unpleasant right wing politicians

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The Rise of the Deplorables: Part 2

The symbolic power of the flag has undergone a renaissance over the last decade or so, particularly in the UK and America and, currently, your response to your national flag, more often than not, reflects your political outlook and societal values. In both the UK and America the national flag has become synonymous with patriotism and aggressive right wing politics. The above quotation refers to false patriotism camouflaging self interests and hidden motives. The accusation of a lack of patriotism and glorification of a country’s national flag is used to to undermine the loyalty of left leaning people and, in effect, is a stick to beat them with.

This is a typical tactic of the right to simplify the attack on thinking people and reduce essential issues to emotional jingoism. Populist, rabble rousing politicians and associated activists do not want the populace to think: they want them to feel. To consider issues objectively, with reference to agreed facts is anathema and to be absolutely avoided. Study the public addresses of megalomaniacs or autocrats in history and it will clearly demonstrate their power to arouse emotions and direct hostility towards particular target groups. Trump is the latest iteration, Nigel Farage, a minor UK example.

An associated tactic is the spreading of conspiracy and deep state theories. These work on many levels. The susceptible person or group is subject to information on the internet which, on the face it, purports to be scandalous, sexually outrageous, harmful to victims and decent law abiding society at large, unfairly financially rewarding or undermines trust in institutions. It doesn’t matter if the details are bizarre because the secret elites act in concert and have no respect for normal societal rules. They are powerful and capable of anything and need to be rooted out. State control should shrink drastically and personal freedom restored if the ordinary, hard working, decent person is to flourish. Out with woke nonsense and the nanny state. People’s precarious financial positions, inability to pay for their health needs, unemployment, lack of education, poor housing, lack of employment rights and failure to advance themselves gain little traction or objective analysis, at least amongst American Republicans and assorted right wingers. The stoking of fear, anxiety and hostile emotions, often towards demonised groups like immigrants or minorities, successfully deflects attention elsewhere. BUT Trump is the deep state. The obscenely rich fascist tech bros are the deep state. Who, but the comprehensively deceived, would trust highly dubious multi millionaires and billionaires and those with a vested interest in promoting paranoia?

In the UK we tend to put our trust in Conservative posh boys. The showman and charlatan Boris Johnson being the best example. Usually educated at the most prestigious fee paying publc schools, politicians like Johnson ooze confidence and self assurance. Their education provides the highest degree of articulacy and persuasiveness. We are mesmorised by their charm and easily manipulated. Boris Johnson’s comedic talents ensured style over substance won hands down.

In the UK we are far less into conspiracy theories but we do excel in demonising immigrants, welfare benefits claimants and taxing the poorest people in our society. Oh yes, and pretending we have influence on the international stage, another boys’ game for appearing to care about principles and creating a lavish spectacle. We have a Labour government at last, but there are formidable dark forces lined up against it. It doesn’t help that the government are perceived to be stumbling from one crisis to another. It all feels a bit like The Lord of the Rings.

Still running around 25-30k weekly. No further injuries. I’ll be rejoining a gym soon to get some upper body strength back. I ran the Epping Forest 10k trail run in October which I found challenging and I also fell over. Interestingly other runners usually ask if you are okay but run on before they receive a reply. This time several runners actually stopped. Fortunately I wasn’t injured and carried on with greater care. I think the course was chosen for the greatest density of trees with the maximum of exposed roots. It was a very enjoyable run and I’ll do it next year.

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The Rise of the Deplorables: Part 1

On Saturday, September 13th, in London, up to a 150,000 people responded to Tommy Robinson’s call for a mass protest against immigration, the Labour government, the censorship of free speech and condemnation of “the great replacement”, the belief that migrants outside of Europe are in the acendency and are being given resources, privileges and preferment over indigenous white people, particularly Muslims. Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) is a well known extreme right figure who is widely described by media, charities, campaign groups and courts in civil findings as anti-Muslim and Islamaphobic and as having spread racist adjacent rhetoric. He has served time in prison for mortgage fraud and possession of a false identity document with improper use. He has numerous convictions for violent assault and contempt of court. In 2024 he was sentenced to 18 months for contempt of court. Robinson was one of the founders of the English Defence League, a far right street protest movement, notorious for anti-Islam demonstrations.

