A brief and light look at the FIFA World Cup 2026

 

The FIFA World Cup is done and dusted. I must admit that, despite my reservations, I did rather enjoy it. I enjoyed watching Cabo Verde not being overwhelmed or overawed by their first foray into the World Cup. 

I enjoyed watching Jude Bellingham's unapologetic confidence mixed with a tinge of arrogance. I particularly loved it when he handed the ball to Saka in the semi finals, to score through a penalty and achieve a hat trick. I loved watching the Norwegians row their boats on dry land.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy all of it. I did not enjoy the dubious decisions made by some of the referees. I think Specsavers could approach them to make a rather convincing advertisement, as they appeared to be vision impaired, albeit, selectively. 

I did not enjoy the fact that one of the host countries got their red card overturned, just because their President, the renowned footballer, Donaldo, thought that it wasn't fair.

I did not enjoy Argentina expecting England to play on their knees. Instead of football, the semi final turned into a game of FIFA Fo Fum, I smell the sweat of an Englishman. Whack!

Spain got the measure of them and would not let Argentina play their football version of Whac-o-mole, in the finals. Sadly, Messi decided to join in his team's united effort to gain an unfair advantage. 

When he saw the opportunity to get Cucurella of Spain sent off, he turned into a little six year old, tittle tattling on a classmate. Up shot one hand, while the other pointed at a panic stricken Cucurella and his wind swept hair. For once, the referee wasn't having any of it. All that Messi achieved with that petulant, childish display, was a dent to his reputation.

Spain persevered and won 1-0 in extra time. It ended (shock horror) in a brawl. When a semblance of sanity was restored, the awarding of the medals by the President of Fifa and the President of the USA, could proceed. One of them must've struggled not to magpie a couple of medals for himself. I hope they frisked him before he left the stadium. 

Finally came the handing of the trophy to the winning team. Infantino and Donaldinho very carefully carried the trophy across to the podium,  where, for the first time, the leader of the host country 'helped' to present the trophy to the Captain of the winning team. 

After presenting the trophy, one of the Presidents walked back and the other didn't.  Guess which President did not. He lingered on, looking to bask in some of the glory. This prompted Captain Rodri to diplomatically, but firmly, put his hand on the back of the interloper, to guide him away.

Alas, he wasn't successful, as a few steps further, the interloper stopped and planted himself next to the team. This caused Infantino to sprint across the stage in his dazzling white trainers, to try and coax the grinning, clueless oaf, off. 

Finally Infantino managed to lead Toddlertino away and Spain could have their moment to bask in their well deserved victory. 

Until next time, try and keep it light. 

 

 

 

A lighter look at the news

 

 

You may be a hermit, living in a cave, on an uninhabited desert island and you would still be aware that a global sports event is taking place. 

Every four years, a country hosts this sporting event, to decide which country in the world is supreme at kicking a ball and shooting it into the other sides' net, guarded by a be-gloved man, doing his best to stop said ball.

This time, it is the turn of three countries in the continent of North America, doing the hosting. The United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

Up until now, the US has been largely indifferent to football. Maybe it is because they call it 'soccer'.  Maybe it is because they have their own 'football', where, paradoxically, there is minimal kicking of the ball. Dare I say, it is a bit like a glorified version of rugby.   

But it appears to have changed. The US is now impassioned about football - so impassioned that recently, their supreme leader, was supremely incensed that one of their players was given a red card in a previous match and would, therefore, not be able to play in their next match against Belgium. 

So he did what any supreme leader would do. He called the President of FIFA and asked him to 'review' the decision, as he, the Supreme Leader and an aficionado of football, thought that it was not a foul.

The President of FIFA, Infantino, is someone whose mother looked at him when she gave birth and had no problem imagining him as a grown man. Infantino is also a man known for his imagination. He is famous for using this god given gift of imagination, to create and bestow, a special peace prize to the Supreme Leader. 

Thus, at the behest of the orange Pele of Supreme Leaders, Infantino obliged by reviewing and revoking the red card. Despite this, Belgium won. The players celebrated by performing the Supreme Leader's special dance. The dance where he appears to be tugging on the invisible udders of two cows.

In the meanwhile, Britain's wannabe supreme leader, the man whose name rhymes with garage, is up to his old tricks again. He has willfully resigned as MP of Clacton, thus trigerring a by-election, which he will re-contest. Count Binface :) is his only opponent. The other political parties are not playing along. 

To give you an idea of our own Poundland Trump's voter base, a reporter asked a supporter of his, what she liked about him. She was sunbathing on a beach whilst protecting her modesty with a towel. She considered her answer for all of two seconds. I like that he says woh he thinks, came her reply.

When the reporter asked for her opinion on his ongoing  5 million controversy, she asked Woh 5 million? Sharp as a tack, that one. Obviously knows as much about politics as the Supreme Leader across the pond, knows about football.

    Count Binface v/s Count Spinface

 

Until next time, try and keep it light. 

 

 

 

                                    

 

 

A lighter look at the news

  

Well, colour me perplexed. Our Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has resigned. Not because the people who elected his party in a landslide demanded it and not because the people forced him out, but because his own party demanded it. His own party forced him out.  And so, the game of Prime Minister's Musical Chairs has started. 

