Only one thing to write today. If Zahawi has been dismissed for breaking the Ministerial Code, then why have most of the front bench of government not also been sacked?

Stay well

 I have written many times that the world is a strange place full of strange people, odd behaviour and weird events! Is it as strange as we often think? There are now approaching 10 billion people inhabiting our planet, it comes as no surprise that the breath of human madness is so diverse. If we are not convinced by the evidence of our own eyes then surely history provides enough evidence of the bizarre and mad behaviour of the human race. That is the way it should be, explore your own mind and tell me there is not madness or the weird lurking there? We keep most of our “weirdness” in check. Too many cannot control their inner demons or perversions and so we have all the nastiness the we see and read about each day, shaking our heads in disbelief! It is difficult to understand the minds of those who perpetrate violent acts, other cruelties and acts of brutality. We try to rationalise and explain away their behaviour often based on the premise that we would never act like they have.I often have dark thoughts that surface with no intention of ever acting upon them but I wonder how smaller step it would be to actually do so? The mind is complex and often unfathomable, the final frontier. It is a place full of knowledge, fun, intellectual curiosity, love, hate, emotional turmoil, darkness, madness and every example of weirdness. 

We look at the behaviour of those we have in power and wonder what what the hell some people were thinking in order to allow them any where near high office? Even those who appear moderate can be seduced by the desire for power! Trump is about to launch his campaign to run for President in 2024. My mind cannot comprehend that he would be accepted by the Republican Party as their candidate. It makes me believe in mass hypnosis or brain washing that so many can still support this utter horror of a human being! It is bad enough we have had the bumbling corrupt bunch of useless twats in power in this country! We can only hope that the wheel will turn and good sense will prevail. 

The human mind, unpredictable, strange and wonderful!

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 It’s Friday and my turn to rant! It is remarkable that particularly since Brexit we have suffered a corrupt self-enriching government and Conservative Party that no civilised democratic country should have to deal with. Yet howl and shout as we might, no matter how many times they prove themselves to be unfit to govern, what happens? A few changes of leadership, resignations by the bucketload, the odd fine, a few MP’s so beyond the pale they have lost the whip but the same old faces change musical chairs and continue to be ministers or prominent figures! To say it is frustrating would be an understatement! It is as though no matter how appalling they are (and they are) we cannot get shot of them. Naturally I am all for the democratic process no matter how unfit ours currently is when it comes to elections but there have been times when I truly believe an American style shooting of the Tory benches might be the solution! I do not condone violence of any kind but this lot engender nothing but shame and hatred! Each day another Conservative MP makes some kind of crass statement that is so horrific and lacking in any kind of compassion that wonder how they ever got elected in the first place? My own MP is amongst over two hundred Tory MP’s who voted to allow Water companies to keep dumping sewage for the next 15 years!!!! Here is a party who boast about their “green” policies and yet they literally don’t give a shit about our rivers and beaches! 

It is easy to spew forth vitriol against this Conservative regime, they are such easy targets. No doubt if Labour were in power we would be shouting about all the things they were doing or not doing? Do not misunderstand that is not a defence of this government, they have no defence, they all should be utterly ashamed of the havoc they have reeked upon us. Even with the excuse of Covid and the devastation that caused their neglect has been monumental! 

It is no obvious that Brexit was a thinly disguised tactic to avoid the tax laws that the EU ways about to approve, which would have severely curtailed the wealthy Conservative base and many rich MP’s. What stronger evidence is there, than self-serving men and women who put their welfare first. If you believe that the Tories have ever cared for all its citizens then you have not been living in the same country as I have!

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At the risk of repeating myself (when have I ever!) it is fantastic how you really are never to old to learn. For those of you, like me who never considered themselves “academic” or “artistic”  it is never too late to start. I have found the last third of my life to be the most productive. I have discovered later in life talents that only briefly surfaced in my younger years. Admittedly I have the time to indulge in these activities. When you are in the first years of adulthood one is concentrating on earning and looking after ones family (if that is your path)! You have leisure time but it is limited and if you have children they become your priority. Do not misunderstand I would not change a thing. Family is the most important! I always knew I had some literary and artistic capability buried inside me but it has only flowered in the last 10 years or so. In the younger years, there would be a brief flurry of attempts but they would quickly fade as daily life dictated. Time is precious and when eventually you have more of it to spend on your own interests do not squander it. If an activity gives you pleasure ( stop it!) do it! I appreciate there will be activities that might be beyond your means but simple ones like writing and art are within everyone’s compass, all you need is a pen and paper! You will never know if you have any affinity with a subject if you don’t try. 

