Masters of the Universe (1987 film)

This was a bad film. Not the worst that I have seen, but a bad one. I guess it was really aimed at an audience who loved the toys.  Or men with muscles. However, it is liked by some. When younger, I liked the cartoon (I am not sure if I would like them now) but never had the toys.  Mind you, I cannot remember wanting them.  For fans of Sword and Sorcery films like me, this was one of the worse ones to watch. I would not recommend watching it and I am not surprised that it did not fare well when it was released.  

Despite the bad reviews, I watched it to see if it could provide any inspiration to me for my role playing adventures.  It did not.  But, other films in the franchise might.  They cannot be as bad as this was!

Anthony Fauci's Covid hearing

In the UK, we have the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. It has been hearing evidence about the epidemic, and is handled in a much better way than has happened in the USA.

Due to the (understandable) refusal of Anthony Fauci to answer questions, conspiracy theories are going to spread.  I talked to a patient earlier this year who told me that he did not think COVID existed.  He has probably suffered from the vaccination, but while one of his issues has most likely been caused by it, that is not the case with the other matters that he thinks have been caused. 

So, a few quick points.

COVID exists.  It has particular CT appearances in the lungs which other conditions do not have.  

COVID vaccinations saved lives.  States in the USA with lower vaccination rates had higher rates of COVID during the pandemic.  Also in the USA, Republicans (who were more likely to minimise the importance of preventative measures) were more likely to die than Democrats (who were more likely to follow the evidence). 

The UK should have been better prepared.  Exercise Cygnus and Exercise Alice produced recommendations which the Conservatives ignored.  

The chumocracy in the UK resulted in contracts being given to people who failed to deliver PPE.

Death rates were so high from COVID that funeral homes in the UK were overwhelmed, something that also happened in the USA.  

Health care systems were overwhelmed by COVID, not just in Iran, but also in Italy before measures like social distancing and facemasks could be put in place.

Sadly, I doubt the COVID inquiry in the UK will hear the views of Jess Phillips on this. Her take down of Matt Hancock, the health secretary who was in charge of the NHS during the pandemic is as concise as it is passionate. Too many died in the UK who did not need to have.  But, I know that our inquiry will not be partisan like that in the USA as it is there to seek the truth.  

Voicemails for Isabelle

Voicemails for Isabelle is a surprisingly good film. We finished watching it today.  We had started watching it after our return from Portugal. All four of us have been watching it together but have not watched it in one go. While it is not the ideal way to watch it, it worked for us.

Today was a bit stressful as we had a clear the air discussion with the children. The relationship between the two has not been as ideal as we would like. It is not as bad as it has been at times, but they were very mature about it and afterwards we all chilled by watching the film.

Like many Rom-Com’s it has a predictable plot, though the start is different to most. The acting is good, the film flows well and it has a charming character as the lead. In addition it has an enjoyable soundtrack. Not as good as other films, but it features Taylor Swift, an artist the family all love.  I am glad I watched it, and while I would not go out of my way to watch it again, I would not channel hop past it.

Lucy Connolly, Zack Polanski and hurty words

Double standards and Reform UK Ltd are something that happens quite often.  Lucy Connolly was (rightly) arrested and admitted her guilt about a tweet inciting racial hatred during the Farage riots of 2024. Nigel Farage has stated that Lucy Connolly is "living proof of what can go wrong" with free speech restrictions.  Despite this, Nigel Farage said about a repost by Zack Polanski "If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski." Polanski, rightly, has taken down the post. Those in Reform UK Ltd should call for the same action to be taken against the leader of The Green Party that they took when one of their elected representatives reposted a message about shooting a Labour MP. From what I recall, an apology was enough then and should be enough now.  If anything, less action is needed, the T-shirt (which was on the 18th of 20 images) being a song lyric as opposed to the message about actually shooting a politician.

I abhor violence against ALL politicians.  While I did find the egging of Nick Griffin (then leader of the racist BNP) to be funny, it was wrong. That includes the milkshake episode with Farage.  I found it funny, but still was wrong to happen.  