Will it be Wes Streeting? The man who got the ball rolling and got most of the nation scratching their collective heads and googling his name. What those people saw, was someone who looked like a cross between an altar boy and Piers Morgan. No thank you, seemed to be the general consensus.

It appears, most likely, sexy shorts Burnham will be our next Prime Minister. The man who the media told us may have a chance to win Makerfield in the recent elections there, although Reform had a very good chance of winning except Restore would probably divide the vote.

Turns out, no such thing happened. For all the hand wringing caused by the media,  Britain's Poundland Trump, Farage, and his party, were no competition at all and Andy Burnham won in a landslide.

I don't know about you, but I am so fed up of this need for immediate gratification. The impatience and criticism of a leader, especially by the media, before they have had a chance to create noticeable change, grates on my last nerve.

The hysteria created by the media, gets pounced on by sanctimonious politicians who are concerned for the welfare of the people. Not as much as they are concerned for their own personal welfare and the welfare of their egos, of course. 

There is no denying that Starmer was a tad robotic and, dare I say, boring. But we have had a charismatic Labour Prime Minister. Remember Blair? He charismatically convinced us that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction. A war was started based on those invisible weapons.

The leader across the pond is said to be charismatic. Colour me perplexed once again because I cannot see it. Apparently, only specially chosen people can see it.

It is true that the only time Starmer caused us any amusement, was when he called 'hostages,' 'sausages.' I'd rather smile at a slip of the tongue from a boring leader, than cringe at the ignorant and cruel humour of certain other leaders.

Well, it looks like it won't be long before hot pants is in the hot seat. There is however, some disagreement in the party, as some want a swift transition to Andy Burnham being made the PM and others want a leadership contest. 

Either way, you can be sure of one thing. It won't be long before these same people, led by the media, will commence their now familiar demand for a change in leadership and the whole Prime Minister's Musical Chairs will start all over again.

Last week, the G7 leaders met up in Evian where the water flowed freely. I am sure some important things were achieved (and I am not being sarcastic at all) but it all got overshadowed by what I can only describe as The War Of The Poses.

It featured Donald Trump (there's a surprise) and Giorgia Meloni, Italy's Prime Minister. It started with Old Mad Donald claiming that Meloni had begged him to pose for a photograph with her. (He failed to mention if she had tears in her eyes whilst doing said begging.)

This incensed Meloni. She retaliated that it did not happen and that Italians never beg. Which, unsurprisingly, led to Trump resorting to his usual mud slinging. Meloni was up to the task and retaliated in kind. And so, The War Of The Poses continues...

Until next time, try and keep it light. 

 

 

   

 

A look at the news

 

Unfortunately, I am starting my blog with news that is anything but light.

Almost anyone would agree that losing a child is probably the worst nightmare for any parent. What I imagine can only make that horror worse, is losing that child at the hands of another human being. 

That is what so tragically happened to Henry Nowak's parents in December, 2025. The person responsible for Henry's murder has now been given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 21 years. 

No one would blame his family, if , after the release of the police body cam, they had called for vengeance. But they didn't.  This is what Henry's father said in front of the cameras: I don't want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his death to make our streets safer for everyone. 

That plea, apparently, got lost in translation by a politician whose name rhymes with 'garage.' So pure, so cold, so intense was this politician's rage, he deployed an industrial sized fan, turned it to its highest setting and flicked it on, in what one can only conclude, was an attempt to ignite flames of division, hatred and tension, thereby going against the precisely expressed wishes of Henry's father and family. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, the vice-president from across the pond, has X-creted a post on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. I am not going to quote his entire post, suffice to say he blamed massive invasion of migration for Henry's death. 

The man responsible for Henry's death is born in Britain, making him British, just like Vance's wife was born in the US, making her American. I am sure the Yale Law School graduate and best selling author is more than aware, that if wasn't for migration, he would not have met his wife and she would not be carrying their fourth child.

But then, why let the truth get in the way of a good anti-migration, divisive post on social media. 

Perhaps Mr Vance should concern himself with other worries, like his president falling asleep during meetings. The cameras have caught President Rip Van Wrinkle catching forty winks during meetings, when even a couple of winks from the previous president would have been mercilessly mocked by him. Maybe Lady Karma is working on behalf of 'Sleepy Joe.'

There are, of course, several excuses made on his behalf, one of them being that he isn't actually sleeping, he is merely resting his eyes. I shall now return the favour by offering unsolicited advice.

Paint a couple of eyes on Dozy Don's eyelids, so that the next time he 'rests' his eyes in public, people will be none the wiser. I am sure it will work. He has gotten away with far less believable fabrications.

Thankfully, he did get called out recently, during a Meet the Press interview given to a reporter in a barn - quite apt because he started braying like a donkey when she refused to let him get away with his usual top ten hits from his Fabrications Hit Parade, including his no.1 hit, 'The Elections Were Rigged', which hasn't left the charts since 2020.

