In Memoriam

As you can see from my father's last blog entry he recently had to undergo some "repairs and maintenance".

This was to be a knee replacement operation which would enable him to walk the dog without pain and go on longer walks on holidays in his beloved New Forest or the West Country.

While recovering from the surgery he picked up a chest infection which developed into pneumonia and sadly he died on Friday 4th February 2022.

He was a gentle man with wide ranging interests as can be seen from his 2259 blog posts over the past 15 years. 

We loved him dearly and I am desperate with grief at his loss but take some comfort that he led a full and interesting life.

His thoughts in this blog are part of his legacy and he will live on in the memories of his friends and family.

Just a quick note to say that if I am away from these pages for a while it`s simply because of the need to carry out some essential repairs and maintenance.

I hope it won`t take long and I look forward to returning back here when the job`s done.  Stay well - take care.

 

 

Which happens most weekends of course and despite my preoccupation with the FA Cup I must start my roundup with Gillingham, my neighbour`s heroes;  it is rumoured but unconfirmed that he made the journey to Priestfield Stadium yesterday only to see the Gills get hammered 4-0 by visiting Ipswich Town.  Worrying times for him and his fellow devotees, as this result firmly anchors the Gills in the relegation zone of League One.  I am there for him, of course, should he feel the need for counselling - a service he has offered me in the past given my own penchant for Southampton FC.

Elsewhere Brechin City made the journey to Pitmedden, a small village north of Aberdeen and the home of Formartine United.  City came out 1-0 losers to dent their hopes of a swift return to Scottish League Two.  They have now slumped to fifth in the Highland League, but then Formartine`s North Lodge Park is never an easy place to go to.  

No games for Fort William, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC, Vale of Leithen or Truro City, whose game away at Salisbury City was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.  Maidstone United went to Billericay in Essex in the National League South but could only manage a 1-1 draw against the league`s bottom club - a disappointing result perhaps which sees the Stones drop to second in the table on goal difference from near neighbours Ebbsfleet.

As our street are now Ravens fans, we followed Bromley`s National League home game against Solihull Moors with renewed interest as it marked the home debut for Scott Wagstaff of this parish, who did not disappoint, scoring Bromley`s first goal in their 2-1 win.  I think they are due to play Aldershot soon, so it will be interesting to see what reaction Scott gets from the Shots crowd on his return to play against the club he has just recently left.  Maybe they will be charitable.

I have left Southampton to last partly because their gritty 3-2 win away at Swansea in the FA Cup has been perhaps under reported.  The Saints, despite suffering injuries and Covid cases, put out a strong side against their Championship opponents;  went 1-0 up after Nathan Redmond`s deft finish and then went down to ten men as a result of French defender Yan Valery being dismissed after 30 minutes for two `soft` yellow cards.   So, the game changed - went a bit topsy turvy with Swansea going ahead 2-1, Saints pulling it back to 2-2 and eventually winning 3-2 after extra time.  A performance of much character and endeavour to play with ten men for 90 minutes but one which may have taken its toll on the team`s fitness in advance of Tuesday evening`s Premier League game against Brentford.  We`ll see.

So, as the great man said, "You win some, you lose some."   Life`s rich pageant, I guess.

 

HERE IS THE NEWS.....

I see that the BBC have appointed a new head of BBC News and current affairs on a salary of £400,000 a year - an icrease of £60,000 from that paid to her predecessor who will be leaving at the end of the month.   The new incumbent is one Deborah Turness, previously of NBC and ITV and so brings a wealth of experience to her new role.

The BBC`s Director General, Tim Davie, was apparently keen to bring in someone from outside, perhaps to the chagrin of arguably more controversial internal candidates.  Even so, perhaps Mrs. Turness being married to the director of communications and intelligence at the Cabinet Office helps when the BBC`s issues around the licence fee are discussed?

I can just about visualise the interview process between Mr. Davie and Mrs. Turness. 

"So, Deborah - may I call you Deborah? - what do you see as the main issues facing BBC News at the moment?"

