I awoke at three thirty and somewhat foolishly turned on the BBC to listen to the election gossip. I was somewhat surprised to hear Theresa May speaking about carrying on the work and I wondered if she had indeed won a victory. It soon became clear she had not, indeed her campaign was a miserable failure. Today we have a winning PM who has lost and a losing Labour Party leader who has won hands down! The gamble of forcing through the A50 act without a proper mandate from a divided nation added to her misreading of Corbyn's popularity led her into a second daft act of calling an election she did not require. She has lost and lost disastrously and there is no way she can be allowed to continue to occupy her position and negotiate Brexit when she cannot negotiate in her own party. However while the result in England saw an end to the threat to the NHS and the attacks on the weak it also led to a disaster in Scotland. Brexit, media lies and foolhardiness has let the Tories win seats no decent Scot would allow. Not only has Alex Salmond been replaced by a Tory but Angus Robertson, the next leader of the SNP I thought, has also been removed! Two big effective men removed from office, a big loss to the SNP and Scottish representation in the House of Commons. The failure of the Tories in England contrasts with their slight advance in Scotland and those few seats may well keep them in power in what is now a 'Hung Parliament.' A 'Hung Parliament' is something many of us would like to introduce but in a different fashion I suggest!
The result in Scotland unsettled me somewhat and I could not get back to sleep so at 4:15 I rose and had breakfast while perusing the lack of emails that failed to arrive in my inbox on every email account! This took a while as I watched the TV gloat over Scotland's suffering and gloat over the big names everywhere falling. Nick Clegg the one time Lib-Dem leader the biggest name to fall while elsewhere some seats were won by a small majority. After four recounts the West Fife seat was won by the SNP by TWO votes! How close is that? Sad to say here in Blue Land the sitting man increased his vote from 27 thousand to over 32 thousand, a sad indication that little englanders care not if the NHS and the poor suffer. It also indicates how many elderly people live in East Anglia!
While the folks in the million pound houses in the villages sleep easy in their beds I found myself unable to sleep so I looked up the details of one of the Finchingfield men. I then ironed four shirts, cleaned the loo and kitchen, and hoovered the floor all by 9:30. Lunch has been taken by 10:30! I strongly suspect I will pay for this later in the day! Now I will return to the several items awaiting my mistakes, the war memorial, the Lyon, the houses, the stuff I have forgotten and I can imagine the minute I start the sleep will descend. Breaking news confirms that the failure that is Theresa May will visit the queen and demand to be allowed to make a new government. What a cheek! The English queen will of course accept this disgraceful act as this is her party and she cares little for the people, so we can expect an almighty row to begin any time soon.
So, the two old women have decided May stays as PM and she wishes to provide 'certainty!' One thing she has shown throughout the feeble campaign is her lack of 'certainty.' To enable her to govern she had gained support from the DUP, a party based in Northern Ireland who will make enormous demands on her to gain support, and that support will be on a one by one basis. This does not make for good government, nor indeed for her chances during the Brexit negotiations which she will now front being 'strong and stable.' The many EU negotiators are laughing into their bank accounts as we speak. One other reason for her success was the Scottish Labour Party. These desperate Unionist souls flocked to the polls yesterday in various Scots areas and voted for the Conservative Party! Imagine! Scots Labour people voting deliberately for the Tories, their mortal enemies, to stop the SNP winning a chance of a second referendum! The result? By voting in Conservative MPs in Scotland while the English Labour Party voted out Conservative MPs the Scots Labour folk have given success to Theresa May by ensuring she has enough seats to stave of Jeremy Corbyn who might now be Prime Minister in a government the Scots Labour Party wish for but they have ensured will not happen! The brains of the Labour Party in Scotland has long ago dried up.
To getaway from it all I wandered in the gardens idly kicking loose toddlers into the bushes to tidy the place up while enjoying a surprisingly warm sun and the singing of the birds. While I mused on the day and listened to the birds, not easy as so many young mothers were running about screaming for some reason, I considered we just have to 'get on with it' and not worry about the stupidity of Scots who vote Tory in spite of the attempt to kill the NHS, steal from the poor and take all off Scotland's oil profits south!
