(“It’s not the despair, I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand”). Clockwork Orange

I am sure Labour and Starmer have reversed the dreadful mess that was left by Cameron, Johnson, Truss and Sunak, but they have not countered the despair. Utility prices rising, shopping costs rising, inability to see a doctor until terminally ill, The main stream tory press do not help as they revel in squalor and shit. NHS waiting lists are down but happened to the hope – of a better future and absence of sleaze. I am not sure anyone on the Labour side has the guts to make the changes. Abolish the House of Lords, nationalise water companies, tax the techno’s and Amazon; cut student loan costs. And get their head out of the fucking sand on migration. The simple demographic fact is that we need migrants or need to get some of the millions not working into employment. Raise the income tax threshold but make being idle less attractive! How can not getting a job be financially more viable than working? Single parents could be trained as childminders? Farage offers change but not hope (apart from racism and xenophobia and making the rich richer). Paying for the above – east – tax the richest. The list of highest tax payers was published recently – featured Harry Styles, JK Rowland and Haarland and Salah as amongst the UK’s 100 highest tax payers. Fuck me, there are a lot of rich bastards who are avoiding tax via pension funds etc. Please replace despair with requitted hope!

UNBELIEVABLE

This is true – Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes singing to the Lion Sleeps Tonight from The Lion King. This man has a finger on the button that could destroy life as we know it on Earth. The most powerful man on earth has less awareness than a rotting banana. I am actually dumbstruck as to how to comment on this racist shit. No child above the age of 5 with an IQ above 80 would realise this was wrong (even as an internal thought) let alone publishing it on social media.

Meanwhile at home all the papers had a photo of Mandleson’s front door being knocked on by the police (Photo by Isabel Infantes of Reuters). This may have been a fortuitous photo by someone camped outside his door,, or did the Police give the lady a whisper? It is not really important although the photo may have been sold to newspapers for a large amount of money? The Police and press should be independent of each other?

On this sordid affair I have noticed that American authors will often talk about men ‘owning’ a woman – not in a disrespectful way, or with malice, but it is a turn of phrase that is absent from UK/European writers. And yes some American writers do mitigate the comment by refering to woman owning a man, but this is just as bad?

I have also seen a comment about ski jumpers injecting their penis to help with aerodynamics – it is being investigated by WADA. Why would ?…. Oh fuck the world is off kilter – have they taught pigs to fly?

And just in – Trump has suspended work on the Gateway Project (a new rail link under the Hudson River in New Yory) making a few thousand people unemployed. Why? Because they would not rename Penn Railway station after him. How long will it be before the GOP realise that he is becoming more toxic, and senile/delusioned by the day or even hour. They are supporting him only because they fear for their own political lives – IMPEACHMENT NOW!

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

My questions will be unpopular! But they are questions, not opinions – I do not have the facts! Firstly why has this beome a major issue recently? Has the funding for it changed? Secondly according to to the Guardian 26 of 32 councils with large deficits are in wealthy areas. I am aware that parents are desperate to help their children whatever, atomy secondary school in an affluent’ish area nearly 50% of parents applied for extra time for their children in their GCSE’s. So have parents got better at the appeals process? Is there some malaise affecting our children (possible culprit is social media). Or is it poor parenting – and here I am not pointing a finger with malice, the coast of living, especially housing means many more households with children have both parents working full time. Or has society changed for the worse? In my humble opinion it has become a lot more selfish and isolated. People like Farage and the gutter press preach animosity towards others whether it is minority groups like migrants, or blacks, or Muslims, or Jews, or unemployed, or disabled, or even people who have had the temerity to rise above their appointed (by birth) station in life like Markel and the Beckhams or Angela Rayner.

STARMER

should resign – he has no charisma and has made a very grave error of judgement in appointing Mandleson as Ambassador to the USA, when he admits knowing about his connection to the paedophile ring around Epstein. He also made the point at PMQ’s that disclosure would ensure state secrets were not divulged! This seems like an excuse for massive redaction! The plot thickens. What state secrets was Mandy selling, and to whom? Was Starmer just pandaring to the orange man child? However the only person I would like to see take over is Rayner and that is unlikely given the combined power of the Mail and Murdoch. And anyway it might take votes away from the Greens who are ascendant at the moment. Although anything toe keep Reform out. Farages day of reckoning will come – he is such a sleaze bag!

BAKING

I tend to over do things so, having made a herby baguette yesterday, I have gone for just garlic and sun dried tomatoes today. I thought about herbs as well, but maybe too much. Di was very pleased with the herby ones. I also made a lemon drizzle – one of my favorites. And now I am pondering about making cookies – possibly nuts and dried fruit?

WELL DONE PEP!

Pep Guardiola spoke out about conflicts around the world, mentioning the genocide in Gaza, Russias invasion of Ukraine AND the conflict in Sudan; where the rebel side is bank rolled by Man City owners, the U.A.R. and thus his employer. He did not need to speak out, but like Gary Lineker he has. No doubt the press will be after him with a vengeance. But it also begs the question; ‘What is the UAR and for that matter Saudi Arabia as well, doing in funding wars in other places like Yemen, and I suspect the rebels in northern Nigeria and much of the Sahel region are also funded from Middle Eastern oil money. Yet more reasons why we need to invest in green energy and cut dependence on fossil fuels and even plastics.

DON’T PANIC

I nearly did – the Met Office issued an ICE warning for yesterday. I thought for a moment that the fuckers were coming over here, and then it was not even that cold! I am a believer in the old Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times”! So when front page news is Epstein related I can relax. I am sure the exploitation and trauma is very real for the victims of the privileged bastards, but better than hearing that Israel has murdered more innocent people, or Putins rockets inflicting more suffering on Ukrainians, or any of the other taking place around the world.

EPSTEIN

So a rather sordid photo of Andrew M-W has been released, it is also revealed that the Crown Princess of Norway was hugely involve with Epstein – are there other royals to be implicated? With only half of the material released it is highly likely that other high profile dirtbags will be revealed! Was Chalie boy involved/aware? People like Musk are making loud denials – methinks he doth protest too much! The Met should at least get Andy Pandy and Fergie in for questioning. Opposition MP’s are demanding a public enquiry into Mandelsons involvement – but here I wonder what would the cost be and would the public be better off? Maybe an enquiry that included all known participants like Branson and I suspect many others – and yes I would like to see the rich and privileged humiliated and demeaned. Note that no one other than Epstein and Maxwell have been prosecuted – wealth and privilege rules!!!

HELPLESS

I forgot to mention Israel in my last post – murderous bastards. What can I as a citizen of the UK do? A boycott of Israeli products? Does not appear effective! Becoming anti-semetic would be against my principals; Like the Palestinians who continue to be murdered and terrorised I feel helpless. Our government does fuck all, falling at the feet of the mighty Trump!

ICE

The horrendous stories from America should be a warning for all democratic voters in the UK. The popularity of the turd Farage is built upon his racist outpourings of filth. He admires both Putin and Trump. You do not need to be brainy to see what could happen if Reform get a majority in Parliament, but only moderately thick to dismiss it. Fascism has appeared on the streets of Britain in my memory. Cotgrave Collery where the Met.Police used unnecessary force against striking miners at the behest of Thatcher, abd again during the Poll Tax Rebellion, again Thatcher. So ostriches, get your head out of the sand and realise Gestapo tactics, which our forebears fought against in the last century, could happen here. Memebrs of Reform have already stated a willingness to repatriate people of colour, stating that only white people can be English.