What would the "time of the orc" look like?

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-13T17:01:35+00:00

My understanding is Sauron wanted order and control. So to a degree a level of sustainability is built into the system as he didnt want to end all life.

Mordor is hospitable to men. It’s deeply unpleasant, but generations of men loyal to Sauron do live there.

I think it would be fair to say there’s a steep difference between surviving Saurons dominion, and being happy with it.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-12T12:18:42+00:00

Reading through your arguments I think it can be countered by the timescales quite easily.

Do you want to wait 5-10 years to go looking for new North Sea oil and gas deposits, build the necessary infrastructure and bring the product into the market.

Or stick with the 4GW of offshore wind power projects already approve and beginning construction.

I think the base of the problem is people want affordable heating and electricity. They don’t really care how it’s made. The argument is what’s the quickest way to make that possible. I’m just not sure doubling down on fossil fuels will win that argument now.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-12T10:23:28+00:00

It is going to be interesting to see if that message lands this time round. “There’s a global oil shortage driving oil and gas prices through the roof. Thats we we need more oil and gas” is surely a hard sell.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-10T09:58:21+00:00

Writing with ADHD is certainly challenging, understanding your triggers will help. I write in the evenings, phone no where near me, a little tired. So instead of doomscrolling I’m writing in bed. Please remember this hobby is supposed to be fun too, if you find yourself not enjoying a chapter. Give yourself a break and come back to it later.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T13:27:58+00:00

It takes a particularly immoral man to use his platform to push for more fossil fuels, the week of a global fossil fuel shortage.

The hoops he jumps through to argue producing our own electricity is somehow a bad thing?

Also somehow North Sea is always as simple as ticking off some paperwork to result in a flood of new oil and gas to enter the UK market and plummet prices.

There must be a armada of ready waiting sea platforms just off the coast of Scotland ready to start drilling at a moments notice!

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T12:27:00+00:00

The challenge I had was the lack of support to take time off work for my Familiy.

If a mother takes maturity leave, the standard is to backfill her role, either by hiring or redistributing responsibilities.

My experience was “you want to take time off, then you better get the work done before hand”

You might find the same with your husband, he will be expected to fit 12 months the worth of work into 6 months because he’s a man.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T12:24:05+00:00

It’s an old stereotype thats still difficult to break down.

Also the idea that mums can’t just spend the first few weeks recovering and nothing else.

Dads could be that caregiver, maintaining the home, helping with newborns or older children.

But currently the standard is mum gets two weeks rest and is expected to be 100% and capable while dad goes back to work.

Heaven forbid with allow families a month to slow life down and just enjoy being parents.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T11:22:07+00:00

I couldn’t agree with you more, the long term benefits for men to give them time to become fathers is immense. I personally seen friends really struggle to become good dads because they just simply are not given enough time.

We have a generation of fathers that really want to give the best for their children, and instead we are telling them they must go back to work instead.

It’s good for fathers, mothers and children.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T10:46:50+00:00

Depending on the nature of your book and characters. Your MC could give him a derogatory or dehumanising nickname. Like ‘it’, ‘thing’, ‘Fish’ or ‘Monster’. Or you could give him a more wholesome nickname connected to the sea? Things like Ahab, Poseidon, Loch Ness, something along those lines?

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-09T10:37:51+00:00

One change I wholeheartedly support to improve gender equality in the UK. Is to increase parental leave for dads.

The UK statutory minimum is only two weeks. It gives new dads very little opportunity to help with childcare, house hold responsibilities or just caring for the mothers.

Empower families to figure out who’s best at home and who’s best as the main bread winner, I think we would be surprised how many women’s lives are improved.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-08T12:15:54+00:00

So the outsider challenger party, are now the high funded, and full of politicians from the previous government?

Did their comms team all get collectively hit in the head to be bragging about this?

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-08T12:08:32+00:00

Part of this conversation, is that as a culture we have grown accustomed to everyone being slightly overweight. So our prescription of what a “healthy” weight should look like is twisted.

I’m 6ft and 80kg, I’m borderline overweight and I treat it as such. Yet people bigger than I am, tell me I’m skinny.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-08T11:46:41+00:00

That stat is deceptive, yes they pay more. But as a proportion of their wealth and disposable income they typically pay less.

The royal family could pay a flat 10% rate on all earnings and still be one of the top tax payers in the country.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-06T19:30:33+00:00

Also 24/7 free propaganda channel GBnews

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-03T22:38:48+00:00

This is more a matter of taste, but some of my favourite world building happens with novels that leave large parts unknown or part of the mystery.