I have commented on Reform UK Ltd and their attitudes to free speech before. I suspect it will happen again when they, again, show double standards. 

Back from Bristol

We are back from Bristol.  We went yesterday afternoon but left our son behind in Colchester.  We had aimed to get to Bristol for the afternoon, but delays and traffic meant that we did not get there until much later. We had returned to the Avon Gorge hotel, but took my daughter there. Neither of the children have stayed there before so it was a first for her.  The dog loves it there as she is pampered.  While we are not able to enter all areas with her, they serve food in areas where we can eat with her.  And it was a great meal.

Come Saturday, we went to the house our daughter is to stay in.  We were to move her things in from the back of the car but the exhausting thing was the inventory.  We had planned to go to a food and drink festival, but were too tired so ate at The Blaze, where we have eaten before, and then returned back to the house to unpack and then the drive back here.  Am shattered and am to enjoy a much needed rest.  A strange thing is that my mind is convinced that today is Sunday, which means that my subconscious will get a three day weekend!

Workers rights in the UK, Trump, forced labour and unions

It appears that Unison and Donald Trump agree about workers rights in the UK.  Trump has imposed tariffs on the UK due to claims that it does not do enough against forced labour. This from a nation that has worse workers rights than the UK and makes use of illegal immigrants in work (therefore avoiding employment laws) more than the UK does.  

The video is about workers rights which unions have won, rights that many in the USA do not have.  It is out of date as Labour, under Starmer, gave workers even more rights.  

The Odyssey

I watched this with my son yesterday. Before (and after) the film, we disagreed about Helen of Sparta being black. Watching the film, my views on this are unchanged.  Actually that is wrong, they are different but I will discuss that later.

Unlike Elon Musk I loved the film.  But then I have watched it, something he may not have done. My son liked it, but felt that certain bits who not have been removed, but the film is already three hours long. The only way to include all of his voyage is to make it into more than one film, and we saw how true adaptations like that were to the original story with Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy’s. I had a translation of The Iliad many years ago, when I was a teenager, but I only ever read adaptations of The Odyssey, and watched the cartoon (which I loved). If you like other Christopher Nolan films, you will probably like this.

As for diversity, I do think it is important in films, but there are ways of adding it. The Percy Jackson TV series has Zeus as black. Athena is portrayed by Zendaya, someone who is not white.  If I was to cast the film to be diverse, Helen of Troy but not her half sister Clytemnestra would have been mixed-race. You can argue that both could be black, both, with other siblings, being hatched from an egg. I would have had Circe, Calypso and Athena reflecting diversity. But that would have still annoyed many. If someone is to be annoyed with the film, it should be for the same reasons as my son, that being what they left out, or other matters that were changed. Odysseus left Troy with more than three ships, his being the only one to survive with the Laestrygonians. There are so many other parts of the tale that have been changed, Circe seducing Odysseus for a year being another example. And Elliot Page was great in the film. I am surprised that those on the right were not in uproar about his inclusion, but I am suspended from Twitter and cannot be arsed to appeal it. 

Basically if you are racist, don’t watch it. If you want a tale true to the original story, don’t watch it (which is why my wife stopped watching The Hobbit films).Otherwise it is an enjoyable “male” film and I would consider watching it again. 

Andy Burnham and communication

It is not long into the Andy Burnham premiership and there appears to be a big difference. Communication. It is early days, and Burnham has been helped by the enforced media silence with Nigel Farage (all candidates in the Clacton by-election deserve the same media exposure), but it appears that he has ensured that he dominates the news cycle by early morning pronouncements. Which means that the media are discussing what he has said, working to his agenda, not setting the news cycle themselves.  The last time I saw such effective communication from a Labour government was when Alastair Campbell was in the thick of it.  It is early to get an idea of just how things have changed as there are another three years until the next planned election, but the outlook is so much better.

