It`s not a word I like to use.  Among its many and varied definitions one finds things like `irritatingly pleased with oneself;`  the kind of definition that fits certain people, especially politicians like Emily Thornbury who has always presented a smug face to the world, notably in Chatham before the last General Election.   So I`ve no desire to appear smug, rather I feel a warm satisfaction at the way our relatively small nation has acquitted itself in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

We have been blessed with a team GB that has come a more than creditable fourth in the medal table behind the megaliths of the USA and China and the host nation Japan and being ahead of the counterfeit ROC, aka Russia, which as a nation had been banned from taking part.   I mentioned a few posts ago that I was warming to the Games after a faltering start but I had a feeling that surely things could not go as well as they had in previous years. 

How wrong was that?   Our medalists, those others who took part in the true spirit of the Olympics, the coaching and backroom staff, the administrators  and everyone else who contributed to that remarkable effort and result all deserve the nation`s thanks and admiration.  No doubt in due time honours will be bestowed on the most deserving as yet more smug politicians will bask in the reflected glory - no doubt Carrie, the de facto eminence grise, will replicate the antics of one of her predecessors when Alastair Campbell gave Alex Ferguson a curiously dubious knighthood.

But if I am verging on being tempted into smugness by our Olympic achievements I surely cannot be compared to that demonstrated by one Guy Verhofstadt, the Member of the European Parliament and arch-critic of Brexit, who suggested last week that the European Union was winning the Olympics and that competitors from the EU should wear the EU flag on their outfits.  He wrote this on Twitter, "The common EU has more gold medals than the US or China.  I would like to see the European Union flag next to the national flag on athletes` clothes.  Our identity is stratified - we are all proud Italians, Latvians, Slovenes....and Europeans.  Our sports people should reflect that."

Despite being wildly deluded, he sounds irritatingly pleased with himself.

So, in a couple of weeks the UK will be leaving the political project that is the European Union and it will be interesting to see what the practical effects might be, both for us here in the good ol` U of K and for our friends and partners across the channel.  Some of those changes might give the opportunity to recapture some of the magic of our past, those long ago times before we were seduced into the EU in the first place.

I`ll be interested to see if we can find the courage to go back to how some things were - the reintroduction of our former currencies such as the half crown, the florin, the farthing etc., all of which made perfect sense, of course - four farthings in a penny, twelve pennies in a shilling, two shillings in a florin, twenty shillings in a pound and so on. 

We might even reintroduce the old gallon rather than having litres of petrol and, who knows, there might be improvements to our sporting life as we go back to penalties being awarded for deliberate handball;  and where being anywhere on a football pitch in an offside position meant you were interfering with play.  (I think cricket pitches still stick to the original 22 yards of a chain but I might be wrong about that, not having played the game for over half a century.)

There is some seductive charm about going back to days gone by - when things were so much more simple, where life was lived at a different, less stressful pace than today, when priorities were established around friends and family instead of being imposed via `social media.`   It`s funny how music almost always sums up a mood and all those years ago the divine Carole King along with Gerry Goffin wrote stuff then that is perhaps even more relevant today.   One of my favourite tracks of theirs, which seems so appropriate as we head out of the EU`s clutches, has long been `Goin` back` and the last few lines seem to capture what I mean in this jumbled rant:-

"Let everyone debate the true reality.

I`d rather see the world the way it used to be.

A little bit of freedom`s all we lack.

So catch me if you can

I`m going back."

And here it is sung by the equally divine and much missed Dusty Springfield:-

Years ago I had a bit of a dabble in stocks and shares but it didn`t go well, so I bailed out although I held on to my paltry amount of shares in the now defunct Southampton Leisure Holdings Ltd, the then parent company of Southampton FC.  That all went pear shaped as well, so these days I don`t normally follow the ups and downs of the stock markets.

But it seems that the FTSE, the DAX and other leading markets have got the jitters again.  No great surprise except that the reason for these latest wobbles is all down to the way the Italian government and, of course, the EU Commission are behaving.

