If I were to tell you....

If I were to tell you that whilst the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the bloody battles between the two opposing armies and indiscriminate bombing of civilians is bad enough, Russian soldiers have been raping, torturing and murdering men, women and children in areas that they have occupied. Not just in Bucha and North of Kyiv, but in Kherson and the Donbas too. What would you think? 

But there's more. The population of Mariupol and surrounding areas have been sent to so-called 'Filtration' centres on the direct orders of President Putin, where those who 'pass' are being deported deep into Russia. A figure of 1.3 million people has been estimated including many thousands of children. Those who 'fail' filtration for being Government workers, or the families of Ukrainian soldiers, or having military tattoo's, for instance, are being sent to 'penal colonies' in occupied Donetsk. Some have been released, but maybe three thousand civilian and military prisoners are being held there in terrible conditions, and this is also where many of the two thousand or so Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol have been taken. Unless they can be released in prisoner exchanges these men and women may never make it out alive. You have to blink and remind yourself that this is now 2022, not 1945. Russia seems to have changed very during the intervening years. 

If some or all of this is news to you, you may be pretty shocked, after all, this is happening on the continent of Europe. Not that we should care any less for the people of Yemen, Afghanistan or Syria by the way. The irony is that Putin claims to be liberating and de-Nazifying the Ukrainian people! Who are the real Nazis here I wonder? 

Putin must be stopped and everything militarily, diplomatically and financially possible must be done to enable Ukraine to defeat the Russian invasion. Nothing should be withheld. Ukraine, after all, is fighting to protect all of Europe from Putin. Then there must be a reckoning; the return of all Ukrainian citizens to their Country; reparations to rebuild the ruined buildings and cities; the prosecution of Russian war criminals and the return of all lands seized by the invaders. Any proposed peace treaty that fails to include these things cannot be acceptable. This will also, hopefully, lead to regime change in Russia.

This was the head rather than the heart talking incidentally. A part of me wants to really hurt Russia for all of this, but no good would come from this.

   

The role of Government.

The role of Government is to promote the general welfare of citizens. All of us. We elect members of the Government to do this, and we pay their salaries through general taxation. Can anything significant that Government has done over the last two and a half years genuinely meet this description? It seems to me that this Conservative Government, with a few notable exceptions, are more interested in the welfare of themselves and their party than the rest of us. They are ruled by dogma and even now members of the party are lining up to try and grab power from the Prime Minister, but as Nick Boles, one of the good guys, has said, none of them deserve this honour. So where is the opposition when we need them? Truth is, they have failed too. If now is not the time to call a vote of no confidence, when is? How much worse does it have to get? Whether you are a Leave supporter who feels let down by the Government's broken promise to honour the result of the 2016 Referendum, or a Remain supporter who feels that the welfare of the 48% who voted to stay in the EU has been totally ignored, everyone feels angry, let down and not listened to. The Government's failure to reach out to opposition parties and to compromise, even in the face of crashing out of the EU without a deal, and all that might mean for the British people is downright irresponsible. I hate to say it, but I think we need a General Election, not another Referendum. That's the best way for the people to have their say. Government's govern by the leave of the people. This one, and its leader have been found wanting, and we, the people are well and truly fed up!

There is no Golden Goose the other side of Brexit.

After another series of quite frankly ridiculous votes in the House of Commons on Thursday 14th March, where any prospect of exploring quite what ideas MP's actually do want, as opposed to what they don't want was voted down by mavericks in the two main political parties. We are again faced with Mrs May bringing back her failed and unchanged deal for the third time next week. The only sensible outcome of the evening was that Parliament voted to delay leaving the EU on 29th March, and rightly so, as nothing is in place and otherwise we face what we are told will be a catastrophic no-deal departure on WTO rules which would further damage our economy, business and industry, and lead to jobs being lost and higher prices in the shops. In other words, we would all be worse off and austerity would continue. I say all, except that a very wealthy minority, including a number of prominent Brexiteers would be laughing all the way to the bank. Now we have to wait and see how the EU27 will respond. One veto would sink any possibility of delay, and a certain, probably treasonous former UKIP MEP, has been doing his best amongst right wing 'friends' in Europe and with Mr Trump in the US to block the Government's request. Some people are saying that a delay is a betrayal of the 2016 Referendum result, but I say the only betrayal has been the lies used by Vote Leave to win the Referendum, and to steal the futures of our younger generation. The 'Baby Boomer' generation, not content to be the richest group of senior citizens for many years are at the same time denying the younger generations their future opportunities in the open and free society which we currently enjoy. Some even want to bring back Imperial weights and measures, forgetting that we have to trade with a world that uses Metric scales. So if our departure is delayed, there is at least a chance that we will win time to examine other options to Mrs May's deal or no-deal, and our future prosperity as a Country depends on it. 
There is no Golden Goose the other side of Brexit, as some would have you believe, only the prospect of becoming a 'vassal state' to Mr Trump's America with its lower food hygiene standards and its desire to privatise our NHS. A majority of people in Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain in the EU and if their concerns and those of the millions of others who voted remain in England and Wales are ignored, our 'precious Union' deserves to be broken up as the Irish conduct a Border Poll and the Scots vote to become independent and remain in the EU. Neither outcome beyond the realm of possibility. 
All the parties need to work together now for the good of the Country, which means compromise and dropping red lines. This is what I believe most people want now.

