Elvis would have been 89 if he were still alive today. Who knew? August 16th always rings a bell with me and I can still remember, clear as day, where I was when his death was announced – forty-seven years ago yesterday. Help! Remember, too, that he was only 42 …
Classic. Resolve to write an upbeat post – as ever – and then start with death! Well, bit of a tall order, let’s face it, being upbeat in this climate; and, yes, the weather is depressing but the news is worse. As random stabbings continue on the streets – the latest, an 11-year-old girl in Leicester Square in broad daylight – Wayne O’Rourke, 35, from Lincoln, was jailed for three years, yesterday, accused of racist and anti-establishment rhetoric online. A former parcel worker, now his partner’s carer – with no previous convictions – O’Rourke has an X account with 90,000 followers. One of his posts alleged that the fatal stabbings in Southport, killing three little girls, were at the hands of a Muslim in a terrorist attack. Mistaken or deliberately misleading? Certainly, he was one of many who jumped to the same conclusion. Three years in jail? Any lengthy prosecutions for those who terrorised the streets of London, weekly, as part of the Pro-Palestinian protests, with their swastikas and anti-semitic placards, evoking a situation in which a policeman insisted a Jewish man take an alternative route home for his own safety? Meanwhile, footage has emerged of Keir Starmer, while Head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2012, stressing the importance of free speech in a democracy: “If free speech is to be protected, there has to be a high threshold.‘ and ‘People have the right to be offensive.’. Clearly, a little change of heart in the intervening twelve years, then!
Now, Monday – how time flies when one is enjoying oneself – news of further stabbings and a fatality last night, this time in Manchester. A 22-year-old man has been arrested … and so it goes on. Meanwhile, as Operation Early Dawn is rolled out turning police stations into pending cells while the accused await court hearings and an available prison suite, Keir Starmer’s autocratic approach to the recent riots – and related ‘free’ speech online – has added at least 400 more ‘offenders’ to the mix. Not to worry, the decision to release the convicted who have served only 40% of their sentences will do the trick. Makes perfect sense. Release a real crim and bag a granny! Of course, this is all the Tories’ fault according to James Timpson, Labour’s new Prisons’ Minister. Please change the record.
Not bad enough? Oh, it is, for, increasingly in this country – no, blatantly – it is advantageous not to be white; which, of course, means ‘privileged’, don’t forget. To be honest, we should just come with an automatic apology and be done with it! Thames Valley Police have just been held to account by three white police officers with years of experience between them who were passed over for promotion to the role of Detective Inspector when Sergeant Sidhu was parachuted in; Sergeant Sidhu, who had not even reached the level of Inspector. To hell with merit! More important to fill a quota and boost staff diversity … Meanwhile, MI5 has, apparently, offered internships to anyone other than someone of white skin. Only those from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background need apply. How is that allowed? George Floyd … In the media, there is an advert for an internship on Robert Peston’s political show. Once again, no whites allowed. Remind me what constitutes racism? Put simply, it is prejudice and discrimination against someone based on the colour of his/her skin. I refer to the above. No question as to what is going on in this country. At once, both sinister and terrifying. Have passport, will travel … while we can, that is, before MMMBop – no, that was that wonderful, catchy Hanson song – MPox, then, renders us all prisoners in our own homes, again! To think I used to believe in fairytales.
‘Prince Harry increasingly looks like a guy who, accidentally, ripped up a winning lottery ticket and can now be found swigging Diamond White on the dodgems in Skegness.’
Katie Hopkins
Well, that made me laugh when I saw that, this morning. Remember, humour is all we have to get through this! Poor Prince Harry but, seriously, could he be any more weak?
Seems Matthew Perry, aka Chandler, will forever live on. Forever, the clown; the funny one; the one who made us laugh. The one who, behind the mask, was dying inside … I have his memoir, waiting to be read. I’m not sure I want to. For, turns out, that the guy on screen, one of six best friends who, all, had each other’s back, who had the most fun and whose lives we, all, envied? That guy, in the end, had no-one. A lifetime of addictions he couldn’t conquer – despite spending £9million trying – he was used and abused by his assistant and doctors, alike, five of whom have now been charged in connection with his fatal overdose of Ketamine. ‘How much money will this moron spend?’, is a quote from one of the aforementioned, conning the actor into paying the equivalent of £2,000 for £12 worth of the drug. Sad, lonely and desperate, ironically – in the end – Matthew Perry’s portrayal of Chandler merely afforded him the wealth to buy ‘friends’ and to block out, temporarily, a reality he couldn’t face. The mask. Each and every one of us wears one. Pride dictates. It’s just that, sometimes, one plays the part too well.
‘Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.’
Robin Williams
This is Trish, signing off.
