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?

Tuesday 17-02-07 Brexit (again)

As I write this, MPs are debating Article 50 in the House of Commons. I don't know what they are trying to achieve, since the majority of MPs will vote for the Article 50 bill, which gives the PM the power to inform the EU of our wish to invoke Article 50 and withdraw from the EU.

Most MPs don't want to leave the EU, they think it will be bad for Britain and they think that we will be worse off, but they are still going to vote for it.

No amendments to the bill will be accepted, in my expectation, and the bill will go through as it stands. I don't understand why they are wasting time over it; they have another full day of debate tomorrow.

It's all for show, as far as I can see. I'd like to see some discussion of how to actually reverse Brexit, and if it is at all possible. There is no point, in my opinion, going along with Article 50 at this point and then trying to reverse things later. As has already been said in the House of Commons, MPs have already voted to trigger Article 50, and they have agreed with May's timetable, i.e., to do this by end of March. So if any of them renege now, they will be portrayed as untrusted flip-floppers.

I believe most of the Tories are secret Leavers, even if they claimed to be Remainers and campaigned for Remain. The ease with which they have given up the fight is astounding. Anna Soubry and Ken Clarke spring to mind as MPs who have stuck to their principles. And I don't think Labour are much better; I do think that if Corbyn had been on the back benches he would have been a Leaver, and it was only for party unity that he decided to remain.

It does seem though that the process is irreversible; I can't see a way that this might all be turned back so that we can all return to normal. Maybe we will all regain consciousness in the shower, much like Bobby Ewing did in Dallas? I don't see any other option. So fasten your seatbelts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-02-02 Farage and Democracy

https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/826914009056161796

 

Farage is a tit, in my opinion. These MPs are not "enemies of democracy". Less than 40% of the voting public voted for Brexit, so it is only right that some MPs vote against triggering Article 50. MPs are representatives, not delegates. Indeed, most MPs, if it were down to them, would not have voted to trigger Article 50.

But MPs have carried out the will of the people, just as Cameron promised in the introduction to his referendum: "This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide."

And that is why referendums are infrequent in British politics. We elect MPs to represent us in Parliament, and decisions get taken there. We don't instruct our MPs how to vote, they are not delegates. We can petition them, and ask them to vote a certain way during a certain vote, but they are under no obligation to take our views into account when making their decision. I asked my local tory MP to vote for the renationalisation of the railways: I knew he wouldn't, but I wanted him to know that some of us actually agree with that particular proposal. We actually had a good chat about it.

In UK politics the plebiscite (that's you and me) are directly consulted very infrequently, i.e., we don't do referendums. We let the MPs decide on our behalf. I have heard that if we had a referendum on whether hanging should be brought back as a punishment, it would overwhelmingly be approved, and that is part of the reason why we don't have a referendum on it. MPs are protecting us from ourselves - but that is why we vote them in and out of power.

Unfortunately on this occasion, despite the fact that the Brexit vote will lead to a massive constitutional change, Cameron put in no safeguards or thresholds over voting levels or participation. If only one person had voted, we would have had to follow that individual's wishes. That is how ridiculous the Brexit referendum was.

In my opinion, the 114 MPs who voted against the bill should be applauded. They carried out their job, as the representative of their electorate, to the best of their abilities and as their consciences dictated (especially those Labour MPs who voted against the whip). They knew that they wouldn't stop the bill being passed, they knew that they were making a futile gesture, but they went ahead and voted as they did anyway.

They might lose their jobs at the next election, or other considerations might sway the electorate. But by voting as they did, the 114 MPs showed that we were living in a democracy and not a dictatorship, which is probably what Farage would prefer - as long as he was wearing the leather trousers.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-02-02 Water

I am beginning to develop a pathological hatred for water, which isn't good for my health. Currently it seems that it has been raining constantly and heavily for about four days, and I am getting to the point where I am dreading having to go outside under the open skies. Because they are not open, they are closed over by grey and rain-bearing clouds which obscure the sun and the sky, and the clouds continuously pelt me with rain.

I don't dress well for rain, either, which doesn't help. I have a fantastic waterproof coat which I bought from Mountain Warehouse, but that is about it. The water runs off my coat onto my trousers, and turns them two-tone, normally dark at the front and then lighter at the back. On days when the rain is particularly heavy, even my shoes get in on the act, and go all two-tone too. And then they take an age to dry out.

I popped to the chip shop the other night, and it was raining, so I hurried there and got into the shop quickly, to get out of the rain. I placed my order and then sat down on the window ledge, and then jumped up pretty quickly - the shopfront was leaking and the water was collecting on the ledge. Another example of where rain or water was out to get me.

And it's not like I'm safe even in my own house. A few years ago, we had an extension built onto our kitchen, and that leaked on us too. To be honest, it leaked onto a friend while they were standing up and preparing to leave. It was a bit lucky really, or we might not have noticed. We had to have the flashing redone to seal the join, but it seems to have been dry since.

Last summer we had a flood in the house; the toilet in the bathroom overflowed and flooded the kitchen while we were out. We're still in the process of putting that right, and I will come back to it.

A couple of weeks after that water escaped from our shower and flooded the bedroom below; that was a minor incident compared to the kitchen flood, but it prevented us from using the shower for a few months. It turned out that the sealant around the shower tray had dried out, and so water had escaped around it and ruined a small portion of the wallpapered ceiling below.

And now, while installing a new kitchen suite, we've discovered that the mains pipe has been leaking since forever. The guys who are fitting the kitchen are proper builders who can also take care of the plumbing, so that is a bonus, but there is no guarantee that the leak will be fixed before they want to start installing the new cabinets, and other bits & pieces. I am dreading that they might have to delay the install, especially considering that currently we don't have a kitchen at all; no basin for washing up, no oven for cooking, no washing machine or tumble dryer to clean our clothes with. And the ground floor is about half the size that we are used to without the kitchen, which is making things all a little squished. If I were to try to spin it positively, I might describe it as "cosy".

So that might go some way to explaining why, these days, when I hear the patter of raindrops seemingly constantly and continuously against the window, my heart sinks. But it'll be summer soon, and then I will be able to enjoy warm sunny days and long summer evenings, and it won't rain at all.

TTFN.