My family have been depressed. This is because of the results of the elections yesterday.
My daughter was a vote counter and enjoyed her work helping democracy.
Personally, I expected things to be worse for Labour. When it comes to the next General Election, if it is held in 2029, tactical voting will help to stop ReformUK from being elected. It was tactical voting which meant that Starmer, despite a low share of the vote, won such a big majority in the last General Election. These elections mean there is a huge database of information which many will use to keep ReformUK out of office.
But the most important thing to do is to explain to voters, in soundbites, why ReformUK will make life harder for voters.
Two things that can be said is that there were few small boat crossings before Brexit, and can someone explain how our lives have been improved by Brexit.
In 2021, the government of Sri Lanka banned the use of chemical fertilisers. As a result, crop yields fell and food prices went up. As usual, it was the poorest who were hit hardest by the rises.
The attack by Israel and the USA has prevented chemical fertilisers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This means that the whole world will experience what Sri Lanka did in 2021. But this will not be just one nation, this will mean price rises on a global scale. But it will not take effect now, it will take effect after the next harvests.
While Trump will deny this, it will be an example of Trumpflation. And voters across the globe will not be happy.
Today I voted. I voted Labour. It will not make much difference as Labour are facing annihilation across the nation (other than Northern Ireland where there are no elections). There are many who feel that a change of leadership will bring about a change in the fortunes of Labour, but while communication of the Labour message was terrible before, it appears that since Morgan McSweeney has left the team, that the message that Labour is sharing is being told better.
My message to those who want a change of leadership is that they are insane to think that a change of leader will change the media bias against Labour. Most the media dislike Labour and are also turning on The Green Party. It is interesting to compare the interview on BBC Today of Nigel Farage (at 2:16 on the link) to that of Zack Polanski (again at 2:26 but on this link). It was right to challenge Polanski on antisemitism, it was wrong not to do so with Nigel Farage.
Returning to Labour, there is the fact, or my opinion, that the markets do not want a change of leader. The economy is going to be under strain due to Trumpflation. We do not want to make the cost of borrowing worse by changing leader. Doing so means less money for public services with more going to lenders.
First of all, family. Our daughter is back. I worked this morning and at lunch, collected her from the station. We were all happy to see her, but I think that our dog showed it the most and for once, did not ignore her.
We spent time chatting with each other and later, watched The Devil Wears Prada. We are thinking about watching it on the weekend. My son left first, but he has exams coming up, and my wife left later, she having done a lot of exercise today.
Watching it with my daughter was useful as she did point out things to me which I had missed before. It is a good film, and I have no style or sense of fashion. I look forwards to watching the sequel.
My wife and I watched this film. As a film, it was interesting, but I doubt I will watch it again. The best character in it was his lawyer, notably for the clients he had represented in the past. It was also interesting to watch a film where the main character has more awards than the actor playing him (which I was surprised to find out). The Guardian rated it three out of five, and I would do the same, if I was in a generous mood. It was lovely to watch it with my wife. This is not a film I will be watching again. But it was a relaxing end to the bank holiday weekend.
I realised that I had forgotten to post about this. Last month, there was a call for a Parliamentary investigation into the appointment of Mandelson as Ambassador to the Court of King Trump. Labour MP’s defeated it, but I think that they were wrong to oppose this.
If Labour have been honest, and I thought this was the case beforehand, then transparency and accountability are good things. Labour showed this before when they promised to release files relating to his appointment. Something many who have forgotten and therefore has not been mentioned in the numerous discussions on the matter.
Voting against this implies that there is more to hide on the matter. I do not like the way this looks.
I have been outspoken with my support for The Royal Family. I do not want an elected head of state, as I would much rather have King Charles in charge as the democratically elected alternative would be Nigel Farage.
Many have refused to accept the soft power that The Royal Family brings, but the state visit to the USA showed the importance of this.
The Monarchy has flaws, not just Prince Andrew, but the way it did not speak out in defence of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, when double standards were shown to her, something many consider a sign of racism.
My wife got us a table for an amazing food and wine experience. We have been to Kintsu before, and its predecessor, Grain. The food rarely can be average, but more often it is excellent. If you have not been, and are willing to pay, it is certainly worth visiting.
We loved the food. My wife liked the wine more than I did, but she has a more refined palate than I have. However, I did appreciate the wine when I ate my food. It paired so well.
She has booked another meal there for two weeks time. I cannot wait!
