THE HAIRY-FACED

In Lockdown, I feel we should spend all this spare time on something useful. Were I younger, I would take up bridge-playing, learning Chinese or unlock the mysteries of Yoga, but I am not really someone who likes to break into a sweat or stretch my feeble intellect too far. Two days ago, I signed in to an Oxford webinar all about fake news, conspiracy theories and prejudiced media but it was a bit clever for me as it discussed at length something called QAnon, which is not on my radar. I retired hurt but partly enlightened.

But in time I found an ideal occupation. I am a Beard Grower, and am presently working hard on coaxing my untidy bristle into a well-managed Van Dyck ensemble. Eventually I will favour you with a photograph, but at present the beard is growing rather slowly and I look decidedly scruffy like one of those sad dossers who used to grace the environs of Waterloo Station, huddled in cardboard boxes. I do not need to make any great effort to chivvy along my beard, but I suppose I could look hard at the floor and clench my cheeks, but somehow, I doubt if it would make much difference. So, when Census Day arrives very soon on 21 March, I can enter under Occupation, the answer Beard Grower or even the grander Pogonologist – much more dynamic than the more conventional, if accurate, Retired Venture Capitalist.

My classically educated readers will all remember the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatos (The Bearded) 630-668 AD, who was kept busy fighting the Moslem hordes.

                                      

A Solidus coin of Constans II Pogonatos

The Byzantines were fond of nicknames, not always complimentary. Thus Constantine V was known as Copronymos (The Dung-Named), after, as an infant, he defecated into his baptismal font, and further North the Icelandic warrior Herjolf was dubbed Hrokkineista (The Wrinkled Scrotum}, poor chap.

Returning to beards, I look forward to the 6 Nations rugby match on 14 March between Scotland and Ireland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. I support my native Scotland, who have not won against Ireland for some time; Scotland can do it if they show the tactical nous and technical efficiency they demonstrated so impressively against England to win the Calcutta Cup on 6 February. No firm team selections yet but both sides have formidable bearded candidates – Josh Strauss for Scotland and Gordon D’Arcy for Ireland

   

           Josh Strauss                                Gordon D'Arcy

            As a Scotsman, my thoughts have also been stimulated by the appearance of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon before an investigating committee of the Scottish Parliament. I am not a fan and, while the 6-hour session was gruelling, I was not impressed by the political amnesia claimed by Nicola. Her evasive fanaticism is not attractive.

Beards are not political, though the great and the good in Victorian England (Ruskin, Dickens, Darwin, Tennyson et al) all sported one. Lord Salisbury, Prime Minister at the turn of the century, with a huge beard like a spade, was the last premier to do so.  I worry that my beard, which will be white and flowing, may turn out as looking similar to that of my bête noire, erstwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Jeremy Corbyn

If, by any chance, I start to spout Leftist claptrap or make wokeish pronouncements, blame the beard – I will shave it off immediately!

SMD

7.03.21

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

WIPING AWAY THE COBWEBS

 

Like many others no doubt, I was becoming listless and cranky as Lockdown meandered on endlessly, my fragile sense of humour dulled, my appetite for daytime TV more than sated, and my indignation at the world in general (but Macron, Merkel and Sturgeon in particular) bubbling over catastrophically. Yet in the last few days some hope has returned, Boris has unveiled his “roadmap” to the end of the pandemic with his usual optimism, and maybe we will indeed splash around on that Greek beach and show off our well-toned torsos (ahem?) by the late summer. That would be Bliss!

             

                                             My cherished Hippy’s Beach Bar in Karlovasi, Samos

I crave normality, welcoming pubs for a pint of bitter, supermarkets in which to make leisurely choices, useful shops functioning to sell me watch-straps, cosy slippers or bore an extra hole in my belt, skilled tradesmen about to fix the boiler or mend a delinquent light, bookshops to browse. We need to be able to get away from it all, without harassment from some over-officious policeman. It is time to shake ourselves awake, to cut free from the toils of the nanny state, to defy unfettered “authority” and to strike out on our own chosen path. We are free-born Britons, observing the rule of law, but we have to reclaim our liberty.

