There was a recent survey showing that those, like myself, living in the rain sodden post industrial second world nation of Wales were among the most depressed in the world and one of the reasons cited was the rollout of 20 MPH speed limits. They are absolutely everywhere. The overpaid political midgets in the Senedd left it to the discretion of local councils as to where to apply the new limits and the power-hungry non-entities who run local councils across this once fine land could not wait to impose the limits everywhere they could.
Though health issues leave me behind schedule in the garden I saw last night that my peas, garlic, shallots, onions and radishes are all poking through and are on track. There is no sign yet of the early spuds or beetroot and this week the kids and I plant leeks, carrots and a second helping of peas. The strawberries and fruit bushes look set for another bumper crop and we already have a glut of rhubarb. However, the annual humiliation has hit me again.
I was first up and my encounter was scheduled, it was my diabetes check up. When the Shipmans test your blood they obtain a three month average trailing score of blood sugars. So this chat was about bloods taken on March 4: two months of sobriety, healthy eating and exercise and one month of drinking and over indulgence during the olive harvest and then Christmas. Yet my results were stunning, a 25% reduction in blood sugars, albeit from a terrible start. The nurse was full of praise and said how much thinner I was looking. I think she meant I looked less fat but the trend is my friend.
Another day and another reservation arrives. That means that there are now just eight weeks unbooked this year between May 1, when the pool opens up, and November 2 when it shuts for the winter. A number of those renting are return visitors. If you fancy a holiday in the Greek countryside, two miles from the nearest house in a luxurious poolside villa, I can help you. The Eco palace we have restored over the past decade, in the Mani will be 100 years old this year and has, as you can see below, been completely renovated. The pool will be warm by May and will stay warm until late October so the smart holidaymaker still has five weeks of off peak bookings available and here are direct flights to Kalamata throughout that period. As of now there are still three weeks unbooked in May, two weeks in June and a week free in both August and September with 12 days unbooked in October.
In my day job I deal with stockmarket villains. The narrative does not change when you expose a big scandal. I publish a report. The company’s advisers, overpaid PR fluffies, put out a regulated announcement where they “refute” the allegations. And in due course I am vindicated and shares in that company collapse, sometimes to zero. It has happened so many times.
It was only a couple of weeks ago when the hapless Tory MP William Wragg was exposed for exposing himself on Grindr and then being blackmailed that I made reference to Uncle Chris, the late Christopher Booker HERE. The image from Private Eye of the Court of SuperMac dressed as if for the fall of Rome, which hangs in the downstairs loo at The Old Rectory, is again in my mind. It is as if Tory MP’s get an automatic account with the gay dating app Grindr when they are elected. Again, another Private Eye joke springs to mind.
Vernal Scott is the head of Equality and Diversity at my old place, Oxford University. And as you can see below he only believes in free speech for folks he agrees with.
I have my own battle with Bath Spa University. The time is now almost right to relay to you the Orwellian treatment it dished out to me but more critically to my wife after I gave THIS outstanding lecture. Suffice to say it is an Orwellian, woke shit-hole with zero credibility in terms of academic rigour. Bath Spa should also be reminded of its horrific treatment of academic James Caspian after the publication of the seminal Cass Report.
As of today just under half the seats for the third Sharestock event on 7 September are now booked. If you have been before you know why but this year’s event will be bigger and better than any yet. Here is why you should make sure you have a seat HERE today.
There is flooding in St Malo in France today and as you can see below, the cultist followers of the Doom Goblin are rushing to blame climate change or global warming as was. But, as ever, the facts, the truth, is a bit inconvenient. For starters St Malo has the biggest tidal swell in Europe making flooding all too common. In fact here is a list of the dates of major floods in the town since records began. I ignore minor ones:
More than eight years ago I discussed trying to enlighten my father and his wife on the evils of Amnesty International. To his credit, Dad saw the light and before he died canceled his monthly donation. But the organization goes from bad to worse and has now hit a new low with its eulogy for Walid Daqqah who it describes as a “writer” and as a “reminder of Israel’s cruel disregard for Palestinians’ right to life” in the tweet below. It cannot be serious. But it is.
My friend Lucian Miers and I drank English Champagne after standing for hours outside St Paul’s to pay our respects and watch the funeral of Margaret Thatcher on 17 April 2013. We mourned as some freaks celebrated as I reported back with photos HERE. But it was even years ago today that Mrs thacher died. The video below is a reminder for younger viewers of what an amazing leader she was and of the pygmies who have led us ever since.
As you can see below, Peter Tatchell blames President Putin for a drone strike on the Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying it risks a nuclear catastrophe and is a war crime. Folks have flocked to like his tweet. Those fucking Russians is there nothing they will not do….except…
I start with reader and fellow olive harvester T who is on holiday right now in Iceland. He says that “global warming is causing us some problems. Average temperatures in April are 1 to 7 and slightly lower in March. It was minus 7 at lunchtime and snowing hard. A few days ago we were at a glacial lake. Apparently in 100 years the glacier has retreated a couple of km. Elsewhere a historical notice board pointed out the glacier has advanced 20km since 1000 AD.”
In the house of my late uncle Christopher Booker the walls feature a number of original cartoons from the publication he co-founded, Private Eye. Yes kids… the professional celeb and media tart Ian Hislop did NOT found Private Eye. My favourite is one that is very much in my mind today amid news of the latest Tory sex scandal, one from the Profumo era of 1963, drawn by Willie Rushden.
