How would you like to be paid to do nothing?

 Lost in Space

Professor Brian Cox

Sounds too good to be true, but that is what Professor Brian Cox is being paid by Manchester University to do. His thoery is there is no sentient life in the universe, other than on Earth.

So he sits, and watches for nothing to happen, the irony is there have been signals in space picked up by the Hubble Telescope from distant stars

Do you know the meaning of All Souls Day?

 All Saints Day

Halloween is almost here

Many people know about Halloween from the dressing up, to giving of sweets in "Trick or Treat." The correct term is All Hallows Eve, the following day is sometimes celebrated as All Saints Day, but few people know of the meaning of the first Sunday in November, All Souls Day.

This is the day when people who died, and had no burials are rememberred

Bangladesh readers welcome

 Indian History

Spreading my Wings

Yesterday saw a new region for readers of the blog, Bangladesh. This area of what was India, during the days of the Raj, covers mainly the Bengal region.

Pre-1948 the area was under the control of the British Empire, as part of the agreement to aid the UK in World War 2, India became independent when the war ended. It was at this time the state of Pakistan was founded, as the Muslim community was split on either side of the sub-continent, it became East Pakistan, and West Pakistan.

In 1971, East Pakistan grew tired of being run by West Pakistan, as they were on opposite sides of India, hundreds of miles apart, and had different needs. So, the Bangladesh Liberation War began. Like the Indo-Pakistan war, Pakistan came out worse, how can you control troops, when you have no communication with them.

Pakistan and Bangladesh are not even close when it comes to weather, and land. Pakistan is an arid dry land, whereas Bangladesh is prone to floods

Brazil readers welcome

 Spreading my Wings

I have arrived in South America

The largest group of readers for my blog yesterday, outside of HongKong and Singapore, came from Brazil. The strangeness of where I get rid was never clearer, I had twice as many readers in Brazil as I did from the USA yesterday

Fake Profiles

 Jennifer Aniston

Matt Le Blanc

Last night, I was contacted on Twitter, by what I think is a fake profile of Jennifer Aniston. Why do I think it is fake?

Considering how many fans she has in the USA, why would she contact me?

In the mood

 Connecting on WhatsApp

Only Fans

For the past three days I was chatting to two young ladies on Twitter; I was never in doubt of their intentions, they wanted me to sign up for their Only Fans pages.

I have also been chatting, occasionaly, to a young lady in Hong Kong, who is asking to join my WhatsApp page, this may happen; though I usually only have my children on this page.

Barbara Stanwyck

 Anna May Wong

I am not like my father

My father's spirit is probably going mad with me. I was watching some videos of Barbara Stanwyck, and  Anna May Wong a short while ago on YouTube.

My father had a thing against ladies called Barbara, Barbara Cartland, Barbara Castle, and even my wife's friend, Barbara Way, who was our maid of honour, who he only met at once, at the wedding.My mother said she only met his mother once, which makes me wonder if her name was Barbara, as he was illegitimate, and in the 1920's that was almost a crime.

I think Barbara is great actress from what I have seen, I admit it isn't a lot of her work, but some actors make a good impression on me, she is one of those

I need to sell 4 eBooks in a year

 Will I be paid by my 70th Birthday?

Alan Place - Award Winning Author

To get my next roalty fees from Draft2Digital, I need to sell 4 ebooks in a year, you may think for an award-winning writer such as me that would be a piece of cake, yet it has taken me three years to earn $6.30c.

The rerason for this is they use a library system were the reader payys a fee, and can take out as many books as theyy can read in a month. The writer gets their fees, if they sell a set number of products, but nobody knows the number of sales needed. Things were struggling before they joined with Smashwords, I had a bad feeling about SW from the time I read the founder makes more than Amazon, this was re-enforced when other writers told me they had not been paid for sales.

I doubt I will be paid by my 70th birthday, this time next year.

I think the UK could be in for a hard winter

 Too warm for October

Fall

As much as I am enjoying the warm spell, as a gardener, I am concerned the plants may come through thinking it is a "false spring."