Not too long ago, there was a general election in Italy which saw the rise of the more populist, largely Euro-sceptic parties on the promise of spending more lire on mainly social issues such as increasing wages for the most poorly paid.  No wonder they romped home.

Now, as is the custom in the EU each member state is obliged to present its proposed budget for `approval` by the EU Commission and the Commission has `rejected` Italy`s budget and asked them to think again, reduce their proposed expenditure levels and resubmit their budget in three weeks time.

Now unless I`m misreading the situation in Italy, there was a general election which was won by the coalition of the populist Five Star and Norther League parties, who made pre-election promises to the voters which they are now seeking to implement through this budget.   I think it`s called democracy and however daft, trivial, dangerous the issues which won the day at the ballot box may have been, nevertheless that`s what the majority of Italians voted for and expect to be delivered.

Ring a bell?   The parallels are obvious, of course, and this is yet another example of the EU denying the democratic process and is yet another example of why people like me voted over two years ago to leave the dictatorial, remote, largely unaccountable EU and opt instead to reclaim our national sovereignty and have our destiny, whatever it may turn out to be, in our own hands.  

I accepted then and I still do, that the decision taken by the majority to leave the EU would have consequences, that there would in all probability be some initial financial and other effects but that as a resolute and resilient nation we would be more than capable of riding the storm and coming out the other side all the better for it. 

But the EU plot continues to thicken - Ireland, Greece, Maastricht, now Italy - and they continue to frustrate our own 2016 referendum as well.  And the more they do so,, the more the remainers march and rant about another `people`s vote`, the more determined I and I suspect still the majority in this country will be to get out while the going`s good.

REASONS FOR LEAVING..

OK, I confess.  I voted 27 months ago for the UK to leave the European Union.  There were many reasons why I did, some of which were perhaps bordering on the trivial - personal ones connected with my own and my late father`s military experiences  which rather made the idea of being a subject of a United States of Brussels less than appealing.

Other more substantial reasons included the chance for the UK to regain its independence following its loss of sovereignty and to regain control of our own affairs which, for an island nation, is probably more relevant than if you originate on continental Europe.  But there are bits of the EU way of doing things that are frankly utterly unacceptable.  Amongst them are things such as the fact that their accounts have not been signed off by their own auditors for over 20 years now and the sheer nonsense and vast expense of decamping from Brussels to Strasbourg each month in order to pander to Gallic hauteur.  

And another reason was rather quietly reported just today when the European Court of Justice decided that details of the way in which MEPs spend their expenses will remain secret.  Now  each Member of the European Parliament is entitled to spend £3,900 a month on `expenses,`  but the European Court has ruled that having to prove how that money is spent might breach the MEPs privacy.   In total, the annual cost of these expenses amounts to about £35million all paid for by the taxpayer, of course.

So it seems that the European Court`s decision means that I will never know how the MEPs spend the chunky amount of tax I have to pay towards their `expenses.`   Surely that is a breach of my own privacy in itself in that I think I should have a right to know where my money is going?  Not a sufficient reason of itself to vote leave, I grant you, but yet another nail in the coffin of any thoughts I might ever have to doubt the way in which  I cast my vote all those months ago.

Time to reset the privacy button, I think.

A JUMP OFF AGAINST THE CLOCK ?

Whilst munching my snacky lunch today, the BBC news came on and whilst they thought they should firstly report the story that the Met. Police are going to re-examine loads of rape cases, it was pretty clear that the BBC news editors could hardly wait to report the contents of the IMF Report into the UK`s economic prospects post Brexit.

With almost undisguised glee, the BBC mentioned that the IMF had `downgraded` to UK`s growth prospects to 1.6% in the coming year and that it would plummet to 1.5% the year after we leave the European Empire.   What they failed to make clear was that these forecasts would see the UK economy come down, `plummet` from the current growth rate of 1.7%.  Hardly a dramatic fall  but it typifies the BBC`s obsession with accentuating the negative with anything to do with Brexit.

