Day four In Gloucestershire

 Technically it is not Gloucestershire at the moment we are n Berkshire. We cleaned up the house, had breakfast at the local cafe and then said our goodbyes to David and Whitworth. We did drive to Cheltenham, but my daughter decided it was too cold to get out of the car. 

So we ended up driving to where we are now which is just outside Reading. Leia has enjoyed the walk and lunch was amazing. I hope that dinner will be just as good. 

Day three in Gloucestershire

 Today was a relaxing day. I went for a long walk with my daughter, well I started the walk and then returned afterwards to collect her.  That meant that Leia was tired, which meant more peace between her and Whitworth.

Later in the day we went for afternoon tea though the journey there was interesting. My wife and David went in one car with Whitworth while Leia and the children went with me. Our Sat-Nav took us a very direct way, but David took a more scenic route there and back. 

Leia and Whitworth got to play together later today. My daughter has got Leia to be able to run about off lead which made a walk with the two easier on me. 

I think that we are suitably chilled for tomorrow when we leave here. 

Day two in Gloucestershire

Before I get onto what we have done on holiday, I have to laugh at the expense of our rivals.  Yes, our season was not what we hoped it would be at the beginning of the year, but, it was still better than we had dreamed about at the start of the season. Anyway another generation of Arsenal fans will know the disappointment of what it is to be an Arsenal fan of old.

But, that is not the reason that I mentioned football. The reason I brought this up is because The Scum, also known as Tottenham Hotspur’s, have lost out on a manager. “People felt that Antonio Conte was on his way out anyway but let's not forget when he was dismissed they were three points off third and now they've finished eighth and out of Europe," said Phil Parry of BBC London. I am sure that they will sign a manager, but attracting decent players will be harder without one, and misfortune for our rivals will bring a smile to my face.

Now, family news, we were to travel to Cheltenham today but due to traffic issues we visited Cirencester instead. We have not been here before and it was a lovely place to visit. This evening I spent time losing to my son at Mario Kart and now, I am to take the dog out on a walk. 

Day one in Gloucestershire

It is the first day of our holiday in Gloucestershire. When younger at secondary school the house I was in was Gloucester so I have had a soft spot for the area. My wife and I have been in the area before and have been in the county when my daughter was in a pushchair. 

The place is amazing. It is a holiday village and we are here with an old friend David. He has brought his dog Whitworth. Leia has met him before when he came to visit us in Colchester and while he kept trying to hump her, she spent the time taunting her and running in the garden. Today, they appear to have decided that she is above him in the pecking order and she has been getting him to chase after her. She is a bit territorial still and does not like us giving him attention. It has been loads of fun watching them play though but both are knackered.

Tomorrow they will be walking about in Cheltenham, well, that is the plan. Hopefully the weather will be as good as it has been today.

Cycling, women's sports and having an open category

Cycling is in the news today due to a ban on TransWomen competing in Women's cycling in competitive UK events.  

I understand that Emily Bridges is feeling angry about this, especially considering how she has had to overcome barriers to cycle against women. I do have to disagree with the way she called the policy a “violent act” and accused the governing body of “furthering a genocide against us” as these acts are not acts of genocide.  I do not pretend to know everything about the differences in biology between a Woman, a TransWoman, a TransMan and a Man when it comes to sport, but I do know that there are differences.

I guess it comes down to if you consider a TransWoman to be a Woman.  I do not.  I consider a TransWoman to be a TransWoman, some of whom have kept the genitalia they were born with, others have had surgery to correct that.  If you consider a TransWoman to be a Woman, then there is no reason for a TransWomen to ever be in a Mans prison, even if found guilty of rape. 

  

   

We should make it even more likely that you are to be treated by an immigrant than be in the queue behind one

We need a sensible discussion about immigration.  Specifically, we need a discussion about immigration and the NHS.  In order to solve the retention and recruitment issues in the NHS, not only do we need to pay staff better wages, we need to improve working conditions.  And part of that means solving issues with not having enough staff.  