His idea of providing evidence, was to say that he could see (as in vision see not water sea - not many people know the difference) what was happening. When she insisted that it couldn't pass for evidence, his face started to change colour. It went from burnt orange (he appeared to have dabbled with a new shade of orange that day) to dark pink to red - so many shades of red, shades of red the likes of which, no one had ever seen before.

He then resorted to doing what he always does when he doesn't have an answer to a question asked by an intelligent woman; he called her crooked. She refuted that, saying that she was not crooked. Since his face was at the dark pink stage at that time, I would've given anything for her to have said Quiet Piggy instead. He then pulled out his next go to insult. He said that she was either crooked or stupid -another word for dumb (with a 'b' - not many people know that either.)  

I am not sure what was in the falling rain water that day but the reporter, Kristen Welker, dug her heels in. Not long after, the mist that matched the colour of his face, descended.  With a Let's call it quits, I've had enough he made a lumbered attempt to flounce off, saying Thank you darling, have a good time. 

I know that it is asking too much of Ms Welker, after all, she'd shown more courage and determination than all the other reporters to date, but I do wish she'd replied You are welcome sweetheart. Have a lie-down now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The lighter side of Sussexit

Once upon a time not so long ago, a beautiful actress met a young Prince and to cut a long, real life fairy tale, short, he asked her to marry him and she said yes.

She was truly a modern day Cinderella.

The people of the Kingdom started a Go Fund Me page to raise money for what was to be the most memorable day in the Prince's and Cinderella's lives but most importantly, in the lives of the people in the Kingdom. 

The day of the wedding arrived and the people were deliriously happy. 

Unfortunately, just like the original Cinderella, the bride had a mean family, who sold mean stories to people with cameras and computers, who then sold it to the people in the kingdom and all over the world.

The people read the stories but most of them did not mind. Some even felt sorry for the bride and her Prince. At least she has a lovely mother, they consoled themselves and each other. 

They looked forward to her doing her duty, walking beside her husband, looking pretty and mostly keeping her mouth shut.

But then she started to have opinions and, goodness gracious, she dared to share them. How dare she preach about the environment and then travel by air to her destinations, the people cried, forgetting to be happy.

How dare she not emulate that young climate change activist, Greater Iceberg and put her money where her mouth is, they cried crossly. 

If Cinderella and her Prince were going to preach to them, the decent thing to do, would be to travel in a zero emission sail boat, like Ms.Iceberg.

However, the people were not as cross as the special people with cameras and computers. Now they were really cross. 

They were almost apoplectic with crossness. 

The crossest of all the cross people with cameras and computers, was a person called Pisst Jargon. He could not stop saying mean things about Cinderella and slowly, some people started to become almost as mean as the evil people with cameras and computers.

Then the couple were expecting a baby and people were  happy once again. But not all the people were happy.  Some people were unhappy because they thought that she had a pretend bump and was expecting a pretend baby.

When she had a real baby, they were cross because the new parents did not share pictures of the real baby (except for a foot) and they did not tell the people who the fairy Godparents of the baby were.

When Cinderella and her Prince were out and about with the people of the Kingdom and with the people of the world, Cinderella kept touching her Prince's back to remind him that he had a spine. She knew that he was very upset because some people said that he had lost his spine.

Like all first time parents, they got very tired and decided to go on holiday to her Country.  But then they remembered her mean relatives. So, they went to the country next to hers, the land of King  Cointreau.

A few weeks later, they returned to the Kingdom to say that they would like to quit, as they quite liked living in the country next to hers and would like to spend quite a lot of time there.

Also, the Go Fund Me page could now be closed. Most people were now cross and sad.

Once again, the crossest and the saddest of all, were the evil people with cameras and computers. 

Their fairy tale was changing before their eyes and they sadly and crossly watched as their English Prince prepared to escape across the pond with the goose that laid their golden eggs.

However, not everyone was unhappy.  Indeed two men were so happy, they kept reaching into their pockets and touching their 'Get out of jail free' card.   

They were the Prince's Uncle, Prince Randy and the leader of Cinderella's Country, King Frump.

(Prince Randy was under suspicion for his inability to sweat and King Frump was wanted for impersonating a peach).

Until next time, try and keep it light.

Confessions of a Windmill

 

I'll start with a confession. I am not actually a windmill, I am a wind turbine. But the person I am going to talk about, calls us windmills. I guess he has a very low intelligence quotient.

It was a normal day by the shore in Aberdeen. The sun wasn't shining but it wasn't raining either. My friends and I were chilling -  just shooting the breeze, so to speak.

But then, we got wind of a developing situation (that's how we usually get our news). Our arch enemy, a man whose name I cannot bring myself to utter (hint: the first three letters of his name rhyme with 'Con'), was crossing the pond to visit his golf course. In other words, President Flotsam was going to Jetsam across the pond.

We hoped that it was just a rumour but alas, it was true. The day arrived and we saw him in the distance. We were paralysed with fear. We'd heard that he had once queried whether a hurricane could be stopped by a nuke. None of us were taking the risk. The only blades that moved were those of the tall grass nearby.