And, of course, it again exemplifies the attitude on the part of the London-centric, Liberal elite, with the BBC in the vanguard, who are beside themselves that the great unwashed British public had the audacity to vote to leave the EU.  There is, of course, a growing, not very subtle campaign to change people`s minds by constantly promising all kinds of doom once we throw off the shackles of the United States of Germany.

A couple of things.  First, my own personal Brexit vote was cast in full knowledge that there would be consequences, but at least they would be our consequences and ours to sort out and overcome, which as a nation we are perfectly capable of so doing.   And next, of course, what the BBC and all the other deniers of democracy fail to grasp is that the more we are threatened, however surreptitiously, the more people like me are determined to hold on to those principles that convinced me to cast my vote the way I did.   And surely Messrs. Barnier, Juncker et al must realise that the more `arsy` they become, the more determined will be our majority desire to get away from them.

But what happens if the elitist campaign wins the day and, however unlikely, undemocratic and unconstitutional it may be, another referendum is called and one that votes to remain?  Well I guess that will make it 1-1 after extra time.  I suppose we`ll then have a jump off against the clock or, heaven forbid, our national future will be decided on penalties.   And you just know how atrocious our record in penalty shoot-outs is against European opponents.

THE OBVIOUS SOLUTION...

I see that Sir Vince Cable, recently reinstalled as an MP following his all too brief time away from the Mother of Parliaments and the likely new leader of the Liberal Democrats now that Tim Farron has completed his gap year, says he is "beginning to think that Brexit might never happen."

He goes on to say that "enormous" divisions in both the Labour and Conservative parties and a "deteriorating" economy would make people think again.   "People will realise that we didn`t vote to be poorer and so I think the whole question of continued membership will once again arise," he said.   He went on to suggest that, whilst the LibDem policy of a second referendum on the terms of a Brexit deal didn`t "really cut through in the general election," it could offer voters "a way out when it becomes clear that Brexit is potentially disastrous."

All part of the growing, insidious and relentless `campaign` to brainwash people to think again and reverse the referendum decision to leave the European Union.  My fear is that, in the end, people may be frightened off paying whatever the financial and economic cost may be rather than being inspired by the opportunities and freedoms that leaving the EU will bring.  And comments like those from Vince Cable, the BBC, Sky, parts of the print media, social commentators and so called`celebrities` are all part of the plot.

Anyway, a couple of things following Cable`s comments.  First, maybe the Liberal Democrats should undergo a name change to the Liberal Undemocrats, since they clearly have no respect for the democratic process whereby the majority of voters opted to leave the EU.   But also the obvious solution to the LibDems` policy review must be that, whilst they will doubtless say they do respect the outcome of the referendum, the final outcome of the negotiations should result in the UK staying in the single market and the customs union and remaining subject to the diktats of the European Courts.  Bingo!!

A sudden rush of decorating and associated tasks has kept me away from these pages for a while but now that week is over, I have had time to reflect on a few things which seem to be deeply troubling.

The week`s news has been dominated by the shenanigans concerning the `race for the White House` in the good ol` US of A.   And it troubles me considerably to see that that `race` is between a shrieking harridan of doubtful pedigree and a self-important mega-rich businessman with apparently no knowledge or experience whatsoever of politics, foreign policy or anything else to do with being the `leader of the western world.`  It truly is a choice between two of the least attractive presidential candidates there have ever been and, whoever wins, we are right to be uncertain as to what the future may hold.

And speaking of uncertainty, back here in our disunited Kingdom, there`s all the fuss about Brexit.  Now the issues and the arguments that surround it are too numerous, complex and arcane for me to even attempt to discuss them here.  But I wonder why I am deeply suspicious when I keep hearing politicians repeatedly declaring that they `of course respect the referendum result.`  I just have a feeling in my bones that we`ve seen this all before - the Irish referendum on the Mastricht Treaty springs to mind - and I just hope I live long enough to see the decree absolute finally arrive.

