Munguin grateful thanks go to Bongo, and of course, to Andi.
WHERE’S BONGO?
Tag: Scotland
BONE OF CONTENTION
I don’t like Mr Bone’s politics one little bit (although I understand that he is a very hardworking and highly respected constituency MP who says what he thinks). I seriously don’t see him ever being Sir Peter Bone.
However, my personal antipathy to his views, as a rule, doesn’t stop me thinking that he is right on these matters.
I’d add though, as I sure Mr Bone probably wouldn’t have thought of it, that the Prime Minister should have repeatedly made clear to his audience, the British people, that these matters referred only to England and that the other 75% of countries in the union had their own governments and their own policies about lockdown ending and about travelling to the countryside.
Had he had the courtesy to take the advice of the Speaker instead of ignoring it, and made the statement in parliament, then I am sure that MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would have drawn attention to the fact that he spoke only for England.
Mr Johnson should have rammed home the point that before travelling to Wales or Scotland (I imagine that very few flights or ferries to Northern Ireland are running at the moment), people should check what policies existed in those countries.
It is right for the government in Westminster to do what it thinks is the right thing with regard to the balance between protecting industry, the economy and, therefore, jobs, and protecting the public from serious illness and possible death.
It is also the absolute right of the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh to make decisions on these matters for their countries.
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You may also find this entertaining.
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RANDOM THOUGHTS
Oh, how the Express made me laugh today.
The headline read:
Shock as Nicola Sturgeon refuses to curtsy to the Queen as she visits Holyroodhouse
Actually, there is no evidence that she REFUSED to do so. She apparently simply bowed her head a little, which broke no protocol. So it was all a big fuss about nothing.
The article opened:
SCOTLAND’S First Minister Nicola Sturgeon showed no sign of a curtsy when she met the Queen yesterday. Instead, Miss Sturgeon shook hands as the monarch visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the royal residence in Edinburgh.
The Queen, 93, wore a floral dress for the meeting and appeared in pink at a garden party.
It appears that the Express just wanted to get some of its little old lady readers tutting and shaking their heads in horror. They will have been relieved that, without any further ado, they could read what the queen was wearing, both when she met Nicola and when she later appeared at a garden party.
Well, it’s important stuff, that!
So in case there are any little old ladies reading this and who give a damn, here is the pink outfit, because you can never have too many pics of Liz, right?!
If you are gagging for further information, you should probably read the Express article, but I can save you the bother by telling you that Anne wore something green, Eddy looked a complete muppet in a top hat… and Andy Airmiles looked, well, fat.
Anyway, the point is Nicola didn’t make an almighty fool of herself like her English counterpart with her knees almost on the floor and her chest almost bared!.
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I’ve always thought that Ann Widdecombe was as mad as a box of frogs. I mean the only sensible thing she ever said was that Michael Howard had something of the night about him.
As a Home Office minister, she often said or did slightly bizarre stuff and then when she retired from politics and started being a “tv personality” she was even more outrageous, if less entertaining.
However, in her latest incarnation, Widde is at her weirdest.
She seems to see Brits in the same light as slaves rising against a cruel master. ‘There is, she told the parliament, a long history of “oppressed people turning on their oppressors”.’
“Nous allons, wir gehen, we’re off”!
Well, Old Annie can add polyglot to her list of qualifications!
I suspect that in these initial days of the parliament, people will simply laugh at the immaturity of the Brexit party with their refusal to face the front when “Ode to Joy” was playing and their idiotic speeches about being slaves and threatening to turn on Britain’s oppressors.
But I have a feeling that it won’t be long before the Europeans tire of this nonsense, which the BP is doing, presumably in order to stir up even more xenophobia at home, in time for what is becoming an ever more likely general election in the late autumn!
The answer to them may very well be:
Pour l’amour de Dieu, allez! Um Gottes willen, gehen! For God’s sake, go!
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Oh, welcome to Scotland, Theresa.
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A STATE VISIT FROM THE BLOKEY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
I read that the queen (for which Maybot) has invited Donald Trump to make a state visit to the UK in June. That’s pretty short notice for the immense amount of preparation that will be required to keep him entertained and safe.
