Athletic Bilbao

Another game and another victory. Watching the highlights, it appeared to be an easy game, at least until the substitutes came on.  It is too early in the season to comment accurately on how it will end, but victories like this are important for team morale. 

Arsenal and the victory on the weekend

I managed to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. It was great to win again, even more so against the old manager of The Scum. Our second position in the league is on goal difference. I know I should be grateful that we have finished second, a position other teams would love to have finished in, but I cannot help but be envious at the trophies other teams have won. 

True patriots accept that our nation is multicultural

When Djed Spence played for England, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to see the first Muslim player take the field, and annoyed that a Spurs player was on the pitch.  When we were in Bristol on the weekend, the hotel we stayed in hosted the England (Women’s) Rugby team. There was no racism about them representing our nation. The Union flag and the flag of St George was flown outside the hotel as it has been for ages, but the roundabout near it had lampposts adorned with Union flags, but like with many places in the country, due to where they are, it is like they are at half mast.

On the weekend, there was a far right march. While the march for Palestine Action had more arrests, most were for peaceful protest. On the weekend, the far right decided that Blue Lives don’t matter and they attacked the police, the arrests being for violent conduct. 

The Union flag is one of inclusion, taking in languages other than English, the same with the flag of St George. Those who insist that only English is spoken on our shores are not aware how Cornish is a native language along with Scottish Gaelic and of course Welsh. Yiddish and Hebrew have also been an important part of our nation, with speakers being back on our shores in large numbers since the 19th century.

The flag of our nation represents values and ideals that people literally risk death to be part of. It was welcomed refugees for centuries and intolerance to them has been present in darker parts of our history as it is now. If you like the music of Queen, remember that Freddie Mercury was a refugee. Rita Ora, singer and actress, was a refugee as was Mika, another singer. And of course, our nation has Christian values, and Jesus was a refugee from The Middle East.  

I have met some Asylum Seekers. Many have terrible tales and we should accept those, but I have met a minority whom I would argue could seek refuge within their nation, with no actual need to travel to the UK. A change in European law is needed to ensure that those who need to come here do, while those who do not have to are not given asylum, for there is no doubt that our generosity is being abused.

Last of all, we housed the homeless during the COVID pandemic. It is right that we offer shelter to asylum seekers, but we should be doing the same to the homeless as well. 

Back home

We are back at home after our drive back. We checked out of the hotel after breakfast, delivered our last item to my daughter and took her for a coffee while we heard about her first night in university accommodation.

After that, we met up with friends who travelled from Wales whom we have not seen in a long time. It was great to meet in person and to catch up. My wife took a bit of pleasure showing pictures of Tony and I from his 50th birthday. Both he and I honestly could not remember them until they were shown to us. 

And then it was our drive home.  And it rained and rained. When we started off, it was not too bad, and then it got worse. When my wife and I swapped over it started to rain a lot more. Traffic was so bad, we had to drive the wrong way around the M25. My son was amazing, he kept us entertained with music and now we are back at home resting. 

Daughter drop off

Another exhausting day. My daughter is now dropped off and hopefully is enjoying her first night at University. Taking her to university was easy, it was getting a few items that my wife felt was needed which made things worse, that and a lunch that never came.

However, we have had dinner at a restaurant called Nadu, one my son, wife and I would recommend and hope to return to. All in all, a productive, but as noted before, an exhausting day. 

Soon to say goodbye

We are in Bristol. My daughter moves into university accommodation tomorrow. My wife booked a hotel for us to stay in, she has been here before, this being when we had come for an open day. Then she used the spa with a friend.

This turns out to be the hotel the England Rugby squad are using, but I have no idea who the star players are as I don’t watch rugby that often and have not watched any of the women’s games.  I will be letting one of our friends know as his daughters play rugby and he loves the sport having played rugby himself when younger. 

We are all going to miss her, but I am also envious and excited that the next stage of her life is to begin. 

Charlie Kirk and the costs of school shootings

Let me start by saying that the murder of Charlie Kirk is wrong.

