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Well, well, well… a Labour landslide!?

My first thoughts – after a hallelujah – are along these lines; Labour inherits a dis-United Kingdom that has been thoroughly trashed by decades of ‘neo-liberal’ casino style disaster capitalism, aka modern Toryism. So don’t expect a quick fix!

Whilst the mere existence of Farage/Reform is very worrying, I’d like to thank these loathsome folk and their ‘orrible supporters (more on this below) for taking votes away from the Tories. Every cloud has a silver earring, as Count Arthur might say.

Here are a few things Labour needs to do now they’re in office:

• Start the process of rejoining the EU.
• Nationalise utilities, such as water and electricity.
• Bring public infrastructure back into public ownership: nationalise trains. Invest in road repairs, etc.
• Make good on Corbyn’s promise to bring free internet to all.
• Hold criminals to account. I’m talking about Tories profiteering whilst others die: Covid, the NHS, Grenfell, etc.
• Root and branch reform in public institutions, such the NHS, schools, etc. Root out PFI style Tory (or even, sad to say, New Labour) arrangements.
• Invest in and expand the NHS. Bring dentistry back into the fold.
• Crack down on gambling, and the whole utterly repulsive casino culture so ardently fostered by Toryism.
• Work at rebuilding an intelligent culture. Something years of populist Toryism – maybe more their lapdog media, perhaps, than the party (?); definitely a truly toxic partnership – has so sedulously worked against. The massive growth of yob culture – in which people are proud to be stupid (!?) – needs to be arrested and put in reverse.

Whilst I’m elated at seeing the Tories out, we don’t want a repeat of Blair-ism, where the left is so far to the right it often out-Tories the Conservatives (stand up Blair, and even more so, Brown).

I’m filled with foreboding, along the lines that 75 years of mostly very destructive right wing rule (rendering the name ‘Conservative’ a prime example of Orwellian Newspeak!) cannot be remedied in one term in office. The damage Toryism, esp’ post-Thatcher, has wrought is so massive, it’ll take ages to repair.

Sadly the Tories still won in our constituency. Unbelievable! I can (almost) understand farmers remaining staunchly Tory. They are after all landowners. And – adopts Patridgean tone – inbred idiots. But all the working class Tories? Insane.

A good number of these Daily Mail reading cretins have voted Reform. Makes one shudder. But, returning to a previous theme, at least these dullards have taken away from the Tories.

Andrew Parker was filmed by Channel 4 News while canvassing for Reform UK, calling Rishi Sunak a “f****** p***” and advocating using migrants arriving in the UK by boat as target practice for the Army.

from the Bishops Stortford Independent

It’s pretty sobering – or should be frightening, maybe even sickening? – to realise that most of the folk you live amongst are sub-bovine morons.

As well as the more obvious hordes of tracky-wearing shaven-headed tattooed pinch-faced racist Gammonry, there are those who look fairly normal and respectable, but are still essentially pus-filled sacs of right-wing bile, fed at the poisonous teats of our red-top gutter press.

I just hope, pray even (atheist tho’ I am!), that, 1) We get a real Labour/left-wing government, bold enough to really reverse the many ills of Toryism, and 2) that they are given the great deal of time that real radical change will require.

Sadly I think in our current cultural climate brains are rotten, and attention spans too short. We shall see…

PS

Farage’s response? He tried to blame it on the media, saying it was ‘a total and utter set-up’, claiming Parker is an actor, insinuating this was a paid role. Ofcom are not investigating.

But let’s let Parker, a true meat n’ potatoes Reform-ist have the last word:

He [Parker] said it was about time “we got rid of this Third World filth that’s over here, about time British values come first”, adding: “If you don’t like it, f*** off.”

He also aimed abuse at the LGBTQ+ community after saying it was “about time the British people could fly their Union Jack holding pride”. He added: “Talking about pride, you f****** lot can f*** off as well.”

