Archive
Murdock
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47670717
Amidst all the daft stuff coming out of Brussels, the Trump administration still leads in terms of howling craziness.
Air rage!
Ever sat in front of that wheezy bastard on an aircraft, had him cough all over you for three hours and a day or two later you have what he gave you?
Of course you have.
Happened to me last Thursday. The bonus gift turned out to be a seriously sore throat from which I have not yet recovered.
So here’s my plan. A compulsory breath test for all passengers at the boarding gate. If it shows an airborne infection, you don’t fly.
Luther
I think that’s what’s called, ‘going out with a bang.’ I will miss Alice, but I have a feeling that big John will be back.
Boost?
There is a language in betting ads on TV that I barely understand and certainly do not speak, even though I pay Sky and BT a hell of a lot of cash to force them upon me.
There is only one thing I know for sure: there are way too many of them.
Last orders
Not before time. I know of at least one airport where it’s very difficult to find a seat that isn’t related to the sale of alcohol. Passengers who don’t want to drink have rights also and should have equal space airside.
In the court of public opinion
news.sky.com/story/kevin-spacey-charged-over-indecent-assault-claim-11591094
What’s the point of a trial? He’s been convicted already.
House of Cards
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46623617
The Trump Presidency. I have laid off the Donald on Facebook in recognition of the feelings of family and friends in the US who voted for him for legitimate reasons.
However I doubt that they appreciate the damage that ‘The Trump Presidency’ is doing to the esteem in which that office has been held in the rest of the Western world.
Mudanza
The last two weeks have not been the most stressful of my life, but they’ve been up there, no mistake.
At the end of November, Eileen and I went out to Spain with no clear idea of what was going to happen. As it transpired, we moved house, something that has been on our agenda for the last twelve months and more. After eighteen years on the hill it was time for the house that we created and tweaked to pass into new and younger hands, and for us to find accommodation more suited to our needs.
We are happy to say that both ends of the process were completed more smoothly than we could ever have imagined. The physical side, though, that was a bugger. Frankly I would never have got through it without the help of my stepson, mi hijastro, Dominic Paul Harry Abernethy. Dom, you’re pure gold.
And one other: our amazing lawyer, Anna Abad, who overcame one hiccup and glitch after another, and even drove us to the station when it was all done. God bless you, Anna.
We’re on the plane home now after a fortnight camping in LaMod and living on sandwiches. A nod to you too Starkis. Our best wishes for the future go to Theresa and William, and our thanks to Carlos and Merce.
Adios.
Cyndy Lauper
Let’s be clear about this: I don’t rate Theresa May as outstanding Prime Minister material. However I acknowledge that it is unfair to judge her at the stage as her time in office has been dominated by a single unsolvable task that was not of her making. Aside from that her only major howler has been to suffer an attack of opportunism and throw away a working majority.
Let’s be clear about this also: there isn’t a single person on either side of the House who could have come up with a solution that would have commanded Commons support.
During the negotiations she hasn’t got everything right, but in the main she has behaved with decorum and dignity. That’s why I wake up this morning feeling disgusted.
We are shamed as a nation by the behaviour of our Parliament. We are shamed as electors by the vicious, hysterical abuse heaped upon the lady by the people we have sent there, both sides of the chamber and even in the middle, by the weasel who somehow wriggled into the Speaker’s chair in place of a much, much better man.
For the last few days we have seen these people show their true colours, Green with envy, White with fear and Purple with anger, hatred even at times. And none of them are beautiful.
We’re big on petitions these days so I would like to start another, demanding that the role of the Committee on Standards on Public Life be expanded to include oversight of parliamentary behaviour and powers of discipline over those who are guilty of discourtesy and personal abuse. If you would sign it, like or share this post.
Oh! Tu!
So a mobile phone network goes down and the world comes to an end? I haven’t laughed as much since the day granny caught her tits in the mangle.
Crisis?
Having had builders in recently, and knowing that they are pretty much the same everywhere, I am concerned that Ken Bruce’s Popmaster quiz may be having a significantly adverse effect on the national economy.
Obscene
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46289499
Utterly immoral.
Contradiction?
The DUP is pro-Brexit, yes? So why is it digging its heels and blocking our departure?
Challenge
news.sky.com/story/briton-matthew-hedges-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-uae-for-spying-11559410
A life sentence after a five minute hearing with no legal representation? That can’t be allowed to stand. What is our Foreign Secretary (What’s his name?) going to do about it?
If Mr Hedges is what he says, an innocent, if naive academic researching for a thesis, HMG must go in hard. Grounding all UAE airlines would be a good start. Freezing all Emirates bank accounts and assets might come next.
If on the other hand, Mr Hedges is what the UAE says, what will we do? Own up, or throw him under the bus?
Close shave?
Been in that restaurant and in that lift. Fortunately we got down at normal speed.
Vox populi
A few days ago I laid the blame for the current Brexit shambles fairly and squarely at the door of the Prime Minister. I still believe that it belongs there. She has hamstrung two Cabinet level negotiators by effectively setting up her own Brexit department within Downing Street and making Ministers subordinate to her pet civil servant. That’s not how government should work. A Prime Minister is an executive chairman, not a managing director with full authority.
But in that post I stopped short of saying that Theresa should be replaced. Just as the cowardly Cameron should have stayed on post referendum to clean up his mess, she must stay on to clean up hers. If that means listening to Arlene Foster, so be it. If it means accepting the collective view of the majority of her colleagues, so be it. If she can’t do either, she should resign. However, the second last thing the country needs is a long drawn-out Tory leadership election. The last thing it needs is a General Election that might put Corbyn in Downing Street. The ‘no confidence’ letters are not helpful, and they should be pulled at once.
So what is the next step? The so-called People’s Vote? No! Call it what you like but if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, a duck it is. It’s a referendum under another name and we’ve had enough of those.
I have another suggestion. It’s pretty radical and it won’t find a seconder, but it would be a much quicker way of achieving the same outcome as a referendum. Why don’t the Party leaders, May, Corbyn, Sturgeon, Cable and Foster agree to put the matter before Parliament with all members having a free vote?
Quintin Jardine's blog 