The above image is one many of us will instantly recognise. And I am writing to my American readers here! It is of course Anne Hathaway’s cottage.
One of the very great differences between “America” [the USA] and “England” or “Great Britain”, Americans seldom refer to these islands as the UK, is the impression of distance and the time and distance Americans will decide to travel by car. For instance, I once drove 460 miles to trade in a car and to pick up a new (to me) car. I then drove back. It included an overnight stop outside Huddersfield on the way to the destination. Thus it was (with deviations) a round trip of around 1,000 miles.
I have a friend in Huntingdonshire who considers my behaviour that of a lunatic! That however good a deal a car may present itself as, one should not drive more than 100 miles to acquire it. This meant that I exceeded my friend’s advice by a factor of five! However, I know of an American couple who flew across state borders and drove over 1,500 miles to acquire a car.
It has of course become something of a cliché, but when many American tourists arrive in the UK it is to “Do England” by which they mean stay in London to see certain sights (the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace – plus some other sights). Then it is off to Stratford upon Avon to see the sights related to William Shakespeare – Anne Hathaway’s birthplace being an important one.
Of course, the noun “doing” has many connotations. It’s adjective, “done” is sometimes used to denote being taken advantage of, generally (but not always) in a financial sense. Then there is the phrase of done, “done for” – which at this present point in time would appear to accurately assess the chances for the prospects of the Conservative & Unionist Party of Great Britain!
There is no need to relate the happenings in the life of (as of today) the Conservative Party’s chairman, the Unfortunate Nadhim Zahawi, the Member for Stratford-on-Avon and of the Right Honourable Gentleman’s difficulties with His Majesty’s Customs & Revenue!
I would imagine that there are many in the Labour Party who are very happy and are looking forward in anticipation to a majority Labour government!
They must however remember the famous phrase attributed (some say wrongly) to Harold Wilson, that “a week is a long time in politics”. Then of course there is Doctor Johnson’s famous line, “……be sure of it Sir, the prospect of being hanging in a fortnight concentrates a man’s mind wonderfully!”
Today is a notable day in that the next General Election must be held no later than Friday 24th January 2025 – two years from now.
We know that the prospect of electoral annihilation is concentrating the mind of Conservative Party activists (and presumably it’s Chairman) in two years time wonderfully. I can only conclude that the Unfortunate Zahawi had got distracted with the pressure of so many items in his “in tray”. Let us face it, as men, we are not as good as the ladies when it comes to “multi-tasking”!
My advice to the Unfortunate Zahawi? Involve Mrs Zahawi (Lana) in more of your affairs in future!
Those members of the Labour Party sporting smiles – that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame – should however remember that they are with the fact that a condemned man will not hurry to the gallows!
The world is in a very precarious place. We have the conflict in Ukraine. We have tensions in the Asian subcontinent. We have tensions surrounding Taiwan. We have tensions on the Korean Peninsular. And of course, there is always the Middle East!
It is to be noted that another Mr Johnson is currently acting out the role of “senior statesman” in his repeated travels to Ukraine.
It is to be noted that this Mr Johnson is still popular with Tory activists and if the balloon (or several balloons) “go up”, the Unfortunate Sunak might find himself joining Mrs O’Leary and Mrs May on the back benches!
Then we have to look across the pond to the USA.
One of the things the UK mainstream media (especially the BBC) consciously and continuously attempts to downplay are the increasing neurological difficulties President Biden is having. On a political level I disagree with President Biden on many issues, but as a human being, my heart goes out to him and Mrs Biden as they both fight the losing battle with the inevitable.
That the Democratic Party are pursuing the seemingly impossible strategy of President Biden seeking a second term, we have to face the possibility that the President’s health may decline to such an extent that the Democratic Party is unable to keep the show on the road and will have to call upon the person they don’t want – Vice President Harris – to take up the reigns of office.
It is a fact of US political life than presidents will often appoint a Vice President who poses no threat to them. If a President Harris pursed this strategy, she may very well appoint a personal friend to the post of Vice President of the United States – Meghan Markle aka the Duchess of Sussex!