Agenda 2019

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ Good morning everyone Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Scotland 25 points England 13 points. Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear. Somewhere along the motorway system to Edinburg, the England team coach must have stopped for a "natural break" and on re boarding to continue their journey to Murrayfield, most of the players, not all but certainly most, left behind their knowledge of the basics of rugby and by the time the whistle blew for half time they were already trailing by 22 points to 6 points. This was almost the England of old. They were awful, with gaping holes in the defence allowing the Scots to run through at will and on the occasions when we did manage to hold onto the ball for a few brief seconds, the only thought was to kick possession away as quickly as possible even though acres of Murrayfield space stretched before them. The second half was only marginally better as England managed to score a few points to make the sc...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/21/florida-school-shooting-town-hall-cnn-students-nra-what-happened Donald Trump says he is considering arming teachers after shooting tragedy By far and away, the greatest issue facing the people of the United Kingdom today is Brexit and the unholy mess that this government is creating in the negotiations with Europe. However, on Sky television News last night (21st February), over two hours was devoted to Donald Trump and his meaningless rhetoric in a discussion with an invited audience on the question of gun control in the "United States". An issues which has been debated numerous times before after previous atrocities of mass shootings in the USA. After the live broadcast, Sky News presenters spent even more time precising the discussion and offering their own "take" on what Trump and some of the audience had said. At the end of the day, this debate will produce the same result as all ...

Freedom of the Press Fleet Street When I was a boy, I never had the vision of being a train driver, or a bus conductor, or a fire-fighter or any other of the thousand and one occupations that almost every boy has the ambition to fill in later life. For me, there was only one occupation that drew me like an irresistible magnet. I always wanted to be a newspaper reporter, an investigative journalist who would expose corruption and wrong doing and hold those responsible to account in the court of public opinion and even in the courts of the land. Over the years, the press has been responsible for exposing the scandal of John Perfumo, the excesses of Rachman and the exploitation of homeless and vulnerable in society, the Washington Post reporters Bernstein and Woodward, bringing down Richard Nixon and his crooked administration in exposing the Watergate conspiracy and more recently still the MP's Expenses Scandal which shook the political establishment of the United Kin...

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ Good morning everyone I caught some of the Television coverage of the Winter Olympics this week and came to the conclusion that some of the competitors are either very brave or quite mad or even a combination of both. I do not refer to the curling event where large, heavy blocks of granite are slid along the ice towards a target of different coloured circles some distance away, while "sweepers" scrub frantically at the ice in front of the stone causing it to go faster or change direction or whatever. Curling is quite genteel and similar to a game of bowls on a lazy Sunday afternoon in Studland. I refer to an event called "Skeleton". Another of those mountain events where the contestant descends from the top of "the run" at great speed. This one however is different from the others in that the descent is made on what seems to be a small dinner tray fitted with a handle on top and a couple of ice ...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/13/boris-johnson-warns-thwarting-brexit-vote-would-be-disastrous Boris Johnson warns that "people are determined to stop and overturn Brexit Again, either by accident or more probably design, which is usual for this buffoon who is constantly seeking to be the next Prime Minister,  Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson wades in with a speech warning that, "   people are becoming “even more determined” in their efforts to stop and overturn Brexit". There is no doubt that there are some amongst the "remainers" who have this objective in mind and are seeking either another Referendum or a complete   cancellation of the 23rd June 2016 result, but to suggest, as Johnson would have us believe, that all those who voted to remain in the referendum are now frantically seeking to prevent the United Kingdom leaving the EU, is as absurd as practically every other utterance that this self serving, politically ambitious hypo...

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ Good morning everyone Swing low, sweet chariot. England 12 points Wales 6 points. A rain drenched Twickenham saw England run out eventual winners against an injury depleted Wales side full of determination and effort, as usual, but certainly missing the kicking skills of Leigh Halfpenny. Two first half tries by Jonny May and Owen Farrel providing the one conversion, were enough to see England advancing on the road to another Championship. Two away matches to follow at Murrayfield and Stade de France before the final match against Ireland at Twickenham. In Dublin, Italy were a much poorer side than the one who played England just 7 days before, which made Ireland look far better than they actually were. The scoreline Ireland 56 points Italy 19 points clearly flatters an Irish side. In flashes of brilliance, Italy's tries demonstrated that they could be a very good side but far too many periods of mediocrity ensured their defeat. Mar...