OH. MY. GOD.

People dressed in funny costumes bowing and doffing hats and talking about Her Majesty’s commands… Quite apart from the farce that is the UK parliament and the UK government at the moment, what on earth is all this tra la la about?

Has it brought in a load of tourists?

Does it serve any purpose at all?

How folk must laugh at Brits and their pantomime.

126 thoughts on “OH. MY. GOD.”

  2. I happened to come across the Scottish Parliament’s debate on No Deal Brexit over on YouTube the other day, having already seen a fair bit of the WM version. The contrast in style, attitudes and procedures couldn’t have been greater — chalk vs cheese hardly accounts for it. If you have the time, I recommend you watch at least a little of each and come to your own conclusion …

    And then after watching last night’s circus, complete with ring-masters and clowns and even a flying flamingo, I thought perhaps at some future time there may be eventually a modern English Parliament more or less along the lines of Holyrood, then WM can be kept on as a ritual performed for tourists, like the Changing of the Guard etc.

    Surely that’s all they’re fit for now?

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. It is to remind us unwashed peasants of the great hierarchy above which governs us so well.

      Spells, funny costumes and passwords which are meant to be above us.

      Save as the French Court spoke its own version of French which was inpenetrable to great unwashed.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

              1. Don’t get me started, last night in the Commons was utter Pandemonium … which makes me think of something like a harmonium with all the stops outs … sorry but is it me or has the world gone raving mad?

                Liked by 2 people

                Reply

  4. So the Scottish Parliament votes to reject ‘No deal Brexit’.
    What about a shitty deal Brexit?
    Surely the vote should have been to reject any Brexit?
    I’m getting worried about the passivity of the SNP at this crucial time.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. The hats the gowns the outfits robes rods carpets furniture etc etc etc and of course the people , all cost a fortune ,what a stupid ridiculous nonsense it all is and all the while we have people up and down the length of the UK who do not have enough money to feed clothe house heat and look after themselves and their children .

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    2. “Mine eyes have seen the glory…….”
      As luck would have it, I recently encountered an article and a YouTube video about the great old Civil War era song.

      In 1859, the violent abolitionist and terrorist John Brown was hanged for his raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, which occurred a few years after his abolitionist campaign of death and destruction in pre-Civil-War “Bleeding Kansas.” The story of how a tacky old song about “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the dust…..,” sung to an old tune called “Canaan’s Happy Shore,” became the magnificent “Battle Hymn of the Republic” involves a young Scotsman in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia and the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe, who penned the words one night in 1861 in a room at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (The Willard is still there at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, just a couple of blocks from the White House at 1600.)

      John Brown, depicted in a mural by John Steuart Curry, in the State Capitol of Kansas at Topeka:

      The story of “John Brown’s Body” and some of the verses:

      https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/brown-history-john-browns-body/

      What Julia Ward Howe wrote about that night at the Willard:

      “I went to bed that night as usual, and slept, according to my wont, quite soundly. I awoke in the gray of the morning twilight; and as I lay waiting for the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves in my mind. Having thought out all the stanzas, I said to myself, “I must get up and write these verses down, lest I fall asleep again and forget them.” So, with a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed, and found in the dimness an old stump of a pencil which I remembered to have used the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper.”

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Hymn_of_the_Republic

      The original early 19th century tune “Canaan’s Happy Shore,” with the “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!” chorus dating from about 1850:

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. I thought I remembered that it was sung at Churchill’s state funeral. Yep…..at 2:15. Julia Ward Howell would be proud.

          However, probably never done better than by the Mormon Choir in the Tabernacle at Salt Lake City. 🙂

          Like

          Reply

    3. An article written by a sensible person, one who say and read the chicken bones correctly.
      The bestest pm a nation has ever had, maybe just a bit of old king george to make it believeable, film to follow, no need to cast around for an actor to play the part, we have a perfect fool NOT in charge.
      Had a conversation with my neighbour, he says we should respect the result of the referendum to brexit, I said we should respect the result of the referendum to go into the EU.
      People are allowed to change their minds if the result of a referendum gets in the way of reality, this mess goes to the heart of our ‘not fit for purpose’ parliament, they decided to invoke A50 with no planning of what was to happen.
      Cameron and Osbourne are the prime suspects and erg are the spoilers in the wings. IMHO.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    4. I wish the Irish Times weren’t behind a paywall, most of it, anyway. As an impecunious old codger, I’ve got my National subscription to keep up. Even giving up the baccy and the booze. Serves me right after a lifetime of overindulgence and profligacy, I suppose.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  7. Off-topic: Does anyone remember the name of the retiring Tory MP who was caught-out bragging to one of these Channel Four investigations a few years ago, that he had it on good authority that he would be going to the House of Lords when he stood down and that he could be of great use there to a potential employer?