The government keep saying that more staff are coming, look at the promises made, and broken about the numbers of GP's in 2015 as well as the subsequent promise made in the 2019 election.  So we have to accept that the government policy is not working. 

When Labour was running the NHS, it increased numbers of staff quickly by recruiting from abroad in the way that Australia, Canada and New Zealand do so now with NHS staff.  We can say no more immigrants, or we can have a decent points based system in addition to making things better for NHS staff to solve the staffing issues faced.    

Jeremy Corbyn, antisemitism and increasing the Labour vote

In my discussions on Twitter, I often am often presented with two facts, about Jeremy Corbyn, one is that he increased the Labour vote when Labour leader, the other is that he is not an anti-Semite. 

This list about Corbyn was copied and pasted from someone I know on Facebook and has been posted by me before detailing the actions that he took to combat antisemitism. 

1990 - Signed a motion condemning the publication of anti-Semitic materials in the UK 

2003 - Signed a motion condemning attacks on two synagogues 

2009 - Signed a motion condemning the publication of anti-Semitic material on the internet. 

2010 - Signed a motion praising Jewish News for investigating anti-Semitism on Facebook 

2010 - Praises the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for his efforts to secure a two-state solution to the Israeli/Arab conflict. 

2012 - Condemns the BBC for cutting a Jewish made programme for the Jewish community. 

2013 - Signed a motion condemning anti-Semitism in sport. 

2014 - Signed a motion commemorating the holocaust and genocide of the Jewish people during WW2. 

2015 - Praises The London Jewish Forum for standing up to racists marches through their community. 

Yes, he has written a glowing foreword in a book that has raised concerns by the Jewish community and also praised an artist later accused of anti-Semitism over a mural.  But when it came to the mural, once pointed out, I could see why it caused offence, but until then, I saw nothing wrong with hit.

My concerns with Corbyn when it comes to anti-Semitism relate to his comments about the EHRC report but also his failure to act on the findings of the Chakrabarti Inquiry. His statement about the EHRC report writing that "the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media" would have carried more weight if he had carried out the findings of the Chakrabarti Report which include the following.

Abusive references to any particular person or group based on actual or perceived physical characteristics and racial or religious tropes and stereotypes, should have no place in Labour Party discourse. These epithets includes terms such as "Zio" and "Paki."

Labour members should resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular. 

There should be procedural rule changes to improve the party's disciplinary process and the adoption and publication of a complaints procedure. 

The appointment of a general counsel to the Labour Party to give advice on issues including disciplinary matters and to take responsibility for instructing external lawyers. 

The party should increase the ethnic diversity of its staff. 

The report rejects the idea of a lifetime membership ban from the party for anyone deemed to have used racist language, and suggests no retrospective action i.e. against comments made prior to the inquiry. 

Do I think that he is anti-Semitic, no.  But too many people, including Nick Griffin, former leader of the far-right BNP do, or did at the time, and MP's were offered support about this perceived stance.  

Next, is the increase in votes that Labour got under Corbyn.  

In 2017, the votes Labour got under Corbyn increased from to 9,347,273 in 2015 to 12,817,918.  This fell in 2019 to 10,269,051 however as many Labour voters switched to the Conservatives and the SNP. 

Over the same time, the Conservatives also increased the votes they got. They polled 11,299,609 in 2015 when they won a majority and increased this to 13,636,684 in 2017 though they had to form an agreement with the DUP to avoid a hung parliament.  In 2019, this vote increased to 13,966,454 when the Conservatives won a huge landslide victory.  

Yes, Labour has lost members now Corbyn is no longer leader, and yes, it will lose many votes from those who were on the left of the party, but as shown in 2019, elections are won by getting people to switch their votes.  Labour have to appeal to voters from other parties to win in the next election.  