It's over! The great transaction's done! I have wasted my vote by placing my cross next to a candidate that will lose. The one party state in which I live allows no other choice. Last time out the man determined to find himself a ministerial post as soon as possible led by a mere 17,000 or so votes. I am interested to see the result today. Will the Tories sick of May's failure stay at home? Will the UKIP vote add to his majority? Certainly the people that care about the NHS, pensions, old folks care and the sick will have voted for another failing candidate. But which way will the Tories here go? Do they really care for more austerity? No! What they care for s 'Brexit!' Leaving the EU is more important for the little englanders as they have sufficient cash, and lots of it really, to survive the next few years, what happens to those that don't they really will not bother about. So a sizable majority for the 'Nasty Party' and shortly after this independence for Scotland and then a descent into economic decline for England. I must write off for my Scots passport later today...
The rain teemed down from early this morning until late this afternoon. This meant that nobody was going to venture outside unless they really had to and only one visitor braved the rain and two others attended an arranged meeting with one of our girls. The crowds did not appear and the nearby cafe closed before noon as not one person was making their way inside, even the taxi drivers were unwilling to cross the road for coffee! They have never closed that early before, good job I wasn't hungry.
So quiet was it that while my back was turned my assistant ran off home leaving all the work to me. The term 'work' regarding today's situation is of course misleading. After she left I went into the office because I was beginning to feel lonely! A quieter day would be hard to imagine.
The weather system that passed over brought high force winds. This must have pleased many as this meant those people plodding around the streets begging for votes could not make their way through the streets because of the rain. It is unlikely the public would take pity on them!
However Theresa was still 'meeting the public' although as one man pointed out they ought to have taken the blue rosettes off first before taking the picture. She then went back into a box surrounded by loyal supporters holding up placards and cheering sullenly. These photo opportunities political candidates go in for fool nobody so why do they do them? Surely it must be possible to arrange something that does not make the candidate look very uncomfortable or have them shown up by a six year old. I realise that for some meeting people is fraught with danger, remember John Prescott being punched by a Tory thug, the press outcry blamed him for retaliating but that was the correct thing for an ex-boxer to do! There was no press outcry in Sheffield when the Labour MP at the time had a fridge dropped on him, and miss, from four floors above however. In that district that was not uncommon! It was quite late in Victorian days before the secret ballot was adopted, until then candidates shouted from a rostrum unto their hearers knowing that as the big man of the area had chosen him the voters, then few in number, would vote for him, or else. Those close contested affairs resulted in violent punch-ups and riots could easily occur. Similar events, without actual riots, were not uncommon even in the late 1960's when speaking to an audience brought opposition crowds along to oppose. This suited the type of orator who knew how to browbeat an audience, but not all could do this and few of today's lads and lassies would cope with an open objective audience questioning their opinions. That is why so many debates do not occur, and even then the audience is controlled both personally and by those arranging the debate. What a shame we have no Gladstones, no Lloyd Georges, no powerful speakers or major politicians today. Not that I liked Lloyd George, he was a lying we nyaff who made Tony Blair appear honest! Today the politicians are small men, Corbyn, Boris, May and the rest may be competent in one sense but the big men from the past would shove them aside if they returned.
The last day tomorrow, then we vote on Thursday, praise the Lord for that!
Theresa met some of her chosen few today in Edinburgh of all places. They were all Conservative members all invited by email and only certain ones were allowed to ask questions. The question "Why are we meeting in a closed warehouse? was not asked. The sheep however applauded, cheered and waved placards as they were told to showing Theresa has learnt much from her studies on Romanian politics. Other questions such as "How many more Libyans are walking free?" were not allowed, nor was "Are you fit for purpose?" There are lots of questions to ask these days but it appears you are not allowed to ask the ones that make her upset. 'Strong and upset' is the watchword. I note the poncy approach to outrages continues. A policeman gave out 'felt hearts' to all and sundry in Manchester, something not even considered when the IRA blew up Manchester killing a child, other police have been highlighted dancing with kids, although most police would do this and have always done this at party time, ans the news has been full of people telling their story of bomb and knife. Maybe it is therapy for them but today people are only too willing, and I mean 'too willing' to tell their story especially if there is trauma involved. This is not 'Love your neighbour' all this emotional rubbing one another up and down appeals to many but it lacks depth. Tomorrow we will not be changed, just experienced as we used to say. We live in a world where our emotions must be publicly shared, and I am one who believes is sharing folks when trouble comes but not in the open, have some regard for people. Something false is appearing in troubled times, this will not get us through trouble.