A bit more of Andrew Parker’s eloquent Reform-ist ‘straight talk’. From the same source.

Watching Paul of PDBass celebrate Glide is great. It also lead me to discover that Pleasure got together to perform live, in their home town, Portland, only last year!

This prompted me to muse on missed musical moments. For example, I just missed seeing Arthur Verocai bring his 1972 album to the UK. How could I let that happen?

I had a system some time ago, whereby I rewarded my own good behaviour – using lolly saved – with weekly and monthly rewards. Those habit, both hood and bad, ceased. But then the music buying one kind of came back, only more freestyle.

And over the same period an already present interest in J-Jazz, or Japanese jazz, grew somewhat. Partially thanks to this terrific book:

So it was that some of my rewards, under that aforementioned dispensation – and poss’ even the above book itself? – were CDs of J-Jazz.

Later on I discovered that not only did/does Japan produce it’s own fab’ jazz, but they also reissue stuff from elsewhere, even the US, the birthplace of jazz, that’s either nigh on impossible to get elsewhere, or way too costly.

One particular development of note for me, is the Mainstream records reissue series. Hear the lion roar!

I’m particularly interested in the stuff released in ‘72. But most of the 300 Series is of interest to me. And it all started with dad’s record of organist Charles Kynard, Your Mama Don’t Dance.

Only yesterday another batch of Mainstream reissues arrived from Japan, including the three-CD set pictured at the top of this post, by another keys player, Mike Longo. These three CDs were just ¥1,800, or £8.75. Amazing value!

Longo is or was perhaps best known, back in the day, for his tenure with Dizzy Gillespie.

Another nice old church, spotted on my travels. This one near Rutland Water and Oakham.

It’s getting to the point I feel I should start mapping or cataloguing all the churches I’ve been to. Just to get a picture of what I’ve achieved, and keep track of things. And also so I can start filling in blanks.

St Mary The Virgin is a pretty lovely church. And yet another reminder, we’re any needed, what treasure troves these places are.

The village of Edith Weston is as pretty as the church. The last few shots in the final gallery, above, attest to that.

Success at last!

I’ve been trying to grow some form of pretty white umbellifers, in the cow-parsley vein, for aeons. Literally years.

And this year those efforts have finally come good. Ironically, I made practically no effort on this particular pet project this year. This sudden efflorescence is a result of previous years’ sowings.

Another noteworthy success are our poppies, which are slowly becoming more established and abundant. I actually bought both poppy and bishop’s weed seeds via Amazon.

Other stuff that I want to increase quantities of include: forget-me-nots, hosta, hollyhocks, ferns, and foxgloves. I, or rather we, would also like to get better at keeping indoor plants alive!

Both indoors and outside, some plants with big glossy green leaves would be nice, on the banana family style. Still, little by little the garden develops.

There’s still a long way to go, so much to do. But we’re making slow and steady(-ish!?) progress. And when you see the results, esp’ on a beautiful sunny day, it’s rather heartwarming.

Out delivering around the villages north of Peterborough today. Spotted this rather lovely coloured field of, er… what!?

I’d cooked dad and I lunch earlier in the day. Used up some chicken, with garlic, tomatoes, spinach and cream. Yummy, tho’ I say it myself.

Even earlier in the day:

And before that? I drove Teresa to work, and did a wee Sainsburys shop. it’s equator past ten now, and we’re a-bed again. Time to sleep, perchance to dream?

Can you spot the difference between the images above and below?

That’s all the gravel used up, now. And I don’t think I need go back for any more. The whole rectangular area between the sentry box shed and green room is now ‘pebbled’.

The garden as a whole is looking fab at present. Look at these gorgeous roses:

So that’s the pond created, really. Weed suppressant mat down. Two layers of waterproof lining. The bottom one really just there to add protection (it’s not one contiguous/watertight piece), the top one to hold the water.

