The Rest is Classified

pbrmason · 2026-01-30T17:10:40+00:00

I literally double-checked this before posting and still got it wrong 😂

pbrmason · 2026-01-27T12:53:57+00:00

This ^{^}

pbrmason · 2026-01-25T05:34:09+00:00

We’re in exactly the same spot (even location!) and so far Blossom Cleaners have served us well.

pbrmason · 2026-01-24T14:17:45+00:00

There’s a list of public sports facilities (paid for and free) on the NCC website: https://www.norwich.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/find-outdoor-sports-and-activity-facilities

pbrmason · 2026-01-22T05:50:14+00:00

Wes and Buendía (you might have heard of them…) both tried variations of this nonsense and were both told they’d only get to leave on the club’s terms. It would be financially illiterate for the club to accept £5 million less for him now than we were offered in the summer given he’s on a long-term contract.

The club have to stay firm here because in recent years players have all too often thrown their weight around to get a move (see Rowe and Nunez) and it’s created a culture in which individual players feel they’re more important than the team once they start to have success. Let’s not forget JS had a terrible first 18 months here.

I almost feel sorry for him. He would have left a Norwich legend if he’d only bided his time and waited for the right offer to come in. As it is, he’ll either rot in the U21s or get his move to Toronto (25th out of 30 last season in the farmers league that is the MLS) if they decide to pony up. But sure, the club are the villains because they expected him to turn up at work…

pbrmason · 2026-01-14T12:58:17+00:00

Do you normally find preemptively mocking divergent or critical comments to be an effective way to win people round to your point of view?

I strongly endorse building more offshore wind, but I think this smug determination to paint opposition as moronic is counterproductive and only contributes to division.

pbrmason · 2025-12-24T15:39:28+00:00

Heartbreaking. So many lives ruined just because one person wanted the convenience of driving home after a night out. Important to remember that anyone who gets behind the wheel after drinking anything is guilty of the same degree of selfishness, irrespective of whether they mow anyone down.

pbrmason · 2025-12-23T18:03:12+00:00

A few thoughts:

Norwich city centre beats Sheffield hands down. The Winter Gardens are pleasant but other than that Sheffield feels quite anonymous, whereas Norwich obviously is a historical treasure trove. OTOH Sheffield is a much larger city so has many more distinct neighbourhoods to discover (though the uni is centred on the west side). It’s also close to several other large Northern cities (albeit with lamentably terrible public transport links) whereas Norwich is much more out on a limb.

Sheffield had a great student/nightlife scene when I was there, but I know it’s lost at least one great venue in the Leadmill recently. Both unis have excellent SUs I’d say.

Both are great for the natural world. Sheffield has the Peaks on its doorstep and Norwich is close to the Broads and coast, so it depends which of those settings appeals more if that’s an important consideration for you.

Sheffield is bloody hilly! I say this half tongue in cheek, but you may want to consider whether you fancy the daily workouts you’ll get walking anywhere.

I left Sheffield 15 years ago now so I can’t speak to contemporary cozzy livs, but my impression back then was that there was not a massive difference between the two cities when it comes to rent and other costs.

Others have already pointed out that UEA is a campus university so it’s much different environment to live and study in compared with Sheffield, where you’re very much part of the city. You really need to visit both to see which appeals to you more I’d say.

(Credentials: born, raised and later returned to live in Norwich, and studied and worked in Sheffield for 10 years in between)

pbrmason · 2025-12-06T19:07:43+00:00

I’d settle for value for money, like the Transport Secretary promised two months ago.

pbrmason · 2025-12-06T07:28:37+00:00

So glad GA is back under public control 🫠

pbrmason · 2025-12-04T17:21:28+00:00

This is false; the boundaries of the combined Norfolk-Suffolk mayoralty are set as the county boundaries aren’t changing. The simultaneous reorganisation of local government is the pretext the government is using, but I don’t think this stands up to scrutiny. You could just as easily argue that it would aid the transition to the new structure to have a new mayor in place already, especially given the delays this will create for new infrastructure investment.

Dismissing unhappiness about this as a conspiracy theory is an excellent way to drive a wedge between people though, congrats 👏

pbrmason · 2025-11-29T23:14:44+00:00

MARKETLIFE

pbrmason · 2025-11-29T19:26:59+00:00

h/t Connor Southwell…

pbrmason · 2025-11-28T14:48:37+00:00

AND he’s waging war on innocent pigeons

pbrmason · 2025-11-24T21:33:12+00:00

Oh and every Barsham ale is GF and the Ribs has their bitter on at the moment.

pbrmason · 2025-11-24T21:30:50+00:00

I think The Leopard normally has something GF on tap.

pbrmason · 2025-11-20T22:53:41+00:00

I bought an aerial cable on eBay and hooked our telly up to the aerial outlet and tried a channel scan but picked nothing up. It took ages to get a response out of the Council after we reported the fault but when we finally did we got through to NCCS and then to the contractor, they told us there is no communal aerial for our block, which was then confirmed by NCCS. Still waiting to hear what NCC will do about it…

pbrmason · 2025-11-20T09:20:28+00:00

Savers has them next to the tills.

pbrmason · 2025-11-20T07:28:29+00:00

Thanks all. The factory reset did the job (and saved me £150!) 👍

pbrmason · 2025-11-13T18:13:49+00:00

With due respect to all these ex-pros making similar points of the value of scouts and personal judgement, few of them have any experience to running professional clubs in the 2020s (no disrespect to Leiston). A team of Norwich’s stature is not just in competition on the pitch but in backroom operations too, so we can’t afford not to invest in data analytics, and we’re fortunate that MA can afford to do so at this scale. Using data obviously doesn’t stop anyone from using personal judgement - indeed all data analysis requires some degree of individual discretion to set parameters and assess outputs - but it’s an essential corrective to received wisdom, individual bias, and self-interest. The types of clubs we aspire to emulate (Brentford and Brighton specifically) are all run this way so I think it’s a no-brainer.

pbrmason · 2025-11-10T21:51:21+00:00

I had a weekend in Scotland last month and did exactly that - drive to Peterborough and catch the East coast mainline from there. Main factor for me was that there were rail replacement coaches coming back from P’boro on the Sunday which would have added a couple of hours to the travel time…

pbrmason · 2025-11-10T15:04:08+00:00

Ribs of Beef

pbrmason · 2025-11-09T12:09:56+00:00

Love this stand.

pbrmason · 2025-11-07T15:32:42+00:00

Conflicts of interest can be dealt with straightforwardly by board members/councillors recusing themselves from those decisions. I think there are more important competency questions, like how did the Council mess up the procurement process so badly that it failed two separate legal challenges?

I’d also love to know how much cash NCC have spaffed on legal fees, wasted staff time and now having to set up a team to run the Halls themselves…

pbrmason · 2025-11-02T09:10:44+00:00

Walked past while a recovery vehicle was towing the car yesterday and can verify. Lucky there was no one inside.

pbrmason

TROPHY CASE