"Well, Tim - if I may call you Tim - I have noticed that issues such as impartiality in the corporation`s coverage is included in the job description, as well as finding replacements for Andrew Marr and Laura."

"And bringing your wealth of experience and insight, your first class editorial judgment and your strong track record will be a help to you in this new role?"

"Yes, Tim, I should hope so.  Especially as here in the UK and around the world there has never been a greater need for the BBC`s powerful brand of impartial, trusted journalism."

(Something else it would be difficult to make up; which I might have done but for the last bits shown in italics being taken from the BBC press release following the appointment.)

 

For over 70 decades I have witnessed the comings and goings of ownership and control of Southampton Football Club.   The incumbents have been many and varied and have ranged from  local businessmen and local worthies to chancers, foreign investors and at least one of genuine benevolence.  Of more recent times, the club has been in the majority ownership of a Chinese gentleman who, because of Chinee politics  and curbs on foreign investment, has been more than a little absent from the south coast and keen to release himself from his association with the club.  During his tenure, he didn`t put any money into the club and didn`t take any out and left the club`s highly competent management team to get on with running things.  To be fair to them, they have done a pretty good job of so doing.

And now it seems that we have new majority owners - I use the word deliberately as Katherina Liebherr has retained her 20% share in the club so as to protect the legacy of her late father, Markus, who was the one owner in recent times who demonstrated not only genuine benevolence but also a genuine `feel` for the club, the city of Southampton and what the club meant to the city.

With an unusually muted announcement yesterday the new majority owners were revealed as newly formed investment company Sports Republic..  The investment side of things is headed by one Dragan Solak, a Serbian born billionaire entrepreneur.  He is joined by Rasmus Ankersen who has been a director at both Brentford and FC Midtjyland in his native Denmark and by another Dane, London based investor Henrik Kraft.  The price paid for their controlling stake is reported at £100million, in other words the equivalent of buying one Jack Grealish.

They have made all the right noises but then new owners invariably do and it remains to be seen whether this takeover - for that is what it is - turns out to be as beneficial as we fans hope it will.  What is encouraging is that the present management team have been quietly working away at this for months and months and Chief Executive Martin Semmens - who enjoys the confidence and support of the majority of the fan base - has declared that the new majority owners were by no means the only ones considered and that the `choice` to accept them was made in the best interests of the club`s future. This is perhaps confirmed by the speed by which the Premier League approved the takeover following the recent introduction of new criteria as a result of Tracey Crouch`s review into the `fit and proper person` qualifications for Premier club ownership.

As for me, I hope it all works out for the best, even if I still cling on to my share certificates from the good old days - when you could buy shares in Southampton Leisure Holdings plc - in the vain hope that one day I might get a dividend.    

 

Yes, it`s been another of those weekends as far as my football teams are concerned.  A number of games were called off for various reasons with Stoke Gabriel, Brechin City, Fort William, Vale of Leithen and Southampton not having a game.    The most disappointing postponement was Southampton`s home game against Newcastle which should have take place at St. Mary`s yesterday.

Newcastle, claiming the effects of Covid and injuries to their two best players, asked the Premier League to postpone the game which request was granted.  It seemed extraordinary that a club with 65 registered players could not `fulfill the fixture` and it led to suspicion on the part of the Saints fans and a complaint to the league officials by the Southampton club.  It won`t make any difference, of course, but it does give strength to the notion that clubs who had requested games to be postponed by the Premier League should not be allowed to play an newly signed players in the rearranged fixture now that the infernal transfer window has opened again.

Undoubtedly pride of place this week goes to Maidstone United who, in beating local rivals Tonbridge before a home crowd of 3,100. went top of the National League South table. Nice one. And it was encouraging to see Gillingham gain a valuable point away in a goalless draw at MK Dons; the score in that game being 0-0.

Now at this time of the year the various leagues try to arrange fixtures so as to reduce the amount of travelling time for both the clubs and their supporters - witness Maidstone against Tonbridge, for example, separated by a mere 14 miles.  But sometimes geography works against that idea and so we saw Truro City making the 300 miles round trip to Weston super Mare on New Year`s Day.   Tomorrow evening they travel to Wimborne in Dorset for another `local derby` which will involve another 325 miles on the road.