In the interim and as a pragmatic exception, I guess Covid vaccination passports will become a necessity and we already hear the illiberal “no jab, no job” mantra. We are on the horns of a dilemma – the health of the nation, and indeed the health of our families, friends and loved ones, is a cause of huge concern. We need to find a better balance between health and liberty than the crude mechanics of Lockdown. No civilised government can forcibly vaccinate its population – a range of incentives, of carrots and sticks, has to be found and applied. Politicians, don your thinking caps!

The pandemic obviously is best tamed by wide-ranging international cooperation. This virtuous quality has been conspicuously absent, especially in Europe. Luckily for the UK, in a combination of luck and good judgment, it has plentiful supplies of effective vaccine and had jabbed many more arms that its usual rivals in France, Germany and Italy. The EU was slow to secure supplies, is plagued by anti-vaxxers and the roll-out of its programme seems easily to get stuck. Britain is blamed for these problems, quite inexplicably, and Macron and Merkel have disparaged the excellent Astra-Zeneca / Oxford product in a shameful, forlorn, self-destructive campaign. The EU will take a long time to accept that the UK is a free agent with different priorities to those of Europe, or forgive us for leaving their protectionist clique. The EU seems to be intent on damaging the UK whenever it can; I hope our leaders are wise enough to refrain from any too drastic retaliation at this sensitive time. But thank God we have left the smothering EU!

The unedifying slugging match between Sturgeon and Salmond totters on. Neither of these two characters hold any appeal to me and I hope both slide back into their respective fetid swamp. However, the Union is in peril and Labour, once a dominant power in Scotland, needs to wake up and join with the Scottish Tories in combatting independence pipe-dreams and SNP repression. An attractive cross-party programme of reform needs to be put together – I look to Michael Gove to take a lead in this.

But it is a day to be upbeat. In sober Folkestone the sun is shining happily and the promenade and avenues are carpeted in white and purple crocuses.  It is a day to burst into song and please join me with Ivor Novello’s “We’ll gather Lilacs in the Spring again” from his 1945 musical Perchance to Dream, so redolent of nostalgia and reunion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T29bxIh_krI&ab_channel=Jymster46

 

SMD

26.02.21

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

BAROQUE BLESSINGS

 

 

Classical music provides one of the most warming medicines to help see us through Lockdown. I happen to be particularly enamoured by late 17^th and 18th century music up to about 1750, nowadays styled Baroque. I love its stylistic formality and grand celebratory emotions. It is something all Europeans can share, coming as it does from London, Paris, Venice, Naples and those most musical towns in Saxony and Brandenburg. We are part of a great cultural family, despite recent idiocies from Brussels, and we will all thrive in our own way. My 10 choices are tabled more or less chronologically. What pleasure they generate in the hearts of we true Europeans!

         A Baroque Pavilion at the Zwinger, Dresden

(1    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxZQ1ODN1iU&ab_channel=FelicesCantusBaroque

I begin with Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Te Deum, composed in 1688 whose opening section has been the signature tune of Eurovision (OMG)! It is a wonderful piece, performed beautifully here by Les Arts Florissants, the ensemble based in Caen, Normandy and conducted by the American William Christie. They were masters of the Baroque repertoire and I loved their performances in London in the 2000s.

(2  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Up3cZa0wI&ab_channel=LevonManukyan

My next Baroque piece is Come, Come ye Sons of Art by Henry Purcell, written to commemorate the Birthday of Mary II in 1694. Purcell is always densely tuneful, wry in a characteristically English manner, duly flattering to his royal patron and bang up-to-date with his Baroque elaboration, no doubt influenced by the brilliant contemporary French court of Louis XIV.

(3  https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vjOug5Z5aZk&list=RDC_-I3Vghl20&index=21&ab_channel=BBCMusic

I skip over the seminal career of the Venetian Claudio Monteverdi and give you the lovely Sancta Mater, istud agas of 1736 from the Stabat Mater by the Neapolitan prodigy Giovanni Pergolesi. This particular recording was made at the Dresden Frauenkirche and features the soaring soprano of the Russian Anna Netrebko and the warm mezzo of the Italian Marianna Pizzolato.

 

(4     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zegtH-acXE&ab_channel=Ambasciatrice

While it is true that much of the finest Baroque music was devotional and religious, the age also accommodated comic opera and theatre. I attach a piece from prolific Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes (The Amorous Indies) of 1735, which captures the frivolous spirit of pleasure-seeking Paris. It is performed here with commendable French verve!

