Ravioli Lasagne

I haven't been on here in months – truth be told, life's been crap for the last year or so. Health matters, both Mr S-V's and mine, have had to come first. 

Food, along with complaining about the state of the country and the NHS, have all had to take a distant second place. There's been plenty to moan about, btw – the entire bloody country is going to the dogs.

Just take my advice and don't get old; believe me – it stinks. Unfortunately for me though, I'm now too old to die young! 

I just wanted to put this Ravioli Lasagne recipe on before I forget what I did and it's never seen again! 

I love lasagne but it's too much of a faff now; my knackered arthritic joints don't like holding me up for too long so any recipe that requires me to stand for lengthy periods has been consigned to the kitchen bin of history. 

Sad, but there it is... nothing I can do about it.

Recipes with minimal prep where I can shove the dish in the oven while I have a sit down are very high on my agenda right now. This is a strange one... a kind of lasagne, kind of ravioli and bloody brilliant. It popped up on a Good Food notification, it's so simple I can't think why I never thought of it before.

Anyway, I vegetarianised (is that a made-up word?) the recipe and I also fiddled around with it a bit to include more veg and more cheese.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250gm chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 med carrot, chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• half a jar of passata
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 500gm pack of spinach and ricotta ravioli
• 160gm pack of baby spinach
• 75gm grated mozzarella
• 75gm grated mature cheddar

Fry the chopped veg in the oil until any water from the mushrooms has evaporated and the veg are starting to turn golden.

Add the tinned tomatoes, passata and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Put the spinach in a colander and pour over a kettle full of boiling water. When it's cool enough to handle squeeze out as much water as possible.

Put half of the tomato sauce in the base of a 20cm baking dish. Top with half the ravioli followed by half the spinach and a third of the grated cheeses. Repeat the layers, finishing with the remaining grated cheese on top.

Cook for about 35 minutes at 200C or 180C fan. 

We had this with green beans, but a green salad would be nice too.

Incidentally, I made a double batch of the tomato sauce and froze half; it saved having to think of something to do with half a jar of leftover passata and I have enough sauce for next time. Good move, huh?

The NHS, Then and Now

June 1974

Aged 19, I turned up on a Saturday morning, no appointment, to see the GP who'd known me since before I was born. Just sit in the waiting room and you'd be called in order of arrival. Lovely man, Dr. N, with a handlebar moustache, a bow tie and a pristine white coat. He was usually smoking a pipe during consultations. One of his five sons had been at the same school as me. 

After a quick examination the doc handed me a prescription and said, "Try this for a week and pop in next Saturday if things are no better". On hearing that I wasn't available next Saturday because I was getting married, he leapt to his feet, threw his arms around me and said "My dear girl, I'm so pleased for you!" 

The medication worked, as he knew it would; I never saw Dr. N again because I moved away after the wedding.

April 11 2024

I don't know if my GP still works at the surgery or even if he's still alive. However, I rang this morning to ask for an appointment. After explaining my symptoms to a completely uninterested receptionist, she asked me to send a photo of the offending body-part and informed me in her best I-couldn't-care-less voice, "Someone will ring you back". 

Someone...? Which particular someone? Doctor, nurse, part-time cleaner? I said "Thank you very much", although why I was thanking her I don't know.

90 minutes later the in-house pharmacist rang, asked me to go through the symptoms again and told me to send a picture. 

"I already have", I said. "Really?" came the reply. 

The very valuable medical advice she gave me was "Take ibuprofen and come back to us if there's still a problem."

I've just booked an appointment with a private GP...

To calm my fury I went into the kitchen and made a big batch of this Spiced Butternut and Lentil soup for lunch. Highly recommended and it makes loads!

Jam Sponge Pudding

Yesterday was allegedly the first day of meteorological spring; it poured with rain almost all day. Winter's over, they said... so perhaps someone could tell the weather! Good grief, will it ever stop raining?! Much more of it and we'll all grow webbed feet!

Sometimes comfort food is needed and there's few things more comforting than a sponge pudding with an obscene amount of custard.

As I've mentioned in the past Mr S-V loves a sponge pudding (I'm quite partial to one myself, actually!) so when I saw this recipe from Nigel Slater it looked just the thing. Scroll past all the meaty stuff and go to the last one on the page.