Lastly, a word or two about Aldershot Town.   After a more than shaky start to the season, they have managed to turn things around in recent weeks having lost just one game in the past couple of months and climbed well clear of any relegation worries.  Yesterday they pulled off an impressive 3-2 away win at near neighbours Woking in the National League so their excellent recent run continues. 

An unconfirmed rumour suggests that yesterday`s game was the last one for Aldershot for our street`s local hero Scott ("Fear the Beard") Wagstaff.  His contract with the Shots has come to an end and although the club are keen to keep his services, family and logistical considerations mean that he might feel the need to `move on.`   The rumours also suggests that he is likely to join the ranks of Bromley FC - also in the National League - which will be a much more agreeable arrangement for all concerned.  

So, whilst maintaining a close interest in the fortunes of Scott`s former clubs, including Forest Green Rovers, Bristol City, Wimbledon, Gillingham, Northwich Victoria, Leyton Orient, Bournemouth, Charlton and now Aldershot, it`s likely that our street will now become Bromley fans - at least for a while  Come on you Ravens!!

 

A TRIPLE WHAMMY ?

Once again the by now discredited honours system has brought the game into disrepute.  I have always been suspicious of it as a system and each year it throws up yet more examples of how out of touch it really is.

Now I`m the first to say that of course there are many, many examples of honours being bestowed on people who richly deserve them - the countless numbers who diligently perform their roles in the common good and - perhaps less so - those who bring a little comfort and joy into our lives through their excellence in representing the country in the field of entertainment or the world of sport.

And yet every time the honours are announced there are cases which really do defy belief.  The latest is, of course, the Knight of the Garterhood bestowed on Tony Blair.  I can only assume that it has been granted in recognition of his services to illegal military operations which caused the loss of life to so many and inflicted untold suffering on many many more.  You really couldn`t make it up.

But more than that, maybe he has also been `honoured` for his role in bestowing a knighthood on former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.  It came on the back of United`s famous success in winning three competitions in the same season and was encouraged by the belief in Downing Street at the time that it would be good news for Blair to be associated with United`s success, despite the fact that the reputation of their manager was founded on sour faced Caledonian aggression and an almost total disregard for the way the game should be played and represented.  Maybe there are parallels between the two?

It`s been interesting to witness the outpourings of homage to Ferguson in the last few days as he joins the ranks of us octogenarians.  Old Trafford has gone bonkers in its adulation for its former bruiser who seems to have become a permanent fixture in and around the club in the mistaken belief that his presence is in any way helpful. 

So, the honours system has delivered a triple whammy - the system itself of course coupled with the examples of Blair and Ferguson   which confirms that the system as it stands sinks deeper into irrelevance as time goes by.  It has reached the stage whereby I am heartily relieved not to have been recognised for doing anything out of the ordinary;  I`ll just settle for my deserved bronze life-saving medal, my refereeing medals and my lifelong membership of the Tufty Club. 

 

Says it all really.  But I just wanted to thank all of you for your support with this blog in the last year - astoundingly there have been  over 167,000 views according to my new found friend Google analytics, which encourages me to keep going.  

They do say that when you get older there are two things you must do - keep the body moving and the brain ticking over.  Well, the first is slowing down due to the ravages of anno domini and avoirdupois but this blog keeps the second one going.  

So, to each and everyone who follows these ramblings and rants, I wish you, your friends and loved ones a happy, peaceful, healthy and enjoyable 2022.  Thank you again.

 

 THE DAYS BETWEEN...

......the celebration of Santa`s birthday and the crash, bang wallop of another new year are a bit of a dead end really but at least they give the opportunity for a little light reflection on the year just on the way out.  I`ll resist the self indulgence of picking out highlights of my year, perhaps because they were a little thin on the ground during this Covid stuff;  but I will mention my granddaughter`s wedding which finally happened in October after a couple of Covid related postponements.  A glorious family day, never to be forgotten.

