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. 

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.

Books, Books, Books and some recommendations! Ch 13

At least if I update this occassionally, I'll be able to provide a good list of books that I've read - and ones that you might be interested in reading too. I truly HIGHLY recommend them all. Click on the link to the books if you want to buy them. If you click on the link and purchase something a lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here) will earn some money to support its causes. :)

As well as Doctor Who books (see my last blog update), I also read lots of other fascinating books too. Here is one of the classic Science Fiction books by JG Ballard: High-Rise. This is a very scary, gripping and tense book about a tower block that becomes very insular and a tribal mentality begins. It's a book about how easy it is possible for society to collapse when there are no outside influences - neighbours with sizzling jealousy and eventual hatred. It's a fascinating view on what could happen if the "Survival of the Fittest" mentality becomes the first thought of a group of people.

Another book themed on how society can go wrong is Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (Penguin Modern Classics). It's a slightly different take on High-Rise. This time the animals overthrow the evil human farmer, and begin to live in an equal society. However, very quickly the pigs take on the leadership, and they revert back to human ways of thinking. The other animals become second-class citizens. Well worth the read and Orwell will keep you hooked throughout.

A final book for now and another science fiction book was The Reviver written by a new author called Seth Patrick. I don't want to say much about it, because I think people should read it first. It belongs at the top of the sci fi genre, as it was so so good. Buy it today. Please. You'll not regret it. Here are some more notes on it from the author themselves.

Another book recommendation

I've just finished the first book of CJ Sansom's series about a hunchback lawyer. It is so very rare to find historical fiction that actually makes you think and feel like you are in the time being described. However, Sansom perfectly manages it in Dissolution (Shardlake).

The novel is set during the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and in these pages we meet or hear about great historical figures like Cromwell; Anne Boleyn and so many others. However, we also get to read how a monastery and its monks must have felt during the time of Henry VIII's changes, and it is a really amazing depiction. We also get to hear Shardlake (the main protagonist) sharing his view of how good he thinks the changes are, and how annoyed he gets with the monks.

I couldn't put this book down, please go out and read it today!

Dissolution (Shardlake)

60 Years

2012 is a momentous year for us royalists, because Queen Elizabeth II will be celebrating sixty years on the throne of Great Britain. I've already discussed my love for the Queen here, so instead I am going to talk FACTS. She is only second to Queen Victoria in longevity as our monarch, but is a lot more active that Queen Victoria (who rarely came out publicly after the death of her husband, Prince Albert).

Did you know that our Queen has been on the throne for so long, that her reign has surpassed those of her four immediate predecessors combined (Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI), after which she became the third longest reigning British or English monarch, the second-longest-serving current monarch of a sovereign state (after King Bhumibol of Thailand), and the oldest reigning British monarch.

Today, she broke another record and becomes the longest-living British head of state, when she overtook Richard Cromwell.

To overtake Queen Victoria and become the longest reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth would have to live to 10 September 2015, when she would be 89. To surpass the reign of King Louis XIV of France, and become the longest reigning monarch in European history, Elizabeth would have to live until 26 May 2024, when she would be 98.

It's very possible too, after all, the Queen Mother lived to 102.

God Bless, the Queen. Thank you, Ma'am for everything you do for us.

I recommend you read the book below too:

...by the way

...Family Grows on Trees who did some excellent genealogical research for me are still writing excellent blogs: http://familygrowsontrees.blogspot.com/

Do have a read of them!

Petition

Clubs and other are establishments are literally watching their money go down the drain as water companies start to bring through surface area-based charging. The Water Industry Act 1991 classes only two categories of customer – domestic and non-domestic. From 2010, all non-domestic customers will be charged according to the surface area of the site rather than through the rateable value of the property; this means that many of our clubs and other voluntary organisations will end up paying more than ten times their original rate.

CCPR has launched a petition to urge the Prime Minister to instruct utilities companies to charge community clubs affordable rates for services. Please support this by signing up on link below.

Sign Petition

The Queen of England

I was watching repeats of "Monarchy" last week on the new channel, Blighty. Over the years, the Monarchy has had to change what it does and how it does it, to such an extent that it has survived. And isn't it wonderful! Not only that, this programme has served to remind me that our Monarchy, and our great Queen really does have a wonderfully important purpose. She is a unique and special ambassador to our country and works every day for the good of the UK and commonwealth. Also, there is no doubt in my mind that she loves her countries very much.

Yes, it's true - I am a Royalist and proud of it.

Did you know that our Queen has been on the throne for so long, that her reign surpassed those of her four immediate predecessors combined (Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI), after which she became the third longest reigning British or English monarch, the second-longest-serving current monarch of a sovereign state (after King Bhumibol of Thailand), and the oldest reigning British monarch.

So that she breaks records and becomes the longest-living British head of state, Elizabeth would have to live until 29 January 2012 when she would overtake Richard Cromwell.

To overtake Queen Victoria and become the longest reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth would have to live to 10 September 2015, when she would be 89. To surpass the reign of King Louis XIV of France, and become the longest reigning monarch in European history, Elizabeth would have to live until 26 May 2024, when she would be 98.

It's very possible too, after all, the Queen Mother lived to 102.

God Bless, the Queen. Thank you, Ma'am for everything you do for us.

You see, I don't need to be grumpy all the time. :O)

Introduction to me...

Why the Victorian Gentleman? Well, because I like to see myself as a bit of an old fuddy duddy and there were lots of them in Victorian society! I also admire the Victorian period greatly, and we should always remember how much we have to thank them for many of societies creature comforts!

So that’s sort of me. In this blog, I’ll talk about many random things and I hope someone enjoys reading about it.

PS I am a miserable person, but I hope I am not too annoying. More of a Victor Meldrew kind of character.

Until the next time.