Bannon

Forward

There is little likely hood that anyone with their eyes open would be surprised to see Steve Bannon offering a Nazi salute at the latest right-wing conference.  This is, after all, what they stand for!  I note he is not in favour of leather overcoats as worn by members of Hitler's followers so, even indoors, he wears a heavy Barbour jacket, the nearest thing he can find to leather in a modern mood.  Who wears such an outfit on a heated auditorium if not to make an image?  We all know what the image is of course.

Bannon, a friend of Boris Johnson and those pushing Brexit, a friend of Trump, until he stole his limelight, a friend of Cambridge Analytica, and I suspect well known to those billionaires behind both Trump and Brexit.  

Bannon has done his work well, following Adolf's tactics of lying, breaking accepted boundaries and ignoring and removing opposition, he has brought Boris to fame, though he crashed, and now sees his mate Musk owning the USA.  

I wonder who paid for that jacket?  Trump?  Boris?  Putin...?

Night Stroll

 

The Unknown Warrior, John Nichol

I would have thought most people would be aware of the story regarding the 'Unknown Warrior,' especially those who have served in the forces.  I was somewhat surprised to find that John Nichol, the author of this book, had never given him any thought, though he had passed the tomb on several occasions.  Then on one visit he suddenly realised this was the body of a man, a single individual who fell during the Great War.  Thus began a search to understand who he was, how he found his way here.

Of course this would be difficult, for a start he was intended to be 'unknown,' so finding out more is somewhat limited, however, it is possible to trace how the body came to be in this Abbey.

Beginning at High Wood on the Somme, Nichol traces the outline of the war as it was fought.  Informing us of the conditions, and fighting in what remained of the wood during 1916 was not pleasant, and then he began to consider the dead and the burial of such during a conflict.

Much of the book concentrates on individuals longing for information regarding their dead relative.  Wives and parents, children old enough to understand, desperate to know where he fell, how he died and where he was buried, if indeed he was buried, and whether it was possible to visit the grave.  The need for a grave where individuals can be found is strong in many.  Lessened no doubt by the increasing use of crematorium today but we all prefer to have a grave to visit.  With some 300,000 men missing from the Great War spread over many lands a space in remembrance was created that was difficult to fill.  The decision to bury the dead where they fell, a purely practical idea, caused much distress, especially to those with the money to collect their body from France.  All over France and Flanders cemeteries, now run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, tend perfectly the men out of reach of many relatives at the time.  Indeed such cemeteries can be found across the globe wherever servicemen were fighting.  

With the use of letters and living relatives much is gleaned re the men who died and those left behind.  The emotions speak for themselves.  We hear from those who were proud of their sons and indeed from one who was rejected after being 'Shot at Dawn.'  

With a need for remembrance local memorials rose throughout the country.  You are never far from one and all to often it is not recognised these days, it is considered something from the distant past. No doubt the actions of Putin and Trump with cause more people to consider such memorials.

One major memorial was the cenotaph, a national means of honouring the dead, and bringing the war to an end.  One man however, considered something to ease the memory of those with missing husbands, fathers, sons, and that was an 'Unknown Warrior.'  Army Chaplain David Railton had spent some time at the front.  Here he led services, visited the wounded, and buried the dead.  Much of this work was conducted at night under fire where men were brought to the rear, identified, and buried. For his work he carried a union flag which served as an altar cloth or burial cover.  After this he would write if possible to the relatives informing them of the burial place, how their man died, and enclose any rings, watches or other items he could retrieve.   These offered my help to those who received them, the many replies indicated just how much help, and I have read such letters, often written in pencil, from chaplains.  Official, polite, caring.  Whether they stuck to the actual truth is to be doubted, as the actual truth would often be too hard to tell.

David Railton concluded during the war and unknown soldier must be found as a means of closure for the widowed and hurt back home.  Just weeks before the opening of the cenotaph in Whitehall he managed to convince the Dean of Westminster Abbey that this was a good idea.  He agreed and pushed this through, though King George at the time was dubious of the idea, considering it would only open old wounds.  I think he was still scared of Communist revolution!  However, Lloyd George, a man never afraid to put his name to a bandwagon, and other influential people considered this a good idea.  Therefore with just weeks before November 11th the procession was created, soldiers sailors and airmen brought in to parade, and after aa loud media campaign those who served were also added.  Plus 90 or so Victoria Cross winners.  