For those who are unaware, someone tried to kill Donald Trump on the weekend during the White House Correspondents Dinner. Jimmy Kimmel is in trouble (again) for a roast of him on a fake dinner speech, which Trump, the narcissist, did not want to face. After all, he was not too happy when he was roasted in the past.
Just listening to Seth Myers, the one who made Trump run for President. He brought up a great point. We know that alien life has not visited earth (or are not known to have done so) as Trump has not bragged about it.
This is a film that the Trump administration should never watch. As it may give them ideas. Released in 2022, after the first term of President Trump, it shows a bleak vision of America, its treatment of immigrants and also how birth-right citizenship could be revoked. If I had watched it when it was released, I would have said it was fanciful, but looking at the USA of today, I cannot be so sure.
As a horror film, it is okay. I would not recommend it for that, but I do recommend it for how it shows how immigrants, and their descendants, can be mistreated.
My wife booked us an amazing meal for yesterday. She loves this chef who now has meals at her home. She missed booking a meal on other occasions and we almost missed this one. Fortunately there was a cancellation and she managed to get tickets for us.
The setting was beautiful, the food amazing, and we met some lovely people on our table. I am so glad she managed to get tickets and it will be great if we are lucky enough to return.
Starmer has come under a lot of flack over Mandelson again. Notably, if he had known that Mandelson did not pass security vetting for his job as Ambassador to the Court of King Trump.
Last of all, while many think that Starmer was wrong to sack Olly Robbins, the simple fact is that someone should have told Starmer sooner that he had inadvertently misled Parliament. Olly Robbins knew that and appeared to say nothing.
A lot has been made of the way Starmer and Trump have fallen out. I would want them to fall out more if Trump engages in war crimes in that I would want the US to be banned from using UK bases to attack Iran. But, Trump has been shown being rude about Macron as well. We know from the past that he has little respect for other world leaders, apart from Putin. This video is just another reminder of that.
We watched this film as a family yesterday, and got to take the dog with us. We had different views about the film, but I loved it. My wife felt it was too long, I am not sure it was the right film for my son, and my daughter did not think it was as good as I thought it was.
The strength of the film is in being able to talk about it afterwards. While you can do that with any film, this has more to discuss than most I have seen.
If you do not want any spoilers, do not click on the links to find out about the controversy surrounding it. I loved the film, and would watch it again. But none in my family would join me if I did so.
This was a film, which sadly was a disappointment. It is based on a book, I suspect that the book is better than the film. The film hinted at a lot more going on, but books are far better at developing characters than a film can be. And considering that this is a character driven story, like all, it is best served by a book.
The film does have shades of American Psycho, in that it deals with a dull life, where the main character comes to life in certain situations. One day, when I have more time to read, I may decide to pick the book up.
In summary, read the book, if you are to do neither, watch the trailer.
Another vampire film, one which was good in places and lacking in others. It has given me ideas for another Ravenloft role playing adventure, though I may rename the characters to those from Nosferatu if the players take the bait.
My ideal vampire film is Blade, but that does not really have horror. This is an average film and I may watch it again if it is on television when I am channel hopping, but I doubt it. It is a must watch film if you like vampires and gives a decent portrayal of Dracula. Basically, I am very glad that I watched it as it has inspired me with role playing.
There are numerous other examples where Trump has decided not to stick to deals he agreed on, which basically means that there are numerous examples of where he cannot be trusted.
First of all, family. We drove to Bristol to collect my daughter. So the family are all back together. We met up at a restaurant where I was able to charge my car. The change in the weather has made a difference to its range, something I knew before, but this has been a big difference.
Once at home, we wound down to relax, watching The Out-Laws. For those who have yet to watch it, don’t. The Guardian rated it one out of five. I would have to agree. It did have some genuinely funny lines but this is not a film for me.
As for today, I went to the Gaza protest in town at lunch. As before, I did not take part in all the chants, but while the world is watching Iran, the world is not taking notice of the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Bethlehem was mentioned at the protest, but many forget that the way to get the world to take more notice is to focus on the plight of Christians in Palestine. Sadly, the world seems not to care about the plight of Muslims. Also, the protest showed the effectiveness of The Epstein War, as the attacks on Iran were mentioned, but no one mentioned how Epstein files containing allegations against Donald Trump which had been made by a thirteen year old girl. For those who are interested, I have posted a timeline before.
Anyway, it is time for the cup final. I am going to be very nervous until it is over. Fingers crossed that I am in a good mood at the end of it.
Trump is not pleased. He considers NATO members to be cowards for not joining in his special military operation.
