Some words from Susie Dent to end the year with:

Zwodered: In a drowsy state of body and mind

Croochie-poochles (Scots): A vague but uncomfortable feeling of restlessness/fidgeting 

You know when Boris is lying, it’s when he opens his mouth! I think the tide has turned against the Tories and Boris in general. Don’t forget we have to have a General Election for another 3 years yet and they still have an 80 odd seat majority. As we enter 2022 and sin spite of the claims, sorry lies, of our PM, we are no better off than at the start of last year. If anything things are worse both health wise and economically? Do you really believe the UK has a the bright future that this bunch of tossers claim? Brexit has been the disaster. Covid has been a nightmare and to make things worse we have the most inept government of all time. It’s great being English and I use that distinction deliberately. If your able to highlight one success that this country has pulled off since that fateful vote then feel free to tell me. If there are some then it is a cast iron certainty that the disadvantages are much longer list? Speak to anyone involved in the international market and they will tell you Brexit has made their lives worse and the additional burden it created, has in many cases, made it all but impossible to trade with Europe! 

So whilst optimism is in short supply and we try to look forward from the natural break that is the new year, will you be doing your beat to make 2022 a stellar year? I am not one who is easily depressed and most of the time try to maintain a cheerful disposition but it is fair to say that over these last few years it has become more difficult to do so. I have this permanent  underlying feeling of anger, you may have noticed? Even though most of what is going on does not impinge on my life very much, it is sad to see the country you grew up in and lived in all your life fall into such an awful state. Run by a political party whose policies and behaviour run against every fibre of your being and knowing that each day they remain, our freedoms and rights are eroded! 

2022 may yet be a good year, you never know, there will always be huge events, natural or engineered, huge changes will no doubt take place, the unexpected will happen. Events will conspire to rid us of those we thought were immovable. Humans by their very nature will do heroic stuff or cock-up big style. It will interesting to see who survives, who rises and who falls.

Stay well

As the next year approaches, we all wonder how it will go and probably cant believe that we are still restricted by that pesky virus. Those things that we never gave a thought to now have to be thought about carefully? It puts a whole new spin on taking things for granted? Wendy and I have restricted ourselves to doing as little as possible that might put us in a vulnerable position. Like everyone there are places we would like to visit, people we would like to see but we want to take as little risk as we can. Better to still be here to enjoy those pleasures when we are able. Apart from the seriousness of Covid, who wants to be ill, it’s bad enough having a cold or the flu! The mental toll it takes on all of us cannot be calculated. Our brains are hard wired to seek other human company, it makes us happy (yes there are exceptions) People by nature are gregarious and interaction with others is inseparable from who we are. For those who live on their own, loneliness is the enemy, how much more difficult has the last few years been for those who are by themselves? I overhear conversations of people discussing the best way forward and the general consensus seems to be, less restrictions and use your common sense. I don’t disagree but unfortunately we don’t all have common sense and a virus has no respect for however careful we all are!

You must decide what is best for you and yours, subject to any guidelines or rules. Our leaders are conflicted and it seems have shrugged their collective shoulders and resolved to take no responsibility for the current strain. What we find odd is that all the news is on the Omicron variant when he Delta variant is still rampant and far more dangerous? I have no idea of the inner workings of our government or health service and how they cope with this pandemic, I can only observe and my own opinion is that we have been guided by committee and as always that has caused as many problems as it has tried to solve? 

I hope your next year is a god one. We must acknowledge that it is not all doom and gloom, good things are happening, for instance next year we hope to welcome our first and probably only grandchild to our family. A good friends son is getting married. I am sure similar events will take place in your families and friends, cherish them.

Stay well

 As we head into 2022 and further into my 70th year (you have no idea how weird it is writing that!), we have to understand that almost nothing we are told or is reported is any longer the truth! The truth has largely been replaced by sound bites, bias, spin, fake news and any other substitute you can think of. for years now those in power have told us want they want us to hear with little acknowledgment as to whether it has any basis in truth. It has become so normal that we just shrug our shoulders and sigh, as we are fed more bullshit. The epidemic of misinformation and outright lies has reached such a level that most of us hardly notice anymore! The danger is, that when the truth is revealed, we are no longer sure if we believe it? When those in power spin and twist events, that we have footage of and pretend it did not happen or what our eyes witnessed was not what we saw and blatantly lie straight faced into the camera, what chance do we have? Should we give up social media, hearing or reading the news, in a vain attempt to shed our disbelief? We might all be better off but this is the world we live in.

I read that now the Metaverse is becoming a reality and the young in particular will live through their “avatar” in an alternate reality, we really are heading towards Terminator! There are already others making a living out of selling outfits and other accessories that you purchase for your character. This is not new but is being elevated to another level and we should all be very concerned that our younger generations might become disengaged from reality all together. An exaggeration, doom laden rhetoric? Think back over the last twenty years alone and realise how much the world has changed? The majority of the world walk round with a device in our pockets that can almost connect us to anything!

Stay well

 Whether we need further restrictions or not this government Cabinet is playing politics with peoples lives! This is not about following the science but about pure unadulterated ambition as to who might replace Boris as leader and PM. They don’t give a damn about us (never have)! How Liz Truss has risen to prominence in the Tory party is unbelievable, having changed party allegiance more than once, in her relentless pursuit of power. Should Boris fall and let us hope that is sooner than later, whoever replaces him will not be a better choice indeed it could be worse. How sad that our choice of the next Conservative PM, is who is the least worse of the rest! We have sunk as low as at any time in our history when our entire Cabinet of ministers are all to a man and woman are obnoxious and only interested in their own prominence. 

My opinion maybe a strong one with no regard of any kind for the present incumbents of government. I hold them all in contempt and if your not convinced that they are the worse thing that has happened to our country then I don’t know what country your living in, or you are insulated by money! More than ten years of Tory power has done nothing but push Britain into abject economic trouble, restrictions on free trade, fear of our neighbours and by far the worse period of our social and health services. As the realisation dawns that leaving the EU has severely restricted our workforce, all the bold and firm statements of how to handle immigration are slowly being unravelled as they discover, what we all knew, without those from Europe we are fucked! The Covid pandemic may have affected every corner of out land and severely curtailed any kind of economic growth but the real cause is Brexit and we all must acknowledge the folly of our own making!

I like to be optimistic but it seems there is very little to be optimistic about? The wheel will turn, it always does. The damage done will take a long time to reverse if indeed we can. As always it is up to us and we must not shirk our responsibility to change and repair this broken society! 

I will always be the first to find the good in people and praise our progress and an enlightened society but I seem to have written about nothing but despair and failure for the an unrelenting decade or more. No one is more sick of saying day after day how awful things are than me. Every now and then I try to write a message of hope and kindness but it has never been easy. I hope next year we will find some movement towards a happier times?

Stay well

 I hope Santa has brought you all something nice this Xmas. Life is, well, unpredictable at the best of times but at present it holds an uncertainty that is a challenge for all of us! Wendy has been ill in recent days and after all the tests has been cleared negative for Covid but all the concern that any sniffle or cough brings has consequences that are awful which ever way the pendulum swings. The anticipation of waiting for the result and the the thought of isolation at the very least or worse. To have your life put on hold by an unseen pathogen is a frustrating experience but for those who have lost loved ones and friends it is a tragedy! No words can adequately assuage the impact that this virus has had on us all but especially those who are on the “front line” dealing with it. Of course our government tries to take credit for the vaccine roll out, when we all know they are not the ones actually doing the work and I promise in this piece that is the last word I will say about them!

We have to hope that next year will be better. I suspect it might get worse before it does but we must remain optimistic after all what else can we do? I can only hope that somehow next year all the vitriol and hate that seems to continually swirl around us will be battered aside and we can all be better people. I can honestly say that I do not hate anyone (with the obvious exception, whoops nearly wrote his name!) but the nasty bile that seems to pervade every aspect of our lives has grown to where we no longer believe,  that it will ever stop. We must resist those who shout loudest and scream vile hatred, spreading discord and fear, we have to ignore them and shout just as loudly how we can all get on together. 