Gravel lining to surround and hold the lining etc in place. And even a few plants in place. This project has given me a great deal of work to do. But also a great deal of pleasure. And I’m sure as it matures it’ll only get better.

A special edition of Mojo, dedicated to the genius of Joni.

£10.99! Overpriced? Yes. But I had to have it. Thumbed through it today, and it looks interesting. Covering all her albums, song by song, and with additional special features. Also looking at live albums, books, etc.

Plenty of great photos of Joni, across her illustrious career, and all the famous (and sometimes less well known) faces and places she’s been.

I’ll prob post a review of this, once I’ve had a chance to read it in more detail. Being a Joni Junkie, I couldn’t pass on it. And I learn that she’s due to perform live later this year, at the ripe old age of 80!

England vs Slovakia

I’ve been watching a lot of football this Euros. More than ever before. Partly, well… no, completely, for therapeutic reasons, if I’m honest.

But putting aside my own baggage, and getting back to sports…

I’ve watched every single match, thus far. And I’ve generally enjoyed doing so. There is one consistent exception to this. Watching England play. It’s excruciating!

As I type this we are 0-1 down to Slovakia. And it’s the second half already. Southgate has made no changes, and it’s still the samo’ samo’. Are we going out with a whimper?

Even at this very instant, we’re extremely lucky not to go 0-2 down, with unbelievable sloppiness in defense.

All the pundits and commentators are stressing that changes must be made. And yet none were. That’s just plain bone-headed-ness, on Gareth’s part.

Everyone wants to believe in Southgate and his team, but he’s simply not delivering. We’re nearing 15 minutes to go. And, frankly, it’s f*cking abysmal!

Gareth’s gamble with a young team isn’t working. But he’s not willing to face that fact, and make the necessary changes. The clock is running down…

* Is she the reason Slovakia are currently beating us!? A former Miss Slovakia contender, turned sports commentator, she’s referred to online as ‘working with the national team’.

It’s so painful to watch I may not be able to bear it. Will I be glad when we’re out, so that I no longer have to endure such depressing football? Hard to say.

Holy heart-attacks, Batman… Jude Bellingham just scored a real peach of a goal, to keep us in the tournament. The match now goes to extra time. More torment? Penalties?

…

Say wha’!? Kane scores a header, just one minute into extra time. And the game is transformed. Will we sit back, like we usually do? I hope not. Maybe a couple more subs, and another goal or two (for us!)?

Jeez… being an England supporter – and I guess I kind of must be? – is a roller-coaster ride. I wish we could be a lot better. And consistently so.

Spain vs Georgia

Later on the same day, and Spain vs Georgia has more quality football and excitement in the first 20 minutes than there was in the entire England vs Slovakia match, even with the added time.

I’m glad we won. But Spain, and even Georgia, make us look very lucky/boring. Spain’s team play – esp the lightning fast one-touch passing – is sublime.

Spain totally dominated the game, with far more time on the ball than Georgia. But the plucky underdogs showed, on the counter, that when they had the ball, they had plenty of balls.

What a hi-octane game. Whereas the England game was sluggish, and excruciatingly painful to watch, this was sooo exciting, and such great fun to see.

Pictured above, Olmo celebrates the fourth and final Spanish goal (well, fifth, if you are include Le Normand’s own goal!). As the commentators said, Georgia in defeat were still brilliant. What a match.

I finally broke up the pond-plant I got off Patricia, via nextdoor.com. I’m not sure if they’ll survive, in a tap-water pond? I

’ve potted them up in ordinary, but quite deep, plant pots, weighed down with gravel. They’re not sitting in the pond as desired, however.

So I might have to somehow tweak their positioning. I’m thinking nylon cord, pulling them more to the edges, anchored somehow, to the banks.

We also need to find ‘shallow ledge’ plants for the two stepped areas. And I’d love a little lily pad or two. So much remains to be done.

* I’ll have to take another better shot, when I next get out there.