Thoughts...

Sometimes you can see a divorce coming.  
Melania Trump has spoken out against separating children from parents when caught crossing the border from Mexico into the USA illegally.  I suspect none crossed while Mexico were putting Germany in their place yesterday.  Her husband, who is the President of the United States incredibly, has decided each who cross must be imprisoned and as children cannot go to adult prisons this means they are separated fro their parents.  This is similar to the Victorian Workhouse idea Jeremy Bentham and his mates gave us.  Christian care and general human kindness do not appear in either situation.
However it is her speaking out like this, added to her not appearing alongside him at all times that raises the gutter press question as to whether she is working towards a million pound divorce.  Here I find that I must be reading the 'Daily Mail' to much as it leads me to such speculation.  I await a tweet from the White house (burned down by the British forces in 1812) to deny any rift as 'fake news' while at the same time setting the lawyers, CIA and FBI to follow his wife.

  
Another attempt to keep Brexit out of the news.  This time Theresa has promised to spend £20 billion on the NHS over a period of time, a period of time in which she will not be there.  This has much coverage in her press with the right wing swivel eyed loons chortling over it all and Labour muttering something in the corner but lets face it who cares what they say these days.  
It is of course a lie!   
This money will come from the Brexit profit, while in fact Brexit will bring economic disaster and she knows it.  Just another lie to feed the troops desperate to believe in spite of facts.  There is more truth coming out of Ibrox park media these days than coming from 10 Downing Street and that is saying something!

With the football taking up a little bit of time I have not been able to do much except rush to the shops for food (and bird seed) and glance at the outside world which mad me glad I am inside again!
So much to do, so little time before kick off!   They want me to work tomorrow and miss Columbia playing Japan, are these women mad???

It's Goodbye to Her...

Mirror

 

Now here is a novelty.  A Conservative Party cabinet minister has been caught out lying and has resigned, that is something that does not happen every day.  If it was there are several others, Gove, Johnson, Fox etc who ought also to walk.  Oh hold on, this is not a surprise, this is the FOURTH cabinet minister to depart Theresa May's government!  It appears she has been taking lessons from that nice Donald Trump after all.  
In 1982 the Argentinians stupidly invaded the Falkland Islands in an attempt to turn their peoples attention away from their economic problems and ended up in a war.  Lord Carrington, then Foreign Minister, immediately resigned on the grounds that his attention had been elsewhere and he had failed.  Margaret Thatcher attempted to persuade him to stay on, as he could have done, but he felt he ought to go and he did.  This was the last time a Conservative Minister resigned with dignity, since then all others have had to be pushed and some of them were far from dignified in their going.   Of course some of the opposition members have also fallen foul but mostly it now appears the Conservative policy to never resign whatever the fault, lying, deceiving, cheating in government or at home all should be shrugged off and keep the party together no matter what.
The keeping the party together is of course the real problem.  In the 19th century Sir Robert Peel took a brave stand for the sake of the nations economy and ended the Corn Law that protected some and increased bread prices for the majority, this broke his party in two and they were out of office for thirty years after that.  In 1867 Disraeli brought in a Reform Act that gave a million men the right to vote, not that he wanted to but he worked with Conservative MPs that did not wish an election in case they lost their seat and radicals who he despised just for spite against William Gladstone and pushed through a radical reform act he did not really want.  Theresa and her colleagues are involved in similar games now, either break the nation or break the party, she has chosen the party as have they and soon they will all lead us to destruction, and then they too will be destroyed.  Amber (Who calls their daughter 'Amber?') has lost out to save Theresa, but she will be back.
What a mess.

The latests April shower has blown a gale since last night and limited my opportunities for travel.  
So I did the laundry instead...
Sitting here watching the rain lash against the window I am cogitating on those who cannot get out at any time.  Folks in hospital for months, those trapped in old folks homes, the sick and the old.  What must it be like to be trapped all day indoors let out only when a friend or family member arrives to aid you, and what if there are no such people?  How lucky I am that I can get out and about, how grateful I am not in a wheelchair or sick and in pain.  How grateful for the good life God has given such a man as I.  