Wherever I have been in the world I have found people have more in common than they do differences. We all want the same things or at least most of us do! There will always be those who for whatever reason or agenda want to disrupt, impose their own agenda, for political, religions , power, money or just sheer pathological madness, it has always been thus. Sometimes we feel powerless to stop them but we are not. Enjoy yourselves this festive season as much as you can and I wish you all a happy new year.

Stay well

 Words fail me for once! Under non pandemic times surely enough of us would have gone to Downing St and dragged Boris out by his ample shirt tails! Of course Covid is the biggest reason he should be removed but of course unlike him we are restraining ourselves from breaking the rules. There aren’t enough words to describe the inept performance of this government, well there are but there are far too many to list here and many have been and are written every day. He is using this latest prevarication to keep all the other misdemeanours out of the news or at least further down the order. If he has any public support left, what the hell are you thinking? I know each day I spit out more vitriol regarding Boris but really what else is there, He really is an abomination every bit as bad as all the critics say. Too busy trying to save his job instead of actually doing his job which of course he is incapable of doing any way!

Well let me wish you all as merry a Xmas as is possible. I’m resting now until the new year, fed up with my own writing of complaint.

Stay well and happy new year!

 Is there anything left to say? Can there be any doubt that we are in a shambles of both our government and our own making. I’m all for freedom and few restrictions but when all the evidence points to a variant that spreads like wildfire, who would have the stupidity to gather in London to protest? Strange that our rights to peaceful protest have been severely curtailed and yet I suspect that the actual ability to stop people from doing so is almost impossible. there are many things we should be shouting our disapproval of to this government but gathering in large groups whilst Omicron runs riot through the population is not the time. I understand peoples outrage at yet more restrictions, I get the frustration that a virus has disrupted our lives for so long and they have had enough. However we have all read about the many people who did not believe the science or refused the vaccine and have subsequently contracted the virus and died? The people who went on this protest should they become ill, will want the NHS to treat them if necessary and yet are happy to risk putting more pressure on that service because of their protest Look I know it is hard and that these times are the hardest but surely by now we all realise how serious this pandemic is? Surely we understand that some protection is better than none? Surely we understand that whilst there maybe some alternate evidence that any vaccine can be harmful to some people, we are in a unprecedented situation which requires we all act in the interest of us all? I truly despair at the state of this once stable country whose future, whatever your opinion of the EU, was secure and and acting in at least some harmony, with our closest neighbours! Now we are Europes pariahs, lead by people who have not the first idea of how to govern and are only self-serving. You be the judge but if you can stand there and tell me that we are fine and do not need to be vaccinated then frankly you are living in an alternate reality and will fully deserve what you get

Stay well

I don't care about the parties, if it is the issue that brings Boris down, great but disgusting though it is, it pales into insignificance when you understand the way that he is deliberately undermining our democracy and giving his government powers to be above the law and free from scrutiny. There is little left to say about this Etonian educated super privileged PM, who cares little for the people of this country unless they are wealthy and privileged like him. He revels in extracting himself form controversy and lying to him is like breathing and he cares little for any opinion! This is not new, since he arrived in public consciousness the pattern and behaviour has always been the same. I am amazed that anyone is surprised by his behaviour and the way he conducts his business? He portrays himself as a man for and of the people, when in reality he is a man against the people and only for himself. By now it should be obvious to everyone but of course you can fool a lot of the people quite a lot of the time, though the scales are falling from the eyes of both his party and the voters. How we let things get this far is easy to explain, we are complacent to and ignorant and most so comfortable or just trying to survive that the politics of our country do not impinge on them. Everything is politics and every vote or piece of legislation affects us all! You may think that many of our MP’s are a joke or at best toadies who follow blindly where their leader guides them (tells them) to do. Well if you do, then why did you vote for them? These are serious times and we need serious solutions and serious fair minded representatives  Boris Johnson and his closest allies are not part of the solution they are the problem. Do you really believe they are doing their best for us? “Getting on with the job” is a glib soundbite but it means nothing! Actually we are the problem, we have let this happen. We have believed the lies and allowed the cult of personality to dictate. We must stop them from turning us into a capitalist dictatorship because that is where we are heading and the majority of our nation, will be the victims of this stealthy march towards our rights being taken away.

Don’t for one second turn away and say it does not impact you, it does and it will certainly impact someone you know, a relative, a friend, a neighbour, your local community and that cannot be allowed to happen!

Dominic Raab is seeking powers to overturn judicial decisions. In other words if the government don’t agree they can ignore or overturn it, just let that sink in!  

Just stay well

 Week what can you say Shropshire a constituency that voted overwhelmingly for Brexit oust its Tory safe seat with only 42% of the local electorate voting. I would suggest many Tory voters were too ashamed to come out and vote!

We must hope that the Conservative party now realise that Boris is no longer an electoral asset and his days as leader will be over? It did not matter how often he lied, was corrupt, deceived, or mislead as long as he could win an election that would put up with him but if he no longer holds that promise then out you go! What is so tragic is the idea that once in power he would not have behaved as he has! You did not need not need to know Boris Johnson without realising what a cheat and liar he is, it was obvious from well before he became a prominent politician. I need not say anymore the evidence is piling up at an alarming rate and is beyond damning!

I am feed up with front line workers in the health service being portrayed as heroes or superheroes. They do a unenviable job at the worse time and for all our support and “applause” have been treated with contempt by this government. Far from being heroes that are downtrodden, overworked , underpaid, under appreciated, tired, human beings doing their best to help the sick, ill, injured and almost single handily dealing with the worse pandemic in over 100 years. They do it with little supplies, dwindling funds and scant support from a Conservative government that boasts about its investment, whilst in reality it is deliberately running down the NHS in order to make way for private health care becoming the main provider.

We are living in the age of right wing authoritarian politics and if we don’t wake up our freedom will disappear

Stay well

 I have no objection in general with the rules passed in Parliament last night. It must have really stuck in Keir Starmer’s craw to have to support the government on a vote that had they not they would have been defeated. Why are these measures being brought in long after the damage is done? You cannot outrun a virus and no scientist knows what will happen next in order to anticipate it. Each time new measures are introduced it is alway from a day or two further, why not immediately? If the measures have to take effect then another day is surely critical? Now as to checking peoples vaccination or test status, is that really a practical implementation? I am sure there will be those who are vigilant about the checks but  at a football match or other sporting events will it be adhered to, as thousands of fans come in? It won’t affect me as I have no plans to go to any event, I’m taking no chances and I am fully vaccinated and have had the booster. Now, wherever, there is any hint of “crowd” I wear my mask. I have always be considered on the vulnerable scale, having damaged lungs from my bout with Leukaemia! 

I think we are all now suffering from some form of Covid exhaustion, whether we have been ill or not. It is inevitable that living under restrictions after so many years of total freedom will take it’s toll on us! Lets be clear, we still have far more freedom than many in the world with or without the covid restrictions and whilst it is not easy to remember that in the midst of this pandemic, we should realise how lucky we really are! I know we have lost loved ones and friends, I know we are scared and pissed off with everything that is going on and each day more bad news hits us from all over the world but we have to keep going and lets be honest for most of us in Britain things are not that terrible. 

Stay safe

Omicron another of Marvel Comics villains, sweeping away all those pesky weaker strains, it laughs at those who eschew the vaccine and won’t follow guidelines (whatever the fuck they are?) The plucky army of medically trained try to stand in its way, while a blond unmade bed of a man issues more and more confusing instructions, avoiding any questions and citing maternity leave as an excuse! You could not write it and it has become the best reality show on earth! It not that they break the rules it which rules will they break next and how will they stack the deck so as they cannot be brought to book over it. The brown envelope being slipped in to a greasy palm has become a the norm as business gets the mates and friends discount rate! 

