Maxi-Luddites

 

It doesn't take a genius to understand that all of our Agriculture, and our infrastructure and domestic Construction industries, rely heavily on machinery that use fossil fuels; mostly Diesel. Without that fuel everything would grind to a staggering halt. I have yet to see any Tesla Tractors, Diggers, or Bulldozers around.

Luckily we have plenty of Oil and Gas reserves in The North Sea, but our LUDDITE Minister of Energy Security and Net Zero, the fragrant Ed Milybloodyidiot (above), wants to ban all fossil fuels, and use the light breeze and whatever sunshine we get instead. He refuses to allow our major Oil Co's to drill for our own fuel reserves (of which we have plenty); so we buy from Norway and elsewhere at greatly inflated prices instead. OK, being 99% 'eco' is a pleasantly endearing Woke idea, but we do need to be practical as well.

The most disturbing effect of their Net Zero policies will be on Agriculture. This bizarre government has already caused chaos by stopping farms being handed from Father to Son/Daughter by the imposition of crippling Inheritance Taxes; most farms will now have to be sold to pay huge tax demands. That, and the lack of Diesel Oil for their tractors, will soon bring UK farming to near STANDSTILL. How come that everybody seems to understand this, other than our current bunch of blinkered politicians?

It is no secret that the world's major manufacturers and suppliers of Milifool's beloved Wind turbines and Solar panels are CHINESE. For some strange reason, our politicians prefer to support THEIR economy rather than our own. No wonder that Starmer was visiting China recently. Will we soon be eating Chinese Spuds and Brussels Sprouts?

And it's not only that. The next time you visit your supermarket, take a look at all the parked cars, and see the number that are either Chinese (EV's) or Japanese. Why is it that even our own citizens prefer to support THEIR economies rather than buying European?

All answers on a postcard please to The Luddites of No 10 Downing St, London.

Avian 'des res'.

I am 'now' successfully feeding our local birds (mostly Sparrows) at the front of the house, but I'm having less success at the back.

I installed this very well built and solid bird box about 4 years ago, and although it is in a secure position, it has yet to have any residents. I haven't even seen any birds having a tour of inspection.

It has a good watertight roof, the inside is clean and 'cosy', and it is situated away from prying Cats or Foxes. In other words (to me) it seems ideal for a blossoming family of Blue or Great Tits.

I suppose I could hang a seed-filled feeder nearby to attract them, but that may prove to be counter-productive.

Anyway, I've given it a clean, installed a 'Vacant' sign, and am crossing my fingers.

For heaven's sake; it even has Roses around the door (or it will have). What more could they possibly want!

 

An Essential Change to the Law!

On Saturday morning, I was waiting at a traffic light, when a man pulled-up behind me wearing the EXACT type of large pale-grey hoodie as this woman is wearing below.

Originally I simply thought he looked a bit of a plonker, as it was a lovely warm sunny day. But then I noticed him looking sideways both right and left.

As his head moved, I noticed that the hoodie DIDN'T. Meaning that he couldn't see anything out to either side.

Personally I wouldn't be seen dead wearing a hoodie, let alone wearing one on a warm day in a car. It's no different to a horse wearing blinkers.

So, here is an open letter to Lord Hermer KL, the UK's Attorney General....

"Dear Sir; I would be grateful if you would recommend an immediate ban on the wearing of 'hoodies' by all bike, car, and lorry drivers. It is a danger to other road-users, and other than looking ridiculous, it is also totally unnecessary.  May I also recommend an 'on-the-spot-fine' of £500 (or more). Thank you; Cro".

 

Another Product Test.

My shopping is usually very disciplined; I have my list, and I stick to it.

But occasionally, just occasionally, I throw caution to the winds and invest in a total unknown.

I just happened to be looking for a favourite brand of Choucroute, when I noticed this (below). Spichlerz Rusiecki Miesiwo (I hope I've spelt that correctly).

It didn't really give many clues as to what it was, but it did claim to be 'Dish of meat au jus'; I was intrigued.

I thought it must be Polish, and be made of Pork. It looked rather like the Jamboneau I buy in France, with a solid looking lump of meat surrounded by jelly. But I wasn't sure if it was a type of paté, or a mixture of paté and meat, or even a solid piece of preserved meat. It didn't say, and I couldn't see!

In fact it was solid meat (not minced), and was probably made-up from several pieces. It WAS very similar to the French Jamboneau, but maybe not quite as tasty.