I have spent some time attempting to sort my files.  This means switching from one to another via the laptop, dumping some (usually deliberately) and trying to work out what others actually are.  Scandisk could make it better by the brutes not switching themselves off constantly.  This of course could be the fault of this laptop, the cursor slides too easily, even after amending the thing, and slips past where it ought to go and sits where it ought not.  I wish I had just stuck to the laundry...

Sunshine!

As I wandered in the gardens gathering Vitamin 'K' (or is it 'D'?) from the sunshine I cogitated on Theresa May's handling of these Caribbean types who have lived here fifty or so years and are being chucked out by the dozen.  It seemed to my little mind that a woman who while spending six years as Home Secretary has forgotten that during her time she ordered advertising vans to drive around 'ethnic' areas plastered with information regarding how these folks should go back home.  Nothing racist in this, just obeying the 'Daily Express' and the like.  Somewhere along the line the records of such immigrants from the West Indies have been deleted by the home Office, Labour say she did this, now today she claims this was done under the Labour government, I wonder who to believe? 
The speed in which the Tories have apologised for such blatant racism reveals how much this situation has hurt them.  Even Brexit has been put aside, or is being hidden, by the fuss.  The poor Junior Minister who first had to admit the policy of dumping folks back home was wrong was bad enough, especially as she appeared not to care one whit, but the Home Secretary Amber Rudd, she who cavorted with an 'activist' at the Party Conference, she also has admitted the wrong although again without any heart showing through.  This is driven by the desperate PM, desperate to inspire her troops, desperate to keep her job, desperate to hide the Brexit failure.
All this and the Labour opposition under Corbyn can make no headway.  It makes you laugh!

             
Sitting under this tree I had my first take of warmth today.  All around the kids were screaming, mums chasing them, people happy as Larry as the sun shone properly for the first time.  The wind chill was a nuisance but I missed it sitting here.  The warmth forced me to open my shirt and let the sun pretend we were in the Mediterranean and not Essex.  It of course did not take long for the attractive young ladies to arrive.  They gathered around offering compliments like "He will never get that belly back in that shirt!"  And "Captain Ahab, the white whale is here!"  
I hope they all get mumps.  

I suppose it is a terrible thing, facebook stealing all our info, but when they merely use it to pass on to advertisers of whatever persuasion I remain unmoved.  For years I have used  Ad Block Plus on Firefox and Chrome and rarely ever see and advert.  One or two appear for seconds and then disappear but any advert of whatever nature is hard to see on facebook or indeed anything else.
The sight of the creepy wee man Zuckerberg facing the US committee ensured any love for him was lost.  His appearance reminded me of the weird types seen in some old US movies, the one who turns out to indeed be weird, or a gangster or a zombie perhaps.  He did not appear as one you would trust in any capacity.  He also gave the impression the US committee could do nothing about him or his actions, and he is right.  With so many billionaires working alongside him no Congress committee will get far in putting him down.  
However it is worrying just how much info people can gather through 'social media.'  Fine as long as you do not become opposed to the tyranny that rules and unfortunate of you do as they will know more about you than you do.  At this point I'd like to say "Hi!" to MI6, MI5, the FBI, Scotland Yard, the CIA and Mr Putin.  The Chinese we met when they had the Olympics and their lackeys watched for any disagreement worldwide and were always ready to spout the party line.  It kept them out of jail I suppose. 
At least they will not see the adverts.

Look, blue skies!!!

