only search Harmonie II
PREVIOUS PAGE
The meteorological start of Summer in New Zealand is on 1st of December but temperatures here in Tauranga during November have been well above average and long term forecasts are for a long hot summer. The Pohutakawa's and Jacarandas are already coming in to bloom.
The 2nd test cricket match between NZ and England started on 29th November in Hamilton but I hope that the last three days of it will take place in the Summer and you can see if it did here...
England began well enough by winning the toss and putting NZ in to bat. Raval didn't last long when Broad had him caught by Root for 5. Next was Williamson who Woakes had caught by Root the same way for 4 and NZ is 39 for 2 with Latham looking good on 30.
Taylor came in and cemented a partnership with Latham who survived an lbw on review from Woakes on 51 just before lunch. He was out IMHO but the score was now 86 for 2.
These two continued to pile on the runs until Root took his 3rd catch of the day getting Taylor off a ball from Woakes for 53. Latham progress to make his century with Nichols until just after tea rain stopped play with Latham on 101, Nicholls on 5 and NZ on 173 for 3. Play was eventually abandoned for the day.
On the second day the Broad clean bowled Latham in the second over for 101 then ten overs later Curran had Nicholls caught by Broad for 16 and NZ were 191 for 5.
With two new batsmen at the crease things were looking up for England except one of those batsmen was Watling, the double centurion from the first test. The other batsman was Daryl Mitchell making his test debut.
Those two dug in and took the score to 315 when just before tea Broad has Watling caught by Burns in the slips for 63 and they go in for a cuppa 315 for 6.
Broad continued the good work after tea getting Mitchell caught by Archer at deep backward square for 73 ending a fine maiden innings with NZ 330 for 7.
Wickets then fell quickly with Southee caught behind off Woakes for 18, Santner caught Woakes bowled Archer for 23 and Wagner caught Sibley bowled Curran for a duck with NZ all out for 375 leaving England to see out the last hour and twenty minutes after a hard day in the field.
It didn't take Southee long with the new ball to get one straight into Sibley's box so it was no surprise when he was lbw the next ball for 4 departing with aching balls no doubt!
New batsman Denly did not survive much longer when Henry had him caught behind three overs later and England had lost two wickets for a meagre 24 runs.
Root then joined Burns at the crease and with Rooties recent form you feared the worst but these two defended well to stumps with England 39 for 2.
On the third day it was pleasing to see Root back in some sort of form as he and Burns battled all day to take England to 201 before Burns gets himself run out needlessly for 101.with Root on 78.
In comes Stokes with his gammy knee and at tea they are 218 for 3.
10 overs after tea Stokes edges a ball from Southee to Taylor at 1st slip and he is out for 26 with the score 245 for 4 with Root on 95. The test debutante Zac Crawley, forever known as 'creepy' comes to the crease and almost gets himself run out scoring his first test run. Root finally gets his ton the next over, his first one for nine months so let us hope he now gets back to his best. Crawley however edges the next ball he faces from Wagner to keeper Watling and retires to make way for the Pope, not the religious one although had it been he might have had some influence with the weather god as rain stopped play with Root on 114, Pope on 4 and England on 269 for 5, still 106 runs behind.
Root and Pope batted for most of the fourth day until in the 149th over Root finally became a double centurion for the 4th time in his career I think with the Pope still with him on 59 and England leading by 35 runs. I had to take Sue in to the Radiography Centre then with these two looking set for the rest of the day and England with an outside chance of squaring the series. On my return I switched on the telly and England were all out with NZ batting. What happened?
The Pope went first on 75, pulling a ball from Wagner he was caught by Raval in the deep. Then Root was caught by Nicholls at deep extra cover off Santner going for runs on 226 with the score on 459 so the decision seems to have been to go for as many runs as possible as time was running short to have a chance of bowling NZ out.
Wickets then fell in rapid succession. Woakes left the field quacking, caught behind off Wagner with the England lead at 85 runs as the bowler began demolition proceedings. He clean bowled Archer for 8 then Broad for his usual duck leaving Curran not out on 11 and England all out for 476, a lead of 101.
The Kiwi's 2nd innings began with Ravel also sent back quacking lbw to Curran in the 2nd over which he failed to review, despite the replay showing he clearly hit the ball! Things became even worse for the Kiwi's when Woakes had Latham edging a ball to Root at slip for 18 and NZ were 28 for 2. Williamson and Taylor then formed an unbreakable partnership, both making hundreds, until the match was abandoned due to heavy rain on the fifth day with a resulting draw.
NZ deservedly won the series 1-0 and England keep their record of not having won a test match series in NZ since 2008.
I have been criticised by one of my most faithful readers that there is a preponderance of Rugby and Cricket on this web site. This is for several reasons but principally because we get a surfeit of both sports here so you can watch test cricket all year round, all the Gallagher Premiership games, all the Six Nations and Heineken Cup plus International Rugby. Then when those are finished we have Super Rugby followed by the Mitre 10 Cup and the Sanzar Rugby Championship.
Kiwi Cricket joke:
In a statement from broadcasting house, all future New Zealand games will now be shown on the gay porn channel. It is thought that 11 arseholes being regularly shafted is too explicit for regular TV.
|
In the UK it is Winter, snow is forecast and they will have a general election on December 12th which is also my birthday. I wonder what surprises the British electorate are going to give me?
All the polls are predicting a win for Boris and the Conservative party who have raided their magic money tree to bribe voters spending an increased yearly amount on a day to day basis of £2.5 billion. The LibDems meanwhile have a bottomless bucket and will spend an extra £36.8 billion but Labour have promised to spend £97.8 billion extra! They are all lying through their collective teeth and insulting our intelligence!
The polls are also predicting that Jo Swinson will not become prime minister as she claimed could happen but it would seem that her illiberal and undemocratic Liberal Democratic party strategy of cancelling Brexit altogether has spectacularly failed to excite the electorate. The polls indicate she is losing votes.
Quotes 'wot I like:
"We don't want another three bastards out there. What's Lyndon Johnson's maxim? (The maxim is: 'It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in.')"
John Major PM about 3 of his cabinet ministers in 1993.
|
We even had the unlikely combination of Tory ex-PM Sir John Major (Rogerer of Eggwina,) who had to be one of the worst ones in living memory (PM's not Rogerer's) and Labour Ex-PM Tony Bliar, a close second, both telling us to vote for all those MP's and opposition parties who want to stop Brexit for the sake of the country.
They seem to be saying that the country can do with more of the indecision inflicted on it for the last three years. The Tories were split on Brexit but seem now to be the only ones who support it. Labour can't decide what it wants and none of the other opposition parties can agree a way forward. The LibDems want to stop Brexit and the SNP want EU membership but independence from the UK which seems to me contradictive. Is more of that political stagnation and disagreement between both sides of the Brexit debate what Bliar and Major think will be good for the country??
Did Labours leaked files come from Russia?
