THERE’S OWT AS QUEER AS FOLK!

So considerable numbers of people can be persuaded to react violently to people who have risked life and limb and probably a fair wack of cash to get here; but are strangely quiet about the £100’s of millions embezzelled by companies during Covid. The fast track was developed for conservative supporters and at ties only supplied sub-standard equipment. So how can anyone with an ounce of humanity complain about the asylum seekers being put up in, often crowded conditions in hotels (which charge the government over the top rates, and being provided with a pittance and being barred from working. Whilst some people elevated tomthe HoLords and claiming £300 expenses per day are allowed to get away with massive fraud?

The same arguments are used against the unemployed. Indeed I have heard complaints about a single mum receiving more than a shop manager. The biggest subsidy on welfare is the exorbitant rents. The welfare budget could be slahed with a sensible realignment of the housing market. Second homes should have at least 75% occupancy or be financially penalised. WTF – and yes increase the tax on salaries/bonus’s to at least 75% – do these people really work harder or have more stress than doctors, nurses and teachers who earn less than 10% the average wages of city slickers. (Most of whom make money by glorified gambling on the stock market, currency markets and commodities. i.e. they actually do nothing productive to aid society (my first job was in a foreign exchange dealing room and nothing beneficial came out of it – well apart from me, of course!).

The police have said they will arrest any and all at any Palestine Action demonstration. Is this democracy under threat? PA have undertaken some dubious activities including vandalising Jewish offices and RAF planes (with paint!). These acts are illegal and the perpetrators arrested and brought before the courts. But Yvette Cooper has decided to ban people from even stating that they support a Palestinian state and she is wrong. The police have better things to do, and she will have increased the number of peple demonstrating anyway. Israel is bleating about the UK decision to recognise Palestine in the future – so it must be worthwhile. Hamas says it will not disarm until the Palestinian state is recognised. This reminds me of a sketch in a Monty Python film! That there is any Hamas organisation still existing is a phenomenon.

More waste of police time is ‘Tommy Robinson’ being arrested again – can we just lock him up and throw away the key – or deport him to join fellow wankers in Romania.

The Star leads with an article regarding Lucy Letby – there is much about her case that needs examination – rather than sensationalist bollocks. Storm Floris would have been a more usual headline!

And at present just 10% of our electricity is being produced by gas! Summer, sunny and windy. But wtf not. It will conserve gas stocks – so what has loopy face got against it? Oh and Rayner and Corbyn have a spat apparently. I like Angela, but she is wrong if she allows building on allotments. Whilst producing loads of food they also act as wildlife hotels/motels. We need to keep the wildlife corridors in our cities open.

CHINA

Why now? The BBC website has 2 major articles about China – both vaguely hostile. The first was about Chinese plans for a new embassy. I am sure that all the embassies of major countries are riddled with spying equipment – even the so called friendly ones – all will have their spy networks. So the article seemed rather hostile. China is far from a beacon of democracy but more later. The second article was about Chinese students at Uni in the UK being asked to spy on fellow students. The article went further to state that university lecturers were being ‘encouraged’ to avoid certain topics.

Both these articles have elements of truth – China is bit of a mystery to most of us. When young in 1950’s my dad sowed the seeds of nightmares by saying that there were so many Chinese that if we went to war with them ‘they would just over run us’. As a geographer I know a bit about China, and a little of its history. But basically I am ignorant about it and try to avoid imposing my own beliefs when hearing about China. I am aware that China has been more than nasty regarding  alleged ethnic cleansing in China’s Xinjiang region. Hong Kong has also raised questions regarding western style democracy. Tibet is another issue, although huge investments in infrastructure have been made. The big issue is Taiwan. Here Trump needs to be very careful in withdrawing the US from its world power.

China is also used as an excuse for not pursuing green energy projects. Yet China has an indisputable lead in installation of renewable energy – and yes it has a lot of coal power stations. China  Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90 per day – the International Poverty Line as defined by the World Bank to track global extreme poverty– has fallen by close to 800 million. That is fucking amazing! Maybe we should be pushing Chairman Xi for a Nobel Peace Prize?

In the realms of fairness as I have mentioned a lot of negatives about China. The USA is attempting to defund universities that have criticised Trump. ICE is arresting and deporting citizens born in the USA (with glee). In the UK an 80 year old woman was arrested and her house searched for – holding a Palestinian flag and a banner stating that Israel should stop killing Palestinians.

Can I make a philosophical comment here? And I have thought it through so it may be open to much criticism. “A nation should not be judged on its successes, but how it handles its failures”. I was thinking about the Windrush generations, Hillsborough, Grenville Tower, miners riots under Thatcher, bean field debacle, PollTax riots. Our recent history of dealing with civil disobedience and dissention is not great.

NATIONAL GRID LATEST

Latest figures are as follows; other includes 15% nuclear and the rest is imports – mainly from France! Generation by type

Fossil fuels3.514.4
Renewables9.740.4
Other sources5.322.2

In the past year renewables have been 37.5% and gas 29.8%. With gas prices volatile it makes sense to continue investing in renewables. And with 2 nuclear reactors under construction gas may be finally losing its dominance. I do not understand the pricing of electricity as I think it is based on world gas prices? 2 new offshore wind farms have been pulled recently due to cost rises; presumably onshore wind farms require less metal? I still maintain that small is beautiful and every possible building should have solar panales and where appropriate wind turbines. Trump has called for a halt to wind turbines in Europe? Why? But then he is a jerk so whatever. We still wait to see the Epstein files G.Maxwell has been moved to a low security prison – which makes sense as she does not appear to be a violent danger to society – unlike the orange one!

