Gray area

On my walk today down a quiet street I spoke to an older woman completely swaddled in white robes, who had a broad smile whilst relaying her latest family news. She told me about being widowed in October after 37 years and that today was her youngest son’s 26th birthday.

The stresses of my old job are fading nicely, but nothing is guaranteed to lead us into an early grave (literally: life expectancy has fallen in the UK) than following the snivelling appearances of Boris Johnson and his gang of sycophants.

Ian Blackford and Keir Starmer have both uttered true words today. For Ian to then be removed from the chamber of the House of Commons for refusing to insert the word ‘inadvertently’ into his statement shows how ridiculous House rules are. Boris Johnson has clearly lied, deliberately misleading the chamber, in saying there were no parties and that rules were followed. The information in Sue Gray’s report proves this, so Ian Blackford’s comments were factual. It isn’t a surprise that the Tory party then applied mock outrage to force the Speaker to use ancient protocols that penalise someone for telling the truth. Conservatives will forever focus on protocol and etiquette over truth and reality, and we are doomed to an unequal right wing future with them in charge. But as long as everyone is upholding etiquette, then it’s all jolly hockey sticks.

The clueless excuse for a scarecrow has got to resign or be removed in a vote of no confidence. And the whole cavalcade of cronies be consigned to the scrap heap in the next general election.

One of many nice spots on Ilha de Moçambique is the Capela de Santo António, or St Anthony’s Chapel, on a small spit of land. I cycled the perimeter of the island and passed by it.