Donald Trump is the best at this, he dominates the news cycle, but part of that is because of decisions that many would say are insane. Nigel Farage has dominated the news under Starmer and may find it hard to regain the political momentum that he lost before his resignation thanks to all the sleaze allegations. 

Keir Starmer did loads, but his failures included an inability to let people know what Labour had achieved with him in charge. Which looking at what he did, is so sad. 

Andy Burnham has been left a nation, which despite public perception, is in a better place than when Keir Starmer took power.  This is despite the turmoil caused both by Brexit and Donald Trump. The economy is in surprisingly good shape compared to many of our G7 peers and NHS waiting lists are falling. If the Conservatives had did half of what Labour had did, they would be publicising it so well. It looks like the failure of Labour to communicate effectively is hopefully a message from the past.

The best team won

First of all, England.  If someone told me that one side would have scored four goals by half time in the 3rd/4th playoff, I would have been depressed thinking that England surrendered again.  But we had not. France may have expected the team that allowed Argentina to play football to face them, but a changed line up with the pace that is a strength of the team brought belief and four goals.  The good thing about the game is that our two talismans were not playing for the first half, but we did need Jude for the final half with his goal to settle nerves.  I watched the game with my wife.  We actually have not watched any games together, this being the first one.  She did watch the game when we got back from Portugal, but I was off collecting our dog at the time.  What a game to watch together!  I may try to convince her that she is the lucky talisman and should watch more games with me in the future!  She has a soft spot for Saka after the abuse he has received in the past.  She is one of many who sent him messages of support after the abuse he got from that penalty miss (and he thanked her as well) in the 2020 final. 

As for the final, Argentina have regained the record for the most number of players sent off in a World Cup Final. They were a dirty team against us in the semi-final and while not as dirty in the final, they still were. They also got away with a lot of tackles that should have got a yellow card as well as managing to get a valid goal disallowed. Their behaviour after the end of the game is inexcusable, though based on what has happened before, I suspect that FIFA will let them off.  

Unlike 2006, when bad sportsmanship was rewarded, this year, the best team won.  Football would have been worse if Argentina had lifted the trophy.  I am glad, that on this occasion, the right result occurred.

Dirty cheating gits

Yes we lost. It appeared more of a surrender. What gets me is that the Argentine team were so dirty. At least until we scored. After that, they played football and we let the comeback team of the tournament do the same again. While I do not know as much about football as others, I would have kept pace on the field rather than taking it off. When we were defending, there was no threat that the Argentine team had to worry about. We have many players with pace who would have allowed us an outlet to punt the ball upfield to, not just Saka, but others as well.

But while many in the Argentine team were dirty gits, Messi was not. He was amazing. Anyway, two more years until the next tournament. And Arsenal will need to ensure that our players get time to rest. 

Why I hate the Argentinian football team

Sorry, but there are a few football teams that I hate. Italy are one (though I love the country). Argentina are the other.

Growing up there was The Falklands War when a failing right wing dictatorship, which murdered left wingers like me, invaded the islands deciding that the population of The Falklands had no right to decide who rules them and invaded them. A conflict ensued, people were killed as a result and the islands were liberated. After that, England played Argentina in a World Cup game in which Argentina cheated, as well as also scoring one of the best goals ever in a World Cup.  Argentina went on to win that World Cup but four years later caused the worst final I ever watched. Their players were disgraceful and behaved like animals. 

I don’t blame Argentina for beating us in the game that Beckham lost for us by getting sent off, but I remember them taunting the England players afterwards.

The video below is interesting. I did think that they were to follow the normal left wing view of giving The Falkland’s to Argentina, and I am glad to see that they mentioned the rights of the Falkland Islanders. I disagree with their views on the sinking of the Belgrano. It was a warship which was looking for the British fleet. But I am surprised that they did not mention the lack of multiculturalism. Unlike other South American nations, the team of Argentina has been all white very often. It is right that we look at the past of Britain, taking pride in the great things our nation has done and accepting when we have been in the wrong. That same scrutiny should also be applied to Argentina and what happened to its black population.