If your clear about the Covid guidelines at present then your a better person than I am. Do I still have to wear a mask while smoking my pipe in the shower! Am I supposed to turn three times and perform a handstand if I encounter more than three penguins in a phone box? Am I still aloud to run naked down Kettering High St. throwing wet teas bags at passers by and still have to wear a mask over my shrunken cock? Well this and other questions need to be asked and the chief clown needs to come into the centre of the circus tent so as we can get yet more clear information regarding our lives?

Now several words from Susie Dent:

VENTOSITY pompous conceit and puffed up vanity (16th century)

SNACCIDENT The inadvertent eating of an entire packet of biscuits when you only meant to have one.

Words with their hearts on their sleeves

SECRETARY Keeper of secrets

WARDROBE To guard/ward our robes

FREELANCER A knight free to use his lance for payment

HOLIDAY A holy day

ALPHABET The letters alpha, beta

DISEASE lack of ease

DUCK A bird that ducks under water

Stay well

 All the media both social and other will not necessarily get Johnson out. We have to march on Downing St and protest! But wait of course we can’t do that we could be arrested without any need to tell us why and of course if you happen not to have been born in the UK you can be deported without any reason or explanation! It is a shame that Priti Patel was born here or she could deport herself! Perhaps she is trying to rid herself of her parents?

Do you think he will survive as it seems everyone is turning against him? We can only hope but do not be deceived if the leadership changes we are still in the grip of a Conservative majority in Parliament. Getting rid of Boris as leader is not even half the job. There are still plenty of potential replacements and current ministers who are likely to carrying forward these horrendous policies. And don't think for a moment that just because the chief liar and fraud has been deposed that Tory sleaze won’t continue or that there will be less lying. Boris maybe the head of the snake but the body will still write an thrash even if he is cut off. Think of the bile he will get to spew as a backbencher, not being PM does not mean he has stopped being an MP!

Now it seems that every minister and their dog have been seen to have had some form of Xmas party, if that is true then perhaps the entire government should resign and they will have to call a general election? The damage this government has done to our country is unprecedented. The pandemic is not their fault and I suspect any government would have struggled to handle it well. It is evident that under Boris things would always have been handled badly.  The pandemic has been a brilliant smoke screen for Boris and his cabinet as that have been able to pass all sorts of hideous legislation while the headlines were grabbed by Covid. Do not be fooled he would have proved to have been just as awful had no Virus affected the world, indeed we probably would have been even more disgusted with the stuff he would have said and done. He is the wrong man at the wrong time, surrounded by the wrong people! It may well be that the Labour Party is not necessarily fit for leading us either but should they gain power they would have to be squeaky clean otherwise they would not last five minutes. Britain maybe a “conservative” country at heart but we will only take so much no matter how popular you may have been to begin with! If Boris is no longer an electoral asset then the party will jettison him quicker than you can say 1922 committee!

In this age, dirt is easy to find and stories will emerge into the public consciousness eventually. Perhaps the ease with which it is found and the many platforms that can be used to highlight have actually made us more immune to its consequences.

Stay we

Well what a mess. I don't know, if most of you are old enough to remember past governments and all of the terrible things that happened under their watch. We had Labour in the Seventies and the three day week, rubbish piling up on the streets etc. We had the Falklands war and the miners strike while Maggie Thatcher was in charge, to name but two. We had a raft of corruption and sleaze with John Major and the Conservative party of the time. We had Blair and his illegal invasion of Iraq. All of these events were bad enough but all of that pales into insignificance within the context of this Tory PM and his party. Never mind the the truth, which it is unlikely we will ever really know, the overall atmosphere of lies, deceit, corruption and sheer lunacy has made this government look untenable (which of course it has been from the start) So many promises have been broken, so much legislation has been enacted that is to the detriment and erosion of our rights, that even with a different leadership it would take years to unravel the damage done? It was bad enough that Boris won the leadership and election because of his assertion he could get Brexit it done, (he could not and he has not) since then it has been one disaster after another, the strings are being pulled by his rich and wealthy friends and donors who can influence his decisions simply by having or giving enough money. The good news is that it looks as though his support is dwindling and his time as PM may yet come to the ignominious end it so richly deserves. He may appear to be a bumbling clown who has no interest in his own image but this is a selfish, elite man who believes he is above it all and dislikes being told what to do. He is highly intelligent and manipulative, unfortunately his intelligence is biased, prejudiced and has such a highly developed sense of self-preservation that lies drip from his mouth with no thought for the damage they can do. You could see that his apology on Wednesday was insincere and had been forced upon him against his will, you only had to see his body language when he sat down, eyes downcast and head nodding as if the world was against him, well Boris it might not be the whole world but the public have finally had enough of you and you must go. And go now!

If he survives this, it is inevitable that yet more will come out and it is only a matter of days before he he will make another gaff or renege on yet more promises and slip through another damaging piece of legislation to take our “democracy” further into restrictions that affect us all!

Investigations be damned, the only investigation we need is to understand how so many of our country were fooled into thinking Boris was the right man to lead!

I have never made any secret of my utter dislike of Boris Johnson and most of his ministers, if after this latest scandal he still has any credibility or popularity in this country and continues then frankly we are all doomed!

Stay well

Boris must fuck off and now. Anybody who still thinks he is trustworthy must be living in an alternate universe. he has to go and he has to go NOW!

Other than all of his cock-ups, lies etc etc etc this is just one piece off legislation sneaked through on Wednesday.

Any naturalised citizen can be deported for any reason without explanation no matter how long you have lived here or whether you have a British passport!

Just think about that for a few seconds and if your not disgusted or horrified by it then you should be ashamed!

Enough said

Stay well

First todays word from Susie Dent:BOLVIATE (19th century) to bluster or speak at length whilst saying nothing

I am simply pasting an email sen to our MP Philip Hollobone today. It says everthing I wanted to.

Dear Philip,

With no expectation of any form of reply, I ask if you could persuade your colleagues Boris and Jacob (amongst others) to apologies to the entire population for the alleged breaking of Covid rules, last Xmas? Boris for having the party and Jacob for his insensitivity whilst speaking at an event in recent Dear Philip,

With no expectation of any form of reply, I ask if you could persuade your colleagues Boris and Jacob (amongst others) to apologies to the entire population for the alleged breaking of Covid rules, last Xmas? Boris for having the party and Jacob for his insensitivity whilst speaking at an event in recent days. 
Your party has once again shown your true colours.

Surely by now the sensible members of your party have had enough of the constant barrage of gaffs, mistakes, poor judgement and incompetence from a series of ministers and most especially the PM?

The credibility of your party hangs by a thread, even your most forgiving committed supporters must be squirming with embarrassment, as yet more damaging  news breaks, it’s seems almost everyday?

Some humility and humble apologies are in order, rather than the usual bluster and denial? 

Even you must admit that things have reached a point where the office held by the PM and many of his ministers has become untenable? 

I know Philip you are a staunch supporter of this government but it is time for a change at the top , otherwise this run of being in power will be wrenched from your grasp at the next general election, irrespective of the countries opinion of Her Majesties opposition!

Naturally I cannot and never have  or never will be a Conservative Party supporter but soon the current support you have enjoyed will wither and die, wake up!

Kind regards

Paul Primhak

Sent from Paul Primhak days. 
Your party has once again shown your true colours.

Surely by now the sensible members of your party have had enough of the constant barrage of gaffs, mistakes, poor judgement and incompetence from a series of ministers and most especially the PM?

The credibility of your party hangs by a thread, even your most forgiving committed supporters must be squirming with embarrassment, as yet more damaging  news breaks, it’s seems almost everyday?

Some humility and humble apologies are in order, rather than the usual bluster and denial? 

Even you must admit that things have reached a point where the office held by the PM and many of his ministers has become untenable? 

I know Philip you are a staunch supporter of this government but it is time for a change at the top , otherwise this run of being in power will be wrenched from your grasp at the next general election, irrespective of the countries opinion of Her Majesties opposition!