A A Girl

My daughter is (rightfully) very pleased with herself. She has had two of her mock A-Level papers back and has got one A & one A* so far. She has one paper left to be marked if I am correct. I guess I will find out more when I get back home. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Yesterday, after collecting Leia from the dog sitter, my wife, daughter and I went home, had breakfast and the entire family decided to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. I had mentioned that we should have watched it on Saturday, as we were dog free at the time, but most were too tired for this. I did feel mean leaving Leia behind who watched us abandon her (again) as we all left for the cinema.   Things were made worse when we watched the film, not just because of Cosmo the space-dog, but also the eyes of Rocket.

The film itself was very enjoyable.  There were a few minor issues for me, notably a head growing back so quickly and also ALL the survivors of a badly damaged vessel being rescued with just one casualty.  It had a decent plot, a great soundtrack and as usual, I love the characters. Although Gamora was a bit irritating, she was meant to be.  I look forwards to the opportunity to watch it again.

My daughter took Leia out for a long walk and the dog herself was tired by the time my wife and I went to join Lyndsay and Nick.  My daughter joined us for the pub quiz and helped us take third place, which is a record for us. We are never going to win the quiz, but it is fun to take part in it, and it is well run as while the winning team win a prize, there is a bonus prize which all teams have a chance of winning as well.  

If you are interested in watching the film, it is best to avoid the trailer.  As with many trailers, while fun, the film is best watched without seeing the trailer first.  

Yesterday in London

I went to a course in London yesterday. It was good, I learned a bit and was reminded about a few issues that I had forgotten as well.

My wife took the children around central London and after my course I walked to meet them at Borough Market. It was lovely walking through London, I have not done a walk like that in our capital city in years, possibly decades. It was also strange to do such a walk without Leia, our dog, who is at the dog sitters.

As you can see from the previous post, I have played my daughter at Dobble. She is under the illusion that she beat me, and that in one game I pushed her over (she fell and I was trying to help her). Obviously all know that I beat her as she would never be able to beat me…

And on the topic of winning and losing, Arsenal lost yet another game, this time against a team facing relegation, or rather they were until they beat us, allowing Manchester City to win the title before they play their game later today.  It is annoying that we lost the title, but I cannot complain too much considering that we overcame a twelve point deficit to win the league in 1998 and we finished the 2010-11 season in 4th place having been a point behind the league leaders at one point. 

I was DESTORYED by my 17 year old daughter at dobble

 Maia de Silva is the smartest, most beautiful and lovely daughter I could ever have. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The title and first line of this blog entry was by my daughter 

"Four legs good, two legs better" in relation to sewage and our water companies

Two days ago, I had a twitter discussion about utilities being privatised and if this is needed or not. The debate ended after I pointed out that none of us want water companies to pay out dividends while pumping sewage into our rivers. I also pointed out how I am happy for companies to pay dividends so long as they provide the service we would expect if they were nationalised.  

I did not realise that this was going to be in the news today as the same companies that have paid out huge dividends to shareholders now want to raised prices to stop dumping sewage into our rivers and on our beaches.  I had tweeted last year about how the law had been changed to allow sewage to be dumped by private companies.  Fortunately, this came to the public eye after our family had returned from Devon, but this was not the case for the manager where I work who went swimming in the sea in Devon at this time!

What I said still stands as I think that nationalisation for the sake of it will be too expensive to the tax-payer, at this time.  Nationalisation of a utility that is failing to provide the service we would expect of it if nationalised is a different matter, especially if that company is fined for not meeting its obligations and prevented from paying shareholders in that event.  I suspect that the water companies will have to be one of them at this rate.      

Should people be able to change their minds about what they are?

Transitioning at a young age with the use of medications is right for many people, it is also the wrong thing for many, an example being Keira Bell. We can either accept that this is an area to discuss or refuse to do so.

