EVER LOWER

So Badenoch says she will personally get every drop of oil and gas out of the North Sea despite it becoming ever more uneconomic. And as for climate change! Farage has created a climate of fear in the public where the future is unknown and therefore potentially nasty. The Conservatives can latch onto this and maybe pull themselves back from oblivion. Sea levels rising, wild fires across the Mediterranean region, floods in Asia – none of this is relevant if they can frightenen people with potentially higher energy prices. Appeal to the insatiable selfishness of the electorate and all will be ok.

I see that the Mail is having another pop at Angela Rayner – this time for having a financier boyfriend. The termerity of the woman – does she not know her place? How dare she, a working class single mother afford an expensive’ish house. Do they rotate Rayner, Megan Markle and the Beckhams as “Hate of the day” – with Gary Lineker thrown in. My eyes are offended by even the trash headlines without having to open the shitty thing!

And Israelis continue to murder innocents – this time journalists to go with the daily toll of children and other survivors of their own protracted holocaust. Russia seems to be joining the “who can kill most civilians today” competition.

Rachel Reeves just needs to get on with the tax increases – especially of those with over £2million in assets. Stop dithering and letting opposition parties talk bollox about how each possible option will be awful. If the rich fuck off rather than pay for their unearned incomes and assets – so be it. Why do people hate those on benefits more than these rich tax doging bastards?

Basically I have been thinking a lot about my childhood in the 1960’s. Vietnam War, Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, measles and chicken pox and mumps rife – but the future was great. London had a design shop to reveal the best of British. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and a myriad of others whose legacy continues today. Fashion was whatever you wanted it to be. And the along came Maggie ‘fucking’ Thatcher. Not content with reigning in Unions that had overstepped the mark – she destroyed our industrial base and the lives of those who worked in them (and blamed migrants), whilst at it she destroyed Britains admirable housing situation. No longer could working class people get affordable homes – now they had to send their wives out to work (I know this sounds sexist – and probably is – but why should an affordable decent home require 2 incomes). Shit I need to defend this last statement. The only plausible excuse I can come up with is that we should increase educational achievement and thus allow job sharing?

What else – Is Trump moving America into being a facist dictatorship? His attempts to control every government department, and dictate views to impartial bodies like the Federal Bank are signs that should not be ignored.

Meanwhile Sunderland won again! Will the force of the 46000 at the Stadium of Light enable them to get 40 points and survival in the Premier League. Meanwhile part 2 – I love the FA Cup at this time – Runcorn Linnets, Coventry Phoenix, Tadley Calleva and Atherton Laburnum Rovers amongst them. Anyone wishing to join my -no cost, no prize money, just bragging rights can email me at r.p.churchill@gmail.com

FERTILITY RATE 2

Project pop of UK to be 48 million without migration and 86 million with, by 2100. Behind these statistics is another aspect. Most of Europe is in a similar situation so the 38 million migrants will not be white European or even from North America or Australasia. How will te knuckle draggers cope with that?

Aaron also stated this morning that the current generations would be the richest ever – in this country. Personally I do not see it! For those with parents who bought their properties 10 or more years ago, this is possibly true. But an ageing population = higher costs for NHS; private pensions will be mitigated by lower state ones. House prices will stabilise and probably fall if the population drops.

Personally I believe that a lower population would be good for the environment and consumption generally, but only if worldwide. It is likely that the UK and the west will continue to fuck the environment until it is totally shagged!

Also in the news was the High Court Judgement about asylum hotels – how the rich hate democracy and the rule of law. The domestic abusers have been out again complaining about asylum seekers breaking laws – hypocritical vindictave twats.

VACCINATIONS

WHO issues warning that take up of MMR is 83.7% and polio, whooping cough, tetnus and diptheria was at 81.4% – herd immunity is 95%. Why? Regional differences are not easy to explain with Liverpool and London being below 70% whilst the North-east is above 90%. Ethnicity does come into it with Afro-Caribbean uptake being low. Conspiracy theories are also takinga toll – even the defeat of Covid is not acknowledged by many. The lack of trust in government (and thus the NHS) is concerning. How long before the Mai, Telegraph, Sun, i or Eepress have a horror/sob story about someone reacting badly to the vaccine. They will ignore the 83.% who benefit to spread fear amongst all parents. The latest addition to the NHS range is a vaccine against chicken pox.

Of course it is totally obscene and criminal the Robert F Kennedy Jnr is able to pursue his conspiracy theories and force the resignation of respected scientists in his pursuit of vaccine free policies. The USA has also cut funding mRNA programmes by $500 million – this how America has become a corrupt regeime controlled by an egoistic charlatan.