This type of weather is uncommon in the UK for October. Last week, I said to one of our daughters "if it isn't raining, be grateful," at the time there was a terrible strong wind.

In the fall, I am grateful if it doesn't rain each day. The plants need the water, but too much is worse than too little, you can always add water, but it is hard to drain it off, this is the issue with the Somerset Levels, and the fens in Norfolk, UK.

North of Gloucester, and across the midlands, the problem is the opposite, from Cheltenham across to Coventry is an alluvial flood plain, an enormous expanse of dried mud which water cannot penetrate

The Fantastic Four

 The Curse of the Remake

I didn't believe it

I thought this remake had to be a joke.

When they brought out the Fanstatic Four before, even with Jessica Alba in, it bombed. At the time, she was in Sin City, two films I love. The second film was delayed as there was a disagreement over who should be in, some of the crew wanted Jessica, and other wished for Angelina Jolie. This discussion put the release back almost a year.

Vote Conservative

 Labour haven't changed

                                                        Remember the 70s

The older generation recalled the days of endless strikes, which is why we warned the new voters what Labour are like, but they were conned into thinking "New Labour" is different.

Look what Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, and Rachel Reeves are doing to the economy of the UK.

The only difference is now Labour are run by the Muslim Brotherhood as well as the Unions. For the pleasure bestoyed upon us for thelast year, we can thank the voters who voted for Nigel Farage, and ReformUK. No doubt, when the next election comes, Labour will moan about the endless cuts made to services by the incoming government, they always do, while forgetting these cuts were forced on them by Labour policies of the past.

The WhatsApp trend

 Why would she want access?

Young ladies online

During last month, I was contacted on Twitter by several young ladies who wished to have my WhatsApp number. I didn't send the address as I only let friends I trust, and family have the private link. The odd thing is once they knew they would have to chat on Twitter to get to know me, they did not contact me again

How I learned a lot from an error

 Sandhya Shantaram

No Subtitles

When I begun buying Hindi movies from eBay, I thought I had got a bargain with this disc, three films on one disc, "what a find" I thought.

When it arrived, I found out that discs with three films have no room for subtitles.

I am able to buy the films, with subtitles, if I wish. However, one film I decided not to buy as it is too expensive for the cast involved, to my taste.

The two films I am getting are Sehra, and Navrang, both feature Sandhya Shantaram, who was the producer's wife - she is a good actress - who died this week. Sehra also featutes another of my Bollywood favourite actresses, Lalita Pawar. Unfortunately, it aslo has Mumtaz Askari in, and I am not a fan of the younger lady.

Navrang is a film shared by Sandhya Shantaram, along with another actress who appears in Pinjara, Vatsala Deshmukh. I have seen Ms. Deshmukh in other films, such as Suhaag with Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, and Nirupa Roy. Pinjara is the movie I am not getting, the lowest price I have seen is £24.00, way too high for a film in my books, especially when the lead is a little-known actress

Am I going mad?

 R.I.P. Linda

I am losing what is left of my sanity

Since my lovely wife passed away, I have had trouble recalling the days, mostly because most days are the same, also my depression deepens as the days pass. I may not cry as much, but the heartbreak never goes.

Today is Sunday, October 5th, all day I have thought it was a Monday

The Curse of the white lady

 Scarborough

Yorkshire Ghosts

Among sea captains in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, there is a story that if three men see the ghost of a white lady on the same night, one of the men will die that night.

That story is the base of my eBook short story, The Rocking Lantern.

Many of my stories feature the Yorkshire coast, though I left, with my parents in 1963, I still consider myself a Yorkshireman.

One of my wishes when I was a writer, was to have a ghost story published in The Dalesman magazine

Is it better to have loved and lost?

 What becomes of the broken-hearted?

R.I.P. Linda

I cannot recall who said it, but a writer wrote, "It is far better to have loved, and lost, than not to have loved at all."

For my part, I disagree, I had nearly 40 years of love, and happiness with my wonderful wife, Linda, who died in January 2025. Now, what is left?