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Not sure I would recommend this as a film. I watched it with my wife and daughter, both of them having watched the original. I have heard enough about the original that I was able to catch up on how the plot developed. By plot, I mean a weak one. It is funny enough that I enjoyed watching it, but I am glad I did so on streaming. I would be very disappointed had I paid to watch this in the cinema.

Would I watch it again? No. While this is not a film to go out of your way to watch, if you don’t mind the usual Sandra Bullock films that are produced, watch it if it is on. And if you do, this is a film you can watch while being on your device, as I did. Which may be why I do not dislike this as much as others who have watched it. 

On a better note, I watched the Norway game with my daughter. I have been saying that we have to be cautious of a team that beat Brazil, and while it appeared to be one way traffic in the first quarter, I said to my daughter that I expected Norway to attack in the second. They did, they scored, but England held on to defeat them with two amazing goals. We may face Argentina in the semifinals, if so, I do not fear them. 

Ready or Not 2

 I liked this film.  I watched it because I loved the original, but this is not anywhere as good as the film it follows.  Like Ready or Not, it has a lot of gore, too much in my view, but the plot is not as good. Which is understandable. The original film had the shock of the plot reveal, while the sequel was never going to do the same. Like the original, I would term this a black comedy rather than a horror film. You do not have to have watched the original to enjoy this. While the original is better, I am glad I watched this. I doubt I will watch it again, but I am tempted to revisit the original again.  If you are to watch either, do NOT watch the trailers as like with many films, it spoils the experience.

Count Binface on democracy in Great Britain

Count Binface has spoken in the past about democracy in Great Britain, and he is so right. Elon Musk has commented about our tyrannical government. He is so wrong. There are arguments for and against our first past the post system and I have commented about Proportional Representation in the past. But the best argument for our current system is the way that someone like Count Binface has a chance to follow the likes of Martin Bell in being elected against a political party with far greater funding.

Comparing Louise Haigh to George Cottrell

There are levels of fraud and crime.  Comparisons have been made by Reform UK Ltd about how Louise Haigh, a Labour MP who had to resign as a Minister in November 2024 over an issue with fraud involving a mobile phone in 2013, her pleading guilty in 2014.

George Cottrell had been caught agreeing to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers in an FBI sting operation in 2017. Cottrell was a backer for Nigel Farage before and after his conviction. 

The Thai based billionaire Christopher Harborne is the man who donated the five million pound gift to Nigel Farage, to use in security, or it may have been given to thank Farage for Brexit (the story changes). While he is an innocent man, concerns have been raised about money laundering. 

And of course, there is Ben Delo. He has a conviction and earned a pardon from Trump.  Living in Hong Kong, he gave Reform UK Ltd the total of four million pounds before the rules on donations were changed. His conviction relates to US Banking laws. 

So, while Louise Haigh has a conviction for fraud involving a mobile phone, there are degrees of wrongdoing, and her crime, while wrong, are not on the same level as the backers of Reform UK Ltd. I do not think comparing her probably returning to government can be compared to the concerns with the Reform donors. 

Revisiting Nigel Farage and the Coutts bank scandal

In hindsight, Coutts probably did the right thing. In 2023, Coutts closed the bank account of Nigel Farage. He took action about this and a head rolled over this. Considering the donations that Nigel Farage and Reform UK Ltd have been given, this may have been the right thing to do.

Ben Delo, a man who was pardoned by Trump following a conviction, has donated money to Reform UK Ltd. It was reported that Ben Delo, who lives in Hong Kong, gave £4m to Reform earlier this year before the Government changed the law to put a £100,000 cap on donations from Britons living abroad. 

There also the five million pound donation to Nigel Farage for his personal security or as a reward for Brexit (depending on the time Nigel Farage is explaining it).  This one is from Christopher Harborne, a British crypto billionaire living in Thailand.  Who also has a conviction, but has not earned a pardon.

