STOP THE BOATS

I am both in favour and against the decision of the Court of Appeal to deport those who cross The English Channel in small boats to Rwanda. 

As posted before, I think that those who do cross in small boats should have deportation.  But I also think that there should be a system in place so that asylum seekers can have applications processed abroad in third countries, just like we did with refugees fleeing Putins War in Ukraine. The system should be able to cope with the numbers quickly and fairly, just as it did with Ukrainian refugees.

It is insane that an Afghan Pilot has had to get here by a small boat because we have no decent safe and legal route for him to come here.  Many more who have helped the UK in Afghanistan are still trapped abroad and it is a crime to process them slowly with wilful inertia.

Gender Neutral Toilets

In the news, there has been a case reported of a girl who was sexually assaulted in a gender neutral toilet at her school.  It appears that some are now arguing against them, the case about this being not the first of similar issues in school.

People who have read posts by me know that I am a transphobe as I consider men to be men, women to be women, TransWomen to be TransWoman and TransMen to the TransMen.  Not everyone thinks of me as such, my children for one have said that I am not one, but many others do think this.

I am of the view that we should have more gender neutral and unisex toilets but by getting rid of all segregated ones.  The same applies with communal showers and open dressing areas where I think that segregation should be based on genitalia.  I do not think that there needs to be someone checking up on this, but there is a difference between someone using a space in private with no one seeing their genitalia and someone showing their bits to girls when they pretend to be a woman. Basically I think that people should have the option to use facilities which are segregated, not necessarily by genetics, but by genitalia instead, but that gender neutral and unisex facilities should exist, ideally in addition to segregated ones.

I think that calls to ensure cyber-flashing becomes a crime are heeded.  But I do not think that we should make it easier for women to be flashed in person. 

PMQs and housing

Housing was an issue which was brought up in a fairly boring PMQ's today. Keir Starmer was great before being Labour leader, but he has not been as inspiring as Jeremy Corbyn. However, he has not been as controversial and has got many voters to switch to Labour.  He is, to put it bluntly, boring.  In PMQ's while he did have a few good lines and asked important questions, he makes it too easy for his questions to be ignored by not learning a lesson from Corbyn. That is the use of real human examples.  It is much harder to avoid a question when it relates to an actual person and Starmer should use this Corbyn tactic in PMQ's.

I had described him as dependable and reliable, but recent issues have changed that perception with more people that Labour keeps changing its views.  The most recent one is on housing, and rent controls.  I have seen issues with people renting in private accommodation, which is the right thing for many tenants.  But I have seen too many people having to move from place to place when landlords have to remove them, for one reason or another.  

After my parents divorced, I grew up in a council flat and then later, a house. A huge advantage of this was that we did not need to move, and when we did, it was across the road.  Too many people have had to move from one area of Colchester, to another.  This has big issues for children who are in school as either they have to change schools, or spend more time travelling.  I know that this also is an issue for those who own homes, but it is an issue which I think, is harming the education and development of too many children.  

Changing a policy before elected based on changing circumstances, or being made aware of the effects of such a change is important.  I would love to see a change to a Labour policy which favours the building of council homes again, and ideally, gets rid of the right to buy.    

The silence

Apparently the children are still not talking to each other.  I am at work so have yet to see if this is true or not.  We are to see Lana Del Rey next month and I hope that this is resolved before then. 

Prettyfields Vineyard

In addition to our trip to London yesterday, my wife and I spent time with two friends earlier in the day before they head to America for the summer.  They have been to Prettyfields Vineyard before, we had not. We were very grateful that we came as the views were amazing.  The food looked spectacular, but not as good as the views over the vines.  They are dog friendly and our friends were surprised at how well behaved Leia was.  Part of this is because she is a good dog, but I also think that the walk I took her on beforehand helped.

But the best bit was the wine.  We bought a bottle of Rosé and I look forwards to drinking it later this summer.

Meeting Ravinder Bhogal and Gurdeep Loyal

My wife and I are on the train back to Colchester. We have spent an amazing evening at Cafe Murano at an evening hosted by food writer Mark Diacono featuring a talk by Ravinder Bhogal and Gurdeep Loyal, including a Q&A session. The restaurant hosts such events most months and after the fabulous night we have just had, we are considering returning next month.

Fighting children

I was a terrible brother at times. I did look after them when they were younger, but I could be inventive when it came to being mean. My children have a much better relationship with each other than I did and do with my brothers. They fight, they squabble but yesterday they went to a place I never went with my brother. 

The Weeping Willow

Our trip back yesterday was mostly uneventful. We stopped at a beautiful restaurant on the way back, but my wife got tired on the A14 when we hit traffic. The kids were glad to see us, Leia being the most welcoming!

Good food, great company and now back at home. The Weeping Willow was an amazing place to eat, good service and great food. The only improvement I can imagine would be having chess sets so that people can play on the tables that have a chess board design! 

Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

What a meal and what a place. My wife had chosen to come here on her birthday and when she mentioned it to me I agreed, this being a town we have passed through once (possibly) but having a two star Michelin restaurant. We have eaten at a single starred restaurant, well more than one, before. You can taste the difference. Our room is fantastic, the only issue being the shower which is either hot or scalding. The service here is exemplary, friendly and warm. That last bit is important as we have eaten at The Wolseley before and found the service to be efficient, but cold.

My wife, on her birthday had a wine tasting menu to accompany this while I, still tired from our drive here stuck with one bottle of wine. The sommelier recommended a rosé wine for me and after a rest in the garden, we were taken to our table.

The first dish was amazing, as was the glass of wine paired with it. When I say the first dish, it was five tastes. I almost cried when my very posh take on a Pork Scratching crumbled, but luckily my napkin caught the crumbs which I ate after this course. Already we knew we were in for something special.

After this, we had a bread bowl brought to us and afterwards a scallop each. The picture of the bread bowl is missing half the bread as we ate it before I took the picture. Needless to say, it was good bread, very good bread. The scallop was divine.

Our next dish, appeared simple, but was so full of flavour. The potato was sweet, the ‘ash’ it was served with was divine.

After this, it was to the standout dish. Well, I thought that it was at the time. So full of flavour, I did not think that it would be possible to surpass the salmon tart. I was to be proven wrong later, again by fish.

After this, it was a trip into the garden were we were taught about the herbs grown on site and had a sourdough pizza made in front of us. This was probably the least astounding meal of the day, but it was still very good. It was accompanied by an IPA and then we were taken back to our table.

After the salmon, I did not think that I would taste anything as good. When I say that the artichoke did not taste as good, that does not do service to this divine dish. Again full of different flavours that complemented themselves on my tongue.

But now comes the next ‘best dish so far’ this being my fish. My wife chose the lamb, which was good, but my fish was so much better. I probably should have taken another picture once the covering had been partly eaten. I had to leave one bite for my wife and we shared the last bite so I got to taste the difference. She said that I was giving her too much of mine, but the portion size I gave her allowed her to appreciate the dish properly.

Next came the crossover, this dish was not very photogenic. Made using liquid nitrogen, in order to appreciate it, you have to eat all the layers at once. An amazing palate cleanser.

And next was the chocolate. I love chocolate, but my wife loved the olive oil jelly the most. The picture really does not do the dish justice.

And in the final stages, another amazing dish, failed by the picture that I took. The top of this is broken and when done, this releases amazing flavours.

But this dish, eaten as one mouthful, made me have to hold my head. Candy floss with a Thai flavoured centre. They saved the best till last. 

The Crown in Hartest

This pub is in the beautiful village of Hartest which we stopped at on our way to Nottingham. My wife was not sure of the exact route that we should take, the options being cutting to the M11 via Stansted, heading up the A12 and cutting across along the A14 or going on the A134 to Bury St Edmunds and then using the A14. Fascinating I know, but my wife had the choice, on her birthday and let me decide. We did not know if we were to stop in Bury St Edmunds or Cambridge for lunch and shopping so the more scenic route was chosen.

This was without the children who had got cards for my wife in her birthday. For her birthday present, she got a much wanted laptop bag, and of course, the love of her children. 

But back to our trip. We got hungry on the way and my wife picked somewhere to eat, which was closed. Driving down the country roads reminded her of Devon, but I pointed out that the country roads in Devon are much narrower and involve a lot more hills. But the second place she chose looked amazing from the moment we parked. Friendly service with good food, we may consider returning.

For now, we are in Nottingham, the journey, for the most being uneventful. I did make the mistake of not checking out destination before we came which meant cross words in the car in Nottingham as we ended up lost. But we are here now, calmer and ready for a great dinner.

The House of Lords

The matter of the House of Lords has come up with the resignation honours list of Boris Johnson. Too many honours went to those who helped him lie over PartyGate, but not all the honours relate to those who support and supported him over his lies.

There have been calls for an elected second chamber. I disagree with this. The House of Lords is there to scrutinise bills. Amongst its members it has judges, doctors, priests, artists and the like. These people have a lot to offer our nation and I want them to be able to serve our country by offering us their expertise. 

I do think that reform is needed. I think that new peers should be picked based on the vote share of parties, that is above a certain threshold and also based on the nations. Also, I think that experts, such as Baron Winston, should continue to be appointed. In order to be accepted, each peer should be accepted by representatives of the parties, the voting power being based on the vote share. 

So based on the last General Election, that would mean that the Conservatives would have around a 43% say in choosing experts, but that a 50% threshold would need to be met for a candidate to be accepted. Lords appointed on a party political basis would be done so by the vote share in each nation. This would mean that based on the latest division, England would have roughly 84% of lords being chosen, Scotland 8%, Wales 5% and Northern Ireland 3%. Of those from Scotland, the SNP would have about 45% of appointees, Labour 19% etc.

As for the resignation honours list, I would keep it, but limit the numbers to, at the most, ten members to the House of Lords. 

I suspect that I will refine my views on this as time passes, but that is my view for now.

