RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE TORIES

 

Hard decision. Stay at home and look like a coward, or turn up and look inadequate?

Proud?

David Wilson and Graeme Brookes playing at being little boys in Primary 3

Jorry Johnsie, too late. We ARE panicking.

I wonder if Theresa wants to take HER on about it…

“When nothing’s as good as it used to be…”

Is it strong and stable though?

Oh look, someone is actually talking to Mayhem.

“Listen, you can have our health services at a knockdown price… Anything. Just speak to me.”

Ooooops.

And I’ve just imagined you naked.

And I’d like to thank the Daily Mail and the BBC.

Aye Tess, we know that.

That’s the trouble if you U-turn on a penny.

Let’s just do without a prime minister then.

Well, she had to make it look as if she could communicate with humans. UP till now, it’s been a mixture of orange faced morons, and middle eastern head choppers.

And the other hand too.

Spot on, Caroline Lucas. Incidentally, although I have less than no time at all for Amber Rudd, I salute her for taking part in tonight’s debate. Her father died earlier this week. Even given that May still wouldn’t turn up and do her own debate. Pathetic loser that she is.

 

LIAR LIAR

Already in the lower reaches of the chart, I believe.

I wonder if the BBC will find an excuse not to play it.

You can buy it here, or here or here.

PS: I know that probably all of you look at Wings’ posts. Please, though, if you haven’t seen this one, go and look at it now and share it on social media. Everyone should see this. It is heartbreaking.

UPDATE

According to this, the recording is at number 2 in the iTunes download charts. Brilliant news, particularly as the money raised is being given to charity. Brilliant.

Nicola and Neil

SOPPY SUNDAY

 

Is it morning already?

Norwegian Wolf.

Seljalandsfoss, Iceland.

 

 

Highland Garden.

Broughty Ferry rock gardens

… And more

…again.

Akureyri, Iceland

Who, me?

Shuttlecock Fern.

Queen’s view.

How do you spell prickly

 

A MISSIVE ARRIVES AT MUNGUIN TOWERS

So, a few days ago, I got a communication from the Conservative candidate in Dundee East. Kind of her to get in touch, I thought. Dundee East’s a relatively safe SNP seat these days. Previously it was a relatively safe Labour seat. So it’s a fair guess that she’s not going to be elected. But Munguin and I had a look at it, just out of interest. We were a quite a bit surprised.

Here is the leaflet:

Now I don’t remember ever getting a Tory leaflet through my door before, so I’m wondering if they have always been in the habit of calling themselves the Conservative and Unionist Party. Of course, I know it’s their full name, but I didn’t think they used it.

Next, I note that we have a small picture of Eleanor Price, so we know who she is. Under that is a bar chart with the percentage vote taken from a Sunday Times Poll from back in April. Clearly though, that was the picture in the whole of Scotland at that time, and not in Dundee, and there is no real guarantee that the vote in YES city would reflect these figures. (Since the seat was established in the 1950s it has been either Labour or SNP. Never Tory.)

Thirdly, we see a large photograph of Ruth Davidson. Why? This is a Westminster Election. Ruth Davidson isn’t standing; she’s not going to be an MP. What has she got to do with it? The UK’s man in Scotland is supposed to be the Secretary of State, David Mundell. We pay him an exceedingly generous salary to do that job… he and some aristocrat who is allegedly his deputy. So why Ruth, who is only the leader of the Scottish Branch of the Conservative and Unionist Party.? (Is there even such a legal party as the Scottish Conservatives? I can’t find it registered with the Electoral Commission.)

Lastly, we note that Ruth has adopted the William Bain Principle. In short, regardless of what the SNP proposes, she will oppose it. So that’s a nice, grown up, constructive attitude to take, huh?

Ms Price’s priorities, if returned to Westminster would be, first and foremost to oppose the SNP’s plans (do they actually have any yet) for a referendum.

She quite reasonably wishes to support local business. To be honest, which party, save maybe the Communist Party, would not? She spoils that noble idea by bringing in the somewhat discredited and incredibly overplayed “strong and stable” catch phrase.

If she spent her time in Westminster campaigning, as she proposes here, for better educational attainment, she might find that the Speaker would ask her to be seated, and her Scottish Parliament opposite number might ask her to butt out of HER job. It’s outwith Westminster’s remit (unless she knows something more than we do about Mayhem’s intention to take back powers).

The the best of my knowledge roads and all but cross-border transport (so that wouldn’t be local) are also outwith her job description…again with the proviso that she may be privy to London’s plans to reduce Edinburgh’s remit.

