The Good
Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their birth of their son, good luck to them!
Of course, there are some who are frothing at the mouth about not having had a minute-by-minute build up, almost in the style of a big football match, and then outrage that we had to wait nine hours to be told the lad had been born. Well, good for the Duke and Duchess I say. It’s a magic and special moment that should be theirs and handled as they think fit, and whilst I’m sure I won’t agree with all their views on parenthood, and again it is up to them, he is their son, so I for one applaud the way they are handling the situation and the future!
And while I’m on good and the Royal family, what great, not just good, ambassadors they are, all are, for this country. The jobs they bring to this country are legion and the most popular thing to do amongst the 39 million who visit this country every year is to see Buckingham Palace… more jobs!
Another good…
Mark Carney will be leaving his role as Governor of the Bank of England next year and the search for his successor has begun. Head-hunters have been appointed and applications have to be in by 5th June. The successful applicant will start in February.
So why have I put this in good? Carney has done a difficult job in difficult times and although he might have had better speech writers who spoke the “lingo of life” rather than pure language, he’s done a good job. But the good I’m really talking about is that women will be considered as the 121st head of our central bank. That’s great, as long as it is on merit and not a PC appointment of having a woman for the sake of a woman. There are some great women out there, as well as men, capable of doing the job and if the next Governor is to a woman then in fairness to her she needs to know that she got the job on merit.
The Bad
I suppose most of my generation, whilst agreeing that some of the old ways were wrong, put greater emphasis on discipline than some of what I will call more ‘modern thinkers’! But now we hear that teachers are leaving the profession because parents are hitting the social media platforms complaining about their children being “told off” at school. Now, when I was a kid I didn’t want my parents to know I’d been in trouble at school because I’d be in trouble again at home! I never told them I was caned, which did me good, but the headmaster wrote and told them! Society can only exist on a common set of values and reasonable behaviour with the right to appeal. Without that we become anarchy and some communities and schools have. OK, only a minority, but that’s how things start, good or bad, with the minority. Power to the teachers who are trying to hold things together and impose discipline and shame on the cowardly parents taking to social media to criticise the teachers. If you have a problem, go and thrash it out. Working with people has always been the best way and it’s no different with kids at school. It also teaches the kids something that will be useful in later life. Let’s back the teachers when they are right!
Another bad…
I have written before and recently about the failure to vaccinate children and the risk it poses to their health.
I don’t deny that some homeopathic treatments have a value, though I think the power of the mind probably has a greater value, but there are folk out there making a fortune out of selling what are to say the least ineffective treatments and substitutes, for what they wrongly and dangerously describe as toxic vaccines. OK, promoting homeopathy is no crime but peddling nonsense ideas that threaten kids’ lives and well-being is utterly irresponsible. I’m not in favour of licencing everything, which also means taxing, and nor am I a member of the protectionist society who thinks “they” (whoever they are) should be taking responsibility for us all, but the truth is that this unfettered peddling of unproven theories is a potential threat to life.
The Mad
While is this mad, it is also certainly deja vu, but I suppose I’ll be seeing more and more of that as the years roll by! The recent local council elections were a disaster for the Tories and dire for the socialists. It is part of a normal pattern for governments to suffer mid-term, usually to the benefit of the opposition. But this is no ordinary Government, no ordinary Parliament and no ordinary opposition! Traditionally, when hacked off with both main parties, folk vote for the Liberals in mid-term elections, especially in by-elections. And indeed, so it was with the Lib Dems gaining most from the Brexit anger, but it wasn’t only them and for Sir Vince to claim they are “back in the game” is madness! How many, how very many times have we been here before. Remember Eric Lubbock in Orpington, Vince?
Now we may be at a point in politics where we will witness a total realignment of parties, it is almost 100 years since the Labour Party emerged to eclipse the Liberal Party, but the gang of four failed, and they were all high-profile. The gang of 11 or however many will also fail and the Lib Dems will not be ‘back in the game!’ Maybe they will be lost into a new slightly leftist party…
And finally…
Let’s stay with politics for madness, with vanity bolted on! President Tokayev of Kazakhstan is having his official pictures, well, I was going to say touched up, but remade would be more accurate! And he’s only 65! It was spotted by Amos Chapple, a photographer who put them up on social media, but there has been no official comment! In the official pictures at events, gone is the double chin and creased cheeks, his lips are different and skin smoother, but his hair, now slightly shorter, looks greyer to me. Madness!
Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their birth of their son, good luck to them!
Of course, there are some who are frothing at the mouth about not having had a minute-by-minute build up, almost in the style of a big football match, and then outrage that we had to wait nine hours to be told the lad had been born. Well, good for the Duke and Duchess I say. It’s a magic and special moment that should be theirs and handled as they think fit, and whilst I’m sure I won’t agree with all their views on parenthood, and again it is up to them, he is their son, so I for one applaud the way they are handling the situation and the future!
And while I’m on good and the Royal family, what great, not just good, ambassadors they are, all are, for this country. The jobs they bring to this country are legion and the most popular thing to do amongst the 39 million who visit this country every year is to see Buckingham Palace… more jobs!
Another good…
Mark Carney will be leaving his role as Governor of the Bank of England next year and the search for his successor has begun. Head-hunters have been appointed and applications have to be in by 5th June. The successful applicant will start in February.
So why have I put this in good? Carney has done a difficult job in difficult times and although he might have had better speech writers who spoke the “lingo of life” rather than pure language, he’s done a good job. But the good I’m really talking about is that women will be considered as the 121st head of our central bank. That’s great, as long as it is on merit and not a PC appointment of having a woman for the sake of a woman. There are some great women out there, as well as men, capable of doing the job and if the next Governor is to a woman then in fairness to her she needs to know that she got the job on merit.
The Bad
I suppose most of my generation, whilst agreeing that some of the old ways were wrong, put greater emphasis on discipline than some of what I will call more ‘modern thinkers’! But now we hear that teachers are leaving the profession because parents are hitting the social media platforms complaining about their children being “told off” at school. Now, when I was a kid I didn’t want my parents to know I’d been in trouble at school because I’d be in trouble again at home! I never told them I was caned, which did me good, but the headmaster wrote and told them! Society can only exist on a common set of values and reasonable behaviour with the right to appeal. Without that we become anarchy and some communities and schools have. OK, only a minority, but that’s how things start, good or bad, with the minority. Power to the teachers who are trying to hold things together and impose discipline and shame on the cowardly parents taking to social media to criticise the teachers. If you have a problem, go and thrash it out. Working with people has always been the best way and it’s no different with kids at school. It also teaches the kids something that will be useful in later life. Let’s back the teachers when they are right!
Another bad…
I have written before and recently about the failure to vaccinate children and the risk it poses to their health.
I don’t deny that some homeopathic treatments have a value, though I think the power of the mind probably has a greater value, but there are folk out there making a fortune out of selling what are to say the least ineffective treatments and substitutes, for what they wrongly and dangerously describe as toxic vaccines. OK, promoting homeopathy is no crime but peddling nonsense ideas that threaten kids’ lives and well-being is utterly irresponsible. I’m not in favour of licencing everything, which also means taxing, and nor am I a member of the protectionist society who thinks “they” (whoever they are) should be taking responsibility for us all, but the truth is that this unfettered peddling of unproven theories is a potential threat to life.
The Mad
While is this mad, it is also certainly deja vu, but I suppose I’ll be seeing more and more of that as the years roll by! The recent local council elections were a disaster for the Tories and dire for the socialists. It is part of a normal pattern for governments to suffer mid-term, usually to the benefit of the opposition. But this is no ordinary Government, no ordinary Parliament and no ordinary opposition! Traditionally, when hacked off with both main parties, folk vote for the Liberals in mid-term elections, especially in by-elections. And indeed, so it was with the Lib Dems gaining most from the Brexit anger, but it wasn’t only them and for Sir Vince to claim they are “back in the game” is madness! How many, how very many times have we been here before. Remember Eric Lubbock in Orpington, Vince?
Now we may be at a point in politics where we will witness a total realignment of parties, it is almost 100 years since the Labour Party emerged to eclipse the Liberal Party, but the gang of four failed, and they were all high-profile. The gang of 11 or however many will also fail and the Lib Dems will not be ‘back in the game!’ Maybe they will be lost into a new slightly leftist party…
And finally…
Let’s stay with politics for madness, with vanity bolted on! President Tokayev of Kazakhstan is having his official pictures, well, I was going to say touched up, but remade would be more accurate! And he’s only 65! It was spotted by Amos Chapple, a photographer who put them up on social media, but there has been no official comment! In the official pictures at events, gone is the double chin and creased cheeks, his lips are different and skin smoother, but his hair, now slightly shorter, looks greyer to me. Madness!
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