Winter has arrived rather
decisively, mellow Autumn is a vanished visitor, Summer a fading memory and
Spring a distant hope. Meanwhile, we tackle cold, dark and wet British weather
with as much spirit as we can muster. Some, alas, sink into debilitating Seasonal
Affective Disorder, otherwise “SAD”, the bringer of a host of depressing afflictions
caused, it is said, by lack of sunlight and deficiencies (or is it surpluses?)
of melatonin and serotonin. They shiver “in their Stygian cave forlorn”.
Others adopt a more robust attitude,
taking brisk walks, hunting, shooting, skiing, even indulging in those crazy
ice-breaking swims but winter is surely best enjoyed indoors at home or in a
friendly pub where you can play shove-ha’penny, darts, drink beer copiously
from Toby Jugs and disparage the smart-ass political tribe. At home things are
even cosier, as you can play whist, eat crumpets and whisper sweet seductive nothings
into the tingling ear of your beloved as a preliminary gambit in the oldest
indoor game known to Man.
Venus, Mars and Cupid by Rubens A Doulton Toby Jug
(Dulwich Picture Gallery)
Yet keeping warm and amused is
only half the story this Winter. We must also keep sane in a world descending
into madness. The election of Donald Trump to a second term is a hugely
disruptive event, as he is a proven liar and felon, unfit for high office. His
cabinet appointments are eye-popping as several are simply “disruptors” like Robert
F. Kennedy Jr. Such people can be useful in challenging the prevailing orthodoxy
but can cause chaos if they have no experience of running a government
department. The unconfirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is conventional in
his economic views but, by UK standards, wildly unconventional in his private
life as he is openly gay with a husband and 2 kids. Vice President J D Vance is
a one-time Democrat and erstwhile arch critic of Trumpism who saw the light in
2020 and who has all the ardour of a convert. Many others in the Trump team are
above all loyalists, swallowing all MAGA policies, like tariff wars with Europe
and China, mass deportation of illegal Mexican migrants, and the imposition of
a peace treaty on Ukraine. All these policies are difficult and controversial,
and a bumpy political road is unavoidable.
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J D Vance Scott Bessent and Robert F Kennedy Jr
The UK’s new government has had a
rocky first 100 days and it has largely lost the momentum its sweeping
electoral victory initially provided. Sir Keir Starmer is a wooden performer,
with a very unsure political touch, and he has allowed his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves,
to introduce a class-war budget, taxing the private sector, sparing the public
one and needlessly offending the farming community. Naturally he blames the previous
Tory government for any financial stresses, but that alibi will not last long.
The extreme Leftists seem to have plenty of influence and the front bench looks
exceptionally weak, a rum crew of misfits and preening fanatics with the Monstrous
Regiment over-represented. Much international hobnobbing and feasting also disillusions
many electors who are beginning to revise their enthusiasm for Labour.
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Despite her huge wealth, I venture to guess
that life next year will be more pleasant in the gloomy UK than in Trumpland,
when native mania is finally allowed to run riot. Both countries are paying for
the complacent neglect of many years of resource management, of public services,
of basic budgeting and of confused international alliances. We are more used to
such setbacks than our American cousins and our skins are thicker.
We will all emerge one Spring soon
to a more rational and happier world.
SMD
29.11.24
Text copyright © Sidney Donald
2024
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