Most of those marching will reject the accusation of racism or xenophobia and will wave thousands of Union Jack and England flags to indicate their patrotism and commitment to British values. They will not appreciate that their march has been organised and coordinated by a convicted thug and career racist. They will not be able to articulate what they mean by describing themselves as patriots other than by acting because they feel their community is threatened. Threatened by foreigners with whom they feel no sympathy and designate a physical menace.

The baleful influence of Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and other hardline Nationalist leaders and their enablers has normalised hate speech and encouraged blatant prejudice. Social media has promoted and intensified aggessive feelings, hostility against groups and individuals, encouraged conspiracy theories, and given widespread dissemination to misinformation and disinformation. This very disappointing UK Labour government has capitulated to the Brexit mentality and right wing populism and generally runs scared of calling out right wing rhetoric, fearing political backlash .

Why are large swathes of populations so susceptible to extreme views and charismatic, seemingly convincing politicians? Why do people believe so easily and uncritically? Why do evidence and fact often lose out in debate? In recent months, the UK media has focused on illegal small boat immigration from France, crossing the English Channel and landing on the UK coast. The UK has a backlog of asylum applications and many of the asylum seekers are housed in small hotels across the country. In some areas this has caused friction and has been the focus of protests. One such incident occured in Epping, Essex, following reports of an asylum seeker being accused of approaching a 14 year old girl and trying to kiss her. The hotel was beseiged by protesters, many from outside the local area, demanding the hotel be closed down. Following a court case, it was ruled the hotel should be closed and a number of local authorities also made similar applications. The ruling was later defeated on appeal. The media continues to concentrate on illegal immigration organised by gangs across the Channel.

Interviewed protesters cited they were worried about the safety of children and women and strongly felt asylum seekers should not be accommodated in hotels in the general community. They were concerned about possible criminality, the proximity of the hotel to several schools and a care home, that residents in the hotel are not vetted and stated local residents did not feel safe. There were clashes with the police.

The asylum seekers were regarded as an existential threat to the local people and a drain on housing, the NHS and other resources which they felt should be directed to the local community. There was no expression of concern, compassion or charity for people who have gone through dreadful experiences. They singled out an incident that involved an asylum seeker but were oblivious to the several hundred reported cases of violence and sexual offences, in the Epping and Ongar area, in April and May 2025, as shown in published data.

Despite their protestations and self serving explanations, I believe that the vast majority joining in the Unite the Kingdom march and shouting outside immigrant accommodation hotels are racist and xenophobic. Large numbers also espouse fascist views. It’s a moot point to suggest, in mitigation, they have been manipulated and inflamed by far right media. At best they are dangerously credulous. Flags in the UK, depending on the context, are now synonymous with racism and far right values, not a love of one’s own country. These flag wavers are not patriots. They bring British values into disrepute.

How is my running going? Quite well. I’ve kept free of any further episodes of atrial fibrillation and I’m injury free at present. Currently running around 25k weekly, sometimes more, and regularly doing 5k parkruns. I’m massaging my knee, calves, foot and toes each day and my legs feel much better for it. Occasionally I try to do a few plyometric exercises but I am wary of my right knee suddenly snapping into a hundred pieces, I exaggerate, of course, but arthritic changes have made it feel stiff and weak. I can still run up to 16k easily enough but plyometric exercises may be a demand too much unless I go carefully.

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The UK General Election : a fine example of all parties appealing to the lowest common denominator

The above strapline, composed in June 2024, was intended to head my next blog, following on from the previous one in April 2024 (no-one can accuse me of being prolific). I’ve decided to retain it because I feel it’s a fair comment and this current Labour government continues to run scared of populist right wing criticism and bigotry.

The removal of the winter fuel heating payments for previously eligible pensioners and restricting the allowance to those entitled to pension credits, was badly handled and the rise in National Insurance contributions for employers resulted in a spectacular, well organised backlash. Add in the own goal of Starmer and others accepting gifts and freebies and the hostile press and social media had a field day.