It's as easy as anything and, serendipitously, I had all the ingredients in the pantry, including some home-made plum jam from our own plums. I hope our two trees will come up trumps for me again this year - there's nothing quite like Victoria plums for jam.

I halved the recipe, as you can see below, and steamed it for about an hour to make a pudding more suited to the two of us, and I've paraphrased Nigel's method - he's very wordy!

75g butter

75g caster sugar 

1 large egg 

75g self-raising flour 

1 level tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp ground ginger

finely grated zest of half a lemon

1 tbsp milk

2 heaped tbsp blackcurrant, plum or apricot jam

Cut a disc of baking parchment to fit the base of a 1 pint pudding basin. Rub a little butter around the inside of the basin.

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer till pale and fluffy. Beat the egg lightly and add a little at a time to the butter and sugar, mixing well between each addition. 

Sieve together the flour and spices, then mix into the butter and sugar with the lemon zest. Stir in the milk. Spoon the jam into the base of the pudding basin, then scoop the pudding mixture on top. Level the top a bit with the back of a spoon.

Cover the basin tightly with a square of baking parchment, then a square of double foil. You can tie it on if you like but I don't bother. Stand the basin on an upturned saucer in a pan of boiling water and pop the lid on. Only use enough water to come halfway up the basin. Simmer gently for about an hour.

Leave the basin in the water for 15 minutes to allow the pudding to settle, then turn it out carefully on to a plate. 

Serve with custard... lots of custard, and ignore the vile weather outside!

Focaccia

I love bread, any bread, just the sound of the word is instantly cheering! I made some last week that I've been threatening to do for ages... focaccia. Arthritic hands (god, I hate getting old!) mean that actual kneading is out of the question, so I enlisted the help of my trusty bread machine for the hard work; I just joined in at the end for shaping and slapping it in the tin. 

I used this recipe by Paul Hollywood. I imagine Paul would get sniffy about me using a bread machine, but there again he gets sniffy about most things.

I reduced the flour to 400g and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly, mainly because I only had a 23cm square tin. We really enjoyed it - lovely fresh from the oven with soup and a chunk of cheese; I could easily have eaten the other half but, showing admirable restraint, I froze it. At the weekend I warmed it briefly in the microwave and served it with this BBC Good Food recipe for Bean and Halloumi Stew.  A really nice easy meal.

As a side issue, I discovered that my "new" oven, which is in fact six years old, has a proving setting! Just goes to show I should have read the instructions in 2017... duh!

I won't comment on the various pantomimes going on in the news. Suffice to say, I think everyone has lost their minds. Collective insanity seems to have taken over - I may well be the only sane one left.

Three years

March 23rd. 

Three years since the entire country was locked down. 

Three years since we were told "Stay home, Protect the NHS, Save lives".

Three years since most workplaces, cinemas, clubs, pubs, restaurants and 'non-essential' shops were forced to close.

Three years since schools closed and children weren't allowed to see their wider family and friends or have a hug from their grandparents.

Three years since elderly people in care homes were locked away with no visitors.

Three years since some poor souls died alone in hospital; their families having to watch on an iPad, denied the chance to be with their loved ones in their final moments.

Three years since our politicians lost their minds, but found a really good way to control an entire population while simultaneously trashing the economy, children's education and the health service.

I thought, as time went on, I would lose some of the anger I felt about what politicians and 'scientists' did to us. I was wrong! Now I'm able to look back at it all and see everything they put us through, recall how much they lied and how badly their disproportionate reaction to a flu virus has affected every aspect of life, I'm actually more angry! 

It won't do any good - politicians are fireproof; nothing touches them and nothing stops them. 

I'm not a great believer in natural justice - I just hope that in some way or another they're forced one day to pay for what they did.

The start of Christmas

Since I was here last we've lost Boris as PM (thank god!), lost Truss as the subsequent PM (she might have turned out to be ok but her MPs gave her the boot) and laughably, we now have the useless Rishi (why are his clothes too small?) as the third PM since the end of the summer. Don't ask...

