Once more, in the traditions of Trevelyan and Monmouth, the West has risen again and sent a tide of protest towards the seat of power in London. Continue reading
Tag Archives: politics
the tide of immigration, a parliamentary sketch
In the House yesterday the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Eric Millipede (Lab) demanded to know what the Government were doing to stop the tide of illegal immigration into the UK. Specifically he was referring to the invasion over the last 8 weeks or so of several billion water droplets from other, unspecified nations. “Could this tide of water not have been prevented?” he wailed, Continue reading
Filed under fun stuff
Letters to the Editor – thoughts on the inappropriate use of popular music
Sir
The power of advertising is unquestionable and people often cite my criticism of what I regard as a bad advert as being proof in point; “Are, but you remember it, so they did their job” will be crowed gleefully at me. Continue reading
fun with word games – would you vote for these men?
As a child I loved those word puzzles that would be in the annual that I got for Christmas and have loved playing with words and language since. Whilst in the USA back in 2008 I played around with a campaign bumper sticker and came up with: Continue reading
so wins the Plonker of the Week award this week?
I’m not sure who to feel most sorry for here; the politicians (yes, really), the media or the public, but the panic buying of fuel and the chaos that has been caused over the last few days has left me bewildered. So who will get my Plonker of the Week award this week? Continue reading
Filed under fun stuff, random rants
Letters to the Editor – how can it be stealth tax when he’s told us and we all know about it? #Budget2012
Sir
Of course the country is up in arms about the tax plans for pensioners, but it is hardly a stealth tax is it? It was publically announced in a high profile speech and the media have been banging on about it every day since. It doesn’t seem like a very stealthy approach to my way of thinking. Continue reading
Letters to the Editor – Canterbury Vacancy #archbishopofcanterbury
Sir
I have suffered from gout, don’t believe in God and talk complete nonsense from time to time. Does this qualify me for the Canterbury vacancy?
Also, under equal opportunities legislation, can that bloke with the hook apply?
I think we should be told.
Yours etc
Scandalsied of Swindon
A letter from the House of Commons – short lived joy
The post thudded onto the doormat on Saturday. In amongst the white enveloped demands for money was a brown one; HMRC I thought, but no, House of Commons.
Bearing in mind the feedback and interest that I’ve had in some of my thoughts on the recent riots could DC have recognised my worth as an advisor and was summoning me over for a chat and to seek my help?
Unfortunately not. A few weeks ago I sent a briefing note to my MP in advance of a Commons debate in the hopes that it might have helped inform him on the subject. I got an Out of Office response to my email and nothing further. With recent events having, rightly, taken precedence over the subject that I had written to him about I had forgotten the matter, at least as far as Parliament was concerned.
But no. This was the subject of the letter, and so I sat down to read with interest. Having taken the trouble to write a carefully worded briefing for him I thought that there might be news of the debate. Once again, but no. The response expressed sympathy for me regarding the issue, and went on to suggest things that I could do to help myself in this matter.
Maybe fair enough on face value, but one of the central issues of the debate was the failure of a government appointed body to adequately deal with an issue in the area that it was suppsed to police, and to have also failed to follow up effcetively having allowed the problem to occur in the first place.
Part of my briefing covered this failure, so to recieve a piece of advice that included asking this agency to assist when it should have been clear that I already had done and that it had failed me (amongst others) is not impressive.
Quite frankly I would rather be ignored than patronised. And I voted for this bloke. Mea culpa?
Filed under random rants, serious stuff
letters to the editor – post operative voices
Sir
It may pain me to say it, but I find myself sharing a number of things in common with the current leader of New Labour. Apart from the fact that we are both male and both live in this country, we also share having had ENT surgery.
In my case I was warned that I m ight speak in a very different manner after the op and that there was a small risk that I might not be able to form recognisable speech at all, but this proved not to be the case and my medical team have been very pleased with the results of their handiwork as I sound exactly as I did before they cut and stitched. In this perhaps I diverge from the Leader of the Opposition as he apears to sound even more nasal than he did before.
However, we do share one further post operative speech defect in that we are both still prone to talking through our backsides from time to time.
Your fainthfully
Disgusted of Dorcan
victory is never sweet when it is at the expense of friends #vote2011
So it looks like a massive No2AV.
I voted No, but am I pleased with the result? Not especially, no. Yes it is the result I voted for, but only because I was presented with an alternative that I found even less palatable. I voted for the lesser of two evils as I saw it.
Was the No campaign persuasive? I don’t think so, in fact I would say that the Yes campaign did more damage to itself with some of the arguments it put forward. The campaign has seen some pretty stupid things said on either side, but unfortunately that is par for the course in modern, sound bite ridden, negative politics, and the result has been voted in by a poor turnout, even if it was better than some predicted.
So I sit here this evening casting an occasional glance at the unfolding vote with no sense of pleasure let alone satisfaction. And not just because of what I have just said, but also because there a few people I count as friends who were as passionate about a yes vote as I was opposed to it. As a Scottish pal once said to me, victory is never sweet when it is at the expense of friends. Their loss gives me no pleasure.
Filed under serious stuff
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 