Sheeran.

I know absolutely nothing about Ed Sheeran's music, but if I was him, I'd stick two fingers up at the music industry, take the money, and RUN.

It's an interesting 21st Century bit of nonsense. On his current tour of the USA, Sheeran had an opening act called Macklemore, who was using Sheeran's name to further his career, and who spent most of his time on stage praising terrorism and damning Israel. It became so bad that the Stadium owner, Robert Kraft, insisted that Sheeran got rid of him. Then, in a very bizarre move, dozens of Macklemore's friends pulled-out of the show in his support, leaving Sheeran himself as the only person on stage (I'm hoping this resumé is roughly correct).

I was interested enough to follow-up the story concerning some Free-Palestine protesters who later made a nuisance of themselves outside the stadium in Philadelphia.

I looked through a swathe of pictures of the flag-waving, slogan-shouting, lovies, but failed to find one single woman wearing a hijab. If this demonstration had taken place in their beloved 'Palestine', they would all now be very bruised, and/or in prison.

That is the REALITY of what they wish for. Not the freedoms offered by Israel, but the endemic repression of Islam.

Sheeran is a very popular singer and must have made several £Millions by now. If I was him, I'd retire to somewhere pleasant and have nothing more to do with the whole music industry, and especially with those who use their music as a political platform. Other singers, as we all know, use the platform for racism, and even for class warfare. 

When radical Woke politics enters the entertainment business, and affects your work in this way, it's time to call it a day.

 

Piddington.

Piddington is a small attractive Oxfordshire village with a population of under 360 residents.

The villagers are not happy. They are being told that they must receive 1,250 young male illegal immigrants, to be housed in an old village army barracks. They have said "NO" to the scheme in no uncertain terms; even to the extent of holding an Independence Vote to leave the UK. The vote was won almost unanimously. They now claim to no longer be a part of the UK, but are The Principality of Piddington; but to which Prince this refers I'm not sure.

They have written to Government Ministers, and their fears have fallen on deaf ears. Women's groups have made special appeals to all female MP's fearing their safety, but no-one is listening to them.

I have one simple solution to suggest. The old Barracks should be securely fenced-in with electrified razor wire, to keep all the criminals inside. If they weren't able to wander around, I'm sure the people would feel much safer. If, in exceptional cases, they HAD to leave their compound, they should be made to wear very distinctive Orange Jumpsuits.

I really hate it when our elected representatives ignore the wishes of the electorate. This is a classic example. The good folk of Piddington DON'T WANT 1,250 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS dumped on their doorstep by a government who says that 'we all need to share the load'. 

Well, Mr Burnham; the people of Piddington don't feel they need to share your load! But how about a huge open camp in your beloved Manchester instead?

 

Inconsiderate Bast*rd.

Between our back gate and our garages is a small area of no-mans-land where we back out, turn our cars, or even park for a short while whilst unloading shopping. Otherwise it is kept clear at all times. It is private land, and is for the use of residents only!

However, occasionally some selfish idiot decides to use the area as a free car park. They block our garages, and simply act as if they have every right to be there.

I have encountered a Chinese family having picnics there (twice), a taxi driver using it as pick-up point, and many others who park there, go shopping in town, and couldn't care less about who they inconvenience.

Recently this car above blocked both my, and my neighbour's, garages. It was there all day. I wanted to go out but was blocked-in. My next door neighbour's wife is 'heavily pregnant' and they could require their car at any moment. Blocking both our garages like this is simply not acceptable.

So, what can one do about such behaviour? Well the answer is 'Not Much'. The Police aren't interested as it's private land. We can't let his tyres down, as that would make him stay there even longer. And we can't really pour a pot of paint over his windscreen, as he'd probably sue us.

This car (above) was there for most of the day. Luckily Lady Magnon did see the owner sitting in the car before driving away. He was of 'dark complexion', and was in the process of lighting a 'spliff'. When she told him 'what's what', he just shrugged his shoulders and drove away. He had won!

I'd previously put a note on the windscreen, but he didn't even bother to look at it. Maybe the traditional Potato up the exhaust pipe might have done the trick, but I didn't think of it early enough.