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There are many many issues we need to solve in our world. sometimes it seems impossible to imagine they will ever be addressed let alone eradicated. It is the human condition that we are constantly in a state of flux, a seemingly never ending battle with those who behave in a manner that most of us know is wrong , dangerous, harmful or purely evil. Even collectively we fail to stop the madness that engulfs the world. The focus shifts from one tragedy to another and a never ending litany of brutality and death. We ignore much of it, it’s not our problem! Ukraine is on our doorstep so naturally it has become the most important conflict for the West. Yet there are many that have been festering away for years and years and never get reported. It has been said many times and not just by me that the so called Western powers are responsible for much of the unrest in the world, the sins of history reflect badly on many so called civilised conqueror’s. Britain has a long history of assisting countries and in recent times joining our “partner” the USA in invading and fighting against injustice and terrorism. What good has any of this “interference” resulted in? Afghanistan back where it was, a brutal misogynistic regime under the Taliban. Libya a mess of civil unrest and collapse. Syria rife with civil war and many factions who want their cause to prevail! Wherever we poke our nose in, a bloody trail is left as when we withdraw because political pressures or just plain fatigue has brought to the point where support is no longer our priority. 

As individuals all we can do is keep our families and friends safe. If we do not wish to get involved then we must I suppose keep quiet. Which is why I write. It is my way of expelling the thoughts and opinions that would otherwise swamp my tired observation of world events and clog my mind!

Stay well

I seem to have become enamoured with Instagram videos showing you how to fold clothes neatly. Trousers, shirts, woollens etc. I tried one method out and spent some time yesterday folding my jumpers and tops. It works and has saved a lot of space as well as being much neater. I used to wiz through Instagram, not really paying attention to much of the content but it has become my favourite channel. There are a lot of adverts and I admit I have made a few purchases. You have to refine your content and eliminate lots of stuff that is uninteresting. I watch art videos and follow many artists who post. Some of you will have seen posts of my drawings. It is an example of how a social media channel can actually be informative and educational. Instagram has no nasty content or bitter feuds and is all the better for it.

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I have got to the point where I barely scan the daily news anymore. There are so many events and stories of importance or interest that are not reported. For example there have been many a large protest against a number of policies this government are implementing but hardly, if any reporting is done on the main news sites. Our media has become passive and impotent, no longer able to report on events that are a disruption to the status quo! We have a generation of reporters whose are too comfortable in their own cosy world, to be controversial in any way! We have news channels whose blatant agenda is overtly right wing and give air time to some of the most obnoxious presenters. The simple answer is not to watch or read any of their output, find news outlets that report without fear of favour. They exist but you have to look for them and they are almost exclusively from outside the UK. 

Social media has allowed us all able to comment on anything and everything (me included) but it has served to dilute and minimise our thoughts on the ever increasing corruption, lawbreaking, bad behaviour and poor judgement! We send our comments out into the ether and hope that our opinion might have some effect on events, knowing it does not. It is true that social media has brought to light many important stories and influenced the outcome of a number of issues but in reality most of it has little or no effect. You could argue that it is a lot of fuss over nothing? I limit my exposure these days. They can be amusing and often make me chuckle with the silly and the witty but more often it just makes me sad or angry!

It is a reflection of the widest possible cross section of human communication and totally proves the oft quoted idiom  (and I para phrase) “of defending those whose opinion you would fight with your last breath”! 

We live in strange complicated times, technology and human endeavour at its peak, whilst human interaction is largely conducted through the medium of a screen. It has huge advantages for many purposes but one wonders if it’s all embracing grasp is more damaging than the progress it provides?

Stay well

PS I swear one day I am going to punch some idiot who insists on walking down the street with their mobile phone held firmly in front of them not having a fucking clue what is in front of them!!!!!