Peter Sallis has died, aged 96. He played 'Clegg' the timorous sharp witted, somewhat cynical observer of the three old men in 'Last of the Summer Wine.' His barbed put downs and cynical answers were always sharp and much the funniest of the three, no matter who the main protagonist happens to be. I always liked him and his approach to life. Clegg would be the one who plays me in the film of my life, without the 'Pacamac' raincoat of course. Clegg, sorry Sallis also gave voice to Wallace in the 'Wallace and Gromit' films. His gentle delivery, his accent and hint of humour or confusion made the films work for many. He will be missed by many.
From the late 1960's through the 70's and into the 1990's I travelled frequently by rail from Kings Cross Station to Edinburgh Waverley. Usually through the day but once I worked out the prices and times, through the night. How often I sat in the doorway rather on the seats as this was more enjoyable on crowded trains, how interesting the activities at stations during the night hours, how lovely when old coaches with divided compartments from a previous age were used on the almost unknown night train. All changed now, bar the prices. In the past theyw ere expensive but often special pre-booked 1st class tickets were available and these were a very nice way to travel, very 1990's. I expect today the word 'extortionate' is often heard when booking such travel, and that is not for the 1st class either! For all those travel times I looked out of the window taking in the passing ever changing landscape. Therefore when I discovered a video taken from the engine itself showing the journey from a drivers perspective I jumped at it and enjoyed the trip even better. However it is a long trip and two journeys were required, one from Kings Cross to York and a second from York to Edinburgh, I bought both! Today I have discovered a more modern version of this wonderfully relaxing video, this time from a modern 'Intercity 225' giving a clearer view and while this one only goes to York there must be another somewhere to complete the journey. See if you enjoy this long rail trip as much as I do.
This somewhat distorted view from my seat this morning was the result of two things. First I was getting bored as being half term people take off for a holiday, not by BA I hope, and the town is quieter than usual. The other reason was playing with the wee camera and trying to get something out of it, this is not really working for me. I suppose I am too used to the big one and this is a wee bit fiddly point and shoot affair. This is not to imply nothing was happening, sixteen children attended the workshop this morning and all were very happy as they left, two grannies being the happiest as they appeared to enjoy things more than the kids! The parents who left their and went off to other duties were clearly happy to have two hours to themselves, one managing to get so much done she struggled to comprehend what was happening! When the kids are not around things are so quiet and housework gets done! Lovely kids all of them today I must say, and the owners are good folks also.
The other pictures were not up to much also and when the museum is quiet like this it gets a bit wearying. Occasionally there are things to do that fill time but there was little to accomplish today as most of it was up to date. There was of course dust to remove from the shelves and window ledges but somehow I managed not to see that until I was going home...
There is an election ongoing at the moment and the media, owned by right wing barons, appear to consider Theresa May the one who will win. The fact that those who saw her performance on TV being questioned by a journalist and then members of the audience say she revealed her weakness and inability. Poor girl I feel sorry for her Another who was desperate to be PM and desperate to hold on to office but has not got the personal and political ability to sustain her desire. She probably means well but has little comprehension of how the world sees her and the fawning Tories around her do not help here. While the Conservatives may well win the election with a majority I suspect she will soon be stabbed in the back and exchanged for a better man...if there is one.
Two bombs went off in Baghdad the other day, one at an ice cream cafe and a car bomb not far away. Altogether twenty seven people so far are dead and many wounded. More than died at Manchester, more that died in many outrages in Europe in recent days. Where is the media coverage? Certainly it has been mentioned, certainly people 'tut-tut' about Arabs and bombs, certainly it is condemned but where are the people 'Standing with Baghdad?' Where are the 'I Love Baghdad' badges and social media support? Do football teams hold a minutes silence? When a bomb goes off here we over-react, vast column inches are given over to somewhat ignorant speculation re the cause and who was at fault and 'why was nothing done' type articles. When it happens in the middle East we just shrug our shoulders and say 'typical Arabs.' It is right to support your own, it is not right to ignore the suffering of others even if they have been doing it for thousands of years. The West cannot claim a high ground when much of recent trouble began with ignorant European and US involvement in the Middle East. I offer no simplistic answers, there are none among a people who hate one another as Sunni and Shia Muslims do, we could however attempt to help rebuild broken nations and encourage peace rather than sell billions off dollars worth of weapons to them to continue their wars. Or is there something in all this for us...?