Classified Government documents used by Komrade Korbine to attack the Conservatives on the NHS appear to have been leaked as part of a campaign "originating from Russia,'' according to Reddit, the site on which they were first leaked.
Reddit said the accounts appeared to show a "pattern of co-ordination" that suggested it was part of a Russian group known as "Secondary Infektion" who use fabricated or altered documents to try to spread false narratives online.
|
Meanwhile 'Magic Grandpa' as Rod Liddle has nicknamed the Labour party's Jeremy Corbine, has claimed that Boris is scheming to sell the NHS to 'The Donald' (Trump) while 'The Fishy Lady' (Nicola Sturgeon) in Scotland has promised to support 'The Magic Grandpa' in a hung parliament if he in turn lets her have another independence referendum, gives her another £4 billion for the Scottish NHS and removes all nuclear weapons from Scottish soil!
Most of those politicians who have deserted their parties over Brexit and joined the LibDems are expected to lose their new seats as are the three who represent the Change Party and those standing as independents. It is no wonder that many UK voters despair of their politicians. All voters can do is vote tactically to try and prevent the party they dislike the most getting a majority.
Sadly if you vote in a marginal constituency, whatever the political party whose policies you support, the one you like the least might win by just a few votes so you vote to stop that eventualty and you might not be able to afford the luxury of voting for the candidate or party who you think would best represent you.
I am fortunate in that I like and admire my sitting MP Alex Chalk who is a good local constituency MP, a Tory and a remainer but believes we should respect the Brexit referendum result and implement it. We could do with a few more like him.
Quotes 'wot I like:
"The UK economy will take off very considerably after the election and Brexit. I'm at industry dinners and the level of negativity on the UK just blows me away. Brexit may as well be an atomic bomb dropping. We can debate whether Brexit is good or bad. But what I do know is this is the world's fifth-biggest economy and British people [are] some of the most innovative, well-educated, rule of law following, productive global citizens."
Daniel Zilberman MD Head of Europe, Warburg Pincus.
|
There are many web sites depending on who you want to prevent getting elected and most of them are for people who want to stop Boris, however, you might suppose The Torygraph would put up a pro-Boris one but they are the only one I can find who seem to provide genuinely neutral advice on the subject. If you follow this link you will arrive at a page entitled 'Does tactical voting actually work? Use our tool for the realist view'.
You can then click on a button to declare whether you are a Leaver or Remainer, enter your constituency and get what they say is an impartial view of how you should vote. Of course it might be a scam thought up by Boris who it is claimed tells porkies (name me a politician who doesn't) but I have tested it out and it does provide different answers depending on your choice of identity declaration.
For example in my Cheltenham constituency which is marginal it advises me to vote Tory if I am a leaver and LibDem if I am a remainer which is realistic if obvious advice. The paper concludes that tactical voting by both sides will effectively cancel each other out!
As I have said before, we do need our politicians to resolve Brexit as quick as possible and get back to doing the job we elected them for. I dread the further stagnation that would result in another hung parliament.
English Premiership Rugby Round 5 and Heineken Champions Cup.
The previous page reported on Barfs premiership game with Sarries and the other games in the premiership and the European competition are here...
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP |
Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Northampton Saints | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
2 | Bristol Bears | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
3 | Exeter Chiefs | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
4 | Worcester Warriors | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
5 | Sale Sharks | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
6 | London Irish | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
7 | Gloucester Rugby | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
8 | Harlequins | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
9 | Bath Rugby | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
10 | Wasps | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
11 | Leicester Tigers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
12 | Saracens | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | -18 |
Exeter took Wasps to the cleaners at Sandy Park 38-3 while Northampton did likewise to Leicester 36-13 in the East Midlands derby at Franklins Gardens. Eddie Jones was there and would have noted plenty of big performances from many of the Saints players including full back George Furbank who had an outstanding game. Barf beat them at the rec but they will take some beating when we meet them at the Gardens
Worcester beat Sale at Sixways 20-13 but Brissle could only manage a draw with Irish at Ashton Gate. Irish played the game with 14 men for the whole of the second half after Hoskins collected a red card from Barnsie for a needless shoulder charge to the head in the ruck just before half time.
The difference in the teams was Stephen Myler as the Irish fly half kicked all his penalties while Callum Sheedy missed most of his.
Just on 72 minutes John Afoa went over the top to collect a yellow card instead of the ball so both sides now had 14 men each. Irish then scored a try which Myler converted. Three minutes before stumps with the score on 20-24 to Irish, Brissle spun the ball wide to prop Harry Thacker who scored a try which sub Ioan Lloyd converted putting then 27-24 ahead with 30 seconds to play.
This great game of proper rugby finished in classic style with a Myler penalty kick to draw the game 27-27
Finally Quins just managed to beat Gloucester at the Stoop 23-19.
Heineken Champions Cup.
Barf played Clermont at home and it was a tale of two halves. In the first half Barf were in charge despite going in for orange sucking 10-13 down. You really felt they were in the game until for 10 minutes in the second half Clermont scored 3 tries in quick succession. Barf did get a consolation try late in the game from JJ but Clermont went home with a bonus point 17-34 win to go top of pool 3 and ending any hope of Barf progressing further in the competition.
Ulster met Quins in the other pool 3 game in Belfast. This was a proper cup game which went to the final kick. The lead was swapped through the first half until a lovely cross kick from Ulster fly half Billy Burns (Freddies Bro) found Stuart McCloskey who scored the try and they went in tied 10-10.
The second half continued in the same vein and with Quins leading 22-24 with a minute to go it looked as if Quins had done the business but then Quins Fijian Lock, Tevita Cavubati, had an inexplicable rush of blood to the head, tackled the man without the ball and Cooney kicked the resulting penalty to win the game for Ulster 25-24.
Thomond Park in Limerick is the home of Munster and always a difficult place to go where a Sarries 2nd XV put up a spirited defence in driving rain but were unable to stop Peter O'Mahony scoring a good try in the first half. Munster had the worst of the conditions in the second half playing against the wind after leading 10-3 at half time. Their defence held out despite a scare at the close when they kicked the ball out in extra time thinking they had won but the ref called them back to look at a forearm fend to the neck by Jarpie flanker Arno Botha and was given a red card for his sins.
Sarries kicked to the corner but lost the lineout, a frequent problem in a scoreless second half which stayed at 10-3.
In the other games that day the Saints were gobbed by Leinster at Franklins Gardens 16-43. Lyon did likewise to Benneton in Lyon 28-0, Glasgow just managed to beat La Rochelle 24-27 and Ospreys lost to Racing in Swansea 19-40.
Gloucester were too strong for Connacht at Kingsholm with a 26-17 bonus point win. Exeter had to fight hard for their 20-22 win against Sale at the A J Bell and Toulouse beat Montpellier 23-9.