Naturally I cannot and never have  or never will be a Conservative Party supporter but soon the current support you have enjoyed will wither and die, wake up!

Kind regards

Paul Primhak

Sent from Paul Primhak

No golf today too frigging cold! So you lucky readers you have an extra rant to keep you warm this week!

Todays word is:MUBBLE-FUBBLES (16th century) An overall feeling of despondency!

Twitter have just suspended my account for 11 hours because I wrote something rather nasty about Boris, well boo boo!

Body language is an interesting thing and often shouts loudly in direct contradiction to what a person is actually saying. Watch most Conservative party, spokespeople at the moment and you will see that their bodies are squirming as they desperately try to defend the indefensible. Dominic Raab is a perfect example of this, his body is completely at odds with every word that leaves his mouth!

Are you fed up making plans that seem to get disrupted by the virus? Well get used to it because it is not ever going to end. My good friend was looking forward to his son coming home this Xmas from Australia but his flight plans have been disrupted by Japan who have closed their borders so no connecting flights from there. 

I love having my family with us at Christmas, even if we are not keen on all the other stuff that goes with it. My family is small but we wont be seeing them all together this year,  like last, there is too much risk and existing health conditions make it difficult.

So as always please

Stay well

It is getting reported but Boris and cohorts are eroding any chance that their decisions can be overturned or scrutinised by law. He is pressing to get the laws changed so as his government can do anything they like with impunity. He is subverting the rule of law and our human rights. This has been going on for some time but only now have the media finally started to report it. Liberty and freedom, the bedrock of any Democracy are being undermined so fast, soon we won’t have any. It is bad enough we are living under the restriction of a pandemic but by the time we come out of it (a long long long time) any “freedom” we had before will have been severely curtailed by this government. 

I have nothing against Xmas lights or decorations  whether in the home or town centres but it does seem ironic that having just had Cop 26, we are burning electricity at such a rate if only for a short period? It may seem trivial but every ounce of energy could be vital in saving the environment, not to mention the money could be spent on other vital services. In Kettering we have three food banks, now I don’t know how bad the need is but the evidence seems clear judging by the people who queue outside! Yes we it is nice to celebrate and make our towns look festive but…………………………..

Stay well

Pro-life is anti-women, it is as simple as that! What a woman chooses to do with her body is entirely her decision! This is not up for debate it is an immutable fact. For the Supreme Court in America to reverse such hard fought for rights is an abomination! We take a step forward and then hey ho lets take a step back.If only  these anti abortion pro-life supporters gave a toss about your life, once your born! Women are not earth mothers or any other pointless label that they are given. They happen to be the ones who give birth. You can bet if it were men (nothing else having changed) there would be no argument about abortion! There are so many ways that women are still subjugated but the right to decide how to deal with a pregnancy should not even be a discussion, it’s their choice and theirs alone.

Two of my posts on FB this morning were deemed untrue and factually wrong an blocked. So be it. I have no problem with that, although they were fairly innocuous and hardly offensive, I can only hope that other material which is far more offensive, incite full or dangerous is treated in the same way? The policing of social media was and is inevitable and the great dream of a medium for everyone would never have lasted. Humans always, always fuck most things up! Fortunately, the web still is a repository for freedom of thought and information and if a few posts get caught up in the measures taken to prevent the real nasty stuff, then so be it! We cannot protect everybody from everything and nor should we but if there is abuse or incitement then it has to be combatted.

And now it’s party time, stick on the disco, pour me a large one and dance!

Stay well 

 Two words today from Susie Dent

APANTHROPY: The desire to be away from other people and left alone

DUMFUNGLED: used up, worn out and approaching stupification

Well another week has passed and the news is full of good cheer and stories that will keep you warm at night? What a world! Are you enjoying yourselves? Perhaps we should not listen or read the news, after all there is little or nothing we can do, or more accurately are willing to do? Soon it won’t matter, we won’t have any rights left to use! Each day our freedom in the UK is eroded further and further. Soon our human rights will be further damaged as the more of our protection is taken off the statute by, well you know who! Still never mind plenty of other stuff to keep us occupied. The fascists are winning and we are letting them as they tell us what to be scared of and we follow like so many lemmings heading towards the cliff! Democracy is complicated and easily lost, as history shows! 

My dear friend in Crete, gets annoyed with me when I say we are living in a dictatorship in the UK because he lived under one in Greece for many years. Of course he is right, we have no idea what a real dictator is like but my point is for the UK this is as close as we have come and it will only get worse while this party has a majority and is lead by you know who.

Of course everything is fine because we can now export our lamb to America. the fact that for years we haven’t been able to afford it in the UK seems a mute point! Another triumph for the independent UK, yet another deal that replaces those stupid ones we had with the biggest trading block in that the world!

Stay well

Rules are there to be broken so Boris breaks them all the time, when it suits him. I am a bit pissed off because I did not get an invite to his Xmas party last year and I doubt I’ll get one this year? Of course they did nothing wrong and were within the guidelines, a bit like parking you car with a couple of wheels on the dividing line! Having a party, in the first place was against the guide lines! Surely when the conga line came out the front door someone must have noticed? When the cleaners came in, were they not suspicious about the all the party hats and dead streamers lying on the floor? Find who does the washing up they’ll have a tale to tell. Ask the staff who cook, clean and serve?  When are we going to say enough is enough? Why are we tolerating this? Answers on a postcard please! 

You realise there will come a time, in the not so distant future, when any rights you thought you had are completely eroded as Darth Patel and her imperial troops, stamp all over them! We are asleep walking into a dystopian future much like those often portrayed in Sci Fi films. The only saving grace for me is I won’t be here to witness it!

Well Britain you voted this lot in (admittedly the alternate was unpalatable) so now sit back and reap the rewards of your democratic right! 

The people did this and now we have to undo it, I am no supporter of the other lot but surely a change must come?

Stay well

So in Greece if your over 60 and have not been vaccinated, every month you continue to be unvaccinated you will be fined 100 euros! Now i wonder how that would go down in the UK? Can you imagine the outrage and indignation, the protests? I don’t want remove your freedom of choice but surely by now it is clearly evident that this virus will keep transmuting and any precaution you can take can only enhance your chance of staying safe! I respect your decision to remain unvaccinated (reluctantly) but conspiracy theories and low percentage medical side effects to one side what are you waiting for? I am just bewildered by any reluctance to remain unvaccinated? Believe what you will but the evidence is clear, unvaccinated your chances of serious illness from Covid is much greater! We are in for boosters for many years to come and there is no getting away from it. 

Stay well

Frankly wearing masks in shops and on public transport is so laughable it almost beggars belief. Having said that Wendy and I have been wearing them anyway and have never stopped. Are we going to ban sporting event crowds, stop children going to school and restrict the many thousands of other human activities that happen every day? A mask is a precaution but the virus transmits in other ways. What a crock of shit! They knew about this new strain but let the planes from those countries in anyway and as usual we are reacting after the horse has bolted! I understand the pressures that we are all under to live as normal a life as we can, obviously nobody wants any restriction but it is a virulent pathogen, which will not and cannot be controlled without strict measures. There will be many more strains of the virus mutating for years to come, we need to come to terms with that reality and it seems that no one wants to acknowledge what is an inevitability. 

We still have huge daily numbers of infection and far to many deaths, it will continue while we have such a muddled attitude towards the  pandemic, which basically is one of “I won’t catch it so everything is okay”! This government has proved time and time again that it’s management of the pandemic is hopeless  at best and incompetent at worse and no amount of stating how wonderful our vaccine rollout has been will disguise their ineptitude in the first place! It is now about personal responsibility and doing what we each must in order to protect ourselves. If this means sacrifice to remain healthy then so be it, it wont do you any good if your no longer here! These are unpalatable times for many reasons and there is little we can do about many of the issues affecting our lives but we can be sensible and protect ourselves against a known but unseen enemy?