While Iran would have us quake in our boots, the reason for not joining has nothing to do with the nightmare that "liberating" the The Strait of Hormuz would be. Or even that this is a very illegal war, or not war.
The reason for not joining this, is because Trump started this war to distract from allegations involving him and a thirteen year old girl. It has met its objectives in that few are talking about Trump and an underage girl. It is a shame to many have had to die for this.
I rewatched this again. For those who know me, and have read my earlier post on a similar issue, some may be aware I like fantasy Role Playing. I run an online campaign on a play-by post basis on Discord. Well, I run three. One of them has a nautical part to it, hence me watching it.
I still love the film. I will be watching the sequels, but from what I remember, none match the original, though some will have ideas that I will copy.
I love the characters, some better than others. It is a great kids film that adults love. And I am glad I watched it again. In the unlikely event that you have not seen this film, it is well worth watching it.
There are many on the left who are against the UK being part of NATO. It may be a redundant argument soon. Having started the war (or special military operation) against Iran (in my view because of allegations about a thirteen year old girl), Trump has realised that things are not as simple as he thought. The UK is not alone in being reluctant to aid Trump and Israel in this illegal war.
But Trump holds grudges. I have posted about my concerns with Trump and NATO before. I had doubts that the USA, under Trump, would aid Europe if Russia attacks it. Those doubts are even stronger now.
The winners so far in this war are:
Israel as no other US president would allow them to attack Iran in this way. They will not get another chance again.
Russia, as oil sanctions have been suspended, and if the war continues, will remain so.
Trump, as no one is asking him about the allegations involving a (then) thirteen year old girl.
Yesterday we took my wife to Suffolk. One of the places she wanted to go to was The Westleton Crown. We have been here a few times before and loved it. But it appears to have changed hands. The food there is good, but the reason we returned was because the food used to be exceptional. It was a lovely day out for her, my son the dog and me, but it is one I doubt we will repeat.
For my research into role playing, I watched this film. I run three campaigns and this offered me the chance to learn for two of them, one being The Curse Of Strahd, featuring one of the most famous vampires in roleplaying, the other being a journey to the Isle of Dread.
Was it an enjoyable film? Yes. Would I watch it again? No. While the Guardian rated it below average, I would disagree, it is an average film. It could have been better, but it could have been worse and it was not.
We went down to London to see my mother for Mother’s Day. We were to meet my brother, but due to a mixup with times, that was not possible. We were almost late due to issues on the A12, but got there in good time. While my daughter was not there, my Mum was very happy to see my son. My wife had bought her a selection of gifts which my Mum loved. The food was good, parking was available around the corner and the dog loved it as well.
I don’t know if the traffic would have been worse if The Epstein War was not taking place. It was something my Mum did want to discuss, even mentioning that a group of young men, who came into it, might be sent to fight in it.
Which brings me to the next topic, The Epstein War. While prices go up, it will cause harm to our economy. Living in Colchester, we heard some helicopter activity from the nearby base and my wife and I hope that this does not mean we are to help. Trump is an unreliable ally. While the first casualty of war is the truth, Trump is notorious for being ignorant about facts, and lying about them if the facts are inconvenient. An example of this is Trump blaming Iran for the murder of schoolgirls and their rescuers early in this one sided war.
In addition to this, Trump has stated that NATO allies would not come to defend the USA, even though the only nation that was invoked Article Five, is the USA, and allies heeded the call.
Ignoring the ethics of joining in a hugely illegal war, Iran may be able to overcome or bypass any naval escorts with huge waves which overwhelm the defenders. I don’t like the regime in Iran, not just for the way it exports terror, but also for the way it murders its own people. But in this conflict, Israel and the USA are in the wrong, and if anything, I back Iran in its call for compensation as a condition to end the war.
Yesterday, I watched this video. It is about prostitution, a subject I have discussed many times before.
My view remains the same, sex work, ideally, should be safe legal and rare. I suspect it will never be rare, but it should be safe and legal. It should not involve human trafficking, coercion should not be present, and support to help anyone involved in it leave it, if they wish to do so, should be available. And that also includes brothels run by women for women.
Then the not-a-war started, which has worked to divert the attention of most of the world.
And now the files are visible to all, in a redacted manner. But I doubt many will talk about this as the bombing of Iran will get more attention, which means that the objective of the conflict has been met.