Is Farage losing his mojo? His policies against the Online Safety Act and stating that he would revoke renewable energy licences are neither popular or sensible. His beer swilling and fag smoking persona also are wearing thin. Does he actually reside in the UK and pay taxes? His no.2 has a blonde bimbo who has moved to Dubai – does he or she pay UK tax? Councils who have swung to Reform do not appear to be making any announcements on improvements! the press may get excited by seeing Reform in the lead, but it is still a long time to the election, and I am sure steady Eddie (a.k.a. Starmer) will have found a way to appeal to the middle right wing that provides swaithes of the UK voters. Badenoch is a write off/ car crash but there is no one of ability to take her place. Still one should never write off the Nasty Party.

So my prediction is Farage disappearing noisily and screaming. Tories will make a comeback, Labour will maintain a grip on middle England. Corbyn/Sultana may well get a lots of votes but very few seats? Hopefully they can drag Labour back towards the left. But I believe that Starmer was wrong to expel Jez, as he was with Abbot and a prediction – Rayner! That leaves the LibDems and Greens. Both have worthy manifesto’s. LibDems will find it difficult to get over there co-alition period. They do have some excellent M.P.s though. Will the greens break through? Doubtful but an interesting leadership contest could propel them into the headlines?

What we really need is PR and that is unlikely with a party with a huge majority in power – especially as the power bases of the big 2 diminishing.

Just made ciabatta – but a few hours to go, so I might have to give Holly some dough and tell her to do the baking herself! 350g tomatoes picked – I reckon I am getting 2kg a week – and about 4 weeks more? Outside ones are also producing. I must remember to tell Martin and Holly to pick mulberries – maybe make some jam?

GARDEN AND COOKING click on underlined for recipes!

I was given some beetroot – so will pickle some. my mulberries are nearly ready – jam? I am not sure I will have enough? Tomatoes are still doing well – Martin and Holly round tomorrow so they can fill their boots! i ought to dry herbs whilst the weather is good. Mints, thyme, sage, oregano and rosemary are all doing well. And roses – could I make rosewater for use in baking? I have lots of roses, and could I grow some from the hips?

I ought to make some more ciabatta and some lemonade with strawberries and ginger and mint – I might add a little stevia to sweeten if necessary.

Farm shop also had pickling onions on sale – so, whilst it is a bit early I will make some soon. I will also get some labels printed – not sure what yet? JamJams pickled onions? I have given up on picalilli after 3 years of failure!

I think now is the time to put the transfers on my apples – I will peel them off in 6/7 weeks and have apples with bespoke initials on them – cool. I might even get inventive and be rude!

SOME LIKE IT HOT!

A quick look at this weeks stories – Greece, Turkey, and France are among several popular holiday destinations in Europe currently struggling with devastating wildfires following record-breaking heatwaves. Tourists and business travelers alike have had their travel plans disrupted or are now reconsidering their journeys due to safety concerns. Travelers are left questioning their options as wildfires continue to threaten these picturesque regions.

Wildfires across Europe this summer have increased dramatically, with destinations including mainland Greece, Greek islands like Rhodes and Crete, parts of Turkey, southern France, and the Balkans heavily affected. Extreme heat saw temperatures soaring to a staggering 50.5°C in Silopi, Turkey, and reaching 44°C in cities such as Athens and regions of Cyprus, intensifying the blaze and making it difficult to control. New York and New Jersey are also suffering from flooding.

Santa’s reindeer are suffering in the heat! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/02/nordic-countries-hit-by-truly-unprecedented-heatwave

Beijing has had massive floods and mudslides are affecting Columbia and Venezuela.

TIMES HEADLINE

1 in 8 in prison is foreign born. FACT CHECK 1 in 3 doctors were born overseas. 1 in 2 builders were born overseas. 1 in 6 nurses were born overseas. 1 in 4 transport workers were born overseas. 1 in 7 UK business founders were born overseas. 1 in 5 university academics were born overseas.

ECONOMICS

Basically we have had low taxes for the rich for a long time and the economy has stagnated. TBH it is common sense – If you have a few million you buy everything you think you need and then … holidays abroad. Austerity shut down youth clubs and libraries amongst many other things. So raise the tax threshold and increase tax on wealth. My house has doubled in value in the last 20 years and has put homeownership beyond the hopes of many of the young. I suppose it is supply and demand? Cut immigration and house prices may fall? But that would require educational spending and a rise in tax! Doctors and nurses are in short supply – I am already losing the tread here!

So start again. Raising tax on the rich and wealth is sensible economics – austerity showed that the reverse did not work. Food is tax free – even VAT; whilst shelter (housing) is horrifically expensive. Cut housing costs and the welfare budget plummets.

Other news – Trump desires headlines again. He has raised tariffs on Canada again. The guy is a fuckwit. Maybe Epstein files are rising again? I am not a great fan of globalisation and capitalism – BUT – it needs to be stated that several billion people have been taken out of absolute poverty in the last 40 years. I would wish for a kinder economic model, one where people were put first along with the environment. So on the face of it Trumps desire to promote USA industry is great. However the wealth of Americans is likely to be starving people in the economically poorer parts of the world.