And so in a desperate attempt to lighten the gloom, I turn once more to football.  And what do I find this weekend?  The Saints, having seen off Inter Milan - yes, Inter Milan - last Thursday evening, stumble away to Hull City - yes, Hull City - yesterday afternoon; a result that really should not be allowed to stand.   After all, Southampton had so much more possession, more shots at goal, more corners than Hull City who had lost each of their last five games.   The result is clearly a mistake and so the game should be replayed, this time with the right result.   It`s obviously a case to be judged by the Independent Court of Arbitration in Sport, to be fair. 

And all the while, the mayhem in Syria, Iraq and other parts of our fractious planet remains unresolved.   As I started by saying, things seem to be deeply troubling.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN...

As this extraordinary `campaign` for the EU Referendum reaches the final countdown in the next few days, I hope I`m not alone in being fed up with all the claims and counter claims, the confusion of statistics, promises, pledges, forecasts, reports and `expert opinion.`

For me at least, whilst determinedly hanging on to the courage of my convictions, I wonder if our `leaders` realise that the more I feel I am being treated as some lectured, threatened, bullied and dimwitted peasant, the more determined I become to resist all of that and cast my vote in the opposite way to that which I am being hectored to do.

Come Friday when, thank God it will all be over, I suspect that once again I will find myself not only in a minority but also disappointed at the outcome.   But, hey, I`m a Saints fan and I know all there is to know about disappointment and bewilderment, especially now that the Chairman of the Premier League has today confirmed that `all 20 clubs currently in the Premier League are in favour of remaining in the EU.`  Well, that`s that then.  I`ll go back to posting some nice photos and some decent music.

A GOOD IDEA.....

I really don`t want to get into all the stuff about next week`s EU referendum - there`s too much sound and fury right now;  too much heat, too little light.   And anyway I made my mind up how I`m going to vote yonks ago, my decision based on some sort of innate aversion to encouraging the inevitability of a United States of Germany.

But I couldn`t help notice that yesterday the President of the European Council, one Polish gentleman by the name of Donald Tusk, warned that the UK voting to leave the European Union could be "the beginning of the destruction of Western political civilisation in its entirety."

His remarks brought instant recall of the words of Mahatma Gandhi who, when asked what he thought of Western civilisation, replied that he thought it would be a good idea.

Cant` argue with that.

THE ULTIMATE THREAT.....

Now, let me see if I`ve got this right.   Vote to leave the EU on 23 June and I`m told that these things are likely to happen:-

The UK economy will shrink

Our trading links with EU countries will be drastically affected
Foreign investment in the UK will be seriously reduced

Public services - especially the NHS - will have to be cut back
Taxes will rise

People will lose their jobs

Wages will be lower

House prices will fall

Security will be diminished

War might break out in Europe

Britain will lose its place of influence in the world despite being members of NATO and permanent members of the UN Security Council

Pensions will be reduced

The value of shares will plummet

The value of the pound will plummet

Holidays in Europe will be more expensive

......and so on and on and on and on.....

The threats are clearly building up and, as Referendum Day approaches, I quite expect them to continue and multiply.   It really would not surprise me to hear before long that we will have the ultimate threat of all.  You know the one.  Verbal Kint will tell us all, "If you vote Brexit, Keyser Soze will come and get you."   

A STRANGE DEFINITION..

My 87p Collins English Dictionary defines a patriot as "a person who loves his or her country and supports its interests."   Maybe I should invest in a more expensive, up to date dictionary but the one I have seems at odds with Samuel Johnson`s idea of a patriot.

Now, the other day we had the launch of the group led by former Marks and Spencer Chairman Lord Stuart Rose who will head the campaign for Britain to remain in the European Union.   No less than three former Prime Ministers - Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and John Major - have joined the group, which possibly tilts the balance of truth in Samuel Johnson`s favour.