The story of the ceremony is well told, the cenotaph flags fell, with a little help, the warrior was placed in the Abbey, and thousands who crowded the streets considered this man was 'their man.'  He gave them all the opportunity to see their dead relative back home.  The emotion was high, the idea a success, now followed in most nations, and David Railton, the unassuming chaplain who never spoke of his war work nor his work here, not even to his family lived out his life until he died in a railway accident some years later.  His union flag remains in the Abbey.

The book is well written, though at times a wee bit sentimental for me.  Much research has been done and for those who have no knowledge of how the individual was selected, and it remains hidden behind many secrets, this book is well worth a look.  We will never know who the 'warrior' was, warrior rather than soldier to include sailors and airmen, but many today now who he was, he was their grandfather, great uncle, and a proud family memory.

Annoying Twitter

 

Twitter is very annoying these days.  With the majority of thinking people moving to 'BlueSky' this means the loss of their posts opens up spaces that must be filled.  Twitter does not care what fills the space as long as something does, hence the masses of junk that greets us in the morning.  

So far, recent days have offered masses of junk regarding what Americans call a 'Super Bowl.'  This is a tedious event no-one outside the States cares about however, big money is on offer and in the US that makes it important.  I have daily vast amounts of posts to block, and I still cannot fathom, or care, who won.  

Brazilian posts, mixed with Argentinian have flowed for days, Nigerian homemade porn also, though that may be mixed with US porn, it is difficult to say, and of course hundreds of tweets regarding the actions of one Donald Trump, the orange balloon who has sold the US to Musk.  Nigerian Christians also abound, but I am sorry to say many of these I worry about, how genuine are they?  WWE wresting abounds, alongside Ice Hockey, both of which hold no interest, both of which appear as false as Nigel Farage.  My dad used to watch the wrestling on TV on a Saturday in days of old, that was fixed, and we all knew it, he had twice been in the army in the real world, yet he laughed his way through the afternoon watching this rubbish.  No doubt the glamorous, totally false WWE has similar audiences, but really how does it survive?  Add to these important items the number of women posting on celebs who are chasing rich sports stars, or what some girl is doing with some male.  The world faces WW3, and they spend their lives wondering what Travis is saying to Swift, or whether Meghan is better than Kate!  And they can vote!  

I have bruised my fingers just blocking all these yet still they come.

People really want their opinions known on all these, and many important subjects also, which is fine, we all wish to be heard, but genuine tweets are hidden under the rushing flow of tat.  

'Tat' brings to mind all the Conservative MPs posting on farmers.  None of them have the word 'Conservative' next to the MP bit of their name, it's almost as if they were ashamed of that.  All repeat the same phrases, none care if you believe them, many do not allow replies.  Which brings me to Labour MPs in Scottish seats.  So many of these are English, live in Surrey or Walthamstow, fail to open an office in the Scottish constituency, no phone line there, no email bar the Westminster one, and they never visit way up north and claim the fares either.  However, they can be seen at PMQs asking the PM the question the whips have given them to ask.  

Of course, I use Twitter for the remaining good things, the vast number of football related posts, Scottish tweets, some good, some bad, and other items that have as yet failed to make the move to 'BlueSky.'  So I continue to use this dying system, at least until my favourites are moved to a better place, but it is tiring some days, very tiring.

 

Memorise...

 

Lets Fly!

Typhoon

Coming back from Sainsburys I ate my Fig & Honey grossly overpriced at £2:30 bread while searching the 'Flightradar24'site.   The man downstairs works at the airport nearby dealing with one of those long distance parcel carriers that arrive daily from the US or Germany or wherever.  Thus, with nothing to do while chewing I looked to see if any aircraft were on site.  Naturally there were a handful though many more come and go at ridiculous hours of the night.  Consideration for those under the flightpath is not required.  The usual flights were noted, 'Ryanair' overcharging for trinkets as much as possible, 'Jet2' hurling people into sunny Spain, and flights bringing holidaymakers back from unpronounceable places that lie far from their ultimate destination.