    To his credit, when it came out, David Cameron made it clear to him that he was not going anywhere near the retirement chamber!

    I have the idea that “Butter” something was his name, but I can’t find him on Google.

    Like

    Reply

        1. This verse from Jake, concise and clever,
          caused me no consternation:
          indeed its craft and sentiment
          filled me with admiration.
          So, with a smile and not with frown,
          I’ll yield to him the bardic crown.

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply

          2. That’s no flytin talk, Andi,
            an I ken it fine,
            I’m nae maister o rhythm
            an nae maister o rhyme.
            Ma scansion’s fair wantin
            and that’s nae mistake,
            and I confuse yer iambic
            wi whits just trochaic.
            I’m jist no philippic in speakin ma mind
            but I value yer words an yer thoughts
            which wer kind

            Liked by 2 people

            Reply

            1. Ach, Jake, ye’re ower modest.
              Yir poetry’s gey fine.
              Yir words they fairly hit their mark
              in ilka weel-wrocht line.
              Aye, there’ll be nae need for flytin, Jake,
              Atween yirsel an me:
              we makars maun for rhymin’s sake
              ayeways guid freen’s be.

              Liked by 2 people

              Reply

  8. Nobody has mentioned the redcoat toy soldiers with funny hairdo marching around the many palaces with hundreds of rooms, even when lizzie and co are not at home.
    Horses and more tin soldiers with brass plates to polish.
    Yes I know they are trained soldiers but surely a huge waste of their time, remember there are many officers to order them around and to be treated as lords.
    The army is hard to quantify but there are more admirals in the navy than ships and the airforce has more air vice marshals than front line aircraft.
    Smoke and mirrors.
    They’re are people living in grace and favour accommodation at no cost to them, we pay.
    Don’t be on benefits and have an empty room.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Yeah. Punching above your weight seems to involve having a lot of admirals and air marshals of vice and what have you.

      I wonder how many spare bedrooms Phil and Liz have in their many and various palaces?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. John Bolton was one of DubYa Bush’s favorites who never saw a war he didn’t love. A traditional Republican war hawk! He was also more recently Trumpy’s National Security Advisor, who assured Boris that an American trade agreement was high on the agenda as soon as the Brits severed their ties with those damnable Europeans.

    Well Trumpy sacked John (and his mustache) last night….although John says that he wasn’t fired but in fact resigned. Anyway, someone should probably tell Boris that John won’t be in the office if he tries to contact him about that trade agreement. 😉

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/10/the-guardian-view-on-john-bolton-good-riddance-but-the-problem-is-his-boss

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. LOL Tris……I hadn’t thought of that. John Bolton is not the kind of guy who goes quietly, and his mustache is famous in its own right. There’s considerable anticipation about what he may soon reveal to reporters in interviews about Trump, or even what he might put in a book that could could come out next year just before the election. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

      2. John Bolton is probably the most evil man alive. Up until his sacking he was certainly the most dangerous.

        He’s so deranged/delusional/insane he makes Trump look like the best USA president ever. No joke.

        Good news for the world really. Would have been better news if he was dead but you can’t have everything.

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

        2. Bolton’s a scary dude for sure! Hard to figure why Trump chose him for National Security Advisor, since Trump is basically an isolationist who campaigned on a pledge to bring George DubYa Bush’s and Dick Cheney’e armies home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump may have just seen him on TV spouting right wing BS on FOX News and liked him. Trump is after all an idiot, as well as being a crook.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

            1. Actually, that famous mustache was another odd thing about Trump appointing him. Trump is known to prefer well groomed clean shaven guys as employees. I guess John just wowed him with his FOX appearances…..LOL.

              Like

              Reply

            1. Yep Vestas…..Bolton and Dick Cheney did their best to get DubYa Bush to go to war with Iran. Bolton must have been bitterly disappointed when he had no better luck with Trump than he did with Bush generating war with Iran.