Sadly, it appears to be deemed transphobic to raise such issues, especially as the use of drugs and surgery at a young age can be irreversible.  I have come across many people, who in adult life come out as being gay, bisexual or non-binary.  There is nothing wrong with that, but it would be wrong to say to someone that the sexuality or gender identity that they have as a child or teenager is something that they will have to carry for the rest of their lives.  Most children who consider themselves to be gay or bisexual are going to be so, and when I say most, I have encountered a lesbian who has realised that she is bisexual after meeting and falling in love with the 'right' man later in her life, but that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

It is also just as sad to state that children should be banned from such treatments as it is felt by many that they cannot consent to such treatment being under the age of 18.  

If we are to be able to work out what is the least worst path to follow with this matter (for harm will come to some no matter what choice is made), we need to be able to have a debate on this looking at facts and also to be able to listen to concerns from all about this matter.

The screaming by those against this discussion, who reside on the extremes of both sides of this debate, is pathetic. 

 

Refugees should not be considered to be migrants

I am proud that our nation took in refugees fleeing the invasion of Ukraine from safe third party nations such as Poland. I am tempted to ask if there is a reason that non-white Asylum Seekers in France are not offered the same (as offered by France in 2021) because that would Stop The Boats.  But I know the answer.  

We have a political party in power who acts like Alan B'stard when it comes to refugees.  The sad thing is that the episode of the New Statesman, Heil and Farewell, is sadly accurate and in many ways reflects the position of our government on refugees.

So when Gary Lineker comments about the language used to describe asylum seekers, or others make similar comparisons, I can understand this.

    

I have mixed feelings about gate-crashing the speeches being made as I do not think that freedom of speech should be infringed by protest, but while this protest did cause disruption, it did not stop those on the right from speaking, so overall, I accept this form of protest.

As we know, too many people do not have a safe and legal route to claim asylum here that is worthy.  We have seen it with those trying to flee Afghanistan where they are subjected to abuse when they flee to a neighbouring nation, as well as the many that we have left to suffer there.

Who wants to win the league

I am starting to think that Ted Lasso is cursing Arsenal. Before the game against the team that rhymes with City, Pep Guardiola was discussed and we were beaten, and this week, Brighton featured, who again beat us.

I guess the Spurs fans at work will be laughing at me tomorrow but finishing second is more than we would have expected at the beginning of the season. 

Eurovision

We are at a friends house and we are watching Eurovision. Food, drink and good company are present. The only down side is the UK entry. We have entered a great song, but when broadcast, they got things wrong. The music was too loud and viewers at home could not appreciate her voice, which is a shame. You can compare and contrast with the video’s below.

The only people I can see that will be happy with the performance will be those who wanted her to fail due to comments made in the past.

Wine tasting

 Yesterday was a bit stressful, but very relaxing afterwards.  I had to cover some work due to staff sickness and I thought that I would not have enough time to do this properly as I had to go to an evening event.  My wife had booked some tickets at a wine tasting event which we went to with Nick and Lyndsay.

The weather in the last few days has forgotten that the term April showers should not apply to May, but the event was help in a marquee and it did not actually rain.  Food was paella which my wife felt was amazing, hotdogs and steak and chips.  

The selection of wines was amazing, we found a memorable Lebanese wine of which we bought a few bottles and after tasting the wine which is available at the New Hall Wine estate, we may visit there again later.  

France urged the UK to open a safe and legal asylum route in 2021. Our government refused.

The opportunity to #StopTheBoats by offering a safe and legal route for asylum seekers in France was turned down by our government in 2021. 

 

I have discussed the matter of refugees before and Suella Braverman was found lost for words when it came to discussing what safe and legal routes exist for asylum seekers from abroad. I am proud of how we welcomed Ukrainian refugees to our nation, many of whom were in safe nations outside Ukraine. I am ashamed how we are not doing this for others. 

Our government points out that there is a safe and legal route for asylum seekers from nations like Afghanistan. But thousands of Afghans who helped British forces remain stranded by by inaction by our government and many journalists who face persecution are also being left as well. In February it was reported that only 22 Afghans had been resettled in UK under a ‘pathway’ to help vulnerable refugees and many who have fled to Pakistan face injustice there.