However, when I could bring myself to cast a cursory glance at our Don Quixote on steroids, he was just a hunched over old man with a silly hat on his head. Nevertheless, we did not move our blades, for fear of drawing attention to ourselves. Apparently, his hatred for us is because we kill birds and make annoying sounds. (He's a good one to talk).

Unfortunately, keeping still was a losing battle. While we could easily handle the strong North winds, we were unable to withstand the hot air that emanated every time President Flotsam opened his mouth to speak. Despite our best efforts, our blades started to move reluctantly, in a desperate attempt to disperse the hot air and the accompanying odour (which leads me to suspect that the hot air was not just emanating from his mouth).

Fortunately for us, he was distracted by the people with cameras and note pads, shouting questions at him - the name Epstein seemed to come up quite a lot (not quite sure why they were bringing up The Beatles' manager after all this time). But then again, maybe they were not asking about that Epstein because the name seemed to trigger him so much, that a convoy of golf carts were summoned and they drove away to the accompaniment of Memories from the musical Cats. Apparently his favourite musical is 'Cats', yet he claims to hate us because we kill birds. 

As he drove away, our blades, in unison, hummed 'The Windmills of Your Mind'. How we howled with laughter for the rest of the evening (some might've called it our Stormy revenge.)

We saw him on two occasions after that. One was in the evening when he appeared at the entrance of his resort, flanked by the Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer on one side and his wife on the other. (Keir Starmer's wife, not Mrs Flotsam). 

Poor Mrs Starmer looked like a wax work from Madame Tussauds. She stood stock still and expressionless. But then again, she was standing next to him, so she could well have been holding her breath.

The last time we saw him, he was standing in front of a red ribbon, his two sons on either side of him. Interesting looking men. The bearded one looked like he had a bladeless wind turbine indelicately rammed up his spine (apologies to my fellow wind turbines for that analogy) and the other son looked like he'd been blessed with a double set of teeth (or cursed with an extra small mouth.) Either way, they looked like the perfect casting for a reboot of Dumb and Dumber. Dumbest then proceeded to cut the red ribbon and once again opened his mouth to speak. Cue for our blades to start spinning furiously.

Finally, we got wind that he was back in his country. We really would be useless without our friend the wind. 

With him gone, things could return to normal again. Can't say the same for his country. But then again, they are a democracy and they chose him (again). 

They could have chosen an intelligent, qualified woman but they chose a dumb, unqualified man. As they say in his country, Go figure.

A lighter look at the news

 

Jeff Bezos sent his fiancée and a few celebrity friends, on a joyride in his Blue Origin space craft, to hover over planet Earth. Eleven minutes later, they were back. The first to emerge from the capsule was fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, who appeared to have missed him for every single second of every one of those eleven minutes. 

Next to make an appearance, was singer Katy Perry. She shot out of the capsule like a firework and proceeded to sink to her knees to kiss the ground, thereby appropriating Pope John Paul II's signature move. Apparently, whilst up there, Katy Perry sang What a Wonderful World.  Mercifully, she didn't burst into I Kissed the Earth and I liked it, as she arose from the ground.

Also, appropriating John Paul II's signature move was Oprah's best bud, Gayle King. Joining them in this physical display of affection for Mother Earth, was none other than Jeff Bezos himself, albeit, involuntarily. He was walking around the capsule and tripped on what appeared to be a pothole masquerading as a crater from the moon. Down he went, planting a smacker on Mother Earth with his whole face. 

Maybe that is the Universe's way of telling him to stick to trying to clean up the environment of our planet instead of adding to its pollution with these (mostly) pointless jaunts. Especially when one of the highlights of the trip appears to have been the sighting of the Moon. I don't know about you, but I have spent many a cloudless night appreciating that same shiny orb in the night sky, from my back garden. Rumour has it, that if you view it through an instrument called a telescope, it's almost as if you are right there.

Katy Perry also made another discovery. She discovered the four letter word love. As I heard her gush, I discovered another four letter word but I shan't be using it. Not yet. I'll wait for Mr Bezos to offer me a ride on his Blue Origin and then I'll use it, followed closely by the two letter word no.

Since Ms Perry had to go to space to discover love, I have a thought. How about sending a certain President to space. It doesn't even have to be on Blue Origin. His chain saw wielding bestie could arrange it.

Talking about said President, his medical report got published and you will be relieved to know that he passed with flying colours. Colours that flew so high, they went beyond Blue Origin's all-female crew's joyride.

While most people chuckled at his purported weight in his medical report, my eyebrows shot up at his purported blood pressure reading. How can a 78 year old man, whose diet apparently consists mostly of junk food and whose cup runneth over with diet coke and malice, have such a text book, perfect bp reading? If true, I have this theory that President Don Chaotic's blood pressure decreases in direct proportion to the increase in blood pressure he causes decent people.

I shall now await worldwide recognition for this theory and possibly even a Nobel prize.

The stable genius continues to hold on to his title, as he has, once again, aced his cognitive test. Apparently, the doctor was totally awe struck, as he had never witnessed anyone ace the test like he did. He got a mark that no one before him had ever achieved. It is yet to be established if the doctor had tears in his eyes while extolling these incredible achievements.

