Waffle and flimflam

Well, what a waste of time that was. Reviews, improvements, lessons will be learned and other assorted bs.

He could have sounded genuinely remorseful, he could have said he was sorry for trying to lie his way out of a Govt disaster, he could have taken full responsibility for the parties and the cover-ups. He didn't. He hid behind Sue Gray's skirts and Cressida Dick's investigation, then made a lame statement in the House where he still tried to weasel out of any wrongdoing.

I despair, I really do.

The only good thing to be said is... I didn't vote for this clown, nor would I ever.

Covid has never been the problem. Boris's reaction to it, however, is another story.

Masks, parties and cake

As of today masks are once again no longer legally required in England (hurray!)... unless you're on a plane, or the London Underground, or in a hospital, or a school corridor, or in Sainsbury's, Waitrose or John Lewis or in public places in Manchester etc. etc... in which case you do have to wear one! Oh, and don't forget your jabs and booster. Have you got that? Do try to keep up.

This is how we're supposed to "live with" Covid, apparently, now that it's turned into something no more serious than a cold. If it's a cold, I'll live with it the same way I have all my life. I don't need three jabs and a mask, thank you. 

Some will carry on draping their face with a piece of cloth as a badge of honour - "Look how responsible I am, such a paragon of virtue, I'm doing this for the greater good" - they'll also make very sure you know exactly how virtuous and public-spirited they are! Those people make me sick, but I do understand the view of others who are still scared, thanks to the relentless Govt propaganda, and if they want to be masked and jabbed... fine, their choice. But I don't and I won't.

"Partygate" rumbles on with no end in sight - we're still waiting for Sue Gray's report. I imagine Boris is twisting her arm to make him appear in the best possible light. 

The thing is... it's not about parties or blasted cake, it's about being decent and honest - a person who's fit to lead the country. Boris is not that person; he's a liar who made the laws and then broke the laws. "I was only there for 10 minutes" is no defence. 

Good decent people were prevented from seeing their dying loved ones, prevented from attending their child's birth, prevented from giving their Dad a hug in his care home, arrested and fined for having a coffee with friends in a park - so why did he think the law didn't apply to him? Game's up, Boris... it won't do; time to go, matey.

We saw the sun today for the first time in a week. The sky's been 50 shades of grey for days on end - a shot of sunlight makes everything look so much brighter and... wait for it! there's a snowdrop (just one!) open in the front garden. Not exactly a display just yet, but it's a start. A harbinger of spring.

I need sunlight and warmth - I need spring flowers and a cup of tea in the garden while Mr S-V wanders up and down with the mower. Soon... soon. Not long now.

The beginning of the end... maybe

Mask mandates and vaccine passports come to an end as of next week! Hoo-bloody-ray! It's a start - and, of course, it's only happening because Boris needed to save his own sorry skin after the party debacle but, given where we are, I'll take it.

I imagine he's looking for a few Brownie points with Sue Grey before her report comes out next week. To avoid answering questions at the moment he's still hiding behind her skirts. Such a dignified leader...

Unsurprisingly the BBC and the usual suspects are still banging the Covid drum, same as they've been doing for nearly two years, reporting stories about unjabbed people dying or having the virus while pregnant. Project Fear will take a long time to die down in some quarters. It's become a way of life for them.

It's astonishing to hear so many people saying the restrictions shouldn't be lifted. Are they enjoying this? How long do they want it to go on for?! 

Removing the mask mandate doesn't stop them wearing a mask - they can wear as many as they like; they can wear a wetsuit and a diver's helmet if that's what they want, but some of us would like to move on and reclaim what's left of our lives.

This may not be the end but we seem to be heading in the right direction...

We were looking out of the window at the sky the night before last - it was bitterly cold and cloudless; a full moon and Orion were clearly visible and Sirius was twinkling brightly in amongst a myriad others. 

It really gave clarity and perspective to the complete mess we've endured for two years. A mess that was entirely avoidable and can be laid squarely at Boris's door. He's a fool.

The lies are getting bigger...

There are lies, damned lies... and then, there's Boris Johnson.