I am sitting here vacantly staring at the laptop. The screen is blank. There is nothing on. Nothing, not one thing. There is no football to watch anywhere! The season has ended. All players are off on holiday bar those awaiting a cup final of some sort or an international game. Unless their agent wishes them to discuss money with a club possibly even the one they already play for. This means there is no football tonight. Nothing. I am beginning to see spiders....
Looking up from the eye strain caused by looking down at the laptop for twenty years I note the election is still under way. I have discovered a simple means of not getting wound up by this I don't watch the TV news (bias towards the Tories) I ignore the radio except news highlights (Tory bias) and have stopped reading the online press (Crap). At least that's what I said today but I forget in the morning. By listening to Radio 3 in the morning I seldom get excited. Music may soothe the stormy breast or something but it does not get you excited over politics and the lies bouncing about everywhere. In truth I just canny be bothered today. The Spring bug is still hanging around, my eyes are strained, me head fuzzy and few notice any difference. However i cannot be bothered listening to the political arguments which as always are half truths and lies with added whataboutery all the time. So I have been working on the Spring clean and managed to pull the tap apart sending water gushing up into the air all over me. That dealt with I spent time drying off and contacting the landlord. His man has known for a while that the sink unit will need changed and did not fancy the hard work involved, tomorrow he gets to decide if he does change it or get a plumber to do so. This will be after I have spent the day at the museum, short staffed and I think with a school in. Oh joy.
This result has been repeated all over England & Wales. The Labour & UKIP vote collapsed, UKIP racists voting for the original right wing party, the true blue Conservatives, and those disgusted with Labour also rushing to vote in the same Conservatives! What does that say about this nation? Note the numbers eligible to cast a vote in our constituency, 14,367! Look how many cared enough to vote, 3741! Certainly County Council elections are not interesting but even so that is appalling when you know these people sitting at home will be the first to grumble. The fact the Tory vote would have won even if the other candidates joined together speaks volumes about this area. The two other town constituencies were giving similar results. In spite of cut backs, tax increases, stealing from the weak and poor people still voted for the Tories, I cannot understand why.
According to the media the Conservative Party swept Scotland, the SNP have been humbled, yet the story in final results appears somewhat different. While the SNP did not sweep all before it many successes were recorded and while the Conservatives have 161 gains that almost equals the 160 losses suffered by Labour, Lib-Dems and 'other.' The SNP gained 6, that is not bad. Again those unionists not voting Labour now vote Conservative, why? Do they really think they will make them better off? It was pointed out that just before the EU referendum an announcement concerning a royal baby appeared, on the day before the Council vote the English queen calls an emergency meeting just to tell us Prince Phillip is 'stepping down' in August! 'Emergency Meeting' for that? A 95 year old is slowing down and this is an 'emergency?' The pages of arselicking in every paper and all over the media must have influenced many small minds as they went to vote. The English queen interfered in the Scots Referendum also, the EU referendum and now the Council vote. I think it is time she abdicated for not following the constitutional role. She can take Greek Phil to the races, shes been taking us in for years.
The sky has been gray for several weeks now. Rarely does the sun shine and when it does I am found inside! This state of affairs is poor and I have not been out and about for months. This is wearing me down and I can understand those folks in northern Scandinavia who go mad during the six months of darkness. Six months of summer light is brill but cold, bleak, darkness, no thank you!
I have done my democratic duty and voted for one of the losing candidates in the local County Council election. I know he will lose as the Conservatives and their unthinking lackeys dominate this area. The Polling Station is in the museum which is helpful as our boss takes the role of Presiding Officer.' I spoke to him this morning, he had plenty of time to talk, and discovered that he could expect over two thousand people eager to vote today. I asked how many had arrived by then, around eleven O'clock, and he reckoned just over forty people had voted. There are of course postal votes to be added but how many dozen of those would arrive? The town is divided into three for County Council voting and the total eligible constituents in our third is 14,367. I suspect the count will finish early. With the voting beginning at seven in the morning and continuing until ten at night the boss will have had a tiring day. How he eats I did not dare to ask, I did offer to make him tea, but I suspect he will be off tomorrow! Actually the suspicion has come too me that this vote will not be counted until tomorrow, to save costs I assume, which makes sense with so small a vote. June the eighth will of course see the General Election and a far bigger turnout of Conservative voters desperate to vote for the party that lowers their taxes. The fact that that party has raised them continually behind their backs as they have done since time began has been ignored by such sheep and the cross goes to their man, who I can tell you will be grateful but really not be interested in them, his eyes are on promotion!