I then decided to look around the Ukraine area.  Sometimes you get a response from aircraft that hang around Moldova watching what those pesky Ruskies are doing in Ukraine.  Nothing to see there at the moment, so I wandered over to Cyprus to have a look at RAF flights from RAF Akrotiri.  

Just the normal flights heading into Larnaca full of poor English pensioners running from the weather, and not much sign of anything else.

However, just of the coast of Israel I noticed two small yellow triangles flying close together.  This could only be RAF Typhoons on an errand.  I followed them for some minutes, realising that they were not on a fighting mission or the transponder would be turned off, so where were they going?  They flew over Israel without any interruption from the home defences.  On and on over Jordan until they approached the Iraq border.  Here the two aircraft, flying in normal flight plan with one following just behind and to the side of the leader, and then they turned north.  Here I noticed the airspeed on offer differed, and one appeared to be chasing the other.  The practice manoeuvring then continued for some minutes 27,000 feet above the empty Jordanian desert.  Clearly someone was being instructed, or both were practicing their role in dogfights against an enemy.  

I was quite enjoying this when suddenly they disappeared!  

Either they both crashed into the empty reaches of Jordan or they both switched of their transponders to hide from people like me watching them.  Most irritating!  I suppose we ought to be grateful the RAF actually train to do their job and do not just fly about enjoying the multi-million machines they have to fly.

Interesting also how both Israel and Jordan are happy to allow such exercises.  Israel is well in with the UK, both in receiving and giving training in various military skills, and of course spends money here.  As indeed does Jordan, our one friend in the Middle East, a friendship that dates back to Lawrence of Arabia.  Of course we were not friends enough to stop the Saudi's kicking Abdullah and his men out of Saudi, hence we 'arranged' Jordan.  

I enjoyed this so much that when a large black helicopter flying from Wethersfield flew across the town I had to follow it.  He passes often and I wished to know who he was and where he was going.  So, for the next 30 minutes we hovered our way across the northern reaches of Greater London, never going about 1200 feet, and often as low as 650 when crossing under the flight paths into various airports. 

It just kept going, and I had work to do, but I followed him until he landed eventually near Windsor. Annoyingly I cannot specify where he actually landed, just the locale, but it is clear he considers himself important enough for an £8 million helicopter and a flight into the park.  I do not think he landed near enough to 'LEGOLAND' to be going there.  I could be wrong.

Time wasted, I had to then get up and work!

Storms

Storm scene - Harper's - 1909   William James Aylward (1875-1956)

This was my morning, everything going wrong and too strong a coffee not making my mood any better.  British Gas of course did not help.  It's bad enough informing me I am 80p in debit yet I have used less gas than last year but to tell me I must first fight through the log in process.

Until recently this has been straight forward, now they ask if I am human!  What would AI say to that?  Anyway as I click on the space provided up comes one of those unreadable US Verify pictures.  'Select bicycles,' it commands, which I do if I can see them.   Yet this is rejected, as is 'Stairs' and 'Bridges,' until I get in!  I am very easily roused these days, my temper is not lost it is always with me and British Gas are not helping with these absurd verify pictures.  What is a 'Crosswalk' anyway?

I am now planning to find a million pound somewhere and buy a small croft far form humanity that requires little work yet offers a good view.

 An abusive Hibs fan with a record of domestic abuse, found his wife down in Muirhouse, the home of 'Trainspotting,' and run over her, twice, with his car.  The judge sentenced him to 7 years for this, not 11 as warranted as he had pleaded guilty, and the wife, still suffering from the effects of this as you may expect, criticised the sentence.

How human life, and female life at that, is considered worth little in today's world.  A road accident caused by drugs or drink might mean 5 years in jail, and only half of that served.  Human life is cheap, and the antics of politicians in recent days has not lessened this.    

Information

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspection!

This was the sign I expected to be placed outside my door today.  However, it now appears this is not to be.  

A month ago the landlord, actually since he died it has been the women of the family who have been fighting to run the company, but the way it has run changes not.  Three women are in charge, hence the infighting, and one was to visit me today to 'inspect the property.'  Fair enough but fear abounded to some extent and now those fears are somewhat subdued.

Landlord one sent through the new contract last week, so I printed this off, noted the ret increase, and signed dutifully.  As the rent has not increased for about 10 years I cannot grumble and at the moment I can afford what is on offer.  

