I wonder if most women are aware that their hard fought rights are being rapidly eroded. Equality has never been achieved but the fight for votes, equal pay and most importantly the right to their own bodies, amongst others,  has been a long one and still goes on. In America the repeal of Roe v Wade has single handily set back women’s rights by decades and the sad part is others in the so called democratic west are bordering on following suit and making it harder to get an abortion! There are many countries where women are second class citizens still subjected to it by laws and religious belief, I am sure I don’t need to point out the countries in question? 

Since my early days I have always supported equality, though I would be a liar, as a man born in the fifties, if did not admit to always behaving the right way.  With some exceptions the world would undoubtedly be a better place if run by women, though regrettably many who have gained power have oft proved worse than their male counterparts but it would be better.

I have never understood it. Men maybe physically stronger, women bear our children but after those two differences there are few others? 

The promotion of LBGT rights and prominence has done nothing to further the progress of female rights, indeed it has set it back! 

The world will never accept total equality of anyone, human nature, being what it is but we all need to try.

I confess to getting angry on occasion with my wife’s decisions but I am wise enough to keep my mouth shut, it is her life and if she wants my input she will ask for it, I hope that does not sound too patronising. 

In a country that is slowly eroding all our rights we must not forget those whose rights are being taken faster. We need to shout loudly about all inequality but women need to shout louder than ever, the battle is far from won!

Stay well

 Another week has disappeared and what have we learnt? Yet more Tory MP’s are corrupt, the PM keeps making stupid statements, Trump can’t stay awake at his own trial, the Ukraine is struggling to contain the unjustified aggression of Putin, the Middle East is more of a powder keg the usual, Rwanda is far from safe and no law will ever make it so, the Daily Mail is determined to attack Angela Rayner! I could go on but you get the general gist! 

On a different note I went out yesterday riding with the Kettering Cycling Club, we rode 17 miles around the local area, the road surface as we all know are a disgrace! There is a unwritten rule in cycling, in a group that you point with your left hand where the road surface is bad or the pot holes would damage your wheel, to warn those behind you, it was almost a constant pointing, even on supposedly “main” roads!

I am not a person who worries and I live for the moment, it is also fair to say, generally I am an optimist but it is obvious to anyone that our country is falling apart both figuratively and literally. Much due to Brexit but is was on the decline years before. It is easy to blame the Conservative govt. and world events but we are all to blame. The apathy and selfishness of most of us is astonishing ( I include myself) We no longer have any community feel. We all sit looking at a screen, looking at crap and swearing at all the misinformation we are fed everyday! We have become a nation of sound bites, glib phrases, stupid quotes and a surfeit of poor judgement and corruption! 

We have the potential to be a great country, all the ingredients are there but we seem to be obsessed with what has gone wrong and not how we can make it better ( yes I get the irony of that) Each of us must try to improve things no matter how small that improvement is. We have poor unimaginative leaders but that should not stop us. 

We have, after meaning to for some time bought biodegradable bags and have a separate bin for food waste, yes we should have been doing it for years but now we are, a small thing but a change.

Stay well

A new simpler team oriented version of Scrabble for Gen Z (whoever they are?)! On one hand a man of my advanced years would say wtf! Poor little darlings don’t like to lose, can’t spell and have a poor vocabulary? On the other a more friendly co-operative form that allows you to play the game in a different way. It is easy as you get older to be entrenched in your view and fail to understand the changing attitudes of those who are so much younger. We did it this way what are they scared of, is to be unappreciative of the mindset of the younger generation. It is a time honoured tradition for the old to critique the young even though we were young once and in my lifetime things have developed at an unbelievable pace! When I was born, we did not have a TV or a telephone now we all walk around with a small device that is both and infinitely more powerful than we ever could have imagined except in Science fiction stories. Who knows what our 21 month old granddaughter will see by the time she is my age? Not all progress is good and much of it has as many downsides as it does advantages. For example, electric cars, they may be more environmentally friendly than the internal combustion engine but the environmental damage done in order to produce them is actually worse! It is my opinion that electric cars are not the answer, they are one answer but there has to be alternatives which if built economically and made affordable would be better, Hydrogen, alternative “clean” fuels etc: Without wishing to be depressing, it is a tragedy that humans, with all our “progress”, have not developed beyond the desire to destroy each other and the planet. It is the human condition that no matter how advanced we become, no matter how developed and advanced technology is, we can’t stop using it to destroy as well as build! 

A simpler version of many things might be a good thing, if only we could simplify interaction between , countries, religion, race, gender, politics and so much other stuff, well we can dream!