I've heard some whoppers in my time but this just about takes the biscuit. Every parent's familiar with this, it's what happens when a 14-year-old tries to dig himself out of a deep hole by telling more and more lies. It is not the behaviour of a grown man who's the PM, for goodness sake!

He made the rules, which we all had to follow, yet he needs to be told when he's breaking them? Really?!

Dear god, can it get any worse...?

Novak has left the building

As suspected, Novak Djokovic has lost his Australian visa appeal. He has already left the country. After the way he's been treated, I hope he never goes back.

Australia's Govt has just proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they have a seriously bad case of psychosis.

The Australian Open will go ahead tomorrow with the person most likely to win it, the world No.1, unable to play. It'll be a hollow victory for whoever does lift the trophy; he'll always know he only won because Novak wasn't there.

Clearly, Novak had to be made an example of, not for the stated reasons of health or social unrest but because of pending Govt elections. Politics is a filthy business - tainting everything it touches - when it sticks its grubby little beak into sport it never ends well.

Sadly, I've seen members of the public online today being absolutely vile about Novak, which says a lot more about them than it does about him. Disgusting people. Well done, though, to the few players now coming out in his defence - shame on those who are keeping quiet, they're really showing their true colours.

I love tennis, more than once I've sat up all night to watch the tournament on the other side of the world. Never again - those days are over.

It's a horrible grey day here today, which just about matches my mood...

Sausages, mash, buttered cabbage and onion gravy later on may lift the spirits, as will a win for West Ham at the London Stadium against Leeds. 

COYI!!

Update: Bad day for sport. First Novak, then West Ham lost 2-3. I give up.

What Boris really said...

I am so sorry. Well... no, I'm not actually, but people are telling me I have to make some sort of apology for the party in the garden... so here we are. No, no, good Lord no, I didn't realise it was a party even though we were told to bring our own booze. 

What's that? Is it usual to take booze along to a work event? Stop being so picky, you're just splitting hairs now. Look, it was a nice warm evening so I said to Carrie, "Little drinkie in the garden?" and we popped downstairs to show our faces. No biggie.

Such a shame that people are getting so exercised about it. I mean, what's wrong with having a few drinks after work? 

Well, yes... I know I'd told everyone that they couldn't see their friends and families and I'd shut down pubs, restaurants and shops; oh, alright... and I'd closed schools and stopped people from seeing their sick and dying loved ones - look, are you going to keep going on about that, you just won't let it drop, will you? - but the thing is, you see, my staff had been working very hard (cough...!) and they deserved a little treat.

What d'you mean, what about everyone else who deserved a treat? Well, they had to follow the rules didn't they, the rules that were set up to keep them safe from the virus that we'd said would kill them? You must be able to see that?

Sorry... the Downing St garden? Well no, it doesn't have special powers to keep people safe from that so-called deadly virus but surely you can see that the rules are for others, not for me. Yes, I know people were following the rules, even Her Majesty the Queen, but that's their fault for believing an inveterate liar like me.

Right, is that it, then? Will that do? Everyone down the pub, I think. 

Cheers!

BYOB

And off we go again... May 2020, more bloody drinks in the No.10 garden!

We'd been under lockdown for two months; shops, pubs and restaurants were closed, almost everyone was working from home, businesses were struggling to stay afloat and children weren't allowed to go to school or see their friends. 

We were prevented from seeing our loved ones, not allowed to give those who'd died a proper funeral, unable to visit our sick and dying relatives in hospitals and care homes... but in Downing St it was a very different story. "Come for socially distanced drinks in the garden" said the email sent to 100 people!!

Anger doesn't even come close to how I feel. People have been duped and lied to repeatedly by this Govt and still it goes on.

Boris will have to come up with something special to knock this one off the headlines. Will it be another variant, or will he try to take our minds off it by letting us off the leash a little because we've been good boys and girls? 

Whatever it is, it'll be based on more lies. It sickens me.

Anyone for tennis?

Novak Djokovic.

I've never had a good word to say for him. Despite loving tennis I've never taken to him; I can admire his achievements but I don't like his style of play, I don't like his gamesmanship where he has an injury time-out if he wants to unsettle his opponent and, as for his over the top "heart-throwing" gesture to the crowd when he wins, well... pass the sick bucket. In short, I can't stand the bloke.