Today Landlord two visited.  Nice woman whom I have met before.  Her husband used to be one of the handymen but this caused fuss with other sisters and so he retired.  Sadly today I hear he has the beginning of some form of cancer.  Aint life grand!  

She did her work in a friendly and scrupulous manner, moving all the items deposited to hide things she need not notice, photographing where required and scribbling in her prepared paperwork.  I stood about like a lemon while she continued.  I had carefully kept the place almost clean today, scared to touch anything in case it caused a mark.  With her man often being in here I suppose she would realise quickly this was not the usual standard of cleanliness in a male household!  

In a way I was glad she came as I heard about her man, her mother whom I met some years ago, another with dementia hovering, and another handyman who passed away around Christmas aged about 86.  Small bits of info which help me to understand how things look and will look in the future.  I at least know the one who is the boss among the girls!  

So, new contract signed and passed over I now await an email informing me of the hundred jobs they think I need done on the premises.  I could not see any urgent, she hinted at several noisy and messy ones.  Bah!  I can see one or two jobs that I ought to be doing, though not in a rush like the other week, I have still not got over that!    

The visit ended well as I bribed gifted her a left over box of Christmas chocolates.

Of course nothing else has been done....

David Roberts - Pyramids of Giza

Orange Balloon

The madman liveth!

I had to laugh the other day, the tragedy where a military helicopter crashed into a commercial airline landing at Washington opened the door to Trump to spew stupidity.  He did not respond with the gravitas expected of any leader, oh no, he immediately claimed it was caused by DEI, the 'inclusivity' deals at air traffic control.  

He took this further a day later, claiming the helicopter pilot was a 'transgender' who deliberately crashed into the place.  The next day that particular individual appeared in the press stating 'I am alive, here I am!'  Which kind of goes against what Trump was pushing.  I expect another day in court for the orange balloon.

I do not disagree with his ending the encouraging of deviant lifestyles, except he must consider them as people requiring help, an idea that has never crossed his mind regarding anyone anywhere.  

N one is trans, you are either male or female, however, life brings problems, and we react in different ways.  Those with such tendencies, or indeed any other tendency, there are many available, require our care and help, not to be targets for vote catching amongst the less well-educated, which is what got him elected in the first place.

Certainly there is no room for special days for gays or any other deviant behaviour, there is nothing to be proud about here, but we ought to be stating truth to people, not encouraging the lowest common denominator which in the end destroys them.

 

oops, I forgot to finish this today, I got caught up in the football.  Still, we won 6-0!  Hooray!

 

Shady Deals

After weeks of cloud cover we at last have blue sky.

We also have blue fingers as it it freezing, but no-one appears to mind that.

An adventurous trip to the charity shop to dump some rubbish used items that no longer fit or are required.  Barnardo's gain is no loss to me.  Whether they will actually gain anything from that lot I am as yet unsure.  Still, it cleared a space and I have already begun filling the next one!

However, as expected the new contract with the landlord might see an increase.  I wish I had taken the stuff out now and placed it on E-Bay instead!  

More success for privatisation!

Ofclot sorry, Ofcom, the official regulator, has stated that Royal Mail, now owned by a shady Cheque, can deliver 2nd class mail on only 2 or 3 days a week and less on Saturdays.  

Now how will this work?

Mail goes through a machine, it sorts mail into little boxes which land, eventually, on a postman's frame from whish he sorts he mail into your pigeonhole.  How are they going to separate 2nd from 1st?  Will mail be left lying in a box under the frame?  Guess what can go wrong here?  Will it remain at the main sorting office till the right day, just imagine what will go wrong there, or is it just another balloon to ensure the profit grabbing crooks running Royal Mail can cut the number of employees and increase their profits?  

Gas, water, Royal Mail, electricity, buses, railways, you name it and privatise it and watch the service element disappear and the COE and his directors profits increase.  The UK is now run by corporate and greedy big business.  Keir and Angela from accounts are well behind them and taking the benefits home.