Instead I have been looking through the posts I have concocted this past year - 165 of them - and I`ve tried to pick out a couple which I suggest might sum up my priorities and the way I see the world in what are now my evening years.   Now I suppose it might be true that the older one gets, the more one looks back on childhood and those places that made those formative years so very special.  So I`ve selected a post I wrote back in May after we had had another memorable week in the New Forest. 

I`m not quite a child of the New Forest but pretty close by, having spent the years during and immediately after World War 2 on the Waterside - that area between the shoreline of Southampton Water and the New Forest - it holds special memories for me and whenever we return there it feels more and more like going home.  Anyway, here`s what I wrote in May which I hope captured my affection for the area, its peace and quiet and its escape from the rest of life`s troubles and misadventures:-

https://snoppersays.blogspot.com/2021/05/quiet-places.html 

(To see the post, please highlight the above link, right click and there`s an option to `go to.....`)

And the other post I have chosen is a deliberate attempt to get away from these dismal, dog end days of late December and remind myself of those times spent in the summer sun watching the cricket down at Canterbury.  At least we have now turned the corner of the winter solstice and - like Southampton finally looking up the Premier League table rather than down - I am already looking forward to the return of the sun and those lazy, hazy days when the world will surely seem much brighter than it does today:-

https://snoppersays.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-day-of-contrasts-yesterday-and-calm.html

Perhaps these two random samples out of the 165 might tell you more about me than anything else.

 

.......of a weird kind of sporting festive period.  Woke up on Boxing Day morning, switched on the Teletext thingy to see that England had once again disappointed the nation by being outplayed by Australia in the Test Match at the MCG.  As the mere twelve hours of play needed to complete yet another comprehensive Australian victory and thus retain the Ashes, a hint of despair descended on me.   Clearly a case of ashes to dust.  I never mind losing, it`s losing without any fight that causes the despair.  Or maybe it`s just the hope that does it.

So, could things get any better?  Of course - Southampton going to West Ham`s taxpayer gifted London Stadium and coming away with a 3-2 victory thanks to Jan Bednarek`s winning goal (see my previous post.)  I`m surrounded here by West Ham fans, some of whom I have not heard from since Boxing Day but to be fair one of them kindly handed me a matchday programme (£3..50 from all good stockists) and took the result with good grace.

And then yesterday the Saints pulled off a well deserved point by holding Tottenham to a 1-1 draw at St. Mary`s, despite being down to 10 men for over an hour and showing the kind of resolute defending and collective spirit that of itself earned those little bits of good fortune that came their way.  21 points from 19 games at the half way stage of the season is an encouraging sign and another three points against struggling Newcastle on Sunday would be even more so.  That`s if Newcastle turn up as they apparently have issues with Covid and injuries to their two best players which has meant that their game tomorrow against Everton has been called off.  (Saints had four Covid casualties and several injured players for yesterday`s game but they just got on with it.)

Elsewhere a number of games were postponed either because of Covid, waterlogged pitches or bad weather in Scotland so there were no games for Gillingham, Fort William, Brechin City, Truro City or Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC.  Vale of Leithen did play but recaptured their losing ways by going down at home 6-0 to Rangers B and Aldershot went down 1-0 away at Dagenham and Redbridge, a game enlivened by the return of Scott Wagstaff following his own recent bout with Covid.

A special word for Maidstone United this weekend.  They went to near neighbours Tonbridge on Boxing Day and won 1-0 and followed that up with a convincing 4-1 win yesterday against Welling - a result that sees them joint top of the National League South but second in the table only because Oxford City have scored more goals than the Stones.  Could promotion be on the cards?

Every picture tells a story and this one can paint a thousand words.......

 

JINGLE BELLS.....

Well, just one more sleep and in keeping with all the other myths, legends and fairy tales surrounding the most wonderful time of the year I`m expecting a bearded gentleman on a sleigh pulled by assorted reindeer to land on my roof, climb down the chimney, scoff the mince pies and other goodies I`ll leave out for him and if I`ve been a good boy he might, just might, leave some presents for me to open in the morning.  Can he do better than last year`s pair of socks and a satsuma, I wonder?