I have listened to The Newsagents discussing the murder of Charlie Kirk. On the day he died, another school shooting took place in the USA, but this was not discussed.  This is because yet another school shooting in the USA is no longer news.

His comment about how it is “worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment” is a price many advocates of Gun Rights do not pay. Sadly, this price was also paid by students at Evergreen High School, and I suspect that like many Americans, they did not agree with the price to pay for “Gun Freedom” in the USA.

I do feel a bit sorry for Charlie Kirk and the huge grief his loved ones feel, but my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the school shooting that day, and the many other Americans who were murdered by gun violence yesterday, the deaths of whom are not getting the coverage of Charlie Kirk. 

Trump, the Epstein Birthday Card and the image that is meant to be a woman.

Trump is someone who loves being the centre of attention.  I try not to post about him too much (now) as there is so much to post, and while he is getting our attention, his government is taking advantage of the distraction to cause chaos elsewhere.  But, this image has to be commented on.  Many are saying it is the image of a woman.  It is not.  It is the image of a teenager, and a young one at that.  The allegation is that Trump sent it to Epstein.  This means that if true, Trump knew that Epstein had an interest in underage girls because that is what he drew for his friend.  

The released documents do not just affect him, others, including our ambassador to the US have been named in it, though our ambassador admits it is him and regrets his association.

 

Organising a drinking meeting in a brewery

It is surprising that Your Party has yet to launch.  There are those who have commented at the chaos around its launch.  There have been two interviews, one with Jeremy Corbyn, the other with Zarah Sultana.  What surprises me more than the delay is the statement that they are "not creating a party that was just about winning elections. "

The quote may be taken out of context, but the power to change things comes about by winning elections.  Being pure to the core did not work in 2017, it did not work in 2019.  All it did was give the Conservatives more time to make things worse for our nation.  Saying that, it is unlikely that Labour are to win the next election, and if that is the case, at least the members can campaign for the country they want, even if that country rejects them, again.   

Vaccines and Darwinism

There has been some debate about vaccinations thanks to Reform UK.  There are many who argue that they are spreading fake news (they are) and that this is a bad thing. My view is that I respect the right of people not to be vaccinated, and that I am more than happy for Reform UK supporters to decline vaccines.

During the heat of the COVID pandemic, vaccines were developed and given.  Not all decided to take vaccines or engage in social distancing.  As a result, more Republicans died of COVID than Democrats.  If Reform UK wish to repeat that in Great Britain with COVID and possibly other conditions, that is up to them.  

For those who watch the video's, the COVID vaccine was never intended to stop people catching COVID, the outcomes were a reduction in death and hospital admissions. 

Sadly, the downside of reduced vaccinations will be more dead and disabled children.  Working in the NHS, I have seen the consequences of not being vaccinated.  But that has been happening before the latest story.

A night at a wedding

Yesterday my wife and I went to a wedding reception in London. The day was a bit tense at the beginning, her hair appointment ran over and I had not used to time to iron. We had decided to stay over in London and I had to hunt for our parking which my wife pre-paid for. I took a guess about which car park it was, today finding out that it was the right one. The hotel was great, my wife noting that outside each room it had a clock, the time indicating which room was which. 

The reception was amazing, the bride looked beautiful, and there was an open bar. No cocktails, but free flowing alcohol. It was great to meet up with those I had not seen in a while, and it we had time to let our hair down and relax. The best man did a speech but sadly it was lacking as he was very nervous, spoke too quickly and mumbled. The sister of the bride did the best speech, the groom following close behind.

A memorable night and a relaxing day with my wife.  Cannot really ask for more. Though the video of me drunk dancing being sent to my kids could not have been recorded… 

Why I admire Angela Rayner

Sadly, Angela Rayner has had to resign. I have a lot of respect and admiration for her with what she has overcome to become deputy PM. One of the many things that won me over was her scum comment, and while I can understand the offence it caused, I still love her for it. Comparisons have been made with Nadhim Zahawi’s tax issues but she did not issue a legal threat to The Independent to try to stop her tax revelations from being discussed. My wife said that she should have known that she was going to be a target and should have taken even more precautions than other MP’s, an example of this being when she was accused of being a temptress to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister with numerous children from numerous affairs. 