We can’t stop the bad guys at the moment, all over the world they seem to winning and short of war there is no way to stop them! It is to our credit that we do stop short of such action most of the time but still there are to many conflicts going on in the world. Power and money corrupts and there is no doubt that those who want it, want to keep it and want to have more of it. This is no conspiracy, countries support each other in a myriad of ways that we know nothing about and can only look on while they commit crimes against international law. Now days if a dictator wishes to stay in power then they can, there are plenty of others happy to support them and they have no compunction in hurting their own people. If you for one moment think there is fairness, honesty, integrity and the rule of international law working in this world then you are sadly mistaken and lets be brutally honest most of you don’t care, you have enough problems of your own to deal with!

There that’s Monday sorted and I have sent you off into the week with happy thoughts

Stay well and Happy Hanukkah 

So we have a new variant! You can’t stop a virus you can only protect against it. The measures just announced are a waste of time, to many inconsistencies! Get vaccinated and take your own precautions, do what you have to to protect you and yours and others. You can have no confidence in anything the government says they have been complicit in the mismanagement of the pandemic from day one.  Trust the scientific and medical advice and research it for yourself. We have a long unending road ahead and many more variants to come!

Wendy has just commented that if we don't provide a safe route for the people trying to get here from France and if we do not, we are complicit in their deaths. I don’t care what the reasons are that they wish come here, you cannot allow desperate people exploited by trafficking to drown in the channel and if you do then shame on all of us! Are they going to prosecute the RNLI for assisting, which according to the latest legislation, is against the law? I don’t care what the figures are, how many people have come to this country or what the current waiting time is to get processed (far too long) these are people who need help it is as simple as that. If we let them in and there happens to be the odd bad one well so be it! Besides what disruptive migrant or potential terrorist would subject themselves to such deprivation simple to commit atrocities in the UK, with little chance of getting here and such danger in doing so? No radical would choose this way of getting here, it is just rhetoric to make us scared! 

I went for my first therapy session yesterday with a very nice woman. She gave me a long explanation of how the brain functions which was interesting. Here is the outstanding takeaway, if you lose your temper or are in a fight or flight situation it takes at least twenty minutes for the chemicals your brain shoots into your system for you to calm down. I will report further on my progress.

Stay well

My darling wife has said that Boris’s apparent inability to deliver his speech and go on about Pepper Pig, is a diversionary tactic to get everyone talking about him and not the policies that are being implemented, like the health bill? I personally can’t credit him with that much subtle intelligence but if it is then I have seriously underestimated him! He has form and has grabbed the headlines with weird behaviour, in the past in order to mask other more devious stuff, he has been involved in and the story has been put on the back burner.  The fact that he is weird seems to have been his unique selling point but I think that is an act you can only sustain for so long, before it just becomes tiresome and ineffective. 

This is a government and a PM who have divided the country more than any other in living memory and I include Thatcher! Boris bleats on about how much they have invested in all sorts of areas and yet I think it’s safe to say that none of us have seen any improvement in our lives and we are certainly paying more for everyday items. We are being ripped off over fuel, which has remained overpriced since the “fuel crisis” is another example of profiteering. To a degree the public only has themselves to blame, a stupid reaction to a problem that really did not exist! Prices always rise that is the nature of a capitalist system but since Brexit there is no doubt that ours have been inflated by the stupidity of leaving the biggest trading block in the world! I am not suggesting we should live under a different regime to control the market but radical change is necessary?

On a different subject, 27 migrants did not die, 27 human beings desperate for a better life in a country that used to welcome, people died! We want to bring in the best and the brightest and nobody wants to come here, we are no longer in the EU, why would you come here? We have helped people in the past but now we want to pick and chose and reject those who need help. We used to encourage immigrants ( admittedly for all the wrong reasons and then treated them appallingly) What fools we are to think we can survive without sharing and allowing people to find a better life in our country. And to those who say we have no room or we cant afford it, just put yourself in those refugees place and think how you would feel cut off from a life you once knew and with little hope or prospect? Yes the human smugglers need to be dealt with and eradicated but if we were treating people with basic human kindness there would be no need for the desperate measures they take and the illegal business that fuel their desperation! I will guarantee you that part of our reluctance to accept these “migrants” is as much to do with their racial and ethnic background as the fact that they are homeless!

Stay well

Wednesday and the week has started well. Yesterday I shot my best golf score of the year and for more importantly my son and daughter in law confirmed we will become grandparents in July, happy days! 

I have mentioned before that Wendy and I have only ever been parents, we have no nieces or nephews, we are the only members of our small family to have children. This will be our first and only grandchild and if it is a girl our family name will be gone (though she might keep it regardless) I have no complaint I could care less, once I’m gone, whether my family name continues! People are far to invested in their legacy? As long as I am remembered reasonably fondly I really have no interest, once your gone your gone! Memories are funny things and distance does lend a rosy glow that sometimes obscures reality. I always claim that I did not get on with or love my mother but the truth is I cant actually remember? I don't even remember her being a difficult woman. I think I have used her as a convenient excuse for my own independent rebellion? My father did confirm that we did not have the greatest relationship and certainly she was resistant to my marriage. Memories are strange things. Mine are blurred and intermittent, in fact there are many, many memories that are just a blank to me. Wendy often reminds me about things we did as a family when the boys were young and I nod and say I remember but most of the time it is very vague! 

Much cleverer people than me can explain it but I have no idea,  it’s just the way my brain works? I do remember stuff but more of a feeling than necessarily a firm scene of the past. When people say they can remember something like it was yesterday, I wonder if that is really true? I rather like making my past what I would have liked it to be in order to reinforce my present. 

Please don’t  misunderstand I do remember a lot very clearly and can recall exactly the part of my past or can I?

Stay well

Whilst this could have been just a joke, I read a statement that proposes if you have the vaccine it will mess with your spirit and therefore you will not be reincarnated or get into heaven because God will not be able to recognise you! Now while the nonsense of that statement is blindingly obvious, it seems to that if you have a omnipotent being who sees and hears everything, god would have accepted the vaccine and know all about its “changing”properties? Every time anyone uses god as an viewpoint or argument, it is a waste of time, you cant have an all forgiving being who does not forgive? You cant have a omnipresent being whose knows some things but not others, it is a fundamental flaw in any argument that invokes the use of a god! 

My views on religion are no secret, a total waste of time and meaningless. If you believe in god, fair enough but you cant have it both ways that a god is all forgiving and knowing but if you displease god or do something not acceptable god will reject you! Naturally I do not think for one moment there is a god, not least because there is no imperial facts that support the existence of such a being but also because simple logic instinctively informs me that it is impossible. It is a wonderful fantasy and perfectly understandable after all who would not wish for some all embracing magical creator, who sees and hears everything and has a place for you after death? It is a natural human reaction to all we have around us, particularly for those in the ancient world who did not yet have all the technology and modern advantages we have. How else would people explain the wonders of nature. Why would you not wish to believe there is a “life” after death? In the 21st century religion no longer has such a strong hold on human existence and yet the belief persists and religions trundle along unable to give up their futile existence and ancient teaching which no longer have any meaning. If you search the logic of your mind you will know there is no god, never has been, never will be, some good tales though!

Stay well

 I often write how our current leadership is about as much use as chocolate teapot. Actually I suspect a chocolate teapot is actually less likely melt than all the promises  they make! If it was not so serious you would have to laugh at the madness of it all. Nobody wants to live in a country that has an embarrassment of riches in politicians who bring our parliament into disrepute. One of the mysteries for me is how these Tory MP’s get educated and grow up with these ideas? Is there some kind of system that turns out representatives who say things that reinforces our perception of the Conservatives or do they truly believe what they say? Do they secretly want to give another point of view but are programmed to spout insensitive nonsense? Surely there must be times when defending their party and PM’s stance becomes a burden almost impossible to justify? It must be why so many of them stumble over answers or just give ones that are are so crass, even they must cringe at what they just said? Boris is Boris he is an exception, a man so uncontrolled and inexcusable that he is beyond the any kind of normal behaviour but surely there must be members of his party who shake their head in disbelief and shuffle out of the chamber wondering what kind of party they now belong too? Do they truly support all the shit they are drowning in? There has been some recent evidence that his support is waiting or at least being questioned. Nobody’s grip on a party lasts forever, look what happened to Maggie Thatcher! It is not surprising that when you have a PM like Boris, the other prominent minsters are bound to be as awful! 