I don't live, I exist, my life is now one of being here so my family has some stability. I am left feeling empty, lonely, and suffering from a growing sense of depression

Why Labour won't block the immigrants

 Why enter the UK illegally?

Labour need the Illegals as voters

While Labour are in power nothing will be done about the illegal immigrants, the Labour Party need these people, or the party will cease to exist.

Don't think things will change if Reform UK get power, most of them are Labour rejects. Farage, and his cohorts, are in the pockets of Russia.Since the late 70's, Labour has been run by the Union bosses, they regularly held the UK hostage to their demands; if it hadn't been for Margaret Thatcher standing against the miners, I hate to think what could have happened, that is why the UK needs Penny Mordaunt to lead the Conservative Party.

Why enter the UK illegally?

 Illegal Immigrants

A high price to pay

Last month, two men were charged with aiding illegal immigrants, apparently, they were charging £15,000 per person. This raises the question, if you can afford that much, why risk crossing the English Channel in a boat fit only for a small river?

Menage-a-trois

 The Duels

Barbara Payton

Actor Franchot Tone, from France, was involved in two notable Menage-a-trois incidents; they had very different endings though.

The most notable trio was when he was the center of the row between Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford. The rows between Bette and Joan were relentless, and only ended when Joan died. The rows did no serious damage to the careers of either lady.

Several years later, he was involved in another Menage-a-trois, this time the outcome was very different. This trio involved Franchot, and actor Tom Neal over rising starlet, Barbara Payton. This row got so violent Franchot ended up in hospital with a broken nose, and fractured jaw, and labelled Barbara as box-office poison. Tom Neal is best kown for the movie Detour, with Ann Savage.

From rising star to box-office poison.

The glamourous starlet, who months earlier studios raged for had now become known as too much trouble, and was rejected. In her later years, she was more often seen on police bulletins, than in Hollywood. Apparently, months before her death, a former colleague saw her selling herself to get money for a meal

You thought Stalinism was DEAD

 Nigel "The Weasel" Farage

Putin

I expect this post to be blocked by Twitter, as two more were for critisising Nigel Farage; but here goes nothing.

I have said for a long time I think Farage would run the UK the way Stalin ran Russia, the latest news about the Reform UK leader has prove me correct.

Not only does he follow Stalin's tactics of telling the MPs to either follow his lead, or shut up! Those like Rupert Lowe who stand against him are expelled. Not only does he think Putin is one of the best Premiers, the party regulary gets money from Russia.

Anti-EU, that's a good joke.

No sooner had Brexit been approved, Farage applied for a passport from Germany. The only qualification, this writer knows for the application being accepted is that as an MEP he worked in Germany for years.

His track record is second-to-none, he's a three-time-loser. The only way he got to be an MP is he sat for Clacton-on-the-Sea, a seat nobody wanted, and a place the majority of the UK couldn't place if asked.

Reform UK is another name for Labour.

The rise of Reform UK MPs is down to one factor, the majority of the people left the Labour Party after Starmer sank the party. All they care about is their cushy job, and big pay packets.

What would I choose?

 Tropico 6

Tropico 5

I am undecided as to should I buy Tropico 6.

I have been a fan of the Tropico series since it began, in the original game, you could design your island, not only the crops and buildings.

The big draw for number 6 is that it now has an online feature were you can join, or have others join, in the game with a new range of features.

Another draw is you can "steal" tourist items from certain countries, most are regular items such as the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, and the Empire State building.

There are certain objects I would choose which are probably on the list, such as Christ on the Mountain from Rio de Janeiro. I was thinking what would I like?

Rather than the Taj Mahal, i would choose either the Red Fort in Agra, or the Gateway to India from Mumbai, if i was to chose an item from India.

From France, I would prefer Notre Dame cathederal. From Germany, I would choose The Brandenburg Gate. If I had to choose an item from Egypt, I would have chosen the temple of Karnak.

The choice of religious building has nothing to do with religion, I like churches for their style

Blocked by X

Boko Haram

                                                           Nigerian Terrorism

Yesterday, I had a post blocked by Twitter, I was not surprised.

