Update 39
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We stayed in Bampton again for a few very enjoyable days this week, marred only by the return of misbehaviour by the taste buds and a malfunction of my saliva glands. I’ve upped my steroid dose to 2mg per day and am hoping fervently for a return to normality. On Wednesday in the House of Commons, MP Siobhain Mcdonagh drew members’ attention to the lack of progress in treating brain tumours within the nhs. The last 20 years have seen no progress whatsoever and according to Siobhain, life expectancy remains at 12-18 months after diagnosis. That is the longest prognosis I’ve seen and tallies with my own experience rather than the predictions I’ve been given.
Gary Lineker now appears as the eyeglass through which public expressions of personal political views are to be focussed. The BBC will have to decide how far they believe Lineker’s tweets to have strayed from the permitted guidance but in the meantime Rishi Sunak has expressed his own personal perspective. According to The Times, Sunak’s spokesperson says the PM is disappointed that by his tweets, Lineker is dismissing the legitimate concerns of the hardworking British taxpayers who fund his salary. She said that Sunak was disappointed by his use of language and that it was not acceptable. Such statements assume that the ”British taxpayers” are of a single view when in fact there are probably as many of us who are sympathetic to the folk seeking to escape oppression as are antagonistic to them.
Claiming the support of the “British people” or “British taxpayer” is always potentially hazardous. After the referendum, much was made of the “British people’s” decision to leave the EU. In fact the 52% of the electorate who voted to leave, only represented 37% of the “British people”. The other 63% of the “British people” were either remainers or expressed no view on the matter. According to the latest survey of public opinion, a majority even of those who voted leave are now convinced that their decision was a mistake and that so-called Brexit is damaging our country. As you will be well aware, this author has always maintained an opinion in line with that of the 63% majority of the population.
The last three years have witnessed some of the strangest political contortions of my lifetime, here’s the single photo that never fails to remind me just how strange:
The mad and the Nad
Next Sunday’s Tyddyn Llan wine dinner has had to be postponed, but with the arrival of the snow, avoidance of those narrow winding Welsh roads may be no bad thing.
I have a couple of recommendations for your reading: ‘Follow the Money’ by Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is a very readable examination of how the UK is funded. When you see his photo you’ll realise that you’ve seen/heard his commentary on dozens of current affairs programmes - top man.
Totally differently I was introduced to Natalie Haynes’ ‘The Ancient Guide to Modern Life’. It is witty, perceptive and rammed with stories of Ancient Rome and Greece about which we all should know much more.
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