For once, this story has been given the attention it deserves, though most are ignoring the Ben Delo donation, as that appeared to have been declared and was to the party, not to Nigel Farage himself. The reason I mention this is that Richard Tice made an error with taxes (for a company), but was not hounded out of a job in the way Angela Rayner was. 

Nigel Farage has managed to avoid the consequences of this racist comments in the past. The question is if “The Establishment” in the form of Count Binface will be able to beat him. In 2024, he was elected with over 40% of the vote, which means that if all who did not vote for Farage in the last general election vote for Count Binface, then he may win! 

What a game

What a game. I went to bed early yesterday, was woken by my wife when she went to bed. I did not sleep too well, but adjusted my alarm when I found out the game was delayed by an hour.  

My daughter had gone into Colchester to watch it with friends.  I knew that Mexico would attack, which would play to our strengths. But during the week, when talking about it at work, I had forgotten about how the altitude would work against us.  I was reminded about this later in the week when players from that game in Mexico in 1986.  I was not intimidated by the record of Mexico at the stadium, but I knew it would be tough. But, I kept the faith, knowing that we have come from behind to win games. But the joy of going two goals up in the first half was amazing. My wife had told me not to wake her up and it was hard not to do so. I did not lose faith when they scored their first goal, or when we went down to ten men, or even when they scored the second.  But the boys did good (my family hate the phrase) and did the country proud. Our multicultural team was amazing. 

It was strange seeing the sun up at the end of the match. I offered to collect my daughter from Colchester, but she declined, walking back with a friend instead. Anyway, time to catch up on sleep. 

Password failure

Well that was an interesting return to work. I love my job, but had a frustrating morning as I locked myself out of the clinical system at work by forgetting my Windows password, and that for my smart-card.  It was all fixed, but it took time. But from then, the day got better.  

Back in Blighty

We are home, and are exhausted.  We left our apartment early in the day. Last night I ended up swearing at the children as one decided to pack at ten at night while the other was trying to sleep. While the apartment is nice and has a great location, it has no air conditioning and sleeping has been an issue in the last few nights. 

The journey back was not too eventful. We arrived at the airport with time to spare, Portugal appears to have suspended the EU passport checks which have caused chaos for British travellers, which meant that we arrived too early. But having heard of planes leaving passengers behind, we did not want to risk that ourselves. 

Our issues were once we landed. The taxi we booked was not available and a slightly smaller car was sent instead. But the M25 was very busy and our journey home took about two hours longer than normal. And it was so hot! I did get to watch the England match on my phone but there was a lag which meant that I saw my daughter respond to the radio before I saw England go behind. We were exhausted by the time we got back home, the heat and being trapped in the car not being enjoyable.  I decided to get our dog who was at in-house-boarding in Ipswich. Leia loves it there and loved seeing me. She expected the rest of the family to be in the car, but they needed to rest at home.  The dog-sitter is amazing, she loves Leia and wanted to chat, which meant that I missed the equaliser and ended up watching the highlights to see the two England goals.

I knew England would have to attack as the DRC would defend, I just did not expect us to go behind so quickly. But I had faith in the team and we got the result we deserved.  Our next game will be against a team playing at home, at altitude, in a stadium they have rarely lost in. But that means they will be attacking us… 

But we are at home, and we are happy to be so.  It is back to work for me tomorrow, hopefully it will not be too much of a shock! 

Quinta da Tôr and the Strait of Hormuz

We split up today. My wife was keen on visiting Quinta da Tôr, a vineyard with pools. Our son was not too keen so stayed in Santa Luzia. It was the right thing for him to do. He would not have liked it here, and we loved it.  Good wine, friendly service and pools to both swim and cool down in. 