The post was about Nigeria, and the massacres of Christians in the area around the order with Chad which the terrorist group Boko Haram have been doing for decades.

I was not surprised it got querried because Africa, unlike Israel is not newsworthy in the eyes of the media. In one month, these terrosrists massacre more people than Israel has killed in all the wars with Palestine.

Digital ID

 A desperate Labour ploy

Starmer's rats

The latest outrage by Keir Starmer, and the Labour party is no more than a desperate ploy to divert attention away from the internal struggles of a party which is sinking uner its own corruption.

If they intend to jail the people who refuse the Digital ID, Angela Rayner's claim to build over 1,000 homes a month will have to be fulfilled, but not for houses, for jails.

I refuse to have one, until the illegal immigrants are stopped, and dicumented. If Starmer thought this was a clever ploy, it has failed with complaints from all parties; except the Liberal Democrats, and they sit on the fence no matter who is in power

Fartage

 All Farage cares about is his ego

Clacton-on-the sea

If you think Nigel Farage cares about anything, other than his ego, you are crazy. He is a three-time loser, who desired to be Prime Minister.

The only reason he got to be an MP is he chose a seat nobody wanted. As much as I despise Labour, and Starmer, they are better than Farage. The reason Reform UK were doing well is their ranks (rank meaning smell) were stacked with Labour rejects. After his latest prank, talking about illegal immigrants eating swans, he has signed the death knell for his third party, people forget he founded both the Brexit Party, and UKIP. If he is so anti-EU, why hasn't he stopped his EU pension contributions, which he can claim in two years?

Labour imitating Bollywood

 Biradari

An early Bollywood movie

The 1950's Bollywood movie Biradari featuring Shashi Kapoor, Lalita Pawar, Pran, and Mehmood could have been written for the present Labour government.

The main plot is about a young lady, who owns a tenenment block, and wishes to expel the tennents. Labour expelled a pensioner from her apartment last year to house illegal immigrants

Marilyn Munroe

 Brigitte Bardot

                                                                                            Ava Gardner

I have nothing against ladies with blonde hair, Catherine Deneuve from France, has been a favourite of mine for many years, as has Goldie Hawn, and I like her daughter Kate Hudson too.

I think it is probably because I am not into the style of comedy that Marilyn Munroe, and Brigitte Bardot did that I am not a fan of theirs. Which explains why I am not a fan of Audrey Hepburn either, and who is Mamie van Doren?

My type is either Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Jeanne Moreau, Michele Morgan, or Anouk  Amiee.

Africa is NOT newsworthy

 Media lies about Israel

Nigeria

People who believe Israel are a terrorist nation are no more than spoon-fed simpletopns who believe the mass media lies.

Ignoring my former views on Israel, and viewing the situation impartially, why would Israel, the only Christian state in an area controlled by Islam wish to start a war? Israel is the smallest state in the area, after World War 2, they had to beg for aircraft, and tanks to defend themselves, while they rebuilt the country. All the time, under attack from countries funded by Russia. The situation in Gaza was created by the people of Gaza, in 1968, they were given the option of support from either Israel, or Palestine; they chose Palestine, who turned the area into a missile silo hidden in civillian areas; so they could cry to the United Nations when their missiles got shot down, and innocent people got killed.

I won't deny I was Pro-Israel, but what I wrote isn't my view, it is history which can be checked out.

If you wish to know about a "real" terrorist state, look up Boko Haram who run the border between Nigeria, and Chad. This group slaughter more people in a month than Israel has killed in the whole of the ward with the Arab world, but Africa is not news

Why do I enjoy Film Noir?

 That's Life

There are no heroes

My eBook, The Dockland Murders, is a venture into the world of Film Noir.

This is the first eBook I sold on Draft2Digital, a short story which was praised for its authentic feel, by a police officer I used to know, who lived in Queensland, Australia. He is one of the three writers which my blog helped boost their profile, in this case, his sales jumped from 20 a month to over 200.