This will not be the last we have heard from her. I wait with interest to see what she will say in the future. 

Free speech and Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage has been over to the USA to complain about free speech in the UK.  I thought he was charming and composed himself well, but he lied and distorted the truth when there. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which has banned Nottinghamshire Live from speaking to them, has complained about free speech in Britain. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK which has threatened The Independent with a ban, has complained about free speech in the UK. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which banned Byline Times from its 2024 conference, has complained about free speech in Great Britain. 

Nigel Farage who has called for the police to investigate a comedian over a joke, has complained about free speech in UK. 

This last part is important as Graham Linehan has been arrested over a tweet made in April and this may have been because of incitement to violence. The difference between him and Lucy Connolly is the length of time that passed before the tweet and the arrest, and also, one called for arson during a time of civil disobedience when arson was taking place. Needless to say, he had mentioned both as infringement of free speech, but remember, Lucy Connolly admitted her guilt even though she had planned an excuse to get away with her incitement to arson. 

We should not be ashamed of our flag

Today, my wife told me about an act of true patriotism. A centre for Muslims has decided to display the flag to remind people that you do not have to be white to be British. 

Our flag is one that has values which inspire people to risk death to reach.  I would never deny that our history, like all nations, has a toxic element, but overall, I would argue that our nation has atoned for some of its sins.  

I am glad to live in a nation that is diverse.  I wish more would appreciate that diversity and inclusiveness is a good things.

The Naked Gun

A different film compared to the others I have watched recently. Sadly, I do not think it is as good as the classics of its genre, notably the original Naked Gun, or even Airplane. Saying that, I love the homage to the original. 

As a family, we were discussing watching a film, but could not agree on one. I noted that this was an option that dogs could be taken to, so my daughter and I walked into town to watch it. When there, I met a friend and his dog who had decided to do the same, the two dogs loving the treats given to them at the cinema. During the film, someone else’s dog decided to bark at the celluloid dog on screen, but that added to the experience.

Going back to the film itself, it was enjoyable, but the main reason it was not as good as the original was the lack of things going on in the background, something noticeable in Airplane and the original Naked Gun. I do think it is worth watching, but unlike the films it aspires to be like, there is no reason to watch it again. 

The Thursday Murder Club

My wife and I watched this on Netflix, she had been looking forwards to watching it having enjoyed the book. She certainly enjoyed it more than I did, but this is more of her kind of film. I am glad I did not pay to watch this in the cinema but saying that, it was an average film, one that I doubt I would watch again. The all star cast brought the characters to life and will hopefully stay together do so in the sequels to come. In summary, worth watching, but there are better films out there. Especially as I do not know why the first cold case was being investigated. 

Crime and being transgender

Sadly, there was another mass shooting in the USA, two children were murdered in Minneapolis in the USA. Some have felt the gender identity of the murderer is important, others have focused on the mental health issues. The obvious cause is simple, that is the availability of guns in the USA, an issue which I have posted about before. Basically, many people in the USA value lax gun controls over the lives of children. Also, it appears that being transgender makes it less likely that an individual will be the perpetrator of a mass shooting. It is my view that transwomen are more likely to be the victim of crime than the perpetrator. 

However, it is also important to note the figures about transwomen in UK prisons. That is that they do pose a greater risk to women than men do.  I mention this as it has been claimed that this is not the case. 

It is a shame that these awful murders are being used to demonise those with mental health issues. It is also wrong to blame the transgender community for the murders, facts and statistics show what risk they do not pose when it comes to mass shootings. 

Oppenheimer

This film was both better and worse than I expected. I watched it with my daughter, both of us having not watched it in the cinema and both of us wanting to see it. We would agree that at times, it is a male film, but considering the characters, it would be. Watching it at home, we missed out on the audio experience a cinema would give, and in that, this was not as good as I thought it would be.

