Midsummer News

Even for those of us approaching middle age, this week has been pretty eventful. First, we had to survive two days of "a national emergency" as we endured record breaking temperatures. To many people across Europe two days of scorching weather might seem like a joke but it was certainly long enough for me. I am not normally excited about the 45 minute monthly shop at our local supermarket as ten minutes is usually enough for me but this week the walk down the refrigeration aisle was bliss and a very welcome relief. I asked the lady at the checkout if we could set up our picnic table and chairs inside the store. She agreed as long as we brought a bottle of wine. I don't remember inviting her to our picnic but it would certainly have been a bargain. Then, in the race to be our next Prime Minister seven starters are now two, a multi millionaire who says that he "understands the problems that soaring inflation and fast approaching energy costs is affecting ordinary people". Try convincing 'ordinary people'. The other candidate is a thin lipped Yorkshire woman. My lovely mother in law said that you could not trust people with thin lips and as the Senior Partner was both thin lipped and a Yorkshire woman, be afraid, be very afraid. Boris then made his last appearance at the weekly knockabout that is Prime Minister's question time in Parliament before taking his three wives and seven children on their annual holiday.

The bizarre moment came when he left with a standing ovation from 99% of his colleagues many of whom had branded him a liar and untrustworthy and voted him out of power. The 1% was the previous Prime Minister Teresa May who was very slow to stand up and did not applaud. To her credit, she has remembered that her first responsibility, irrespective of the position she reached in government, is to the local people who voted her into parliament and that she is there to represent their interests. I suspect that Boris like many previous Prime Ministers will rush off to write a memoir that they think everyone needs on their bookshelf and earn a fortune on the speaker circuit. Sadly, the candidates that could have been a breath of fresh air were eliminated and we are left with the 'same old' brigade. Ah well, at least we survived the two day national emergency.

As a young boy living at the Fruit, Vegetable, Flower, Game and Lolly shop a double decker bus would pass my bedroom window every ten to fifteen minutes from early morning until late in the evening, rattling over the manhole cover in the road just outside my window. The end of the bus's journey was about two miles further on at The Square. Most of the women in the area worked in the many pottery factories in the city and would travel on these buses to and from work. On their journey home there would be at least two other buses stopping at their bus stop going to other locations. It would be almost inevitable that every night one lady would ask the bus conductor "Is this a Square bus?" to which he would often reply "Does this look like a square bus missus". Somebody nearly always laughed and the lady would smile and accept the put down. Can you imagine playing out that scene in 2022. The bus operative will have been instructed to never make derogatory or sexist remarks to passengers and the lady would be likely to complain via social media about how badly she had been insulted while contacting the bus company to threaten legal action or seek compensation. How times have changed.

Experts nearly always have to claim your attention but this one left me open mouthed. This expert, apparently an experimental psychologist (whatever that is) at Oxford University claims that eating with your mouth open is the best way to consume food as it maximizes flavour and enables you to derive as much pleasure out of a mouthful as possible. Although letting your fellow diners see your food as you chew is considered bad manners, this expert thinks that " We are doing it all wrong". Thankfully I am not now likely to be accepted at Oxford University, so I will be spared the 'pleasure' of his company at the dining table to watch him eat his spaghetti bolognese and sticky toffee pudding.

Just a Thought:

Only one man has ever entered Parliament with honest intentions. Guy Fawkes.

I hopped on a bus earlier this week. After a while, the driver told me to sit down like everyone else.

My friend did not enjoy being a bus driver. He was convinced that people were talking behind his back.

Thanks, Brian