Moonshine

I am told that this 'super moon' is having all sorts of effects on people.  Now I am as willing as the next man to hang about on the rooftops howling but it appears to me that in no way have I been affected by this large white ball in the sky.  Note the colour, white, not red, making photography very difficult especially when leaning out of the wee window unable to get a proper shot.
I personally notice no change in my demeanour because of the moon, and there is little requirement for you to offer sarcasm at this point.  The last few days have seen me extremely tired after overdoing the rushing around last week and little has been done beyond what was required, though I did manage to sleep a lot.

In between rain showers I wasted time listening to the news informing us Theresa May is "Not a quitter," though she forgot to add "I am not a Prime Minister either," for some reason.  Several members among the backbenchers have been admitting that Brexit is a disaster, and one minister  has also been told off for admitting this.  Thankfully the whole idea is beginning to fall apart.  While being annoyed by daft rules from the EU and the manner in which they run the organisation it is unlikely the UK could survive separate from the EU, only the 'elite' would benefit, their money being
lodged in banks abroad.  I note that the man at the top of Legatum (?) the organisation that demands the UK leave the EU has himself obtained an EU passport through Malta, a device many rich folks are making use of.  Now what does this tell us that the media is not revealing?  The leak of a government document that reveals the UK would suffer grievously has been denounced by the cabinet with all the assurance of government ministers lying in their teeth.  
All this because a few public schoolboys wanted to be Prime Minister.

Thursday Drivel...

After a year of almost constant bugs bugging me I now find myself somewhat free from them for a moment.  This is great as I am able to write drivel on here and research dead men with a degree of enthusiasm that had long since departed.  I even began tidying the house, replacing things on shelves they have missed for months and putting away dust covered items that ought not to have dust anywhere near them.  I am even contemplating cleaning the oven!  Now that doesn't happen every year.
Of course I still have the fridge to do, paint the bedroom, fix the tiles, and a thousand other items that required work months ago but they will be done, if the weather warms up and there is no football to watch.  How lovely to be almost fit.  Indeed I have done more exercise in the last two weeks than done in months before this, I am almost beginning to feel better about it.  Naturally much of it is not helping my knees get me up the stairs, that requires different exercises that I must add, later I think...

Stumbling through Sainsburys ignorant and cretinous customer base today, I had to go there for items only they stock, I remembered the coffee had run out.  So the choice was which of the £3 bags to buy, I am now hooked on real coffee for a while, and there could only be one choice, Costa Rica!
Grown in the 'Tarrazu' region it is claimed by 'connoisseurs to be one of the best coffee growing areas in the world.'  Doesn't it say that on all the packs?  Just asking...  Whether it contains 'Milk chocolate and floral notes' I am not yet sure but it is smoother and less bitter than the Italian and Ethiopian coffees I had before.  This will bring me into the world tomorrow morning and if it doesn't work I will send it back to the Tarrazu mountains. 

Something exciting is happening, a French bloke is seen taking the salute alongside Mrs May, has she gone over to the other side?  Did I miss something in the news?  If she joined the anti-Brexit mob it is likely it would not be printed in the right wing press, they like to keep that sort of thing secret.
Maybe we are going to war with Trump?  I must check twitter...

Mouse, Theresa and Money

Mugmania

This is a small bag of chocolate coins, the type that appear every Christmas to overcharge the parents and vainly satisfy the kids.  These are popular, these are just chocolate wrapped in gold foil, and these were stolen by the mouse!
To combat this menace I have taken obvious action.  Food is hidden, bins removed or sealed, nothing left making it easy for him, and holes searched for.  This however is not perfect.  On my bookcase I
have a cup wrapped in paper which will soon wend its way to the birthday girl on the appropriate date.  Inside that mug, just to keep it somewhere, was a bag of gold chocolate coins.  On the shelf beneath were coins, fivepences, tenpences etc that I take into work to use in the till.  Yesterday morning I came into the east wing and found coins on the floor alongside other detritus, all of which had been knocked from the shelf.  Collecting them I noticed the gold coins had gone, the metal ones to hard on the mouses teeth I suspect, and no trace to be found.  
Eventually I found the hole where he had taken them, only one item of gold paper to be seen, alongside a scouring pad, backed by foam, that disappeared the other day from the sink.  Last night, having moved heavy items of furniture, stacked with books, I shoved the scourer into the hole in a vain effort to seal it, it had been pushed aside this morning, and decided to buy some 'wire wool' as I have heard this deters them as their teeth don't like it.  Now I have some of this steel wool I will spend tomorrow morning filling holes with it and see how mouse likes that.  I may even find the rest of the golden paper.  The cheek of the brute!

