29th October 2017

The clocks went back today. Is Europe following?
A bad week for Spain. No, not just their football loss yesterday to England. Their country is breaking up. Rumblings from other groups too: the Basques, Brittany, Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland. Following Brexit, the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians are also muttering about leaving the EU.  It's foolish to think all this is none of the EU's business. Its blundering inflexibility has already lost it the UK. No other country now dares hold an exit referendum. So, what exactly is the problem? Originally its '50's concept was for just a trade zone - hence the term Common Market - and to avoid all those past wars within its borders, but as usual the problem is....Germany! Its domination of the eurozone has blighted the Spanish and Greek economies and is mainly to blame for the present crisis. Hitler would be dancing a jig. The EU under Germany's rule cares not a jot for regional identity, nor for devolution. The EU concept should never have allowed one large country to dominate over all the others.  It was meant to be an equal, round table, partnership just for trade. So, Catalonia is about Europe as much as about Spain. Europe: the warning alarms have sounded.  Don't go back to sleep - do something about it before it's too late.

1st July 2012

July. Hot and sultry here.  Sometimes all you can do is close the shutters, switch on the air-con and watch TV. And for sport lovers, what a spectacle.  Yesterday at Wimbledon - at last a worthy British player in Murray. And today's the Euro football final between Spain and Italy.  Looks like it was their week too in politics. Not only did they get together to scupper Angela Merkel by threatening to block everything unless she agreed to do something re all that financial pain, but it actually worked without a drop of blood being spilt.  Ah, what would Churchill have said?  To jaw jaw is always better than to war war.  Yes, yes, yes! No more ridiculous bloody wars like the 100 year war between England and France.
So, as Cameron deliberates whether to agree to a UK referendum on the EU, he should think long and hard.  Joe Bloggs on the red double-decker will undoubtedly vote to come out of the EU. But, the common man doesn't always see the wider picture.  Whether it's tennis, football or summits between european nations, all that democratic aggression joined together peacefully in contained settings is far better for settling differences.   Ultimately that's the test. Why else has Europe been without war for so long?