The UK Labour government clearly feels boxed in by an aggressive right wing agenda and is being targeted by the openly neo-Fascist duo of Trump and Musk. It is such a dangerous time. Populist politicians and rabblerousers with no moral compass have learnt they can say anything they like, however damaging or untrue, without consequences but with the intention to harm. The truth becomes what you believe or what you feel. The UK government has to negotiate this terrain.

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My running is going okay. No further health problems since my last April 2024 blog with the exception of an episode of high blood pressure. I’m already on cardiovascular and anti hypertension medication so this was a disappointment. The sense I made of it revolved around getting too cold, both in the cottage and out running. I have now remedied this and also apply some simple breathing techniques to relax.

I’m currently running 25-30k a week which seems to suit me. I have given up going to a gym unfortunately, so upper body strength work has taken a hit. Perhaps in the future.

How lucky am I to have access to a polytunnel? Very lucky and profoundly grateful. I’m able to grow flowers and vegetables from seed and overwinter tender plants. I lead a little gardening group, Green Minds, and if the weather is poor we can sit inside. It’s in the middle of a small allotment which is situated in a field. So many people do not have access to a garden or a nearby park or green space which are recognised features substantially contributing to good mental health and reducing stress. To non gardeners sowing seeds, tending to their care and watching their growth may strike them as uninteresting, boring or irrelevant. Or the activity of old people. That’s a pity because they miss out experiencing a sense of wonder and achievement. Don’t miss out on the the feelings and emotions that accompany creating living plants and observing nature work.

Breaking news: Elon Musk has just posted on X stating Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the Reform UK party, presumably in response to Farage distancing himself from Musk’s support for Tommy Robinson, a far right “activist” who is presently in prison. What a crew!

 

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New/old Tories crawl out of the septic tank and hose themselves down. Heart disorder stops me running.

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This year, I’ve made it super difficult for people to negotiate their way to the kitchen door without a machete.

Hollyhocks and verbena bonariensis are in the ascendancy this year.The hollyhocks have developed rust, which is disfiguring, but height seems unaffected and they are flowering well.

My running regime was going quite nicely, thank you very much, until the day of my birthday, nearly six weeks ago, when I developed atrial fibrillation. I was running with my pal, Rob, in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by fields, when I lost puff and felt breathless. I recovered quickly but after several hundred metres, I had to stop again. I tried to run a few times before giving up and walking back to civilisation. I soon discovered that my pulse was irregular and elevated and so it has remained. My heart medication, bisoprolol, has been doubled and will soon be be tripled and I’m on an anticoagulant. My heart could revert back to a normal rhythm spontaneously. If it doesn’t, I’ll probably have a cardioversion procedure in several months, where a small electrical jolt to the heart hopefully reinstates a normal, strong beat.

So, disappointing in the extreme for me at present. The hospital has said I can continue normal activities, including running. In the last six weeks I have run one 5k which went okay. I ran less fast and didn’t feel breathless. Since then I have had covid and currently the weather in the UK has been very hot. Today, the maximum local temperature is expected to top 40c. I’ll run another 5k when the temperature returns to normal and then I’ll increase the bisoprolol as prescribed. I’m a bit wary of doing this. It may drop my blood pressure to the point where I experience dizziness. The doctor said that there was a greater chance of my heart reverting back spontaneously on the bigger dosage. My suggestion she put me on a huge dose of placebo fell on deaf ears so all my extensive evidence that placebo can be very effective, indeed life altering, went for nought.

Johnson is still scuttling around on the periphery making forlorn and absurdist statements but, essentially, he has collapsed under the weight of his own arrogance, hubris and mendacity. Unfortunately, these are not qualities a large section of the Tory party membership and supporting voters can easily recognize. They simply don’t care. The four leading candidates for the vacant post of UK Prime Minister all served under Boris Johnson and defended his blatant lying and contempt for acceptable rules of conduct. They were, and are, his creatures. Johnson’s appeal was irresistible to the lowest common denominator of voters who placed personality well above policy, fairness and competence, who valued humour which easily disguised the ugly reality of the impact of Tory “values”and applauded the racist mindset which espoused to make Great Britain great again. The simpletons ensured Brexit happened through Johnson and his ilk. We are all demonstrably poorer for Brexit. It’s defenders point to the global economic situation, the Ukrainian disaster and the impact of covid but will not countenance the obvious harm departure from the EU is currently causing. Trade has shrunk, there is a great contraction in available workers in many industries and the NHS is desperately short of staff. Red tape has increased and new trade agreements are lacking. Economic growth has stalled and our supermarket shelves are sadly depleted. It was all predicted.

