Jedi Master?…

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Guthlac

I had half an hour to kill so why not Benedict Cumberbatch as a jedi?

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When is an unfunded spending promise good?…

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Guthlac

It seems that the two contenders to become the next Tory leader have decided that Jeremy Corbyn was right along – the austerity cuts went too far and it is now time to splash the cash.   Or did I miss the memo which says unfunded Tory spending is good – all Labour spending, whether funding or not, is bad.   Perhaps the most ludicrous spending promises is to cut the taxes for the better off…no wait that is the core constituency of the Tory party members  – now I get it.   Whatever happened to the party of sound money?

The real upshot of all these lies damn lies and statistics is that the next time a Conservative minister stands up and criticises the spending plans of the Labour Party they will be rightly pillowied because of the nonsense that has come out of the mouths of Hunt & Johnson this week.   You can’t have it both ways – sorry I forgot that is the both of their Brexit plans.

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Why won’t you like me….

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Guthlac

 

The more time I spend exploring social media the more I realise what a total shit place it is.  I do realise the irony of complaining about social media on a social media platform but life is full of such contradictions so get over it.    Over the past few months I have been spending a lot of time on YouTube and it is fascinating, in the same way that a trainwreck has a morbid attraction, to see the lengths that wannabe YouTubers ape the more successful tubers (Is that the correct collective noun – not sure?) .  In a way we are living in a Charlie Brooker nightmare world where likes mean money and to lose followers is almost cause for suicide.

I have no magic solution to this strange world we have all created but it does get my mind off the unfolding cluster SNAFU of the anointing of Boris Johnson – what world is he living in and more to the point why in heaven’s name do people believe a world that comes out of his mouth?

Anyway, here is a photograph of the sunrise on the summer solstice – not Stonehenge but close enough.

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A special kind of hell…

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Guthlac

 

I was going to rant about how incompetent Boris John Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are but what is the point?   We now live in such a crazy world that the two candidates for the highest office in the land have yet to demonstrate that either have what it takes to be Prime Minister and that only other solution is Jeremy Hunt…

‘…How do  y like them apples?…’ 

You just could not make any of this up…but then again Donald Trump is the President of the United States so…

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Life is like a box of donuts….

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Guthlac

 

Do I stay or do I go?   Not sure whether this blog will be closed down after all these years or not.   I am rethinking my whole engagement with social media in general and this blog in particular.  Do I pull the plug?   I can’t say at the moment.

One of the first changes has been to my website which is now very much an exhibition space for my photography in general rather than being thematic.  Click here to see the new site.

In the end I may well decide to stay with this blog which is, after all, very much a vanity project.   Time will reveal all.

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Pulling a Richard….

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Guthlac

It is tempting call foul on the voting of the Tory MPs this evening that gave Boris Johnson his ideal candidate – you could say it was almost Nixonesque in its execution – if it wasn’t for the fact that this was one of the  of the most treacherous electorate going.   Let us not shed too many crocodile tears for the losers as a contestant in another vipers pit contest put it…” when you play the game of throne you win or die…”

So we have four weeks of listening to Jeremy “Interesting” Hunt tells us why even though he thought Brexit was a bad idea he has now seen the error of his ways.  At the same time all Boris has to do is ruffle his hair and say ‘Cripes‘ a lot or perhaps misquote some Roman orator.   Well I guess this is what happens when a Charterhouse boy goes up against an Eton boy – one is somewhat series the other is a scoundrel – you decide which one is which.

One final thought – once Boris is elected what of Gove and Stewart?   Who knows but there is every chance they will both be unpersons  under the new regime.  Pity that.

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With apologies to Jeremy & Sajid….

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Guthlac

Then there were two (I know there are still four but do you really see Jeremy Hunt or Sajid Javid stopping the Boris Bus?) . Rory Stewart is now a Tory unperson – far too much personality  and hubris for his own good – jealousy is a powerful force in politics.  It is unlikely that Michael Gove will stop the Boris bus either (although he has taken many a ride on board the big red bus in the past.) He will at  least he will make the next few weeks interesting because he may well force Boris to be interesting and then who knows what will happen?  However, even if Boris is very interesting I doubt it will make a jot of a difference.  Send in the clown.

Is it time to be afraid?   No not really as we are currently living through a period where someone even less qualified is in charge of the world’s most powerful military force and could kill us all with one command…perhaps it is time to be afraid. Very AFRAID!

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So what was the point of that?….

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Guthlac

I started to watch last night’s Tory Party leader debate and immediately lost interest.   What was the point of the whole charade?  These men don’t have to engage with the public at large but rather 318 MPs and then 160 (very ish) thousand people to get elected.  Boris Johnson is so far ahead that he is unstoppable.  He knows it;  His opponents know it and those that get to vote know it.   The interesting side show distraction of Rory Stewart has been just that a sideshow.

Once all the dust has settled Boris will notice that nothing has changed only now he is the one that has to carry the can.  If he screws up then he is going to have to explain to the British people as they come to terms with the problems of  leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement why this was such a good idea.   Equally, if we don’t leave on the 31st October  he is going to have to explain to the raging fury of the Brexit Party/Tory membership why this  is such a good idea.  Finally if his government collapses he is going to have to explain to the British public at large why all those previous dog whistle comments he made , plus any he may have made  during his tenure as Prime Minister,  doesn’t disqualify him from being the Prime Minister .

If that does make you wonder what the hell is going on and your Blood Pressure is rising to dangerous levels then here is a photograph of a wheat at dawn…can you hear the larks calling, the warm breeze on your face?  Yes?  Well good luck to you.

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Finally a Ray of Sunshine…..

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Guthlac

Getting up at just after 3am in the morning to capture the sunrise has always been a minority sport – I get that and in many ways I’m glad.   There is something wonderfully magical at this time of year  standing in the middle of a field as dawn breaks around 04:30 – especially after the dreadful weather we’ve endured over the previous seven or so days. (I know that on the scale of bad weather it wasn’t anything too bad and yes I know we’ve really needed the rain but nonetheless it is nice to have seen the back of that – even for a few hours!)

One thing that proved next to useless as an indicator of when dawn was about to break is the Solar watch face on my Apple Watch.   Now this may well be user or I was just expecting too much but dawn had broken by upto an hour before the watch indicated it had.  (Another extreme first world problem my thinks!)

A really uplifting start to the day which I felt as I climbed back into my bed a few hours later!  (I never said I was a hero – I need my sleep.)

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Strange Bedfellows…

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Guthlac

 

Like most sane people last night I didn’t watch the somewhat bizarre Tory leader TV debate – preferring the much much more interesting goings on in 19th century Halifax  – the frocks were much more frilly!.  Instead I got my fill from the following 10 o’clock news where two things were abundantly clear: Firstly,  Boris Johnson may have made a tactical error not turning up as Channel 4 was plus  the other candidates were only too happy  to empty chair him and secondly Michael Gove and Rory Stewart were in their element with the other three looking at best wooden.  Whether any of this matters is clearly something only historians will be able to answer.

 

So if TV performances make a different then there are only three candidates left.   Whether the next rounds of MPs voting agrees is less certain.   I wonder if in nearly 200 years time when whoever is left is watching their version of Sunday night TV will they be treated to a dramatised life of Grayson Perry or Eddie Izzard and whilst doing so ask what Brexit was and why is Boris Johnson wearing a clown outfit?

 

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