 

At Terry’s suggestion we had a top milliner flown in from Paris, and at last, the leaflet had a purpose in life.

 

Of course, she’d kinda have to promise to be a strong voice for Dundee… so that’s a given.

And finally, we get a couple of photographs of her in Broughty Ferry, on her own with the castle and then with two brothers who are Tory councillors for the Broughty Ferry Ward.

I hope she knows that there is a good deal more to the constituency than that.

It’s a swinging place…

 

Munguin relaxes on his garden swing…

…then on Tris’s bench, while Tris digs in a new tree, plants a photinia, sweeps the paths, feeds the birds and the mice,  makes the coffee, and takes the photographs. Oh to be a media mogul.

Beautiful day in Dundee today, and as Conan reminded Munguin that he had a swing, he decided to take himself to the garden and watch Tris working down there.

Oh, for the life of the rich and powerful…

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In her manifesto, Theresa May announced plans to replace free universal lunchtime meals for infants in England with free breakfasts for every pupil up to the age of 11.

(Well, Mrs Thatcher took their milk, and now Mrs May is taking their lunch!)

The Tories told the public that it would save vast amounts of money. It would cost, for the whole of England, only £60 million per year

But when calculations were done it was discovered that the money they had set aside for this meant that just under 7p spent would be available to spend on each breakfast.

At this point, it is worth remembering that when Iain Duncan Smith was a government minister he spent £39 on a breakfast for himself.

Of course, we at Munguin’s Republic realise that Mr Duncan Smith is far larger than the average under-11-year-old, and surely needs considerably more food to keep him going, but seriously …557 times larger?? Surely that would make him a giant of a man… No surely, surely not.

So, hoping no one would notice, the Theresa May Strong and Stable Party have quietly said that they will have to look again at the figure. Damned right they will! This time with a calculator in their hands.

And these are the people that we didn’t vote for, who will be negotiating the biggest change in the UK in 45 years?

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab. Heaven help us.

**********

I heard on the news this afternoon that Amber Rudd (she’s the Home Secretary in the Theresa May Strong and Stable government, in case you didn’t know) has warned the United States of America NOT to leak more information about the Manchester terrorist. They had apparently released his name to the press without permission from the Brits and Rudd had wanted to “keep the element of surprise”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she had been very clear with Washington “that it should not happen again”.

Ewwwww!

The US authorities must have been quaking with fear after being thus warned by as august a figure as whatever her name is, I forget. So much so that they pretty much immediately leaked some more information.

Oh, for that special relationship, eh?

**********

And on a more cheerful note, I was in the garden this evening:

WEAK AND WOBBLY CAR CRASH

MANCHESTER

All terrorism is repulsive.

It is, after all, the random killing of totally innocent people to make a political, religious or other point; to hold a gun to a government’s head.

The randomness of it revolts. The terrorists’ bomb takes dads, mums, grannies, kids, dogs… people with lives, with futures, with plans. People with no power to change what the terrorists want to be changed. Sometimes even people who would sympathise with the terrorists’ cause.

Just random people. In this case random young people.

Who amongst us have more future, more dreams, more plans than kids? Teenagers out for a night with mates at a pop concert. Lives ahead of them.

What kind of people could even conceive such an attack even in their wildest imaginings?

Rightly, political campaigning has been universally stopped for today out of respect. The SNP manifesto launch has been postponed. Politicians in office will have more to do today than make party points, you would hope.

Nothing anyone can say can make this better for the friends and families of the dead and injured, but I guess all over the world people are reflecting on how these folk must be feeling. It’s hard to imagine, but I think it’s important to try to do so. What would it be like if this was your town, you kids?

The people of Manchester have shown their metal by opening their homes, giving blood, and pulling together in so many ways to do what they can for each other, for the victims and those whose job puts them in the centre of this.  It’s a fact that whenever this kind of thing (the very worst of human behaviour) happens, it brings out the best in humans.

So ignore the comments of people like Farage, Robinson and Hopkins, concentrate on the what the good guys are doing and let’s get behind them.

Across the world today we are all Mancunians.

CHAPPING DOORS…

So again, Niko, before you have a go. I have no problem with there being some sort of death duties. I just don’t think it should be exclusively for those who get sick as they get older. It should be for everyone who is rich.

It should be run by the government. It must not involve private companies making vast amounts of money, and it shouldn’t ever mean that people who are starting to get sick will wish themselves dead before they have had time to spend the legacy that they thought they were leaving to their kids.

My concern is all about the universality of social security and the welfare state.

Anyway, it’s been fun watching “strong and stable” become “weak and wobbly”.