I like to think that I have some artistic talent. I do, we all do but like all talent some have more than others. I have written before that I am a “doodler” who loves shapes, lines, triangles, circles, boxes and any combination of all of them. I certainly have a style all of my own though there are thousands of “doodlers” out there who draw similar designs. I draw to relax, to loose yourself in a pattern or shape is therapeutic and without sounding too pretentious, meditative! 

Last week I decided to join an online art course called The Art of Sketching: Turn your Doodles into Art. The course is presented by a Swedish guy Matthias Adolfsson. He is an illustrator and to my great surprise he draws much like I do in a very child like yet adult way. I don’t profess to be anywhere near his standard but practice, practice, practice! He advises not to care about mistakes or if you think you have gone wrong or don’t like what you have drawn. He says, you may not like your work but another person might think it’s great! That sums up art, one persons hideous picture is someone else’s masterpiece. Finish every drawing he says. He has revolutionised my attitude to drawing in less than 6 modules none lasting more than 14 minutes and I can’t stop drawing. Like me he is a fan of the fountain pen. There is an accuracy and clean line you get with a fountain pen that no other ink pen can quite replicate. 

I have hundreds of drawings, mostly graphic designs and recently I have drawn a few in a circular format. If you go on Instagram you will find hundreds of artists posting every sort of art everyday and it is useful tool, showing you many types of drawing techniques. You are never too old to learn!  

Stay well

If you are not sure whether we are living in a Facist regime, read the latest bill that gives the Police powers to curb any protest if the deem it to be “unsafe”! The Tories are gradually eroding all of our human rights, that we enjoyed from being a member of the EU. It is bad enough that people of “colour” are randomly stopped and hassled by a Police force that is becoming more like their counterparts in the US now we all face the increasing removal of our freedom!

I would never condone the type of protesting we have recently experienced but the right to peacefully protest over what you believe is an injustice, is a fundamental freedom, that we in the a democratic country have enjoyed for a very long time. Naturally there will always be an element of unrest or opposition to any protest. We know there are always factions who wish to take advantage and disrupt or cause violence and the Police have laws which allow them to arrest troublemakers. How the hell do you decide if a protest is “unsafe” surely any protest has an element of being unsafe! 

We only have to endure this Conservative governing for another year and then they can and will be voted out of office. It must happen because we can’t go on like this. You may not relish the prospect of a Labour government but under our present voting system they are the only alternative and sadly we have come to a point where anything is better than what we have.

At the last election 70% of the votes were not for the Tories, which sadly demonstrates how our first pass the post system is outmoded and not fit for purpose!

Stay well

I have not had a good rant for a few days. My normal target is our Government a bigger bunch of incompetent losers you could not find anywhere. I wonder what the motivation to want to become an MP in the first place. For instance Sunak, he obviously is not doing for the money, he’s a millionaire, so why? Is it power, is it because he actually believes he could help people, perhaps he thought he knew better than us, maybe he had did not know what to else to do? He has no idea how most of us actually live, how could he! There are I’m sure many MP’s who go in to politics for genuine reasons, a real desire to serve. If you look across the House of Commons you would see precious little evidence of this selfless behaviour. There are over 650 members, so we do not hear or see much about most of them. It appears almost everyday we get reports of yet another MP, usually Tory but not exclusively, having got involved in some form of corruption or deviant behaviour. Parliament is a cross section of the the general population, so they are bound to have members who fall prey to the temptations that we all do! It makes you question the selection process, were they corrupt or badly behaved before becoming a candidate, or has the taint of Westminster changed them? Certainly in my lifetime we have never had such a poorly behaved and ill judged bunch of representatives as we have at present! 

The list of crass and insensitive comments made by a serious of out of touch front line ministers is bewildering. Each day that passes, they are almost guaranteed to say something to insult the very people they should be placating in a bid to stop the general unrest pervading this country! Instead of diplomacy and understanding all we get is blame and finger pointing and yet more threats to legislate against anyone and everyone who may express a different view! The current governments refusal to take part in any mediation of strikes is a dereliction of duty. Do not think for one moment, that we are not aware of their deliberate tactics, in order to justify more legislation to curb our rights. We are not fooled by their neglect as they force our public services into the hands of the capitalist money makers!

We are in the hands of a party not fit for purpose, who since forcing through a shocking Brexit, cannot and will not admit that it was a colossal mistake which they have continued to perpetuate at all costs!