This was the third round and after next weeks games the five winners from each pool will go through to the quarter finals plus the three highest runners up. The possible pool winners at this stage look like this:
Pool 1: | Leinster with 14 points ahead of Northampton with 9 who play Leinster at home in round 4 but Lyon could catch them if they don't pick up more points. |
Pool 2: | Exeter with 14 points can't be caught. |
Pool 3: | Ulster with 12 points will win if they beat Quins at the Stoop next week otherwise Clermont but both should qualify. |
Pool 4: | Racing 92 has 12 points and meet Ospreys in Paris next with Munster a close runner up on 11 but both should qualify. |
Pool 5: | Toulouse with 13 are unstoppable and will play Montpellier at home. |
The three 2nd place qualifiers look like Munster, either Clermont or Ulster and Northampton or Lyon which means Benneton, Sale, La Rochelle, Quins, Bath, Sarries, Ospreys, Montpellier and Connacht, Northampton or Lyon should all drop out but stanger things have happened.
Two more Referendums in New Zealand.
Here in New Zealand we are being given two referendums next year with the general election ballot paper. One to legalise Cannabis and the other to approve of a bill just passed to legalise Euthanasia. If you are interested in further information and my opinions on the subject you should click here....
Cannabis Legislation.
The question will be "Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?".
Now the majority of us are not Lawyers, do not have the time or inclination to read the fine print of the bill and do not understand the ramifications of legalising a substance that might have medical benefits in certain cases but more especially that scientific research has uncovered evidence of harmful effects to young males.
I have a son who has been schizophrenic for most of his wasted adult life and am aware of others similarly affected who smoked cannabis in their youth. I do not have any certainty that smoking cannabis was the cause of my sons schizophrenia but neither do I have any evidence that cannabis was not the cause so question why the drug should be legalised without conclusive evidence?
The draft bill contains 126 sections in over 50 pages of text, some of which contain objectives rather than details and have still to be formulated. The referendum was agreed as part of the confidence and supply agreement between Labour and the Greens.
I am under the impression that it was the Greens who were the instigators reinforcing my opinion that politicians the world over have no moral conscience when it comes to gaining (or retaining) power. It is true to say that those who support legalisation seem to be those on the left of politics. They may also be those who are users of cannabis or those who have been users and who have had no ill effects or are prepared to ignore the scientific evidence of the dangers.
Just like smoking and alcohol the proposed draft bill tries to prevent under age consumption and only legalises cannabis for recreational use to those over 20 years of age, however, it is now illegal yet freely available illegally to those of all ages so unlikely to stop those young males who are in danger from its use, indeed legalisation is likely to make it more available. Most kids experience smoking and alcohol consumption at an early age.
As those who use cannabis do so now illegally but are unlikely to face criminal prosecution unless they are trafficking or in possession of large quantities, I see no reason for this legislation and unless I can be convinced otherwise will be voting against the bill. I am in favour of Cannabis being freely available as a prescription drug. I note also that the UK LibDems and Greens are also proposing decriminalisation or legalisation of Cannabis.
The End of Life Choice.
The NZ government has passed an End of Life Choice Bill legalising voluntary euthanasia but the final say as to whether euthanasia becomes law will be decided next year in a referendum as part of the general election.
As with the cannnabis referendum above, the actual referendum question will be 'Do you support the End of Life Choice Bill becoming law'.
Canada passed such a law in 2016 and 63% of assisted deaths have been from those with cancer. Seven US States have passed such laws as has Victoria in Australia and in Europe; Switzerland, Belgium and Holland.
For me the problem will always be that a doctor might say your condition is terminal and does so because at the time there is no known cure, however, medical science finds new solutions every day and a doctors prognosis can on occasions be wrong. Only the patient can decide if they have had enough of life. It is much the same decision as whether to risk life threatening surgery or try an untested drug except that with euthanasia you will have abandoned any hope of a cure, perhaps having undergone years of treatment with poor life quality.
A patient may decide for whatever reason to end their suffering of which only they know the severity. It should be left to them to decide to end their life with the agreement of doctors who should provide the means to do it only if they are certain the patient has unacceptable suffering which they can not alleviate according to the prognosis and the law. In my opinion there should always be two doctors involved. In Canada so far two thirds of requests for euthanasia have been turned down so the safeguards must be in the legislation to prevent abuse.
White Island Eruption
Tauranga is 89km from Whakatane and White Island is 48km offshore from there. It is the most active volcano in New Zealand and if the weather is good you have a clear view of it smoking away as you drive down the coast on State Highway 2. It is also the largest NZ volcano but 70% of it is subsea.
From 1885 it was mined for Sulphur, used for fertiliser, until 1914 when a flow of volcanic mud called a Lahar destroyed the mine and the miners village when 14 lives were lost. In the 1920's mining began again but ceased after a few years.
The island is privately owned and became a scenic reserve in 1952. Tourists are ferried out to the island from Whakatane and the excursion is quite popular, in fact my number one granddaughter Liza and her friend Emma who were here recently, planned to go there until we talked them out of it telling them there was much more to see in Rotorua and Taupo for a lot less money.
GeoNet monitors the volcanic activity on the island and visits regularly to take various samples. The volcano regularly erupts and they are difficult to predict. On December 10 there were about 50 tourists and guides on the Island when it erupted without warning. At the time of writing 5 people are dead and eight missing, believed dead, with 31 in hospitals, some with life threatening burns and other injuries.
Some 38 international tourists from the cruise ship 'Ovation of the Seas' in Tauranga port were among the dead and injured as well as a local guide and skipper of one of the tourist boats. A Helicopter pilot who landed on the island and explored as well as viewing from the air the day after could find no sign of life.
A volcanologist has called White Island a "disaster waiting to happen" as questions mount about why tourists were ever allowed on the Island. A shipping container is in place as a protective shelter for eruptions but it would seem this one was so sudden there was not enough time to seek shelter.
Roger's Barfday
The photo above of me and Sue was taken in 1981 at Skippers Restaurant in Edinburgh (no longer there) on the occasion of my 41st birthday.
I have now reached the grand old age of 79 and for the first time in my life there is also a UK general election on my birthday.
I am recently a resident of New Zealand and get to vote in elections here. For another 14 years I can also vote in UK elections as can Sue who has dual NZ/UK citizenship.
Sue feels that now she is back home in NZ she does not have the moral right to vote in another country in which she does not reside whereas I hope to return to my home country one day and cherish my right to vote there.
I have travelled the world from an early age and have experienced life in many different countries. I have a great affection for the country of my birth and have yet to find a country that matches it in most respects. The principle reason I have consistently believed the UK should leave the European Union is to preserve its culture and governance. The gradual loss of sovereignty to the EU over the years has changed our laws and way of life such that racial intolerance, political correctness, general conflicts of interest, terrorism and a sense of community have changed for the worse.