(5    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LiztfE1X7E&ab_channel=VoicesofMusic

The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi is a perennial favourite of the Baroque repertoire. The Venetian Vivaldi wrote this piece for a Bohemian patron in 1723 and it comprises 4 violin concertos illustrating the sonnets written by Vivaldi to describe the seasons. He wrote it in the Ospedale della Pièta, (The Hospital of Mercy), abutting the Metropole Hotel, where we often stayed on trips to Venice. To underline the ecumenical nature of the music, the video above shows a performance by the Voices of Music ensemble, a Californian ensemble blissfully using period instruments, which often sings at St Mary’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco. Vivaldi was an ordained Catholic priest.

     

 

             The Grandeur of Baroque Versailles

I move on to two giants of Baroque music, indeed of the whole musical world, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

           

                                              

                                                                                 J S Bach                                         

                                                                                           

(h      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h4mAceHmrI&ab_channel=VoicesofMusic

I begin with the very familiar and much-loved Hornpipe from Handel’s Water Music of 1717. Handel enjoyed the patronage of George I, King of the United Kingdom and erstwhile Elector of Hanover. He would move on to many entrepreneurial ventures in Italian operas, oratorios, suites for grand occasions. He had a restless and rumbustious spirit and in later years was somewhat irascible, but only a true genius could have written the wonderful Messiah in 3 weeks in 1741 in a hurricane of creative inspiration.

(7     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kucFS9Gafk&ab_channel=AcademyofAncientMusic

To raise our spirits I include Handel’s anthem Zadok the Priest written for the Coronation of George II in 1727. It is a stirringly triumphant piece and is sung at every British Coronation and at many other gatherings of the great and the good. The British Academy of Ancient Music does it full justice.

 

(8    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwGWocp80-o&ab_channel=BatClips

Bach was a complex composer, stretching the musician’s technical skills, and a complete master of his art. His Cantatas are guaranteed to cheer and uplift and the one above from 1731 is Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir and is a total joy.

(9   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OTT5ogjFl8&ab_channel=MormonTabernacleChoir%2COrchestraatTempleSquare%26MackWilberg-Topic

Kapellmeister Bach was a more predictable character, pious by our standards, and a committed Lutheran. His famous 1713 cantata Sheep may safely graze, here sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, will give serenity to many in these dark times.

(1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNQLJ1_HQ0&ab_channel=VoicesofMusic

Finally, I bring you Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major. Pachelbel was a musician in Nuremberg, but was totally obscure. Nobody knows when the Canon was written, probably in about 1700. Pachelbel left a large opus of work but it was only collected in the 19^th century and he remained overlooked until a French group made a disc of the Canon in 1968. The Canon took off and by the 1980s the Canon became familiar as background muzak in shopping centres, and elevators. Soon lush orchestrations swelled its over-familiar fame and it was used as the music at weddings and some funerals. Its insistent themes have a hypnotic effect, giving pleasure to its multitude of listeners.

 

Baroque Music is a high-point of our civilization and deep draughts of its sublime beauty are just what the doctor ordered!

 

SMD

2.02.21

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

LOCKDOWN CHEER

 

I must confess it is rather difficult to keep one’s spirits up during this third Lockdown. 100,000 UK dead, an irresponsible media seizing on every scare-story, political point-scoring by the Imperial pint, the usual cold, wet and windy January weather, are all unfavourable factors likely to depress us. I suppose we could all “Whistle a happy tune”, “Climb every mountain” and “Keep right on to the end of the road” but I doubt if we feel sufficiently heroic at this precise moment.

                                                            The ever-present nightmare

Yet there are bright spots. My lovely wife and I (in our high 70s) were given our first Oxford AstraZeneca jab this week joining 7m others so far and rising fast. This is a great morale-booster though we know we need a second jab to give us real protection. The NHS process was calm and efficient in our civic centre car park – the vaccinations delivered through the car windows. May the UK vaccination programme roll out seamlessly to every adult resident! The moans, groans and arrogant threats from Brussels merely mask her procurement inefficiency and fortify our approval of the Brexit decision.