Stay well

Current music and mainly “chart” music baffles me! Little in the way of melody, full of angst and vocal gymnastics that frankly hurt my ears! I appreciate I am 70 years old and todays tunes are not aimed at me. I was brought up on 60’s music, The Beatles, Stones, The Who etc etc: I have an eclectic taste, I listen to almost any kind of music and am always interested in discovering music new and old. I confess most of what I listen to is pre 1995. Music has progressed, like everything else. Current stuff is repetitive and tedious. I have never been a big fan of Rap, not all of it, some is very good. Most however, seems aggressive and tuneless.

If I sound like a grumpy old git who hankers after the good old days, well so be it! It isn’t that I haven’t tried, I have. I was in the barbers the other day ( a rare occurrence for a man with little hair) and a commercial station was playing, every song sounded the same, each singer sounded depressed and it was obvious there was not much in the way of “real” instruments backing them! So I am out of touch and sounding like every preceding generation as music moves on. I want to stress I am only talking about what I hear in the charts on the very rare occasions I listen. Here is a question, what happened to bands and by bands I mean pop bands, not the big rock bands that constantly tour in order to earn? Perhaps I just have not heard enough or any artist who actually appeals? The indie scene seems to be thriving and there are performers,  I have heard who are interesting and still produce music that for me is recognisable. 

Nostalgia is big business. There are many radio shows dedicated to playing the music from a specific decade. Thousands still flock to see those performers from their youth, who still tour, even in their 80’s. It would be impossible to keep up with all the music that is out there, even now, I discover artist from the past, who at the time I was unaware of, or knew but never really listened too. It is a joy to suddenly find a recording that makes you heart beat faster, gets your toes tapping or pulls at your emotions. Many a song from the past, that I would never have listened to then are now some of my favourites, the prejudice of youth fading as one gets wiser! A prime example is September by Earth Wind and Fire, when released I would have ignored it, now the joyous beat will get me dancing around the room!

Stay well  

I seem to be on a roll this week so I will continue to write. 

How do you feel about our planet? Humans are diverse and espouse opinions that range from the outright deranged to eminently sensible and every shade in between. Those who considered themselves well balanced, despair at the views of those on the extremes of society. What we sometimes fail to understand is that people with these extreme opinions believe they are just as well balanced as we are and cannot understand why we don’t share their view! They would be just as offended by your dislike of them as their’s of you. Someone who believes passionately in their stance is unlikely to be swayed by your opposite but equally passionate view! We are all labelled, tagged, sorted in our little boxes. My darling wife is just filling in a GP Patient Survey which asks the every question imaginable but those which actually allows answers that give your feedback on the actual surgery. 

We have to be “something” black, white, mixed race, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, right wing, left wing, far right, far left, racist, gay, straight, this gender, that gender, you get the message! I have said it many many many times while we continue to divide by “label” we will never view ourselves as one race of humans. I know this is unrealistic. If you have a particular view it easy to know who your target is if you can give them a title! 

I suspect that the vast majority of the worlds population are not bothered in the slightest by an extreme view, they just want to get on with their lives and do their best. I have labelled people for years, I am no exception. In my case it ‘s more to do with privilege, power, corruption and lies! In my defence, whenever I do rant and rave (often) I never mention my targets ethnicity, sexual orientation and most of the time religion. 

There are many many issues which we are all aware of and know deep down are real, there will always be those who deny them, keep hold of your balance and keep fighting!

Stay well

I am not good at maths, never was, never have been but I have learnt the practicalities that one uses in daily life. I had no need of math for anything I wanted to do. Naturally in my work life I had to add, subtract, multiply, measure and weigh. I understand speed, distance, fractions, division, even equations! I know quite a few “math hacks” example:

You can work out percentages 70% of 90 is 7 X 9 = 63 Times any number by 11 by placing that number like so 11 x 55 add a 0 to times by 10 and add 11 = 550 +11

I am not quick or clever I can’t  work out too much in my head but then again I do know how to use a calculator and we all have one on our smart phones!  