There is a mistaken belief, particularly amongst the young, that the EU has preserved world peace and leaving it might cause future conflicts. Britain has never in recent history been the instigator of conflict in Europe and has only waged war for defensive or moral reasons, sometimes mistakenly, against international aggressors. NATO has preserved the peace in Europe to which some EU countries have failed to contribute a fair financial proportion.
Many continental European countries have in my lifetime been dictatorships guilty of aggression and do not have a history of parliamentary democracy like Britain.
If there is one birthday wish I have above all others it is that the British electorate comes to its senses and elects a government who can deliver what all the main political parties promised us which is to once again govern ourselves, free of any external political or legal interference.
I am English but not a Unionist or a nationalist. If Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland wants independence from the UK they should have it although I can see no good political or economic reason why they should want it. Maybe more of a federal solution might be one answer to the nationalists demands but the home nations and the English speaking Western nations do have a natural affinity and culture which the UK is in danger of losing.
UK General Election
It looks like my birthday wish might have come true after the exit poll was announced.
EXIT POLL RESULTS
Conservatives: 368 - up 51
Labour: 191 - down 71
SNP: 55 - up 20
Liberal Democrats: 13 - up 1
Plaid Cymru: 3 - down 1
Greens: 1 - no change
Brexit party: 0
|
If the exit poll predictions are accurate then finally we can get Brexit done and put an end to the economic and political stagnation that has plagued the country for the last three years and begin the process of properly governing ourselves for the first time since we joined the European Economic Community.
Predictably both Parties and most of the media are saying this is primarily a victory for Boris and a defeat for Corbine and I think they are correct. Our politics have regrettably become more of a presidential contest. The electorate thought Boris was the better option and Labour must get rid of their current leadership if they are to become a viable alternative. Had Boris not stepped down from the Tory leadership contest after the EU referendum result we could probably have avoided most of the divisions and damage it caused.
This result will be a devastating blow to Labour and the worst result since before the Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock results. Surely they must now realise that the UK electorate does not like left wing extremes and they even rejected the Millepede who was far to the right of the Magic Grandpa. The Corbinites are blaming Brexit and refusing to accept responsibility for the result.
Boris is a populist and is not the right wing extremist portrayed by his opponents. He is far from perfect in many respects but the important thing is we are back to a strong government that is able to make decisions. Many on both sides of the Brexit debate may not like those decisions but it is far more important for the good of the country that those decisions can now be made, free of external interference, and if we don't like them we can get rid of him at the next election.
The first significant result announced was Blyth Valley which went Tory in this Labour held seat. The bloody silly Brexit party split the vote but the Tories still scraped in with 712 more votes. If you add the Brexit party vote the majority rises to 4,106 and I expect we will see this vote splitting regularly to various Parties advantage. Not tactical voting at work as the LibDems and Greens came 3rd and 4th respectively.
Prize Prat Paul Mason (ex channel 4 economics editor) tweeted "Tories win by 1,000, while 3,000 people vote for Greens and Libdems. Thanks a lot." proving the Torygraphs prediction that tactical voting by both sides will cancel each other out.
The Exit poll predicted the Fishy lady would win 55 votes which was way up on previous polling predictions. Ex Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said previously she would jump naked into Loch Ness if that happened. No predictions on how many voyeurs would turn up for that but she admitted "it's not looking great"!
|
Houghton & Sunderland South was an even worse split vote as Labour held it by 3,115 votes from the Tories but the Brexit party polled 6,165 votes. Although you can not guarantee that all the votes cast for the Brexit party would have gone to the Tories they certainly influenced the result. In Sunderland Central the same thing happened with perhaps a 2,964 Labour majority over the Tories affected by a vote of 5,047 votes for the Brexit party. Same problem with Sunderland West. Sterling was up 1% after the first results and up 2.3% against the Dollar. Good news for my Sterling based UK private pension.
The Tories continued to gain seats and by 2am UK time had gained Darlington, Workington, Vale of Clwyd, Peterborough and Leigh but lost Putney to Labour and Angus to the SNP but then Scotland and London are different countries! We are ruled by those who are largely natives or reside mostly in those countries remote from those who live in the other parts of the UK but have a disproportunate power over our future. The media is also London based and has a somewhat parochial view of the world outside!
Quotes 'wot I like:
"I am glad he is in Parliament [Tristram Hunt]; if he stood in my constituency I would vote for him - partly because I respect and like the chap and even, despite being hetrosexual, slightly fancy him... "
Rod Liddle Journalist.
|
Ian Duncan-Smith, the previous Tory leader and Brexiteer, whose seat of Chingford was thought to be in danger survived with a majority of 1262. By 3am UK time I expect most Labour supporters and remoaners had given up and gone to bed meanwhile the Tories had added Blackpool South, Darlington, Stockton South, Clwyd South, Wolverhampton NE, Workington, Wrexham & Heywood to make 12 total gains with no further losses.
It always gives me a nice feeling when someone I dislike loses the contest so I am probably not a very nice person myself! None the less I was delighted to see Chuka Umunna lose for the LibDems in London and Westminster so I expect that makes me a 'wacist' also! This guy crossed the floor of the house to help set up the Change party then when they failed to win a seat in the EU parliament joined the LibDems.
In my younger day our MP's were people who we could relate to. People who had proper jobs before becoming MP's and Chuka did work for a year as a solicitor in the City so they probably thought "local working man". But how can you trust someone who changes Parties with the weather? The Tories won it with a 10% majority.
The second nice feeling I had was when the illiberal undemocratic leader, Jo Swinson, who reckoned she could become the PM and vowed to cancel Brexit, not only lost those objectives but lost her seat as well to the SNP by a whisker with a majority of 149. In this case tactical voting may have been her downfall as the Tories took 14.1% of the vote.
Zac Goldsmith lost his Richmond seat to the LibDems as expected but Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, who was supposed to be in danger of losing, held his seat in Esher (in the country of London) with a reduced majority of 2,743 from one of 23,298. This was a seat which voted 58% to remain in the EU and Raab is an arch-brexiteer. The Magic Grandpa held his seat in Islington of course beating the LibDems with an 8.7% reduced majority.
Tony Bliars old seat of Sedgefield was a Tory gain from Labour with a majority of 4,513. Boris' seat of Uxbridge in the country of London was also supposed to be in danger but he held it with an increased majority of 7,210 over Labour. Caroline Flint was deposed in Don Valley and she had always warned her seat was in danger by the Labour dithering on Brexit. The swing to the Tories was almost 10% here.
A rare LibDem gain was recorded in North East Fife where the SNP had majority of 2! They increased their majority there to 1,316 but it was the result of tactical Tory voting getting behind the LibDems in an anti independence vote. The SNP lost their foreign affairs spokesman in the process, Stephen Gethins.
Gordon Broons old seat of Kirkcaldy was lost to the SNP from Labour as was Glasgow North East.
