Quintin Jardine's blog

Series two? I don’t think so. But, what happened to Eddie?

I may have blogged about Vitality before; if so I make no apologies for repeating my warning. Do not be conned by that fucking dachshund!

I have a complaint lodged with them about my non-treatment by them. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from someone named Mel advising that he/she had been passed my ‘concerns’ to review and evaluate. Having heard nothing since, this morning I called the Vitality number hoping to track down the mysterious Mel and do some cage rattling.

This involved the inevitable QA session at conclusion of which I was left holding on, in a queue, listening to various promotional messages. One of these was an exhortation to choose one of their ‘premier consultants’. Why? Because statistically they get you out of hospital sooner.

Seriously? Yes that’s what it says. Vitality admits that it operates a two-tier system which identifies the very best surgeons, but which is happy to offer also a second class service from those who didn’t quite make the top tier.

For information: Vitality is a subsidiary of Discovery, a South African insurance and healthcare group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Shareholders include Baillie Gifford, with 7.5%.

Know what? I’m pretty disgusted by the way BBC News is treating Gregg Wallace. The guy may be, possibly is a bit of a creep, but creeps have their rights too and should be treated fairly.

To me that does not include hanging them out to dry on the basis of a series of unsubstantiated stories most of which are either gossip or second hand. For example, Rod Stewart claims he was rude to his wife and that is accepted as fact with no exploration or explanation.

BBC News trumpets its independence from the rest of the organisation, That’s bullshit, because everyone reports to the DG and the board. What it’s really doing is revelling in its own power. We all know where that leads.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0w8g18x9no

‘Operational misunderstanding.’

‘Give us your poor, your huddled masses …’

And we’ll send them somewhere even worse.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde2z6jpzp8o

Nobody gave one about the Scottish steel industry back in the 80s.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vnz4jy97no

I watched Mobland episode 2 on Paramount fairly late last night, then had a dream in which a scary guy was wanting to kill me with a hammer.

Sharks can talk: Batshit things Trump probably thinks but just hasn’t mentioned yet | The Daily Mash
— Read on www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/sharks-can-talk-batshit-things-trump-probably-thinks-but-just-hasnt-mentioned-yet-20250408256164

www.facebook.com/share/1ERHB5nByU/

This is a quote from the Conservative Party online newsletter:

‘And Labour’s Jobs Tax came into effect yesterday, meaning every working household will be £3,536 worse off over the course of this Parliament.’

Okay, I would prefer it if Keir, Angela, Rachel, (especially Rachel) etc, weren’t running the country, but when I read simplistic crap like that, I question the ability of their would be successors.

I am part of a working household. I don’t recognise that blanket averaged out figure, but I do realise it’s the biggest number that some newly graduated kid in Tory Central Office could work out. I realise also that in annual terms, it’s £707.20.

So my message to Kemi and her Boy Scout Troop is this: don’t talk down to people who have been involved in politics for longer than any member of the Shadow Cabinet has been alive, smarten your act up and show me you’re serious or …

Entire global economic system depended on America not electing mad king | The Daily Mash
— Read on www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/entire-global-economic-system-depended-on-america-not-electing-mad-king-20250331255975

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/29/what-is-the-smithsonian-institution

I have never understood why bedbugs should be seen as crazy, as the saying goes. POTUSes, on the other hand, that’s obvious.

This might seem odd, but I look back on lockdown with fondness. In 2020, Eileen’s condition was such that we had been living a cloistered life, to an extent. With the constraints, things happened that worked in our favour, best of all the home deliveries that kept me out of socially distanced queues and the like. Exercise was no problem either in a place like Gullane, easier in a way with fewer people around as I pushed the wheelchair.

We had a carer, for a few hours every week, the sort of person who lights up everywhere she goes. My Friday evenings with the guys went on too, onscreen using Zoom.

We were happy, blessed and very lucky in comparison with the misery of millions. And every Thursday we clapped

There is a growing practice among TV drama producers to include a shot of a character reading a text on a phone. Usually they contain relevant information. Usually they are on screen for only a couple of seconds.

I have a Godzilla sized TV and good vision, but the only way I can read such images is by going back and freezing the frame, hardly conducive to an enjoyable experience.

Think on, folks.