If you cannot stand the heat without being a bully, get out of the kitchen

 

Dominic Raab has resigned. Like Priti Patel, he was found to be a bully on two occasions. The other charges against him were not proven.

Conservatives have rallied round and have stated several things

1 - He was the subject of a conspiracy of Civil Service activists 

2 - He was cleared on the other charges

3 - Gordon Brown did the same (they have cited others as well)

4 - Civil servants are weak.

Basically, bullying in the workplace is wrong. The bar on what was acceptable years ago has rightly, in my view, changed. This applies to public and private sector employees. If activists are ensuring that rules are followed, what is wrong with that?

While Dominic Raab was cleared on the other charges, he was found guilty on two.  That is two too many cases of bullying. That bullying happened under Labour over 13 years ago does not make such behaviour right. The Thick Of It was a drama that showed that the levels of bullying under Labour were unacceptable.

Last of all, civil servants are not weak for being bullied. Like any employee of any organisation they should not be bullied, 

Getting shot for being lost

 Yes, another post about gun control in the USA. In my job, I have to visit people in their homes. Sometimes it can be hard to find the address, not just in new build areas where road signs are absent initially, but also in more rural areas. Most of the time I can ring for directions, but there are times that this has not been possible, or I have not been aware that I have gone to the wrong address. 

I have never been shot for this, something which happens too many times in the USA. I am aware that this is because lax gun laws are valued more than the deaths of innocent lives, and I am grateful that I do not face this risk here. 

Gender, hospitals, JK Rowling and yesterday in Parliament

Guess what, it is another discussion about gender. Yesterday this issue was raised in Parliament by Rosie Duffield, MP for Canterbury. The subject matter related to attacks on women in hospitals. This had been also brought up by the Telegraph and the article was tweeted by JK Rowling. Suzanne Moore wrote that "predators always sniff out vulnerability" and that this "is why women are arguing to maintain single-sex spaces in prisons, refuges and hospitals."

I have attempted to discuss this on Twitter, but I have been assured that this did has never happened. This is even after I raised an example. By did not happen, I do not know if they mean that the alleged perpetrator was not a TransWoman or that the story was made up. Sadly, due to the court backlog, if this gets to trial, it may not be for a while, that is of course if this case has gone to trial! 

I still stand by my views that in the majority of cases where the provision of additional gender neutral spaces is not an option, segregation by genitalia should take place. Or we will have more cases were women are exposed to male genitalia in female spaces. 

It's the way I tell 'em

Frank Carson was a Northern Irish comedian renowned for bawdily irreverent humour and his catchphrase, "it's the way I tell 'em" and that catchphrase is something Keir Starmer needs to take on board. The questions and issues that he raised in PMQ's were very relevant, but his delivery was below par and as pointed out by Rishi Sunak after one question, quite longwinded. He, like many Labour politicians, needs to think up catchphrases that can be used in PMQ’s which the electorate will respond do. Like the Conservatives do. 

I do understand why many think that there is no point to PMQ’s, but it is thanks to the scrutiny that the PM is put under, that consequences can arise. It was a question that was asked on the 8th of December 2021 by Catherine West that may result in Parliament acting against Boris Johnson for his answer and the way he misled Parliament. 

When they go low, we go lower

 

It looks like Labour are to fight fire with fire.  It may not be the moral thing to do, but the moral thing did not work out in 2016 when Trump defeated Clinton by telling lies and generating hatred and division.  Sadly, too many voters remember catchphrases, Boris Johnson used this to great effect in the 2019 General Election when his promises, despite being torn apart by the media, won over the electorate.

Rishi Sunak has stated that Starmer is on the side of people smugglers. Suella Braverman has claimed that 100 million refugees want to come to the UK.  The Conservatives are basically telling lies, but these lies win over voters.

I do not like Labour fighting dirty, but I do think that if the Conservatives continue to punch below the belt, Labour should do the same and punch harder. 

Arsenal players look like they will not be able to keep dogs, as they cannot hold onto a lead

 First of all, family. We took the children to see their grandparents.  My mother was first and this song is for her as the issue of how the UK sells arms to be used in Yemen was discussed.  She was under the impression that few knew about it, whereas I have known about it for a while, and my children listen to a song about this.  

After that, we went to see my wife's parents and after our trip home, my wife and I went out for an amazing time together.  All in all, a lot was packed into our Saturday.

Sunday was more relaxed, I watched Grey's Anatomy with my son and went for a dog walk with my daughter.  I did not get to watch Arsenal draw to West Ham and essentially throw away our hopes of winning the title which is why I was in a good mood for most of the day.  

  

If anyone had asked me at the beginning of the season if I would have been happy to finish in the top four and also finish above the Scum, I would have taken it.  But the thing is, I started to think that we could win it...

Dead Poets Society

 First of all we had a trip to Aldeburgh as a family. We woke up late because we had Nick and Lyndsay over the night before for drinks, food and company, my son taking Leia for a walk in the morning. 

My wife had booked a place for lunch, and we had intended to arrive in good time to go for a walk on the beach, but we arrived late. Besides, it was quite foggy when we got there. 

The meal was a good one, sadly my son was not able to enjoy it fully, but he got better later and was able to go for a walk with me along the beach. Later I did the same walk with my daughter, the dog liking both walks. It was nice to have a change in scenery, and with the sun coming out when we had lunch, we appreciated it all the more so.

We stopped over at Snape Maltings on the way back where Leia got another walk while my son and wife looked at things in the shops there.

We got back in time for me to watch Arsenal lose a two goal lead against Liverpool. When I started watching it, we were one goal ahead with the second half just starting. A draw is better than a loss, and it was a loss that I feared before the game. But a draw means that the odds are that we will lose the title on goal difference. Considering where we came from last season, finishing second will be amazing, but to be top of the table most of the season and then not winning the title will be hard to take.

Later, I watched Grey’s Anatomy with my son, and then in the evening, Dead Poets Society with my daughter. My son has to listen to my rants about how Grey’s Anatomy shows how bad news should not be given and is getting used to my biology lessons during it. 

Dead Poets Society is a film I have meant to watch for quite a while. My wife did not watch it with us, having watched it in the cinema when it first came out. It was a good film, and for the time, I imagine an excellent one. The message had been told many times since then, but its core message is one that was been told well and few films have told it as well since.