I have brought this up (again) as this was discussed in the House of Lords and the current government stance was deemed morally unacceptable.  Unlike many on the left, I am in favour of deporting those who cross the channel to nations like Rwanda and I am in favour of stricter criteria of refugees which would mean many from Albania would be denied refugee status.  Unlike our government, I want the need to channel crossings to be dealt with by having a safe and legal route for refugees to have claims heard while in France.  This would have to be one that would have the capacity to process claims in a speedy and accurate manner as opposed to taking months.  It is insane that we have a situation where an Afghan pilot had to come here by taking a boat across the channel to seek asylum because they were not able to access the safe and legal route that the government has put in place to say that there is one.    

The right to protest

 

Last month, (30p) Les Anderson tried to tell a police chief that he was not doing his job properly when it came to stopping certain protests. Despite stating that the police had powers to stop protests, a law allowing the police more powers to do so came into effect just before the coronation. 

While I think that the police were right to act before the coronation, I do think the part of the law that allowed this should have had a sunset clause which would cause it to expire after the Coronation Bank Holiday weekend.

The right to protest is an important part of our society, it has brought about much needed change when inaction brought none. Too many on the right forget this, or call for protestors to leave. Both arguments are stupid as a patriot wants their nation to be better as opposed to leaving it. I doubt the suffragists would have brought about political change in the UK buy leaving it. 

How to annoy my daughter

My daughter has had her first mock exam. I am not sure if she is going to survive the week. Today, before her exam, a friend tried to de-stress her by smuggling in two snails into the refectory and having a snail race on her table. Some of the snail trail got onto her notes which she promptly binned.

In the exam, her friend sat next to her and tried to get her to help. On the other side, a fellow student needed a pen, she lent it to them and they spent the exam deconstructing her pen and then clicking joints (which my daughter hates).

Apparently I am meant to be sympathetic on hearing this and not burst into laughter. 

They call me Arsenal, I start on top and finish 2nd!

Yesterday I missed the game but watched the highlights today. I would say that our win against Newcastle was a game of the goalkeepers from watching the best bits. It is great that we won. I have to admit I thought that we would lose. We just have to hope that City lose two games and we win all of ours. But that is not going to happen.

Yesterday we missed the weekend pub quiz as we went to the same pub, but for a birthday bash which was quite nice.  I still get twitchy in public spaces, but my anxiety is starting to improve.  

My son has started to revise for his mock exams, but they are not starting tomorrow like those of my daughter.  She has not worked as much as she wanted this weekend and I hope that she does not get too stressed about that.  Anyway, here is wishing her the best for tomorrow!

Ghosting

 As a film , it was okay. It was not terrible but was not brilliant either. We watched with Nick and Lyndsay and Nick after the coronation. It will have to be compared to True Lies (1994), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and Knight and Day (2010), and is just as silly and unbelievable at times. I am biased as I liked True Lies better than this, but I would rate it as being better than Knight and Day. It did have bits that were funny, had action scenes, but while I would not say that the film deserves to be ignored, if you are bored, it is worth watching , at the very least to see Ana de Armas in her dress in the final meeting. 

When the best bit is a dress and the presence of an actor or two that you seen elsewhere, that says that other films are worth watching over this one. 

Long Live The King

 Long live the king! Two friends and their son came over to watch the Coronation with us, but while my wife and prepared a feast for us, I felt guilty that we had not put up anything to celebrate the day.

My son was not interested in the event at all, he did not watch it and instead went into town to meet a friend. Later we bonded watching Greys Anatomy and even going on a drive together. His views is that the Monarchy should be judged on its past. He is aware that I am in favour of it, and while I do not like the way the Monarchy did not defend Meghan from racist double standards from aspects of the media, I do admire the views of King Charles on how the deportation of asylum seekers is appalling, as well as his views on climate change and sustainable farming. 

