Friday 17-12-01 Politics and Twitter

Saddened. I guess that’s how I would describe my current state. A couple of days ago, Donald Trump, the President of the U.S., decided to retweet some hate-mongering tweets which came from the account of Britain First. Britain First are a hateful far-right organisation who seem to exist to stir up hate against furriners and them Muslims, as far as I can make out.

It was a very un-Presidential thing to do, but I guess not unexpected when measured against the range of previous actions undertaken by this current President. When the British press and politicians condemned this action, he then tweeted directly to Theresa May, in public, that maybe she should not “focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom…”. Before he tweeted this to Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, he managed to “@” a completely different Theresa May, who just happens to have the same name as our PM.

I guess this just goes to show why one shouldn’t conduct diplomacy over Twitter. There are not enough characters, even with 280 available, to convey a subtle message. Not that there is anything subtle about Donald Trump. But if one goes through the proper channels, then one can be sure that one’s message will actually reach the intended recipient.

His spokesperson Sarah Sanders claimed that Trump was trying to “elevate the conversation” by taking to Twitter and retweeting these videos. I’m not sure that this was his intention. Twitter has become a bit of a free-for-all, and there is a degree of viciousness and muck-raking which you don’t see on Facebook for instance, and you certainly don’t see it in the Press. But there he was, on Twitter, retweeting Islamophobic videos and telling Theresa May to focus on her own backyard.

This of course became newsworthy, and so for a couple of news cycles, the first headline most people saw was the fact that Trump had retweeted fascist propaganda, and then he’d advised the Prime Minister of a foreign sovereign nation to “wind her neck in” (my summary).

It’s just tawdry. Where are the leaders to inspire us, where are the people with a vision of the future or even the present who can persuade us and prompt us to be better versions of ourselves? They are certainly not in power at the moment, not in the UK or the U.S.

This whole episode prompted me to go look at Trump’s tweets – I don’t follow him, I don’t see the need, especially when they become front page news anyway – and I found this beauty:

“If the Dems had won the Presidential Election, the Market would be down 50% from these levels and Consumer Confidence … would be “low and glum””. Just reflect on that for a minute. The President is stating that if the vote had gone differently, the U.S. stock market would be worth half of what it is worth now. Based on what? What research supports this? What is the scientific or economic theory indicating this outcome? I don’t think there are any. These are the mindless ramblings of a man who has some baseless beliefs and access to a social media platform.

I don’t understand how we’ve got to where we are today, but I know that it scares the shit out of me.

TTFN.

 

Saturday 17-11-25 Brexit Update (Again)

So here is how I think Brexit is going to proceed.

We won’t get a deal by the end of March 2019. In fact, we probably won’t even know at that stage what the outline of Brexit will look like. Or, it will be starting to take shape, but the detail won’t be known. I’ve actually got a bet on that, although it’s only pennies.

By that date we will have extended the timeframes associated with Article 50. We won’t be leaving the EU at the end of March 2019. The extension will probably be either two or three years, so that will take us to March 2021 or 22.

After that date there will be a transition period of at least two years. That will give businesses time to adjust to the new status quo. During the transition period, we will remain part of the EU, we will continue to observe the decisions of the ECJ, and we will continue to pay into the EU coffers.

By that stage, no-one will want to talk about Brexit; it will be a taboo subject. It will belong to nerds and specialists.

However, these extended timeframes will give the UK authorities time to set up new regulatory bodies, so for instance whatever we decide will replace the EMA (European Medicines Agency) can be set up and start to function.

As time goes on, the will to execute Brexit will drain away. Especially with the small kerfuffles which will occur from time to time, when people realise what actual impact Brexit will have. This week there has been uproar that cities in the UK have been ruled out of the competition for European Capital of Culture 2023. To my mind, the loss of this title is a trifling matter when we consider what else will need to be changed in the new Brexitopia. Maybe, though, small matters like these are tangible & understandable examples which people can grasp as a sign of what is to come?

For instance, the company I work for is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Because “passporting” will be lost, we will have to choose a country in the EU to have our European Headquarters, and we will have to work with the financial regulator in that country. But the regulator won’t want to talk to a shell company, when the strings are being pulled in London. So we will have to duplicate our legal Counsel team, and our Risk team, and incur costs which would be unnecessary without Brexit. To my mind, that is a more substantial concern than whether a city is called “European Capital of Culture” for a temporary period.

With the extended timeframes given to Brexit, public interest will wane, and it may be that the opportunity will come to revisit the referendum. In my view, the 2016 referendum would have to be nullified by a second referendum. If Parliament voted against Brexit without going back to the people, they would be accused of ignoring “the will of the people”, despite the facts that it was a 52-48 split, and only 37% of the voting public voted for Brexit. So either we have a second referendum, or possibly Labour could stand on a manifesto cancelling Brexit – if they got elected, then they could maybe put a stop to it. I know that Labour’s current stance is pro-Brexit, but I don’t think they are as dedicated to the cause as some of the right-wing free market fundamentalists occupying the Tory backbenches.

Let’s see how it goes, eh? Although the battle which was the referendum was lost, I don’t the war is over just yet.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-11-09 Farewell Priti Patel

So. Farewell Priti Patel. Yesterday was quite an exciting day from a political observer’s point of view. There was the anticipation of the sacking / resignation, accompanied by numerous updates on the present location of the plane carrying her back from Uganda, and then live footage of the three-car procession heading into central London.

Luckily it was a bit of a slow day in the office; the servers or network (or both?) were unresponsive, and so I had time to take my fill of reaction on Twitter and the continuous updates on the Guardian Politics Blog. By home time, I was up to speed with events.

By then, I was starting to feel a little sorry for Priti, as pretty much the eyes of the world were on her. In her position I would have felt claustrophobic, even paranoid, but then I guess I haven’t decided to thrust myself into the limelight in that way. It can’t have been enjoyable though. But, you live by the sword, and you die by the sword, and so the method of her metaphorical execution was just as public, and probably more so, as any of her successes.

It’s a slight disappointment to me, I had 25p on her to be the next PM, so I guess that’s £5 I’ll never see. I placed the bet on the logic that if such a terrible event happened, I would want to benefit in some way before everything collapsed. By the same logic, I also bet that the UK population would vote for Brexit. But I’m sure there will be some other way for me to get my money back, and it’s not over yet. Now that she’s returned to the back benches, what odds might there be on her launching a “stalking horse” campaign to unseat the PM? Hmm, who knows?

So, Westminster continues to serve up entertainment of the highest order, and I shall continue to gawk in wonder at the shameless self-promotion and  blundering of our political classes. Next up, if we’re lucky, the spotlight may fall on Boris Johnson and his successes and lack thereof as Foreign Secretary. Pip pip!
TTFN

Friday 17-11-03 I Taking the Colour out of the Action Launcher Search Box

I love using the Action Launcher on my Android phone. But one thing has been nagging at me for a while now, and that was the colourised search bar. It stood out like a sore thumb and more often than not disrupted my homescreen:



I finally worked it out this morning. After nearly tweeting at Chris Lacy, the Action Launcher Dev, I thought to myself that there must be a way to do it. So I went into the launcher settings yet again and looked at the Quickbar settings, below:



Tapping on "search logo" at the bottom brought up the following menu:



Where I was able to choose the "no colour" option.

Finally! As I mentioned, this had been bugging me for weeks! And following the same logic I was able to decolourise the voice search icon as well:



And above we see the final result. The search box is aligned with the time widget and in my eyes the overall effect is nicer.

So that's my win for today.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-10-29 I A Bluetooth Problem fixed

Sunday 17-10-29 I A Bluetooth Problem fixed

 

I have a natty little Samsung Tab E that I should make more of, and I also acquired a Samsung bluetooth keyboard (EE-BT550) a while ago - my plan was to use them together to take quick notes and write quick blogposts as & when the need took me. As you can see from the sporadic entries in this blog, I’ve not quite mastered the art of that, but I have a few thoughts roiling around in this sparsely-populated head of mine.

Anyway, I got up this morning, made a cup of tea and prepared the tablet and keyboard. The Youngest was in the living room watching YouTube or somesuch without headphones and I didn’t want to be driven mad by mindless drivel at such an early stage in the day. So I tried to pair the tablet and keyboard, without success. After many times trying to enter the passcode given by the tablet, I realised it wasn’t going to work. The tablet was timing out even before I could tap in the six-digit code, and even when I did, the tablet was telling me that the passcode was wrong.