Sadly, HM the Queen died at the beginning of September. At the age of 96 it wasn't a surprise but it was still a shock. Most people had never known this country without her as Monarch. It still seems strange.

Meanwhile, Covid has all but been forgotten despite the best efforts of the media and the NHS to keep it relevant; unsurprisingly, the NHS is continuing to use Covid as the best excuse it can find for being relentlessly useless. Nothing new there, then.

The scorching days of summer seem long ago. It's now winter, it's cold, the sun sets at around 4pm and Christmas is approaching at speed. There was even Christmas music on the radio today!

Our Advent calendars made an appearance this morning! I bought one for Mr S-V from Bonne Maman which has a dinky little jar of jam behind every door... how cute is that?! - and we've unearthed the decorations ready for their annual outing in a week or so.

Best of all, given that it's December the 1st, we've made a start on the "treats" drawer in the kitchen which is full of nice little bits and pieces to have with an afternoon cuppa; well, there's no way I'm waiting until Dec 24th before I dive into the goodies!

Today's little treat was a slice of stollen - I've never made one and I'm never likely to; why bother when Waitrose does them so well?

This year Waitrose and M&S will be doing most of the heavy lifting in the kitchen as mobility issues have become a bit of a problem for me. Kitchen chores have to be broken down into small chunks so I shall only be making the things I really want to. 

Obviously, that includes a Nut Roast Wellington for when The Troops come for lunch on Christmas Eve, and a tray of Not Sausage Rolls. No Christmas at this house would be complete without them! 

I've already made the usual batch of Freeze-ahead Roast Potatoes which really are the best thing since sliced bread; they're snuggled up in the freezer along with red cabbage and desserts from Waitrose.

I saw a nice recipe the other day for sprouts stir-fried with chilli and crème fraiche - I'd post a link if I could remember where I saw the damn thing!

As usual it will all creep up on me and I'll say, as I always do, that next year I'd like to do something different or maybe we could just ignore Christmas altogether. Then next year comes around... and off we go again!

Once a liar, always a liar

I said he was lying and now the police have confirmed it. Boris Johnson, our esteemed (esteemed?!) Prime Minister has been fined over his lockdown parties. Our tax-dodging Chancellor and assorted others will also have to shell out for breaking the rules that they implemented. Of course, the rules were for others, not for them.

The week before Boris's first party (there were eleven others!) it was our son's birthday. Under the rules we weren't allowed to meet indoors so we sat in their garden for socially distanced tea and cake. We didn't break the law but the people who made the laws did.

They told us repeatedly it was a highly dangerous virus, so dangerous in fact that we couldn't see or hug our closest family... but that was just another lie, wasn't it? Covid was never the deadly virus we were led to believe. Would they really have put themselves and their families at risk if it was as lethal as they said? I can only suppose power and status somehow confer immunity... HM the Queen mustn't have got the memo about that; without any fuss she managed to follow the rules even though the PM didn't.

Boris has paid the fine and given a full apology but, even while apologising, he tried to weasel out of any responsibility by saying he didn't realise it was a breach of the rules. The rules he made!

He must think we're as stupid as he is. 

He can shove his apology... sideways. It's worthless, as is he. 

He should do the decent thing and resign but, sadly for us, there isn't a shred of decency in his miserable body. He's a lying scumbag who, when he's caught out lying, just tells more lies. They trip so easily off his tongue; he clearly thinks his position puts him above the law.

I'm amazed at how many people online and in the news media are saying it wasn't important, move on. Clearly, I have higher standards than them and certainly higher than the people who supposedly lead this country.

Our "wonderful" NHS... yet again

It was two years ago yesterday that all over-70s were told to stay at home for their own safety because of a dangerous new virus... subsequently called Covid-19. The following week everyone was told to stay at home. So began two very long years of lockdowns, rules and regulations.

Recently all the ludicrously disproportionate restrictions brought in to contain this "dangerous" virus have been ditched; Boris says we have to live with it. Great... about time, too; pity he didn't say it sooner. 

To all intents and purposes Covid is over, so why is the NHS keeping up the charade? Hospitals are still restricting access to visitors; people still have to wear a mask to enter its sacred portals; many wards are still closed, allegedly because of a shortage of staff who are off sick with Covid (why, when they're all masked and jabbed and in every other workplace there's no staff shortage at all?); GPs still won't allow patients to book face to face appointments and hospital waiting times for treatment are growing longer by the day.