But.

He knows his own mind and he's standing up against the dystopian rules and regulations surrounding Covid... and for that I applaud him. I admire him for not kowtowing to misguided authority.

It seems he hasn't been jabbed - fine, his choice - so he applied for a jab exemption, apparently because he'd had Covid in December 2021. He clearly had the right paperwork to allow him to get on the plane... so how did it somehow turn into the wrong paperwork by the time he got off?!

Sportspeople are generally banned for taking drugs, but we've now reached the point of peak stupidity where they can be banned for not taking drugs! 

If Australia doesn't want un-jabbed people... it's quite simple, don't issue exemptions. Oh, but of course they do want the cash and the kudos of holding an international tennis tournament, despite having their own citizens locked down for months and not allowing anyone (even triple jabbed!) to enter the country to visit a dying relative. 

I sincerely hope Djokovic doesn't buckle and just up and leave - I really want the Australian Govt to be forced to have to deport him tomorrow, thereby confirming their status as paranoid idiots. Or... will they allow him to stay because he's box-office and this debacle has given them more publicity and exposure than they could ever have hoped for? 

The whole thing stinks - it's a really nasty piece of political posturing but, as is always the case... if you want something really fouled up, ask a politician to deal with it.

Update 10.1.22:

Djokovic 1 - Australia 0 Yessss!!

They could still cancel his visa a second time (why?!) but, for now, Novak has the high ground. I'm thrilled that the bullying Australian Govt has been put in its place.

Update 15.1.22:

As predicted, the brainless Australian Govt has cancelled Novak's visa for the second time! He's back in detention and there'll be a court hearing on Sunday morning, local time, to decide whether he's able to stay and play tennis.

They'll probably turf him out - I can't see the Australian Govt allowing their authority (and deep-seated paranoia!) to be challenged like this.

I'm gutted that not a single one of his fellow professionals has come out in his defence... on the contrary, in fact, the ones who have spoken have been subtly putting the knife in. Just goes to show... you soon find out who your friends are. 

Apologies, I forgot Nick Kyrgios - a really decent bloke who's just about the only one on Novak's side.

Masks...

...again.

So depressing to see masks have again been mandated in schools. What the hell are they doing to our children? 

I can't believe so many people think this is acceptable. I even saw one deranged individual online say that children are very resilient, masks are no problem and, in fact, this would be a good opportunity to teach them BSL (British Sign Language) to help them communicate more easily! Dear god... how brainless do you have to be to come up with that tripe?

The idea that children are resilient is completely false; if it was true, why do so many adults have counselling and therapy to help them deal with events from their childhood? "Children are resilient" is a convenient line trotted out by adults who prioritise what they want rather than what's best for the child. Makes me bloody fume.

I am very cautiously hopeful that, even if we're not quite turning the corner on Covid, we are at least approaching the corner. This piece has a very different tone from just about everything official we've heard for almost two years. Of course, many doctors and scientists have been saying the same for a long time, but we've not heard anything like it before from someone who's actually a Govt advisor. Watch this space!

Well, we didn't have to wait long! 

Boris, Whitty and Vallance - the Three Stooges - were on tv again tonight. Boris said no more restrictions and we'll have to ride it out; Vallance actually said it was not 'tenable' to jab people once every three to six months in the long term and Whitty was his usual, cheerful, dynamic self (I swear, if he smiled his face would break). It's glacially slow, but I think they're finally making progress... of sorts. God, I hope so.

After a couple of weeks of mild, wet weather... winter arrived today. 

It's been freezing with a sharp northerly breeze, so soup was the order of the day. I came across this Winter Veg soup from the Hairy Bikers - it's easy enough, but dumplings are not my forte, hence they looked like I'd thrown them in the pan! It tasted great though, just right for a cold day. I subbed shredded sprouts for the kale (nasty stuff!) and I'd use more carrots and less celeriac next time because it finished up looking slightly anaemic. 

Tomorrow, another cold weather favourite, cauli cheese with green beans and glazed carrots.