But otherwise, it was amazing. Yes, its special effects were good (okay, amazing), but the film was produced and directed so well. Having an all star cast means nothing, we saw that with the disaster which was the Twilight film franchise, but here the quality showed. It dealt with so many issues at the same time and I can see why it was nominated for so many awards. I do not want to say too much as I think that if you are to watch it, it is best not to know too much, but it is a film worth watching, and I may watch it again. That is if my wife decides to watch it, but I am not sure she knows it is three hours long! 

Protect our women and girls

Listening to The Rest Is Politics they raised a very good point about the recent protests to protect our women and girls. Basically a large number of those engaging in protests have been felt to be a danger to women themselves. 

The Newsagents had addressed the matter of how the protests seem to be happy to ignore threats to women and children from white people, and it is right that this issue is raised properly. 

The Pathways Horizon project

One of the many things said about Starmer and gender issues is that he is the enemy of transgender people. Those who say that forget his spat in PMQ’s with Rishi Sunak from 2024. In addition to his comments on bathrooms, they cite restrictions on care for transgender children (or those aged under 18 who consider themselves to be transgender).  However, thanks to Starmer and the Labour government, The Pathways Horizon Project is to take place to look into this to see if this is safe or not. In the UK at least, concerns have been raised over the care provided to those under eighteen by those working in the services. 

Despite the Cass review calling for more research into this, there are those who feel no more research is needed into this topic on both sides of the debate, one stating that it is safe, the other stating that it is unsafe and should be banned. Which means that Starmer has united both sides of the debate again! 

The Map That Leads to You

This is a film that we watched as a family yesterday.  I really liked it.

First of all, my daughter and I went for a walk earlier in the day with our dog, the dog loves it the more people walk her. After that, I rested before taking the two children to Freeport to get some shoes and trainers. The kids did spend money, but we returned without either.

Arsenal played well but our injuries will make the game next week even more daunting. Our striker scored, and a fifteen year old looked amazing! But it is early days and The Scum have almost the same record as us. 

Now for the film. It was enjoyable and I think it was worth three out of five, as opposed to the two stars given by The Guardian. Watching it as a family, we could talk to my daughter who has spent parts of this year travelling. Yes, the ending is predictable, but it is a sweet tale which I will compare fondly to my memory of a similar film which I watched many years ago.  I doubt I will watch it again, but it is worth watching, despite what those with a stone heart may say. But unlike the review on the image, it is not a good enough to be unforgettable. 

Materialists

This was meant to be a date with my wife, and then a family film out as both children wanted to watch it. In the end my son did not come as he felt ill. We started experiencing the film when eating our dinner in the foyer. A couple met, the man bringing in roses, the woman not being pleased with this. After drinks, he was trying to be nice, she left, for a bit, taking her coat and leaving the flowers. She did return stating “I don’t know why I came back.” 

The film, allegedly a rom-com was one that I liked. For an American film, it was shot really well. For a man, I thought that it dealt with dating really well.  This is a film I would certainly watch again, and like we all did, this includes watching until the last credits have finished. The reviews are interesting but while they rate this three out of five, I am tempted to give this four. It was funny in bits, but I would not call it a romantic comedy. 

Lucy Connolly and Ricky Jones

Lucy Connolly has been released from prison and people are making comparisons between her and the case of a Labour councillor who had called for the throats of the far right to be cut. Personally, based on what little I know of both cases, I would have found both guilty, but only one of them said they would use mental health issues as an excuse for their actions. 

I know there will be many who argue that she was exercising her rights to free speech, but all nations have limits on free speech, and even Nigel Farage agrees that limits should be in place. 

How Starmer shows that we have More in Common

Everyone appears to hate Starmer. This report is from The Guardian and was published on the 8th of August, describing how In Altrincham, Greater Manchester, protesters and counter-protesters were separated by a busy road outside the Cresta Court hotel. In a rare moment of unity, the far right began singing “fuck Keir Starmer” to the tune of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes and the anti-fascists joined in. 