The NHS lives in its own little world - covering up its many inadequacies by keeping people at arm's length. There's no accountability, no responsibility. The longer they can keep people out, the longer they can perpetuate the lie that they're working desperately hard and absolutely run off their feet. The actual fact is somewhat different - we have a health service which is letting down the nation, it is not fit for purpose. It's a money pit - politicians keep throwing our taxes at it, saying how "wonderful" it is, but there is no discernible improvement in the service offered. It's a conspiracy of silence.

I spoke to someone today whose relative is in hospital. An appointment has to be made before visiting and only one named person is allowed to visit. One hour, once a day. Problem is, no-one ever answers the phone to enable an appointment to be made! Said relative was in A&E for a day and a half waiting for a bed and has now been in hospital for five days - without once being helped to have a bath or shower! Just one small example of the "caring" face of our health service. It's outrageous.

Covid has become very convenient for the NHS - they won't let this virus go without a fight. It's their only cover against people seeing how crap it really is.

I previously said the actions of the NHS regarding Covid were a pointless pantomime - it's worse than that, it's a cover-up of mammoth proportions where people are suffering at the hands of the very institution that should be helping and protecting them in their hour of need. "Shameful" doesn't even come close.

NHS theatre

I'm still wittering on about Covid even though, as we know, it's yesterday's news. It's over. So why is the NHS continuing to behave like it isn't?

Yesterday, I had an appointment at the local hospital - an investigative procedure for something that could have been very nasty but, thankfully, turned out not to be.

I wasn't asked if I'd taken an LFT (No), I wasn't asked whether I had any Covid symptoms (No) nor was I asked if I'd been vaccinated (emphatically, No!) I had to wear a mask and wash my hands at the door. I was then seen by five different masked medics who were all within inches of my face. There was no other PPE or special safety measures used by them, nor were they wearing gloves. I was fine with this. It's clearly not the very dangerous disease they've been telling us, then?

So why had most of the chairs in the waiting area been removed, leaving several people with nowhere to sit while they waited to be seen? Those chairs that were left were placed singly, two metres apart. Some poor souls had to stand and were leaning against the wall. 

This is a major hospital in one of the richest countries in the world. How on earth is this acceptable?

The NHS has clearly not seen the date. It's March 2022 not March 2020. Someone send them a memo... You can stop the pointless pantomime, we're done with Covid.

March 1st

A busy Tuesday. 

St David's Day, Pancake Day and the first day of Spring (meteorologically speaking). Sadly, no-one told Spring that today's the day it has to leap into action, hence it's cool and cloudy with a faint drizzle going on!

The rest of the world looks dire at the moment - just seeing the headlines today makes me want to put my head back under the covers. No sooner does Covid push off than Putin starts up. So sad for the Ukrainian people.

I think I'll concentrate on Welsh Cakes and Pancakes rather than the wider world. I know where I am in the sanity of my own kitchen.

Right... the frying pan is calling me!

Events

"Events, dear boy, events."

It's widely thought this was said by the late former PM Harold McMillan in answer to a question about what presented the greatest challenge for a statesman; whether he did or not I've no idea, but it certainly sums up the situation at the moment.

I've said repeatedly that a big event was needed to put Covid in its rightful place, something big which would allow people to get the risk and danger of Covid into proportion. It looks like we now have that big event. Sadly, Russia is currently invading Ukraine.

Dear god, the state of this world today... as if people haven't suffered enough for the past two years.

Hallelujah!

At last!

All Covid restrictions will end on Thursday of this week and the free (not free at all) testing kits, except in a few specific circumstances, will end on April 1st; what an appropriate date!

Self-isolating if you test positive will no longer be mandatory, but it will be "advised" until April 1st.

Boris has finally said we have to live with Covid and treat it like flu.

What a shame he didn't say all this in the spring of 2020. We could have avoided two years of watching much of the population being scared witless... for flu, two years of the country being dragged into unprecedented debt... for flu, and two years of witnessing people die unnecessarily of other conditions because the NHS was too busy treating... the flu.