Then I thought outside the box a bit, and wondered how I could isolate the problem. I tried pairing the keyboard to my phone, and could do that. I fished out a second keyboard and could pair that to the tablet. So eventually, I was none the wiser. Both the tablet and the keyboard could pair, just not with each other. Then I had a doubt; I’d rooted the tablet a while ago, could that be having some impact? I knew that the ROM I’d installed was supposed to be stock with root and SuperUser access, but sometimes not all functionality is replicated fully. So I started looking into how to return to stock, and I found a guide which suggested using Odin and a downloaded stock ROM. The trouble was that it looked like it was going to take more than an hour to download the ROM, and then there was no guarantee that I’d picked the right one for my tablet. So I installed Kies instead, and hooked up my tablet to the PC. It guided me to install Smart Switch, but eventually I was able to re-initialise the tablet and install official stock software. Then I tried to pair my Bluetooth keyboard again, and I could manage it. So I think that maybe I chose the nuclear option, and maybe I didn’t need to unroot and re-install stock firmware, but it might have been the fact that I had a custom recovery installed that was throwing the Bluetooth out.

Anyway, now I can pair and type away to my heart’s content. Will it happen? Probably not, but who knows.

TTFN.

Monday 17-10-23 Brexit October Update I

I received my quarterly reminder to update this blog the other day, otherwise known as my GoDaddy invoice. I had been humming and hawing about writing something, but each time I got to it, I couldn't see that what I'd put down on paper was worthwhile and so I deleted it.

Mostly I've been following Brexit developments, and getting more & more worried. We seem to have gone from a situation where we were promised that "it would be easy to get a trade deal with the EU, after all they need to sell us BMWs and prosecco" [writer's note: most of the UK consumption of prosecco seems to happen in our house, I admit, but I don't have and have never bought a BMW] to "actually, no deal wouldn't be so bad, we can rely on WTO rules".

Some research has been done into that latter proposition and it turns out that only one country in the world relies solely on WTO rules and that country is Mauritania. But in an update to that article, it would seem that even Mauritania enjoy preferential trade terms from some developed nations, which means that there is no country that relies solely on WTO rules to trade. So those separatist headbangers who want to leave the EU under any circumstances seem to be "misrepresenting the actualite" when they say that there would be no issue with resorting to WTO rules.

Looking at the list of podcasts I listen to, it would seem that most of my free time is taken up listening to Brexit updates. I am subscribed to several Brexit podcasts, including the following:

Remainiacs: This is probably my favourite Brexit-based podcast. Hosted by Dorian Lynskey (the Guardian), Peter Collins (ex- of the Economist) and Ian Dunt (editor of politics.co.uk and author of “Brexit – What the Hell Happens Now?”). I really like their approach and it’s a good listen.

Brexit Means: This is the Guardian’s weekly Brexit update, and it’s okay, but I will probably bin it off soon.

Brexitcast: This is the BBC’s weekly Brexit update, it is a bit light-hearted, the two hosts take the mickey out of each other somewhat, but it is informative. More often than not they have Laura Kuenssberg on to talk about the politics of Brexit, and let’s face it, it is all about politics.

UK in a Changing Europe: This is a more right-wing take on Brexit, I think, although I’m not overly familiar with it just yet. The two episodes I listened to have been a) Jacob Rees-Mogg addressing the Tory conference fringe and b) Yvette Cooper and Diane Abbott addressing the Labour conference fringe. But the first episode was with a Times journalist, so I think it’s coming from that direction.

Brexit Podcast: This is probably the most open-minded Brexit-related podcast I listen to. Tim Heming and Jennifer Hahn do a good job of asking questions and letting the guests do the talking. They have had Patrick Minford and Alistair Campbell, Henry Bolton (new UKIP leader) and Gina Millar all in to talk about their understanding of Brexit. The one issue I have with this podcast is that many of the interviews seem to be done over the phone and so the sound is not the best.

 

So that is what is keeping me awake mostly (not that I listen to them in bed or at night).

Saturday 17-09-30 I There are two types of people...

I saw this and it made me chuckle:



so I thought I'd share...

Sunday 17-09-17 Weekend Taxi Driver

Before the weekend, a friend suggested I would be acting as a taxi driver for my family for the weekend. At the time, I laughed and shrugged it off, but now looking back, that feels like all I've done, for the weekend...

• At 9am yesterday morning, I took TY to gymnastics. I did run while she was vaulting and balancing on the beam, but it was a bit early.


• At 10am we drove home.


• At 1pm I drove TW into work, she needed to be there for a couple of hours.


• At 1:40pm I drove TMO to her friend's house, she was having a sleepover.


• At 3:10 pm I drove to pick TW up from work.


• At 6:20pm I drove TW to a party she was attending.

Today we were invited to rugby practice at Hove so:

• At 09:20 I drove to pick up TMO from her sleepover,


• At 09:30 I drove the family to Hove,


• At 12:20 I drove to B&Q in Shoreham,


• At 12:50 I drove to Maccy D's in Shoreham (my favourite drive of the weekend),


• At 13:40 I drove home.

I went and bought a bottle of wine and have been enjoying that for the last 90 minutes, so I won't be doing any more driving this weekend. Phew!

Saturday 17-09-09 Teresa May & the Tory Leadership

Just as I was about to write that the clamour for Teresa May to resign seemed to have receded, this article pops up in The Guardian. At the beginning of the summer the atmosphere seemed to be taut, and the threat that everything would fall apart seemed to be very real. I think all political commentators and spectators were anticipating/dreading "an event" of some kind, which would lead to May's resignation and a fresh General Election.

Now that the new parliamentary session has started, it seems that the majority of the Tory party have fallen into line; they know that if they cause a fuss then that could lead to a Corbyn premiership. But there does seem to be some activity; the European Research Group are flexing their muscle, and some elements (either ironically or in earnest) seem to be agitating for Jacob Rees-Mogg for PM.

We are heading for conference season, which is a great opportunity for all the movers and shakers to get together and conspire against the current leadership, or maybe they might take the opportunity to unite behind Teresa May? but that would be dull, and since she is seen as a "lame duck", that would be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Probably the leadership race will be triggered by something seemingly inconsequential, like for instance the current attempt to pack the committees with Tory majorities. Or the "Great Repeal Bill", which has now been renamed the European Union (withdrawal) Bill, may be a source of consternation among MPs, and if enough vote against it, that could lead to a vote of confidence in the current government - but that is unlikely. Still, some MPs will feel like they're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, and they will have to hold their nose to vote for the Bill. At a later stage, resentment towards the govt. for putting them in this position may boil over into rebellion, we will have to wait and see.

I think it's still an interesting time to be a watcher of politics, and I look forward to catching up with the next showings of Question Time, Westminster Hour and Today in Parliament. I am sure there will be more developments soon...

TTFN.

Sunday 17-08-20 At The Edge of The Sea II

[caption id="attachment_726" align="alignnone" width="300"] The wristband, preserved for posterity.[/caption]

If Friday was the entree, then yesterday was the full three course dinner. Maybe it was more like a gourmet tasting menu, as we had a variety of bite-sized courses, all of which were quite different and attractive in their own way.

Yes, we were back to The Concorde II for the "mini-festival" that was At The Edge of The Sea (ATEOTS). Now into its 9th year, ATEOTS is curated by David Gedge and a guaranteed way to see The Wedding Present. There are always a variety of bands playing, and this year was no exception.

Last year we wandered in late and realised that we had missed Cinerama - we weren't going to make that mistake again! In fact we nearly got there too early - M turned up at the railway station an hour early, but managed to spend some quality time in The Green Man waiting for D & me.  I snuck in a pint as well, and then we headed to Brighton.

We got into the venue in time to see Ellie Ford play the harp and sing, she was brilliant and it was a great way to start the day. Then it was into the main room for Cinerama, David Gedge's side project. I had only heard one or two of their songs years ago on the John Peel Show, and I was looking forward to seeing them. Not knowing any of the songs was a bit of a drawback, but "Get Up & Go" and "Health & Efficiency" stood out for me. I think it gave the lyrics the chance to breathe. During the performance I looked around and actually the place seemed quite busy; it seemed like most of the people there had had the same idea as us, that they didn't want to miss Cinerama. Actually it was quite impressive, considering it was 4pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon...

Next up were The Sleazoids who were pretty good; they played tight and energetic garage punk, and the guitarist was a previous member of The Wedding Present. Their set was good, and I intend to look them up on Soundcloud when I get a chance...

We returned to the main room to see Scare Taxi, who are the new band of one of the former members of These Animal Men. They were okay, they made a good noise and they were tight, but it wasn't for me. Their finale though was a cover of "Tainted Love" which was brilliantly unhinged, and they were worth seeing for that alone.

Then it was time for Jade Inland, who weren't my cup of tea. By that time we were getting a bit hungry, and so we missed The Popguns and went to Yellowave Cafe for some vegetarian chilli (D & M) and some veggie nachos for me.