Any non-criminal solutions to our problem would be gratefully received.

Losing (or lost) the Plot

The hierarchy of Church of England have been making some very bizarre pronouncements in recent times. It really isn't surprising that they now have so few followers, and that their churches are almost empty.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury (the C of E boss), The Right Reverend, The Right Honourable, Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, seems to go from one crazy controversy to another.

First it was her aim to hand-out £100 Million as recompense for slavery. I'm not sure who would receive this money, or even why; but I do know that the money put into the collection boxes on Sundays wasn't intended for that!

Just recently, on the anniversary of 9/11, she wanted to present Tahir Ashrafi (above with someone in disguise) with a 'Reconciliation and Interfaith Co-operation Award'. In the past, Ashrafi has praised Bin Laden, referred to the Hamas Oct 7th terrorists as 'Freedom Fighters', and claimed that all suicide attacks against NATO peace-keeping forces were 'Lawful'. He also says that all men should be allowed FOUR WIVES, without having to ask any permission. Regardless, our lovely new Wokey Archbishop thought him worthy of some Christian 'Award'. 

She has since had her hand slapped, and has backed down. It was obvious to all except her and her Wokey chums, that his views were 'outrageous'.

Shouldn't someone in her position be concentrating on spreading her Mumbo-Jumbo, rather than back-slapping supporters of terrorism? One really wonders what this woman will get up to next!

It used to be the case that our Archbishops of Canterbury dealt in matters of Creed and Morality. These days it's all Politics and Wokery. A very sad sign of the times!

 

Then and now

 

Our Barn in 2023, the day before before we sold it.

The Barn two weeks ago in 2026.

I don't wish to tell people how they should live their lives, but a certain amount of respect for a newly purchased property, and even the environment, wouldn't go amiss.

Before we sold it, I looked after the barn and its surrounding gardens on a daily basis. I had already worked for two years on the interior, and had created the whole garden from scratch; including the orchard. It was a great pleasure for me seeing it looking 'pristine'. However, the new owner obviously sees things differently. It now looks overgrown and abandoned, and is a total MESS.

And, yes, he does live there permanently. If he can't be bothered to do the work himself; get a bloody GARDENER!!!

Bloody thieves

I've just received my Car Insurance renewal papers.

As you can see, my premium has jumped from £415 to £509. A total disgrace!

The less I drive, the more my premium rises. What on earth have I done to warrant this increase? I've made no claims, I've had no accidents, in fact I've been the perfect client. I pay them cash and they give nothing in return; nor have they since I first began to drive! They should be falling at my feet, and offering me free coverage for the next decade, in the knowledge that I'm one of the safest drivers in Europe.

As with Road Tax, there is no escape from Car Insurance other than to sell my car and become 100% pedestrian. For the moment I cannot exist without my car; especially in France, so I need to continue to pay these scoundrels whatever they demand.

Bah; humbug!

 

UK Referenda

 

The leaders of Scotland's SNP, N Ireland's Sinn Fein, and Wales's Plaid Cymru, have all recently got together to talk about their mutual desires for independence from England.

At present the only member of the four nation 'United Kingdom' to NOT have it's own Parliament is England. Scotland, N Ireland, and Wales each have their own Parliaments, where English MP's do not sit. It really is about time that England had it's own Parliament as well.

Personally I am all FOR their independence. It would save England VAST amounts of Tax-Payer 'Barnett Formula' money. The three newly independent countries could all remain members of The Commonwealth (if they wished), but would not be eligible for 'Foreign Aid' from England.

I would suggest that all major English companies that are presently installed in any of the three other countries should return to England. Each of the newly independent countries would need to raise their own taxes, pay for their own defence, pay for their own unemployed, and pay for their own schools and hospitals. 

They would also no longer benefit from the BBC, The NHS, The Passport Office (they'd need to have their own), or even The DVLA.

If, after a referendum, the three countries voted to remain in the UK, may I also suggest that England holds its own referendum and becomes a unilaterally independent country; leaving the others to go it alone. 

It's about time that N Ireland, Wales, and Scotland all stood on their own two feet, and didn't rely on the generosity of England to keep them afloat. It would be fun to watch how they get on!