Unless there is a major controversy few people care who runs the County or Local Councils, they just want good folks to get on with it and leave them alone. However such an attitude ignores the fact that these voters, non voters that ought to be, are the first to complain about local taxes, housing, roads, hospitals and any and everything else. When asked why they didn't vote they say "It makes no difference." This is true and the reason it makes no difference is that you DIDN'T VOTE! Local Council elections are more likely to draw crowds if there is a dispute. Many around here are grumbling about vast housing projects that are being dumped on their doorsteps, often in 'Green Belt' areas. This does bring folks to vote, I note no election for local Councillors is happening at this time when plans are being considered, and this can see people removed from their comfy seat. This will not happen with this vote. It must not be said all Councillors are bad, corrupt or self seeking, though many are, some do want to change the world, some wish to learn the ropes and go on into parliament, some dream of high office, many just wish to improve their local area and these ought to be commended for their work. The public at large however remain skeptical of Councillors motives and many stories of corrupt behaviour do not lessen these fears. Anyway who wishes to spend days arguing about the siting of Public Lavatories or Street Signs? And who wishes to spend many days discussing local issues with members of the public? Not me!
Yes indeed the election is well under way. For the most part I have avoided it but all hours of the day are filled with talk, mostly gibberish, from all sides. Promises abound but not so much as lies do, fingers are pointed over there while ignoring the fingers pointed at themselves, and the great mass of the population take to social media to spout ignorant twaddle, which you are now reading. We have the local election for County Councillors (which will be won by Tories) and a month later this election (which here will be won by Tories) and then we have no more - until the next time. I wonder how many will vote? The County council one will be poor regarding turnout, however I expect large numbers for the real election which is a shame as the closed minds here will vote for the Tories unthinkingly or indeed the rump of the UKIP lot. How I wish there was more choice around here.
I have spent much time engrossed in transferring stuff between laptops. All relevant things must be placed on this new bright shiny one and the museum stuff left on the aged old one as there is too many links to change. Naturally hours have been wasted going from one to another and back again while forgetting if I was going or coming half the time. So many photos, and this does not have the photo gadget I have on the other laptop, this has ceased according to Microsoft. The new Photo app I am not sure about. I did however take the opportunity to send emails to many people. There were so many to answer, which is unusual, and all required a little thought, a little thought as you know is something I can manage easily. Much of the morning was wasted in this manner. I cared not and enjoyed myself. The afternoon was a flurry of housework, a flurry not seen for many a day I can tell you.
This hard work is interfering with my book reading. I seem to be getting nowhere with that. The books I am into are just not nearing the end as I plough through them intermittently while doing so many other things (and suffering sloth of course). There really needs to be another day added just so I can sit and read books. Possibly you say it could be me being slow? Well certainly I note how slow I am these days, in fact only the other day I was overtaken by a walking funeral in the main street of this town. I was a bit miffed when the leader asked if I wanted a lift... I'm slow at getting up, slow at breakfast, slow and wondering what to do, slow at rescuing burnt things from ovens, slow at everything these days. In days of yore I was never fast but at least I could move, run on occasions, and get around town avoiding the crush but now I just slog along slower than old men with zimmer frames. Maybe I ought to borrow one...?
I was surprised to hear how many various animals were being saved by the animal sanctuary that parades in the town centre twice a year. Beginning with donkeys they now have a variety of equine type creatures plus goats and cats and almost anything that gets dumped on them or saved by them. This was one wee pony happily stuffing himself and making friends with wee girls who found the special feed they ought not to have found, the pony liked them a lot.
Usually there are other animals, chickens, sheep etc, but the only other one that should have appeared, a donkey, was not in the mood and would not come to visit. Anyone who deals with animals knows that they rule the roost, not you! The man accompanying the animals and the table spread with things no use to me but helping to aid their funds was very helpful and chatty. I have the link somewhere and one day will visit them on their home site if possible. Remus
My landlord, now 86 years of age, has begun to forget things. This is worrying for a man who has a sharp mind. He has been diagnosed with early dementia of a mild type but that means little if you forget things constantly. I begin to worry as to what this means for the home as we have no idea who would run the company if he gave up. However today I have been tired and spent much time forgetting things also. It is worrying the things that get forgotten, like switching of lights, oven, shutting doors and forgetting what I am doing while staring into a cupboard. I am not sure whether this is age, dementia or just stupidity, it is hard to tell. My typing is awful also, red lines appear constantly as the words do not spell themselves very well, I blame the laptop. However if the landlord goes what happens to me then? Ah well life is full of interesting developments.