Now I`ve been doing this blog for a number of years and from time to time I keep tabs on who my `audience` might be.  Happily, something called Google analytics - I won`t bore you with it -  surprisingly shows that my blog is actually seen in a number of countries across the world.  Today, for example, I see that in just the last couple of days I have been followed by people in Japan (I seem to be big in Japan as they top the viewing list,) the UK, South Korea,  Germany, France, Canada, Belarus, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Indonesia, Romania and Sweden.  Quite frightening really - never knew there were so many sad people in the world but at least it`s a comfort to know it`s not just me.

So, wherever you may be across the globe, I wish each and every one of you a healthy, happy and peaceful  Christmas.  

 

With so many football matches called off this weekend thanks to assorted Covid outbreaks, at least it`s a chance to concentrate more on the more minnow-esque teams that I follow.  (I`m a bit puzzled though as to why so many games in the Premier League have been called off, when each club has a big squad of players to choose from.  OK, if their first choice players are unavailable, surely they have enough other players to `fulfill the fixture?`  Nice idea but I suppose Premier League football is all about TV rights and money - sigh;  I remember when it used to be a game.)

Anyway, Southampton`s home game against Brentford was off, as was Gillingham`s home encounter with Crewe Alexandra and Maidstone United`s trip to Maidenhead became a Covid casualty as well; whilst  Fort William fell victims to Formartine United`s frozen pitch. 

In the minnow games that did go ahead, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC (SG&TPFC) again suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat at home, this time to AFC Torridgeside in front of a crowd of 49 at the JG Churchward Memorial Ground; and Vale of Leithen - hot on the heels of last week`s first win of the season - went down 4-0 at home to Civil Service Strollers in Scotland`s Lowland League.

Better news with Aldershot Town achieving their sixth straight win in a 2-1 victory over Kingstonian in the FA Trophy but in the same competition Truro City lost in a penalty shoot out against Dagenham and Redbridge from the National League after a 1-1 extra time conclusion which, to be fair, was a decent display against a team two tiers higher in the football pyramid.   And last but not least Brechin City managed a 4-0 home win against Deveronvale in the Highland League to overcome their disappointment at losing the midweek Scottish Cup replay on penalties away at Darvel (no, me neither.)

Who knows what the next few days and weeks will bring to this sporting life?  Or, indeed, in life itself.

 

MR. GRUMPY STRIKES AGAIN..

Devotees of these pages will be aware that, at this time of the year, my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) kicks in, so I apologise in advance if what I am about to say just adds to the gloom.  And it is yet another gloomy day, bleak, dank, global darkness seems to be descending.  However, dear reader, do not despair as I promise you - and myself - that this post will end on a more cheerful note.

But it`s not been a great week.  Started off with a funeral to attend on Monday morning for a good friend and neighbour who left our peaceful enclave after becoming very ill rather too quickly.  The house opposite where she lived for more than 40 years is `on the market` and as I write a succession of would be purchasers are checking out the house and no doubt the neighbours as well.  

To add to the week`s gloom, Mr. Covid is running wild, the prospects for `the most wonderful time of the year` aren`t looking great.  The test cricket in Australia is disappointing unless you`re Australian, football matches are being called off - Fort William`s game against Formartine United is off because of a frozen pitch, which at least makes a change from Covid related cancellations; turmoil continues to surround anything and everything to do with HM. Gov. and the whole country is crying out for some proper leadership.

But the shortest day of the year is nearly here and so in a desperate attempt to cheer myself up, I`ve once again been looking back at some photos I took in happier, sunnier days.  This was Soar Mill Cove on the south west coast path between Hope Cove and Salcombe in south Devon.  I remember it well - gorgeous day, gorgeous view and, well, just gorgeous.  Made me feel better anyway.......

(Please click on photo for a better image)  

 

Well I suppose by any standards the new Covid variant is an ill wind.  It is threatening many aspects of life that we all hold dear - even life itself - and I do sympathise with anyone who either themselves or their friends and family find themselves caught up in the slings and arrows that this pandemic is throwing at us.