Dumb-a-Lardo coyly declined to confirm if he had to memorize and recall the same five words that he did the last time, before admitting that he couldn't remember if he had to or not. But worry not, he did brilliantly and his stable genius crown is intact.

If indeed he did have to memorize and recall five different words this time, I'll hazard a guess that they were Groceries...Tariffs...Russia ... El Salvador...Golf. 

Until next time, try and keep it light. If you are having a hard time keeping it light, I'll end with Boris Johnson's latest escapade in a safari park in Texas. He got pecked by an ostrich. You are very welcome.

A lighter look at the news

 

Hold on to your wallets everyone, the Sheriff of Tariff is in town. With the exception of one obvious omission (Putin your own conclusion as to which country that is), almost no one was spared, not even penguins (those feet were anything but happy when the inhabitants of Heard Islands got the news.) 

Anyway, we can now unclench for 90 days, as Emperor Oranginus Trumpus has grandly decided to pause the tariff threat. As usual, having no shame, he is full of self congratulation because the stock market briefly went up. Makes me want to revise that old nursery rhyme to: 

 Ding dong bell, Kitty's in the well.                                                         Who flung her in?                                                                               Trumpelstilskin not-so-thin.                                                           Who pulled her out?                                                                     Trumpelstilskin stout.                                                                                                                                            To be fair, Trump does have depths of intelligence that he has been  modest about. For example, he has revived that old fashioned word groceries for us. I don't know about you, but I am delighted that I can now put a name to the list that I take to the supermarket every week. Shakespeare, nothing. This wordsmith and his rediscovery of the word groceries has completely changed my life. Trump voters must be so proud.

Also, while we guffawed at the thought of penguins being tariffed, he actually had a genius plan. Remember he won because of the price of bacon and eggs? Well, Mr Humble may not be bragging about it but he is only trying to fulfil his election promise. We all know that despite the inhabitants of Heard Islands being King Penguins and sporting dapper tuxedos, they don't really deal in cash. But they are birds and they lay big, beautiful eggs. Soon to be big, beautiful, tariffed eggs.

In 90 days, I predict the addition of another country to his big, beautiful list...The Bay of Pigs.

                                             

 

A not so light take on the news

Oh dear, Donald Trump is back. Remember 2020? Apparently, that time, the elections were rigged and the wannabe tangerine tyrant encouraged and instigated a coup on January the 6th. But it doesn't appear to have mattered. 

Remember the pandemic? He claimed that it would disappear as if by magic. When it didn't and thousands of people were dying, he had many solutions; horse medication, malaria medication, a shot or two of bleach and if all else failed, he suggested shining a light where the sun literally doesn't shine. But it doesn't appear to have mattered. What mattered is that bacon was cheaper when he was President.

Remember his debate with Kamala Harris? He suggested that Haitian migrants were eating people's pets. Yes, according to him, Haitian migrants were living the high life, consuming dog tartare, cat fritters, not to mention foie gras, courtesy of geese captured in public parks. But none of that matters. What matters is that bacon (bought legitimately from a grocery store, not offcuts of pet pigs) was cheaper then.

Remember his recent rallies? The usual name calling (thankfully, he didn't manage to get one to stick to Kamala Harris), the hateful rhetoric that had the maga crowd braying their approval in unison, the town hall Q&A where he swayed to music for forty minutes. (I'm tempted to start a novena to Mary to help wipe out the memory of him swaying to Ave Maria.) Most importantly, remember his enactment of 'Fifty Shades of Orange' with a hapless microphone? But none of that matters. What matters is that bacon was cheaper then.

Remember Trump's far right version of Woodstock at Madison Square Garden, where a comedian said that Puerto Rico was a 'Floating island of Garbage?' Not funny and not even intelligent because garbage may float but islands don't. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that bacon was cheaper then.

Remember when he was convicted of 34 felonies? But that doesn't matter, what matters is that bacon was cheaper when the Godfarter was the President.

Remember when Joe Biden stepped down and made way for Kamala Harris? The promise of hope and help to the 'sandwich' generation, so that their parents may have home care if they need it and their children could have help buying their first home? Remember that she kept repeating it (and her other policies) every time she spoke but some people couldn't hear it because they didn't want to listen. The optimism didn't matter, the policies/promises didn't matter, the joy didn't matter. None of it mattered. What mattered is that bacon was cheaper then.

So, in conclusion, it appears that Kamala Harris lost to a pig.

A lighter look at the news (in quite sometime)

It has been quite a while since I wrote my last blog post. Why now? Because, when I need a distraction, I find that taking a light hearted look at what's happening (or happened) in the news, is quite therapeutic. Also, a lot has happened. 

We, here in the UK, acquired a new King. Charles promised to modernise the monarchy. And true to his word, he rocked up to his coronation in a golden, horse driven, carriage, resplendent in a bejewelled crown, a cloak that looked like it had been lifted straight out of Cruella de Ville's closet and clutching a staff in one hand ('Holy Moses' was my somewhat apt reaction).