There's no reason why we couldn't have gone down this route in 2020... well, no reason other than the weakness and craven stupidity of the Govt.

We're expected to adopt a position of personal responsibility according to Boris - that almost made me choke on my digestive biscuit! Where the hell was his "personal responsibility" when he was having parties at No. 10 while we were all under lockdown?

Unsurprisingly, the workshy are already complaining about how dangerous it is to abandon the self-isolating rule - sadly for them they've just lost their cast-iron excuse for not turning up to work!

This was all announced on the same day as we were told over-75s and other vulnerable people will be eligible for their 4th vaccine in the Spring. Yep, people will be having another dose of the jab which didn't work the first three times! This is what constitutes living with Covid, it seems. You couldn't make it up.

We've had two years of Draconian restrictions and rules which almost brought the country to its knees. We and our children will be paying for the actions of Boris and his Govt for years to come; in some respects this country will never be the same again. For flu.

I absolutely love...

...Novak Djokovic!

He's gone from being someone for whom I've never had a good word and turned into my new hero! I'm not ashamed to say I've done a complete 180 in my opinion of him.

The situation of the last two years needed someone, anyone - high-profile, prominent, with a guaranteed media platform - to take a stand. Finally, it's happened. Step forward, the World No. 1 tennis player.

It's a rare day when I can say I have something in common with one of the best and most famous sports stars in the world... "I was never against vaccination," he told the BBC, confirming that he'd had vaccines as a child, "but I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body."

Unsurprisingly, Novak's being vilified for looking after himself and his health in the way he's chosen, like it isn't his prerogative to do so! He hasn't at any point criticised those who've chosen to have the jab, so why are they criticising him?

I suspect the criticism stems from a lot of people, not just within sport, asking themselves why they didn't go down the same route as him and why they believed what they were told. For two years it's struck me as really odd that those who've always called out politicians for being self-serving liars (which they are...!) suddenly started believing every word uttered by Boris and his pals.

I can only say the weapon of fear is far too powerful to be put into the hands of grubby politicians.

I'll be watching Novak's interview tonight with great interest. It may not be easy to watch but it'll be a breath of fresh air compared to the media blitz of fear and alarm we've been fed since March 2020. 

Let's hope we're finally crawling out of the Covid pit.

....it is now (almost!)

Well, I said it's over and it looks like Boris agrees with me. He's on the verge of scrapping the remaining restrictions a month earlier than previously thought. Of course, like the end of mask mandates and vaccine passports, it's only come about because he needs to distract people from parties at No.10. However, I'll take it, whatever the reason behind it!

We may... just may... get our lives back after a two year hiatus.

He hasn't even made the announcement yet and, predictably, people are already having a wobble and saying "It's too soon, it's still too dangerous. What if... what if... what if?!"  

Look, I'll tell you what, you wear your mask, you have your jabs, you stay at home and hide behind the sofa if that's what you want... and let the rest of us move on, for goodness sake!

They think it's all over...

Covid's over, so it seems. Well, I suppose it must be if even the BBC isn't talking about it.

This was the BBC News website front page yesterday...

Not a word about bloody Covid! Hurray! I've been waiting almost two years for this.

There had to be one good thing coming out of the Boris party stories and this is it. He knows he's lost the authority to say anything ever again about restrictions and vaccines. Covid will quietly die down and eventually become a bad memory with an astronomical bill attached, which we'll all be paying for years to come. Oh, politicians will still try to breathe some life into it occasionally, trying to justify their ludicrous handling of the situation but to all intents and purposes... we're done.

Yesterday was also the 70th anniversary of HM the Queen acceding the throne. Congratulations, Ma'am. She's been in the same job for longer than I've been alive. What an achievement!

Unsurprisingly at her age she's slowing down and looking increasingly frail, but she still has all her marbles and isn't above telling people how it will be when she's no longer here. Anyone who didn't want Camilla to be known as "Queen" when Charles becomes King is going to be sorely disappointed. Lizzie has spoken, Camilla will be Queen!

Actually yesterday was a very good day all round - The Troops came round for a spot of afternoon tea. Easy Buttermilk Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, chocolate cake and lots of tea. Lovely!

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.