The title is disingenuous as at this time, I consider Labour under Starmer to be the best of all the other options. I wish they had done more in some areas and less in others. One example of this is with communication as few know the UK is the fastest growing economy in the G7, meeting the campaign pledge made in 2023. 

We (Arsenal) were lucky

I watched the highlights of the game, we were lucky in that I do not think that our goal should have been allowed to stand.  Saying that, we have had our share of decisions go against us, and we were playing Manure, so I will take the result!

My mother and her hospital stay

My Mum has been in hospital.  She went in on Thursday, but my youngest brother went in to keep her company.  I popped down on Friday morning and waited for her to be discharged, but there was a delay in this so we went down on Saturday.  When in the area, we visited my in-laws.  I offered to collect my mother from the hospital, but she insisted that she would wait for hospital transport.  It was only when she realised that there could be a huge delay that she let me collect her.  Which was the right thing to do.  That transport now can be used for someone without family who can take her home.

When there, we got to chat with her lodger.  Hopefully she will recover well at home.

How the USA supported terrorism in the UK

Every now and then, the issue of how the USA allowed funds for terrorism to be collected comes up.  After the September the 11th attacks, they finally clamped down on this, and this could have been a factor in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland.

I suspect that if the USA cut funding to Israel, then Israel would agree to obey the Oslo accords.  But that is a different story.

Palestine Action and Ukraine

Palestine Action is a topic I have posted about before. It is a group that have been banned under terrorism laws, a ban I agree with.  I will first address how Ukraine has noted that a lot of its sabotage appears to be targeting them, before moving onto its other actions.

Palestine action have attacked firms that they claim are aiding Israel, but are in fact aiding Ukraine.  The Leonardo site in Edinburgh has donated equipment to Ukraine and that site was targeted by Palestine Action.  Another company that they have targeted is aiding Ukraine, though the site they attacked may not be doing so.  Also they have attacked RAF Brize Norton, which trains Ukrainian pilots to defend their country, damaging planes not involved in the aid our nation (sadly) offers Israel. and also had plans to target other airfields training Ukrainian pilots.  

Other attacks across Europe have damaged the supply efforts to aid Ukraine, again, this being Palestinian supporters who have accidentally harmed this.

But Palestine action have attacked Jewish businesses.  While they say that this has been linked to supporting Israel, and many consider such action acceptable, most will condemn similar action by the far right to attack hotels where asylum seekers are being held.

I think that Israel is in the wrong with how it treats Palestinians.  I think our government should not be aiding Israel as much as it is.  I think it is right to protest against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and The West Bank.  I do not think it is right to stand with Palestine Action, especially when there are loads of other groups protesting in support of the people of Palestine.  

The Online Safety Act

The Online Safety Act 2023 is something I have mentioned before. In our household, it may have caused a dispute. My daughter had complained to her younger brother had not liked some of her pictures on Instagram. It turned out that he was not able to see them, and while we do not know, it may be that it is because he is under the age of 18 and some of her mages have been screened by AI as being adult. Just for the record, none of her pictures are adult in nature.

I have discussed this with my daughter on a dog walk earlier today. We both agreed that action should be taken to protect minors from harm on the internet, but we disagree on the method. She brought up issues of people not being able to access information on periods or sexual health, and we agree that teenagers do need to be able to get that information. But while she thinks it should be perfected before rolling it out, I am off the opposite view. Roll it out and make the necessary modifications to allow teenagers to get health advice after it is put into place. The previous method of asking the user to confirm their age just did not work. 

Age verification is coming in abroad and there has been pushback about this in France. Australia plans to go further and ban social media for those under the age of sixteen, something which is not here, yet. 

Sex drugs and rock and roll

As I have discussed before, I think that sex work and drugs should be legalised and regulated.  Doing so would benefit the economy. 