Indy

Theresa has done it again.  She may it clear a shuffle of her cabinet was under way to prove she was in charge and she would get her personal manifesto put into action.  She failed.  Her Health Secretary refused to move and added another bit to his kingdom, the Education secretary refused the poisoned chalice of the DWP (where sick and unemployed and put to death) and this was later filled by another hard hearted type much loved by 'Daily Mail' readers and lots of nobody's took positions nobody cares about (including our Boris fan MP).  In short it was an abject failure.

The press, especially the ones that hate immigrants, and announcing a 'diverse' cabinet as if they cared while they really want a white, right wing, male cabinet to satisfy their ideas of superiority.  All this while pretending to support the women while striving to have her removed.

I begin to feel sorry for the hard hearted bint.

 

The media, run by men, are making a big deal of Carrie Gracie's publicity stunt of the last few days regarding men being paid higher salaries than she was.  She has 'stepped down' as the BBC China correspondent to return to a sea on the BBC newsdesk.  This she did as a complaint regarding BBC men being paid more than women.
She forgot to mention how much she is paid (just under £150,000 I suspect) and she does not lose any of this by moving to another department.  She does however get to spend more time with her family which she claims to have missed though taking a job 5000 miles from home would probably lead to that happening I suspect, and now she is better of than 90% of the population and grumbling about it not being fair.
The phrase 'aye right' goes through my head.
Why is it that the best paid women, doing fewer hours than most, grumble about a 'gender gap?'  
I have never had a job where I got paid more than the women!  Secretaries simply by being secretaries get paid far more than men who have to work.  Office girls are well paid unlike men working on the job and yet grumble about cash.  Media stars have an inbuilt right to more money than anyone else but there appears to be no reason for this.  If you don't like the conditions, which you signed up to, do what a man has to do and find another job.  Then we will see if anyone thinks you are worth what you think you are worth.
Oh and as you are paid a s a 'company' I suspect you pay little tax on this money.

Messy State

While hiding from the chill wind I have cogitated on the government situation.  Now I know you will ask "Government? Does the UK have one?" and I will answer, "Not at this moment."  
The Scottish Labour Party then leader requested those Labour voters in constituencies where the Labour man would not win to vote for the Conservative Party thus ensuring the SNP would not win at the general election.  The result was many did indeed follow this instruction and the UK government was then won by a handful of seats, Scottish seats, that meant we now have a Conservative Party forming the government.  Had the Labour voters voted Labour and the SNP won the seats Jeremy Corbyn the leader of the UK Labour Party would now be Prime Minister instead of Theresa May.
Theresa May's government has been a farce since she was elected as she knows the Brexit nonsense will bankrupt the UK but she goes along with this just to keep her job as Prime Minister.  Her control of her cabinet is non existent and add to the farce of Brexit and the incompetence regarding the discussions with the EU we have the 'sex scandals' some of which are genuine and the loss of cabinet ministers from said cabinet.  
Today we await the MP for Witham, Essex, who has been called back from Africa where she escaped to avoid answering questions in the House regarding her latest shenanigans. 
It appears Pritti Patel, a woman who knows the colour of money, has been meeting with members of the Israeli cabinet on numerous occasions unbeknown to the PM or indeed her office (She is Minister for development).  This is serious as such meeting s require a civil servant to be present to take notes and make reports etc but this was not done!  Not only but also, she has met with and discussed government business with the Prime Minister of Israel without informing Theresa May her own PM!  Just what is going on we ask?
Today we read the Jerusalem Post claiming Theresa May was aware all along these meetings (all 12 of them) were underway, and aware that no civil servant was there also.  This is serious stuff and totally out of order from the correct handling of such circumstances under Parliament protocol. 
Who is telling the truth?  
What will be the result?

p.s. Tonight we hear the Patel woman has 'resigned,' they normal way to say she has been sacked. 