Stay well 

So we are now in the “fag” end of this Conservative govt. All the current predictions indicate that they have absolutely no chance at the General Elections and will lose so many seats that they could all but disappear! I think that is unlikely but hope it is true. If the predictions are anywhere near correct they will definitely have far less MP’s than at present and then the in fighting will begin. We don’t know whether any of the big names in the party will hold onto their seats, so it is hard to say who will become the next leader, as it is a sure thing that Sunak will lose the job. It would be redundant to list the damage that have perpetrated on our country and I written extensively about it over the years they have been in power. Naturally they had to react to events beyond their control but when they did they never handled it well, almost every time it was bungled or the wrong decisions were made or if right far to late. The amount of wasted money is unprecedented, the corruption and disregard for the rules criminal, how several of them are not in jail or at the very least awaiting trial is a mystery? Since Brexit the governance of our country has been shambolic, chaotic, whilst they played musical chairs with every ministerial post including PM! Surely we have never been governed by a worse bunch than this incarnation of the Tories. Thatcher was bad enough but this lot made her time look like a golden age by comparison! We will reserve judgement on Starmer and the Labour Party assuming it looks inevitable that will form the next government. their task is unenviable, nothing they do will easily rectify the damage done by the Conservatives. They could turn our to be just as bad though I’m not sure that is possible? 

Whomever you vote for (you must vote) is your choice and at least we still live in a country where you have one but do not expect Labour, if they win, to turn things around, that is a mighty task!

Stay well

It is not often I write three days running but there is stuff and it deserves comment. Today’s rant is about stuff you could not write even if it was a comedy. So here we go. 

1. Rwanda

We all know that the governments plan is ridiculous, Aside from the financial waste, the human cost should it come to pass, will be a tragedy. Do you remember Suella Braverman flying out to Rwanda and posing in front of the housing that had been built to accommodate the non exsistant refugees? Well the Rwanda govt. has got feed up waiting and has sold 70% to private buyers. So if and when we send people to Rwanda there is nowhere for them to live! What a fucking nonsense! Millions of pounds poured into to a scheme that will never come to pass, the Rwandan’s must laughing all the way to the bank!

2 Scottish Hate Law

I am sure you maybe aware that the SNP have enacted a law making certain speech a hate crime. You may have also read that J K Rowling had dared them to arrest her for comments made about trans men not being women (They said it isn’t a hate crime) In the days since it has been enacted the police has been inundated with calls reporting “hate” crimes. It has become 80% of reported crime and if it continues it will swamp them. It is the initial launch of the legislation and perhaps it will calm down but seriously you could not write it!

3. Another Conservative moron!

Mr Wragg caught in a honey trap. He’s done the decent thing and resigned from the deputy chair of the 1922 committee. What sought of idiot MP hands over contact details to anyone. How did this “hooray Henry” get elected in the first place? He does not need to stand down as an MP because I’m sure he either won’t stand again or lose his seat at the General Election. Is there a single conservative MP you would trust to even get their own name right!

Stay well

 It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am no fan of the Conservatives. The damage they’ve done to our country, over many years, both now and in the past has been unbelievable and I struggle to think of a single thing that has helped or enhanced our lives? I shan’t list the many policies they implemented that have destroyed the fabric of our society nor will I defend the Labour Party for not reversing many of them when they had the chance! Who can honestly say that the privatisation of our public utilities have made them more efficient, cost effective and more importantly actually able to run their industries for our benefit and not for the benefit of their shareholders? Do the water companies run well, are you proud of our railway system, does your energy choices really give you the best of the competition? I don’t expect prices or processes to remain stable, we don’t live in a stable world. Public ownership would have been costly but at least we had a chance of the companies priorities behaving in favour of the customer. It is a wonder that the NHS has not been fully privatised. The health system cannot continue as it is, it is no longer fit for purpose in 2024. The pandemic did not help but it was already creaking and in dire need of reform which will include private medicine. We pay for a private healthcare scheme and although we had not used it until last week. Wendy had need of a consultation with a Doctor but getting through our GP is not easy, who has not been 65th in the queue! She went on the website for Beneden Helath and within an hour received a call from a Doctor who was very efficient and issued a prescription. I have every admiration for GP’s and the work they do but they are fighting a losing battle against overwhelming odds. Who, once fully trained honestly wants to become a GP? The NHS is a wonderful health care system and has been the envy of the world but unless it is radically reformed, I’m afraid it will no longer be!

