What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
“They are all at it! They all lie!” A statement that I have heard many times and recoiled from on every occasion. Firstly, how do you know? Have you met them all? Secondly, I doubt for one moment that this observation is statistically provable. Finally, why the fuck would you want a criminal representing your … Read more
A strange malaise came across me before the opening game of the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship (hosted in 2021 because of the global pandemic) had even kicked off. I wasn’t at all interested in the tournament and especially in England. The place of my birth. This is seismic for me since the love of football … Read more
Waking up this morning was rather surreal if not totally unpredictable. Hartlepool led the headlines. Many of you may ask, not unreasonably, where is Hartlepool? According to Google, “Hartlepool is a port town in the Borough of Hartlepool, of which it is the administrative centre, in County Durham, England. The town is 17 miles southeast … Read more
The former Prime Minister David Cameron’s willingness to respond ‘positively’ to requests for evidence in the Greensill scandal reminds me of the famous Richard Nixon quote, “There can be no whitewash at the White House” in his first Watergate speech in 1973. Those of a certain age will know how that poorly scripted contrition ended. … Read more
I like eggs. Scrambled are my favourite and even I can rustle up a good effort upon two slices of toast. The dish does rely on a few simple processes underpinned by one fundamental truth – cracking open the requisite eggs. “Res ipsa loquitur” I hear some of you say, if, like me, you have … Read more
As I kid, I remember the double entendre placed upon the street signage: ‘Bill Stickers Will Be Prosecuted!’ under which was daubed, ‘Bill Stickers is innocent!’ A funny play on words but illustrative of the power of English language. Last night in Bristol a demonstration labelled ‘Kill the Bill’ reminded me of this flexibility of … Read more
I admit that I clapped under sufferance. Not because I wasn’t in awe of our brilliant NHS but more so the nagging feeling that this was no more than an orchestrated token of appreciation. Formed on 5th July 1948, a result of the 1942 Beveridge cross-party report, and launched by Labour’s Minister of Health Aneurin … Read more
Realising that I had fought in an actual war, without picking up arms or donning a uniform, didn’t come to me immediately. Although defeated it hadn’t actually dawned on me until a little over 4 years after the BREXIT referendum. This notion had nothing to do with the way I cast my vote and the … Read more
As an ex-cop and having reviewed the televised account of Mr Cummings I am puzzled as to why, given his keenness to talk about the matter, he did not initially attend a local Metropolitan police station and offer an explanation? Out of force enquiries are not unusual and he would have been afforded all of … Read more