A WINTRY TALE
The cobwebs are swept away, the
aching joints find some lubrication, the brain loses its lethargic befuddlement
and we are soon to be re-born in our Spring foliage, bright-eyed,
luridly-coloured and bushy-tailed. Lockdown imposed a kind of soporific inactivity
but it was not entirely pleasurable as it stirred up fears of malignant
bacteria upon whose alleged horrors our medical establishment and
sensationalist media loved to wallow. The last month has had dismal weather too
– cold, wet and gloomy – enough to deflate the most ardent spirit.
Spare a charitable thought for we ordinary hedonistically-inclined Brits, bombarded by daily images of frowning hypocrite Sir Keir Starmer, professional sour-puss Nicola Sturgeon and envious has-been Theresa May, sharpening her knitting needles to exact her revenge.
Hardly a cheery trio!
The object of their collective
hatred is of course our erratic Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, admittedly
something of a buffoon and in Betjeman’s words:
Always up to a lark
With a toy balloon and a
whistle
And some cider after dark
Boris, up to a Lark
It is a lost cause to pretend
that Boris brings much dignity to his office and his mistakes are many and
serious, but the man is real, is human, he has wit, he can move voters and he is
a winner. I happen to believe his Brexit policy is entirely right in principle,
if not in execution, and that he has eventually made the right calls to lead
the UK out of the pandemic. I think he may be ousted but I much prefer him and
his Cavalier circle to the blue-nosed and deadly dull Roundheads (led by The
Blob) likely to replace him.
The hysteria about alleged
Downing Street parties is overblown but the canny enemies of Boris have built a
great tale of privilege, entitlement and arrogance lording it over the humble
populace, huddling round their unaffordable fire-grates as their children or
other loved-ones suffer agonies. Taking in the BBC News the other night was
like watching a Party Political Broadcast, so slanted were the reports in a
Lefty and Woke direction.
The investigation into the
cake-eating and BYOB drinking orgies has been beset by problems. Loudly
demanded by the Opposition, it was soon conceded and has been completed for the
Cabinet Office by the senior civil servant Sue Gray. Assurances were given that
it would be published in full, sparing no famous name, however eminent. Then
the Metropolitan Police announced it was also investigating breaches of the law
and it has since requested that the Gray Report does not make extensive mention
of people and places – does not sound like a very informative report! Anyhow
some kind of report will be published soon, possibly heavily edited -
“redacted” (in the civil service jargon). The whole fatuous broth has been
spoiled by too many cooks.
The irrelevance of these matters
is astonishing while Russia is squeezing Europe over gas prices, a Russian
invasion of Ukraine seems a distinct possibility, the UK cost of living is
rocketing, Brexit remains a battle and the Six Nations rugby starts next week.
We have bigger fish to fry!
SMD
30.01.22
Text copyright ©
Sidney Donald 2022