THE ROMAN EMPEROR RUNDOWN 2: Year of the 4 Emperors

O Jesus I have promised

Charlie and Rabbie

BBC

A bit if fanfare here as the king, that is King of England Charles III, poses in his new kilt to commemorate 'Burns Night.'   I am left wondering how much this cost?  The tartan alone is one designed at great cost for him, the material will be the best available, and the cost of the photographer will not be small.  The pretend highlander may pay between £25 and £100 for a kilt these days, I suspect Charlies cost more than this.  The whole outfit could, if you wish, cost up to £500 to the man in the street.  How much would Charlies cost?

Now, consider this, during the week Charles got into his multimillion pound helicopter wearing his highland outfit, flew up to Alloa where there are no Highlanders as this is the central belt, popped into a Food Bank, flew back, acknowledging the dignitaries who were there in obedience, the public was kept well away, and left no donation of any kind to the hungry people of the area.

Is there any wonder Scotland is turning against this King?

The cost of his outfit alone would be a good donation to any foodbank, and his Tory government created 3000 of them by starving the people!  The thousand spent on the helicopter flight, and he an environmentalist too, the cost of the lackeys to pilot the beast, the cost on the ground of the police operation to keep the hungry away from him, it all adds up just for a short photo op!  

I will not mention his income, nor his demand for a rise of £45 million this year!

Come the revolution...

On Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough,
November, 1785

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie,

O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

Wi’ bickering brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,

Wi’ murdering pattle!

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion

Has broken Nature’s social union,

An’ justifies that ill opinion

Which makes thee startle

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion

An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

A daimen-icker in a thrave

‘S a sma’ requet;

I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,

An’ never miss’t!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!

Its silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!

An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,

O’ foggage green!

An’ bleak December’s win’s ensuing,

Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,

An’ weary Winter comin fast,

An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,

Thou thought to dwell,

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

Out thro’ thy cell.

That wee bit heap o’ leaves and stibble,

Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!

Now thou’s turned out, for a’ thy trouble,

But house or hald,

To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,

An’ cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

Gang aft agley,

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,

For promis’d joy!

Still thou are blest, compared wi’ me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But Och! I backward cast my e’e,

On prospects drear!

An’ forward, tho’ I cannot see,

I guess an’ fear!

Trump

NBC NEWS

The USA lost a reasonably decent and efficient President the other day when Jimmy Carter passed away.  Now, with Biden standing down and heading for the lounge where he has wished to be for the past 4 years we have the orange balloon Donald Trump in charge.

I sat through part of his inaugural speech while having my dinner but I found both hard to swallow.  

Here again was all the absurd conspiracy theories being played out in front of us.  Here again was all the nonsense offered during the election.  Here again he had the power to put some of this into practise.  

Already he has begun sacking those around him who do not toe the line, just like Adolf did in 1933. Already he has begun calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America!  Already he has passed absurd policies too many to mention, all of which, such as leaving the WHO will endanger thousands of US citizens.  He has also ended the protection on drug prices that benefit the less well off in the USA!  Already he has left the agreement that is intended to prevent tax dodging across over 100 countries.

We see where his heart lies, money!

The American people, those especially who voted for him, will be the ones losing out.

However, he has claimed there are only two genders, and is now imposing this on the USA.  I must say I agree with him there, though sexes is the word, not gender.  It will take a while before Keir receives instructions to do the same.  

I see nothing else positive, only trouble and strife for all normal people around the world.  The US was considered a batshit nation under Trump before, the world laughed at what they had done, and now he is back because they voted for him!  Unless of course we can have a word re those electronic machines that Musk has interfered with.

It is a long 4 years ahead, but we can rejoice that Jesus remains in control.  He rules the world, not these rich men.  Their time will come and there will be nothing too see once where they stood. 

High Sunday, Low Monday

Here we are, the contributing members before the service with a short prayer before beginning.  It's the usual short prayer, 'HELP!' which is offered.  We then retire to our positions, breath deeply and pray it all works.  

It usually does.  The man leads, songs are sung, the book is opened and read, a sermon is given, and one intercedes for the masses.  This time it was me.

I took my place quite relaxed.  I had a thumping heart all week, I was very tired, and found many were in similar but different situations.  These bugs are affecting so many people these days I wondered if we would all make it.  I clambered up to the rostrum, took out my script and as we had been reading Jesus at the wedding in Cana, where he turned water into wine, I mentioned my friend from long ago.  When the church was going through a charismatic change he read this story and decided to act.  He placed several glasses half filled with water around the flat so that as he passed he would command them to turn into wine.  Sadly, this did not occur.  However, this is always something we ought to keep in mind next time the shops are shut.

