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Daisy Petals
Daisy wants to be a star on social media, like that famous American family. What’re they called? K-k-kardash—summat. But I’ve never done ‘owt interesting or courageous in me life, until now. Daisy walks towards me, her expression serious and, as she hands me the bouquet of wildflowers, she trembles.
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Give My Love to Susan
The renters rights bill will make life a little more secure for renters, while making it more difficult for an owner to get his property back. Life wasn't always like this for a decent landlord...was it?
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Give Me Strength
I can lift almost anything—cast iron baths, sofas—the occasional RSJ. My husband being a builder, I frequently get asked to ‘grab the other end.’ So, you’d think I’d be able to erect our aluminium rotary line whose arms are not outstretched to welcome a week’s washing but hanging motionless like a belligerent teenager’s. All the same, I can’t waste this perfect drying day. The boisterous breeze and kindly sun are crying out for the family’s clothes to be animated in a flapping symphony. Besides, I will not be thwarted by a washing line. Thing is though, since we first erected our state-of-the-art rotary drier, purchased at such enormous expense that…
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Washing your mouth out with soap
We should listen to the scientists and definitely not drink disinfectant. In fact it doesn't really need a scientist to tell us that, does it?
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Fake News, Genuine Stupidity
Now that much of the population is in enforced ‘furlough’ many of us are turning to making ourselves useful by entertaining our friends, neighbours and an international audience of social media pals by producing some amazing songs, articles and memes, many of which are really quite funny. Most of us like a bit of a laugh when it brightens up our day, and most of us want to show our support for the huge devotion of our NHS staff, the army of volunteers looking after the vulnerable and the inevitable economic victims of this crisis. Society will come out of this a better club to be a member of, and…
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Spirit of our Time
Whilst on my little blue dot yesterday, it struck me how quickly we've become watchers and judges of others' behaviours, particularly now we've got a nice clear set of rules we can apply.
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Spinning a leaky roof
I listen to the 'Housing shouldn't be for profit, housing is a human right' argument in bewilderment that our education system has turned out supposedly intelligent people who can put forward this point of view .
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Nigel’s potential Own Goal
It seems Nigel – we’ve all had so much of him over the last three years that writing his last name is superfluous – is mobilising the Brexit Party for a probable 2019 European Parliament election campaign. Quite apart from any worries I have that the last couple of years have provided endless opportunity for the more right-leaning amongst us to re-invent themselves as Brexiteers, I believe Nigel will set up a spectacular own goal. Let’s assume his party wins some seats. Self evidently, this will mean that Brexiteers have gone out and voted. Whatever their reasons for doing so (perhaps a delusion that getting some insiders into the EU…
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Intransigence trumps incompetence
Remainer, Leaver or simply an uncaring neutral (are there any?): surely none of us could not have felt a twinge of pride in the almost heroic incompetence of our team of expert negotiators who’ve steered the nation through the ice floes of total intransigence in the unwriteable drama affectionately known as ‘Brexit’. Future generations of etymologists will thank us for classics such as ‘You’ve made a right brexit of that!’, ‘You’re a total brexit!’ or ‘Mum’s just brexiting a Shepherd’s Pie’ none of which will be entirely complementary. Now I’m no expert, but I can spot a fiasco when I see one. This one has been organised, if it’s possible…
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Brexit’s gone West
The French and the Germans are doing their best to dissuade the UK from leaving the EU.