By 4am UK time the SNP had 38 seats, a gain of 12, Labour had 159, a loss of 34, the LibDems had 7 but lost 8 and the Tories had 240, a gain of 47, most of their 7 losses being to the SNP in Scotland which I would remind readers is another country in the UK with similar view on Brexit as London. In Northern Ireland the DUP had 5 seats but lost 2 so it looked as though for the first time ever the unionists would be in the minority but also likely to be powerless to prevent Boris' EU withdrawal agreement of which they disapprove.
Kensington was won by Labour last time which was not expected. This time it was complicated by another one of those remoaners Sam Gyimah who switched from the Tories to the LibDems so there was a split vote. The seat was recaptured by the Tories with 16,768 votes to Labour's 16,618 and LibDems a poor third on 9,312 after a recount in a big remain constituency. By 4-30am the forecast was for the Tories to win the election with 366 seats, a majority of 82 with Labour on 196, the worst result for them since 1935.
Tory MP, Alex Chalk, managed to be re-elected in the remain voting constituency of Cheltenham with a reduced majority of 981. I had a vote here and made my mate Chris Hockey my proxy to vote for me but the poxy mate cocked up and emailed the papers for the postal vote rather than send them by snail mail. Fortunately my vote would not have made a difference but I knew Alex was up against it and my vote could have been important. He is a good local MP and deserved to be re-elected.
The New Zealand PM said:
"New Zealand and the United Kingdom are close friends and despite our distance we are strongly connected by our history and people.
I look forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Johnson on a wide range of issues as he looks to progress Brexit. I have texted Prime Minister Johnson and offered him my congratulations.
I know that Prime Minister Johnson has an affinity with New Zealand having travelled here previously.
We already share a commitment to launch negotiations towards a comprehensive and high quality free trade deal once the UK leaves the EU - something we discussed at the UN Leaders' Week in New York earlier this year.
Our many other common interests position us well to work together globally, including in the Pacific region and on climate change."
Jacinda Ardern NZ PM.
|
A Tory rebel who lost out was arch-remoaner Dominic Grieve in Beaconsfield who was responsible for blocking every effort by the Tories to get Brexit done and stood as an independent. The electors of Beaconsfield showed their displeasure by electing the Tory with 32,477 votes and a majority of 15,712. Serves the bastard right!
The same thing happened to David Gauke in Hertfordshire where the Tories won with a majority of 14,408.
In Broxtowe where they voted to leave, the ex-Tory minister Anna Soubry who drove us all potty as a Change MP stood again as an independent and managed a measly 4,668 votes. She will not be missed and if any of the remoaners deserved such an ignominious end it was Anna Soubry who knew better that all of us about every subject and was usually wrong. The Tories collected 26,602 votes here to beat Labour by 5,331.
Chris Leslie was another of Soubry's ilk but was previously a Labour MP in Nottingham. He suffered a similar fate to his party leader coming 4th in the poll with 1,447 vote and his former party winning easily with 25,735.
With all the Scottish results in Ruth Davidson will not have to jump naked into Loch Ness as the SNP did not win the 55 votes forecast but it was a close run thing The SNP had to be content with 48 seats gaining 13. The Tories managed to hang on to 6 losing 4, the LibDems 4 losing the most important seat of their leader and Labour now only have 1 seat losing 6. Jo Swinson said she was "proud that in this campaign, the Liberal Democrats have stood up for openness, generosity and hope." She forgot to mention ignoring the EU referendum result.
With all but two seats to be declared the result was:
ELECTION RESULTS with two to declare | EXIT POLL RESULTS |
Conservatives: 366 - up 66 | Conservatives: 368 - up 51 |
Labour: 203 - down 42 | Labour: 191 - down 71 |
SNP: 48 - up 13 | SNP: 55 - up 20 |
Liberal Democrats: 11 - down 10 | Liberal Democrats: 13 - up 1 |
Plaid Cymru: 4 - down 0 | Plaid Cymru: 3 - down 1 |
Greens: 1 - no change | Greens: 1 - no change |
Brexit party: 0 | Brexit party: 0
|
Those of you who can't be bothered to read about the UK General Election results above should at least be aware now that the exit poll was accurate and the Tories are in government with a landslide vote for them in the real world outside the M25 and South of the Scottish border.
Quotes 'wot I like:
"In trying to achieve One Nation, Boris was hindered at every turn by Tories who had that phrase constantly on their lips. It was neighed by old warhorses like Sir John Major, Lord Heseltine, Lord Patten of Barnes and Kenneth Clarke, with answering whinnies from rebels who left the party, such as Dominic Grieve, David Gauke, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen. On Thursday night, every single one of the rebels lost. They leave a Conservative Party at last united, strong and, south of the border, all but omnipresent. "
Charles Moore: Journalist.
|
This means that after years of political and economic stagnation we now have a government that can implement Brexit and start to make important decisions that will not be blocked by parliamentary opposition parties.
Those of the so called Estabishment by which I mean the unelected EU commission, university academics, the CBI, lawyers, civil servants, the media (in particular the public broadcasters BBC and Channel 4), the Bank of England and the Lords, all thought that they knew best. They labelled as ignorant, ill educated, zenophobic and racist all those who voted to leave the EU, ignored the referendum result and tried to get Brexit reversed.
They tried every trick in the book to thwart the will of the people and have now failed spectacularly as those very people the Establishment disregarded took their revenge at the ballot box.
Boris now calls it his new cabinet "the peoples" and it has been something of a revolution against the Establishment with people who had never voted Tory in their lives doing so in order to "get Brexit done". That slogan was not that of an Eton educated man.
Boris will now get a modified withdrawal bill through the Commons using his large majority and any MP who votes against it will add their names to those unelected ones who defied democracy.
The withdrawal bill will now enshrine in law when the transition period will end, with or without a trade deal. Despite the doubters saying this is not possible by the end of 2020 the law will say the agreement can not be extended, no ifs, no buts.
This gives certainty to business and prevents the EU from using the threats and delaying tactics of the previous three years. If the EU genuinely want a trade agreement, which is in their interest with the current trade imbalance and their need to access British fishery waters, they will have to conclude a deal within Boris' timetable by law!
The city took a different view and fears the legal certainty might cause us to leave without any trade deal so shares and Sterling had a bad day. Will they ever learn?
New Zealand gives me the shits!!
I don't mean that in any derogatory sense but soon after arriving here I developed IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which gradually became more and more irritable resulting in a visit to the GP.
I had a blood test which showed nothing of any consequence including a test for coeliac disease which was inconclusive so the best way to diagnose, the doc said, is with diet challenges.
I gave up bread and beer, tried to go mostly gluten free and in a few days the IBS symptoms stopped.
Of course this does not determine if I have coeliac disease or not but it is more likely to be NCGS (non-coeliac gluten sensitivity) as I understand that if you do have the disease then the tiniest amount of gluten will result in a return of the symptoms and that does not seem to be the case with me.
Jokes 'wot I like:
Politicians are like nappies.