I blethered on, joking about the vicar taking a week in the tropical paradise of Oxford which went down well. Prayer is often full of respect and almost fear among some, I think being ourselves and straight talking to the Father is best.

Some appreciated this, so it was OK.  I felt this Sunday relaxed and 'at home' as it were.  Very good indeed.

Listening to Trump as he was sworn in, this was what came to my mind.  I do not think he will prove me wrong.  I also regret eating while watching this, I ought to know better not to listen to US politicians at such time.  

Private Eye

The Lawman and the Lawless.

 

Denis Law 20th February 1940 - 17th January 2025

Scotland has lost one of her greats, Denis Law, one of the finest footballers to come out of Scotland has passed away.  A loss to his family and to his nation.

Law's professional football career began as a 15 year old with Huddersfield Town in 1955.  He suffered from a squint which was fixed while there greatly improving his game.  A man called Bill Shankly, later famous at Liverpool was manager at the time.   Four years later he went to Manchester City for a then record fee of £55,000.  However, one year later Torino in Italy paid £110,000 for him.  Italian life was good but difficulties arose for Scots and English players there at that time, the style of play was far too  defensive at the time, soon Denis Law went back to Manchester, this time Manchester United paying £115,000 for his services, services which he duly repaid with outstanding football.  These appeared to be enormous sums of cash in the 1960s, however, if he played today he would outrank Lionel Messi when it came to transfer fees and weekly wage, his ability was greater than the Argentinians.

Denis Law became a Scotland regular at a time when some great Scottish footballers could be found, Jim Baxter and Dave MacKay played in most games alongside him for one.  Law scored 30 goals in a mere 55 games, other player may score more however, Scotland play many more internationals today.

Born in a poor area of Aberdeen during the war poverty was to be found in a home with 7 children.  He endured the same struggles many others had at the time and later in life was happy to receive the 'Freedom of the City Aberdeen.'  In 2012 a statue to Denis Law was unveiled at the Aberdeen Sports Village, in his famous pose having scored against England, his favourite hobby!  

Sadly Denis endured a type of dementia in his last years.  I recall him speaking of this a few years ago.   Many great players suffered this way in their last years, especially those where heading the ball was featured, and Denis Law was famous for his heading ability.  Whether this was part of the cause must be unclear for now.  

A great player and a great man, much missed by all Scots and lovers of football everywhere. 

The Conservative Disability Bill, not passed before the election, will be passed by the so called 'Labour Government.'  This Bill takes billions from the disabled with little care if they live or die.  This from a  Labour Government!  

We no longer have Labour and Tories these days, today we have class warfare between the very rich and everyone else.  The unemployed, the disabled, those badly paid, and pensioners are all targets for the elite who now run the UK, and indeed the USA and other western nations.  These are bankrolled by rich Billionaires, corporates who seek to end all benefits, and the NHS is a benefit to them, and force the masses to pay through the nose while they sit back and reap all dividends.  

Therefore Freeports and SEZs have become the norm, and soon they will begin reducing workers rights, attacking benefits of all sorts is now normal, and only the upper levels of society, that is those who have now bought all politicians on all sides, will benefit.

And the people have let this occur.

Where are the Keir Hardies' of today?

Where are the men standing up for the workers?

Where is the outrage from the workers?

They do not appear to exist.

Media propaganda has many looking at migrants in boats as the enemy.  Pointing 'over there' to an enemy that can be seen but in reality does not exist.  All the while the rights of the 'Farage Rioters' are being eroded before their very eyes and they cannot see it because of propaganda. 

Energy companies, supermarkets, Freeports and SEZs laugh at the people who sit back and take the price increases and vote for the people who are encouraging such increases!  The people were warned Labour was no more, the people ignored this.  We are now owned by billionaires and few realise this or how it will end.  Law is a fickle thing, any opposition will soon fall under a new Law, easily enacted by a parliament looking only to self interest.  The future is bleak and the lower orders and the middle classes will be paying for it while blaming everyone else!