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply

              1. One day the Saudis will run out of oil, then they’ll be the “enemy” & Iran will be the USA’s “friend” in the region. Given the (wahhabi) Saudis are totally responsible for “Al Qaeda” then that’d seem almost just but itd be stupidly naive to believe that,

                As always follow the oil reserves & USA foreign “policy” (wars/invasions/coups) becomes clearer 🙂

                In fact there’s a map of country size weighted by oil reserves online somewhere which is enlightening….

                Rare earth elements are likely to be the new “oil” in terms of wars etc within a few years.

                Liked by 2 people

                Reply

                  1. Speaking of the Greenland purchase…(off topic):

                    Conan O’Brien (one of the late night talk show comedians on the TBS cable channel) did a 30 minute show about a trip he took to Greenland to see if he could close the deal. He got a lot of good natured pushback from the Nuukites. I missed the program, but there are clips on YouTube.

                    Like

                    Reply

        4. Vestas,

          Whilst I’d agree with your John Bolton analysis, I don’t think he is anyway as dangerous a President who, many folk say, is losing his mind. He’s the lunatic with the bombs.

          Incidentally, I think he is a tad insane and that is a danger to our whole planet.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          1. So far Trump hasn’t actually started a (new) war for the USA. That makes him the first Republican president who hasn’t invaded somewhere since… I guess the 1920s?

            He is catastrophically stupid, racist etc and may well be losing his marbles but so far he’s killed less non-USAians than any president since Jimmy Carter…..

            Liked by 2 people

            Reply

            1. Leaving aside the disturbing detail that Trump has the nuclear codes, he’s far better than DubYa when viewed purely on a body count basis. Bush started two major wars to affect “regime change”…..one of which was based on deliberately fabricated data about non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Trumpy is an isolationist on the other hand who wouldn’t even retaliate militarily when Iran shot down an American drone over international waters. (The international waters part is disputed.)
              John Bolton must have hated not being allowed to attack Iran after the drone incident. He’s wanted to do that since the DubYa Bush days.

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply

            1. To be pedantic he theoretically* has the launch codes, not the arming codes.

              Bombs are Brit ones, missiles are rented from the USA.

              Doesn’t really help as the blonde buffoon could still blow us up…..

              *there’s a deal of discussion on this

              Liked by 2 people

              Reply

              1. OK. I’m not sure of the details. I just know that both Michael Portillo (defence secretary) and Blair (pm) both said that the “independent” nuclear deterrent was anything but independent. 🙂

                But which is worse. Trumpy or his English doppelganger?

                Liked by 2 people

                Reply

    2. I remember John Bolton from his stint as US ambassador to the UN under Dubya and actually having to make a written record of what he said in meetings. I can’t remember who first dubbed him Yosemite Sam, but it kind of fitted. The Senate wouldn’t confirm him in the post, so Dubya had to manoeuvre into the post by constitutional sleight of hand while the Senate was in recess.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. Ed….Yes, Bolton’s resemblance to Yosemite Sam is uncanny. 😉

        Dubya’s nomination of Bolton to be US Ambassador to the UN was filibustered by the Democrats while the Republicans controlled the Senate, so Dubya gave him a recess appointment that lasted about 17 months. The opposition to his Senate confirmation never subsided, and in the November 2006 election, the Democrats took control of the Senate. So John gave up the UN post at the end of the 109th Congress in December, 2006. Then 10 long years passed until another Republican was in the White House. He claimed to have been considered for Secretary of State at the beginning of Trumpy’s term, but some believe that his signature mustache worked against him. (Trump is said to like well groomed clean shaven employees.)

        Finally he got the job of National Security Advisor in April, 2018, and was there about 17 months before Trump sacked him.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  10. I like a good costume farce as much as the next guy, so I’ve always loved it when Her Majesty dresses up in robes and dons the crown jewels, trots out the horses and coaches, and sends Black Rod down the hall to get the door slammed in his face. But I had no idea they had a different version of the play when they closed the place down.

    The chaos in Westminster is getting lots of attention here in the States, and John Bercow has become something of a cult figure with his now famous shouting of the word “ORDER!” Bercow’s resignation announcement got lots of attention on American TV last night, and no doubt the chaotic scenes of the suspension of Parliament will surely be on the TV news reports tonight.

    There is a point of confusion though. I know that while a debate in Commons is an ear splitting cacophony of hoots and hollers and pounding on wooden surfaces with hands and fists, the simple traditional act of clapping one’s hands together to applaud a speaker seems to be absolutely forbidden in the chamber. I remember a while back when newly elected representatives of the Scottish National Party in Commons brought shame upon themselves and Scotland 😉 for applauding a speaker by clapping their hands together. They were called down quite severely for this disrespect of the traditions of the House of Commons as I recall.