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Johnson’s Tories still banjax Great Britain. Local elections could help to change balance of power if our cognitively impaired electorate wake up.

Music courtesy of Philip Glass

Yes, rotating wooden balls fixed to metal rods. And why not? It’s relaxing, quirky and has a retro feel. You know where you are with a wooden sphere. It’s entirely complete and uncomplicated. But are a cascade of moving, swivelling balls art? Of course. Art encompasses great technical skill, possessed by relatively few people, who execute a visually realistic interpretation or an advanced creative depiction that few people would seek to question as a high art form. But art can equally encompass non traditional forms which appear low on the spectrum of high art but include elements which pose questions and challenge preconceptions or express dissent or shock. Is there a line that needs to be drawn when you talk about art? Who gets on their high horse and why? Why do art installations appear to polarise opinion? Do left and right leaning people like radically different creative styles? If you are over seventy, are you much less likely to enjoy or appreciate abstract and modern art? These aren’t original questions and what constitutes art encapsulates myriad discussions and nuanced argument. Do I care? Not really. I accept art is all things to all people What’s more interesting is the vehemence, prejudice and passive-aggression with which views are expressed. Or the absence of active interest in art or creative activity. Poor, unbalanced people!

Music courtesy of Philip Glass

More musical balls.

I last posted in February, two weeks or so before the Cambridge half marathon. This went well, in the main. No surprises, a steady pace and a bit slower than the last Cambridge half in October 2021. I also did the nearby Cambourne 10k in April and met up with some old running pals. I used to see them regularly when parkrun was on at Milton Country Park but with the demise of that venue {gnashing of teeth} contact is intermittent. Still, I’m continuing to run 30-35k a week so I’m doing okay. This includes running with my Cottenham pal ,Rob, in an adjacent village.

Boris Johnson’s luck has yet to run out which, with a bit of reflection, isn’t surprising. Has has no moral compass and he has surrounded himself with supporters that either can’t tell right from wrong or don’t care or have no qualms lying through their teeth. Whether its blithely denying participation in illegal lockdown parties, explaining why they sent thousands of elderly patients from hospital back to their care homes, untested for covid, and causing tens of thousands of preventable deaths, pretending they a have any sympathy or understanding for the ordinary working man or devising schemes to transport refugees/migrants to Rwanda permanently (out of sight, out of mind, cost undisclosed, plaudits from xenophobes, racists and fascists everywhere), you can always depend on the Tories to convincingly defend the indefensible and without a hint of shame or remorse.

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Winter running. The cold, the wind, the mud. It’s predictable, like Tory sleaze.

Two daughters and one boyfriend ran the Cambridge 10k the day before I ran the half last October. It all went very well. It’s satisfying that all my five children have been running at some stage and will return to it when their circumstances allow. Running. Who wouldn’t want to do it, huh!

I’ve managed to run consistently since my last post in November 2021, without injury, and covering 30-35k weekly. I now have a new running chum whom I meet weekly in an adjacent village. This has resulted in new running routes, which is very welcome, since I have relied on just two for years. It’s also added a new dimension to running, namely, chatting. Having been a lone runner for decades, I wouldn’t have guessed this would be conducive, but it is. Of course, our weekly runs aren’t competitive. My strategy in any races we do together is to encourage chatting while I listen attentively and then pull ahead towards the finish, using the reserves of breath I’ve held back. It’s a fool proof wheeze. Possibly.

I’ve also returned to parkrun on an occasional basis. Occasional because of the covid risk but also, since the sad demise of Cambridge parkrun at Milton, because of the travel involved. Storey’s Field, Eddington, a new town on the edge of Cambridge, is my chosen parkrun at present. It’s very well organised and there are plenty of familiar faces, yet I still pine for Milton.