Keri Starmer is not the best of replacements, his lack of real attack has proved to be disappointing. At a time when Labour (I am not a Labour supporter) should be shouting how appalling this government is they are almost missing in action, though I suspect the media has so much to say about the corruption and poor governance that they can’t get a look in! It’s difficult to command the news when you have a PM who is reported each day for some further gaff or lie! 

Anyway as I said to begin it is all rather funny ha ha ha!

Stay well

 Not a day goes by when our leaders do not perpetrate yet another misguided rule of law or another scandal. What I find difficult to understand is why there is not a majority of us screaming how unfit they all are to be in charge. It mystifies me that we are not all taking to the streets to show our displeasure with the behaviour, corruption, lies, mistakes, abuse of public funds and the many other misguided policies and laws thats are committing everyday? These are very strange times, the strangest I personally have lived through? It is frightening and disturbing how we are complicit in the way our country has been guided and lead. What has happened to us? We have never been as fair minded and tolerant as is often cited but neither have we been so apathetic and seemingly incapable of howling our displeasure against a government whose ineptitude has made us the laughing stock of the world!

There is no doubt that Boris wants to rip up even the appalling agreement he made with EU over Brexit and blame everyone and anyone else for its flaws! The worse of are getting shafted while the rich are fine. It has always been this way but never quite so overtly as it is at present. If you have a Tory government then you should expect them to look after their core voting base, what party wouldn’t if they want to remain in power. If only once they would turn round and say they made a mistake or things changed and their initial assessment had to alter, we might be a little more understanding? Everything is spin or denial and even the fact that there is video evidence of actual statements, makes no difference, denials will be made and even if the video is shown they will either ignore it or blatantly state they never said that! I can’t  speak for you but I am furious and in despair over the state of the United Kingdom, which in itself is a joke, never have we been more disunited! Covid aside, the UK is in parlours state and becoming as close to a dictatorship, as any time in our history, with the possible exception of Cromwell! Yet we put up with this, day after day with no hint of rebellion (peaceful). If we choose to go to the barricades and express our displeasure than I am with you. 

Stay well

Word of the day: CIRCUMBENDIBUS (17th century) an answer or explanation so convoluted and evasive it isn’t really an answer at all!

Could you write a political drama or comedy as real as the one we have been witnessing since Johnson took power? Could you invent comedy characters as good as the ones in the Tory party? You would be told you were exaggerating if you invented some of these minsters or MP’s and yet the reality is so much worse than any imagined series! On his own Boris is a comedy figure like no other politician we have ever seen but the cast of characters in his cabinet and the wider Conservative party are an incredible mix of rampant privilege and elitism so bent, you almost cant believe it is happening for real!

For those who want to understand the next phase of Boris’s derailed rail scheme hers is a picture of the new high speed train:

Stay well
 

When I was young in the fifties and sixties men where never to open about their feelings, it just wasn’t done. You kept your thoughts to yourself and just got on with stuff. Now we are encouraged to open up and discuss our inner most thoughts, which I welcome. I have always tried to be an open person but I am heartened to find that many men that I know are open to therapy and understand the value of mindfulness. A friend told me yesterday that for years he thought the Americans pathetic for their obsession with therapy but now he sees the value in it. 

I am going to explore the possibility of getting therapy myself. I have an inner rage against the events of the world and particularly our government, that disturbs me in a way that I cant quite explain. Of course the pandemic has not helped and I am sure I am not alone in the anxiety that has been engendered by it! 

The human condition is a complex one which I have often tried to see in simple terms. Often I brushed aside those who have experienced all sorts of emotions as trivial even though I was well aware that such mental strain was far from that.

I will report on my progress.

Word of the day: COWQUAKER A storm or thunderplump so heavy or dramatic it makes every animal quake

Stay well

I am sure I am not alone in feeling a permanent sense of anger, that bubbles under the surface. Over the last few years with Brexit, the pandemic, Trump, Johnson and the general state of our world! It engenders a underlying mood of melancholy, which as more than once manifested itself as rage. The world has always been a difficult place and if one cares anything about it, these last years have proved once and for all how mismanagement and deception only makes things ten times worse! I have always had a temper but as I have got older it has become very rare that I let it get the better of me, maturity and just the mere fact of getting older has mellowed me. However recently I have started to notice that my tolerance has become far less contained and my fuse shorter. I suspect I am not alone? 

The voice of the “liberal” minded who seek fairness and truth has all but been silenced and no longer have any real representation. We are seen as weak and pathetic and those at either side of the spectrum shout louder and command more attention! We have no chance of getting our views across and even when we vote, in areas like ours the political map is firmly in the hands of the Conservatives and it is almost impossible to shift that dynamic? It is an ironic , especially as our MP seems to be universally disliked but then I presume the majority who support him have no need to say a word! 

Trying to disengage or no longer take an interest is a little like trying to kick any addiction! Perhaps I need a “world events anonymous” meeting! “My name is Guestling and I’m an addict!” Yes I am being flippant and it is not my intention to denigrate those with serious addictions. 

The pandemic is not something that can be controlled and we must learn to live with it, if it curtails some of our freedom then that is the price we have to pay. As for the rest, much if not all of it is self-inflicted, avoidable and largely about power and money. Brexit as many of us shouted loudly from well before the referendum, is a shambles, I need not reiterate all of the reasons, they are self-evident. 

I dont have the answers and it is easy to moan and criticise, without necessarily understanding the complexities of the issues. We blame everybody else and feel what little we do, has no impact. There is no them and us, we are all people, whether your in the government or retired like myself we are all people and in the end, as history has proved, it is the people who always bring about the changes that are needed. So however angry you might be, keep trying!

Stay well

So COP26 has finished with the inevitable disappointment, that I suspect we all knew it would. Getting the world to agree on anything is difficult, self- interest will always trump collective progress. Fossil fuels just need to stop now. Stop burning them right away and that part of the problem ceases. If you keep giving nations time to phase fossil fuel out by this year or that year is a waste of time, they will always find a way of reneging on any agreement, safe in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or made to stop! None of us know whether climate change is a long term problem or a temporary blip in the Earths history. We do know that we have created in a very short time span an enormous problem, which if we do not change our ways will damage our home beyond its ability to recover. 

I drove my petrol car to Stratford, yesterday, about 60 miles there and 60 back, naturally thousands of vehicles were on the roads and Stratford itself was heaving. It would be interesting to know how much C02 emissions were being pumped out in the midlands area? 

Wendy and I often look at the alternate train fares, especially as Kettering Station is at the bottom of our road (our road is Station rd). The calculation is between the cost of the train ticket and how much fuel you would use to travel to the same destination. For instance to travel to London by train can cost up to £40 each return. My car would use less fuel than that I can park for free and use the underground. The train would save me driving and take us into central London, so it has its advantages but if it were just a little less expensive there would be no debate!

We know that we have let the car become all embracing when it comes to travel, even short distances. Our public transport has become woefully underinvested and the service is poor and does not offer a positive alternative. Car ownership is not just about getting form a to b, I would be the first to admit that I just like cars, always have since I was a small boy. I like them for many reasons and not just speed or convenance. So disabusing people from using their cars so much, is not just about driving them, it is so much more than that! 

Stay well 

 There has been a lot of use of the word Integrity. Indeed I frequently use it myself usually in relation to our lack of it in government and particularly BoJo! So I decided to look up the definition of the word in the dictionary

1 Steadfast adherence to  a strict moral or ethical code

2 The state of unimpaired soundness

3 The quality or condition of being whole; completeness

I do not feel the need to point out the obvious. If that is the definition then it is clear that there are so many in Parliament who fall short of that it is shameful! I am sure that most MP’s have genuine integrity or at the very least want to do the best for their constituents. Recently and for far to long we have witnessed to many examples of members who have little or no integrity and only have a passing understanding of it’s actually meaning! 