                    That will do nicely – protection is at hand

Another plus this week was Burns Night, an excuse for all Scots to get dewey-eyed over their incomparable country and its achievements and pie-eyed as they guzzle haggis, neeps and tatties washed down with a whisky or three. We certainly had the MacSween’s haggis (delicious), but I have to admit my rendering of My love is like a Red, Red Rose and later Auld Lang Syne was feebly unmelodious. I was rather upset by Woke Scottish academic demonisation of Rabbie as a seducer of young women (guilty as charged) and as a sympathiser with slavery (very far-fetched). He wrote much lovely poetry, for a’ that.

    Haggis and Burns forever!

In lockdown we read rather a lot, not always of the highest literary standard, but it has not been very cheerful stuff. I am still wading through volume 3 of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy, viewing the court of Henry VIII through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. Mantel invests Cromwell with many attractive human qualities but we know that he is doomed and one day he will await “the sensation of a short, sharp shock, from a cheap and chippy chopper, on a big, black block!” For lighter relief I read a Maigret story by Simenon and a Sicilian Inspector Montalbano story too, rather sad to read the fertile author Andrea Camilleri has gone blind and needs an amanuensis. I have bought, but not yet had the courage to open, Booker Prize winner Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, a heart-breaker about a boy growing up in impoverished, drug-ridden Glasgow. Instead, I have embarked on wholly escapist The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little, all about the careers in fashion, high society and loves of Coco and her sister Antoinette, so I can keep up with the interests of my lovely wife!

              Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein

Really TV should provide a rich diet of entertainment but somehow it has not risen to the challenge. There have been some jewels but the general run has been uninspired. By the way, I did not realise that half the population of the UK is Afro-Caribbean or from the sub-Continent to judge by most advertisements or new series. I understand and support the wish to have an inclusive society but come off it, BBC and ITV, do not grossly distort the mirror of UK life you are holding aloft!

Goodbye and good riddance

A real bonus to the world since January 20, is that President Donald J Trump is history, slinking away in disgrace with future impeachment very possible. The world can breathe anew and we no longer have to read about Trump, his moronic opinions and his ghastly entourage. True, Joe Biden is no plaster saint, but he understands the art and necessity of compromise, a quality much to be valued in our woke-infested politics. I wish him well.

 

SMD

27.01.21

Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

TRUMP'S LAST STAND

We all knew that Donald Trump would end his term with a bang, rather than a whimper. In the event, he rather surpassed expectations by inciting a mob of maybe 3,000 of his followers to storm the Capitol and attempt to prevent the formality of counting the unfavourable Electoral College vote - Biden 306, Trump 232.The Capitol police were easily overrun, the mob enjoyed the Rotunda and trashed the offices of legislators, some yelling “Hang Pence!” the luckless Vice-President, who joined shaken senators and other VIPs sheltering in secure Capitol bunkers.  Bored, and after 5 fatalities, the mob drifted off and order was restored, the Electoral College votes were formally counted, long before Trump stirred himself to tell his followers to go home, while repeating claims that the election had somehow been “stolen”. Most US citizens were greatly alarmed and horrified, America’s friends were much saddened and her enemies were totally jubilant.

A Pro-Trump mob storms the Capitol 6.01.21

After the shock wore off, the reaction in the US has been furious and confused. The first instinct was to depose and punish Trump; he must, many said, be held accountable for his actions and their consequences. Two roads seemed possible. Apply the 25^th Amendment whereby the Vice President (Mike Pence) and a majority of the Cabinet can find the President unfit to continue in office and replace him with Pence. Unfortunately, Pence is a Trump loyalist, if also a respecter of the Constitution, and he has not shown any inclination to pursue this course, so it may be a non-starter.

There is a school of thought that America should not divide itself further and vindictive pursuit of Trump is a mistake. Certainly, many Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, are highly partisan figures, but letting Trump off lightly is basically a milksop policy. The man’s conduct has been outrageous and he must he brought to justice.

The nuclear option is Impeachment. The House raises charges against the President alleging abuse of power, “high crimes and misdemeanors” and a trial is held in the Senate, requiring a two-thirds majority, if found guilty, the President can be sentenced and would lose his pension and normal benefits and could be barred from future Federal office. Although the Chief Justice of the USA presides at the trial, the process is essentially political rather than judicial. As the Inauguration of Joe Biden is only 7 days away on 20 January, it is hard to see how much could be done before then.