I left school at sixteen, actually I was expelled but I was leaving anyway. I then proceeded to educate myself, by lots of reading but mainly by doing. If you’re good at a subject and enjoy it great but most of us learn as we go along in life because we need to understand what it requires. I had no qualifications or ambition to go into anything that needed maths or science and yet I bet I could run rings round most young of today on any of those subjects and many more. I am naturally intelligent and I learn what I have too in order to address the practicality of whats needed. If I want to cook I have to understand fluid ounces, weights etc: If I want to build shelves I need to understand how to measure and make sure they are level. You get the point! School did teach me the fundamentals but if they had told me I had to learn maths until I was 18 I would have told them to get stuffed and probably not with those words! Instead of forcing students to learn a subject most of them don’t want, we should be encouraging them to use their imagination to explore as much as possible. You cannot engage every teen, life is not that simple. People are like firecrackers, they go off in every direction and follow any path, whether it’s right or wrong, you cannot make them follow one path just because you think it’s right!

Stay well

Generally I am not interested in the shenanigans of our Royal Family but this constant media output over Harry and Megan has become utterly ridiculous! I could care less who likes who, which brother punched the other or how much she is disliked by her royal relatives. We have many many problems so why is this drivel taking up media space when there are so many more far more important subjects to talk about? I appreciate that this rich privileged bunch of nobodies hold a deep fascination for our tabloid press and social media, why I have no clue. Obviously Harry is a deeply disturbed individual who to say the least has issues! In our modern society there seems to be a preponderance for “celebrities” to sort out their family problems in the public eye, it appears that without the desire for the oxygen of publicity, they are unable to come to terms with whatever personnel issues they have. We have encouraged the royals to be more “open” but now it has reach a point where they are only damaging themselves probably beyond the point of recovery? No doubt this will all fade away, as most stories do until the next “sensation” gets a reported and more ink is wasted reporting their lives.

While we are on the subject why is Prince Andrew not be held to account more forcefully than is the case? He obviously was involved in the sexual assault of a young lady. He should have faced prosecution and had the opportunity to “clear” his name in court! To say there is one rule for a Royal and another for us, would be an understatement!

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I have not often written this blog for three days in a row. I have shied away from writing, because I knew I would just continue to repeat myself! Sadly as each day passes things have got worse! We live in unprecedented times! Far from our infrastructure and social care, as you would have expected, improving, it has fallen into such a state of disrepair that we are rapidly loosing any sense of normality. We may have faster technology, more TV than you can shake a stick at, smart phones that do everything but as seemed to be inevitable we have lost that spark of humanity that provided our human interaction? We have lost sight of why we use technology or whether it should be implemented, does it anctually improve our services? It is a mystery how technology now provides an app for just about any situation, there are website for every conceivable purpose and yet we can’t get appointments, we can’t resolve issues or ever get to speak to a representative without enormous effort or to be told that “our lines are very busy at present please try later” ! We have fallen for the same old trick, your lives will improve with the march of progress but you will loose something precious along the way. I am no Luddite, on the contrary I am in favour of technology and it’s benefits, I am not advocating that technology should be curtailed, without it I might not be here! We need to be smarter how we use it, it is not a cure all for every human interaction, every inquiry, every problem. Sometimes we forget that at the beginning and end there is a user who is human! 

We have a number of experiences, where far from being helpful, technology has been designed to make it more difficult to get the answer you require. You can write as many standard answers as you like but you can almost guarantee that what you want to find out is not among them or when you click on that subject it does not answer your issue! I am all for technology that saves me time or makes my life easier. Self service check outs, pay at the pump, passport control, checking in baggage etc but there are so many applications that are poorly designed , hard to navigate and ultimately useless!

Our rights are being eroded by a right wing government that cares little for a problem other than to make it illegal, lets us not let them use technology as a barrier to make our lives even worse!!!!

Stay well

Well how is 2023 going for you so far? Do you think it is going to be an improvement on the one just finished? Already politicians are making bold statements, which we all know will never be achieved. They are merely a rehash of previous promises wrapped in shiny tinsel for the new year. They hold the public in contempt and we let them! I am certain that not a single target, promise, aim or ambition will be reached. Later this year the media will come alive as they realise, once more, that nothing has been achieved and in fact it has only got worse. I take no pleasure in this pessimistic view. Look around the damage is so severe, even if we started to prosper at an unprecedented rate it would take years and years to fix all the problems. We live in a capitalist world gone rampant, the prospect of social change and a state that cares for its citizens is a long way off. Wealth and power are king, nothing new but now running at a rate, like never before! 

