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!

Observations.

 

We've been back in Brighton for a couple of weeks now, and my first observation has been how friendly people are. It used to be like that in France, but something has happened, and there is now a feeling of 'gloom' everywhere. Here we can hardly walk a few metres without someone stopping to chat, and they're not always people we know.

Our lives are not that different to how they are in France. We tend to eat much the same, we drink the same wines, and our time-table is not that different. In Brighton we see Foxes every day, but I would say that is the only noticeable daily difference.

I always like to compare my two supermarkets. In France, Leclerc is still excellent, but some shelves are regularly empty; I have no idea why. Here at Sainsbury's the aisles are littered with people filling baskets for online shoppers, and they do hamper one's movement. It's a big store but there must be between 20 and 30 people permanently filling huge trollies with online purchases. Not good.

Pickles. France has a huge love-affair with pickled Gherkins (Cornichons), but nothing else. There is a huge variety of sizes, shapes, and presentations, but they're still all Gherkins. There are no pickled Onions, Red Cabbage, or even Piccalilli on regular sale in France. Nor are there 'Branston' type pickles, or Chutneys. The UK is far more adventurous. 

On the other hand, French Charcuterie is far superior. The variety of really good products, both on the Deli counter, and on the shelves, is superb. Something the UK still has to master. The UK also continues to have a problem with Sausages. I still cannot understand why we are obsessed with 'additives' in sausages. Please, please, will someone start a company making 100% Pork sausages. Nothing is simpler, and nothing is tastier. 

Strangely, UK bread making seems to have improved hugely over the past decade. The choice of interesting breads is now far ahead of that in France. The classic, and often boring Baguette, has held them back. It is 'traditional' and they're sticking with it regardless.

The weather has changed a lot since being back, and Autumn is almost here. I am still wearing just Shorts and T Shirts, and I will continue to do so well into October. I have also bought myself my FIRST EVER pair of sandals. I was worried that they would be uncomfortable, but I love them.

Everything here is OK, and we're very happy to be 'home'. We miss swimming every day, and we miss the open countryside, but inner city life can be just as much fun.

The next big event will be painting the front and back of the house. The Scaffolding has been ordered, and grandson Suarve Harve will quit Oxford for a weekend to lend a hand. It'll be good to have it done. I shall be up there doing some of the masonry work prior to painting. Pray for me!