Our dog was cheated out of third place! She took part in Skrufts at the Prettyfields vineyard. There were several categories and she entered Waggiest Tail and Prettiest dog (for girl dogs). With her beard, I wanted to enter her into the most handsome dog, but was banned from doing so. She did not deserve to win any, but should have got bronze for wagging her tail. As for the prettiest dog, a small girl was judge and picked the Pomeranian in a sparkling coat. I did try to influence her by getting her to stroke Leia, but she declined the offer to give her a treat, but others cottoned on to my ploy and copied me afterwards!
What both sides do not mention is that Starmer did not allow UK bases to be used to attack Iranian missile sites and launchers when Iran were only retaliating against Israel in 2025.
To be fair, it should be up to the media to point this out, but either they have not noticed, or do not care. My views on the media bias against Labour have been posted before and I suspect the media will be happy to let Labour get castigated by both sides again.
Anyway, if the wag-the-dog theory is true, it has worked. While all the Epstein documents were meant to be released, it is reported that some are missing, notably documents relating to an unsubstantiated claim involving Trump and a 13 year old.
The secret for this film is that it is probably not worth watching the film. It started poorly but did improve. It may be that the film is aimed at a much younger audience than me and it may be that my children would appreciate it more. The Guardian gave it two out of five, and I would agree that is a fair score.
And on the topic of scores, Arsenal won today, which I am grateful for, but the holding in the penalty area confuses me. My understanding is that defenders should not hold onto attackers, but it may be that Arsenal got lucky again.
My wife and I drove our daughter back to Bristol today. Due to driving by electric car, the journey is longer than it has been when we have used her hybrid as we need to stop to charge the car. Which means it is about a twelve hour day. She can and has used the train, but I like the drive there. My son spent the time in Colchester recovering from a hectic week and greeted us on our arrival.
While the drive was exhausting, it was worth it. The picture is taken from when my wife and I had lunch while my car was charging. Our dog got to eat as well, and we may return here if the weather is good (they do not allow dogs inside).
Labour lost and considering the seat they lost, they lost badly. Many have stated that the seat would have been won if Andy Burham had been allowed to stand, but if he had, Labour would still face a nightmare in the local elections in May.
Yes, it looks as if it will be a two way fight between Reform and The Green’s in those elections, but the next general election is not until 2029.
A change in leadership may bring about a better communication strategy but it will not overcome the media bias against Labour.
While Your Party have made significant steps to fighting in the next General Election in 2029, they may have just as negligible an effect on The Green Party that Restore Britain will have on Reform UK.
Zack Polanski is coming out fighting, stating what he thinks, but by doing so, ensuring that I am not going to vote Green. I do agree with many policies of The Green Party. He has argued that Labour are doing what they are paid to do. But he is right.
It has been accused of listening to union paymasters when it comes to the minimum wage. There are numerous other examples, but when Labour is doing what it is paid to do, that is not a bad thing.
I have stated that I feel that they should be legalised and regulated, but Starmer raised an important point, that being date-rape drugs. While his view in PMQ's is that drugs should not be legalised and regulated, I do think that he is right about date rape drugs like GHB and flunitrazepam (also known as Rohypnol). I had a chat with my daughter about this later in the day. We both agreed that drugs like this should not be legalised as the idea of legalisation and regulation is about risk reduction to the user.
It is because of this, that I do not think that there is a point in the legalisation and regulation of anabolic steroids. Drugs ruin peoples lives, and making them legal will not stop them doing so, but doing so may help reduce some of the harm that they cause. Also, it will probably reduce the rates of drug related crime and has seen to have advantages abroad.
My daughter, being back in Colchester was happy to get post. It was addressed to those in the house who can vote, which made me think it was from the council about voter registration. She was shocked to see that it was Reform UK trying to get us to vote for them.
So far, we have been blacklisted by The Tories (I debate them) and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I want to know how we can get Reform to block us as well. I do not believe in being rude to them, I believe in robust debate to hold them to account, which, as I have posted before, is something our media do not do.
I would have to say, give this a miss. I love Marisa Tomei and I was surprised to see Natasha Leggero in it, they being two of the best actors in it. It has a different story, well a different one at the beginning, but then it becomes a normal rom-com.
The three main characters do not have much chemistry, which is a shame considering that I actually think that the film had potential. The different beginning was refreshing, but it never managed to take advantage of it. It has great scenery, I would love to visit the hotel in it, but as it transformed into a normal rom-com, bits of it became more painful. I did not warm to most of the characters and to be honest, was glad it was over. My son decided that although we wanted to watch it as a family film, it was not worth it, so he went to bed. As I do not think it is worth it, watch the trailer. Doing so means that you will watch most of the best bits.
