Elected

Hello everyone. Hope you are ok. We are fine here, all things being taken into account you know. Here in the UK, we are blessed with the prospect of a General Election. I know. We are all looking forward to the next six weeks enormously. (We are not.) Bearing in mind that I watched a TV clip where a random lady on the street informed the interviewer that she was going to vote Conservative because (a) she always has and (b) she very much admired the fact that Mr Sunak had invented the furlough system. She was vaguely astonished that furlough existed worldwide but still, Conservative it was and ever would be. This is not a party-political thing although, let's not rule that out, but I wonder if we could just call an election and then give people two days to vote - possibly make it compulsory because of Emily Davidson and the horse and suffrage etc. and then let's get on with it. How much difference does campaigning actually make? Aren't people just watching The One Show, switching off everything to do with politics and then voting for the person they were always going to vote for? Cynical? Me? 

Ok, so I have thought about it and I have decided to go party political. Unlike George Benson, I don't believe the children are our future or - from the same song, I certainly don't believe that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all BUT I do worry about what we are doing to the young people. Do they get a fair crack at owning their own home or indeed living securely in a rented home at a reasonable rent? Nope. How about a decent level of education that doesn't saddle them with a lifetime of debt? Er no. How about leaving them with environmental security with clean rivers and a plan to reverse centuries of environmental damage. No. But apparently, the big plan to help them is to introduce National Service. NATIONAL SERVICE. Good Grief. Are we trying to kill them all? It makes me so mad that these young people, trying very hard to find a way through to a decent future that many of us took for granted seem to be being told that everything that they are dealing with is their fault somehow and they need to be punished by cleaning bus stops with a toothbrush or something. It strikes me that someone (I couldn't possibly say who) is trying to attract the admiration of people of a certain age who live a comfortable life and have a vague feeling that along with refugees, foreign workers, the unemployed etc. etc. young people need putting in their place. 

Of course, this is nothing new. Jesus, who chose to spend his time with people who were finding life a struggle because of illness, poverty and being generally beaten down by circumstances they couldn't control was often asked "What have these people done to deserve this? They are obviously being punished for something they or their families have done." This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of suffering but, more importantly, Jesus set the example by rolling his sleeves up and working to make things better rather than pointing and demonising. There is the example for you government-type people. Go and do thou likewise and stop being donks. 

On a less ranty note (I can't promise that I won't return to being a bit shouty during this campaign sorry) I am actually in a VERY good mood as Manchester United beat all the odds yesterday and won the FA Cup. (Obviously, I am not a betting woman but you get what I mean). It comes as an unpleasant surprise to me when I realise how much I love football and Manchester United and how much it affects my mood. (Sorry HOH). I could suggest that I might try to do better as the world is full of much more important and tragic things but I would be lying to you and to me if I said that so there you are. 

Right then. Off to bed to read. I am in the middle of a very good Campion at the moment. For those who have read them all, it's the one where he gets amnesia and it was making me quite distressed at one point yesterday. Especially as Lady Amanda appears to have chucked him as well. Tomorrow is Bank Holiday Monday. It's a bit annoying for me because I am off on Mondays anyway but being a generous-hearted kind of person I hope everyone has a lovely time on a day that you get paid for and I don't. (I know that hardly anyone gets a day off these days but this is all about me at the moment). According to Tomasz Schafernaker who, as you know, I follow slavishly, it will be showery tomorrow so I think it's probably best that HOH goes sea swimming and I go shopping in Oliver Bonas. Win-win as the beleaguered young people say. Have a great week.