Fathers Day

My children love me. My son got me a Star Wars game, my daughter a cuddly toy which she states is experiencing hair loss like me, and one I can let Leia, our Cockapoo, savage.  I got taken to the Mistley Thorn where I got to drink as have great food. 

Later in the day, it was time for the pub quiz. The questions were much harder than normal and we almost came second, a tie breaker putting us into third place. 

Nadine Dorries and the by-election

It has been an even more interesting few days in politics.  Nadine Dorries, has mentioned before, has resigned as an MP, after saying that she did not want to cause a by-election earlier that day. Now allegations are flying about the events leading up to this.  Ultimately, it comes down to if we should trust Rishi Sunak, or trust Boris Johnson, a man who lied about parties to Parliament, lied about his affairs and lied about so many other issues that the list is too long to post here.  

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry

This week, an inquiry into COVID is about to start.  I think that it is fair to remind people that despite the warnings of Exercise Alice and Exercise Cygnus, the nation was not prepared.  As noted on the video above, we did not have enough PPE and contracts were handed out to people who on too many occasions, did not deliver.  Thanks to cuts before the pandemic, our ability to test for COVID was insufficient. 

People still compare COVID to influenza.  Influenza does put the NHS under considerable strain, but not like COVID did in the pandemic.  People forget what happened in Italy and too many people are not aware that our funeral homes were overrun with corpses, this despite the extra capacity that they built for the pandemic.

Hopefully, the government will not be able to hide evidence from the inquiry and this will provide many with the answers that we can learn from so this does not happen again.

NHS staffing (again)

This week, two stories were in the headlines. One is about the UK taking too many healthcare staff from developing nations. The other later in the week was about how the NHS does not have enough staff itself to provide our nation with the level of healthcare people expect. 

Due to working conditions and pay, other developed nations are taking staff from the NHS. Staff have been voting with their feet and have opted for better pay and working conditions abroad. We need to change that. 

Boris Johnson again

First of all, there is the matter of the resignation honours of Boris Johnson from his time as PM. Labour said the list amounted to “rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking”, while the Lib Dems said it was “gongs for Johnson’s Partygate pals” and described it as “corruption pure and simple”.  Listening to BBC Any Questions, the issue of Tony Blair came up.  While there is no doubt that Blair misled Parliament with his dodgy dossier, this was an exaggeration, not an outright lie.  Boris will continue to argue that events which required suitcases of wine to be brought into Downing Street were work related. I am not sure that many others either isolating, or like me working on the front line (though in my case, it was in the trenches just behind the front ones) will agree.

What is also interesting is how Nadine Dorries has quit as an MP, forcing a by-election which will cause harm to Rishi Sunak. Boris Johnson has since done the same after being given the Partygate report, but he claims to have been forced out.  It is a shame that this has happened as a return of Boris Johnson to power would herald even greater support for Labour in the next General Election. 

In summary, Boris Johnson who has finally resigned over PartyGate, has rewarded lots of people for helping him while he decided to mislead Parliament. 

Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam

On the 6th of June, the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine was destroyed.  Both Russia and Ukraine blamed the other side. For Russia, this would cause issues with the water supply to Crimea and also risk safety at Europe's largest nuclear plant. For Ukraine, this means that not only are the areas that they recaptured to be flooded, but also this is going to be harder to cross the Dnipro River. When I say cross, Ukrainian forces already did this in April and it may be that the flooding may affect those who are on the south bank.  

Such an action will make it harder for Ukraine to retake Crimea, but I suspect that was going to be a hard ask anyway. 

  

Love Island day 3 2023

 Sad though it is, my wife, daughter and I are watching Love Island. My daughter realised earlier today that it had started and so we watched the first episode, bits of the second and we are watching the latest episode right now. My wife has the view that the one I think is the prettiest is a mutated dwarf, but she tends not to like women I find attractive.

Our son is the sanest out of us all as he refuses to watch it.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Watched this with my son. He assured me that we had watched the first film in this series together, we had not. However, it was still a very enjoyable film, one, which considering how it focuses on the relationship between teenagers and parents was great to watch with my son.

My favourite superhero will vary from day to day, but most days, it will be Spider-Man (the other two from my childhood are Bat-Man thanks to the series, and Superman thanks to the films). This film lived up to my childhood recollections of Spider-Man. In some ways anyway. He was funny, clever and, I guess, this film has a lot to offer many fans of the franchise. It stayed true to the issues he faces with the challenges faces to come out to his parents, but they would only continue to love him if he did. I love the art work, I love the plot and the characters are great as well, including the villain.

My son loved the film and I think that he enjoyed the time with me there as well as walking to and back from the cinema. The only downside was that he would not let me pay for his bubble-tea. Would I pay to watch it again? Yes. But I will not as I am happy to wait until it is streamed. Now I just need to watch the first one… 

Home at last

We are home at last. While everyone was sleeping, I took Leia out for a walk. The drive back was an uneventful one and it is great to be able to relax at home once again.