This government has an easy time as Corbyn also wishes to leave the EU.  Had he differed in his opinion he could bring this government down but is unable to do so.  A government with a lying Minister, a lying Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson also, and David Davis the Brexit secretary claiming over 50 studies relevant to the result of Brexit are available and refusing to release them when parliament demands they are released he now claims they do not exist! 
Yet Corbyn cannot bring them down?
There is no stable government in Westminster, a rag tag group of individuals on the make each eyeing up the other as a dangerous opponent.  A weak opposition, a frustrated populace and all the while costs to the people rise daily (BT the latest to make a grab for another billion) the NHS loses money, the disabled, unemployed and sick lose benefits and housing and parliament is in a mess.
What a state to live under.  I have never known such a mess. 

I of course have a theory.
The more I look at things I begin to see judgement at work.
The UK has the Conservatives, the US has Trump!  The West has political correctness and the lunatics run the asylum.
We have left the ways of God, poorly followed as they were, encouraged abortion and gay sex, worshipped Mammon and become disinterested in human life.  I have mentioned the benefit claimants who are all regarded as scroungers I can add those who kill on the roads and walk free after a short sentence of four, five or six years while the dead are just dead and the victims families are not considered worthy of care.  
We are worshipping ourselves, this only leads to trouble.
The more the 'self' is glorified the more we die. 
Turning to he who rules is the only way forward for us.  
Turning to Jesus and the way of truth is our only hope.
Few will find it while the cosmos implodes.

Autumn Mists

Autumn, the season of 'Mists and mellow fruitfulness' said he poet, I'm not sure about the mellow fruitfulness but last night there was plenty of mist.  This contrasted sharply with the warmth found in the middle of the day today where people walked about shirt sleeved, they must be mad!  

  
The aged bandstand in the gardens has been in attendance at almost 140 such seasons.  The trees around have cheerfully deposited their leaves for someone else to gather over a similar time.  The gardens once were the sole property of one of the Courtauld's, George I think, who had the big hoose over the road.  He also had a huge area of fields there also which now form the park l and in a spirit of generosity donated the gardens to the town.  This was received with much pomp and display.  The townspeople marched through the town in celebration and a picnic in a local field was held at the end with a bonfire and carousing no doubt at night.  People made their own fun in the late 19th century.  The gardens are now run by a trust and a Courtauld is one of the leading men attempting to keep the gardens running.

        
Apparently the Labour party have been having a conference this week, only listening to the news headlines means I miss out many tales and yet miss out nothing important.  It appears Jeremy Corbyn thinks he could win an election but there are two problems here: we are not having one and stopping Brexit is more important.  The election one is fun as this is three years away I guess and the Tories will have gone through about three Prime Ministers by then and while it is possible Jeremy might be acceptable to many by then I suspect he also may have followed them into the abyss.
If however Brexit is not stopped, and Jeremy is all for it, then in three years time Scotland will be independent, England broke taking Wales and Northern Ireland with them and the world will be a different place.  In the meantime we struggle on with the worst government we have ever had, sometimes I wish David Cameron would come back at least you knew where you were with the ignorant toff.