FERTILITY RATE

The UK fertility rate has dropped again, to 1.41 (a steady population has a fertility rate of 2.1). Basically it means that the percentage of older people will continue to grow – thus increasing the burden on younger people to work and provide taxes. I have not seen the proportion of births to those born outside the UK but am confident the the the fertility rate for this group is higher. The recent politics of division in society will make racism worse. Northern Irelands recent spate of racist attacks maybe a harbinger of what is to come.

The fertility rate has been falling since the early sixties and dropped below replacement level in the mid-1970’s, co-incidentally it correspends to the imposition of Thatcherite politics. I have heard people express opinions that the decline is due to economic factors “eople cannot afford to have children”, but basically this is bollox! In my youth (here we go with old people speak!), wealth was more fairly distributed and we did not have the gizmo’s, cars, TV’s, etc.etc. of people today. Were we happier? I have no idea but we also had outbreaks of typhoid and measles, chicken pox, mumps were common and widespread.

However the key factor, in my opinion was optimism. The later 1960’s and early 1970’s were time of change and optimism about the future. Yes I know the Cold War was in full spate, Vietnam war was in full horror, but the pop scene and youth culture was booming, hemlines up and hair down! The future was bright. CND marches and Greenpeace offered a better future. The NHS was brilliant and the papers had not started to slur anyone who had made it from a working class background (unlike the campaign of hate against Angela Raynor and Meghan Markel today).

AN ASSUMPTION

Are 30% of te UK population knuckle dragging racists? Obviously? Not.

Therefore they must have some legit concerns that the twat known as Farage can tap into! There is real concern at the loss of Englishness (Britishness) as the last government allowed millions to move in, especially as they were not people with a similar cultural heritage from Europe – but people with very different cultures. This country, apart from the real brain deads, have always welcomed migrants and those seeking asylum. However many feel overwhelmed by the numbers moving into selected areas, thus not acheiving the diversity that leads to understanding and tolerance. This influx was also to coincide with the Brexit shambles that has led too economic problems, when people are financially constrained their tolerance is diminished – they look to blame others. Asylum seekers being given free accomodation (albeit that they are also deprived of the right to work and get an income) is a red rag to those struggling with fuel bills and rising prices.

In an ideal world the asylum seekers would not exist – migration would be limited, wars would not occur and everybody would be happy and caring! Knob head himself stood in front of an airline departure board with 10 countries listed – all stating illegal immigrants boarding. Of the 10 8 have significant disputes occuring within their borders (the other 2, Turkiye and Vietnam have internal fractions that I am not au fait with). So back to the question without an accepted answer (except by the knuckle draggers) – should people facing death and torture at home be allowed to seek safety elsewhere?

There is also a bigger question – we allow capital (money) to flow freely within and between capitalist countries. Why islabour not allowed to flow freely? I think it was Thatcher who told the recently unemployed workers in the north that if they could not find employment “they should get on their bikes!”.

So dickhead Farage – basically “shut the fuck up” until you accept the facts of a world crisis – and 122 million refugees, including 42 million needing international protection. Until you acknowledge and discuss this you and your followers are ***** (an anagram using the letters uncst).

DOMESTICS

I was thinking about an attack on the garden – gloves on, secateurs ready – then I noticed a caterpillar on the nettle I was about to attack! – so gloves off and I will wait another couple of weeks.

So instead I put some lamb to marinade with garlic, lemon, cinnamon and herbs and salt. A Felicity Cloake recipe for kleptiko. I might go and get some shallots to pickle tomorrow, and thus strawberries for jam too. The weather is turning so it will give me something to do! Well I could try cleaning? Nah! Coconut cookies with strawberry jam appeals to my creative spirit! And then maybe soak raisins or sultanas in brandy and make some xmas style cookies?

PRESS

I have at the age of 72 finally realised just what I dislike about the gutter press and why. Whilst talking to Aaron this morning I had a Eureka moment. It is not just that I disagree with what is written in the likes of the Telegraph, Mail, Express and latterly the i, but the really annoying thing is that they publish opinion on the front page (and elsewhere) purporting to be news. Often it is a minority opinion that is deemed to whip up the hatred of their readership.

An example was last weeks front page headline and article claiming that shutting the asylum hostel in Epping was a ‘victory for Mothers’. The facts do not in anyway support this – locking up the protestors outside the hotel would have a greater claim for protecting ‘mothers’ and their ‘children’.

