Once, the English Great Bastard in all his magnificence roamed the land, twirling his moustaches, adjusting his top hat, making his characteristic and evocative cackling call after tying some beautiful maiden to a railway line or robbing the nest of some honest yeoman. There was, in fact, nothing more redolent of traditional England than this magnificent beast in all his glory.
No more. Hunted to extinction by tax inspectors and angry fathers, the Great Bastard breathed his last just as he was being immortalised in film by the Ealing Wildlife Studios. Some allege that his demise was brought about not only by shooting and trapping, but also by competition with the non-indigenous Little Bastard (Otis Archerensis) which has proved better able to adapt to new ecological niches such as merchant banking, tabloid journalism, football and romantic novel-writing.
Be that as it may, a small group of dedicated naturists is making a sustained attempt to reintroduce the Great Bastard to his former haunts in the so-called Clublands. The importation of juvenile Bastards from Russia has not been without difficulties (it was recently necessary to shoot a Fox) but the programme directors are determined that the Great Bastard will breed, stalk and cackle once more in England's green and pleasant land. Donations to the Great Bastard Reintroduction Programme, c/o Gran Cayman Tears, Bahamas.
Showing posts with label Liam Fox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liam Fox. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Oysters and Cats
Just enjoyed a superb bottled real ale, the local Mersea Island Brewery's Island Oysters, dark, tasty and creamy. Then snoozed on the sofa with the cat on top of me. Hard work, this...
PS - re my post on Liam Fox: we now learn he WAS warned about friend Werrity, repeatedly. Did the warnings not then go up to the Prime Minister?
PS - re my post on Liam Fox: we now learn he WAS warned about friend Werrity, repeatedly. Did the warnings not then go up to the Prime Minister?
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Liam Fox
Apologies to the non-Brits following this blog, unless they're interested in UK politics. This is a posting about the hot news in the UK political scene, the resignation of the Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox. He was a big figure in the government not only because Defence is a big job, but also because he was effectively the leader of the right-wing Conservatives.
An old and close friend of his, Adam Werrity, had accompanied him on a whole lot of official visits and also unofficial visits where he met important people abroad. This guy had no position in the government or the Conservative Party and had not been security-checked, but he descibed himself on headed notepaper as an adviser to Fox. He'd collected a lot of money for Fox's political campaigns and favourite pressure-groups and a reasonable guess was that he was looking for favours back. Not surprising that Liam Fox resigned. He's being replaced by a less controversial figure, Phil Hammond, who despite being a Conservative and a businessman, took great care when new in office as Transport minister to be even-handed about a high-profile, big-impact strike at British Airways, saying in effect that both sides needed to get down at a table and talk and give ground.
Now here's my particular comment. What about the Ministry of Defence civil servants and the secret intelligence people? Did none of them say, "Who is this guy? He's picking up sensitive information, even if he's not in on the closed session meetings, and he might be a security risk. Secretary of State, this can't go on!"? Are they so complacent or so cowed that they didn't sound a warning in a year and a half? If so, something is badly wrong. Or did they sound a warning and it was ignored, which would be much more serious not only for Fox but for Cameron?
An old and close friend of his, Adam Werrity, had accompanied him on a whole lot of official visits and also unofficial visits where he met important people abroad. This guy had no position in the government or the Conservative Party and had not been security-checked, but he descibed himself on headed notepaper as an adviser to Fox. He'd collected a lot of money for Fox's political campaigns and favourite pressure-groups and a reasonable guess was that he was looking for favours back. Not surprising that Liam Fox resigned. He's being replaced by a less controversial figure, Phil Hammond, who despite being a Conservative and a businessman, took great care when new in office as Transport minister to be even-handed about a high-profile, big-impact strike at British Airways, saying in effect that both sides needed to get down at a table and talk and give ground.
Now here's my particular comment. What about the Ministry of Defence civil servants and the secret intelligence people? Did none of them say, "Who is this guy? He's picking up sensitive information, even if he's not in on the closed session meetings, and he might be a security risk. Secretary of State, this can't go on!"? Are they so complacent or so cowed that they didn't sound a warning in a year and a half? If so, something is badly wrong. Or did they sound a warning and it was ignored, which would be much more serious not only for Fox but for Cameron?
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