        
There has been much cheering in the realms of the easily led by the radical news from Saudi Arabia that from next June women will be allowed to drive cars in that country.  Cue much cheering from feminists, media women and others with little intellect.  Women being allowed to drive gets a round of applause yet not one word is asked re stopping the crucifixion of 16 year olds, the decapitation of offenders nor the chopping off of hands and other bits and the stoning for adultery, these are less important than a woman driving!
Questions must be asked why this decision has been made?  Could this reflect the new young rulers intention to 'modernise' his nation?  Could it be a lessening of the influence of the Wahhabi imams? Or could it be a distraction taking our minds of the proxy wars on Yemen and Syria?  Or is this to hide something else we are not being informed off?  We wait and see.

The Autumn sun peeked out between the large misty cloud formations time and again today indicating that more such weather awaits us.  Rain clouds form as we speak, the residue from those US hurricanes make their way east and affect our nation, typical Yankees!  Not only do their money loving Boeing attempt to kill of 4000 jobs in Northern Ireland they dump their old storms on us also.  We can hit back concerning the aero companies but sending our weather to them is not so easy.
I expect Mrs May, when not taking the knives out of her back, will call that nice Donal Trump and inform him handbag style what she thinks of it all.  He can attempt to hold her hand but I suspect this will not work again.  Not sure it worked last time right enough.  
Mrs May is still PM but there are rumours of a coup approaching.  However all rumours are just that, rumours.  Who plants them?  The Russians, The Tories, a Tory bigwig unsettling other bigwigs, the CIA or 77 Brigade?  Who knows?  So many false items on Twitter and Facebook and so little truth among the whole thing.  I am cutting down on both social media and lessening my search for information to more reliable informants, who are possible lying I must admit.  
Just imagine, a British government with a divided cabinet, backstabbing ministers and no opposition, no matter what Jeremy says, is this possible? 

Blue Skies From Now On...

How nice to be out and about in the sunshine.  Most of last week I suffered a bug that took what little strength I have and remained hiding behind the laptop doing only those things that do not require thought.  This is a position I am best at.
Yesterday I was forced out and spent the rest of the day asleep.  Today I was also forced out and dragged myself all the way to St P's and back although the return was healthier that the going for some reason.  Above the skies displayed clouds that appeared to have been squashed flat and spread across the skies, as I returned I noted these were being replaced by puffy 'cotton wool' ones and the hot sun giving the lie to the threat of heavy rain tomorrow.  This ought to arrive late on once I am back home safe under a blanket.

  
As I have done nothing for over a week I have one of those long 'to do' lists which I shall glance at soon.  The problem is so much may as well wait until next year as it has waited that long already.  The 'Spring Clean' began well but has stuttered to a halt.  Things already clean need another go already, dust appears from nowhere in this place, the fridge needs attention and I am positive I attended to it only last May, or was it the year before?  Anyway all these things need doing and I am unable to until later this week.  Hopefully a tragedy, good news, event appears to make me forget all about it until next year again.

  
Also the laptops have been playing up again and now I am in the middle of the muddle clearing this from that and replacing that with this and so on and on and on...  
In between I have been ignoring the media as nothing important is happening, well except Theresa May keeping her job by giving the Northern Ireland DUP party one billion pounds to spend so they will keep her government in power.  However this money may mean the Scots lose out and I wonder in the dozen Scots Tory MPs will stand up and be counted or will they vote against May unless they also get one billion pound for Scotland?  I do hope so.
The fire last week has left many homeless and still struggling to cope, the media have however moved away...

A glance at the media shows how awful the world is.  People say it is getting worse every day but I have began to search the Newspaper Library and a quick glance at the local rag for August and September 1914 revealed similar tales to today.  There are mentions of the war and some of the effects breaking through, adverts aplenty offering things you really don't need, local news, important people crime, murder and assault.  The layout may be unusual but the hack knows what sells his paper, he knows what he can get away with, he knows who to attack and who to support, he knows what the people wish to read! 
It is however hard going online as the words are small, working the buttons not that easy and the thing takes forever to turn a page.  However it is worth having even though it costs money I canny afford.  I will get my moneys worth however...