The thrust of the campaign to remain in the EU is clearly biased towards the interests of business and the Westminster elite, which is unsurprising.   But Lord Rose`s contention that it is patriotic to remain in the EU and `lead it rather than quit,` is interesting for many reasons.   Here are just two of them.  First, of course, even if Britain votes to stay in then there is no way that it will ever `lead` the EU - that job has long since been spoken for.

But secondly, I`m genuinely intrigued as to how it can possibly be patriotic to surrender control of our borders, to give up virtually all of our sovereignty and to have nearly all of our laws, regulations and human rights decided for us by a huge, remote, largely unaccountable outfit whose accounts have not held up to audit scrutiny for any of the last 20 years and which costs us £58 million each and every day in membership fees.

I suggest that my 87p dictionary may have got it right after all.

MAÑANA...

It seems a long time ago now since Britain was landed with a bill by the EU as a result of them levying a surcharge based on the size of the economies of member countries.   Britain`s bill amounted to £1.7 billion - or £17,000,000,000 in plain language.   At the time, Dave Cameron said he was `downright angry` at this revised membership contribution and the public would find it `totally unacceptable.` He wasn`t wrong.

It now transpires that, despite those strident protestations, the surcharge has now been paid - quietly and unobtrusively - in two instalments;  one in July and the other at the beginning of this month.  Following frantic `negotiations` at the time - about a year ago now - the EU extended the deadline for payment but did not reduce the sum, despite George Osborne claiming to have halved it in talks with Brussels.  However, a Commons Treasury Report published earlier this year found that the Chancellor`s claim `was not supported by the facts.`

And so once again, the `value for money` of Britain`s membership of the EU comes into question.  Perhaps we are entitled to receive a better service from Brussels for the £58 million we pay them each and every day, never mind the extraordinary `surcharge` we have just coughed up.   Europe is in the throes of one of the major refugee crises and the response from the `United Nations of Europe` has been bewilderingly ineffective.  

On Tuesday of this week Brussels announced that the heads of EU Governments would hold `an emergency summit` to discuss the refugee issue;  however, that `emergency meeting` will not take place until next Tuesday.  They clearly have a strange idea of `emergency` and even then they will just sit around and talk about it against the backdrop whereby any sense of `unity` among the EU countries is rapidly being shown up for the illusion it really is.

So we have been treated to yet another bout of smoke and mirrors not only by the EU but also by Dave and George, the UK`s very own illusionist double act, who have behaved dishonourably by throwing yet more taxpayers cash at this failed `project.`   As for the EU, it seems they might have a chat about things all in good time, which reminds me that in Cornwall things get done dreckly - like mañana only slower. Surely we have a right to expect better from our elected leaders.   Oh, OK then, perhaps not.

TWO SIDES..

I get the feeling we`re being softened up by the BBC.  In the last few days and weeks I`ve noticed a concentration of effort in their reporting of issues such as the `migrant crisis.` For example, yesterday we heard the scale of net migration to the UK for the past year - 330,000 is the figure quoted - and they`re just the ones the Government knows about. The BBC`s report suggets, however, that this is a good thing because, according to worthies such as the Institute of Directors, without people coming to work here our economy would collapse.

Other representatives of industry and commerce are peddling the same message - the chap who runs recruitment for the NHS says that nurses should be allowed to come and work here unfettered by restrictive rules because, without them, the care of the elderly and patients in hospital cannot be sustained.

I`ve noticed too that the BBC reports from the Serbia/Hungary border, from Kos, Calais and other key migrant destinations all seem to pull at the heartstrings by emphasising the plight of the migrants  and the awful conditions they find themselves in as they are determined to start a new life in the northern states of Europe.  

Now I do not deny that there`s a problem - a crisis even - and on a human level I have great sympathy for those forced to flee war torn countries and find a better life for themselves.  But there are two sides to every story, of course, and I am still waiting for the BBC to tell us (as if we didn`t know already) what the other side of the coin looks like.