I wish I could tell you more but I stopped watching there. I may've been tempted to continue if Louis had been one of the Pages. I can imagine him yanking Cruella's cloak or snatching the staff out of grandpa's hand and bopping people on the heads with it. Alas, he wasn't, so I switched off.

We also got a new government. Conservative Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, unexpectedly called for an election and not unexpectedly lost to Labour. I don't know much about our new Prime Minister, except that his title and his name rhyme - Sir Keir. I also imagine, if I asked to speak to the manager at a Waterstones book shop, someone who looked like him would turn up to talk to me.

Talking of British Prime ministers, Liz Truss, has been seriously fangirling over Donald Trump. Honestly, the lettuce that outlasted her tenure as PM, would make a better salad than words coming out of her mouth. It makes me quite cross that she can, if she wishes, pocket a six figure annual sum of money for her 45 days of chaos.

I also hope Rishi Rich doesn't claim any money, simply because to him, £115,000/- is like loose change in the pocket of his ready-for-the-floods-at-anytime, ankle length trousers.

For sometime, politics across the pond was a snooze fest (and I mean that literally).Trump frequently fell asleep during his hush money court trial. At some point, he woke up to find that the jury had found him guilty of 34 felonies. It should have been 35 but he got away with the charge of causing unease due to his gaseous emissions. That charge was dismissed  on the grounds of reasonable doubt, what with gas being invisible.

Then there was the much anticipated 'Debate' between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Unfortunately, President Biden had an out of body experience. The lights were on but nobody was home. The man on the other side, predictably lied through his teeth and every pore of his orange tinted skin.

Undecided voters in the US wrung their hands in consternation. However were they to trust an elderly career politician who had a senior moment (albeit one that lasted for almost 90 minutes) as compared to an elderly, career fraudster! It started to get tense, as the fraudster appeared to be gaining favour.

He appeared to gain even more favour, when an assassination attempt was made on his life. A bullet, shot by a republican, whizzed passed his ear, taking a few skin cells off his pinna with it. Sadly, someone did get killed while trying to protect their wife and daughter.

With no pressure put on him at all (except perhaps from Clooney, Pelosi and maybe a few other prominent democrats) President Biden came to the independent decision to step down. He invited his VP Kamala Harris to step into his place. And suddenly, there was music and dancing, optimism and good vibes, and most importantly, joy.

On the other side, there was, and still is, whinging, vitriol and dour predictions. And, I imagine, there's more than just tomato ketchup being flung at the walls. There appears to be the toxic trial name calling to see what sticks (Kambala, komrade, crazy and that old chestnut, 'crooked'.) But nothing appears to be sticking. It's as if the walls are coated with teflon.

On the one hand, Kamala Harris' VP pick, Tim Walz, appears delightfully charming and exudes joy.  On the other hand, Donald Trump's VP pick, J.D. Vance (he of the obnoxious 'childless cat ladies' fame), has all the charisma of a disgruntled turnip.

So, whilst Harris is dancing with Walz, Trump has no choice but to dance with Vance. 

The US elections have gone from being boring to being exciting and I can't wait to see it unfold.

Until next time, try and keep it light.

 

 

A lighter side of the news

Remember those days when we lived in bubbles? Every household was a so called 'bubble' and we were not allowed to mix with other bubbles. We were warned that if we did, that spikey, invisible menace called covid-19, would burst our bubbles and we would be doomed!

How terrifying is that? So, for our sake and for the greater good of humanity, we faithfully followed our Government's strict guidelines.

Indulge me, as I further jog your memory to when Matt Hancock was our Health Secretary. He earnestly implored us to stand or demurely walk, at least a metre, preferably two metres, from the person in front of us. Alright, I exaggerated, he didn't use the word 'demurely' (it was implied).

Mr. Hancock was then caught playing that non-demure sport called 'Tonsil Hockey', with a married aide. Alas for him, he wasn't very good at it. He was caught cheating and he also scored at least two own goals - he lost his wife and he lost his job. Not sure if he lost Mrs Bonas as well. Not sure if I care. Not sure if you care. If you do, try Google.

When the furore died down, we thought that was it. But it turns out, that wasn't it. 

While weddings that took months to plan, were being cancelled, milestone birthday parties were being celebrated over Zoom and people were being buried/cremated with only their immediate family (those family members were deprived of comfort or support from extended family and friends), the staff and residents of No. 10 were partying.

Apparently, they worked so hard at those 'Thou shalt not do this' and 'Thou shalt not do that' guidelines, the poor dears had no choice but to decompress with booze and sitting on each other's laps.

Boris, of course, tried to bluff his way out of it but it did not work. There was an enquiry and he was fined. He still did not resign. Finally (talk about not taking a hint), his Chancellor, Rish told him to 'Go fish' and so did Health Secretary, Sajid Javid. It was bye, bye Boris time.

Which now begs the question, who is going to replace Boris? Will it be Richie Rish or will it be Brazen Hussy, Trussy? It may even be Cruella Suella (as a fellow person of Goan origin, I apologise). Unfortunately, I can't think of a rhyme for Jeremy Hunt, so I'll leave it there.

We could, of course,  ask Boris himself, but he's probably hanging from a zip wire somewhere, trying to endear himself to the British public once again.