Sweltering!

I was forced to walk, at noon, in the 82% heat today on my way to St P's.  That's 27% to you foreign folks out there and it is not something we are used to.  It was remarked when I arrived, tired and weary, that only 'Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.'  "You," they said in unison, "Are not English!" Much hilarity ensued!  
Three days running this heat has hit us and in the south we will get a bit more tomorrow.  Up north it is wet of course, but that is what they are there for, to catch the weather falling over the Atlantic!  
I confess I prefer this heat to the usual rain though an ideal temp of somewhere in the 70's would be more workable.  Even typing is hard when great drops of sweat keep landing on the keyboard. 
I'm sure I saw a Duck Billed Platypus walking past as I made my way home.

 
Last night the folks who endured the fire in the tower saw the beginning of the end of the 24 hour news coverage of their story.  This was because a right wing nutjob took it upon himself to copy the Islamist type attacks and late last night drive his white van into a crowd of Muslims leaving a mosque where they had been attending Ramadan prayers.  He crashed into a group who were busy aiding an aged chap who had collapsed.  The driver hit them and killed one and seriously injured several others. While trying to escape he was caught by the crowd and rescued from them by the Imam from the mosque and handed over to the police.  
Today Theresa May desperately trying to look human rushed to the mosque muttering about ending 'right wing extremism.'  I am left wondering if she would include the 'Daily Express' in her 'right wing extremist' list, or the 'Daily Mail' and naturally Rupert Murdoch's 'Sun?'  All these as well as the 'Telegraph' another extreme right wing paper that has gone downhill to make money have blamed Muslims and immigrants in general for every wrong and for many years, this is now the result.
Genuine questions regarding immigrants exist, genuine questions regarding some mosques and their imams need investigating, the media, and these papers in general have not done this!  Instead they play in the fears of the 'white working class' in general and the population altogether with half truths and deliberate distortions, that is how they make their money.  By such usage Rupert Murdoch and others have a control over the country they ought not to have in a democracy.  I am unaware of any cash Murdoch might invest in the Tory Party but his influence is clear, Michael Gove, removed by Theresa the minute she got the job has been returned as 'Environment Secretary,' a job he is singularly unfit for with his opinions totally at variance with environemntal reality. 
The media can be useful, the newspapers can inform, educate, build up, however what sells is sensation so news is replaced by sex stories and 'shock horror' tales, individuals are attacked or sentimentalised with no concern for the reality, they are used and abused with no control over the media possible, this is because the Conservative Party need the papers to get votes!
There are more right wing nutjobs out there, almost as many as there are Islamist nutjobs, extreme propaganda from either side must be opposed by truth, we do not have the media able or willing to do this.

 

Life is a Bit Blurred Today

My eyes have worn out from yesterday's efforts in the sunshine.  Nothing has been done today, a situation made worse by the TV and radio news constantly going over and over the nothing news that we heard yesterday.  With nothing to say, nothing new, nothing interesting they have been producing unknowns from here there and everywhere to fill time and repeat what we already know.  How they get paid for this I don't know.
Certainly some new news has arrived with a cabinet reshuffle as Theresa May tries to hold off all those who might stab her in the back and places between them and herself her chosen few.  The power grab is on and she is toast.  
Theresa's decision to work with the Northern Irish DUP has not gone down well.  Most object to their opposition to homosexuality, gay marriage and abortions.  I see nothing wrong with that straight forward godly view.  However few indeed bother to mention the DUPs relationship with terrorism and the recent murder in Northern Ireland.  
The only objections are to their Christian stance and that speaks volumes for people today.  I say again this nation is under judgement and possibly Theresa is one aspect of that.  She cannot be considered a gift to the nation!

Luckily there is nothing more to say so here is a picture from the exhibition.
No, I have no idea what it represents either...

Awake!

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! 

Normality Returns, Almost.

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.

Angry and Cynical!