Seems to me the BBC news and current affairs output is institutionally left leaning and thus not fulfilling its duty to be impartial and report a wider, balanced context on most of the big issues of the day.   I quite expect them to come out, quietly but determinedly, and start softening us up for the next great debate - Britain`s relationship with the EU. 

And it may have started already with the BBC recent report that one of the bigwigs running the TATA Steel Group assuring their reporter that Britain voting to leave the EU will be disastrous as we rely so much on the benefits of the common market.  Excuse me, but all those decade ago we agreed ot join the Common Market rather than the Superstate the EU is fast becoming.   I wonder if, one day, the BBC will put the counter argument.

Watch this space.......

I noticed that the main headline story on the BBC news yesterday was all about the fact that Barrack Obama was off to Kenya and in the process relegating other `stories` such as Turkey, Iraq, Syria and things like the Channel Tunnel problems making Kent, the one time Garden of England, the Lorry Park of the south east.

The BBC news headline went on to include an interview which President Obama had given to the BBC`s North American Editor, Jon Sopel and, of course, the BBC - being the Europhile, leftish, publicly funded outfit they are -  could not pass up the chance to get the President`s views on Britain`s place in Europe.  Perhaps unsurprisingly and citing things like global influence being lost, Obama went to some lengths to declare himself unhappy with the prospect of the UK pulling out of Europe if the referendum results in that conclusion.

Now I had really expected Obama to be at least `neutral` on this issue, given that it isn`t for leaders of other countries to try to influence us in the way we may vote - it`s bad enough having our own leaders doing that -  but at least that exchange gave me the chance to have a mini-rant about two issues which trouble me - the BBC and the EU - and in the process kill two birds with one stone.

A DIFFERENT GAME ..

In many games - football, hockey, tennis, even the game of life - being 2-0 down is always a testing time.  It calls for determination to claw it back and a strong desire to win in order to climb the mountain and not just avoid defeat but even to go on and achieve victory.

So it`s interesting to see what`s really going on in Europe with the reality heightened by the recent and ongoing saga surrounding Greece, the IMF, the EU, the ECB but most of all the Greek people.   They are the ones caught in the crossfire of the Realpolitik being played out across the continent, from which the UK is happily semi-detached, at least for now.  It`s interesting to recall that the phrase actually derived in Germany when Realpolitik was coined by Ludwig von Rochau in the 19th century and defined as `politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations rather than explicit idealogical notions or moral or ethical premises.` Indeed.  Very telling.

So maybe we shouldn`t be surprised that Germany, finding themselves 2-0 down as a result of their failed military exploits in the last century, are seemingly determined to regain their place in the pecking order but this time through financial hardware rather than military.   Now there are several countries and peoples in Europe with sharp memories of the past which I understand all too well, having been born in 1939 and been lucky enough to survive this long.   That may be another of my generational generalities and the difference may be that the younger generations, not having had such experiences and their consequences, may feel differently.

But no wonder the Greeks, for all their fiscal failings, feel a sense of betrayal, that they`ve been here before and that the outcome is likely to be the same.   And no wonder France hangs on like grim death to the dream of a European Superstate and the coat tails of its neighbour as insurance against a repeat of the past.  And no wonder also that the UK is, however optimistically, hoping to achieve serious change in the way the EU is run in the hopeful quest to  retain at least some semblance of sovereignty over its own affairs.

I get the feeling it`s half-time in the game of Europe and that the winners of the first half had better be more defensively mindful of the strength of the opposition midfield dynamos.   Anyway, my dilemma for today, now that the half-time team talks are taking place in Athens, Brussels, Berlin and Paris, is whether to watch the Test Match from Lord`s, the Golf from St. Andrews or the Tour de France from, well, France I imagine.   I don`t know who will win those either.......

A BIT RICH..