Stay well

It has come to my attention that Donald is running to become the Republican nominee to be President, well I’ll be hog tied and hung up for Easter, I thought my campaign to defeat him last time had contributed to his demise! You have to give the man credit for his unbelievable delusion. It used to be we had “village idiots” admittedly he is a privileged, wealthy village idiot who for some reason became President and now thinks he can be again! I am trying to be amusing but of course there is nothing amusing about this very dangerous man, he is the single biggest threat to America and the world. We have a President that is 81 years old and a rival who is 77, a constant factor in the debate over who might win but the bigger question is why are there no younger candidates, no rising stars, nobody who seems capable of rivalling these two “old” geezers? Trump is mad and Biden is prone to gaffs, does the US really want either of these two to be in charge for another 4 years? 

The world is not a peaceful place, Trump will only make it worse, much, much worse! He lies, he cheats, he says anything he can to court controversy, he insults anyone who opposes him, not to mention his various legal problems and history of abuse to women! I think to most people in the rest of the world are incredulous that he is so well supported and that the Republican Party are afraid of him. Unfortunately we have too many “leaders”who are of the same mind as him, Erdogan, Orban, Putin and Netanyahu, to name just 4! We can only hope that Biden will defeat him.

Democracy is going through a rocky patch at the moment, have too hope the balance will be restored, the damaged will be very difficult to rectify if it can be? I will endeavour to ruin his campaign once more after all it had such an impact last time!!!!!

Stay well

Being a grandfather is not unique millions of men have become grandfathers. Individually being a grandfather is unique. The offspring of your child brings forth a love and pleasure that until you experience it is unexplainable. Hannah is now 21 months old and full of personality and an energy that seems to rival the energiser bunny!. As a grandparent and retired, you have time to interact with no disruption, something you were not always able to do with your own children. We have her on Mondays and Fridays (nursery on the other week days and that’s not cheap). All the things you had to do for your kids coming flooding back, feeding, changing nappies, dirty clothes, chaos, toys spread everywhere, draws and cupboards throughly explored and much more! She has been walking for some time and is beginning to talk and is very chatty. She loves books and is a huge fan of Bluey, which I must confess is one of the better kids cartoons (I quite like it too!) She makes us laugh a lot even when she is up to something naughty!  It is no secret that I write occasionally about all the crap going on in the world, of which there is far too much but having Hannah makes all that seem insignificant as we watch her curiosity and the way she plays. Playing with her is fun and fortunately we are still fit enough to be a climbing frame! I have no idea what her world will be like as she becomes an adult and I can only hope I am still here to see it. Wendy’s and I, alongside her parents will endeavour to educate her with imagination and wonder! 

We never thought we would be grandparents and were resigned to that but Hannah came along unexpectedly and has blossomed a love that I never imagined to have!

Stay well

Rwanda, safe? I think it highly unlikely! Yet this government instead of admitting that they have made a terrible error of judgement, keep doubling down and insisting it is a fair policy. Sunak is now making noises about withdrawing from The European Court of Human Rights! This is not just a terrible idea for refugees but affects all of us, it removes all of our rights, which the Conservatives having being eroding for years! What has happened to our country that we are so afraid of people trying to escape their circumstances? Let them in and improve the processing. If they have no right to be here or are undesirable then send them back. It is not a difficult decision. I think we all realise, that we cannot take everyone applying to live in the UK. I would ask who is going to do all the jobs that our indigenous population no longer wants to do? These people want to earn money live their lives and many will pay taxes and contribute to our society. There always be an element of criminality that slips through the net, that is inevitable and we have laws that deal with that. 

I am convinced that the majority of people are firmly against this cruel and unjust policy. You certainly don’t hear many people putting their heads above the parapet to support it. There are many who clearly oppose the scheme and have said so publicly. 

Changing the subject completely, Golf! The Saudi’s have set up a rival golf tour LIV. We all know that the Saudi’s have a terrible human rights record and are often accused of trying to improve their reputation by what is known as “sports washing”! Leaving that to one side, what is the problem with professional golfers who earn their living by playing joining another tour. There are many golf tours in a number of places, so if a player decides he or she can do better, is paid more, plays less for more money than so what? Without getting into the politics or details about world ranking points or exemption to play in the 4 majors, these are not amateur’s who have suddenly defected to the professional ranks. Golfers have been playing professionally for 100 years or more. In any other profession you are allowed to choose who you are employed by and if you choose to earn more working for another then that is your choice. I know it not quite the same but the principal remains!

Stay well