We got back in time to see Flowers, who reminded me a bit of Royal Blood, in that they were a tight power pop outfit, although Flowers are a trio rather than a duo, and obvs the Flowers vocals are completely different. But I stand by my assertion that the vibe is similar, and I'm willing to take on anybody who disagrees (aside: I'm not at all willing to do that).

The Charlie Tipper Conspiracy were okay but didn't float my boat, but I did admire Helen McCookerybook, not only was she a good singer but she kept time really well. A silly thing to notice I suppose, but considering that she was performing solo with an acoustic guitar, the songs she performed had various and interesting rhythms.

The crowd really thinned out from 6pm to 8pm, I reckon a lot of people left the venue to get a bite to eat. Actually it's probably worth saying that even aged 45 I felt like one of the youngest people there. Obviously there were a few 20-somethings at the venue, but really the average age must have been 45+. So people were being sensible and lining their stomachs, or taking a break. I could see that a number of people still at the gig were flagging (as was I) and I guess we were just holding on until Gedge was back onstage with The Wedding Present.

That came around soon enough, after a French version of the Laughing Gnome, and another raffle controversy - for the second year running, the main prize had to be redrawn, since the original winner wasn't present. The Wedding Present featuring the new bass player and additional keyboard players took the stage at 8:30 pm more or less precisely, as per the planned running order, and launched into "Going, Going". The opening tracks were enticing and languid, before launching into the usual Wedding Present fayre of heavy guitars and remorseful lyrics; not that I am denigrating that at all, that is what we love about TWP. I'm just pointing out that on this album Gedge held back for the first couple of tracks before giving us what we have come to expect. I don't own the album but on the force of this performance I think I shall buy it; stand out tracks for me were "Bear" and "Little Silver" in particular, and I also liked the closing two tracks for the mellow (comparatively) vibe.

They finished off with three poppy tracks which caused a bit of moshing, the last of which was the only one I recognised - "Brassneck". It was brilliant and probably worth the entire day's attendance, even if none of the other performances were any good - which wasn't the case.

Thinking back over the whole day, I kind of realised that TWP / Gedge is a noisenik; that is, a lot of the bands performing are loud and noisy and maybe aren't as directed and focused as TWP are. Seven hours is a long time to spend in a venue, and ten acts is quite a number to see in one day. I was quite tired by the end of it, but enthused by a couple of performances, Cinerama and The Wedding Present being the highlights I think, along with probably Flowers. The rest were interesting to see but I probably would only pay to see Sleazoids again, from the rest of the line-up. We'll have to wait and see who agrees to play next year, but these two years may have been enough for me.

Saturday 17-08-19 At The Edge of the Sea

Last night I went to see The Wedding Present perform "George Best" in its entirety at the Concorde II in Brighton. I went with M, a friend from Worthing, and we met up at the venue. Normally we might have a pint or two before the gig, but I was feeling a little delicate due to over-imbibing the night before, and we are going back to the Concorde today to see The Wedding Present again, so we took it easy.

I left work at 5pm, which was probably a little later than I normally would on a Friday, but I had a call with someone in the U.S. at 4:30, so it worked out well. Normally I wouldn't accept calls at that time on a Friday, but it suited. I wandered along to McDonald's and had my traditional pre-gig dinner. I did briefly consider going elsewhere for dinner, but where else would I get something that is vaguely filling for £7.50? So I ordered a Big Mac Meal and six chicken nuggets and tucked in.

From there I wandered slowly through town, down to the seafront, and sat and looked out at the sea. It is quite awesome, watching the sea. It stretches out to the horizon, moving and heaving mindlessly and endlessly, wave after wave, never ending or changing. Staring at the sea and appreciating its vastness often reminds me that any concerns or problems I might have don't amount to much in the grand scheme of things. Some people (politicians, celebrities) may benefit from the same sort of reflection, maybe? Just a thought.

Anyway, I met M outside the venue, he changed his ticket up for a wristband, and we wandered in. I saw a big chap who I thought looked like John Robb, but thought nothing more of it, and we went to the bar. As we were getting the drinks in, I asked if he had seen The Membranes before; they were the support band. M had seen them at a New Year's Eve shindig back in '97 or '98, and he said "they're fronted by John Robb, of course, I remember him being very... energetic". Ah, so that would explain the presence of John Robb then...

The Membranes came on at 7:30, as advised, and were okay. I'd not seen them before, or heard any of their stuff. They were punk, but they had the BIMM choir onstage with them - they were trying something different. I did think at one stage they were a bit "prog/punk", if such a thing exists...? The music was quite loud and gothic, and because the external door was open and it was daylight, the effect was a bit jarring.

Then it was time for The Wedding Present. They played a couple of songs to warm us up before getting to the main event. I think "Love Slave" was one, and "Deer Caught in the Headlights" was another, which I enjoyed with its "DUM DUM" double bass drum rhythm. They played a couple of tracks from "Going, Going..." and then launched into the album tracks. I really enjoyed the performance, despite not knowing the album that well. Of course the album opens with "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft", which I did know, and I really enjoyed "Shatner" too. I like that early Weddoes sound, and the lyrics are always interesting in a conversational way. We did think that maybe because they had been playing "George Best" recently they might not give it 100%, but there were no worries on that front. The band certainly were getting into it, and it looked like Gedge was really dishing out the treatment to his guitars. They finished with a rousing version of "Kennedy" which incited some serious moshing, and then it was all over. Another enjoyable show from the semi-legendary (Gedge's own words) The Wedding Present.

We stopped for a couple of pints at The Queen's Head before getting on the train, and after a bit of street theatre (a drunken row between a couple of kids) we were home safe and sound. It was time to go to bed, to get a good night's sleep before going back and doing it all again today.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-08-06 Camping in Derbyshire

On the Thursday before last (27th July) we headed up to the Peak District with the kids, our trusty tent & our friends H & I. We had decided to see a different part of the country; normally we had down to Dorset, but we've kind of exhausted free & cheap days out there, so we decided to try somewhere new.

We hoped for good scenery and warm weather; one out of two wasn't bad. We stayed on a campsite outside Ashbourne (Callow Top) which was brilliant. The fields were well-kept, the facilities were clean, and the bars were reasonably-priced. There was an outdoor pool which kept the kids occupied when we weren't out and about, and if it had been down to them I'm sure we would have stayed on the campsite for the entire stay, and they would have stayed in the pool for the whole five days.

We got off to a bad start, in that I forgot to set the alarm for Thursday morning. TW had agreed with H&I that we would set off at 05:00, so I should have set the alarm for 04:30. Unfortunately I went to sleep before setting the alarm, and so we didn't wake up until ten to six. Still, we were on the road by 06:10, so that wasn't too bad. We were at the campsite by midday, and set up at a leisurely pace. We had a Tesco delivery booked for 3pm, and that raised a few eyebrows when it arrived, although quite a few of those were raised in appreciation.

On Friday morning we took a walk into Ashbourne and had a look around; it's quite a nice little town, although it seems to be swamped with heavy lorries. I was speaking to my Dad and he suggested that the drivers may be attempting to avoid the M5, but for whatever reason the number of large lorries certainly seemed disproportionate. We got back to the campsite, and then the rain set in. It rained for the rest of the day, while we tried to stay dry in H&I's trailer tent. The weather was a bit wearing; if someone had suggested we leave the tents where they were and we check into a Travelodge, I would have bitten their hand off. But we persevered, and the weather for the rest of the stay wasn't as bad. Unfortunately, though, because of the way we'd pitched the tent, there was a lot of water caught between the tent footprint and the groundsheet, to the extent that the tent seemed to be floating atop a lake, and water was coming up through the groundsheet and soaking the carpet. There was nothing we could do at that time, so we slept on it.

Saturday morning the weather was better, and the lake under the tent had dissipated, so things looked better. We moved the tent forward and removed the footprint to let it dry and give the remaining water a chance to soak away. We decided to actually visit a couple of peaks on that day (otherwise what would be the point of visiting the Peak District?) and so we drove to Mam Tor. We took a bit of a wrong turning and ended up driving through a beautiful, dramatic gorge - it was worth taking a wrong turning to see that, and TW at the time said that this was the sort of scenery she wanted to see in the Peak District. Mam Tor is a two-hour walk from Kinder Scout, which we were thinking about walking to, but it was already 1pm by the time we got to the top of Mam Tor, and I didn't fancy getting back at 5pm. In addition, we weren't properly prepared, I wasn't wearing proper walking boots (The Eldest had appropriated them) and we didn't have enough water and snacks to see us there and back. The views from Mam Tor were breathtaking enough though, so I don't feel that we missed out. Maybe next time...