I like film noir because it is like life, there is no black, no white, only shades of grey. The actions of the characters are not choices, they are often decisions forced on them by circumstances out of their control

Will King Charles iii be the worst king since Richard ii?

Camilla Parker-Bowles

Edward viii

In my mind, King Charles iii is the worst king of Great Britain since Richard ii. I accept Edward viii came close when his sympathies with Germany were exposes, but he abdicated, wisely, before there was a revolution.

Not only has he proven to be unworthy of the crown he wears, he has sold the UK out to the Muslim cause.

Honestly, it would take a lot for a Queen Consort to get lower than Camilla Parker-Bowles, not only is she proven to be a disgrace, she is a thief. Only the fact she is the Queen (?) savrd her from a heavy prison sentence for theft last year, when Princess Anne caught her not only "fiddling the books," but attempting to sell royal property. 

The issue with Camilla is she has no breeding, unlike Princess Diana, or the Princess of Wales. 

Camilla's title is not one of breeding, it is one for achiement granted by the former Queen on her father, who made his name as a builder, so, the truth of the matter is she is a "brickies daughter."

I did raise the question to my late wife when he came to the throne, "would be be like his namesakes?"

Charles i tried to bae an absolute monarch, and take control of the country with parliament having no say in the matter. This lead to the English Civil War, and the formation of the Commonwealth. His son, Charles ii, is best known for having more mistresses, and illegitimate children, than the Ziegfried Follies. It would appear, our king has exceeded both his namesakes, I would if another Civil War is looming?

A Bollywood Beauty

 Rani Mukerji

The Anil Kapoor Trend

The Bollywood movie I am watching tonight is Calcutta Mail featuring Anil Kapoor, and the ravishing, and talented, Rani Mukerji.

I don't hold much hope for the film; I have seen several films with Anil Kapoor in, and they left me cold. The problen is his films are like those of Salman Khan, they are abot AK /SK, the ladies in the movies have minor roles, even if they are as talented as Rani, and Raveena Tandon

Going Postal

  Evri

Yodel Losses

When I post a parcel, I always use Royal Mail; I don't trust the smaller services.

I've had several parcels get lost using Yodel, they get to the Bristol depot, and then disaappear, even though the Bristol depot is only 15 miles from the house, across the city.

Today, I had issues posting using Evri, they didn't accept the address I sent my parcel to.

Two beauties of Bollywood

 Hema Malini

Reena Roy

In the Bollywood fantasy movie Baghavat, the hero played by Dharmendra, falls for the princess played by Hema Malini, it is easy to see why he did this, she is beautiful.

At the same time, he has an admirer in the ravishing Reena Roy.

It is easy to see why Ms. Malini was known as the Dreamgirl of 1970's Bollywood.

The two ladies lovelives went in opposite directions, Hema married Dharmendra in 1981, and is happily married. Reena married cricketer Mohsin Khan, and her trouble never stopped from 1983 until 1992, when after a 10-year battle she regained control of their daughter. There were several issues which made the marriage difficult, she is Hindu , he is Muslim. He wanted to take their daughter to Pakistan, but she wanted to stay in India. He was willing to keep up the playboy image of his cricket captain, friend, Imrhan Khan, and have multiple girlfriends, while Reena wished to be a wife. 

One of the big issues, to me, was he was a failing cricketer, while she was a big star in Bollywood with many admirers. During the struggles, Ms. Roy lost her svelvette figure (unsurprisingly), but she regained some of her beauty, and in later years she remains attractive.

What a Choice!

If I had to say which lady I considered the more attractive, in all honesty, I could not tell you, I consider both ladies v attractive

Waitng for God

 Tales From the Darkside

To my Darling Linda

This hilarious BBC Comedy about a group of senior citizens running rings around the establishment running an old-people's home is comedy at its finest.

However, since January, this is how I feel; since my wife passed away, I feel as though I am waiting to join her. I am certain I am losing what sanity I have remaining, I lost my keys in the house several months ago; today, I went to post a parcel, and didn't realise it was Sunday, and I found that in the night I had ripped part of my big toenail off, and never felt anything.

