Nowhere else to start after 4th July. Two small things:
- In the seven-way TV debate, the smaller parties performed very well against Labour and the Conservatives. Signs for the future?
- In an early morning 5th July interview, Conservative Mel Stride observed that his party's core support was in the 65 plus group. Which leaves...
.........
One other Election observation (last I promise).
Natasha Boon and her colleagues run a flower stall close to Kentish Town Station. The last few months have not been easy for them: the tube station has been closed for escalator replacement, and by the time it re-opens in (cross fingers) September we will have been tubeless for a year. Their trade has suffered accordingly.
I love the eccentrics of Kentish Town: as examples, two old boys on the pavement consulting a tattered A-Z (none of that phone rubbish), and then a woman outside a supermarket advising entrants that all will be well. I hope she is right.
.........
You have to feel sorry for James Cleverly. He was apparently gutted to be moved from the Foreign Office, with ita extensive travel. In his new role all he has had so far is a day trip to Rwanda...
.........
And (see last month) we now know that Robert Jenrick is a true Suella headbanger.
.........
A sixth former Tok Tok user has shared a view on Israel/Gaza from another Tik Tok user of similar age. For me it offers a valuable insight. The other user wrote:
Values. Everyone has got them. According to Suella Braverman, there are British values. Nigel Farage had his account closed at Coutts because apparently certain of his views were incompatible with the Bank's values. Lloyds Banking Group's website says its values are 'People-first; Bold; Inclusive; Sustainable; Trust (yes, the grammar is flaky).
First of all, I declare an abhorrence of antisemitism, my feeling on which you will get through my recent autobiographical piece Writing on Israel?
The usual stuff. For anybody interested in Israel/Hamas, there is 'Writing on Israel?' plus some sideways comments below.
.........
Among sayings that can be thrown at armchair commentators on the Israel/Hamas conflict, the most striking one for me comes from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein:
'Wherof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent'.
I am slightly above the bottom rung of those entitled to comment. I have personal connections to the Jewish community, and did a Masters dissertation on the intersection of law and history in relation to the Holocaust.
Once upon a time I was promised, or thought I had been promised, a certain position. The promise was not fulfilled, and I was miffed. During supper one evening with a friend I explained my miffedness. My friend rejoined that I had made the mistake of believing that someone meant what they had said. He pointed out more precisely that in life people do make promises on which they don't deliver.