Saturday evening everything was fine, except that H managed to slip down the step from her trailer tent into the tent, and she caused some ligament damage. H&I had to spend Saturday night in Derby A&E while we looked after their kids and had a barbecue. Saturday night the rain came down again, but we were fine overnight, and there wasn't any water ingress this time.

Sunday we visited the stepping stones at Ilam, which was quite the walk after the previous day's exercise. The stepping stones were the culmination of a lovely walk along the river, although I found it a bit unnerving having to cross them - but that was the only way around. After that walk, we headed back to the campsite for some lunch and then drove into Derby. The girls were silent for the 45 / 50 minute drive, and I think they were just worn out from the hike up to Mam Tor the previous day and the trek to the stepping stones - and back! We went to Go Outdoors first for a good look around - there's nothing like going to a camping store while you're camping, it's like camping². Then we hit Pizza Express, and that was when the girls perked up a bit. They probably just needed refuelling...

On Monday we stuck around the campsite, and in the evening we had fish and chips from Ashbourne. They were delicious. And then on Tuesday it was time to head home...

It was a good holiday, despite a few unfortunate events. H's ligament damage being the most inconvenient of those. The flooding of the tent was up there, and we managed to burn the clutch in our car on the way to Callow Top as well. I lost track of which day was which - always a good sign that I'm relaxed, and the campsite was brilliant. The scenery was memorable, and I'd recommend the area, it's lovely.

TTFN.

 

Thursday 17-08-03 Man Up

Last night we watched Man Up and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a Simon Pegg vehicle, but at the same time it was a veritable “who’s who” of modern UK comic actors. There was Ken Stott, Harriet Walter, Sharon Horgan (off of “Catastrophe”), Rory Kinnear (I love him in “Count Arthur Strong”) as well as the Peggster himself. Lake Bell was a strange choice of lead female, I thought at first, but I really warmed to her and would like to see her other work.

The characters played by Pegg and Bell became more & more likeable as the film wore on, and it was obvious that a happy ending was on the cards, but about 15 minutes before the end it really jumped the shark by deluging the story and the audience in a vat of cheese. I was speaking to a friend at work today and he reminded me of “Run, Fatboy, Run”, and I would say that the volume of cheese at the end of the film was more or less equivalent to that.

One thing that did surprise me was that the film was made in 2015. If you had asked me, I would have said that Pegg would have been too busy to make this sort of film. I would have thought he would be glamming it up in Hollywood making Star Trek films – which are brilliant, by the way. Maybe he just has a soft spot for this type of UK comedy film? Although during the opening titles I did see that the film was produced by StudioCanal, who I always think are a French company.

If you like Simon Pegg and the type of film he makes, you’ll probably like this, but watch out for the cheese at the end, that would be my only caveat. Pegg is Pegg, a perfectly likeable fellow (much like Tim off of “The Office”, or Martin Freeman as he is also known), but Lake Bell makes the film, in my opinion. She and Sharon Horgan make believable sisters, strangely, and the family interplay between Ken Stott and Harriet Walter is a delight. There is a lot to enjoy in this film, so get to it.

TTFN.

Wednesday17-07-19 Bremain?

So here is an improbable scenario...

David Davis and his Brexit negotiations go nowhere. The EU negotiation team stick to their guns and insist that there are four indivisible pillars founding the EU:- freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labour. And the ECJ has to have a final say on the proposed deal, as well as being the final arbiter over the EU citizens remaining in the UK.

Furthermore, the EU deny any possibility of sector by sector industrial talks, so the car industry or the finance industry won't get special treatment. It seems that all the UK attempts to get any favours out of the EU are destined to fail. It looks like we are going to leave the EU with no deal, on WTO terms.

Keir Starmer and the Labour party get an update in Parliament as to the progress or lack thereof in the talks. Starmer has already advised that the deal needs to be "at least as good as the existing deal" - the update from Davis indicates that there is no hope of that. Corbyn has always been in favour of Brexit, but not dogmatically so; he thinks that if it can be a good thing, it should be pursued. But this looks like a bad deal.

And so, Labour switch their position. The Brexit which the Conservatives are trying to negotiate is going nowhere, time is running out, and tempers are running high. Labour are in front in the polls, so if a general election were called, they would win. All of a sudden, with their clear different position on Brexit, they attract even more support than they currently have.

With the change in position, proceedings in the House of Commons become more fraught, and there is a vote of no confidence. The government is dissolved, and a General Election is called. Labour get in on a mandate to cancel Brexit and so Article 50 is revoked.

Wishful thinking, I suppose.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-07-16 Tablet Addict

I bought a new tablet on Friday night. Well, I say "new", of course I mean "used". But it's new to me. I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab A6 10.1, but I noticed that the Tab E with a 9.6" display was cheaper. 

I noticed that one chap had listed a Tab E for £79.99, and he claimed it was only a month old. I was sorely tempted, but he ended the auction early and I thought I'd missed out. In fact, he'd relisted it at £99.99, which was too much for me. If I was going to spend that much, I would have bought the Tab A. But there was a further twist: he ended the auction again, and relisted the tablet with an SD card included. By this time I'd decided that if he relisted it at £79.99, I would buy it. Later on Friday evening it disappeared from the listings again, and I followed him as a seller so that I would get notifications if he listed anything else. 

I was heading to bed when I noticed that the tablet had again been relisted, this time without the SD card, but at the original price of £79.99. Considering that these tablets sell for £150 in Currys, I reckoned that if the tablet was only one month old, this had to be a good deal. So I put a bid in at £75, which he didn't respond to, and then I went up to the Buy It Now price of £79.99. Since I'd decided to buy it, I didn't want to lose it. 

I'm hoping that the internal gyroscopes and key entry are more responsive than on this Lenovo Tab 8 (2). I can expand the memory beyond the provided 8gb, which is a bit paltry if I'm honest, but Samsung do have a good reputation when it comes to usable tablets. And although the PPI (pixels per inch) stat is the same on both tablets, I'm hoping that the display on the Tab E will be better. I guess we'll find out on Wednesday, when I'm hoping it'll get delivered.

There'll be another update shortly after that, I expect...

TTFN.

Saturday 17-07-15 Shopping In Brighton

TW woke up yesterday morning and didn't fancy going to Worthing Sevens, so she suggested a day out in Brighton. I responded that I'd rather stick pins in my eyes, but she checked with the girls and they were all up for it, so I could see my escape tunnel of opportunity slowly being walled up in front of me. Then she offered me a glimmer of hope; she said that of course I could stay at home, but she would expect me to tidy the house (no problems there) and put on a couple of loads of washing (simples) and cook dinner - whut!?! And then she extended the carrot - if I came to Brighton, I could sit in the pub and have a beer while they shopped. 

I was a Sure Thing. 

So, we hit the train station, TW got to flex her Friends And Family rail discount card, and we were on our way to Brighton. First stop: Primark! 

Yeah, well that ruined me basically. I did get a £2 t-shirt, which I have yet to try on, but I'm sure it will be lovely. Then we headed to Churchill Square and I diverted into the Prince of Wales and had my first pint. I only had enough for one pint there, so I migrated over to the Western Front at the other side of Churchill Square, via the ATM, for another. 

From there, it was a gentle walk back through the Laines to the station, via Dave's Comics, and a quick visit to M&S Simply Food yielded a couple of marked down sandwiches and a beer for the train journey home. 

It wasn't as stressful as I was expecting, but that's probably because I spent most of it in the pub. I did get to see the new Oneplus 5 as well, which made me think...

Sunday 17-07-09 Gardening

Yesterday, as a sort of penance for getting so drunk on Friday night, I gardened.

I don't like gardening very much, or at least I say I don't, but I was quietly pleased with my efforts.

Down the "side return" we have a bunch of weeds that I have allowed to flourish through inaction, and the most egregious of these were these reed-type weeds growing next to the house:

[caption id="attachment_699" align="alignnone" width="225"] Before[/caption]

 After mowing the lawn and strimming the edges of the garden I tackled this monstrosity, with the result that it now looks like this:

[caption id="attachment_701" align="alignnone" width="225"] After[/caption]

 I don't know what I'll do with this area but I'll try and keep it relatively clear, I think. It makes it easier to get down the side of the house, which we'll need to do because there are more weeds down there which need pulling...

 TTFN.

Wednesday 17-06-28 Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man

I am not a comic artist. Nor am I a comic illustrator, or a comic writer.  But nonetheless I have to say that this comic was completely pointless.

I didn't like the story, or the continued references to events that had already been described in other comics. As a #1, in my opinion the story should be able to stand alone.

I thought the artwork was too child-like, but that's probably personal preference - one of my favourite titles is Daredevil, which tends to be a bit darker in tone.