I found it amongst the foreign foods at Sainsbury's, but I don't know if it's sold everywhere. I'm sure most bigger stores would have it. Online it was advertised at £2.38 from Asda, £2.50 from Sainsbury's (which is what I paid), and £4.26 + £19.99 delivery from londongrocery.net (they must be bloody kidding!).

It was certainly worth buying; I enjoyed it, and it wasn't over expensive. If you like that sort of thing I would recommend that you give it a go. Serve with buttered toast and a few gherkins!

Verdict: 8/10. It could be better seasoned, but otherwise very pleasant. I shall certainly buy it again.

Harry Hill

Harry Hill isn't on TV much these days, but he was always amongst my very favourite comedians.

I once went to a show of his at The Theatre Royal here in Brighton; it was without doubt the funniest evening of my life.

This very short video comes from his TV show 'TV Burp'. A classic of the style of clips he showed.

One of my real hates, is people who don't speak clearly. Mumbling has become 'fashionable' (especially amongst actors); so here are some good examples. Enjoy!

And don't ask me what they're saying (except for the final one) because I don't have a clue.

 

Strachey, Bloomsbury, and Charleston.

Of all my literary heroes from the past, I haven't heard the name of Lytton Strachey mentioned for quite some while. Maybe he is simply 'out of fashion'; if indeed he was ever 'in'.

I first came upon him whilst still at school. I was doing a project about the role of Florence Nightingale in world medicine, and discovered his book 'Eminent Victorians' (in which she featured). Strachey's writing, and highly individual perspective, made him appeal at once.

These days I associate Strachey with Charleston; the Bloomsbury group home on the other side of The Downs from Brighton. Strachey didn't actually live there but was a frequent visitor to Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and others. This portrait of LS (below) is by Dora Carrington.

Much later I bought Michael Holroyd's rather heavy-going biography of Strachey, which I still have; and occasionally browse.

In many ways LS was a man of 'fringe importance'. He appealed to a specific audience, and his critical writings only appeared in 'fringe publications'. Regardless, there is something essentially 'English' about his writing. Very 'Bloomsbury'.

LS lived in Wiltshire, at Ham Spray House, near Marlborough (below). The photo shows L to R Carrington, Frank Partridge, and LS himself.

I think Strachey is now ripe for a revival. A BBC biopic maybe. Or even a Bloomsbury Romcom? I would, of course, play the part of scruffy painter Duncan Grant.

This (below) is me back in 2022 in France, reading a letter from Virginia Nicholson (co-author of the ultimate Charleston book I'm holding). She had written the book with her father Quentin Bell (son of Clive and Vanessa Bell), but he sadly died just before its publication. She wrote to me "From one of the authors, and in memory of the other, best wishes, etc". The book, and her kind letter, is one of my treasured possessions.

The Bloomsbury Group were certainly people about whom there is plenty of scandalous subject matter. It would make 'essential' viewing (Channel 4 maybe?).

Mojtaba Khamenei

 

Regular visitors here may remember that I wrote about Mojtaba Khamenei (above) back on 3rd Feb this year.

He's a charming fellow. Son of the late supreme leader (now with his 72 virgins), he had access to unlimited funds to amuse himself, wherever he fancied; mostly in London. I see that his late father, the fragrant Ayatollah, managed to amass a 'fortune' of between $95 and $200 Billion. All this whilst many of his people could hardly afford a loaf of bread.

It must be strange to have access to unlimited money. If he sees a £40 Million house that he fancies, he just says "Send the bill to Iran", and it's his! And he moves on to the next one.

The big question is (as with so many Islamic leaders), where does all the money come from?

Arafat was the first leader I'd heard about who 'commandeered' vast amounts of his people's money. Since then almost every Hamas senior figure has managed to acquire a few dodgy £Millions or even £Billions; Yahya Sinwar having even deposited his stash in a Jewish Bank in Tel Aviv. The bloody cheek! 

It's well known that these people steal money that belongs to the citizens of Iran, Syria, Gaza, etc, and they have no shame in doing so.

The latest I heard of Mojtaba himself, was that he MIGHT have lost a limb, and MIGHT be in a coma. News is sketchy. As with most of these people; their stolen £Billions don't do them much good! You can only spend so much.

Mojtaba is of course a Cleric, like his father before him; but does The Koran not teach that one 'Should not steal'? Surely a Cleric should know better.