As for the Strait of Hormuz, I naively thought that things would be sorted after the latest peace deal was agreed. But I forgot about the greed. I had realised that the reason oil prices are manipulated by the weekends was based on computer algorithms running. I came to this conclusion when I was wondering why the market kept falling for the same lies. To me, it would be logical for the market to anticipate this and switch off the algorithms, or at least prevent them from making oil trades, over weekends.  I do hope that this is all sorted out properly and soon because, as it is, too many farmers have not been able to fertilise crops and the longer this continues, the longer Trumpflation will increase global food prices. 

Trump may berate NATO nations for not providing him with direct aid in his diversionary war from him being in The Epstein files, but I am glad that we are not helping him directly to strike Iran. 

Taberna Amaro

Today, we left Villa Stofero and its tranquil gardens, its pool and its working TV. We are now in Santa Luzia. The apartment has a bigger living space than before, two private balconies and is in a village.  Down the road from where we are is Taberna Amoro.

Over this holiday, I have had average meat courses most of the time. Today I had the best beef I have had this holiday. The service is friendly, we ate outside in the back garden which did mean we were exposed to some tobacco smoke. I would recommend all the places I have posted on this holiday, this place foremost of all. 

We had been to the nearby market earlier in the day for lunch were we had some local food. I liked the pork sandwich which I had, my son hated it. I felt the fries were from the freezer and were underdone. It may be that my enjoyment of dinner was based on how bad the chips were. The kids had been shopping and my daughter bought herself a bracelet. My son bought a present for a friend. It was an experience that is one we normally would not have on holiday and it added variety to the holiday. 

Restaurante de Querença

Today involved dinner at a distance from our villa. It is our last night here and our hosts recommended this place. It has a great view and the friendliest service we have had so far. I loved the traditional food, but sadly ate too much at lunch so could not enjoy it.  If we do return to this area of the Algarve, we will probably return here as well.  

Restaurante Rei das Praias

Today we returned Praia dos Caneiros and enjoyed a meal there. We actually did not go on the beach, but instead went to the restaurant we had been to in the past. It brought back many memories, but we all agreed that while the food was very good, it did not deserve the price. 

Thanks to my son, my daughter he and I actually went to some caves first of all. There were some rocks afterwards where some teenagers were reenacting a scene from the Twilight films by jumping into the water. Well, one of them did, the others watched. It was amazing to see but the beauty was spoiled by some leaving litter behind.

After that, we drove to Carvoeiro where the children went shopping. We had been here in the past and while we did not recognise it at first, we did remember it, each of us recalling different things about it.  But we did not remember the restaurant we went to before, not that I think it is there anymore.

It was after that which is when we went to Restaurante Rei das Praias. I would love to return to the beach. Fingers crossed… 

We were lucky

It was a penalty. For Ghana. But apparently I am wrong, and I am glad I am wrong as England would have lost. Ghana played well and England was not varied enough for most of the game to adapt. With taller players than ours, sending balls into the box for them to head away was not a good idea.

Towards the end of the game, players who could dribble past others were played, notably Eze and Saka and it appeared to make a difference. But the pace of Ghana was a big issue for us.  Hopefully this is a learning experience for our manager and team, one which will take us to lifting the trophy.

My sweepstake team, Uzbekistan did not do well and my hopes for them playing England in the final appear very unlikely. 

Family wise, we spent most of today at the villa, going for a swim and a drive. My daughter had some work to do, so we left her to it.  The holiday continues to relax us. 

Restaurante Bica Velha

Another relaxing day. My wife and I woke a lot later than the children. We talked about what we could do and I ended up taking my wife for a drive along memory lane. I had hoped to visit Praia dos Caneiros but it was not to be. 

Later we returned to Loulé for dinner. While the rest of my family have enjoyed many great meals, because I am squeamish about sea food, I have not. But Restaurante Bica Velha has given me the best meal at a restaurant in Portugal so far. My son booked it, we are glad and may return. The picture, edited with an app is of part of the town, on the way to where I parked our car.