And I thought the plot twist at the end - that Peter Parker has a sister (spoiler alert!) - unnecessary. Marvel have been trying to diversify their titles for a number of years now and I think they've got it wrong several times, especially killing off or retiring well-established and well-loved characters. It'll probably turn out that she is Spider-Man sometimes.

In the editorial at the back they more or less admit this is a cash-in - "with a movie coming out next month and a new animated series later this year, we wanted to make sure fans had a super easy landing pad".

Anyway, the title was toot, and I've asked my local comic seller to take this title off my subscription list.

TTFN.

Monday 17-06-26 Achievements and Challenges

To record my achievements today, I have read #5 and #6 of the current Daredevil series. It's good to see the writers address the big challenges first; already The Hand and Elektra have appeared. Elektra's story arc has just started in #6, but I am looking forward to it.

I'm also nearly up to date on the current Private Eye, which is supposed to cover up to 29th June or so.

The challenges I want to record are not mine, they are the challenges facing the current Conservative government. I am not sure that any government has faced the number of challenges that the current government is facing. To enumerate those challenges, they are:

1. A minority government. Totally self-inflicted this one, they will need to (and have) guaranteed the support of the DUP. As a result of this, challenge #2 is


2. Keeping the Scots and the Welsh onside. By handing out large sums to N. Ireland, the current govt. have opened the doors to the "provinces" to request extra funding. Not to mention


3. The Good Friday Agreement. By bringing the DUP into a "confidence and supply" (I'm not too sure either, but stay with me) agreement, they have upset Sinn Fein, the Nationalist / Catholic faction in Northern Ireland. Currently DUP and Sinn Fein are supposed to be sharing power in Northern Ireland, but due to a bit of posturing - in my opinion - the power-sharing agreement collapsed in March or so and is still inactive. Possibly we may have to reimpose direct rule on Northern Ireland, which would be a step backwards. The British Government is supposed to act as a neutral arbiter, and that would seem to be difficult when the DUP are supporting the British Government and giving them legitimacy in Westminster.


4. Brexit. The first item for discussion has been the status of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU. The UK offering seems to be that EU citizens will be treated the same as non-EU citizens, i.e., the individual will need to build up five years' worth of residency before they are seen as equivalent to UK citizens. In my view, if the offer to the EU is not different to the offer to non-EU countries, we may as well revert to WTO terms now. From this particular issue, if you extrapolate attitudes, it would seem that the negotiation teams are adopting a "hard Brexit" approach.


5. The Corbyn Surge. In the recent General Election (GE), Corbyn & Labour did very well versus expectations. I think that because "the Nation" has seen that Labour were "successful" in this GE, if there is another one then more voters will be persuaded to vote for Labour. In my part of the world, I think that the campaign for school funding (Save Our Schools) certainly had an impact on voting patterns - although, as a corollary, the Conservative vote in my area also increased.


6. Fallback to Conservative support. In the recent GE approx. 40% voted Conservative and 40% voted Labour. There have been a number of articles written about how we as a Nation have reverted to a two party system. The result of the GE was a Hung Parliament, and as a result Theresa May reached out to a more "conservative" party for support rather than one of the "progressive" parties, such as the Greens (one individual), or the LibDems, or the SNP. By reverting to socially conservative support, I think Theresa May and the Conservative party open themselves to accusations of non-inclusiveness.


7. Lame duck leadership. Theresa May went into the GE stating that she wanted to cement her mandate for Brexit; instead, she lost her majority and so we are left with a hung parliament. As a result, she is seen as a "caretaker PM" at best and at worst other candidates are being suggested as a "stalking horse" or a "caretaker PM" (e.g., Hammond). Johnson is of course being touted as a successor, albeit a divisive one, and it was even suggested on Robert Peston's show that Priti Patel might throw her hat into the ring. From my outsider perspective, I can't see that there is any definite replacement for May.

Jeez, did we get up to seven? Like I said, Theresa May faces challenges on a number of different fronts. On The Last Leg they tried to demonstrate this by having a Theresa May lookalike juggle a number of balls. It was a good visual demonstration of the challenges she faces. However,  these challenges may fade, it may be that these will resolve themselves.

 

As a footnote, I'm not a Labour party member. I voted for the Labour party in 1997, but I am probably a natural LibDem supporter. I thought David Cameron was a good thing for the Tory party when he took the leadership, but he became a bit dismissive towards the end of his premiership. I'd like to think that I have an even view over the political landscape, but I would take the fair accusation that I have less time to entertain right-wing arguments. I respect rightwingers such as Tim Montgomerie, Dan Hannan, and Douglas Carswell, they fully believe what they are arguing; I just think that they are arguing from the wrong starting point. But that is a personal perspective, and of course it is open to challenge.

 

TTFN

Sunday 17-06-25 Tablet Lust

It's got to that time again, where I am casting around for a new(-ish) tablet. You may be aware that I quite like the Microsoft Surface line, and I actually bought a broken one a couple of weeks ago. It's currently back on sale on eBay here.

But I have decided that the tablet that I would really quite like is this one: the Samsung Tab A 10.1" :



I was watching one of these on eBay again and it eventually sold, at the last minute, for £130. The RRP is £230 for the wi-fi version, or £280 for the 4G model. The trouble was that the seller hadn't included any pictures, or I may have bid on it. Someone got a bargain, I hope.

So I shall save up some money, maybe, and see what I can get. To be honest though, I don't really use my current tablet often enough to warrant spending £230 on a new one. That won't stop me lusting after a new shiny though...!

17-06-19 Brexit Again

I've seen a lot of political commentators over the past few days state that 85% of the UK population voted for Brexit in the General Election that happened a few days ago.

I've got to say, I reckon that is rubbish.

A lot of people voted Conservative, and a lot of people voted Labour. I have to assume that Labour voters wanted to remove the Conservatives from power, and the fact that Brexit was part of their manifesto was a minor consideration if at all.

Before we started discussing Brexit and before we scheduled the Referendum, our membership of the European Union was irrelevant to most people. A couple of headbangers in the Conservative party, and UKIP, were obsessed by it, but to the rest of us, laws were laws and it was irrelevant where they came from, whether Parliament or the EU via the UK Parliament.

Since the Referendum was settled I think the issue has become less important again. A lot of people who voted Remain think we should proceed with Brexit anyway. In their view, it is settled. We voted, the majority voted Leave, so let's get on with it.

I don't see how we can avoid Brexit without a second referendum. I would be happy to see a second referendum, but I don't see how such a referendum could be called.

But I didn't vote the way I did because the party promised Brexit. I voted because I wanted domestic change. If there were a way to engineer Remaining, I would support that.

So I, for one, didn't vote for Brexit.

TTFN.

Monday 17-06-19 London to Brighton Bike Ride

Really proud of TW, she did the London to Brighton bike ride yesterday. She trained properly, did a number of long cycle rides, especially along the Downs Link. The only thing she didn't account for was the extreme heat - it must have been 30 degrees at least. Here is her post about why she did it and what she achieved. I was happy to be able to support her, to take her to Clapham on Saturday night, to make sure that we were all (Mum & Dad, the MiL and GiL, our kids - 2 out of 3 ain't bad - and friends) there to see her as she crossed the line. She did a great thing, she's raised over a thousand pounds for the BHF and she had a good time too. I gave her a little massage last night as she was getting ready for bed, I don't know if it helped (I really hate massages) but she seemed her usual chipper self today, and had no complaints. She went swimming this afternoon. Apparently she nearly signed up for next year's ride, since the link is now open, but I think she probably won't do it. Her next aim is a triathlon. Fair play, I hope she enjoys it as much as she did the L2B and the Park Runs she's been putting in recently.

TTFN.

Saturday 17-06-03 Leaders' Question Time

Well, I think that was an unedifying experience. Neither May nor Corbyn will have attracted new voters. May didn't seem to make an emotional attachment with the audience, and whereas Corbyn was more engaged he took a hammering on the nuclear question.

May told a nurse that there was "no magic money tree", which seems to be the new Tory catchphrase, either replacing or complementing "strong & stable". The Tories have been in government for seven years, so they should have shaped the economy by now so that there is extra money to at least keep nurses on a steady wage. And we wake up to Fallon's promise not to raise taxes, which is a blow to low earners and those who rely on the state to top up their meagre earnings.

If we don't have enough money to provide the level of public services which we have come to expect, then I think the only option is to raise taxes. Our continental cousins pay higher tax rates, and they invest a higher percentage of their GDP in public services - maybe it is time we took a closer look at that. I for one am surprised that "social care" and "health care" are two different services, and in my opinion they should be combined. I would also be prepared to pay more tax over my lifetime to avoid a "death tax" or a "dementia tax".