So far two election leaflets for the County Council have dropped through the door, one Tory (who will win) one Labour. I glanced at both wondering whether it was worth bothering to read them as they always say the same things and do what they wish anyway. This area always vote for the Conservative in spite of the facts as the rich middle classes (of whom there are many) outnumber the divided poorer lot. UKIP, the fascist/protest/numbskulllittleenglanderpeople have taken some votes from the Tories and run them close last time, however Brexit has killed them and the Labour Party with its non-leader offer little in response. What a state politics has got itself into. The national UK government is abysmal with no opposition bar the SNP and local governments are abysmal with not enough people willing to come out and vote to remove the chancers while we can. I could read the leaflets but think recycling them will do the world more good.
Last night, as there was no football to stimulate the mind, I wandered round to the museum to hear a talk on Krystyna Skarbek by a local author Clare Mulley. It seems this was a well to do Polish lass who was a bit of an adventure seeker. When the Germans invaded she was in South Africa for reasons I forget and made her way to London and offered herself for spy work. The British of course had no women in such roles and espionage and behind the lines work was considered somewhat dangerous for wee lassies early in the war. Later when things were organised several women died, often horribly, for work behind the lines in France. Eventually Krystyna got work via the Polish forces and spent some time gathering information and boyfriends along the way, I told you she was adventurous, predatory possibly one said. She worked in dangerous situations in Europe with a husband/boyfriend I forget which there were lots, and only by feigning TB did she manage to get the Germans to throw both of them out. Their escape across Europe led them to Cairo where the British considered her a German double agent! Lifes like that. Later from London she entered France and worked alongside several others annoying the Germans before and after D-Day. She was awarded many medals including a George Cross, the highest civilian award for bravery, an OBE and the Croix de Guerre plus the usual things. Not bad for a wee lassie. She also ended up with two husbands, several men and lots of associations. As the Soviet KGB also knew about her she was of no use after the war to the British spy network so she was dumped. She was also refused British citizenship, something this continues today where such folks are concerned, but eventually settled under one of her many names in London. Here however an angry boyfriend stabbed her to death and ended her life in 1952. A somewhat sad end to a woman of adventure and er, romance. The talk was interesting even though the acoustics are not great and my hearing failures meant I missed much of it. I would have bought the book but through no fault of my own I ended up washing the cups!
Before the thunder & lightning returned this morning I headed East into the sun on my rusty old bike and made my way around town in an effort to get fit. I got stiff knees and aching back so this fitness idea is working. However the weight is creeping up rather than falling and later today as I visited the Turkish Market that appeared the other day for the second time and came home with a large bag of Mediterranean sweet cakes I wondered why? You know what I refer to? The Middle East sweet cakes stuffed with healthy things and wrapped in greasy unhealthy stuff? I love them and rarely see them so I bought too many the other day and foolishly ate them! I may need to ride the bike to Inverness to lose the weight I am putting on today! However I managed to buy the black cord jacket I have been looking for since three years ago for £12 in an expensive charity shop. This idea of smartening myself up appears to be working. Now I look like a poor man's Jeremy Clarkson but without the talent! Good news however football has returned for a while. Are you not all glad?
Well it worked! Farage told them what they wished to hear, Boris scared them with talk of millions of immigrants and the people who read the 'Sun,' 'Daily Express' & 'Daily Mail' fell for it. Now everyone with an Irish ancestor is applying for an Irish passport so they can travel in Europe, buisnessmen will have to fill reams of paper to visit EU nations, young folks are unable to work in EU as they are no longer part of it and even today some nations will not exchange the pounds in tourists pockets because they do not know hos stable the Pound actually is. Well done Boris! Interestingly the people who will discuss the leaving strategy have excluded Nigel Farage the rabblerouser who led from the front with his lies. Poor thing how I feel for him! We now have a 'lame duck' Prime Minister who will not do anything to help the Brexit folks who have cost him his job, he cannot bring in legislation as he has no control over his party, the main contenders for his job, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Theresa May are collecting friends and stabbing each other in the back as we speak, well they are stabbing Boris as no Conservative member really wishes him as leader. George Osborne however has disappeared altogether, where is he? His faulty handling of the economy, his high handed approach to the nation and his failing budgets mean few Tories will vote for him. The Labour Party is divided and the lack of leadership worrying, The Lib-dems mean nothing and only the Scots nationalists have a clue what to do. Another independence vote is on the cards soon. Just see how many companies cross the border and settle in Edinburgh then! In Ireland even those who wish to remain 'British' and looking for Irish passports, and the Belfast government has no choice but to discuss unity with Dublin. Europe on one hand laughs, on the other is afraid others will wish to join England. All is amiss and if Putin wishes to invade now is the time!