The House, with its Democratic majority, will pass the required impeachment resolution today (Wednesday) but may not forward it to the Senate until after Biden is inaugurated. A trial of Trump would be a great distraction for the early days of a new Presidency and anyhow achieving a two-thirds majority in the evenly-split Senate is a high bar to jump, even though some Republicans may break ranks. Remember, this is second time round for a Trump impeachment – the last one, about corrupt dealings in Ukraine, failed as the Senate voted strictly on party lines. The impeachment road could easily fizzle out. Once Trump has left office, he could face criminal charges like any other private citizen, including presumably, incitement to insurrection and tax evasion, a long process.

Between now and 20 January, Americans worry about security from more marauding armed gangs, the reliability of certain police forces, control of nuclear codes, (especially if China, North Korea, Russia or Turkey pull some opportunistic stunt), inappropriate presidential pardons, and Biden’s personal safety. One hopes all these contingencies are covered and Trump’s malign influence can be contained.

So, the Trump Presidency ends in turmoil. How grievously mistaken was the reading of Trump’s character by the US electorate and by the Republican establishment. From the start, it was obvious that he was a blowhard ignoramus, made arrogant by great wealth and contemptuous of the traditions of his office. He had no qualifying experience, nor gifts of eloquence nor respect for his fellow-men. Acts of grace or kindness wholly eluded him. One soon wondered, as one heard his narcissistic ramblings and lies, if he was mentally ill – yet was that possible? For 4 years he has mis-governed America and overturned her alliances. He will not be missed. The famous lines of Sir Walter Scott seem apposite;

If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell.
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;

Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonor’d, and unsung.

 

SMD

13.01.21

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

IDLE THOUGHTS

 

Well, the New Year duly arrived, bearing with it news of an even stricter lockdown.  Traditionally yesterday, (5 January), the eve of Epiphany, is Twelfth Night and the custom in the West is to take down your Christmas decorations. This dismal moment is just too much for our household in the current circumstances and instead, to lighten the gloom, we embrace the ancient habit of observing the 40 days of the Christmas and Epiphany festival finishing on 2 February, Candlemas Day, marking the Presentation in the Temple. Figures of Santa have now been removed but tree, lights and tinsel will continue to cheer us. A pragmatic compromise, I reckon!

                                                            A Candlemas display

……………………………

This talk of ancient religious festivals made me think of the nature of the EU, now that mainly Protestant Britain has seceded. An Irish commentator called it “The Holy Catholic Empire”, though of course Protestants, Lutherans and Orthodox remain within as relatively small minorities. Three early founders of supranational cooperation in Europe were Catholics for whom German was their first language, namely Konrad Adenauer from the Rhineland, Robert Schumann from Lorraine and Alcide de Gasperi from South Tyrol. Idealists and visionaries in their way. Although the power of the Catholic Church is waning, there is an affinity between the authoritarian world-view of Brussels and the dogmatic flavour of the Vatican. Neither party has a deep sympathy with liberalism or democracy.

…………………………….

We are counting the days until 20 January and, presumably, the peaceful departure of Donald Trump from the White House. He really has been an appalling advertisement for the United States, hopefully a one-off. Yet Joe Biden with untrammeled power in Congress is not a particularly tasty prospect. He acts older and more doddery than one might expect, and could imperil the world, when in control of the nuclear codes. He is a dyed-in-the-wool “Green” Irish-American swallowing whole every old myth the IRA peddles; he dislikes Boris and has no wish to offer a trade deal to the demonised UK. Even pushy Kamala Harris would be better!

                                                                                …………………………………

Boris has his hands full with the new fast-moving Covid variants and the closure of schools is a heavy blow. There probably was no alternative but lockdowns are eye-wateringly expensive and destructive. We can only hope we do not foul up the roll-out of the vaccines (as an over-70, I expect mine free in mid-February and will be hugely grateful). Soon after, our economy should start to bounce back, but I guess there will be a long re-adjustment process as the world finds its feet again.

……………………………

During the lockdown, I have watched far too much TV. I have seen some films at least 10 times, every episode of the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice serial at least 5 times and I confess to a low-brow addiction to Tipping Point, the daily quiz programme, where contestants win prizes from a coin pushing arcade machine after answering fairly simple questions. It is entirely formulaic and predictable but I enjoy it.