Corbyn had one line that cut through, when he was talking about terrorism and using nuclear weapons, and that was that sometimes you do have to talk to people you don't like, in order to bring about peace. He did look uncomfortable by the end of the session, but that may have been the lights and the heat of the studio.

On a related note, the protest song "Liar Liar" has reached number four in the UK charts, so it will be in the top ten next Thursday, the day of the General Election.

Friday 17-05-19 Sofie Hagen

TW & I went to see Sofie Hagen at the Blue Man in Brighton on Tuesday night. It was a rare night out together, and we enjoyed it. M&P took on the babysitting duties, and we caught the train into town.

The Blue Man is on Queens Road just down from the station, so we went straight there. The staff were relaxed and welcoming, and put us at ease straight away. Since we both like a glass of wine we shared a bottle of picpoul which was quite nice. The barman accidentally undercharged us by a couple of pounds and although we offered to pay the difference, he wouldn't hear of it, which was nice.

The Blue Man serves North African cuisine and the decor reflects that. There was a Moroccan feel to the place; it is small and cosy and the table layout encourages a communal experience. We sat for few minutes upstairs until the barman announced that downstairs was open and we could go down.

Downstairs holds about 30 people so it was a very intimate gig. The audience were a diverse bunch, there were older folks, mostly women, a couple of cross dressers/transsexuals, and just a handful of men. Again the communal experience was encouraged, with long benches down the sides, and the Moroccan feel continued. They had also decorated the ceiling with 7" vinyl singles which was nice.

Sofie's set was good, given that it was an Edinburgh preview, so a few rough edges were to be expected. A few years ago I saw a preview by Richard Herring and that needed much more polish. TW & I both properly laughed and I think everyone enjoyed it.

I hadn't seen Sofie before; I was introduced to her when she was interviewed by Richard Herring on his RHLSTP podcast. I listened to her "Comedians Saying Stuff" podcast, which I enjoyed. Going to see a full stand-up show was a bit of a punt but it was worth it. And if I see anything even remotely interesting at The Blue Man, I'll probably go - it was so nice. 

After Sofie's show we went back upstairs and had a shared platter of food and played backgammon. The food was delicious, it was a very relaxed affair. We did consider seeing a second show, but decided we couldn't do that to M&P, so we headed home. While we were preparing to leave, I put on my hoodie and accidentally elbowed one of my neighbours in the head - that's how snug the venue is. Of course I apologised and no harm was done (I think), and we headed up to the station.

Sunday 17-05-14 I NHS & Hack Attacks

I've been reading this article on the Guardian website  by Charles Arthur, and I do have to ask myself, if there have been 88 attacks of this kind in the previous 18 months or so, why haven't the NHS bosses prioritised updating to Windows 10? Especially if the contract with Microsoft for supporting XP had expired? Irrespective of politics, these systems need to be reliable as people's lives depend on them; results are stored and communicated across these systems, and people's medical histories are stored here. If someone is allergic to a particular treatment, you could find that on these databases, or if someone is due a check-up then that information is also here.

It's okay to run old systems, as long as the information there is not important in any way. If ransomware infects that system, you need to be able to dispose of that system without loss. That's not the case here. The fact that the NHS and the Health Minister have been warned about this and no action appears to have been taken is very worrying, especially in light of the fact that there have been 88 separate incidents. It seems to me that the tories have been caught napping at the wheel, and there is no excuse.

TTFN.

Wednesday 17-05-03 May the Fourth be With You

Tomorrow is local elections day here in the UK, and it is also Star Wars day. It is known as Star Wars day because it is May the Fourth, which sounds a bit like "May the force (be with you)". See what they did there? That's funny and smart, right? May the Fourth / May the force be with you... Can you see how similar they sound?

Anyway, I shall be performing my civic duty tomorrow by voting in the local elections, and then I shall return to the same polling station a month later on June 8th to vote in the General Election. Should that be capitalised? I don't know really, but it's an important event, so maybe the capitals are warranted. It's a pointless election, but no-one seems to have questioned the crazy groupthink that led to all except 13 MPs voting for the election, like turkeys voting for Christmas. We had a general election (okay, no caps there) in 2015, and then we had the Brexit referendum in 2016. We weren't supposed to have another general election until 2020. Theresa May reckons that her mandate for Brexit will be strengthened if she gets a bigger majority, but she does run the risk of losing seats. She hasn't actually had any of her Brexit plans thwarted by Parliament or the Lords, and the current crop of MPs seem to think it anathema to vote against Brexit in any form, as that would be going against the "will of the people". But it was not the will of the people; only 37% of the UK of voting age voted for Brexit.

I listened to Nick Clegg on the Slacktivist podcast, which is run by Andy Hamilton, and Clegg stated that there were no thresholds, no 60% limits or any safeguards applied to the vote because Cameron was arrogant and thought he would win the vote, i.e., that the general public would not vote for Brexit. If that is the case, Cameron needs to be denied any of the normal trappings that are awarded to ex-PMs. His arrogance and carelessness have cost this country millions, even if it turns out that Brexit does actually lead to bright sunny uplands. The administrative costs involved in Brexit will be astronomical, and will be levied at a time when austerity hasn't worked and we just keep having stuff taken away from us. There will be the "divorce bill", which will probably amount to what we were due to pay into the EU coffers anyway (i.e., about £350m per week that we remain in), then there will be the cost of duplicating all the industry bodies that are currently maintained by the EU. And those will have to be set up while we are still paying into the EU, so there will be an overlap, where we are paying twice, into the EU for ongoing costs as well as set-up costs for new regulatory bodies. all in all, the more I think about it, the more of a clusterf*ck the whole thing is shaping up to be. And then you get Theresa May and David Davis seemingly not talking the same language as the EU negotiators - and I don't mean that May & Davis are speaking English while Barnier & Juncker are speaking French; I think they are not even looking at Brexit and what is involved and the consequences from the same perspective - and all of a sudden the near future looks quite scary indeed.

Anyway, it's voting time tomorrow (again), and it will be voting time (again) in a month's time. And if we don't use our votes, we can't complain when we get shafted over by politicians who are really no cleverer or smarter than we are. So get out there and put your tick in the box, whichever box you prefer.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-04-22 A Snap Election

Here we go for a "snap election" then. On the day that the French go to the polls, it will be approximately seven (?) weeks until we get the same opportunity.

I can't see this as anything other than an opportunistic play by the Prime Minister, who has often accused others of playing political games. She has also promised no early election, on several occasions.

I think she has calculated that if the next General Election were to fall in 2020, then it would basically be an election about Brexit. We won't be done with Brexit by that time, there will still be transitional arrangements in place and the process will still be ongoing. If the election is pushed out to 2022, then there is more chance that the dust will be settling.

However, I can see that she wants a mandate. She became PM last year via an internal Conservative party process, and she hasn't faced the general populace. So it makes sense just to check that she is supported generally. But I think she could see that if she looked at the polls. She could certainly save some money by relying on those rather than a General Election. So far, we've had a GE in 2015, the Brexit vote in 2016, and now another GE in 2017. And what will happen if she is not returned with a larger majority?

It may be that the Tory vote increases within certain constituencies, so that incumbents will see their majorities increase. But in constituencies where a Tory is not incumbent, the anti-Tory vote may harden. If there is a 44% favourable rating for the Tories, it is hard to see how that won't lead to extra seats, but these are strange political times, and I think we in the UK are heading towards becoming as entrenched in our existing views as they are in the U.S. So a vote which is supposed to unite the nation will end up being divisive.

I have seen that T May has called for manifesto ideas, which suggests that she doesn't have any of her own. Which again feeds into the impression that this is an opportunistic plan to capitalise on current national sentiment. Seven weeks is a long time in politics though. and if the various left-leaning parties get their act together, and maybe propose one joint anti-Tory candidate in certain constituencies, the Tories may find it hard going.

And by calling the election now, this may lead to serious losses for Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn may face pressure to resign. But he may not act on that; he seems to be a bit "other-worldly" sometimes. Maybe he would be better off in academia, rather than deep in the cut and thrust of today's politics? I'm not sure.

The Lib Dems should see an increase in seats, which may be a good thing; I quite like the Lib Dems, they may come across like Tories with hearts sometimes, but that is no bad thing. They have made a couple of misjudgements recently though; the most damaging was the student fees. Then there was going into a coalition with the Tories; I don't think that was a bad idea per se, but the trouble was that they were then seen as "Tory Lite", so they suffered because Tory voters voted Tory, and people who would never vote Tory couldn't bring themselves to vote Lib Dem. And so they were decimated in the last GE.