And yet.....and yet for some of us it truly is an ill wind that blows no good. This coming Saturday would have seen an event of monumental importance to those, like me, who in our infantile sense of priority seem willing to follow the fortunes of Southampton Football Club. You see, to do so belies a warped sense of priority, it singles us out hopeless cases perhaps more suited to treatment in the Priory or even suitable cases for sectioning under certain legislation.

But we march on, as the club mantra goes, and having achieved the unexpected bonus of a point away at Crystal Palace the other evening we have been looking forward to the admittedly outside possibility of actually winning a game at St. Mary`s Stadium this coming Saturday against mid table Brentford.

And what happens?  Mr. Covid and his new found variant happens and thanks to an onset of infections in the Bees camp, the game has already been called off.  Curses.  Foiled again.  But maybe not too surprised because Brentford manager Thomas Frank has been pleading with the Premier League to postpone matches this weekend - well, he would, wouldn`t he?; as he`s clearly petrified with having to play the Saints at St. Mary`s.  

But there is as always a bright side to be looked upon and it is that I can now spend my Saturday afternoon free of the mental anguish that besets Saints supporters every time the team crosses the white line and takes to the field.  And perhaps my neighbour will share my relief with his beloved Gillingham`s game has also being called off for Saturday.

Maybe, instead, I will find something else to trouble my infantile octogenarian mind? After all, there`s plenty to choose from. 

 Well, that`s true.  I`ve had my own `issues` over the years, some of which I have confessed to in these pages.  By most people`s standards they don`t amount to very much - a fear of snakes;  an aversion to advanced dentistry and a general reluctance for anything `medical.`  I don`t `do` medical, hospitals, illness - that sort of thing and I suppose I have been more than fortunate to have avoided much to do with the medical world.  I have only had one extended hospital stay and that was 75 years ago when, at the age of seven, I spent six months in Southampton Children's Hospital and missed a year`s schooling with a kidney complaint.  I guess I have just been lucky.

So it`s with some reluctance and surprise that I find myself volunteering for some surgery to sort out my wonky knee.   Years of cricket, football, refereeing, golf, coast path walking and general wear and tear have caught up with me in recent times, movement has become too restrictive and it hurts more than it should so I am booked in to have a new knee in the new year.

Can`t say I`m looking forward to it but needs must and if it means dealing with another personal demon, then I think I`m up for it - I will go with the medical flow and hope it all works out so I can get back to enjoying the great outdoors once again;  I long for the south west coast path, the New Forest and the Pilgrims Way.  I`ve missed all that.   Wish me well.

 

ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE DAYS.......

I guess you can tell by the illustration that, as bunnies go, I`m not an especially happy one this morning.  The reason?  Well, it`s time to report on another weekend`s football and with the odd exception, there`s not much to lift the gloom.

Think it might be best to just list the results, so here goes:-

Arsenal 3 - Southampton 0. (Well, what can you expect when we had to recruit a 40-year  old free agent goalkeeper on a month long contract as our two `proper` keepers are both out injured and our third in line is about 12 years old;  and there were suspensions and injuries as well.  And we`ve never ever won a Premier League game away at Arsenal.  So there.)

Fleetwood Town 2 - Gillingham 1.  (My neighbour`s heroes seem to be taking up residence in the drop zone of League One - how long can chubby manager Steve Evans survive, I wonder?)

Fraserburgh 12 - Fort William 0.  (A classic top v bottom outcome in the Highland League.)

Truro City 2 - Farnborough 2.

Maidstone United 4 - Dartford 0.  (The Stones coming out on top in a top of the table local derby.)

Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC 2 - Elburton Villa 3. (Another narrow defeat for the minnows in the South West Peninsula Premier Division East, but one which keeps them bottom of the league on goal difference only from Sidmouth Town.  SG&TPFC are currently minus 64 and Sidmouth minus 63 - it`s tight at the bottom, to be fair.)

Bo`ness 0 - Vale of Leithen 1.  (Miracle do happen.  Vale`s first win in 22 games, as a result of which their goal difference now shows a more healthy minus 116.)