On a different note, my wife has not been too happy with the resignation of Starmer. For the record, she has not been his number one fan and we have had many a discussion about what she thinks is wrong with his policies, but she and I agree that he has done a lot for the nation. The country was in a much worse position when he took over and while there is a lot to do, so much has been done. We both agree that we want the economy to be better, but it is still doing well compared to our peers. Thanks to Starmer, not counting Israel and the USA, the UK is respected again across the globe. The NHS is in a better place as well. I just hope that these improvements continue once Starmer is evicted from 10 Downing Street. 

Fathers Day 2026 and D’alena Restaurante

Today is Father’s Day, and in our family another important celebration. My wife had booked a restaurant for lunch with amazing views and fantastic cocktails. If you visit, see Vinnie.

The food looked as spectacular as the view, though it was a bit hard to find on Google Maps. Fortunately we did not obey the instructions and found it anyway. 

Loulé and the Saturday market

This morning, we travelled to Loulé, a nearby city to visit the Saturday market.  It was a very enjoyable day. My daughter and I got to visit the castle, the family tried some seafood (not me) and we took in some of the sights. We may return again, but there are other areas to explore. 

O Retiro

My wife found this place for somewhere to eat outside. Parking is available, but is interesting to use. In fact I ended up going for a drive to park. Basically you essentially park part-blocking the pavement, and while you can do so driving in to park, I prefer to reverse park as it is easier to leave. The food is nice in this restaurant and it has an interesting view. Would I return? Yes. I suspect my family would agree, 

Come on England!

What a game. And what a day. Family first. We are now in Portugal. I finished work late on Tuesday and was not around when Leia was dropped off at the dog sitter we use in Ipswich. My daughter said that she whined as she was being left. Yesterday, we woke up early to be driven down to Gatwick. I slept most of the way in the back of the taxi, to the annoyance of our children.  My wife and I split up from the children, they getting drinks in a different part of the airport to us. We were also separated for the flight, which again, I slept through. My wife has booked our stay and it is amazing, but I have been bitten, lots.

Anyway, the football. I worked out how to use the TV and watched a lot of the match on RTÉ and I have to say, they analyse football better than British pundits. An example of this was with the goal by Jude Bellingham. Noni Madueke provided the pass for the goal, but also, importantly, made a run afterwars which stressed the Croatian defence and their goalkeeper as Bellingham could have crossed it too him. RTÉ noted this, the off the ball run by Croatia being missed by the British pundits for their goal. While pundits blame our defence, the runs by Croatia were good and I am not sure there was a right decision to be made at the time by our defenders. This means that while I can watch ITV and BBC coverage here, I will stick with RTÉ.  

Labour, UNISON and workers rights

Listening to the radio, I was surprised to hear that the leader on Unison has said been "handing money over to the Labour Party and getting absolutely nothing in return" as Labour have brought about changes to employment rights. It is fashionable to bash Starmer, but doing this plays to the stance of Reform UK Ltd that they represent workers. 

The facts are simple. Labour have improved workers rights, Reform have promised to abolish the changes. If Unsion want a Reform UK government after the next General Election, they need to keep forgetting how Labour have not done absolutely nothing for workers.  While I understand that unions want more done, union leaders need to tell workers what Labour have done for employment rights now, or they will lose them after Farage gets elected in 2029. 

Suspended from Twitter, again

I have not posted on Twitter in a while. Today I found out that I have been suspended. Again. My last post was in May, this being a message to someone I follow, to migrate to BlueSky. I guess that post could be viewed as a violation of the terms and conditions.  I still lurk on Twitter, but make my posts on BlueSky. Twitter is too toxic, and while BlueSky is a lot quieter, it is a nicer place. I still manage to be blocked by people and have been added to lists allowing me to be blocked by many without seeing any posts by me. Some do not like this feature, but while it is annoying, it is better to allow those who prefer not to be engage in civil debate, the option to do so. Anyway, someone has offered to help me to get back onto Twitter, but I have declined that help, at least for now. 