It'll be interesting, that's for sure - and we need a reason to be watching the nightly news. I'm sure Newsnight and Channel 4 News will see an increase in audience share. I hope that people take the opportunity to become better informed, but the trouble is that most of the information we receive will be "spin", that is, information presented in a partisan manner. So information provided by Labour news sources will be intended to denigrate the Tories, and information provided by Tory news sources will be intended to denigrate Labour. And most people will ignore the Lib Dems (and, I hope, UKIP?). This would be a good time to highlight the good work done by Full Fact, they independently check claims made by political parties and news programmes (e.g., Question Time) and provide the full picture. They are worth checking out, and supporting if you can.

TTFN.

Saturday 17-04-21 The U.S. Administration and Syria

(I was billed again by godaddy yesterday for my wordpress site, so I suppose I had better make use of it.)

It was a couple of weeks ago that all of a sudden the news programmes were talking about the possibility of the U.S. Administration bombing Syria. It was definitely mentioned on the BBC World Tonight news programme, and I went to sleep thinking that we were being softened up for the attack, and I thought that probably there would be more "preparation" the next day.

As it turned out though, the bombs were launched overnight, and the first news I heard in the morning was that the bombing had happened. I was a little surprised at how quickly things had happened, but not actually against the bombing happening. One thing that did raise a few concerns though, was how quickly the U.S. Administration had changed its mind. It did seem, only a few days earlier, that it was not minded to punish Syria. And then there was the emotional appeal, about the "beautiful babies", that was another thing. I don't want nations making decisions about whether to bomb other nation states when they are emotional. I want them to sit down and rationally plan for any and every outcome.

And that is where I think that the U.S. Administration erred. Yes, probably something needed to be done. But I heard that the bombed runway was back in action before the day was out. The bombs were not a surprise, and all the planes had been moved to safety. So the net effect was to spend a few million dollars on a nice firework display, so that the U.S. Administration could say "Look! we did something!" And what they actually did was:

1. Annoy Russia, who have been supporting Assad's regime, and

2. Put a very small dent in Assad's military capability.

Assad is the only power in the region which is currently capable of keeping the lid on ISIS, so by attacking Assad, the U.S. Administration is potentially giving ISIS some assistance. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, and all that. And without any follow-up, or at least none that we can see, it looks like the message that the U.S. wants to send to Assad is that it is fine for him to oppress his own people, just not with chemical weapons. And that is a pretty sad state of affairs from where I am sitting.

TTFN

Saturday 17-04-08 Cud at The 100 Club (Friday 31st March

Last Friday I was up in London, settling into student accommodation at the LSE. I had bought a ticket to see Cud at The 100 Club, and TW & I had talked before about me staying overnight in London. This time I had researched the perfect accommodation, at the LSE near Euston station, for £36 per night (including breakfast) and I was going to make the most of it.

I had booked a half day at work, and I caught the train up to Victoria at just after 1pm. I had my Kindle for company in a mostly empty carriage, which suited me fine. I was a little worried that I had the wrong ticket, because I was on the Gatwick Express, but it was okay. I arrived in London just before 3pm, and decided to get the tube to Oxford Circus - then I could find the venue, and walk from there to the LSE. It was a lovely sunny day, and I was in a great mood. I found the club easily enough, it was actually on Oxford Road, east though, just before Tottenham Road. It’s a bit seedy and rundown there, I suppose, but Crossrail might rejuvenate the area in a few years. I walked to the halls, and checked in. I laid down for a bit but was too hyped up to really rest.

It got to 5pm and so I headed out, determined to make the most of my London visit. I hit a number of pubs and sampled the real ales. I had a pint in a pub, The Ship on Wardour Street and was reminded of the Underworld song Stagger, with the lyric “I saw you shopping in Europa on Wardour Street, not phoning back”. The beer was good too... After a couple of pints I thought it would be wise to eat something so I popped into Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Berners Street - it’s good to stick with what you know, sometimes…

Then it was time for the gig, so I wandered around the corner to the venue, showed my ticket and went downstairs into the hallowed 100 Club. It’s a nice venue, the pints were cheap, and the layout is more wide than it is deep, if that makes sense; there were seats at the side of the stage and there was no backstage area, so the musicians have to walk through the crowd to get on stage. Which is nice because it feels as if you’re close to the band(s) wherever you are in the venue.

The support band were a Surrey/Sussex combo called La Flamme, they had an energy about them, and some good songs, and they acted as a good warm-up for Cud. I’ve been quite impressed with their warm-up bands, especially Sheen who supported them at the Garage a couple of years ago. Anyway, La Flamme (pronounced “flame”) did their stuff, thanked Cud for inviting them, and then departed.

It was time for Cud. Cud are a great band live, and tonight they were performing all their singles. With a career stretching back to 1988/89, there were a few they had to get through! Cud gigs are a great thing, as far as I am concerned; a way to get together in a group and share a common appreciation of some good music. The rhythms are stirring, the tunes are memorable, and the lyrics are other-worldly on occasion. But it’s not really about reproducing the songs note for note; Carl delivers the vocals differently live, and really hams up the role of lead singer. Mike and Will take their turns in the spotlight as well, and it’s more a celebration than anything else. You recognise the opening notes of a song and suddenly you’re dancing, which can be a bit difficult in a sold-out venue when you’re all jammed together. But I managed it; probably the beers helped. I was standing at the back (which as I mentioned, wasn’t really far back) and I was behind some tall guys. I realised that people in front of them were shorter, so I pushed past them closer to the stage. I had a great view, I was dancing, and it was great.

After they finished, I was in no rush to leave, so I got another beer, and actually had a chat (more likely a drunken burble) with Will the bassist. I presume he is used to mumbled non sequiturs, but he seemed happy to chat, so that was good. I bought a tshirt, which I don’t normally do, but since the pints were under £4 each, I had a few spare pounds. Then I headed out into the night to see what London was about.

Actually, the area I was in, at the east end of Oxford Street, was closing down. One pub had stopped serving, and the pub I managed to get a drink in was about to close. So it was a quick pint of London Pride and then on. I was told that there was a late-night drinking establishment called Nordic, so I headed there. I bought a pint, but it wasn’t my thing so left pretty sharpish, and headed back to my room. And that was last Friday night, done and dusted. The only last bit of business was the breakfast the next morning, which was delicious. It was a full English, but served buffet-style, so if I'd thought it through, I could have had double helpigns. I didn't though, one plate full was enough to set me up for the day and the journey home.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-03-30 Brexit And Article 50

So, I won my 39p. Article 50 has been triggered, and the two-year process has begun. Why then do I have a sinking feeling, like there is something nagging at the back of my mind, as I do when there is something that I know I’ve forgotten? I have a sense of slowly-approaching doom, and I don’t think it will become clear until it is almost upon us. I think it has been pointed out several times in the Houses of Parliament that if we are aiming for the same deal as we had before, why don’t we just keep the same deal? The paucity of thinking in this regard is quite scary. It has been suggested that -if- we have to fall back on WTO rules then we can copy and paste the existing EU tariffs and work to those. If we are going to do that, and we are going to transpose the EU bill into UK law, I have to ask: what is the point?
And in my view we are being softened up for “no deal”. It takes two to tango, and I think that if the EU negotiators don’t see things in quite the same way as David Davis - and they won’t - then the UK team will walk away from the table. There is no way that we can have the same deal as a non-member of the EU as we had as a member. We contributed £250M per week last year, and that was used in the running of the EU: paying farmer subsidies, paying regional development funds, paying the salaries of regulatory authorities. We can’t reap the benefits of those initiatives without paying in, so if REACH have to rubberstamp our chemicals, we will have to pay a fee for that. Yes, Regional Development Funds and farmer subsidies will be handled nationally, but we will have to set up bodies to oversee those disbursements. We will have to replicate REACH for the domestic market - BREACH, if you will, and we will have to do this for other EU regulatory bodies. Bureaucracy in the UK will explode come 2019, and the Conservative party will no longer be able to claim to be the party of small government.
In the 36 hours since we triggered Article 50 there have already been disagreements; May suggested that we have the “divorce discussions” and the “future relationship” discussions simultaneously - that has been poo-pooed by the EU. She linked security to a trade deal, and the EU has described that as a non-starter. To be honest, I expect the discussions to go quite badly wrong, although I’d be quite pleased if they didn’t. I understand that our standards are harmonised with Europe, so you’d think discussions would be easy, but I don’t think the mainlanders (I can’t call them Europeans, since we are also Europeans) will make it easy for us. But then, I’ve been feeling pessimistic about the way things have been going for a while. Anyway, hold onto yer hats, it’s going to be one hell of a ride…
TTFN.