Another surprise to me is my enjoyment of André Rieu, the 71-year-old Dutch violinist with his talented orchestra. Based in agreeable Maastricht, he has over the years toured extensively and recordings of concerts in Sydney, California, Hannover, Vienna and London have recently be screened. The audience is of riper years, a neglected demographic ignored by the purveyors of pop with their raucous “gigs”. André in tails and his orchestra and choir in evening dress are a blessed oasis as the lovely music of Johann Strauss, Waldteufel, Lehar or Romberg wafts over his audience liberally interspersed with operatic “lollipops” and heart-stopping, sentimental songs bringing on many a tear. André is heir to a rich tradition once mined by Ivor Novello with his operettas, Mantovani with his lush orchestrations, the strings of Max Jaffa and the voices of Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth. André carries it off with huge charisma and aplomb and he has cheered up my lockdown Christmas. Thank you!

Bravo! André Rieu takes a bow

 

SMD

6.01.21

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2021

A LIGHT SWITCHES ON

 Glory, Glory Hallelujah! A trade agreement with the EU has been negotiated, after months of fraught wrangling and numerous disappointments, resulting in the UK recovering her judicial sovereignty, retrieving control of her borders and (eventually) of all her territorial waters, achieving a free trade, no tariff regime on food and manufactured products with the EU, and ending her slavish subjection to an EU rulebook. This is a great prize and huge credit must be given to Boris Johnson for his dedication to delivering the decision of the people in the 2016 Referendum and to Lord Frost for patiently negotiating acceptable terms. The nation is greatly relieved and we enter a new world on 1 January 2021. A huge task of national renewal lies ahead.

 

                                          Boris whoops with joy when the deal is sealed

 

The deal will no doubt have many imperfections and we can expect a noisy chorus of strident moaning from the London-centric media and from a bevy of lead-swinging professional complainers. But the mood of the country is to sign the deal and that is what will happen on both sides of the Channel. Boris and his government have had a torrid 2020 dealing with the wholly unexpected Covid pandemic and the conflicting scientific advice surrounding it, but the EU deal is a bright, sparkling diamond in his crown.

 

             UK negotiator Lord Frost 

                                                                    

                                                                                   EU negotiator Michel Barnier

Although very abrasive at times round the edges, the official negotiations have been conducted in a civilised manner and for that we must thank Michel Barnier as well as our own Lord Frost.

The “Noises Off” have not been so civilised. Elements within the EU have sought to “punish” the UK for having the temerity to upset the cosy Brussels applecart. Notoriously, German Martin Selmeyr of the EU bureaucracy targeted Northern Ireland for detachment from the UK, egregious Belgian Guy Verhofstadt, railed against Brexit at every opportunity, Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, a self-proclaimed Anglophile, did precisely nothing to help the UK, while President Macron of France indulged his Napoleonic fantasies by disparaging England and trying to damage her routine trade. Dating back to the 2009 financial crisis at least, the EU do not negotiate in good faith and are a by-word for duplicity and ruthlessness.

Opposition in the UK was partly covert, imbuing the actions of many lawyers, civil servants, academics and teachers – the guardians of country-hating Wokery. More often it was highly vocal, the daily propaganda grind in the Times, Guardian, Independent, BBC and ITV. Naturally the opposition parties have opposed; Labour at least dropped Corbyn the Trot, but more sane Keir Starmer has yet to win over his hard-Left factions The sourly pro-Europe LibDems, led by one Ed Davey (who?), actually espouse the cause of re-application to join the EU, a hopelessly lost cause. More troublesome, but happily too few to stop Brexit, are the 47 SNP MPs, obeying First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, independence fanatic, loved by many in Scotland but heartily disliked everywhere else. A bedraggled line of former Premiers,  Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron and May maintained a chorus of hostile disapproval.

But the great bulk of the Conservative Party stayed loyal to Boris and to the Brexit cause. Gove, Rees-Mogg, Patel and Sunak were eloquent proponents and Boris demonstrated determination and statecraft. The EU still “does not get it” about Brexit but we know it is the right route for the UK and a vital programme of eliminating inequalities and injustice lies before us as does the vital job of rejuvenating our battered economy.

To end on a note of reconciliation rather than triumph, I attach a clip of the typically wistful ode by Purcell to James II, Britain, How great now thou art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaakHChQgFw&ab_channel=HenryPurcell

Let us start the rebuilding of Britain in unity in 2021.

 

SMD

27.12.20

Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2020