Crime and migration

JD Vance, the man married to an American woman of Indian descent, the US vice-president, blamed the appalling murder of the British teenager Henry Nowak on mass migration.  Technically, immigration causing murder is something that Native Americans would have every right to agree with. So, when it comes to the USA, he is right.

I have discussed race and migration before. In summary, our Royal Family are descended from immigrants. Immigration benefits our nation and countries with low immigration rates then not to do as well as those which make the most of managed migration. 

Soon, England will be playing in the World Cup. Many of our players are not ethnically white British. But few would want Saka out of the team.  Our nation is stronger thanks to immigrants and their descendants. Not just with The Royal Family, not just with sport, but with so many areas.  

I want our nation to take advantage of the Trump presidency to attract talent to the UK. And of JD Vance becomes President, I want to take advantage of that as well. 

Ava Santina, grooming gangs, rape, religion and race

First of all, let me say that the murder of Henry Nowak is wrong, the actions of the police officer in handcuffing him appears to be inexcusable, and all rape, no matter who engages in it is wrong.

The issue of ethnicity/religion and crime was to be the topic of my post before the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa made the news.  I think it is important to point out, that there is a huge bias in some when it comes to reporting certain crimes, while overlooking others.

I recently had a discussion about the Grooming Gangs and the initial lack of an investigation into them, despite there being an investigation into them, in fact, more than one.  In that discussion, I was accused of ignoring rape by stating that there has already been an investigation.  Doing this is an argument by many to try and occupy the moral high ground on flimsy terms.

Religion and child abuse are linked.  People have quite rightly looked at those who claim to be Muslims who have engaged in appalling acts of grooming and rape. What I have not seen are investigations into the cover up of child abuse over a far longer period of time by both the Catholic church in the UK and the Church Of England.  Some do not care about this, and instead just want to focus on Islam.  

I have disagreed with Ava Evans in the past, notably when it came to having a Minister for Men, as I think that having one will help to combat the evil influence of the manosphere. I disagreed with her in this interview about how someone who is racist can repent as well. 

But, I do not think that she should get abuse, again, for what she did in the interview.  The irony of those on the Far Right (or patriots as they call themselves) wanting to protect our girls when so many are domestic abusers is sad.  Let alone how many of them defend a stalker who has convictions for assault, fraud and travelling on a false passport.  

In summary, rape is not confined to just one religion, but only one religion has been investigated.

Ladies First

We are all back together. We drove back today after collecting my daughter and loading up my wife’s car. Arriving at my daughter’s flat, we found one girl had lost her keys the night before and was to be charged for the replacement. Another parent, a mother in a Land Rover had decided to block someone in and walked off for ages leaving them trapped. Earlier she had parked just behind my wife but moved when I told her to do so. Fortunately for me, I did not ask. One person had hired a van and some men to help move him, and while they parked blocking people in, one person stayed with the van so it could be moved if needed.  

The drive back was an uneventful one, other than terrible traffic as we hit rush hour.  But when we got home, we relaxed and watched Ladies First. I liked it, my wife and daughter did not. My son who left during the film made no comment. But it appears that I am in the minority as the film was given terrible reviews by The Guardian and The Huffington Post, a score my daughter agreed with. I suspect it was more of a lesson for men, which is ironic considering the topic the film.

Bristol and the Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin

We are in Bristol. Tomorrow we collect our daughter and bring her back to Colchester. This hotel is not as posh as the one in the centre of Bristol, but is in a lovely area for dog walking, which our dog loves. The views from the nearby Clifton Bridge are fantastic as well.  I would definitely return, but I doubt I can walk as easily to restaurants in the town centre from here. 

Does Tony Blair support Starmer?

My view is going to be controversial. I think Blair does support Starmer.  The intervention of Tony Blair in politics today actually raises awareness of what Starmer has done, in a way that Starmer has not been able to get across, to those on the left. 

Thanks to Blair, people have been reminded of the stance of Starmer on employment rights, net zero, the NHS and Trump. 

I do not know if this will bring back voters to Labour, notably from The Greens, but it is free publicity.