(Although to be fair, you could keep him entertained by giving him a bucket load of McDonalds and KFC, setting up Fox and Friends on his tv and allowing him free reign on Twitter.)
I’m a little dubious as to why this is happening.
When Trump made a visit back in 2018, there were mass protests and he was obliged to keep himself out of the way of ordinary people. He was helicoptered everywhere so that he could avoid facing the public.
There is no reason to suggest that it would be any different this time. Except that, on a state visit, he will be expected to go places and do things with members of the royal family and government (even if it’s raining).
A carriage ride down the Mall with royals is almost inevitable. And a big deal shite tie state dinner is normal. That means being close to the public. Crowds can only be controlled to a certain extent, no matter how many police the government is forced to deploy.
The royals may be less than happy to be involved with him.
The queen, of course, has no choice.
But Phil has retired from public duties. Charles is a conservationist and Trump and he are unlikely to make a happy pair. William and Kate have clear issues with him after he made sexist comments about Kate when she was snapped sunbathing nude a few years ago. Harry may have to be deployed, but his American wife will just have had a child… and Harry is pretty far down the pecking order for the so-called “leader of the free world”!
Then there is the issue of whether or not he will be invited to address a joint session of the Lords and Commons as were Obama and DubYa.
Bercow is on record saying that he wouldn’t approve it, although refusing permission is not entirely in his remit. The Lord Speaker may be of a different view.
However, I’ve seen a few MPs making it clear that should he be invited to speak, they will be otherwise engaged.
Rude? Yes, but then rudeness and Trump kinda go together.
Maybe, of course, the Maybot has a solution to all these problems. But based on her current form, I reckon that she’d have problems sorting out what to eat for lunch.
What I can’t understand is why she would add all that extra stress to her already stressful life and for what?
One last thought… I’ve not seen the proposed schedule, but I’m wondering if he will be moving outside England. Anyone know?
LEAVE A LIGHT ON…
WE’LL BE BACK
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
Nothing has changed. As predicted.
The backstop is the backstop is the backstop. Because legally it has to be. And no matter how you play the legal language, there is no way around it.
It is impossible to have a backstop that one side can walk away from without consultation. If there is no trade deal after December 2020, and that is, given the painfully slow progress of the current government in the withdrawal phase, more than likely, the backstop will have to come into force.
Interesting to note that last night the leadership of the DUP was consulted on the outcome of the talks. The first ministers Scotland and Wales were not. Almost like we didn’t matter.
So, how will they vote tonight?
Will the bribes of vast amounts of our money to Labour MPs’ constituencies in England work?
Will the DUP be satisfied? If so, will Rees Mogg take his line from them, as he has said he would?
Will May still be prime minister this time next week?
How did we get into this almighty mess?
How soon can we escape?
Scottish Labour ain’t half posh these days
Maybe Jacob Rees Mogg is thinking of joining?
Well, all I can say is floccinaucinihilipilification
OH LORD, WHY NOT US?
Tell you something though, I bet they don’t have blue passports, made in France.
See, I told ya so. So there. Nah nah nah nah nah.
Oooops, sorry. My bad!
FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE
A LETTER FROM MUNGUIN
Dear Mr Mundell,
I am flabbergasted at your ignorance of what the people of Scotland voted for, and therefore appear to want.
I mean, what part of 62-38 are you failing to grasp, Secretary of State? Do you think we all said, ‘oh well, the English voted by a narrow margin to leave so obviously that’s what we want too’?
We don’t want an orderly Brexit… or any other kind of Brexit. And just because you say it to yourself doesn’t make it so.
Now, it’s your job to convey our wishes to Downing Street, you are supposed to be our representative there. So why don’t you do that instead of threatening every few days to resign and then remembering that you’ve got a highly-paid cushy number with all that foreign travel, and withdrawing your threat?
Not that I think for a single second that your leader will be in the least bit interested what a bunch of Jocks think. She’s only interested in your confidence and supply partners in Northern Ireland (who represent a minority of Northern Irish sentiment, by the way) because without them she is toast.
In fairness, she’s probably toast anyway.
Yours sincerely
Munguin
(My thanks to Jonathon Poole-Smith for the pic.)
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 