Brechin City`s game was again called off due to waterlogged pitch at Keith but I`m pleased to note that our street`s local hero Scott (`Shot`) Wagstaff was back in business coming on in the second half of Aldershot`s impressive away win at Eastleigh, having missed the last few games with `a knock.`  Good to see him back in action. 

 

 ONLY A WHIMSICAL NOTION..

Very sorry to learn of the passing of Mike Nesmith.  He is of course remembered chiefly as a founder member of The Monkees who, as a manufactured band way back in the day, found world wide fame and fortune.   His leaving us, peacefully in his sleep at home at the age of 78, means that Micky Dolenz is the last surviving member of that group.

But there was so much more to Nesmith, principally as a gifted songwriter in his own right and I do recall that, about 35 years or so ago, one of my sons bought me a Cassette (remember them ?) of Mike Nesmith`s album `The Newer Stuff.`   I played it and played it in the car and was captivated by the invention, the skill and the imagination that went in to his lyrics about a whole range of places, subjects and emotions.

Perhaps the best known of that album is `Rio` in which he said that it was `only a whimsical notion to fly down to Rio tonight. I probably won`t fly down to Rio.  But then again I just might.`  

Another case of `Thank you for the music.`

 

Well it`s been quite a week.  One which has seen another litany of buffoonery from Boris and his chums and which has not only brought justified outrage at the goings on at the heart of `government` but also the apparent morphing of the fat controller himself into an established national embarrassment.

Going back to the Owen Patterson fiasco things have become progressively more worrying and, yes, embarrassing too with the ongoing sagas about the alleged Christmas party last year, the `financing` of the redecoration of No. 10 and the diversionary tactics designed to distract minds from the chaotic shambles that passes for leadership. (Imagine having to set up an inquiry to determine whether a party took place in your house and whether you attended it or not.) As if there are not more serious and pressing issues that they should be concerning our elected representatives.

It is, of course, the pantomime season and we expect some jolly japes at this time of the year, some over acting, some posing, some jokes and all that but it really is depressing to see the leadership of the country themselves reduced to the role of pantomime villains.   I watched some of the parliamentary proceedings this week, notably Prime Minister`s Questions on Wednesday and it really was like watching a true life pantomime but one which this time was played out before an audience that rightly expected better.  In a theatre they would have been booed off the stage.

More than that, there were times when the claim, counter claim, denial and ya boo of it all took me back to the school playground of my boyhood but I suspect that, even back then, we scamps running around and feeling our way around life probably behaved with more insight, honesty and sense of right and wrong than the pantomime dames on all sides of Parliament`s stage.

There was a by-election in this parish yesterday, with the main political parties fielding candidates and for the first time in a lifetime of using my vote, I really could not bring myself to visit the polling station and vote for any of them.  I wonder why. 

 

We seem to live in a world where priorities take on different meanings for different people depending on their circumstances.   Woke up this morning feeling fine, with something special on my mind, to quote Herman and his Hermits.  And immediately my senses are invaded and thrown off course by the latest disclosures about an alleged `party` that might or might not have taken place in Downing Street on 18th December last year, when the country was supposed to be in lockdown.

It`s going on a bit - nonstop reports, `analysis,` comment from all parts; perhaps most tellingly from those who lost loved ones to the Pandemic at the same time as the `party` might have been in full swing.  It`s all very troubling and I may not be the only one who is waiting for Prime Minister`s Questions at high noon to see what Boris has to say for himself.  If it`s all true then maybe, just maybe, this might be the beginning of the end for Boris and all his eccentric blustering because what we really need, especially now, is some proper good old fashioned principled, honest leadership.   (There`s a Cabinet member from Southampton who might do nicely?)

But while all this is going on there are, of course, perhaps more pressing matters that should be concerning Parliament - the Covid pandemic, of course, the scandals emerging about the evacuation from Kabul, the threats emerging around Ukraine, the continuing migrant crisis and on and on they go.  And I woke up to the news that England had been dismissed for 147 in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane.

It reminded me that, when besieged by the stresses and strains of fighting the Tory leadership contest back in 1997, John Major took time out to write a Daily Telegraph obituary for his boyhood hero, Denis Compton.  Maybe he had his priorities right after all?