Can you name one single system that we all use that is not broken or strained to such a degree it cannot cope? I am confident my granddaughter Hannah will get a rounded education but not just because she will go school. She has a family who will see to it that she learns about our world and it’s history, it’s dangers,  about art and music, literature and much more. She is lucky to be surrounded by highly intelligent and well informed relations. I do not envy her growing up in the world as it is but none of us chose when we are born. She will have to deal with life just as we did, given the time we are thrust into! I am determined to make her life happy but informed! 

Stay well

If I was a braver man I would give up reading the news and social media! Each day you read things that as Billy Connolly would say want to make you spit your breakfast out! You think, it is impossible for the Tories to became any more crass or ignorant but everyday they prove you can sink lower than the day before! I sometimes think I am going mad and perhaps it’s me, who is out of step with events and I have it all wrong? Living in a country under Tory stewardship is like waking up each day and banging your head against a brick wall. You keep hoping they will just go away and yet each day it just gets worse and worse. I know I am not alone and I hope the reports of their unpopularity are correct. It is as though we all see and read what they are doing, with some of the most despicable people in charge, we have ever seen in the UK but collectively we are unable to stop them. Brexit has been a disaster and we live in denial, with those in power keeping their collective fingers crossed hoping against hope that it will all turn out “alright in the end”. 

I have run out of words to that express my disgust with absolutely everything they say and do. We have watched as our country and more importantly its people has been dragged lower and lower into misery! There are so many holes in our social fabric it is always impossible to believe we will ever be right again!

Now to Mr Sunak latest missive to make all students learn maths up to the age of 18. If that is his key message for the new year then all I can say is WTF! I was poor at maths (still am) but once I was put into a working environment where you had to use it I learned. Most of us need to know how to add, takeaway and multiply. Perhaps if the education system was geared to actually giving our children a well rounded education that prepared them for life and not how to take exams they would all be better off! Of course I am generalising and I understand the very difficult job teachers have. A good many years ago I applied for a job as a truant officer. I went to the local comprehensive for the interview and it was one of the most rigorous and tough I have ever done. Having not been in a school for many years I found it a most intimidating place with all  these teens wandering around. I did not get the job and having seen the interaction between staff and pupils was actually quite relieved!

Stay well

Happy New Year lets us hope that 2023 will be much better than its predecessor. For us it was a landmark year with the birth of our wonderful granddaughter Hannah and a more chilled happy girl you could not find, she is a delight.

For the world, not so great. Putins invasion of Ukraine yet another in a long history of dictators who believe their own invented bollocks and cant control their paranoia! The effect it has had on the whole of Europe has been unpleasant to say the least and of course completely fucking unnecessary! The West have supported Ukraine but much as I hate to say it, fear stopped them from engaging with a coward, who in my humble opinion would have backed down immediately had we confronted him directly?

As for the UK, what can one say? Just one long year of horror perpetrated by a Conservative Party and government that are the most inept and corrupt of all time. I was delighted to see Johnston resign, little did I know the shit show of governmental merry go round that would follow his departure. We even had the laughable prospect that he might after only a few months return to no 10! It feels like we are living in a banana republic run by people who have no idea what they are doing and worse do not undertake any  of the actions that a government is “elected” to do! 

Read this governments agenda carefully they are hellbent on wiping out all of the EU laws and removing all of our protections and rights as citizen's. They are rigging the electoral system to suit their party and unless we vote them out in a heavy defeat the ruination of our health service and much much more will continue until we have nothing! Not for one moment, do I believe that Starmer and the Labour Party are going to be our saviours but they are the only credible alternative. If the do gain power I do not envy the task ahead of them as they try to correct the disaster that has been the last 13 years of Tory rule!

I for one would like 2023 to be free of any mention of (in no particular order)Putin, Trump, Johnston, Farage, Gove, Coffey Rees-Mogg, Braverman, Lee Anderson, Phillip Hollobone (my MP), Cleverly, Raab, Hartley-Brewer, Clarkson, Megan and Harry, Hancock and so many others the list is too long to write here but you get my drift!! 

I hope 2023 will be a better year but I am not that optimistic. I hope on a personal level all my family and friends have a good year.

Stay well