    So is applauding by hand clapping allowed in Westminster or not? I clearly see actual such APPLAUSE going on in both Bercow’s resignation announcement and in the Black Rod prorogation incident.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. LOL yes.

      He’s obviously seen an opportunity here. Boris is only interested in playing the part of prime minister. Cummings is running things.

      Scary.

      Well, Scotland, there is a way out the back door!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

            1. Trump wants it. Putin wants it.

              Weaken the EU. Destroy the world’s biggest economy so Trump can do America First trade deals with smaller countries. And Putin can entice the eastern block back into his fold.

              Liked by 2 people

              Reply

    1. Now the question is will the (english) supreme court “betray the will of the people” or let an English court overrule a Scottish court?

      I don’t envy them that desicion.

      What happens if all the eligable judges recuse themselves due to conflict of interest?

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

      1. Good question. In fact only judges qualified in Scots Law can rule on Scottish cases. So whilst it could be interpreted as the English Supreme Court, it is not actually the case. Prior to its creation appeals of Scots Law cases were made to the Scots Law Lords. So no real change.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  13. It looks as though an elderly lady on holiday in the Balmoral area has been the victim of scammers. Early indications are that a gang of well dressed men claiming to give honest, impartial advice promised her an all expenses paid day out in London to open Parliament and make a speech. The day out also included the opportunity to travel to and from the venue in a horse drawn carriage, to dress up posh and to meet a variety of notorious celebrities.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  14. Blair and his pals setup the Supreme Court to ensure that Scots law and legal decisions of our courts would always be subject to Westminster rule.
    This,however,in theory negates the Treaty of Union which guaranteed the independence of Scots law for all time.
    Next week will be very interesting should the Westminster Supreme court overrule our Scottish Supreme court decision.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. The English court have just come to a different decision from that of the Court of Session appeal court. As I understand it the Northern Ireland Courts will announce their decision tomorrow. So it’ll be interesting to see what the Supreme Court decide and how they square the circle.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. doris and lizzie will no doubt tell us that the english judges are much superior to the celtic ones which are biased.
        Best result I suppose is for the Scottish MPs to go back to westmonster and sit, declare the the Union Bill to be no longer competent and vote us out of the onion.
        As EVIL is in that place, no english MPS can vote on a Scottish bill.
        Oh, forgot , rule one at westmonster, the english rule, we are just a colony.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

    1. And some in Edinburgh wearing wigs also pulled the rug from under him.

      Of course, we know that can be reversed by the Supreme Court, but what cannot be forgotten is the No 10 briefed that the Scottish Courts were biased.

      Now we don’t know who in No 10. My bet would be on the great dictator, Dom Cummings.

      But it doesn’t much matter whether it was the ever intemperate Johnson or the loonie fash, Cummings.

      I wonder how we can possibly go on in a situation where the UK government thinks that the highest court of appeal in Scotland is politically biased and is stupid enough to say so out loud.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  17. Black Rod Explains

    I’ve smoothed my black knee britches
    and pulled up my silken hose,
    because I don’t want any hitches
    with my very special clothes.
    I’ve checked my jabot’s starched and tight,
    that my sword hangs straight and true,
    that my buckled shoon are shining bright
    and I’ve polished my black rod too.
    Now I’m off to do my special task
    at this most historic time.
    No, I’m not Prince Charming since you ask
    and this is not a pantomime.
    A pantomime is theatre with japes and jokes and song
    whereas I’m off to prorogue Parliament – Hang on, you’re not far wrong!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Great work, Andi. first equal prize!

      I noticed that a few of them had swords right enough… and I was thinking, crikey, imagine all these nutters about and people with weapons. It’s a wonder there’s no bloodbath.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  18. Hmm..

    Could end up getting permanantly banned around here, for this is so controversial it is radioactive.

    We are, allegedly not supposed to talk about this, it is verboten. Yet that is roughly what is happening to us. I apologise if folk think that this is a Godwin, but it needs to be debated, rather than trivialised.

    Least that is what I think.

    Anyway, a little history.