And so the Greek tragedy goes on.   And yesterday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that he felt `betrayed` by the `egoism` and `games` played by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his colleagues over the negotiations with Greece`s creditors.   

Now, like it or not, Tsipras and his chums were democratically elected by the Greek voters on an anti-austerity ticket and they have been pursuing the policies on which they were elected.   It`s arguable that the Greek electors` choice of a party with populist ideals but little in the way of financial experience or aptitude might not have been the brightest choice ever made, but nonetheless it was a result that reflected the will of the majority of Greek voters and so, especially in the cradle of democracy itself, that choice should be respected.

So it`s a bit rich for the unelected EU Brussels bureaucrat not only to start telling the Greeks what they should be doing but also being disrespectful to their democratically elected leaders.   I know it will cause a good deal of turmoil and mayhem but in a way I hope the Greek referendum on Sunday gives backing to the country`s elected leaders and in so doing send a clear message to the likes of Juncker and the EU `elite` that whilst Greece may face a mess far greater than any of its creditors, at least it will be a mess of their own choosing.   

DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS..

Tense and difficult negotiations seem to be the norm these days - nothing is simple or straightforward - but the process of negotiation is, of course, well established.   A problem occurs between a number of parties;  proposals are put forward to resolve the problem to the satisfaction of each of the parties involved.   The proposals are carefully considered but, in the end, rejected.  Counter proposals are then put on the table in an effort to meet the demands of the other parties.   These too are rejected, powers of diplomacy are fully tested and just when it seems that no agreement can be reached, one of the parties blinks first.   Result.

And so the drawn out negotiations between Southampton and Liverpool over the transfer of Saints` England right back Nathaniel Clyne have seemingly been through that process and a result looks to have been achieved.  It`s understood that Liverpool`s blink will see them pay Southampton the £12.5 million they were demanding for Clyne, who has a year to run on his current contract at St. Mary`s.  In business terms this represents a good return on Saints` original investment of £2.5 million when Clyne signed from Crystal Palace, especially as Saints have already signed a ready made replacement in Portuguese international defender Cedric Soares from Sporting Lisbon.

The details will be finalised once Clyne gets back from America but the clubs have agreed the fee and so Clyne will join former Saints Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren at Anfield, which Liverpool seem determined to make as the destination of choice for Saints players.  I think this will bring Liverpool`s signings so far this summer to something like eight new players - they clearly believe in buying teams rather than building them and seem to have a bottomless pit of cash to squander.   

In other news, difficult negotiations continue over the Greek debt mountain, which has now reached laughable proportions and the only solution seems to be for Liverpool to buy Greece.  Dave Cameron`s negotiations about reforming the European Union have taken a bit of a knock with Her Maj. chirping up at a banquet last night that it would be a shame if the UK were to leave the bloated, power crazed, remote, bureaucratic, corrupt, self-serving EU project. I paraphrase, of course, but it`s hard to understand why she would infer such a thing as you might expect the Sovereign of all people to be especially bothered by the prospect of losing yet more, if not all, of her country`s sovereignty.

I`m not surprised that negotiations seem to get more and more difficult these days.  

WHAT`S GOOD FOR US ..

I`ve tried, my God I`ve tried, to keep away from all the sound and fury of the General Election campaign.  But it`s not easy when something like Tony Blair comes back to haunt us.  Like millions of others, I will never forgive this self righteous chancer for taking us into the Iraq War and so when he takes to an election platform I suppose I am automatically put on my guard and likely to dismiss anything he says as highly dubious.  

Yesterday, when he gave his `speech,`I was not disappointed.  He warned us that David Cameron`s pledge to hold a referendum on Britain`s EU membership would cause economic "chaos."  Cameron, he said, had put "exit on the agenda" by pledging a referendum and that leaving the EU would threaten the UK`s position as a "great global nation."

Now, I`m a simple soul and I confess to a large dose of naivete when it comes to the world in general and politics in particular and I like things to mean what they say.  For example, I thought I knew what democracy meant.  My dictionary tells me that democracy is "government by the people or their elected representatives."  Sounds fair enough.