We could also ask the lady in red but she is so enjoying herself (and Craig David) at this very legal party, it would be rude to interrupt.

Meanwhile, across the pond, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, are having a war of words (the tarsal bones in Shakespeare's 16th century boots must be quaking). 

Given Trump's limited imagination and vocabulary, it won't be long before he is reduced to mocking Musk's name. Something along the lines of 'Elongated Musk-ing tape'. 

Who am I kidding? Considering his previous unimaginative nicknames ('Sleepy Joe', 'Crooked Hilary'), my bet is either 'Junk Car Elon' or 'Rusty Rocket Elon'. Either way, both men deserve each other.

Side note to one of the men: for a couple of million quid, I will be happy to come up with retaliatory nicknames for the former Tweeting Tangerine (there's more where that came from).

Finally, I am happy to let you know that I have managed to come up with a rhyme for Jeremy Hunt - 'The Blunt Hunt'. Phew! I thought I was losing my touch.

Until next time, try and keep it light.

 

A lighter look at the news

Prince William was in a spot of bother this week. He and Kate, visited an Ukranian Cultural Centre in London and during a conversation, he made an observation, alluding to the fact that it felt very alien for there to be a war in Europe.

In 1999, one of the most used words in my 3 year old daughter's vocabulary was 'Kosovo'. She obviously picked it up from the television and from listening in to our conversations. She knew it was a place where something dangerous was happening. How do I know? Well, one day in a fit of pique, she suggested that I pack a suitcase and go to Kosovo.

If I recall, it was because she wasn't getting her way over something. Turned out to be a double defeat - she still didn't get her way and I did not pack my suitcase and go to Kosovo.

My daughter is 25 years now and I believe William is 39 years old.

Someone needs to be on hand with smelling salts when they tell him about the two World Wars.

Does anybody know what's happened to the Inquiry into the social goings on at No. 10 Downing Street during lockdown? 

At the time,  Boris Johnson would appear on our screens at 5:00pm, like a modern day Moses, minus the burning bush but with a tablet of commandments:

'Thou shalt honour and pay heed to thy Saviour (me).'

'Thou shalt only promenade with a single friend and promenade six paces to the side or behind thy friend.'

'Thou shalt not invite thy friends into thy dwelling..'

'When thou enters thy dwelling, thou shalt wash thy hands whilst singing a song of praise to celebrate thy birth, even if it is not the day that thou usually celebrates thy birth.'

After this tedious list of instructions (which were important at the time), Moses walked off, turned into Boris, laid his tablet down and boogied with his staff. To be honest, I don't know if there was any booging or Boris dancing involved. But it has come to light that there was a whole lot of socialising and drinking.

Meanwhile, at those briefings, we also had to listen to Matt Hancock give his two bit worth. He then went off to meet his two bit worth, to practise tonsil hockey. At least he managed to adhere to the 'meet just one friend at a time' rule, even if they then went on to practise the opposite of social distancing.

Where politicians are concerned, sometimes fact is more surreal than fiction.

Going back to the Ukraine crisis, I feel that in a short time we know quite a lot about Zelensky. Not so much about the other guy.

I learnt that Zelensky is a brave leader, who has chosen to fight alongside his people, instead of seeking refuge in another country. That he is a family man with a wife and two children. That he can boogie (but knows the right time to do so - pay attention Boris). That he was a comedian. And most importantly, that he can rock a pink suit.

About the other guy, I know that he has a penchant for riding horses bare chested. He sometimes flexes his pecs - one pec at a time - while riding on said horse (poor horse) and he always keeps a helipad distance between himself and whoever he is meeting with.

I've read somewhere that there are people who are already fast forwarding to the possibility of a Hollywood film being made about these two. When I read that, I wondered what they would call the movie. 'War of the Vlads' sounds like an obvious choice, but the UN would not approve because apparently they do not want it to be called a war. Somehow 'Conflict of the Vlads' does not quite ring a bell.

Maybe something along the lines of a James Bond film. One of the two Vlads could be Bond (no guesses who) and the other could be the villain (once again, no guesses who). 

Instead of a pussycat, the villain could have an orange lapdog. The lapdog would be living his best life, sleeping contentedly on his masters lap, with just one flaw  - from time to time he would bark, 'It was a rigged election' before sinking back into his master's lap.

I think, 'From Russia Without Love' could very well be a blockbuster in the making.

Talking about the orange lapdog. He had a wonderful suggestion, worthy of a genius five year old.

His suggestion was that the US should put Chinese flags over Fighter jets, bomb the s**t out of Russia, say China did it and sit back and watch.

I think he should go back to his 'Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV' lessons. He seems to have lost the couple of grey cells that helped him remember that sequence.

Until next time, stay well.

A lighter look at the news

 This may not be popular, particularly in recent times, but I have a confession to make - I am an anti-waxxer. And before you ask, no, it's not a typo. If you started reading this because you thought that I was a fellow anti-vaxxer, please stop now and go get yourself inoculated (maybe that word will work).