    “Following the Reichstag fire, the Nazis began to suspend civil liberties and eliminate political opposition. The Communists were excluded from the Reichstag. At the March 1933 elections, again no single party secured a majority. Hitler required the vote of the Centre Party and Conservatives in the Reichstag to obtain the powers he desired. He called on Reichstag members to vote for the Enabling Act on 24 March 1933. Hitler was granted plenary powers “temporarily” by the passage of the Act.[86] The law gave him the freedom to act without parliamentary consent and even without constitutional limitations.[87]”

    It is easy to fall into that trap. Minority governments as rulers? I think the UK is heading that way.

    We, dear friends have to avoid that with every sinew of our bodies.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. It’s less controversial than you think.

      Also, Godwin’s Law is frequently misquoted. It merely says that as the length of an internet argument grows, the probability of someone bringing up Hitler approached 100%. The “and they lose the argument” bit was added by someone else. Possibly an actual Nazi.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

    3. The UK Cabinet already arrogated to itself the power to itself pass limited legislation to replace the current Europe-related stuff, the same type of constitutional manoeuvre perpetrated by the Hitlerites as they took over the government of Weimar Germany. This is part of the same “limited objective” or gradualism techniques – help me out here, people, I don’t think those are quite the correct terms – by which I mean gradually whittling away the constitutional safeguards, from the arrogation of powers to the executive, to the installation of a one-party regime, and on to the Hitlerian dictatorship and cult of personality.

      At the same time, civil liberties were whittled away, gradually increasing the pressure on the scapegoated minorities, and that led from prejudice to Kristallnacht, yellow stars of David and pink triangles, the ghettos, the forced labour / slave labour, and ultimately the death camps – a final solution that would have been impossible to achieve all in a oner. I’m sure we all know Martin Niemöller’s “First they came for the socialists…” culminating in “and then they came for me” (http://archive.is/WDBbL).

      As such, the arrogation of powers by the UK Cabinet (i.e., the executive branch, which I call the Westminster regime for the obvious reasons) from the legislature should be a serious warning: the domestication of that legislation should have been done by a technical commission and laid before the legislature for its approval. The same process can be seen in the article 50 case raised by Gina Miller, and the case of the Scottish six – and now the Cherry case on the prorogation of Parliament by the executive, which the Scottish Court of Session has just declared unlawful. I note that the English court has been truly supine in that regard – which I interpret as the judicial branch chickening out rather than challenge the executive. In sum, the only checks on the Executive have come down to individuals / groups of individuals / a single minority political party challenging it in the courts. This is a fragile bulwark indeed.

      I gave this same warning at the time of the Gina Miller case. It gives me no pleasure at all that I have been proved right.

      We will see from the judgment of the UK Supreme Court – however it constitutes itself in relation to the decision of the Court of Session under Scots Law – whether the judiciary is going to bow before the executive, because as far as I can see the decision is not a political matter but a constitutional one, and that must be adjudicated by the courts as the parliament has been stymied, i.e., the legislature has been taken out of the equation and that is the matter before the court.

      If the Supreme Court rules against him, we shall see what Boris does. I believe that he may be modelling himself on Ancient Greek tyrants and statesmen standing up, as he sees it, for the liberties and freedom of his city-state against the tyranny of Philip of Macedon in the form of the European Union – which is equally delusional, as is the whole idea of Brexit, not necessarily aping the techniques of Hitler and Goebbels. It has echos too of Hitler and Mussolini taking their countries out of the old League of Nations, which was founded after WWI to try to do the same as the UN does now after WWII.

      Boris has been warned from many quarters not to disobey the law. If he does, the best result would for him to be arrested in Parliament by the Serjeant at Arms and handed over to the polis to be led away in handcuffs. We can only hope that he will be cowed by the prospect.

      We really are at a crisis point for UK democracy, a truly critical moment. If it all goes pear-shaped, I hope the First Minister has a Plan B in place for her cautious, lawyerly, small-c conservative referendum-with-§30 order-only approach to Scottish independence – the MacNeil-McEleny plan, maybe – to get Scotland out quick because the cautious, exhausting and exhaustive approach may be forestalled or preempted by a truly authoritarian, fascist takeover at Westminster. For make no mistake: Rees-Mogg, Dominic Cummings, the Farage party are in fact fascists, and even if you disagree with that description, you surely cannot disagree that they are right-wing authoritarian types, neoliberal conservatives, xenophobes, English exceptionalists and social Darwinists.

      I’ll put it another way: a thorough-going fascist regime at Westminster is an existential threat to our Scottish democracy and society, and extraordinary circumstances may require extraordinary countermeasures in self-defence. If it does not take the necessary countermeasures, our Scottish Government will be failing in its duty to protect its people – us – which is the first duty of governments.