Tuesday 17-03-21 Six Nations Round-Up

And so the Six Nations comes to an end for another year. It’s a great tournament and I really enjoy watching it. This year, highlights for me were Scotland beating Ireland and Wales. Their appetite and attacking play has really changed in the last two years or so, and it is a joy to watch. The way they physically threw themselves into the game against Wales had me worried / looking forward to the match against England. Eventually though, that fixture turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, meaning that England dominated the match from the start, and the end result was never in doubt. Scotland’s final game against Italy yesterday saw them keep a clean sheet against Italy, but there were points where the old style of game play surfaced again, where they passed back and weren’t able to go forward. Maybe that was due to Italy’s forwards, but it was a bit concerning.

The game between Wales and Ireland last week was a brilliant, breath-taking game, quite literally. TW was holding her breath, she was so excited…! I could have done with a lie-down in a dark room to calm down afterwards.

There were two outstanding games which I think will be talked about for years to come; the first is of course the England - Italy game, or “ruckgate” as it will be forever known. Basically, Italy didn’t want to come to Twickenham and get beaten by England on England’s terms, and so they refused to commit men to the ruck area. This completely confounded England, because they had their routine all sorted: take the ball in, get tackled, go to ground, ruck over, recycle, take the ball in… How could England progress without a vital phase of their game? Unfortunately it took England much longer than it should have done to adapt to the game Italy were trying to play, but they still won through.

There have been rumblings that the laws of the game need to change to prevent teams playing like that in future, but I think it was a high-risk ploy, and if you play like that you risk losing massively; so it is self-managing. It was a fascinating match to watch though.

The other match which stretched the bounds of the game was the France-Wales match, which took 20 minutes of extra time to play a scrum. So the game took 100 minutes to play. Unfortunately at 80 minutes Wales were ahead, and by the time the clock showed 100 minutes, France had taken that lead. I think Wales should have won, so it was a pity, from my point of view, that the scrum had to be reset so many times.
It was though an exhilarating competition all round, with some brilliant moments and some awesome contests, and I can’t wait until next February comes around…

Friday 17-03-17 Comics

I've decided to start actually reading my comics, and rather than just buying and hoarding them. I have been collecting a series called Red Thorn, which is basically on a whim because it said it was set in Glasgow. It's okay, but it's about demi-gods and myths, which is not what I was expecting. 



It's enjoyable enough, but I'm still not sure whether the main characters are likeable or good or evil, so I'll wait and see how the first story arc turns out. 

Tuesday 17-03-14 Interesting Times

As the saying goes, “may you live in interesting times”. I think it was meant to be a curse. Well, the bill conferring authority on the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 became law yesterday, and on the same day Nicola Sturgeon announced her intention to invoke a second Scottish Independence referendum. We are indeed living in interesting times.

The world as we know it is disintegrating around us, and things are going to change beyond all recognition. We will be out of the EU by March 2019, probably without much of a deal with the other members. It certainly feels like Theresa May is preparing us for that eventuality. If the negotiations are tough, we may not have much leverage and so we will come away with nothing.

At the same time I think that if Scotland does hold a second referendum, this time they will vote to leave the Union. It seems that the Scots feel that they are not being listened to, and their concerns are not being addressed. If that feeling spreads widely then I can see Scotland voting themselves out of the Union. And it will be David Cameron and Theresa May who can take responsibility for that unfortunate turn of events.

Then there are other days when I think it won’t have any impact at all. Go figure.

Saturday 17-03-03 PaddyPower and I are Parting Ways

Paddypower and I are parting ways. It’s sad to say, it did seem to be a blossoming romance, but unfortunately things were not well in paradise.
It all came to a head on Tuesday night. Previously Paddypower (hereafter known as PP) had falsely reported goals, or stopped reporting on games altogether, which was annoying but manageable. Tuesday night, though, things were different. Brighton were playing at home to Newcastle, and it was a top-of-the-table clash. Since I lived in Brighton for ten years, and have worked there for nearly twenty, I was not only financially but emotionally invested in the game. Mum and Dad were also at the game, since they have season tickets, along with quite a few friends I work with. Yes, I had a small wager (70p) on the game, in Brighton’s favour.
TW & I decided to start watching Apple Tree Yard, the recent BBC drama, since we’d recorded it and heard some good things about it. I had the PP website up on the laptop to follow along with the score.
The drama on the telly was pretty good, but I noticed that Brighton went 1-0 up after about 15 minutes. I double-checked it with flashscore.com, and it was confirmed, Brighton were ahead. I settled back and watched the telly, and kept one eye on the score. Half-time came and went with no change, Brighton were still winning. Then 60 minutes, then 70, and then 80 minutes, and things were static at 1-0. I was getting a little jittery, if Brighton won that would mean that they were clear at the top of the table. But Paddypower reassured me, the score was still 1-0 and everything was right with the world. And besides, I was focused on the story unfolding in Apple Tree Yard. Full-time was announced, and the score was 1-0. Excellent! I informed TW, Brighton are top of the table, they won!
I checked my winnings, but they hadn’t been awarded yet. No worries, that happens sometimes, it takes them some time to pay out. So I waited. And waited. And nothing. Hmm, I thought, maybe the game went to extra time. That happens sometimes, Paddypower stop showing the in-play score before the end of the match if it’s gone over 90 minutes. So I checked on flashscore.com, and they advised that the game had finished, but the score was 1-2 to Newcastle. What?
I checked with the BBC, they advised the same thing. Newcastle had won. PP had stopped updating their website at some point and missed the goals in the 81st and 89th minute. So I’d missed out on £1.78 as well as Brighton going clear at the top of the table, and happy family and friends the next day. Gutted. I did contact them on Twitter, they “apologised for the inconvenience”. Well, that isn’t enough, I’m sorry to say; they messed up. I mean, they’ve taken my cash, but they aren’t showing me the actual real scores, and for that reason I’m done.
I’ve still got a couple of pounds with Paddypower, but once those are gone, I won’t be refilling my account. It won’t be any great loss to PP I’m sure; I'm not a high-roller by any means, but if they don’t have reliable systems, then I don’t want to bet with them any more. It’s a shame; like I said, it was fun while it lasted, but if they can’t get the important stuff right, then there are plenty of other sites I can spend my money at.

TTFN…

Sunday 17-02-19 Girl of the Match

So I couldn't let TE's first rugby tournament go unmentioned. Last weekend we went to Reigate for a mini-tournament, involving five girls' sides; two from Essex, Old Reigatians and Pulborough (I think). The two Essex sides were Eton Manor and Barking. It was a freezing day, the wind was bitter, and it wasn't pleasant. We got there and TE went off into the changing room with the other girls from Worthing.

She's not been playing long with Worthing RFC and others in the team joined after her. She used to play at Worthing Leisure Centre but gave it up. Then she asked if she could go back, and her coach suggested she might benefit from going to the town club. So that is how we ended up where we are, which reminds me, I need to pay her club fees...

So that recap was by way of explaining that expectations weren't high. Worthing are a new team, in the sense that there were a lot of new team members, and they were up against some pretty organised competition. Old Reigatians for instance seemed to have a very desirable set-up, a seemingly new clubhouse and very well-kept pitches. And their team was good, I think in the final reckoning  they were the team who won most games. And that makes sense, right? I mean, why invite other teams to play at your club unless you are confident in your abilities to contest the game? And the clubhouse was really nice; it was the sort of place that people want to be a part of. If I lived in Reigate, I would probably enrol my daughters in the club just for the social aspect - apart from the bar prices. They may have been club prices, but they were more Fabric prices than Tarring Working Men's Club prices. That came as a bit of a shock! But we lived through it...

Worthing Girls, on the other hand, managed to lose their four matches. But the team, despite taking some injuries, weren't despondent. The coaches encouraged them, and pointed out what they were doing well, and congratulated them when they put into practice what they had learned in the training sessions.

So even though the weather being cold and damp, and the scorelines not being encouraging, the girls weren't disheartened. We asked TE if she had enjoyed it, and she said yes. She certainly didn't appear to have struggled at all. She scored a try, which always puts a better spin on the day, and she was one of three girls who got a "Man of the Match" (I suppose it should be "Girl of the Match") award, for improving over the course of the day and being instrumental in some of the closing plays of the final game.

Most of the team are moving up to the 13-year old side (TE currrently plays with the U13s). So she will be one of the longest-serving players, which means, possibly, that the other girls in the team will look to her for support and guidance during games. I hope that Worthing can keep up the momentum and generate more interest in girls' rugby. The current coaches are moving up with the girls, so I hope that they can get some replacements who do as good a job and be as positive as the current guys are.

I'm certainly glad that TE is enjoying her rugby, and I hope that future tournaments are played on better days (weather-wise) and the results are kinder, but if she enjoyed playing on a bitterly cold day even when they lost all games, I think maybe she might have found her passion?