Stay well

Is there anything left to say about Boris Johnson? Can he damage our politics and country any further? Sadly the answer is yes he will continue to make us an embarrassment for as long as he remains PM. How he is still supported by any voters is beyond understanding. Times have been hard, things are not easy out in the big wide world. What have inflicted on ourselves is bad enough, compounded by the pandemic, we are in a perilous position. So at a time when we need strong leadership we have a PM who has no moral compass or integrity and what is worse never acknowledges or even realises, that he has lied, falsified, corrupted, ignored or just plain does not care! Unfortunately his entire government is tainted with his personality and way of governing. I wonder if they are tired of defending him and backing up his deception? Surely there must be one or two of them who know how appalling it is to have him as their leader and are just not in a position to do anything? I watch the odd clip of various spokespeople defending him or the general Troy position and they just don’t seem very convincing or convinced. their body language is that of people who know they are defending the indefensible but have no choice but gamely carry on, compounding the lies. We have a government which has no credibility simply because we are constantly hearing about all awful things they do and all the things they are not doing. the list of relations, “friends” and donors who they have given contracts to or tried to place in positions of influence is endless. For instance did you know that the PM’s brother Jo Johnston was made a director of Dyson (a Brexiters who moved his headquarters abroad!) a month after the pandemic “started” in the U.K. and then Dyson were awarded a contract for extractors worth millions without any need for a competitive tender!

This man has to go, I would make a better PM and I know absolutely nothing about anything which seems to me to be a positive advantage!

Stay well

Mask no mask, vaccine no vaccine? I support freedom of choice, how could you not but NHS workers see the horrors of the virus before their eyes everyday! Why would you not be vaccinated. They have seen death on an unprecedented scale since the start of this pandemic, how can you refuse to be jabbed? What is worse is we cannot afford to lose them, there aren’t enough of them to begin with. I wonder if any patients have had the presence of mind to ask staff if they have been? My daughter in law, as I have written before is a Matron who runs a care unit for discharged patients and therefore she and her staff visit homes all over the area, she and they did not hesitate to get vaccinated. They had a couple of positive tests along they way and in the early days a couple of cases but as she says, the protection is not just for her but for her patients.

Now I suspect if you have not been vaccinated by now you are not ever going to be and I also suspect that most unvaccinated will probably not catch the virus? That however is no excuse as far as I am concerned. We all have our opinion and much has been said and written about the merits of being vaccinated, a lot of it nonsense and some of of it scientifically accurate. Sure there is always some risk to any vaccine, human physiology is complicated and unpredictable but the vast majority of us will be unaffected. Let me ask you this, if you were admitted to hospital with an ailment and the medical advise was to be injected with a medicine that could protect you from further illness, you probably would not hesitate to have it? You might ask if there were an side effects but you certainly would not spend time on the internet researching every conceivable theory on its efficacy?

There have been two sides to this debate, from the beginning, neither is completely right and neither is completely wrong. Each side is entrenched in there belief, each side claims to be right? I am firm in my belief, which side I am on. I have always believed in medicine, it has saved my life and will not abandoned my belief in it now simply because there is a cacophony of noise that shouts it is bad for me!

Stay well

A good friend of mine who works for Jaguar in sales, tells me the predicted fall off of car purchases has happened, as he put it “off a cliff edge”. There are mitigating factors, such as the chip shortage and a much reduced used car pool but it has all the indicators of a recession being on it’s way. I worked in the car trade for several years and a big drop off in sales always seemed to proceed a downturn in the economy. People are experiencing “buyers remorse” having spent to much during the pandemic (a pandemic which is continuing) and with the cost of living rising dramatically, budgets are being tightened. Can you tell me that you have not noticed a rise in prices? The pandemic has caused disruption, normal market forces continue but the biggest cause is Brexit!

I dont feel the need to write about the current political row, it is self explanatory and a more obvious corruption and immoral behaviour, will not be seen. You make up your own mind but if you do not see the sleaze in this PM and most of his party then you are blind!

We are hoping to make a big announcement very soon, a happy one and one we had all but given up on. Further news will be forthcoming!

Stay well

Food banks? I have a question, why do we have them? I know the answer but this is 2021 and it seems poverty has got worse? What has happened to our society? Yes we have always had people in need, we have always had homelessness, many have had to struggle. Have we just accepted that food banks are here to stay? We are not a third world country struggling to feed our population? I ask all of this, simply because I no longer understand the cause. I am completely insulated from such issues, Ive never had a hungry day in my life, except because I may have chosen too. I will always help if I can and often contribute. I not telling you this to make myself look good, indeed I wish nobody had to but what kind of country have we become, when so many people rely on the generosity of others? There are many hundreds of problems that need attention in the UK but surely a fundamental one is that the vast majority of people can afford and have enough to eat? Ir is completely unacceptable!

Stay well

Well what a week! As usual the government showed itself to be full of integrity and honesty! While world leaders discussed the fate of our planet, the Tories once again showed the rest of the world that they have no monopoly on corruption and sleaze! We have become rather good at it and unfortunately it is nothing new, it has been going on for decades. You have to give this government credit fro being blatant about it, there is no disguise, no attempt to hide their complicity with corruption. It’s quite refreshing really because unlike the past, we, the public now know exactly where they stand! No more deception or back room deals, no, we will exercise our bending of the rules on the floor of the house for all to see. In the past you have never been quite sure what the real stance of a government is but there is no doubt with this lot they simply revel in their lies and manipulation of the truth for all to hear! If they win the next election then we will know what a majority of those who vote, really want our country to be? 

I might be wrong but I am coming to the conclusion that for much of the public, what they do is okay or they just don't care as long as it suits them? If you were an open minded person arriving in our country, completely unaware of the political make-up or what each party represented, surely you would quickly conclude that Britain is a weird place to have voted in a Conservative government? Any fair minded individual would look at this country and conclude that the people care little for who makes their laws and policies, so much so that they voted for a man who looks like an unmade bed and behaves like his own worse version of his spitting image puppet! You have to laugh, if it was not so serious, you sit on the side lines and watch unfold like some twisted sitcom. Let face it, to use a cliched phrase, you could not make it up. Now where on the web can I find well paid lobbyist jobs, nothing under a £100k per annum!

Stay well

I’m setting up my own Standards Committee. It will do exactly as I say, when I tell it to and will be exclusively to help my friends!

Thank you

Stay well

Word of the day is MALVERSATION (16th century) The corrupt administration of power!

I have felt much better since refraining from commenting too much on our political shenanigans. Yesterday’s behaviour would be a perfect platform for a rant but “word of the day” will suffice and says it all anyway!

It’s is a strange juxtaposition, when one gets to a certain age that you care about the world and yet at the same time I don’t! I have less time in front of me and therefore I just want to get on with my life. Everyday is precious (they always have been) and as there are fewer of them I am not inclined to waste energy on the woes of the UK and the world. I have written many times that individuals can effect change and we have seen many examples. It is easier if you have a platform or are well known but this should not prevent action from anyone. Having said that the effort involved is difficult and 99% of the time will yield no result. My personnel mental health is far mor important than a rant against the sleaze and corruption, hypocritical nonsense and lies. 

So I am taking little interest in the events of the world (sort of) and I am passing the baton to those who are younger and more passionate, over to you!

Stay well

A good friend of mine, who is 82, pointed out yesterday that he will never see many of the targets set by countries to affect climate change! Which brought into stark relief, why are so many targets so many years down the line, when all the experts agree that we have do what is needed now! If it is as urgent as we are told (which I believe) then we have make tough choices and we all have to buy into them. We fundamentally need to change our behaviour and attitude in order to save our planet then why are we not implementing these targets immediately. I understand many things have to wind down and that change takes time but targets of 5, 10, 20 years or longer are surely too late? The world has to come together and the rich have to support those countries whose economic situation makes it more difficult. 