      Scotland must also remain in the EU, because a rogue Westminster regime threatens the post-WWII liberal democratic order and its good conduct internationally cannot be taken for granted. We, and the Irish, need the other 26 or 27 EU member States to protect us from an overweening Westminster regime with delusions of Empire and its own exceptionalism and sense of entitlement.

      I have gone on quite long enough in this mode, which I am sure everyone will find to be a complete downer and will want to tell me enough already. So I shall shut up now.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Gradualism seems to be the way things work here.

        Evolution, not revolution.

        That was another post worthy of an article.

        I can’t help but think that this madness can only serve our ends. Boris seems to be infinitely more popular in England than in Scotland.

        I think it will be hard to move him in England. The alternative, Corbyn, is unpopular, and no wonder. I still have no idea what Labour actually stands for. (Talking of which, they can’t even get candidates for half their seats in Scotland!)

        But I think the Scottish Tories are seeing that he is doing them no favours. I saw tweets last night from Carlaw and Tomkins making it clear that government should never show any doubt in the independence of the courts, no matter how much they may disagree with their decisions.

        It may be ok for the Daily Mail to suggest that judges are the enemy of the people, but for No 10 to do it, it’s a big mistake. The real Prime Minister, Mr Cummings, has a rather intemperate way with him.

        I suspect that when they have their contest, at least some of the potential leaders will be standing on a ticket of a separate, but aligned, Scottish Unionist Party (like it was before Ted Heath amalgamated them).

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  19. Something I thought of on the train home:

    The perfect metaphor for Brexit:

    B: Would you like an apple?
    P: Yes please, that sounds nice.
    B: OK, I’ll just demolish this hospital.
    P: What! Why?
    B: You just told me to.
    P: What? No I didn’t!
    B: Yes you did. It’s to make space for the orchard. We need to demolish this hospital to plant the orchard in order for you to have an apple.
    P: That’s not that I was asking for! Don’t do it!
    B: But you said you’d like an apple! Too late to change your mind now!
    *BOOM*

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  20. The judgement today, while welcome (and surprising), is IMHO pointless due to timing.

    Regardless of result, Westminster is closed for party conference season then anyway. Virtually nobody will remember it by then – and it can have a subtext of “pacify the jocks” if they do.

    I can’t help wondering if this made the decision somewhat easier – knowing that there’s no real consequences without an interdict?

    My bet is govt drops appeal at last minute and a suitable “squirrel” is presented for the English press to focus on.

    Then again I’m horribly cynical now – qui bono (who benefits) is my first thought on anything I hear/see/read in the MSM or online. Not a nice way to be frankly 😦

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. It’d be nice to view something without inherent suspicion regarding intent 🙂

        You know if I had to pick one thing which has changed us all in the last decade its that there’s nothing left to hold onto in terms of trust. Its certainly that way in England, hopefully its better in Scotland.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

        1. Well, it may be, because we have better and more honest government than you do.

          But I certainly have not a lot of trust in many things. And most assuredly not the London government.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

Leave a reply to Illy Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Talking-up Scotland / Scottish media fact checking is like shooting fish in a barrel

I cost nothing to run so donate to https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/

The Dunglishman

The bilingual blog about all things British

STAGE LEFT

Love, theatre and ideas

Scotty Grant

Wildonline.blog

British Wildlife & Photography

scotlandisdifferent

Why Scotland should be an independent country

BrawBlether

Thoughts about Scotland & the world, from a new Scot

Divided We Fall

Bipartisan dialogue for the politically engaged

Insightful Geopolitics

Impartial Everytime Always

maxspilleroftea.wordpress.com/

Black Isle Media

We Provide The Facts, You Make The Decisions

The Broad Spectrum Life

Exploring Rhymes, Reasons, and Nuances of Our World

Musical Matters...

Mark Doran's Music Blog

Zoolon

Songwriter / Guitarist

Best in Australia

This site supports Scottish Independence

thehistorytwins

A comic about history and stuff by FT

For Scotland

My Life as Graham

The embittered mumblings of a serial malcontent.

Jamie Maxwell

Raptor Persecution UK

Pride's Purge

an irreverent look at UK politics

ScienceSwitch

Exploring the Depths of Curiosity

Mark All My Words

Nature + Health

netbij.com

http://netbij.com

Chris Hallam's World View

Movies, politics, comedy and more...