Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…
The headline from John Crace’s column in yesterday’s Guardian reads:
Any correlation between the truth and what Liz Truss said was entirely coincidental
Never a truer word was spoken. Let’s see, Boris Johnson declared the Brexit agreement an “Oven-Ready Deal” and signed it. Now he and his cohorts want to renege on the agreement and break International law. How anyone in their right mind can trust anything that this bunch of lying incompetents say is quite beyond me.
Our neighbours took a balloon trip the other evening. The balloon was launched from their field, next to ours, and they took some photos of our house and garden…
We found a pheasant in our greenhouse the other day that was trying to work out, very unsuccessfully, why he couldn’t walk through the glass…
I had to stand outside, opposite the open door, waving my arms before the penny finally dropped…
I had read about a new series on Netflix called Heartstopper, the coming-of-age story of a gay teenage boy. It’s based on a webcomic by Alice Oseman.
Martin and I sat down to watch the first episode, and were delighted by it. It’s warm and funny, and shows the joy and angst of teenagers beginning to navigate their way through relationships.
Two things struck me. The first being how “normal” it seemed; Charlie, a 15-year old boy, is out at school, and being gay is not “a statement”, but just part of him, like his hair colour. He’s got a small group of supportive friends, and he’s able to ask an openly-gay teacher for advice.
The other thing was that the very normality was so very different from what I experienced growing up gay, and it made me somewhat sad to think back on how much I had missed out of life as a teenager.
Heartstopper is a little marvel – I hope that it shows some LGBTQ teenagers that they do not need to hate themselves, and that things will get better.
Addendum 27 May 2022: I just found out today that Joe Locke – who plays Charlie in Heartstopper – is another gay Manx lad! More power to your elbow Mr. Locke. You’ve made this old gay Manxman very proud of what you and your fellow actors and crew have achieved with Heartstopper.
Chris Grey is on form as always in his Brexit Blog. This week he turns his attention to Boris Johnson, and Johnson’s debasing of the parliamentary system. Not that Johnson is alone in this, his entire cabinet resembles a fish that has rotted from the head down – and is about as useful.
I particularly liked Grey’s comment that
It is, as ever, worth recalling that Johnson and Brexit are as inseparable as a dog and its vomit. Yet even if the Prime Minister ends up being toppled by Partygate that will only remove the dog from the metaphor.
The damage that Brexit continues to do to the UK carries on, as do the lies told by the Brexiters, with William Rees-Mogg leading the pack.
Also on top form as usual is Matt Green. Here’s his party political broadcast on behalf of the Conservative Party. Never a truer word was spoken.
A modern-day Anne Frank. Hopefully she will not suffer the same fate.
Fuck Putin and his regime.
I see that Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) is saying that it may have to abandon the European Union.
“If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted… we will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe,” Meta said in its 10-K filing.
Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once…
And good riddance.
I see that Tony Blair has got a Knighthood bestowed on him in the New Year’s Honour’s List. Some are questioning this, given his actions in taking the UK into the Iraq war in 2003. It’s a fair point.
I note that the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has defended the appointment by saying:
“Whatever people might think, it is one of the toughest jobs in the world,” the Speaker said, “and I think it is respectful and it is the right thing to do, whether it is Sir David Cameron. They should all be offered that knighthood when they finish as prime minister.”
Really? Irrespective of how good or bad they were in office? Can we now look forward to seeing the ennobled Sir Boris in a few years time? My irony meter has just exploded.
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