The White Heather Club (10/10/60)

Toothless

 

What a good feeling, not having pain in the tooth!

The very good dentist quickly explained all, drilled and cut and removed almost painlessly the offender.  How glad was I!

Having eaten little for a week I am now attempting to make up for what I missed.  Sadly, this means rising early tomorrow and visiting Sainsburys before the crowds get in.  I could do without this.  However, that is where the food is stored, just behind very large price tags that provide huge benefits for shareholders and CEOs.  

How nice not to have that pain.

How do people survive on real pain I wonder?   Over the counter drugs do not always alleviate pain, and if they do it does not last.  How lucky and grateful I am today!

Of course, the wood pigeons gathered up in the trees preening themselves after eating have cared little.  All day they have sat there soaking up what sunshine there is, all puffed up to keep in the heat.

I cannot understand how they survive when it snows.

 Keir has stated that he is fully behind the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.  This has resulted in the 'Daily Star,' the paper that contested a Lettuce against Liz Truss, to offer up another lettuce to see if she can outdo Liz and beat the vegetable.   By vegetable I mean lettuce, not Keir.  Rachels new idea is to cut benefits for the disabled!  What an idea, something that has been going on for 14 years is to be tried again.  I also have an idea, keep the benefits and TAX THE RICH!

Nicola separating from her husband has all the wags talking.  Is this to avoid going to jail along with him, or is she going to jail?  Is this because she is a lesbian as many have thought and she is moving in with that story writer in Kirkcaldy?  Will she be letting go of her place in Holyrood (NO!) and should she be put on trial for her offences (YES!).  

We wait and see.

Frost and RMT News

The frost covered field was beginning to slowly thaw as I returned from the shop this morning.  The low temperature had not bothered me during the night, snug as a bug with my bedbugs as I was, but it would have been a problem for those working the night shift.

It always amazes me how bright the sun can be when the whole world is covered in whiteness.  The roofs, the fields, the cars, one of which was being driven by a chap who had not bothered to remove the inch thick frost from his windscreen.  Mr Plod was not impressed.  Quite how anyone could consider driving when he could not see though the windscreen is a question that cannot be easily answered.  Not that he is driving now of course.

The gritter vehicles will have been out and about, almost all of these giant yellow vehicles, lights flashing as they go, have been given names in Scotland and elsewhere.   The Scots vehicles names include-

'Blizzard of Oz'

'Yes Sir, Ice Can Boogie'

'Snow Connery' and 

'You Only Grit Ice.'

This is good and keeps people freezing to death happy as they see these vehicles pass during the night splaying the road with grit, ensuring some degree of safety to the roads and enabling the kids to get thrown out to school, well out off Mums way so she can get some peace.

Vast amounts are spent on grit each year, and it is not unusual to hear, in Summer, Tory like people complain about the cost.  In Winter they are the first to complain about the roads!  Bah!

This is sad news for the RMT.  Mick Lynch has always appeared as a clear headed, well spoken negotiator, always ready to oppose the rich stealing from the poor and to protect what we used to call 'working class' people.  He became famous as the Conservative government deliberately refused to negotiate during the rails strikes.  Questioned by hostile reporters employed by government state TV and radio he quickly disposed of their slanted questions, stated the case for his people, and made clear the rail companies, under government orders, refusal to negotiate.  

His appearances on hostile TV programmes made him famous as he indicated the lies from government ministers and others, stated his own case clearly, and refuted all and sundry when opposed. The union movement, and the working people of this nation will miss him when he goes.

His million pound salary, less than most CEOs of the companies he opposed, was criticised, as was his remaining in a council house.  He did nothing wrong in this, the only problem was the well paid Tory questioners seeking hypocrisy to match their own.  

I fear there is none available to take his place.  The UK is now owned by corporates, usually based in the USA.  Freeports and SEZs are taking away the rights of the workers, few there are who can speak for them as clearly as this man has done.  

The future is bleak in industrial relations in the UK.  Thinking Conservatives have been replaced by an intellectual level that in days past would not have allowed them to be elected.  Many in both sides of the House would fail to become MPs is Churchill, Attlee or Thatcher were around today.  Making the rich richer, and getting a slice for yourself is the key for most today, the future is bleak.