Under two weeks until the Cambridge half marathon. I’ve now done two training 21k sessions and feel set to go. The last Cambridge half was in October 2021, deferred from the previous March, so now it’s back to its original time of year.

Prime Minister’s Question time, broadcast live on the BBC each Wednesday, never fails to be an education. Boris Johnson, having won the last election with a vast majority, has proved that you can fool most of the people, most of the time. Huge swathes of traditionally Labour voters were persuaded to leave Europe based on government cultivated xenophobic anxieties regarding immigration, loss of British jobs to foreigners, loss of British sovereignty and jurisdiction and the assertion that the haemorrhage of tax payers money to the EU would cease and go directly to boost the NHS. What is it about the British electorate that provokes them to regress to uttering simplistic demands about “wanting their freedom back” and instancing minor examples of European law and bureacracy?

The Ukraine crisis has proved to be a get-out-of-jail card for Johnson, allowing a diversion of attention away from the government’s handling of Covid and the scandal of numerous social parties organised by the government during the lockdowns, egregiously breaching their own rules, and showing contempt for ordinary people. Johnson clearly revels in playing an inflated role as the elder statesman on the world stage. He does this well, with confidence, conviction and powers of persuasion instilled in him by his class and education. That’s how the Tories excel. They project and amplify emotions that target the electorate’s fears, anxieties, prejudices and sense of being disadvantaged. They shamelessly use their own statistics to demonstrate success, relying on a credulous electorate to be impressed. Think about the thousands of extra nurses, doctors and billions going into the NHS. Don’t think about the previous lack of investment and cuts to services and loss of hospital beds. Do be awed by the repetition of billions of PPE items obtained during the pandemic and regular announcements of further billions of pounds being expended on the NHS. Don’t mention the government reacted slowly to provide equipment, or abandoned care home residents to die in their tens of thousands. Or that a a large scale excercise concerning management of a pandemic a few years earlier pin pointed exactly what was needed to meet such a contingency, but had its findings and recommendations ignored.

This is what the Tories do best. They are, collectively, a master class in expert, nuanced manipulation directed against a softened up, beguiled public in thrall to posh boy politicians and hard nosed, cruel female counterparts.

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Still running and still shocked by Tory bigotry

First post since last January. I’ve remained well, avoided covid and continued to run consistently. Parkrun returned over four months ago but I’ve only attended one so far. Unfortunately our local parkrun in Cambridge, Milton Country Park, decided not to host the event any more, a controversial decision that was extremely disappointing and taken for unclear reasons.The loss of Milton parkrun means I don’t meet up with running chums consistently and I’ve reverted to being a lone runner . I have, however, had more contact with a person I previously saw once a year at a local school run, which is good. They say friends and socialising is essential for robust mental health. I agree but I’m an introvert at heart. I did do Cambridge half marathon and three local 10k races and I’m currently running 30-35k each week. The Cambridge half took place late, in October, and I’ve signed up for the next one in March 2022.

Perhaps it’s a positive and protective behaviour that we don’t generally share our views and beliefs lightly with acquaintances, or that we do, much more whole heartedly, with people we know better or have reason to understand we will receive a sympathetic response. On the other hand, the unavoidable views of people who express clear opposition and animosity to our core values and standards produce a baleful effect and constant dismay. The Tory party, and Boris Johnson in particular, are the obvious examples. They have clearly demonstrated that elitist showmanship and entertaining guff can win hearts and minds. Unfortunately these skills and abilities are used to gloss over aggessive and cruel policies, blatent corruption and an obvious appeal to their credulous electorate. Their supporters thrive on the Daily Mail diet of fear, outrage, condemnation, predjudice, xenophobia, sentimentalism, thinly disguised racism and anti wokeness. They don’t appear concerned about sleeze, financial irregularities with tax payers’ money, the cavalier and fatal disregard for care home residents in the first covid wave or the plight of refugees dangerously crossing the Channel. Boris Johnson got Brexit done, they crow. We can be in control of our own affairs, stop immigration and forge our own way ahead. We can consider new ways of doing things, like pushing inflatable boats back to France and transporting illegal immigrants to centres abroad to be processed out of the public eye. The supine electorate laps up the big numbers the Tories claim to be spending on the NHS while fogetting that they ran it down in the first place. Rant, rant, rant. It’s not easy taking the moral high ground but this government of doesn’t make it hard either. What can you do when the Tories daily prove they possess no humanity and a sizeable chunk of the population just shrug their shoulders.