They should be changed frequently ... and for the same reason.
|
As this all started shortly after arriving here I did a bit of research into wheat intolerance and discovered I was not unique. Other Europeans who happily ate wheat based products in Europe developed wheat intolerence here and the same sometimes happens with Kiwi's in reverse. When they go to Europe the intolerence disappears.
It has the boffins puzzled but they do agree that the phenomena exists and as a result I am baking gluten free bread, eating gluten free pasta, drinking only wine and cider and using cider vinegar instead of malt.
75% of wheat used in NZ for making bread is imported from Australia and there is perhaps something different in the type of wheat that is grown there or in the way it is grown such as the use of herbicides that are different to Europe.
Monash University in Melbourne are studying the problem of NCGS and suspect that it is not just caused by the gluten itself but a high percentage of carbohydrates in certain gluten rich foods called Fodmaps (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols). Gluten may not be the only cause of IBS and just eating less of it may be enough to alleviate symptoms. This might also explain why European wheat has a different effect if it is lower in Fodmaps.
There is a web site called IBS Diets which lists all the Fodmap foods to avoid or reduce and also the ones low in Fodmaps that are good to eat. There is also specimen diet and meal plans together with a wealth of information on the subject.
For Christmas I have bought some German Stollen and Italian Panforte so it will be interesting to see if they affect me in the same way which if they do will knock holes in the NZ theory, however, I have tried Corona Extra beer, the one brewed in Mexico which is supposedly very low in gluten and it seemed to have no effect whereas two bottles of Waikato bitter gave me the runs!
Oh for a nice pint of Otter!
EU/UK Free Trade agreement
Here in NZ they are looking foward to negotiating a FTA with the UK whereas in the EU they are looking forward to making it as difficult as possible insisting on UK alignment with their laws and standards despite such an agreement being far more important to them than to NZ. Such demands are not made to other countries who have negotiated EU trade deals so why is the UK different?
In my view the best way to deal with this situation is for our negotiators to concentrate on those countries outside the EU who have indicated they wish to negotiate a FTA and to tell the EU to just call when they are ready to discuss the £66 billion EU trade surplus between us and to allow EU vessels to fish in UK waters in 2021. They might become a little more enthusiastic then.
Quotes 'wot I don't like:
"We don't want to trade with a Britain that undercuts us, that has lower financial standards, lower product standards, lower health and safety standards...the harder approach being taken by Prime Minister Johnson is a risk to us."
Leo Varadkar Irish Taoiseach
|
Boris has said that the UK will negotiate ..."a new agreement on our future relationship with our European neighbours based on an ambitious free-trade agreement, with no alignment on EU rules, but instead control of our own laws and close and friendly relations."
He says we must drop the"remainer" and "leaver" titles after we have left the EU but I suspect we will still be divided between the EU Unionists and the UK Nationalists for how can we effectively negotiate a FTA with a third country if we are bound hand, foot and finger still to EU laws and rules which are unacceptable to the non-EU country. In the EU 'nationalism' is a dirty word yet the Scottish 'National' Party wish to rejoin an organisation to which they export only 18% of their product whereas they want to leave the UK to which they export 60% and finances its GDP spending deficit to the tune of over 7%. The mind boggles!
Quotes 'wot I like:
"The area where the UK can and always has punched above its weight is in terms of value systems - rule of law, democracy, governance."
Saul Klein Venture Capitalist
|
Why do people think that being free to make our own laws, rules and standards automatically means they will be lower than the EU? Similarly we might insist that EU standards meet UK standards as for example animal welfare standards in the UK which are undoubtedly higher than in most other countries and this dates back to 1999/2000 when the UK unilaterally introduced more stringent welfare rules.
Here in NZ, Craigmore, one NZ's biggest farm managers and investors founder says "I see the imposition of standards on imported food as a powerful way to promote UK exports of these tools and services as well as to lift food quality and environmental standards.
This strategy will 'play to' an area where the UK is well ahead of NZ and in my view is world-leading."
Surely we will adopt a EU standard for those products and services we want to sell to the EU. Our negotiators should highlight EU dissimilarities and insist that the EU should raise their standards to ours when they wish to sell to us.
English Premiership Rugby Round 6, 7 and Heineken Champions Cup.
We will draw a veil over the final Barf display in the Champions cup game against Clermont but if you are interested in how the latest rounds went in both competitions then please click here...
Heineken European Champions Cup round 4.
Round 4 took place over the weekend of 13th to 16th December when Racing gobbed Ospreys in Paris 40-27 and Quins were effectively put out of the running at the Stoop by Ulster 10-34.
The next day Benneton surprised everyone with a win against Lyon in Treviso 25-22 and Connacht beat Glaws in an equally close encounter in Galway 27-24.
Toulouse went to Montpeller and beat them 18-26 but the big game was in North London where current champions Sarries entertained Munster.
It was a bit of an arm wrestle until in the 2nd half when the Munster Doctor called Jamie George something very rude about his svelt figure which resulted in serious handbags being thrown. This seemed to change the attitude of Sarries who proceeded to take Munster apart, winning 15-6 with the Munster Doc eventually being charged with misconduct for bringing the game into disrepute!
Leinster did a demolition job on Northampton in Dublin 20-21 while la Rochelle spoilt Glasgow's chances of progressing further beating them 17-12 at Scotstoun.
Executer also showed Sale the door at Sandy Park the next day 35-10 and Clermont showed Barf how to play rugby at thic tyre place putting 8 tries past them for a humiliating 52-26 win but we did win the second half!!
So after 4 rounds Leinster are through to the quarters as are Exeter, Ulster, Racing and Toulouse. Rounds 5 and 6 will determine the three 2nd place finalists but Clermont should go through with Munster and Sarries favourites to make up the final eight.
English Premiership Rugby Round 6.
The weekend of 20th Dec began at Kingsholm with the shed in raptures as Glaws demolished Worcester 36-3. Exeter went to Welford Road to play the Tigers whose dismal start to the season continued. Leicester dominated the first half but it was a game of two halves as Executer came back my 'andsome and won comfortably 22-31 denying Tigers any points.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 6 |
Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Exeter Chiefs | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
2 | Northampton Saints | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
3 | Bristol Bears | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
4 | Sale Sharks | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
5 | Gloucester Rugby | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
6 | Harlequins | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
7 | Bath Rugby | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
8 | Worcester Warriors | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
9 | London Irish | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
10 | Wasps | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
11 | Leicester Tigers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
12 | Saracens | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -13 |
Sale took on Northampton Saints at the A J Bell, the latter seeming to have lost their early form going down 22-10 but Sarries showed their class against Brissle at Allianz Park 47-13.
Quins went to Coventry. Not that they Waspies were not speaking to them but they did expect to win except Quins had other ideas and just beat them 22-28.
The final surprise of the weekend was Barf against the London Irish at the Madejski. After their crushing defeat at Clermont this was a changed side and whatever magic the coaches performed on them it worked. Barf took they Irish to the cleaners beating them 10-38!
