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