But in Blairland it clearly means something else.  Yesterday he suggested that the question of Britain`s membership of the EU was too important to be left to a democratic vote.   In other words, people like Blair think they know what`s good for us and so they seek to deny any chance that we might have to express our own opinion. 

So, when he suggests that it would be a disaster if we had an EU referendum and an even bigger disaster if we voted to leave the EU altogether, he forgets that, in my simple notion of what democracy means, the biggest disaster of all would be to deny the people the democratic right to determine their own future - a right that has already been denied to them for over half a century.  I think that what would be really good for us would be for Tone to just go away, count his money and leave us all in peace. 

Well, it`s Saturday and in football terms all there seems little to look forward to with England playing Slovenia in a Euro Qualifier.  The England captain, Wayne Rooney, complete with stitched on and dyed hair and mumbling his inspirational team talk in his indecipherable Merseyside drawl, makes for a dispiriting figure.   No game for the Saints, who have no less than 17 of their players away on international duty, although to be fair there will be considerable interest in chez Snopper in the exploits of Bristol City, for whom our street`s local hero Scott Wagstaff is rumoured to be starting against Swindon in a top of the table clash at the Wiltshire club`s County Ground - provided the team coach can negotiate the town`s magic roundabout.   

It`s not been a good week for football, especially the nonsense surrounding FIFA`s hilarious attempts to convince the world that their own internal `investigations` have revealed that everything to do with the World Cup bids by Russia and Qatar was fine and dandy, whereas England are heading for the naughty step.   The Chairman of the English Football Association, Greg Dyke, was right in calling FIFA a joke.   And a sick one at that.

And it all makes me wonder whether England should say `enough is enough` and withdraw its membership of that discredited outfit.   Yes I know the implications of such a decision would be `far reaching` and the consequences might well be `damaging` to the game in this country.   But it might be an opportunity to get back to basics, to see football once more for what it is - a game to be played, watched and enjoyed, not a vehicle for corrupt chancers to strip the game of any last vestige of honesty and integrity.

In a way FIFA almost mirrors the European Union.  It`s self-serving, seriously inefficient, immune to significant change and oblivious to the expectations of those who it is supposed to represent.   It`s time to say goodbye to both organisations and if parting is such sweet sorrow then I`m sure we will get over it, do our own thing and know that any `difficulties` that may spring from those decisions will at least be our difficulties which we will undoubtedly be capable of dealing with.  Let`s give it a go.  After all it can`t be any worse than having to put up with the shambles that these two outfits have become.

NO WONDER I FEEL SUSPICIOUS...

So, according to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Britain won`t have to pay the whole £1.7billion bill to the EU after all.   Instead, we will only have to pay £850million with no interest charges and the bill will be paid in two instalments later next year. 

Now straight away it all sounds too good a deal to be true......and things that sound too good to be true seldom, if ever, are.   First off, I can`t believe that our `partners` in the EU would have agreed to such a deal, especially those countries like Germany and France who are supposed to be getting hefty payments rather than demands.   Next, even if it is all true after all, we will still be left with a bill of `only` £850million - that`s £850,000,000 and I can think of so many things we could be doing with that kind of cash rather than sending it off to the black hole of Brussels.  As for the timing of the whole thing, isn`t it odd that this `deal` has arrived less than a fortnight before the Rochester and Strood by-election and isn`t it even more odd that the first interest-free`repayment` will not have to be made until next June, just a month after the General Election?

In the next few days there will be claim and counter claim about the validity of this whole business and, like most things EU, it will be virtually impossible to see through the smoke and mirrors and arrive at a definitive conclusion.   Now maybe I have an ingrained suspicious mind - after 75 years of observing politicians it`s hardly surprising - and so my suspicions are aroused by this so-called deal but more worrying perhaps is that as well as feeling suspicious, I have the distinct feeling that I`m being cheated yet again.