28 February 2021

Oh, we’ve had some great weather this weekend. It’s been frosty at night but we’ve had lovely clear blue skies and sunshine during the day. One could almost be forgiven for thinking that Spring was close at hand. Certainly, the green shoots on Penelope’s clematis and the frolicking activities of our local bird population would suggest so. But, then again, our wood pigeons seem to think it’s Spring all year round so who knows?

The clown currently posing as the Prime Minister announced his “roadmap” out of lockdown last Monday. Having been urged by the scientists and all his advisors not to mention specific dates and, instead, to emphasis a focus on the data, that’s exactly what he did – announce a series of dates at which various sectors of the economy would open “at the earliest.” Of course the press and 90% of the public have taken those dates as gospel, ignoring the caveat of “at the earliest.” So, I guess we can look forward to the next lockdown beginning in August.

As a consequence of the “Roadmap” out of lockdown, Penelope and I have been sacked from a “job” that we volunteered to do in the first place! As of this week, we are no longer required to deliver medication throughout the village. Folks now have to collect their own from the medical centre – until the next lockdown at any rate.

Penny posted the news on the village Facebook page and she received numerous compliments thanking her for all her hard work. A few even mentioned me including one gentleman who remarked on Penny’s professionalism and dedication.

Thankyou penny and Gregg for all your efforts. Penny walked all the way down to my logging shed whilst Gregg sat asleep in the car thankyou.

Last April the UK’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said that 20,000 dead would be a “good outcome”. Almost a year on with the coronavirus death rate now north of 120,000 and the government having twice bungled its way out of previous lockdowns, you can see why the prime minister might want to avoid making the same mistakes with his roadmap out of England’s current restrictions.

I remember being horrified by the 20,000 figure. I momentarily forgot that our Prime Minister is an inveterate liar who could never be relied upon to do the right thing. I wish I could remember where I first read, “Boris had to decide whether to save lives or to save the economy. In the end he decided to do neither.” I suspect it might have been John Crace.

I won’t be buccaneering with people’s lives,” Boris Johnson said. Well, it’s taken 11 months, three Covid waves and more than 100,000 deaths, but he got there in the end. He won’t bucc it up this time, will he?

Paul Waugh, Huffington Post

The other day the Prime Minister admitted that he feels guilty about his career in journalism, apparently because his articles were often about “abusing or attacking people.” The absence of any similar admission concerning his political career leads one to conclude that he does not feel guilty about his mendacious, deceitful, dishonest lies nor his incompetent stupidity in leading the country through its worst crisis since the Second World War.

As the disaster that is Brexit becomes more calamitous by the day, it was interesting to read an article in the Guardian in which the former French ambassador to the UK, Sylvie Bermann, suggested that Boris Johnson is “an unrepentant and inveterate liar” who feels he is not subject to the same rules as others.

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

She also predicted that he would blame the costs of Brexit on the Covid pandemic and likened his handling of the pandemic alongside that of Donald Trump. Such high praise!

A friend shared this on Facebook the other day – a chart showing the innumerable ways in which the UK might have adjusted their relationship with Europe without the catastrophic effects of Brexit:

And, while we’re on the subject of Brexit, two articles caught my eye this week. Firstly, the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) in Northern Ireland is taking the UK government to court attempting to set aside the Northern Ireland protocol. For those of you less familiar with UK politics, the DUP overwhelmingly supported Brexit, they took a £1 billion “bribe” from Theresa May’s government to support her attempts to get the Brexit deal through Parliament but have now suddenly realised that Brexit means a “border” in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the British mainland, in spite of the lies that Boris told during the Brexit campaign and the most recent election. Sorry, but I don’t have much sympathy for those who were too stupid to recognise the obvious consequences of Brexit.

Secondly, another article in the Guardian told the tale of a Sussex medicines firm which was forced to load its production line into the back of a white van and travel to Amsterdam to set up business there in order to be able to continue to distribute its medicines in the EU.

You could not make this shit up, I tell you!

One final article this week – an article in the Guardian which reported on research from Cambridge University which suggested that those with extremist views were less able to do complex mental tasks.

Well, duh!

Finally, how about some photos of a couple of our very talented grandchildren and their achievements this week?

Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, keep isolating as much as you can, wear a facemask when you go out and keep your distance. And keep safe.

Lots of love to you all,

Greg

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