19-07-26 A Note on the Appointment of B Johnson as Our Prime Minister

In these most desperate of times, it is the small things that are reassuring. A good cup of tea is not affected by a change in occupancy in Downing Street.





And when that cup of tea is served in a favourite mug, brewed strong and milky, with a couple of sweeteners, one could almost believe that there was nothing wrong with the world.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. Johnson is now our Prime Minister, a man who failed as Foreign Secretary, causing more harm to Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe. He discussed beating up a journalist with a friend. He was described as a “nasty piece of work” by a BBC journalist, completely correctly in my view. And now this man is our Prime Minister.

That might be enough to make your heart sink, but wait, there’s more....

He has taken it upon himself to appoint Priti Patel as Home Secretary. Priti was previously dismissed by Theresa May for seemingly making up foreign policy on the hoof and not informing the Foreign Office. There is another issue brewing about a possible breach of the ministerial code, but yet here we are, with a Home Secretary who was openly supporting the return of the death sentence just a few years ago.

You might think the Home Secretary appointment was bad, but he has appointed Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary. Raab doesn’t even understand the importance of towns in his own country, i.e. Dover, let alone (I imagine) the geo-political machinations going on beyond our borders. He tweeted yesterday “Thanks, beautiful!” to a fellow Foreign Minister:





The man is a dunderhead of the highest order, and B Johnson has decided he is fit to represent the UK abroad? That is some serious misjudgement. I’m sure that Raab is a lovely, personable fellow, but if he can’t get the detail right, we’re likely to end up with another Zagari-Ratcliffe scenario.

And then there are the special advisors, the SpAds. Dominic Cummings, who has been held in contempt of Parliament earlier this year. He was also involved in running Vote Leave, found guilty of overspending in the Brexit Referendum. And Chloe Westley, previously of the Tax Payers’ Alliance and Vote Leave, is now appointed by Johnson as a (if not *the only*) “digital advisor”.

I think the government has taken a massive swing to the right, although I think that Johnson himself is more socially liberal than his appointments suggest. But if you surround yourself with reactionaries and illiberals, that is going to rub off sooner or later.

I don’t particularly think Johnson’s thoughtless scribblings for the Telegraph prove that he is a racist, but they certainly bring his views into question. I think, much as Danny Baker was recently sacked by the BBC, he creates a picture and doesn’t self-edit or think it through. Hence his writings are littered with phrases and allusions which can be construed as offensive.

I thought his speech on the steps of Downing Street wasn’t too bad, but then I didn’t think Theresa May’s speech was too bad either - it just wasn’t backed up by any matching actions - and that is my concern for Johnson’s premiership. Warm words butter no parsnips, and if he doesn’t implement inclusive policies, then I can see the country becoming more divided. I can certainly see us leaving the EU on 31st October without a deal - if you surround yourself with people who don’t care whether we leave with a deal or not, then leaving without a deal suddenly isn’t important. The question is whether Parliament can do anything to stop that now, and my hunch - given that they have had several opportunities and not taken them - is that they won’t. The fact that I might finally win a bet (oh last of the Big Spenders) is cold comfort:




Still, until then, I’ve got my cup of tea, right?
TTFN.

19-07-21 Sunday - A General Update

It’s been a busy few weeks; last night we were at Steve’s 50th birthday celebration, which was a fun evening topped off with a delicious pavlova. We might have stayed a bit longer, except TMO fell asleep on the sofa, so we thought that the best course of action was to get the kids home. Earlier in the day I completed my 39th Park Run, in a time of 29 minutes and 59 seconds, which was rewarding.

On Tuesday evening (16th July) I went to see Michael Legge and Amy Howerska practise their Edinburgh shows at the Caroline of Brunswick, which was a most enjoyable evening. I’d not seen Amy before, but she made me laugh, so I will keep an eye out to see if she plays in Brighton (or Worthing) again - I would go and see her again; I might even persuade TW to come along too. I’d seen Michael before at the Komedia, so I knew what to expect, and he didn’t disappoint. As I said, it was a most enjoyable evening.

Last weekend TW was up in London, taking TMO to Harry Potter World, so I was on my own with TE & TY. It was a fairly downbeat weekend, as usual when TW is away. I did the Park Run on Saturday morning, and then asked if they wanted to go and see the Worthing Pride parade, but neither was interested. Then TE went elsewhere for a sleepover, and TY had a friend for a sleepover, so it evened out. On Sunday I did a bit of gardening, and read a book, Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts, which I quite enjoyed. TY’s friend didn’t go until 6pm, after which time I cooked dinner because of course TW span out her time away and didn’t get home until about 11pm, even though she had TMO in tow and she was due in school the next day. I was quite pleased with my basic culinary skills - I really should do something about them.

The weekend before that, a fortnight ago now, I ended up in A&E, because I fell over on the way home after a few drinks. Well, probably more than a few drinks; it was the Apple Sourz which did me in (I think). Well, that and the pavement. I went to Worthing A&E but they recommended I go to Chichester A&E the next day, because I required the ministrations of the maxillofacial unit there. I had gashed the skin underneath my nose and inside my lip, and I needed some stitches. It’s amazing what damage you can do to yourself by simply falling over. I was too slow to get my hands out in front of me and so I faceplanted on the ground. I had the external stitches taken out last Friday but the internal stitches are still there; they should dissolve / fall out as time passes.

So that’s me up to date, I think. Just waiting for B Johnson to be crowned our new Prime Minister on Wednesday (I think) and then we’ll see just how bad things can get.

TTFN.