I am an anti-waxxer simply because I cannot imagine why in the world anyone would want to pour molten lava on their legs and other delicate parts of their body - like their arm pits (didn't think I was going to say that, did you)? The only hot brown liquid I will tolerate (dare I say, even enjoy) is if the word Brazilian is followed by the word coffee.

I am not saying that women should necessarily sport the hairy Mary look (although I have great admiration for those who go down that path). All I am saying is that, it is as if at some point women thought monthly cramps and labour pains weren't enough, they had to incorporate some more painful challenges into their lives. Cue, hot wax and strips of fabric.

I have just one word to suggest an alternative - razors. That God given implement (apologies to Wilkinson if they beat God to it), widely used by men to get rid of unwanted hair.

At this point, I feel a full disclosure is in order. My legs and arms are pretty much hairless. But before you go hating me, my upper lip, if left unattended, would give Tom Selleck a run for his money!

If you're wondering about my uncharacteristic mental ruminations, I recently had an eye operation and wasn't able to do a lot, except listen to podcasts and ruminate. Now that I am healing, lucky you, I can share my ruminations (I promise that's the last time I'm going to use that word, not least because I'm beginning to feel like a cow).

Now, back to my usual rant. As I mentioned, I had an eye operation, which of course meant that I had a couple of visits to the hospital. During those visits, not once did I see a single person, be they patient or staff, unmasked. Not one single person.

So you can imagine how irate I was this week to see that bumbling bloke we call our Prime Minister, walk through a hospital corridor without a mask. 

Not even a token mask under his chin or dangling from his ear, to give the impression, false though it be, that he had just removed it.

Such a shame that one of the staff, who he merrily elbowed by way of greeting as he strode down the hospital corridor, didn't miss and get his chin instead (and alas, he wouldn't even have had the protection of a chin mask).

I have a suggestion for the next time he visits a hospital and goes mask less - have him zipwire through the corridors. And if lightening strikes again....

... well, I heard that the waiting times in hospitals can be quite long. 

In my ruminations (I apologise, please don't moo), I imagine Matron bustling by with a stern, 'Should've worn that mask Prime Minister.' And she would be right. We do live in a democracy after all.

Apparently, Camilla Parker Bowles was subjected to a low and slow, prolonged, emission of gas, by none other than President Biden. I am not sure if there were witnesses but she is said to have blushed on hearing the gaseous eruption.

I am surprised, after all I wouldn't think this would be the first time Mrs Bowles would be subjected to such emissions by the elderly. But then, what does one know? Perhaps royals do not produce wind. After all, there's already one royal who does not produce sweat.

Until next time, try and keep it light.

A lighter look at the news

 

It has been quite awhile since I've blogged but how can one resist when Prince Charles informs us that his Aston Martin runs on cheese and wine?

Surprisingly, I do agree with him. From personal experience, I run better on cheese and wine myself, so why should it not work on His Royal Highness's Aston Martin?

Mind you, it did put me in a quandary the other day. I discovered a mouldy piece of cheese at the back of the fridge and was torn between the petrol tank of my VW UP! or the bin.

Fortunately, one wasn't running on cheese and wine at the time, so one made the right decision and threw it in the bin.

This week, a 67 year old man on LBC radio station, called 19 year old Tilly Ramsay, who is taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, A chubby little thing. And on GMB today, Richard Madelay asked a young woman, who is a victim of drink spiking, Did you watch your drink the whole time to ensure it was safe?

Why are these misogynistic, middle aged men still giving themselves licence to talk to young women in this manner? I suggest that they be put out to pasture, where they can ruminate and exude their hot air through whichever orifice they choose.

A Facebook employee turned whistleblower, recently told us what we already knew, about the social networking company - that encouraging hateful rhetoric gets more engagement (and more money) than safer content. The company was so embarrassed, the first four letters in their name turned bright red.

They are now looking for ways to make amends and do better. After what I assume was much soul searching, they have come up with the perfect solution - change the name. Thank goodness for that. We can now all heave a sigh of relief and relax. 

Although I said earlier that the whistleblower told us everything we already knew about fb, there is one thing I confess that I did not know. I did not know that their Vice President for Global affairs is Nick Clegg. Yes Britain's very own ex-Deputy Prime Minister!

Nick Clegg and Mark Zukerberg - now, that's a match made in Heaven...or should I say the Multiverse, which apparently, is where Facebook is heading.

I don't often have second thoughts, but despite my cynicism about Facebook's name change, I actually think it might work. All they have to do is remove the third letter in the name and replace it with a 'k'. Fakebook - clear and transparent.

The suggestion/offer is free. No need for any payment at all but if Mr. Zukerberg insists, I wouldn't say no to a few shares in the forthcoming Multiverse venture. It would be rude to decline.

Talking of rude, remember the US President before Biden? The one who was impeached twice? The 'Person, woman, man, camera, TV', sharp-as-a-tac, genius, former President? Well, he's now set to launch a social media platform called 'Truth'.

I apologise but I have to end here, pick up my jaw, retreat to a corner of the room, wait for my eyebrows to descend, while clutching my ribcage, to ensure no hairline fractures occur from the resulting uncontrollable mirth that name has induced.

Until next time, try and keep it light.