After round 6 Exeter moves to the top of the table. As a result Saints and Bristol are displaced down to 2nd and 3rd. Sale move up to 4th, Glaws to 5th, Quins to 6th and Bath to 7th. Worcester drops to 8th and Irish to 9th. Waspies and Tigers remain unchanged at 10th and 11th where they belong with Sarries still on the naughty boys step but gradually climbing back towards positive figures and 4 or 5 more wins could see them off the bottom and out of the relegation zone!
English Premiership Rugby Round 7.
The next weekend began with they Waspies going down to Ashton Gate on 27th December where they were met by a football sized crowd of Bristolians. It is marvellous how a teams success can boost match attendance and the 27,500 capacity ground looked to be pretty full.
In the first half Wasps spent most of the time in the Brissle half but seemed unable to turn their dominance into points. The second half was a different game which was nip and tuck until the last 10 minutes when Harry Thacker bought Brissle within a point and Callum Sheedy's conversion put them a point ahead.
But in the final minutes Jarpie Nizaam Carr went over for a try which young Kiwi Jacob Umaga converted to make the final score 21-26.

Gloucester travelled to Franklins Gardens and were soundly beaten by Northampton Saints 33-26 while my Barf boys put on a fighting display at the rec against Sale.
Jarpie International Francios Louw captained a Barf side which also saw the return of much missed Welsh International Taulupe Faletau after a long injury at No 8. The first half was much like the Brissle v Wasps game. Bath were dominant but only scored two penalty goals.
In the second half Priestland took the ball into the Sale 22, stepped and cut left before passing to JJ in a supporting run in the opposite direction who touched down. Priestland could have scored the try himself but JJ made the conversion much easier and Barf were 13-0 up.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Round 7 |
Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Exeter Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
2 | Northampton Saints | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 23 |
3 | Gloucester Rugby | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
4 | Bristol Bears | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
5 | Bath Rugby | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
6 | Worcester Warriors | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
7 | Sale Sharks | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 17 |
6 | Harlequins | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
9 | London Irish | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
10 | Wasps | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
11 | Leicester Tigers | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
12 | Saracens | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | -12 |
Sale then woke up scoring two converted tries in quick succession to take the lead until 10 minutes from time one of the Curry's (I don't know which as they both look the same) was penalised for a no arms tackle just over the halfway line which MOM Priestland slotted to win the game 16-14 to the delight of the 14,000+ Barf supporters and the abandoned disgust of Steve Diamond who reckoned the ref was an arse who couldn't tell a no arms tackle from a love hug!
Worcester entertained London Irish at Sixways by sending them home 20-6 down.
Leicester were at Twickers for the big game in front of 75,000 fans, a European record attendance for a club game, but could only manage a draw with Quins 30-30 so neither side were happy at having to share the points. The reffing here was also questioned, something I personally disapprove of.
Finally Executer entertained Sarries at Sandy Park, a match eagerly anticipated between arguably the top two premiership sides. A hard fought game resulted as was to be expected.
The Chiefs managed two converted tries, unstoppable as usual once they were close to the try line and their defence had Sarries constantly on the back foot.
A late try gave Sarries a losing bonus point and the obligatory handbags were thrown resulting in Chiefs prop Harry Williams, who was off the field at the time, being given a red card for joining in the scuffle. The game finished 14-7 meaning the top two table places are unchanged.
Gloucester moves up from 5th to 3rd while Bristol drops a place to 4th. My Barf boys move up from 7th to 5th as they look forward to the derby against Glaws at Kingsholm next weekend.
Worcester move up to 8th from 6th, Sale drop from 4th to 7th, Quins drop from 6th to 8th and the bottom three are unchanged.
Despite Sarries 2nd loss of the season, had they not received the 35 point penalty for breaking the salary cap, they would have been equal second and it is the Tigers who must now fear relegation if they don't up their game.
The Munster doctor, Jamie Kearns, who transgressed was subsequently fined €2,000 by the EPCR and a three week touchline ban suspended for 12 months. Sale Coach, Steve Diamond, who called the Froggie ref Mathieu Raynal and his colleagues after the Sale v Exeter game 'bastards', will also be fined €3,000. He claimed he was being humorous and we all know the Frogs are not renowned for their sense of humour!
Brexit Day - January 31st 2020
Britain joined the European Economic Community on 1st January 1973. At that time I was in Australia working for Hawker Siddely selling Marine Engines and overnight the market for British products almost collapsed as commonwealth tariff preferences ceased. It is no coincidence that Hawker Siddely and many international British companies no longer exist as a direct result of Britain joining the EEC.
I returned home in time to vote in the 1975 referendum to leave the EEC. Most young people like me voted to leave but the vast majority of older people voted to remain, a mirror image of the 2016 referendum voting pattern in the opposite direction. They were perhaps unaware of how our traditional export markets had already been affected by our membership and the consequent dire prospects for British manufacturing that would result. The more efficient manufacturers in continental Europe whose factories had been flattened in WW2 and replaced with new facilities with state of the art machine tools, bought up struggling British companies, asset stripped them, closed them down making thousands redundant and are still living off the spares business.
In the mid 1980's I was buying sophisticated CNC machining centres from the Japanese who were using old British machine tools for manufacture of some of the more vital components. I asked why they had not been replaced and was told they could not get a more modern machine that could replicate the accuracy they required.
On 1st November 1993 the Maastricht Treaty converted what was an economic community into a political one. An international con trick by our ruling classes which moved us a step closer to belonging to a United States of Europe. Not only that but we then had a system of EU government based on the French system which meant we were largely ruled by a bunch of unelected bureaucrats who progressively transferred UK sovereignty to the EU rubber stamped by an elected but toothless EU parliament. Our courts of law became secondary to those of Europe, we became large contributors to an EU budget whose main benefactors were inefficient French farmers and whose accounts audit was never approved. Those countries who voted against these depletions of sovereignty were told to vote again correctly.
On the 16th December 1995 the EU invented the Euro currency and recruited a bunch of economically disparate countries to join it. Fortunately our then chancellor 'Broon' defied his boss 'Bliar' and kept us out. Poor old Greece, Italy and Spain have suffered economically to such an extent that millions of them are now unemployed, especially the young, something a UK government would countenance at their peril. The way the EU punished Greece finally convinced many in Britain that we were never going to change the EU.
Eventually our cloth eared politicians woke up to the fact that we were not happy with the EU and tried to get them to address our concerns. This they failed to do but such was their arrogance that they tried to convince the British electorate that they had done a great deal with the EU and we should vote in another referendum to remain as EU members. They underestimated the intelligence of the British electorate whose voters gave the establishment a big raspberry and voted to leave. Our cheating politicians then spent three years trying to stop Brexit until finally we told them in a general election that we wanted our original decision actuated which has now happened.