The children try to keep my spirits up, but this morning, I had a thought which was so awful I am trying to mentally block it

Why do I still use Twitter?

 Why haven't I left Twitter?

Adding DVDs to eBay

The reason I still use Twitter is to promote my eBay page. Over this year, since my wife passed away, I have considered deleting my Twitter page many times. The main reason for coninuing is the site helps, slightly, with my DVD sales. The ammount of links to the blog is minimal.

I shall keep on for the next few months, as I am adding DVDs to my eBay page each week, in the hope something catches a buyer's eye

The Death Penalty

 I agree with President Trump

A heated debate

I accept this post is controversial, but it is MY view, and your are entitled to your views.

I have been in favour of the Death Penalty for a long, long, time.

I know humanists will always say there is the risk of killing the wrong person, or in the future a killer maybe cleared with new advances in science, on the other hand, why should the tax payer be lumbered with keeping a known killer alive, usually in a style that many of the public never have?

I can accept the Police may not wish to be armed, but in an age with armed criminals, do they have the choice?

Those against arming the police will always cite the Derek Bentley case as their opposition. Bentley, and his associate Timothy Evans, attempted an armed robbery with a sawn-off pistol.

The case for Bentley rests on the phrase "let him have it." Taken one way, it could be seen as hand the gun over, taken another way, after a failed robbery, and being trapped on the roof on the roof, it could be taken as shoot him.

There are factors to take into consideration before makng the judgement.

A  Why did Bentley need the gun?

B) To saw down a pistol is an art, if you do it wrong, the gun is as dangerous to the shooter as it is to the person it is aimed at.

C) Why did Bentley give his gun to Evans, a man he knew had a mental impairment?

The answer to A is he planned to rob the shop.

The answer to C is as a three-time offender, Bentley knew if he was caught, he would be in prison for many years.

My conclusion, Bentley knew what he was doing, and had no intention of being caught with a gun, handing it to Evans, then giving the misleading call was him giving himself the benefit of doubt his actions didn't warrant.

Science beats the defence

Around this time was another case which caused controversy, the James Hanratty murder.

Hanratty was charged with a murder  of Michael Gregston on the A6 road in 1962, he was also charged with the r##e, and attempted murder of Michael's girlfriend, Valerie Storie, who was shot FIVE times, and left paralysed.

His family based the defence on a witness saying he was in a shop in Rhyll, North Wales at the time of the murder. The family spent thousands of pounds using DNA evidence in later years, to prove his innocense, the verdict is the DNA proved what everyone knew, Hanratty did the crime.

I was never in any doubt, one of the reasons is Rhyll, even now, is a long journey, other than going to Ireland, you cannot go further west in the UK

Labour stand to collapse in the upcoming by-election plan

  Is this the end for Labour?

Starmer has lost the plot

I expect Keir Starmer is dreading this month, not only has Angela Rayner been sacked for lieing about taxes, with several by-election results in, Labour has lost several seats, and that is not the worse as there are over 40 elections to come, with a possible eight more seats for Labour to lose.

If Labour keep losing seats, there will be no need for an election, Starmer will need to form a coalition to stay, not that anyone wants to join his band of thieves

Faraway Places

 The Chagos Islands

The British Virgin Islands

With the outcry over selling the Chagos Islands, I am reminded of how far my blog is read, the blog has readers in the British Virgin Islands, where are they?

The Virgin Isalnds are off the coast of South America, east of Puerto Rico. Other than Chile, this is the only area south of the equator that Google notes this blog being read. My other blog did get read in both Australia, and South Africa

What was a Japanese submarine doing at Pearl Harbour?

 Pearl Harbour

War in the Pacific

While December 7th, 1941 will be recalled as "The day of Infamy," the deaths at Pearl Harbour were not the first deaths in the War in the Pacific.

Three days before the attack, a Naval Lieutenant went missing during a walk around the hills, the previous week, on his return to base, he had reported to the medical corps with a dislocated shoulder. Did he come across a Japanese watching station?