Using the 'Learning for Life' centre, part of the museum, as a voting booth may well have struck some of those gathering to choose their nations future as appropriate. There can be no doubt that if the 'Little Englanders' and those who wish to bring back the Empire get their way and follow Boris (Let me be Prime Minister) Johnson then the nation is done the tubes without much hope of redemption. The great fear of immigrants 'Come over here taking our jobs, living off the dole,' in areas where there are no immigrants has been exaggerated by Messrs Farage & Johnson and others for their own ends. Far too many Englishmen, and it is Englishmen not Welsh, Irish or Scots who follow Johnson, are happy to believe the rabblerousing of these desperate men. Still it was useful as it enabled me to put my cross in the box marked 'Scottish Nationalist' and really confuse the folks counting the ballot papers late tonight. It appears 46 and a half million people can vote today, whether the majority will be able to is a question. Hopefully we have a 75% turnout as at least we will get a decent view of peoples opinions. Opinions that have been hard to discover as the lies, boredom and sheer incompetence of the protagonists has put many off. It was difficult to attempt to work out the truth but I thought I got some idea, whether it was right we will have to wait and see. Tomorrow about seven we might know the answer as to who has won.
The good news is Scotland voted against the English racism that dealt Scotland such a blow after the referendum! The contempt felt for Scotland by the selfish English was released and encouraged by the media at all levels. This provoked an understandable backlash that saw the Scottish National Party (SNP) win 56 out of the 59 UK parliament seats available in Scotland! A huge success that saw many 'Toom Tabards' who had sold their nation to take English coins kicked out of a job, and good riddance to them! Now with Alec Salmond, an experienced politician and canny operator the Scottish interests will be considered in Westminster when parliament resumes in due course. The bad news is the Conservatives under David Cameron winning an overall majority! This means more attacks on the poor, unemployed, sick and the death of the NHS! Already those US Insurance companies and other health organisations that have their feet in the door will be bribing lobbying for more and the cabinet, already containing so many men with shares in such companies, will be happy to let them in. The rich will get richer, the poor will suffer and if you lose your job, get sick or require housing you can forget it from now on chum! The victory came about simply because of English racism! Cameron had his lackeys in the media tell them 'Vote Labour and get SNP take your money.' A lie the greedy English fell for. The poorest areas who voted Labour now suffer as badly as Cameron wished Scotland to suffer, however with a majority of merely ten he has problems in his own house. The Conservative Party is a mixed bag, the 'One nation Tories' and Cameron claims to be one will not be finding jobs in the cabinet, they go to his men. The anti-EU feeling is strong amongst many and failure here will cause rebelliousness to arise, and a small majority requires to avoid this. The 'Eton Prefect' needs to go canny with his own people although what opposition there is will most likely come from the SNP as who knows what Labour will come up with next? Ah Labour, the part of the workers that became the party of the middle classes. A new leader must be chosen as the old stands down. The selection is not easy as many who will stand believing in the 'divine right' to the job will be empty jackets with no charisma and less talent. The future is bleak and we must pray constantly or disaster lies around the corner. Worse still the local elections gave similar results. The counsellors elected in this region were almost all Conservatives. I have yet to see if any opposition member has been brought in. Dearie me the 'working class Tory' is a strange things so he is.
This morning I wandered round to 'Specsavers' (who sponsor Scottish Football referees) where I had my eyes examined with lost of lights shone into them, pictures taken of the back of my eyes, questions asked, and small letters to find on screen. All this by a capable young Asian lass who enjoyed her job and was thoroughly capable. Then the man asked me for a small fortune! I collect them in two weeks time and if all goes well will fall over the pavement as I leave the shop like I usually do. I expected to be in and out in twenty minutes but it took almost an hour. The requirements for my eyes caused difficulty as the woman knew what she was doing but the assistant he was struggling. I remained smug throughout as I no longer get myself tied up in knots in jobs that can cost me the sack when it all goes wrong. The telly and radio is full of the election. I bet David Cameron is full off it also!