As a teenager in a rough inner city comprehensive in the 1980’s, drugs were not available at school. My children grew up knowing where to get drugs. Basically, we are losing the war on drugs. I feel that drugs cause a lot of harm, but legalisation and regulation would allow the trade to be taxed, may reduce drug related crime and also may help get people into treatment to come off drugs. It has not caused major issues in Portugal.  Lastly, drugs are in effect legal for the wealthy, not for the poor. This double standard is unfair and is reflected in the help the wealthy can get for drugs which most people cannot access as easily.

The next matter is sex work. I mention this (again) due to Bonnie Blue being in the media for her work in this field. As mentioned by JK Rowling, sex work is an industry plagued by trafficking, abuse and this is an issue that has been raised by those who have worked in it.  But, people like Bonnie Blue are in effect working legally as a sex worker, while those who are not as famous are not as protected.  Already, thanks to women like her working in the industry, more and more women are looking at such work as a way of supplementing income. Regulation of sex work can protect the women who are in what is the oldest profession.  The line between what is sex work and what is not can be argued to be blurred with men finding love with women from other countries.  What I want is that women (it is mainly women) who make a choice to work in this area, are offered the help not to do so, and also the help and protection to do so in a safe manner.  I have seen how this can help women, working outside Ipswich.  When the murders happened in 2006, sex work in the area was in effect decriminalised to protect the women working in it.  

The second to last video is of a woman who regrets her work in the industry, one who since leaving it has found happiness.  I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and rare and I think that the same should happen to be an issue for sex work, though I accept that it is not going to be rare.  

NHS productivity

Jeremy Hunt (I have a huge desire to call him something else) has been on The Rest is Politics. I liked listening to him for the first part of his interview, but had to stop when he talked about the NHS. Specifically productivity. Rory Stewart has mentioned NHS productivity before, but they forget, or ignore an important issue. NHS waiting lists. When I stopped listening to it, Hunt was rambling on about performance targets, but they were out in place because when Labour were in power after electing Tony Blair, it was used as a political football by the Conservatives and their supporters in the media. 

When it comes to targets, while they are annoying, many benefit patient care, and this has been seen in primary care. A target on ambulance waiting times is important for those who need an ambulance, waiting times being higher under the time that Jeremy Hunt was. There are numerous other areas where performance faltered under the Conservatives and many put that down to a lack of decent funding. This chart was shown to my then MP, Will Quince, when he defended how the Conservatives funded the NHS. He appeared to be surprised when the graph was shown and while other versions of it existed before then, this is my favourite. 

I am to listen to the rest of the interview with Jeremy Hunt, but I am going to have to ensure I am in a place where I can swear and rant when I do so.  My children have memories of me shouting at the radio when he was on it, and other than football, this would be the few times that they would hear me swear. I suspect no one will get his name wrong on it. 

Later, I will edit this to include the video of his interview. 

Nigel Farage, internet censorship and free speech

Nigel Farage claims to be on the side of free speech, but it appears that this is only if it favours him. He has made insinuations before the Farage Riots, some have argued that he has campaigned for the rights of those like Jimmy Savile when it comes to his opposition to protect children on line. But in a discussion about free speech, he allegedly shut free speech down his opponent. Farage reportedly called Democrat Congressman Jamie Raskin 'pig-headed' after Raskin voiced concerns about free speech threats.

There are always going to be two sides to a story, but the facts are that under Reform UK, censorship has taken place, this being reported as a Reform lead council saying it has removed all transgender-related books from the children's sections of its libraries. 

For the record, I am in favour of the new online checks, but I do want to know if this does limit freedom of speech as its implementation may need to be modified, or it may need to be withdrawn.

Interview with a socialist

Corbyn has been interviewed.  An important question, which I am glad was asked, was about The Green Party.  Corbyn did answer it, but I am not sure I agree with his answer.  In the interview, Jeremy Corbyn states that The Green Party are not a socialist organisation.  It is a shame that there was no follow up question on that, notably, what he disagreed with when it came to their election manifesto from last year. Many who were dissatisfied with Labour before the last election complained about being politically homeless, but none answered me when I asked why they did not vote green.