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Covid -Fools rush in where angels fear to tread (where you exert personal choice). Or are obliged to take risks and return to work with inadequate safeguards?

It’s a great advantage being very near to the Emmaus Cambridge community, a charity which accommodates homeless men and women and runs a substantial social enterprise accepting donated goods and selling them in their large store. I picked up this wonky glass flute, just right for this peperomia. Perhaps it’s too near. More than half our furniture came from Emmaus. It’s a good source of everything including books.

I’m running along Mere Way, a Roman Road near my village. This continues to be my current running route and is so much more enjoyable than pavements. Access to it is from a long farm road cul de sac with few cars and occasional large farm machinery. Fairly well used by runners, cyclists and walkers, it’s currently under threat by proposed A10 rerouting plans which would go right through it and the surrounding farm land.. Possibly this might call for militant environmental protest in the future. We’ll see!

My knee injury seems to have improved. I gave cycling up because it was too time consuming and running feels so much more time efficient and natural. I was doing 12k every other day but I found this knocked me out a bit. I am now doing 9k every other day with a 12k occasionally and this seems to work well. My problematic right knee remains a little swollen, and feels stiff initially when I get up but causes no problems when running. So, good result. If I put too much pace in, I do feel it aching at night but not enough to wake me. Additionally, with this running regime I have lost weight, around nine pounds and this has helped my knee.

Of course, the temptation when running is going well is to do more and I have revived an interest in fell running. I have never done this before but the urge to travel to a suitable fell is almost irristable. The nearest would be the Peak District national park, about two hours drive away or the Lake District, about four hours. It goes without saying I would need fell running shoes like Inov8s. At least I would be seen to have the right kit when I break my ankle or my knee snaps in half. For the moment I’ll just watch those very seductive fell race you tube videos.

Indoor plants have taken over the model making at the moment and I like to customise my teraccotta pots.

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We visited the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in Hertfordshire recently and it was wonderful to see the monumental sculptures in an open grassland setting. The house was shut but most of the outside studio spaces were open and there was plenty of room to socially distance. A beautiful, creative place for thinking and relaxing.

Do say : What a phenomenally talented, innovative man that Henry Moore was.

Don’t say : What the bloody hell does it all mean? He’s an odd fish and no mistake!

Right wingers, Conservatives, Republicans white supremacists, fascists. Oh, and throw in the Christian Right evangelicals (a genuine oxymoron} They are all characterised by xenophobia, homophobia, racism, a fear of loss, anger, a huge sense of their own entitlement being under threat and an overwhelming concern with their class welfare alongside an absence of empathy for society at large, other cultures and vulnerable minorities. It’s a long sentence but could be longer. These people and some groups share these characteristics to a greater or lesser extent. For examples, see any of Trump’s outbursts/tantrums/tweets. For the the UK Tory goverment take the example of how the elderly in the care homes were abandoned by the goverment during the Covid pandemic and died in their thousands. See how the government was forced into a U turn by footballer Marcus Rashford after they were shamed into continuing food vouchers for the poorest families during the school holidays. Or how a Syrian asylum seeker, working in a hospital in East London, made an impassioned plea, on behalf of immigrant NHS workers shockingly excluded from the government’s bereavement compensation scheme and forced to pay a premium to use the hospitals they were risking their lives to keep going. Boris Johnson U turned the next day. Just everyday cruelty courtesy of the Tory party if they can get away with it.

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Whitby, Cropredy and a persistent running injury. And Brexit?

WHITBY

Four days in Yorkshire. We visited Whitby where Bram Stoker’s Dracula landed on a deserted ship and bounded up the 199 steps, in the form of a large black dog, to the ruined Whitby abbey on the cliff top. Whitby is now a port of call (pun intended) for all Goths, past and present. These two Goth girl were hardly out of place.

