Back again

 I am sorry that it has taken me so long to return to my blog. This is for four reasons:

1) No one reads it

2) I despaired when Britain got their own version of Trump.

3) I despaired when Putin invaded Ukraine

4) Covid made me despair

The problem is that all the things that were problematic in the world back in 2019: Brexit, Theresa May, Donald Trump, etc HAVE MADE THINGS 10 TIMES WORSE because those things happened. 

Just one example: Russia was not worried about America anymore (because Trump was his best friend) and thus invades another country and China says: "we'll stay your friends". Any similarities to the Axis? YES.

Another example...

Johnson lying all the time. He has parties during lockdown because he can - don't you know - he was the prime minister and nearly died. He has every right to attend a 'work do' and drink gallons of wine. What about all those people who did die even when they were obeying the rules of lockdown. I write this knowing that Johnson is in front of his peers right now and is lying AGAIN. 

He says he is a principled man. Here are some principles a world leader should follow:

• A bedrock of principles
• A moral compass
• A vision
• The ability to build a consensus to achieve that vision

Johnson (or Trump for that matter) do not have these. They are both caricatures and very frightening caricatures. Frightening because people BELIEVE them. And they walk all over "plebs" like us.

When Covid hit, I was happy to try and trust Johnson - he'll be advised by the right people, etc. I was very worried when he became 'seriously' unwell with Covid-19 - frightening. However, to lie and lie again when it is plain to everyone but his greatest supporters that he is lying! This is more frightening. 

Please can someone help us to climb out of this ABSOLUTE mess? Not a saviour. Just people who cares about other people and not being in the history books - tries to find peace in a difficult world map. Any chance please? And then - can we concentrate on the thing that will kill us ALL: Global Warming; Plastic pollution and all these other man-made disasters. 

Useless plastic and the beautiful oceans

A dead whale has been found full of useless plastic

If you are a British citizen, please sign this petition. The UK Government is too busy with Brexit, but we must concentrate on the destruction plastic is having on the world. Let's stop it now. If each country worked together, we would get rid of this stuff very quickly.

Here's the link

And if you are still trying to decide, please take a look at this article about that poor whale. :(

Plastic - Hemp - an alternative

What a good idea!

Plastic

Dear readers
I am so sick of finding plastic wherever I go - roads, pavements, country lanes, rivers, seas, beaches.

Why are we so rubbish at throwing away rubbish?

Why can't we find alternative ways of storing our items - food, toys, goods, and so much more?

I am going to start sharing (and moaning) about this and see if we can start turning the tide. No pun intended. This is a sad state of affairs. Donald Trump doesn't care; Theresa May is too busy with Brexit to care.

Let's do this together.

Let's get rid of our reliance on plastic before we kill everything.

Brett Kavanaugh nomination: Victory for Trump in Supreme Court vote

So he's won the vote. One of Trump's friends. Someone said Kavanaugh raped them. The senate was not put off; and they voted for him anyway. Kevin Spacey's career is (quite rightly) wrecked forever. Trump and Kavanagh are all hunky dory.

Why does this not scare anybody else? Trump is finally winning and he's not going to stop winning now. The well off in America will begin to take more and more money from the poor. The world urgently needs a strong and principled leader who only cares about the people (all the people) who voted for them. I suspect with Brexit that the UK will no longer have that influence - so where else?

More information, here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45774174

Books, Books, Books, Chapter XIV

I am not going to let the world get me down! I have been reading some very exciting books. If you click on some of these, you'll be taken to Amazon. If you buy from them, then the Living by Giving Trust will make money. Please do think about it. Thank you.

1) House of Cards. This book is all about politics and could be about politics today! It's fictional and is about the Chief Whip, Francis Urquhart finding out from the Prime Minister that there will be no reshuffle. Urquhart had hoped he would get a better job and found this unfair. From that point on, he manipulates situations to destroy the Prime Minster and many of his colleagues, so that he can be more powerful. The character was wonderfully played on the telly by Ian Richardson and I could imagine no one else whilst reading the book. I read the novel so quickly because it was amazing. I am looking forward to reading the next two!

2) Fatherland. Oh wow. This is a novel I have wanted to read for many years. I started reading it in the mid-nineties, but lost the book and never bought it again. A huge mistake. I finally bought this version last year and once I started reading it - could NOT put it down. The premise is "What if Hitler had won World War 2" and what the world would be like. More importantly what would Germany be like a few years later - a corrupt society? Yep! It's a murder mystery story and one that is full of resentment, hatred, lies and so much more. This is the authors first book - I am ready to read more. Brilliant.

3) Edward I (Penguin Monarchs): A New King Arthur? I love little books like this, which give you a very clear overview of a period of history. It doesn't go into great details, but it does go into enough detail to give you a feel of this great monarch. He was not a bad king, but nor was he a good and holy king - he was a king that had a job to do and my did he do it! As a leader he was great; and as a politician, he was even better! Read this book - it's brilliant. There is a whole series of these too.

4) Welcome to Just a Minute!: A Celebration of Britain’s Best-Loved Radio Comedy I picked up a celebration of Just a Minute on CD recently and enjoyed listening in my car on my daily drive to the hospital (I am OK, just old!). The programme is 50 years old! Anyway, I then searched for a book about it, because I enjoyed listening to the great Kenneth Williams; Sheila Hancock; Paul Merton; etc on the CD. This book provides many wonderful anecdotes and quotes from the long series; and Nicholas Parsons is a very good writer. Parsons does not hold back on how he feels about some of the guests, too. A must listen and a must read!

Right, that will do for now. I will return soon with some more books.

Brexit, Theresa May

I have been a little remiss of late and not updated my blog on some of the books I have read. Apologies. The world has become a tougher place and in the UK the government is so determined to Brexit. Whatever your views - none of us signed up for this mess. In many ways, I wish Cameron had stayed. Now that's saying something! At least he didn't seem so fake! I am sorry, but I do not want Trump's chickens. Please let's have another referendum and see what people think. The first referendum was only meant to be an advisory. Let's make this second one - a definite.

Read more here.