Category: Uncategorized

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

Is there a more pointless exercise costing millions in the UK? Students have to stay in education until 18 anyway. Has anyone been asked for proof of GCSE’s? I doubt it! Politicians are not willing to take on the old fogeys who yearn for O Levels and Enid Blyton stories! Whilst I think all students should achieve competency in Maths and English, they need different skills than memory tests – we are now in year 27PG. AI is not going to disappear. Climate change will require new adaptations in many fields of study and life. So why have we put yet another generation through the stress of pointless exams? Most children will sit approximately 100 externally marked exam papers to achieve levels that their teachers could predict in a less stressful and much cheaper way. Ahh – it is not just the old fogeys – there is a huge amount of money paid out by schools to the exam boards £500+ per student many comprehensive schools will have an exam budget in excess of £50000 plus at least 2 staff to administer, and the cost of invigilators.

A pointless waste of time in my opinion – but it is much worse than that. Exams are designed not only for children to pass, but to fail. The press and schools will concentrate on pass rates (67.4% is quoted) – that means 32.6% have failed. That does not make these children failures in life, just failures in an antiuated exam system. We also know that parents pay for extra tuiton to cheat the system. And I have not got on to A Levels yet!

A child of the 60’s (born in 1953) I was priviledged with some of the best, and worst of popular music. Worst to follow later, hopefully much later, but let me have your nominations!

My favourite music

//1. Pink Floyd

//1. Jefferson Airplane

//1 Fleetwood Mac

//4.  Bowie

//4.  Jack Johnson

6.  Carol King

7.  Rolling Stones

8.  Some of the Beatles

9.  Stone Roses

10. Morcheeba

11.  Aretha Franklin

12.  Melanie Safka

13. The Who

14.Simon and Garfunkle

15.  Beach Boys

16. Shakira

17.  Fur Elise

There are many that I have just a few songs by like Carly Simon, Roberta Flack (Tamsin says I like wailing women!), Undertones, Oasis, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Neil Young, Robbie Williams ( I like ‘anthems’!), Sinead O’Connor, Queen, Coldplay, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Kate Bush, Linda Gibson. And some oldies like Hollies, Kinks, Manfred Mann, Dave Clark Five (half time on freezing days at Chelmsford City matches).  I quite liked classical music in the school library where the acoustics suited it.  I am sure there are many more songs that will trigger a special moment!

I guess the telling thing would be – could you hack just hearing the top 5, or even just your top 10/17?

I have done! Every day the iPaper publishes a list, that whilst not always logical or sensible, starts discussions on a wide variety of topics. So I thought I would start a new list.

My illegal acts started whilst at school – 1. I did not qualify for a bus pass, but most of the bus did – so we would distract the bus conductor (memories of the past) and pass the passes around. 2. Then I learnt to drive so firstly speeding 3. drunk driving – disualified for a year – guilty as charged (but, a very small but, it was the morning after! 4. Driving with bald tyres (I was booked into the garage – honest). 5. Smoking canabis – is there anyone born in the 1950-60’s who didn’t? (Sad fuckers!). 6. I am struggling now! – argh theft from a supermarket – getting outside and realising that there was an item under the bags that was not scanned – I think it has happened twice and neither time did i re-enter the store to pay. 7. I honestly cannot think of one – it has been suggested that I add under age drinking – is that a crime? Serving the drink maybe, but drinking it?

I have had a baking fit! Lemon drizzle – very lemony!, cheese bread sticks, cheddar, egg, basil, mustard, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and toped off with parmesan, then a 2 ciabatta loaves.

An admission – or rather an acknowledgement of facts. I love chiclit fiction! I wish I had discovered it earlier. Stories about relationships, bakeries and other independent shops. Are they smutty? Occasionally! But a happy ending and the exploration of relationships is excellent. OK it is not high culture but can be riveting. A London bookshop has just opened selling nothing but romantic novels.

OK I am sitting in the garden looking at all the jobs I ought to do -deadhead a rose bush, clean the patio, sort out the brambles (although that can wait for a month to see if the blackberries are lush or not!), and then the apple tree – lots of new shoots, should I cut them back? And then sticking stickers on the apples for the sparkles – peel them off and they have apples with their initials on! I was thrilled to see a bright red moth, which I think was a cinnabar moth as I saw a couple of cinnabar caterpillars on some ragwort. Also I have never planted evening primrose but am pleased to see it back again – a goldfinch spent several mornings last winter harvesting the seeds. And the chickory is back, growing out of the driveway. Is my garden a mess? Most – I would go for 96% would say so, but the mown laawns are like deserts up and down the street, I have even seen the application of chemicals – but they do not sit on their lawns or play on them, or even camp on them. Green wastelands.

This is a Pretty Woman Lily – smells gorgeous and is by my patio door, so I have to go in and out as much as possible. I think I will put some outside in the garden next year rather than a pot.

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/feast is well worth a look today!

An interesting discussion this morning – a friend mentioned that he and his boyfriend has been shocked to see so many young girls wearing very little at 2am in Bristol. His comment was ‘what were they thinking being dressed like that’ and secondly that they were ‘asking for trouble’. On the first point I countered that they were not dressing provocatively (in many cases) but were just reacting to societies demands and social media and peer pressure. On the second point – men/boys should have more respect and control. I am sure there is an element of being commented on positively and even hoping for a snog/cuddle at the end of the evening. But not sexual assault. There is also a time and a place – a bikini on a beach and a miniskirt in a night club are ok, but walking home at 2am is, whilst not asking for trouble, foolish. Our society, social media and pornography have a lot to answer for..

So I think my friend was right and wrong. Thus an excellent discussion. This is where debating societies and competitions get it wrong. It is not about winning but becoming aware of the nuances involved