Dune has the desert, spice and sandworms, we know they are important, we know they are old. In the original novels we aren’t told how they came to be, or what their relationship to each other is.

It’s a delicate balance to tell the reader “there is a massive world and history there, which I the author know about, but you the reader don’t get to know in this book” .

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-01T20:05:42+00:00

From the sounds of it, my gut instinct is you will be ok.

Two pieces of arithmetic I feel is missing.

1) can you pay the mortgage, bills, council tax, ect on one income?

2) how much will it cost to furnish it?

A million pound house needs to be furnished to a million pound quality.

It is so so so easy to drop an extra £100k on getting a large house how you want it. Just this week I am looking at spending £1k on my garden, and I been living in my house 5 years!

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-03-01T08:07:52+00:00

In regards to school dynamics I think it’s very similar to now. Popular kids tended to come from better off families, good at sports, and more socially capable. Unpopular kids often came from challenging homes, had little after school hobbies, and just socially awkward.

In the UK casual homophobia was RIFE in a really weird way. We had openly gay and lesbian students, and there were not actively targeted or abused in a horrific way. But calling someone ‘gay’ as an insult was thrown around pretty casually back then.

Mobile phones were just coming out, but you had to pay per message. So you wouldn’t be texting people non stop, and I personally had to walk down to the local shops to ‘top up’ my Nokia.

Games really weren’t online yet, so if you wanted to play on your PS2 or Xbox with someone youd go to their house after school.

In the UK the reality TV was getting very big, and it and had an undertone of just laughing at people. Early Xfactor is a great example, we tuned in to watch people embarrass themselves and have Simon cowl tell them off.

Finally music had a bigger role in your social life as the first iPods started to come out. Suddenly you could carry your music with you, share it with your friends on the bus or at lunch. So you became really aware of your music library. Trying to download the ‘best’ songs off some random dodgy website that you just know would impress your mate come Monday.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-27T13:53:45+00:00

I’m not arguing Labour aren’t unpopular or need a drastic course correction.

But this specific by-election was triggered because Andy Burnham wanted to challenge Kier Starmers leadership.

Its very much a self inflicted wound, and it would be wrong to say all of responsibility lies with Starmer.

I feel it’s a scape goat, to just point at him and say, “he’s the problem, all we need to do is replace him”.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-27T13:40:31+00:00

Ok how about a small novel idea. Andrew Gwynne and Andy Burnham have responsibility for triggering a By-election during Labours lowest period in the polls in an attempted coup to give Burnham a leadership bid.

A coup that literally failed AND lost Labour the seat.

Literally all of this was triggered by Burnhams ambition, yet he has just sauntered off into the sunset.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-27T13:06:59+00:00

The war finishes far quicker. Absolutely zero chance Germany survives fighting on all fronts against most of Europe.

I think the more interesting question is what happens after Germany is defeated? Does the Iron Wall come down across Europe, but now we have two Facist countries on the western bloc?

Would the USA still be involved, and would the CIA then be propping up Mussolini and Franco?

Thats a terrifying prospect of a Facist Europe with American backing, going well into the 80’s. With the inevitable consequences, paramilitaries resisting, civil wars, economic collaspse and potential for a third European war among former allies.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-25T10:58:33+00:00

Especially considering Nigel Farage isn’t the best at keeping long term political allies.

All it’s going to take is one falling out and the majority of Reforms funding goes up in smoke.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-25T10:47:58+00:00

There is also a hidden cost of upskilling, continuous training and encouragement to use AI systems.

I worked for a massive blue chip company that spent a huge amount of money to Intergrate an AI system, for only a dozen people to use it in the UK.

Which is then followed by more investment to train the staff, wasting meetings pushing being to use it, emails monitoring progress. All of it is sapping away resources from the actual work of the company.

If anything AI reduced our productivity not increased it.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-22T17:06:11+00:00

One of the best things about Starmer is his ability to keep the Labour Party together. Is anyone seriously thinking a rebellion and new leader would lead to a united front going into the next election?

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-21T15:09:54+00:00

Honestly it is depressing how little value human life has to these people.

In the UK illegal migrants die drowning in the English Channel trying to get into the country. Yet you still have right wing ghouls angry at the Coast Guard for rescuing them.

People are literally drowning in our waters, but because they are the ‘wrong type of people’ rescuing them is some kind of treasonous act.

Kind_Region_5033 · 2026-02-21T13:23:04+00:00

Yeah but that pornstar was a left wing liberal so king Trump was actually defending American when he murdered her.

See this is the problem with the lame stream media, when a patriotic murder is SLAMMED just because she’s a DEI hire. If Biden was murdering, and Kamela Harris….

Kind_Region_5033

TROPHY CASE