Apart from the exultation/despair filling the biased media tomorrow, followed by the endless guesswork re the next coalition government if there is to be one, at last we can forget about the election! First thing this morning I put aside the urgent pressing desire to vote and instead stuffed my face with an unhealthy breakfast. That is, it started healthy but I forgot myself and went for whatever was lying around. Much later I stumbled heavily to the museum, where the vote was being taken in the large hall, and surprisingly when I entered the place was empty! I expected many to be there and it appears many had voted earlier, while I was munching on a somewhat aged dry nan. (By 'nan' I mean one of those bread things, I do not mean 'Nan' in the sense of 'Grannie' just in case you are confused. I have not eaten a 'nan' as in 'Grannie' for some time now). Anyway my Big Boss, the museum manager, was running the election here as he always does and he offered me the white and yellow sheets of paper in which to vote for a loser. His female companion, trained by the Gestapo, questioned my address, house number, name, first name and shirt size just to check my identity and in case I had found the voting card in the street. I did not point out that as she asked me my address, house number, name, first name etc I read them off the card! At least I had people who could confirm my identity, what if I could not? So I took the valuable papers remembering the many who had fought for years to obtain the franchise and later a secret ballot, and headed for the private cubicle. There I selected 'Mad as a Hatter and a Lover of White Elephants Party' from the motley collection on offer and considered the names on the yellow sheet for the local elections. A good idea to use a different coloured paper as some may get confused by two similar white sheets with names of people you have never heard off theron. Of the umpteen candidates about which we, as is usual in local elections, know almost nothing, I selected two by Party link (the desperate for votes party) and one as I know her from one of the churches and if elected she might not be effective but will never shut up and that will really annoy them! Having exhausted my intellect I sat with the girls in the museum to ensure they were behaving, no they were not, and so I passed on to my other duties, and fell asleep.
So we have voted. What will the outcome be? A coalition appears likely, with possibly another election within a year. The UK will be a different place whatever and the one side effect may be the media suffering badly. The bias and absurd stories found therein, mostly in the Conservative media is beyond parody. One obvious example is 'The Sun.' This grubby Murdoch paper is published in Scotland and England. The English version of the 'Sun' tells its readers through screaming headlines to vote Conservative and keep out the SNP! The Scottish version of the 'Sun' through screaming headlines tells its readers to vote SNP! Ed Milliband, the leader of the Labour Party has made clear he does not like Murdoch and may do something about him and those foreign or non domiciled owners therefore he gets attacked. Alec Salmond while leader of the SNP kept in with Murdoch successfully and obtained support from him, Nicola Sturgeon who replaced him as First leader has said nothing re the press in this campaign. Both receive a big black mark against them for this! We now await the hype regarding the results coming in, the lies and half truths, the despair of the losers and gloating of the winners and look forward to a glorious future not much different from the present.
After my furlough I stumbled down the road, braving the gale force wind, and entered the museum once again. Naturally all the bright young lassies were desperate for my return (yes they were!) and I settled quickly into the routine, making mistakes, forgetting names, losing things, overcharging customers (and that was only a 50p postcard) and forgetting where everything was kept. Back to normal then. Usually I was left on my own but today young Lee, an unemployed accountant, fills his time by volunteering and today he joined me and it was just as well. The first customer wished tickets for an event, Lee knew where they were and I was supposed to know how to work the 'friends of the Museum' discount. Naturally I got it wrong! After much fiddling the lovely Jenny told us the simple way of 'doing it right' and the man was happy enough with things. Lee had to correct me several times as I forgot what/where/why and so on. Just like normal!
So now I sit here staring at the 'To Do' list and thinking of reasons not to do it. So much requires attention, the museum requires something - even though they do not know it yet, the house requires lots of work, the body however wants to sit and stare. The mind cannot even work out what to watch or listen to at the moment. The news is filled with liars asking, nay pleading, for us to save their careers and I really do not posses the desire so to do! A quick look at the candidates for election has made my mind up. I will not be voting 'for' anyone but 'against' the man who will win. We also have local elections on and I am positive who I will vote for there even though I know nothing about them! I found one item of information re one woman, nothing whatsoever re the others wishing to be local Councillors! A disgraceful state of affairs I say! In a town as small as this you would think such information important - there again so few will vote normally at local elections and those who do so today will vote for a Party, not a candidate. We have no other choice. Again I am voting for a Party because the other Party dominates and opposition is a must - even if poor.
.jpg)
