15th May 2016

Democracy. A wonderful thing. Yet it's only now we're seeing the risks. The possibility of someone like Donald Trump as US President, and potential war and global economic meltdown with a Brexit. It's the last few days to register to vote in the referendum and in a few weeks I'll be posting my vote, but as with everything it's not easy. Morally, academically, globally the obvious thing to do is to vote In. But economically I have 2 choices. Shall I vote, as I should, to maintain the status quo in Europe?  Seems clear, doesn't it?  Yesterday the Bank of England set out its Brexit assessment: a sharp fall in the £. However, nothing in life is clear. For personal reasons we have our French house on the market to move back to the UK, and looking at the euro:£ exchange rates at present (with money rates' uncertainty) and the likelihood of even parity with the £ after a Brexit, we'd get more pounds for our euro if everyone voted Out!! Some people use songs to register their opinion like Ukraine did in the Eurovision last night. But, like Topol in Fiddler on the Roof, I've always been a '..but on the other hand' kind of person. It's all too difficult. If I were a rich man, just think what I could do.....

14th April 2013

So, we mourn the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Even as we speak, thousands are chanting '...the witch is dead' or worse.  But, what did she do that was so terrible? I'm old enough to remember the state the UK, the world and the cold war were in back in the '70s. What would have happened if someone meek had been PM back then?  Could anyone but the 'Iron Lady' have 'done business' with the Soviet leader? Good leaders need to be strong. Would the UK now have been so relatively prosperous - which undoubtedly filters down to everyone - or would we still be stuck in the mire?  Of course, the  world has changed beyond measure since Margaret Thatcher was at the helm. Our worlds are no longer enclosed within isolated places, bound by historical and largely-now-redundant mindsets.  We personally were able to move to a free and peaceful new Europe. TG European countries are no longer fighting each other for the self-glory of whomever happens to be their leader at the time. Interaction via new technology on the global stage is now the golden key. But, so is democracy.  Remember, Margaret Thatcher was elected by the whole country and never defeated at the ballot box. It's chutzpah for militant people to assume they can subvert the democratic rule of law. Lack of respect for the dead is an ignorance borne from the past. If you don't like what's happening in your country, wait for the next election - wherever you reside.

11th November 2012

What's up with the English?
Today everyone should be remembering those who died so that we could live in freedom and democracy, and be able to vote for those who will determine our future. That's what democracy is all about - it's set out in the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.  However, that basic right is denied to British expats resident in Europe for over 15  years.  There's a British 90-year-old called Harry Shindler who lives in Italy and patiently waits for his inalienable rights to vote again - but the wheels of justice move exceedingly slow. The answer may not come  in time for him.
So, is that what the English are justifiably up in arms about? What, says Him indoors, by chains?? No! As usual, the English are obsessed with sex, perversion and paedophilia.  And, they've even dragged my favourite BBC broadcaster into all this. Of course, the average UK policeman would much rather be dealing with these salacious matters - I can see them all salivating now - than actually dealing with mundane street crime.  The French can't understand it at all. For them, the big issue is not sex but money, money, money.  The only 50 shades of grey that concern them are the complexion and doings of Francois Hollande, who is rapidly ruining the French economy - but that's another story.