There is the theory that our time as a species is finite and like the dinosaurs we decline and die out. Whether we leave Earth in a habitable condition for whatever comes next is debatable. We are the biggest pest on our planet and there are millions who know little about how we are destroying it or could care less they are just trying exist and stay alive. 

There are many who live a simple life and in harmony with nature, it is natural. We look in awe at the beauty of our planet, I can’t think of a single person I know who does not care about nature. 

We are all aware that the will is there, we all know there is more than enough money, we all hear the fine words and impassioned sentiment and yet we keep asking when will real action be implemented, when will these leaders actually carry out all their promises and why aren’t we all doing it now?

Stay well

What has happened to the British sitcom? We used to produce fantastic 30 minute sitcoms, funny, poignant, witty and a reflection of our lives (naturally exaggerated) Now I would be the first to admit that we have not watched a lot of them and perhaps we are missing out but when we do we are always disappointed! Humour like anything moves on but it seems we still have the same cliched old humour recycled in a more contemporary way, we still have seaside innuendo. We tried the new Outlaws series on the BBC. It just was not funny or even that much humour. We gave it a chance but unimpressed!

US comedies are not any better at present we have watched a few and the standard is not great. Perhaps there are to many channels with to much time to fill and the standard has universally dropped. 

Ther are some honourable mentions. Never Have I Ever, The Good Place on Netflix, Hitmen on Sky.

We have been watching The West Wing which is on 4 iPlayer, the production, script and acting are superbly done. Clever writing which still bears a relevance 20 years on! I am happy to hear any recommendations of comedies or programmes. We all have different tastes, which is a good thing with all the diverse programmes that are currently produced.

Stay well

It’s hard to know what to write about? Over the years I have spouted on about many subjects, many of which (almost all) I know little or nothing about! The problem is that so often these days we don't look past the headline or post. Our attention span has become erratic. Only this morning I started reading an article and got about two thirds through it and just could not be bothered to finish! We hear and read so much, see so many social media posts that tell us so much conflicting information, it is hard to know the fact from the bullshit! I try to research  some subjects just to make sure I’m not talking or writing rubbish but even the experts seem to have differing views, confusing conclusions and opinions? Human existence is a shared experience and one which, we all, no matter how ill informed or ignorant have some idea of the state of our country and the world? We all have differing views and fast held opinions and has time has gone on we seem to more and more entrenched in those? The longer I longer I live the more I realise how ignorant I am and how my views are affected by my age and experience. Only the other day I was talking to a much younger neighbour who runs his own business and as we discussed the budget, I understood that his priorities were much different from mine. He is concerned that all his hard work is not diminished by taxation and having to support those who are unwilling to support themselves. what he earns through hard work is for him and his family to maintain and hopefully improve their lives and I totally understand that. 

I often bang on about a fairer more equal society and they huge gap between those who have and those who don’t but I rarely consider the consequences. Society is unequal and there is much evidence to support that view? We have to acknowledge that there will always be a section of our population who for whatever reason have no intention of working and hope to live off the state and others generosity. Often tainting those in genuine need with a reputation that is undeserving! It is a complex and difficult subject. I know I am woefully ignorant in my understanding of it all!

Stay well

I may have missed it but in all this debate about water companies dumping raw sewage, I read or heard little about the damage it does to our wildlife? Of course the real problem is the old infrastructure which can no longer cope with our much larger population and the increase in heavy rainfall. Water companies make billions of dividends and profit and we are constantly told they need time to invest in our infrastructure. They should be forced to spend their profits to improve the infrastructure as fast as possible. I wonder how much money is wasted on repairs and not upgrades? I am going to write to my water company Anglia Water and ask them. 

I shall no longer be alive once most of the proposed “targets” to reduce the environmental impact are met. Well most of them anyway. This is not an excuse for not doing anything to help in my tiny way but more a sadness that I will never know how it turns out. Probably for the best, I am optimistic but in a very pessimistic way!

Stay well

I try very hard to keep an open mind about most things trying to understand each sides point of view and opinion. I have refrained in recent weeks from commenting too much about our government, after all it is pointless, it will make no difference. 

The problems we are experiencing are a direct consequence of Brexit. Nobody wants to hear it. We don't want to acknowledge our foolishness but that is the reason. 

Another thing that seems to be a “hot” subject at the moment is the Transgender community and all the nonsense that surrounds it. The problem mainly stems from men who wish to identify as women. Biological sex cannot be changed. If you born male your male, if your born female your female. Be whoever you want to be but it is an immutable biological fact that cannot be disputed. Perhaps if we all stopped banging on about it, we might just accept it all and the whole thing would go away. 

Leaders gathering in Scotland for the climate conference COP26. They all jet in on planes. 

Stay well

Need one say that the government has taken, rightly, a real bashing over the sewage dumping. However why aren’t the water companies getting far more flack, after all they are the ones who are doing it? Yes the government have made it easier for them to continue to do what they have been doing for a long time but it is the water companies who are doing the dumping? The government have to take responsibility but sometimes we target our outrage in the wrong direction!

Stay well

Football as they say is a funny old game. The Premier League is full of riches both monetary and in skill. Watching Manchester United get thrashed by Liverpool, was as bad as I have ever seen them play and yet they are full, of some of the best players who earn millions! Liverpool were very good but United made it far to easy for them. You can only beat who is put in front of you but that array of expensive talent were a shambles! I have always enjoyed football and have followed the Hammers (West Ham) since I was a young boy. It is overblown, made to be far more important than it really is and yet it is strange how it can affect the mood of the country, especially the national team. There will be millions of Manchester United supporters waking up today wondering how they could have capitulated so easily to a team, whom the view as their biggest rivals? 

I do admire the skill and athleticism, todays players are fitter and faster than ever. I was a mediocre player in my youth and like most sports I’ve tried pretty average. I suppose if the going rate of pay is to earn millions per year then you cannot blame the players for taking the money, they don’t set the salary levels. Having said that the money involved is mind boggling and bears little relation to ordinary working people. 

Now Newcastle have been purchased by a Saudi consortium they are going to have to be very careful how they conduct themselves, lest they do not get tarnished with the appalling record the Saudi’s have on human rights! There is a contradictory stance here by the Premier League, Black Lives Matter but it appears a poor human rights record is no barrier to becoming the owners of a club? It smacks of double standards and shows how unlimited resources can get you what you want?

Football is not important, though it can be a welcome distraction for many. At its best it is exciting, emotional, has breathtaking skill, can lift a nation but like all sport we have to realise it is only a game!

Stay well

I don’t know about Plan B, I don’t think there was ever a Plan A! If you are a member of the general public, do you feel protected by our leaders? Do you care? Naturally we all want to live our lives in the easiest way possible but the last two years have proved that you can’t tame nature. The highlighted “new normal” has come to pass, except that there was no “normal” in the first place! We spend our lives, in ever changing times, all the time. From one day to the next we never really know what to expect or what will happen? We try to run our lives with as little drama as we can but tell me the last time a week went by without something unexpected happening, no matter how trivial it might be? We protect our loved ones and friends the best way we can. I strongly believe in kindness and helping others when you can. The world often seems an unkind place full of violence and cruelty and sadly there is to much evidence of that but acts of kindness are carried out every day however small they might be. I read a post from a mother who had just given birth and was out with her new born for the first time, she realised she had forgotten her purse and a lady at the checkout seeing her plight paid for her items. She said it restored her faith in human nature! These small acts of support are the simple help that can make the difference to all societies. Kindness does not get reported in the same way as the bad stuff and perhaps that is the way it should be but it happens all the time. It costs nothing to help people and in my life has been enriched by those who helped us and by those we have tried to help. Lets be selfish for a moment and acknowledge that it makes us feel good when we carry out an act of kindness! 

Be kind and stay well!