Regular readers may have wondered why I have not been updating this web site on a regular basis with my usual subjects. The reason is that my wife Sue who was diagnosed with secondary bone cancer soon after we arrived here in New Zealand, took a turn for the worse over Christmas and New Year and is now paralysed from the waist down and bed bound at home under my care with a prognosis of months to live rather than years. Updating the web site therefore became a time consuming low priority.
My plans now are to eventually return to the UK when I will be turning my attention to raising funds for cancer charities in memory of Sue. In the meantime the next update is postponed ad infinitum.
David Parry
We were sad to hear of the passing of David Parry, our friend and neighbour for many years when we owned Provender Delicatessen in South Petherton, Somerset.
David was an engineer of some prominence having worked on the design of missiles for English Electric, led the UK design team on the Eurofighter and eventually became the CEO of the Royal Ordinance Factories when it was sold to British Aerospace in 1986.
We have many happy memories of David but if we had to chose one it would be when our friends Chris and Carol were looking for accommodation while they were waiting for their new house to be completed. We asked David if he would rent them his granny flat which he agreed to do but suggested no money should change hands and instead the rent would be a case of Champaigne each month.
So we supplied Chris and Carol with a case of Moet at trade price each month delivered next door. David then suggested that we all drink the "rent" each month which we did many happy times accompanied with various delicacies prepared by David. Raiding David's extensive wine cellar became a regular occurrence after that and David was one of our honoured guests at our barge warming back in 2005.
We always made a point of visiting him on our frequent return visits to Petherton after we left and some of us benefitted from the use of his villa in Cyprus. We will remember him as a kind and generous man who was always good company.
Coronavirus
The world seems to be getting its knickers in a twist over this new virus which the Chinese invented by either drinking Bat Soup or, more likely, accidentally leaking a virus they manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory. Either way and egged on by excitable media the world is in panic mode.
Below is a list of some world reactions sent to me by Carol Hockey:
- The English are feeling the pinch in relation to the recent virus threat and have therefore raised their threat level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, the level may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross."
The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out.
The virus has been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.
- The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's Get the Bastard." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.
- The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
- Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
- The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."
- Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
- The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
- Australia, meanwhile, has raised its alert level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is cancelled." So far, no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.
Of course this virus must be treated with some sensible precautions and perhaps restrictions but should not induce panic buying of such items as toilet rolls and the like. Ordinary Flu which happens every year, kills over 600 in the UK from related complications and 650,000 wordwide yet toilet roll sales remain static. We need to put things in to perspective thats all.
Here in the Godzone Jacinda has now announced what she called the strongest measures of any country. With only a dozen or so confirmed cases and no fatalities she is trying to ensure that NZ stays as unaffected and is using the country's remoteness to our advantage. Principle amongst the meaures are that anyone arriving in NZ must agree to self isolate for 14 days.
This means that tourism, the largest employer, is effectively closed so I hope she knows what she is doing. We were expecting a few friends over from the UK and Oz in the next few weeks who were calling in on their way to Wanaka Air Show which is now cancelled as are most public gatherings. Our friends have cancelled their trip of course.
What puzzles me is that we have had these type of virus pandemics before which were far larger and caused more fatalities yet none of these panic measures were taken then. If 650,000 die from Flu related complications each year then why does that virus not warrant more attention?
Quotes 'wot I like:
"Will it be remembered as the great coronavirus pandemic that wiped out swathes of humanity or a relatively minor contagion to which we grotesquely overreacted?."
Philip Johnston Daily Telegraph journalist
|
The latest government action here in New Zealand is even more extreme as everyone is in lockdown for 4 weeks like the UK but our borders have been completely closed to all flights apart from Australia and ships apart from those carrying cargo or what the government deems are essential products or personnel.
I am allowed to go out for a walk or drive to the supermarket and pharmacy which I did today. Everywhere is deserted like the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. I also collected prescriptions from the doctor's surgery but the doctor will not see patients face to face. My physiotherapy appointment has been cancelled and my sore hip has regressed almost to the pain level of a month ago.
It appears that the worlds politicians are each trying to outdo the other in the measures they are taking with a consequential huge expense and economic damage. The result might be that they do more long term damage to world health, particularly in third world countries, due to a prolonged economic recession than would have been the case were less extreme measures taken to reduce the fatality rate among all the old farts like myself, most of whom would have died soon from other causes anyway!
My eldest granddaughter Eliza works for the NHS in Bristol and is training as a Cardiac Physiologist. The photo above is of her in full coronavirus mode. It goes without saying that we are all proud of NHS workers and their colleagues around the world who are at the forefront of the fight against this virus and whose lives are at risk.
Since Sue became paralysed we have been helped by our good neighbour Kelly Cooke who is a trained health care worker and brilliant at it. We think of her as our guardian angel. She first came in to help every night after coming home from work but has since reduced that to three times a week as we have become more confident with the health care workers provided from Healthcare NZ.
Now NZ has introduced a complete coronavirus lockdown Kelly is working from home but has also decided to self isolate herself she says to protect us. Her long suffering husband Dave will now get his meals more regularly!
Kelly has been on call for us 24/7 when she is home and says she will still be there if we need her. I don't really understand why we are more at risk from Kelly coming in from next door than our several different healthcare workers coming in three times a day 24/7 but we will miss her company and her expertise. The only benefit will be the size of my wine bill!!
At the time of writing NZ had 368 confirmed cases of the virus with one person in intensive care due to a pre-existing medical condition and no fatalities.
New Page
I have begun to record our life since we met in 1974 and the first page is now on line. It is the story of our life before Harmonie and you can see it here.
The plan is to write a series of pages up to the date of our retirement in 2005. These pages will continue recording current issues and each time I write a new page of history I will put a link in from these pages but you will be able to find it on the Living pages menu above under the History drop down menu entitled 'Life from...' which has a sub menu for the different pages.
Latest NZ Covid-19 data
At the time of writing (02/04/2020) this virus has infected 797 confirmed but still just one fatality. NZ does not feature much in the news as the international media are uninterested unless people are dying in their thousands. While we personally have these questionable petty restrictions the powers that be blithely let thousands in from abroad and expect them to self quarantine with no follow up checks that they are whereas Australia and Singapore are quarantining people as soon as they arrive which is what some NZ health experts are asking the NZ Gov to do but they don't want to spend the money.
Common sense says that you either stop all immigration or you quarantine immigrants and Jacinda seems to have lost the plot. It only takes one irresponsible self quarantined person to abuse the restriction for the virus to be spread.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) began in 2012. It didn't spread at the same rate as Covid-19 but had a fatality rate 34.4% compared to worldwide estimated fatality rate so far of 3.4% for Covid-19. The difference is that MERS was largely contained to the middle east infecting only 2,494 people whereas Covid-19 has already infected 794,300 people worldwide and 3.4% of that is over 27,000 people. Still only a fraction as high as fatalities caused by seasonal flu.
Here's a new page for the Winter.
Last Modified:
|