The first shots fired in the war in the Pacific were from a US vessel which sank a submarine of the IJN, Imperial Japanese Navy, the question we have to ask is what was a Japanese submarine doing at periscope depth near a US naval base, when they were not "officially" at war?

Also, two civillian aeroplanes were shot down minutes before the attack began, so they could not relay the information of the incoming raids.

At the time of the attack, there was an argument in the IJN, as to should a third wave be sent to attack. The officer in charge of the aircraft was in favor of the third wave, but General Yamamoto, who had been in the United States of America before the war, said the fuel used in the third raid should be kept to fuel the air defence on the return to Japan. Yamamoto realised the third wave would be blinded by the smoke, flames, and thick oil blown into the air, so the pilots would be bombing blind.

I did question Japanese intelligence reports for several years, how could they have NOT known the carriers were on exercise, and not in the harbour?

When the intel was sent, they ships were probably in the docks, but by the time the IJN got to Pearl, they ships had left on exercise. You have the issue of the intel being sent to Japan before being resent to the navy, would it have changed plans? I doubt it, Japan was intent on a war with the USA, their intent was not to attack the USA, but to stop the USA from supporting the British forces in the Pacific as they expanded.

                                             

Which is more important?

 Illegal Immigrants

The Chagos Islands

I disagree with many of the policies of Labour, especially going back on Brexit, and re-entering the EU, why do you think Marine Le Pen is set on leaving? The EU is a free bank for Germany, which is why everyone is leaving.

I disagree with the decision of the Conservative Party to defend the Chagos Islands. TBH, if Labour hadn't chosen to sell the lands, nobody would have raised the matter. The islands were an important link when the British Empire flourished, but now, with submarines which can traverse the globe under water, the base is of little, if any use.

To my mind, what would be a better plan than trying to protect an island over a thousand miles away, which probably detests being run from the UK, would be to expand the Royal Navy, and use the ships to patrol our shores for illegal immigrants

The Chagos Islands

 My lack of knowledge in Geography

There is no point in NATO

I must admit, with all the fuss over the Chagos Islands, I had no idea where they were, until a few minutes ago; I suspect I am the same as the majority of the people in the UK.

They are a small collection of islands in the Indian Ocean, on the way between East Africa, and Australia. I don't support many Labour Party policies, in this case I am with them.

The British Empire had the rule of the islands for decades, I am sure the islanders would be happier being run by Mozambique, than a government thousands of miles away, that forgot them. Like NATO, the base has little value to the UK.

Peter Mandelson

 Labour ARE losing seats everywhere

Angela Rayner

As I have said, the easiest job in politics is being the opposition party. all you have to do is point out what the governement is NOT doing; something Labour are expert at doing. This was never clearer when AR said, "We can build 1,000 homes a month. Nobody in Labour has any idea of how much time it takes to build a house as they all have several, even the man who espouses the virtues of Communism, Jeremy Corbyn, has six houses.

Labour are losing seats in every area of the UK, and not all to Reform UK.

From Yvette Cooper welcoming illegal immigrants, to Rachel Reeves proving she has no concept of banking, to Angela Rayner lieing about her taxes, and now the case against Peter Mandelson; I bet Starmer is wishing he lost the election.

To paraphrase a quote from Shakespeare, "Uneasy lies the head which wears the crown."

There is no point in NATO

 No Royal Air Force bases in Europe

                                                      Cyprus

NATO is a bone of contention for politicians, some wish the UK to stay in, others push for us to pull out.

I am in favour of pulling out, I am not left-wing in my view, it is a realistic view of life since the late 1980s.

NATO was set up in the 1950s, when the threat of war with Russia was a real concern, nowadays, Russia has other things to worry about; I have said since the late 70s, and still do say, there is a greater threat from an Islam state than from Russia.

The reality is there are NO Royal Air Force bases in Europe, the only base near Europe is Cyprus.

Successive governments have stripped our national defences to the point there are no Airborne Early Warning stations in Scotland.

What make me laugh, ironically, is the people who go on about our allies in the EU, who are they? The only people we could rely on have been the USA, and the Commonwealth states.