I now think that unless an electoral pact is made with The Green Party, a split in the left wing anti-Labour vote may actually benefit Labour in seats which they lost such as Bristol.  But, it is a few years until the next election.  Corbyn is a decent human being. What you see is what you get with him. He is open and transparent with his views. But, Labour under Corbyn was riven by infighting and toxicity, something that The Greens have largely avoided, and that may mean that the Greens may be able to overtake the initial apparent lead that the new party has over them. 

It will be an interesting few years, or rather, an even more interesting few years till the next election. 

Are Labour and Starmer complicit in the horrors of Gaza?

Two wrongs do not make a right.  The atrocious attacks of Hamas do not justify the collective punishment of the population of Gaza through starvation.

Many people, myself included, want our government to do more to solve the crisis in Gaza.  Like it or not, our ability to speak out on this is limited by our need for trade with the USA, but, by not taking a harder line on what is happening, has meant that Trump appears to have listened to Starmer, at least until he got back to the USA and was told something else.  

The UK has taken some actions before and has offered to recognise Palestine.  But while many want the UK to talk about what is happening in Gaza, the UK, along with other nations, is planning to take action to try and limit the huge harm that is taking place. The aid drops will not meet the needs of the population of Gaza, but there is no other way for the UK (and allied nations) to deliver the food and water that Gaza needs.    

Personally, I would rather the UK fed the people in Gaza rather than just said strong words like Ireland and Spain.  Saying that, I would also rather that no strong words were needed and that Israel is sanctioned by the rest of the world until the Christians and Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank are treated properly.

It is a shame however that among the voices calling for restraint by Israel, one of them has referred to space lasers, and no doubt, this will be used by those saying that Israel should have a free hand to deal with the Palestinian problem.

What is in a name?

There is a new kid on the block when it comes to left wing politics. But it does not have a name. Yet. Despite this, many have signed up to it. I still do not know why it is being formed when there is The Green Party. My daughter says it is because too many people see them as a one issue party, but there is a lot of overlap when it comes to the two parties. 

With the start they have had, I suspect that all they will do is to split the votes of those to the left of Labour.  The votes they take away will harm Labour in elections, but it looks like Reform UK are going to win the next election anyway. But while Reform UK are organised, the party with no name do not appear to have that skill.

The left can be prone to infighting. Will the new party be as toxic as Labour was under Corbyn? Only time will tell if they follow the vision of Corbyn for kinder politics, or resort to the bile and hatred that cursed Labour before. 

A trip away for my daughter

My daughter has returned to France, she is back where she was this time last week. My wife and I dropped her off after the morning dog walk. We first drove to Langham to pick up a friend of hers who is also going, and then it was to Stansted.  Our dog came, though our son stayed at home in bed.

After it was a drive to East Bergholt for lunch and then we returned home to recharge. Right now, we are watching The Summer I Turned Pretty with my son, he was only able to watch some of it on Sunday. 

Patriotism is a good thing

Our diverse football team won Euro 2025 defending their title. When it comes to patriotism, we should remember how our nation has been multicultural for a long time. It is through diversity that we gain strength, and those who cannot accept diversity want to make our nation weaker. 

The demonstrations in Epping have been taken over by too many members of The Far Right. While I do think stronger action is needed to prevent people crossing the channel, I do think that this should involve international cooperation on how refugees should be dealt with along with who should qualify for asylum. Most importantly, we need safe ways for people to come here.

British values are why people risk death to get here. British values reflect our multicultural history. And British values are diverse and due to this, will be contradictory. When I think of British values, I think of democracy, tolerance, resilience and how our nation has welcomed refugees throughout our past. Talking about this is important as it should be left to those who wish to make our nation weaker to own the area on patriotism.  There are so many images that reflect how patriotism is not a bad issue, as well as images of how there is diversity when it comes to what people consider to be British Values.