The world is full of sentiment.  All around politicians mouth platitudes, the weak and unstable Prime Minister vows to 'get tough' and the media fill space with meaningless repetition of what was said before.
Lies! All lies!
The US needless invasion of Iraq with Tony Blair's help added to two hundred years of suffering the west UK, France, Italy and the US amongst others have given the middle east.  No thought for the long term, not regard for the locals. 
Before the Great War the decision to fire the Royal Navy with oil rather than coal ensured Britain would control as much of the oil fields as possible.  After the war the French and British, with international help cut up the middle east to suit themselves.  The Arabs were given what was thought good for them. Any rebellion was answered by the RAF dropping chemical weapons on villages, women and children counted as little to us as they do to terrorists today.
Oil was and still is the reason today we run after the Saudis.  Their proxy war against Iran via Syria and Yemen has given us millions of refuges, which the UK is not keen to take in, British made weapons drop on Yemeni schools but as we need the money we say little but merely 'tut-tut' to the Saudis and apologise for interrupting their stoning a woman who was raped.

There are no good sides in the middle east, they are all bad.  That includes Israel.  God has put the Jews back in the land he gave them but as yet not one religious type has become leader, none amongst the powerful follow Jesus, and they all too often follow the middle eastern way of working, hit back and hit back harder.  Peace will not follow.

I find the attitudes today hard to stomach.  The 'touchy feely' response pretends that we care about one another though this is not reflected in the way people behave and certainly not in daily London life!  I spent 20 years there and consideration for others is not the priority, bomb or no bomb.
Concerts for Manchester, very nice but we never had these when the IRA blew children apart in Manchester.  We certainly have avoided a concert for the 80 killed, including a BBC driver, and numerous wounded at that time.  We mention in passing the dead in two explosions in Baghdad then move on to other things.
Something is wrong with us when we care excessively for our own and not for the other.  In the 1940 Clydebank suffered very heavy bombing, great swathes were destroyed, people moved out and never returned, many were killed.  When asked about bombing Germany locals often commented that they did not wish any to suffer what they had suffered, even in Germany.  That is not an attitude found today.
On the one hand we stand around, arms round strangers shoulders, emoting for the dead yet on the other we ignore the causes and the dead elsewhere.  Other suffering, more constant, more deadly and far away does not bother us.  Did you know that for 30 years warfare of various types has existed in the Democratic Congo?  Over 5 million are dead but no-one cares, there is you see no oil there.

UK & US politicians and most others know we are responsible for the terrorists at home.  The Manchester bomber was one of many kept in Manchester and allowed to travel to Libya to attack Qaddafi and cause terror to many in a cruel manner.  He was known to be dangerous and that is why the UK were angry that the US revealed pictures and information last week, not because it interfered with any investigation, this secret was to be kept, it hasn't succeeded.
Were these three knife carrying men known also to the police?  Note how the police ensured they were all killed, using 50 rounds of ammunition, an unprecedented amount in the UK.  Was there determination to ensure they were dead rather than protect the public?

The death of a few Londoners means little to high government, top secrets re their middle eastern policies are much more important.  Our inept PM was Home Secretary, responsible for controlling terrorism at home and knew all abut the Libyans, now she talks tough and lies in her teeth.

Is it safe to travel to London?
It is safer tan any US city when gun crime is high, it is safer than many cities world wide. 
There is however danger, the traffic makes crossing roads difficult, some people rob you so avoid such places and use common sense when out.  Take forethought out there, not fearthought.  Since the latest outrage how many people have died on the roads this weekend?  How many fell down the stairs at home and died?  How many were stabbed at a pub fight last night?
Probably many more than we read about on London Bridge.
Terrorists are out there so beware, but ensure your member of parliament after the election on Thursday knows you know what is going on.  Share your thoughts with him and get right up his nose on Friday.  It is up to the government to seek real peace, and honesty about the Islamists in this country.