SUNAK
Looks like he is putting the party before the country. What other excuse could there be for Braverman other than fight off the Reform Party and appease theBruges Group and Tufton Street. It also reveals the paucity of talent at his disposal. His speech was totally forgettable, probably by design. Johnsons antics and Truss’s mistakes and being out of her depth; Sunak just wanted to be seen as a safe pair if hands to settle the city. The pound fell slightly again.
MANGO AND BRANDY CHUTNEY
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
3 large red onions, finely chopped
4cm-piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into matchsticks
330ml (1 1/3 cups) brandy
6 large mangoes, cheeks removed, peeled, coarsely chopped
530g (2 1/2 cups) caster sugar
330ml (1 1/3 cups) apple cider vineg
Step 1
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes or until the seeds start to pop. Add the onion and ginger . Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft.
Step 2
Add the brandy and cook for 1 minute. Add mango , sugar and vinegar . Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the chutney thickens.
Step 3
Divide the hot chutney among sterilised jars and seal. Invert the jars for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
POLPETTES
A delicious morsel of fried potato for breakfast.
500g potatoes, 115g feta, 4 spring onions, 3tbsp chopped dill, 1 beaten egg, 1tbsp lemon juice, flour for dredging, 3tbsp olive oil, salt and ground pepper.
Boil, then skin and mash potatoes; crumble in cheese and add the rest. Cover and chill until firm; make into patties, dredge with flour. Heat oil then cook until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper if necessary.
Modifications! Add finely chopped garlic and chilli? Other herbs like oregano or thyme.
Eat with a sauce.
SUNAK – NO THANK YOU
He is Brexit and pro- free ports. So still championing poverty and leading us towards a more unequal society.
LAUGHING
How lovely to see the right wing lovies crying and spitting rage. They seem to be very selective in their view of democracy, of mandates, of what is best for the UK. Personally I would have been happy to see the lazy buffoon have another go as it would have been spectacularly awful. Sunak might do a reasonable job, at least he appears competent, although appearances can deceive. He does have a £40billion treasury hole to fill, he also has just about all public sector workers lined up and ready to join the railway workers on strike.
We should also remember that he was responsible (with BJBJ) for the massive growth of debt during the Covid crisis. However I think hindsight here is a little rash. Truss did not allow people to give her a chance by steaming ahead with libertarian nonsense, for the country I hope Sunak does a better job. He may be more swayed by the task at hand rather than warped ideology. Will he reinstate the Head of the Civil Service at the Treasury who Truss fired immediately? He will need all the advice he can get.
FOOTBALL
Week 13 sees more unlikely results with only ManC in top 5 getting full points, Newcastle maintain their push for a top 4 season, without spending millions -yet. Further don Sunderland continue to be abysmal, as do Bristol City. Plymouth doing really well – promotion looking good. FGR still poor, but Chelmsford City are looking better than for a few years.
STATISTICS
I kind of like statistics despite the comment that ‘there are lies, damned lies, and statistics’. Politiciansd only like the ones which they favour. Hence the repeated mantra that unemployment is the lowest since whenever (Black Death?). This is despite employment figures being 0.5% down since 2019. Long term sickness figures are 400000 up since the end of 2019 to 2.49million. A third of these are thought to be due to. long covid (where are those who objected to the lockdowns to argue their case against these figures?). Underfunding the NHS has led to 7 million waiting for treatment.
LUNACY
WHO?
It looks like Sunak/Mordant – if they need 100 MP’s to stand. Hopefully Johnson and Braverman will stand to ensure that neither get the 100 votes needed. Chris Bryant reckons he will not stand. He can earn £150000 a pop by lecturing Americans, and have a semi-permanent holiday too. His ego is large, but protecting it is also essential. Remember it was MP’s who forced the lying shit out in the first place, and he is still under investigation, and the enquiry into the Covid episode has not started.