28th July 2019

Last week I wrote my ABC mantra: Anything but Corbyn. Seems the public agree with me. A poll out today shows a surge in Conservative support. A Boris bounce.  On Friday, as I went to New Street Station to pick up our daughter, the place was abuzz as Boris was in town handshaking everyone. It was almost like a superstar had suddenly appeared. Fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg described it as a sprinkling of stardust. Of course, FB is still awash with virulent Labour supporters everywhere, no caricature too crude in their obsessive hatred for anything which smacks of Tory ‘privilege’. And me?  Despite my dislike of inherited privilege, my desire for a well-educated PM in these difficult times far exceeds anything else. Boris Johnson 2.1 in Classics, Balliol College, Oxford. Jeremy Corbyn, fee-paying prep school, 2 Es at A level, left N. London university course in trade union studies after first year as couldn’t cope.  My case rests.

21st July 2019

Tuesday will be our 52nd wedding anniversary. To mark this milestone, the UK will announce a new PM!  Because this new appointment has been voted on by his Party, an independent straw poll was conducted of the general public, which of course - this being Britain - came up with a completely different result. If Boris is announced the winner - he of the affable but bumbling demeanor - what to do when a sharp, accurate grasp of fine detail is required? Follow the Reagan style. His presidency put his genial, smiling, self-confident persona centre stage, whilst top-class brains worked behind the scenes. So, Boris needs to appoint the very best to his Cabinet so his government can work as well as Reagan’s did in the US. Above all, on our anniversary, Boris needs to follow an ABC formula: not just to effect the building blocks of excellence but to remind the country of the essentials. Anything But Corbyn!

14th July 2019

July 14th. For the French it’s either Bastille day, commemorating mob rule, or la Fete de la Federation, celebrating national unity. Here in the UK, the constant divide over the EU reaches its zenith as the next PM raises his blond head above the parapet. In New Zealand, following their recent gun-toting massacre, Jacinda Ardern couldn’t fathom how weapons that could cause such large-scale death could be obtained legally there. But bravo Jacinda who, unburdened by archaic national Amendments, has this week introduced new legislation to ban all military-style weapons and to offer cash to all citizens who hand in such lethal weapons. Are you listening America? Globally, all leaders need to change old, out of date, mindsets and - like Jacinda - do what’s right for the 21st century. Forget old ‘Bastille Day’ mentality. Repeat after me, today we all celebrate a day of national unity. Vive la paix!

7th July 2019

My father used to say ‘don’t put down to malice what’s sheer incompetence’. A lot of it this week. In the crucial vote for PM, multiple postal voting slips have been sent to some Tory voters with the instructions ‘only vote once’! Then, in royal circles, there’s an unwritten pact: to be a member of the royal family and accept huge public funding, you can’t have your cake and eat it by then hiding away and living a private life. Tell that to Harry and Meghan at Archie’s christening. And then, along came Donald. Following Macron’s glorious Champs Elysees parade last year, Trump was determined to emulate it this year in the US. However, Trump was showcased for all the wrong reasons, displaying historical ignorance to the nth degree. The continental army “took over the airports” during the revolutionary war, he said, later blaming the prompter and the rain. You couldn’t make it up.

30th June 2019

Last day of June and the world cup’s a cliff-hanger, a saga of England v US v France. Just like my past life. Back in 2000, I had no idea who would win. Following a fire,  it looked like I’d be following in my father’s, my aunt’s, numerous uncles’ and our daughter’s footsteps in moving to the US. Books were pored over, immigration tomes researched, funds calculated. Everything was in place but there was a sting in the tale (sic). So, in 2005, we moved to France instead. 12 fun years but that didn’t work out either, Brexit raised its ugly head and we ended up right back where we started. Full circle. What on earth happened? Look right and click on An Englishwoman in America, Pensioners in Paradis and From Paradis to Perdition to read each humorous (but sorry) saga. Let’s hope Tuesday’s match England v US and the inevitable finale isn’t an ‘own goal’ just like my life!

23rd June 2019

A story of a pushy woman and a consultant..On Tuesday I accompanied Him Indoors to see the oncology consultant at the QE, our excellent local hospital. Since a major operation in France 5 years ago, HI has a 3-monthly blood test to determine his PSA result. Critical, as any elevation of the score could indicate cancer cells still remaining. However, despite its importance, not only does the NHS NOT give the patient his score directly (the consultant sends it to our GP who then files it!), twice now our GP, on request, gave him the wrong (higher) score! So, I was determined to do something about this. Result! HI can now go online and access his accurate medical records himself, just like you can in France. For those also living near the QE Hospital, here’s the link: myhealth@QEHB. Presumably the same facility is available at other UK hospitals too. But, NHS, why is this vital facility such a secret?

16th June 2019

One advantage of being old - I’ve seen Tory and Labour governments come and go. As I wrote in An Englishwoman in America, each time it’s the same: the former lives within its means (to the fury of groups clamouring for more money); the latter borrows millions to throw money at every fashionable, deserving cause. I’ve seen PMs come and go. Never have we had such a morally-correct, honest and clean-living PM as Mrs May, but look how she was treated! And then along comes Boris. The pendulum’s swung full circle. Morally-correct, clean-living? No. But, unlike Mrs May, he’s the strength the UK needs right now plus chutzpah in abundance. But, unlike Corbyn, he loves his country. This week Corbyn rushed to defend Iran as he also does with ME terrorists and the Communists. He hates our monarchy, refusing to sing the national anthem, refusing to attend the state banquet for the Potus yet happily attended when the Chinese leader arrived. Of the two? I pick Boris.