As I Please

Holdenforth is on the mend – or so he has been informed by the NHS sector.

On the debit side – we have been receiving e mails from the Grim Reaper to indicate that our time is up.

In this blog we will derive inspiration from the courage of George Orwell as he worked in very difficult conditions towards the end of his life to complete 1984 in 1948.

More on the debit side – Holdenforth aka John Holden disagrees with almost everybody about almost everything – not a promising start.

What do you expect from a grumbling grousing grizzling griping grouchy octogenarian? 

Now – where had we got to – lots of issues – old and new – queuing up to be considered

A few easy old ones to get our show back on the road.

The BBC – privatise it!

The commendable policies of John Reith have long been abandoned.

The mission statement of today’s BBC is:-“There is no business like show business”. So be it. (Editor’s note: Strictly speaking the BBC’s mission statement is “to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.)

The controversial comedian, Bernard Manning, argued that his control of the microphone during his stage appearances ensured that he was always in control of the proceedings.

This principle has been adopted by those on the wider stage at the BBC.  

The Holdenforth bollocks section

We have said this before and will probably say it again.

“If my aunt had bollocks, she would be my uncle but she didn’t and she wasn’t” – what could be clearer?

• Question – “Why does a dog lick its balls?”
• Answer  – provided by Jasper Carrott – “ because it can”
• Question – “why do the rich and powerful loot our scanty national resources?” 
• Answer – “because they can”
• Question – “when are the masses going to make a stand on these abuses?”
• Answer – “you tell me!

Any other useful deployments of the term?

How might the public at large sum up the performance of recent conservative governments?

How about – “They have made a bollocks of the job?”

 Any others?  One celebrity was said to have eyes bulging like a bulldog’s bollocks, but this was deemed abrasive by some.

Meanwhile, a diffident but simple suggestion regarding the LGBT sector:

In muted tones – Holdenforth begs those in the sector to do more of whatever it is that they do and rather less bawling in the streets about it.

Consider the consequences if the practice of publicly flaunting sexual preferences were to become universal.

There would be huge numbers of Steady Eddies – who like a bit now & again.

Possibly a good turnout of the Portnoy sector.

Let’s leave it at that and move on. 

The inverse content rule – Holdenforth asserts that as a general rule – the more fatuous the message the more raucous the proclamation as to its validity.

The small boats issue

As I write the political struggle between the House of Lords and the House of Commons on the Rwanda policy of HMG has been brought to a conclusion of sorts.

The numbers being quoted suggest that the demand for sanctuary in the UK is considerably greater than the ability of those in charge in Rwanda to cope.

What will the outcome be?

Holdenforth would like to suggest a rethink of the core issues.

Everyone – and that includes you and Holdenforth – will understandably constantly seek to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. So – how do nations and groups of nations reconcile the claims and wishes of the home population with  the claims of their would be neighbours?

Completely open borders – a bit like now really – or effective controls effectively managed.  

Holdenforth argues that the latter option will minimise the damage to long term wider social stability.

One final point here – given the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East in general and in Gaza in particular – what are the prospects of more than a million refugees from Gaza coming to the UK in large boats to escape their fate were they to remain in Gaza?

A word on The House of Lords – its performance and prospects

In an earlier blog Holdenforth noted that on a busy day it resembles an old folks’ home and, on a quiet day, a morgue.

Can the very existence of this venerable creaking institution be reconciled with any version of democracy?

No – it can’t.

It was bad enough before the squalid hasty elevation of Mr -Now Lord – Cameron to its ranks.

Compensation for past crimes

In recent months Holdenforth has gathered that there are several groups clamouring for compensation for the abuses endured by their ancestors down the centuries. These groups include descendants of slaves in The West Indies and across Africa.

The descendants of the Trevelyans are said to be inundated with claims.

Holdenforth would like to join this queue. My ancestors in Ireland were appallingly treated by Sir Charles Trevelyan in the 1840s.

In his essay “Genocide” the historian AJP Taylor wrote that “nearly 2 million Irish people died of starvation and fever within five years; another million fled bearing disease to Liverpool and the New World”

The Trevelyans inflicted  appalling additional cruelty on some of the Irish victims. The poignant song – “The fields of Athenry” – memorably sung by Paddy Reilly, has acquired the status of an anthem because  Irishmen “who stole Trevelyan’s that the young might see the morn”  were transported to the other side of the world.

My maternal great grandparents were among those who moved from Ireland to England to escape the famine.

Holdenforth aka John Holden would like to register a claim to be compensated.

Global Conflicts

Holdenforth detects a pattern of sorts in the various actual and possible global conflicts:

The prospects for Gaza:

In a previous blog we noted “the non-stop raucous resolute attack by Netanyahu on Hamas but we note also that he is strangely mute on the Zionist activities of the group which pioneered terrorism in the region -Irgun back in late 1940s.”

Holdenforth has been keeping an eye on the scoreboard as the conflict in Gaza has continued.

The casualties arising from the conflict have not been distributed evenly between The Israelis and the Palestinians – Palestinian fatalities, mostly civilians, are reported as being in excess of 30,000.

Holdenforth has also noted that support for the Israeli cause globally has steadily diminished as the number of deaths on the scoreboard has risen at a daily rate of 200.

The prospects for Ukraine

The situation and prospects here are broadly similar to those in Gaza – the ability of The Ukraine to continue the war with Russia is thought to be critically dependent upon the support of its paymasters in THE WEST.

And some in the WEST are reported as being uneasy about throwing good money after bad.

Mr Putin does not appear to be about to throw in the towel in this interminably protracted war.  

The latest word from the USA is that Mr Biden has put his money where his somewhat erratic mouth is and that he has promised that the USA WILL provide sufficient support to enable Mr Zelensky and Mr Netanyahu to fight on. For good measure Mr Biden warned China not to seek the return of Taiwan. 

The above points taken together promise a lucrative future for arms suppliers and an ongoing mixture of blood, toil, sweat and tears for those called upon to do the actual fighting.

In short, the prospects for WW3 sooner rather than later look ominous. 

Hooray for Nigel!

Holdenforth was startled a week or so ago by a very rum episode triggered by the intervention of a minor official in Brussels to abort a perfectly reasonable conservative conference.

Once again Nigel Farage was and remains the  hero of the hour – and rightly so.

It has also been reported that there is still some unfinished business regarding the debanking scandal and here Farage is absolutely right to get after those responsible.

On the debit side Farage may be slightly anxious about the fate of his trans-Atlantic hero, ex- President Trump. Holdenforth concedes that Mr Trump may find it difficult to campaign for the Presidency from the inside of a prison cell.

In conclusion

Once again, we have run out of time and energy.

A trailer for our next blog:

• The Woke sector – Holdenforth needs to find out exactly what the Wokers want before pontificating.
• The decline of the British Manager- we plan to consider how this sector has contrived to shrug off the work whilst continuing to harvest the benefits.
• Smoking – A small item on this topic – Smoking triggered a few identity problems in our house in my early years. My parents and many siblings were all smokers – I couldn’t see them for smoke!
• Welsh affairs- How will the return to normality on the roads change things. I have a slightly embarrassing interest to declare – I have attended TWO speed awareness courses.