My daughter did watch it as well with us before going out with a friend at the end to Fingringhoe by bus and needing a lift once they got lost in the rain. She also would end the Monarchy though she disagrees with me that the alternative would be President Farage. Her commitment to democracy when it has given us Brexit and thirteen years of Conservative mis-rule is admirable for a post that in essence is a figurehead at present, but could usher in the Far Right if made democratic.

Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council was very impressive though she was called an air hostess by on or two watching it. Overall it was an event that the nation could take pride in.

I do understand that not everyone did so, and I think that this is one of the few occasions where the right for peaceful protest should not take place in earshot of the once in a lifetime event (for our new Monarch) when so many people who wish him well want to be able to see the even themselves. Comments by those who should know better that people should emigrate if they do not like the event are stupid and fail to reflect that one of the strengths of our nation is the ability to question authority. 

Voting with voter ID

 I voted yesterday. Fortunately, I carry by photo ID in my wallet as I might have forgotten otherwise.  I did try to see if my Labour Party ID would be accepted, but it is not photographic, so it was not. 

Apparently, some who knew better had forgotten theirs, but they had the time and means to go back and collect it before returning to vote.  That is not the case with all.  I voted before I went to work and would not have had the time to vote if I had not done so, or the time to collect by voter ID as I had to get into work by a certain time.  Others had issues with voting which they were not able to overcome.

While the Conservatives point out that Voter ID is in use in Europe, carrying forms of ID is the norm in many European nations, whereas this is not the case in the UK. The idea of compulsory ID cards was discussed in the past, but has been rejected due to concerns over civil liberties. 

Conservatives have mentioned that this is in use in Northern Ireland, but the electorate there wanted this due to a perception that electoral fraud was taking place.  In Northern Ireland, the tongue-in-cheek slogan "Vote early, vote often" has underlined the fact that unscrupulous individuals were always on the lookout for opportunities to cheat. Allegations existed that both sides engaged in this, but one was more prolific than the other and people would turn up to vote to find that someone had stolen their vote! When challenged about this taking place on the mainland, Conservatives have not been able to cite such examples taking place on as significant a scale.

Another thing that is mentioned by Conservative supporters is that we need ID to collect packages from the post office. But the many forms of ID used in such examples are not acceptable to vote. I have collected parcels with my bank card on many an occasion but am not allowed to vote using the same proof, and photographic ID is not needed to open a bank account. 

I suspect many who did not vote in these elections will find out the hard way that voter ID will be needed in the next General Election and we know that those who are more likely to vote Conservative are more likely to have acceptable ID.

Rosie Holt: The Woman’s Hour

My wife and I have gone out a bit this bank holiday weekend. On Friday we went to a comedy show at The Mercury Theatre, on Saturday we went to see Rosie Holt and last night we went to a quiz night at a local pub. 

My son has been out with his friends, and while a trip to the visiting fair was being considered, he and his friends stayed in town instead. 

My daughter has had her first paycheque as she is now working part time where I work. She joked that her views on taxation are now to change and she is going to vote Conservative when she gets the chance. At least I think she was joking. Anyway, she now has enough money to buy her friends decent birthday presents. Not that shopping is on her mind as she has been enjoying the sun by revising in the garden.

I had my annual appraisal and one of my goals was to beat my walking target from last year, which has meant that I have been trying to walk more since then and have been using the weekend to do so. Yesterday my daughter and I walked about with Leia in a new area for the three of us.

Going back to the comedy, Kate McGann started us off on Friday, introducing Jamie D’Souza and then Michael Odewale. My wife had picked seats at the front and while all the front row were asked questions by Kate McGann, it was in a nice way which still got a few laughs. That was a good night and set the bar for Saturday.

On Saturday we went to visit a friend in Ipswich before the comedy show. The town was buzzing as Ipswich had just won promotion back to the old second division. I liked the show more than my wife, but we both did enjoy it. I was surprised to find that I have been blocked on Twitter by Sooz Kempner, for what I do not know. But both were great and the show is worth watching if you are interested in politics and like Rosie Holt.

Now to look up holidays for later this month…