 

Very atmospheric. The weather was warm and sunny but on a cold, misty, gloomy day it would be easy to appreciate why Stoker knew Whitby was the appropriate location for Dracula to disembark from his cursed ship.

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Cropredy, Oxfordshire. Fairport Convention hold an annual reunion festival here. They are a folk rock band which originally formed in 1967 and they are still going with original members and old members regularly returning. They have a loyal following which is just as well because the weather conditions were testing for long standing fans. Except we weren’t standing much. Such is our collective advanced age camp chairs is de rigueur even if the weather is good. This time around we endured a chilling wind, low temperatures and bouts of rain. It felt God was attempting to cull us!

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I’m being persecuted by another chicken. She turns up each day waiting to be fed then does giant poo which we duly tread on. She even became violent, pecking Lorna’s unprotected toes. We’re trying to become predominantly vegetarians but she’s trying our patience.

I’m alive but still not running My knee injury is still persisting and I’ve stopped running altogether. Still not sure of the exact nature of the injury. I had assumed it was a tear or bruising to the miniscus but now I’m not so sure. I’ve had a couple of private physiotherapy sessions and still awaiting a NHS referral for physiotherapy for which there is a fourteen week waiting list. This is not a service. Such a timescale for assessment and treatment will ensure that either the average person’s  problem will have resolved over time or will have become chronic. How has the physiotherapy service allowed itself to become so degraded and marginal? My GP, appparently, is not able to refer me for a scan to accurately diagnose my knee injury. That responsibility is now devolved to the physiotherapy servce, who if they feel a diagnostic scan is required, refer me onto another team who then make that decision. This will take forever. It is taking forever. A good example of NHS cuts and resource rationing. or softening up the NHS for private providers. Or simply dropping a treatment option. Is the NHS safe with the evil Tories? If you are credulous, yes, of course.

Brexit! Divisive or what? Remain or leave, your preference strips bare a predictable set of values and beliefs. In general the remainers live in a world with balmy weather and warm breezes where good humour and friendliness, co-operation and fairness are the norms and everyone is accepted without prejudice. The leavers, in general, inhabit a gloomy, sunless world, permanently chilled and inhospitable, where xenophobia, meaness of spirit, absence of empathy, lack of charity and self interest are endemic. Oh dear!

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Manchester trip, Cambridge Pride and a proper running injury

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We ran into an Extinction Rebellion children’s march in Manchester a couple of months ago. It was heartening to see young children and teenagers taking to the streets and making themselves heard. I think their parents should br very proud.

We went to the first Cambridge Pride event. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great and the attendance should have been higher but we felt it was successful. Very friendly and relaxing. Hopefully it will be bigger next year and they are able to secure sufficient funding.

Did I say in my previous blog my running is going well at present? Unfortunately it went downhill a short while after and became very uphill. So uphill, I’ve stopped running altogether for the past eight weeks. Previous to that I had been having problems to my right knee

and an ill advised hard training run with Cambridge and Coleridge AC in May resulted in a substantial injury. Oh dear! I thought I might have arthritic wear and tear but an x-ray didn’t suggest this. A physio assessment pointed to a minscus injury and I’m awaiting further investigation. In the meanwhile my knee is feeling better but not running better. Tomorrow I’ll do Cambridge parkrun and walk most of it. The above pic is me a month ago walking parkrun although I may have broken into a little trot at this point. I didn’t do myself any favours.

Trump’s attack on the four Democratic congresswomen at a rally in North Carolina branding them as “hate filled extremists” and a follow up to his tweets earlier in the week advising them to “go back” to other countries (based on their skin colour), is a shockingly good example of contemporary fascism. Successful fascists are highly adept at inciting large crowds by employing mockery and humour and outrageous lies. The cruel, unfeeling bigots lapped it up. God save America, pretty please.

Boris Johnson is apparently set to become the UK’s next Prime Minister and his head is all ready up Trump’s large colon. The Eton educated Tory chancer and full time stand up comedian is greatly loved by those who can’t distinguish entertainment from politics and don’t really care anyway.

Note to God : save America first and then help out the UK.