (both personal and 'of his time').

And that's what leads to Ladybird Book Churchill being an icon for people like Johnson, and them learning the wrong lessons
Read 4 tweets
John Bull Profile picture
14 Mar
Well this has been a day of being amazed at how many people CANNOT separate:

"Well I think the law should work X way"

From:

"The law actually works X way"

You can't argue with how the law works. And if you want to change it for the BETTER, you have to start by accepting that.
Operational Control of policing in London is not the same as Strategic Control no matter how hard you wish it was

Your ten minutes of googling is not the same as having covered City Hall, its output, and its endless debates, committees and legislation for the last fifteen years.
I'm not a "Khan apologist". The man ghosted me for YEARS because I highlighted the MASSIVE fuck-up his fare freeze was.

All I did this morning was try to clarify the LEGISLATION. If you want to make better hot takes, you have to accept and understand the law.
Read 7 tweets
John Bull Profile picture
14 Mar
Your morning "how London government works" reminder, ahead of the inevitable terrible takes:

The Mayor of London is prohibited BY LAW from getting involved with/dictating police operations beforehand.

It's not a devolved power. It sits with the Home Secretary still.
This won't stop the "Look, I'm not a racist, but Sadiq Khan could have..." types.

But I figured I should alert those of you who are sensible people to this.

Because I get that the quirks of London political devolution are unfamiliar to most people, who have actual lives.
UPDATE TO ADD:

Home Secretary actually has limited ability to do anything either in advance. Thanks to @foot_on_foot for the clarification here:

Read 16 tweets
John Bull Profile picture
12 Mar
Decided to overthrow Hitler.

How's your morning going?
Gonna try and unlock Victoria 3
Who doesn't love a good pocket full of Nazis? HOI4 screenshot. Nazi force...
Read 23 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @garius has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @garius!

Read all threads by @garius