I realise that all news has a bias whether by omission or emphasis, but respectable outlets try to maintain the true facts – comment and opinion should be clearly labelled as such as the Guardian does. The BBC sometimes goes too far in the pursuit of fairness – why Farage has appeared on QT more than anyone else is a mystery – as is the insertion of climate denial comments in debates on climate change. It does not mention that some people think the world is flat everytime they show a globe! However I realise that there is a difficult line to be drawn here. But there is no excuse for total bias to mascarade as fact.

SAME OLD …

So Sunday muse time. Well Israelis continue to kill Palestinian civilians (83% of deaths are civilian according to the Israeli Army). – so not a mistake or two! Russia continues to kill and abduct Ukrainian civilians. Trump postures about peaceful settlements in both cases – but merely looks stupid. Meanwhile he continues to increase the fascist state by sending the National Guard into Chicago (following Washington D.C.) whilst his Supreme Court drops charges against him.

Back home the press continues to to increase hatred against asylum seekers. Demonstrations outside asylum hotels have continued but generally been outnumbered by pro-migrant lobbies. Angela Raynor has bought a 3rd house which we should all be very angry about! And Union Jack flags are appearing on lamp posts across the land in a display of “patriotism” ? Fu**ing ridiculous – thhose who want to show a cheap image of their prejudice should buy their own flagpole rather than impose their views on the rest of us – it is the freedom of speech that they claim they want, whilst imposing their views on others. the same people support Farage who has said he will repeal a law designed to protect children and shield them from abuse online. Weird dangerous fu**ers!

On a more serious matter than knuckle draggers waving their tiny willies around – Antarctica is losing ice at a frightening rate – 2.5 trillion tonnes of ice lost in last 20 years. Sea level is rising, slowly but inexorably, coastal erosion is increasing. But hey-ho all is ok as Reform led councils are deleting any reference to climate change from all council documents. Farage again has said he will cancel any contracts related to Net-zero – what a wanker!

Council tax may be altered; and the papers will find pensioners who feel hard done by, because their properties have spiralled in value into the millions whilst their income has not changed. My heart bleeds! More to the point is why society has let the wealth of the rich multiply exponentially whilst workers are heaped with abuse for wanting a living wage. the median FTSE 100 CEO is now paid 122 times the median UK full time worker; the number of FTSE 100 companies paying their CEOs £10 million or more increased by 30%; In 2024-25, 84 % of FTSE 100 companies paid their CEO a Long Term Incentive Payment (LTIP) up from the 81% who did in 2023-24.

I am not jealous – I just have a sense of fairness. The gap between rich and poor has grown massively in my lifetime and it is not right! There is a limit to how much ones living expenses are – after that the rich invest in assets such as property which make them even richer – whilst the young (those born without golden spoons in their gobs and without daddies contacts), are left to struggle with survival.

Which brings me to my last point – why are people so fucking stupid to vote for Farage and his racist policies whilst simpering at the feet of the wealthy?????

QUESTION

Does a human life mean anything? I ask because behind the rhetoric of Farage, Jenrick and co. we see no acceptance that there is a responsibility (ensconced in International Law and acknowledged by the UK) that a person fleeing persecution in their own country should be offered a safe haven and sanctuary in another country. Personally I think this is one of the aspects that make me proud to be be British (even if ashamed of the knuckle draggers). But the question remains – should we offer sanctuary to these poor souls, or cast them aside to be tortured or left to rot? Farage states that he would organise 5 planes a day to send asylum seekers elsewhere – he does not specify, nor cares, where.

So the question remains – I would love to stop the small boats endangering peoples lives, and also accept that many have no legitimate claim for asylum. What the government needs to do, and should have done immediately on getting power, was to set up paths for legitimate asylum seekers to be accepted into the UK – empowered immediately to work and set up be independent and potentially a benefit to our society. How many people are fleeing from situations that were generated, or inflamed by UK governments interference in the past? (Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Iran, for starters!).

So back to the question – should we give a shit or just turn our back on fellow human beings? Or should we stop pandering to the obnoxious wankers promoted by the media to feed their bank balances abroad, and sort out a sensible solution?

BUGS

Although only August I have already noticed gardeners ‘tidying’ their patches. STOP – let it go! Where are the insects going to spend the winter if every scrap is tidied. Bugs like nooks and crannies, hollow stems and the seeds from blossoms only vaguely remembered. My garden receives mainly negative comments but it does provide potential hiding places through the winter.

However the garden is just an oasis in a sea of clipped lawns and insecticides – even when people have flower pots these will be emptied and sanitised. Oh well – I can only do my bit!