Healing divisions.

Britain in 2019 is a divided nation. The 2016 referendum was won by Vote Leave with 17,410,742 votes, 51.89% and lost by Remain with 16,141,241 votes, 48.11%. Quite close. But since then polling has suggested a much closer result. A swing in the other direction might even occur if there was a so-called People's Vote. So the Country remains deeply divided.
If Mrs May wants to bring the Country together and start to heal these divisions she cannot pander to just one side or the other. Compromise is required which will respect the voters who voted to leave, but also those who voted to remain, and the rest of our population of 66,780,976 people.
Mrs May hasn't been listening for some time and she needs to start listening, and negotiating with her political opponents. This will likely mean giving up some of her red lines. Her stubbornness and arrogance have brought us to this place. If she can't do this she should stand aside and let somebody else take over.

Better Together!

Whilst NATO has been our military defence in the West for the last 69 years, there is no doubt that the European Project has played a significant part in maintaining peace amongst the former warring nations in Europe since World War 2. It is therefore sad to see right wing governments in Hungary and Italy for instance, with their harsh policies towards refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, the problems between Catalonia and Spain, rioting against President Macron in France and tensions in Germany which will see Angela Merkel leaving office in 2021. It is, however, good to see that things are improving in Greece, though they are still hosting thousands of Syrian and Afghan refugees with the boats continuing to arrive from Turkey. Some will say, all the more reason for the UK to leave, but clearly this decision has also contributed to the problems facing the EU. 

The thing is, with military threats from Russia, such as in the Ukraine, the international refugee crisis and economic difficulties, we need each other, more than ever before. This is not the time to be leaving this Family of Nations. The risks to our own economy, people's jobs, business and big employers such as the NHS, and farmers are huge. The Northern Ireland border is not a powder keg we should wish to light, and our union with Scotland is also in the mix. Gibraltar and the welfare of the many thousands of British ex-pats are other important issues.

A majority of MP's across Parliament are said to be against leaving the EU without a deal, which has to be the worst possible scenario for everyone, yet our Prime Minister is playing Russian Roulette with our future for the sake of getting her own unpopular deal accepted. Something which is most unlikely to happen. I have never seen Parliament, or the Country so divided, and this must be the biggest crisis we have faced since 1945. What is clear is that the Conservative party have made an almighty mess of things, starting with David Cameron calling for a Referendum. Mrs May's tunnel vision and stubborn approach which she justifies as being in line with 'Will of the People,' could yet be our undoing and bring calamity upon us. We must surely be the laughing stock of Europe for our ineptitude.

I'll say it again. Better together!

Where have all the leaders gone?

It seems to me that Britain in 2018 has the worst Government and set of leading politicians that I can ever remember. Nor do the opposition choices look wildly attractive. Whilst I have some time for Jeremy Corbyn, Momentum threatens to undermine liberal values within the Labour Party and drag it towards the hard left of the political spectrum, and whilst the Tories strain towards leaving the European Union, Labour dithers over its position as to whether to support staying in the Single Market and the Customs Union, afraid of losing support from voters who want to leave the EU or those who wish to stay. This issue clouds every other, and the Country is already suffering for it.

The NHS and Social Care are in crisis. Winter pressures merely highlight the problems. A growing elderly population requires ever increasing levels of care. Professionals are at breaking point and are leaving in droves. EU nationals have been made to feel unwelcome so they are leaving too and there is nobody to replace them. Care homes are closing down every week and domiciliary carers are also leaving creating what could be termed as a 'Perfect Storm'. Its not just about the money, though the Health Service does need more to do its job. Training new doctors and nurses and replacing retiring General Practitioners is now critical.

Homelessness and poverty are increasing. We simply aren't building enough social housing and affordable homes for young people. Food banks are struggling to support more and more people, and changes and cuts to the Benefit system are also increasing hardship amongst the more vulnerable groups in society.

Defence is another area in trouble. The MOD now has a huge deficit, not helped by building two huge Aircraft Carriers which the Russians have described as making great targets. Cuts to the armed services are biting and even some Tory MP's are resisting and speaking out. How effective would the British Army be if put to the test in the future? Cyber warfare is one thing but we will always need 'boots on the ground'.

Terrorism threatens us all, and for far too long hate preachers have been allowed to spread their poison in the Muslim community, radicalising young people to go off and fight for ISIS, and hate crimes against Muslims, Jews and EU nationals are on the rise. 

We need real leaders, heroes to get behind, men and women with the courage and charisma to put things right. Not of the 'Make Britain (America) great again' variety, like Donald Trump, probably the biggest disaster ever to hit the United States, but outward looking servant leaders working with overseas partners to make a better world. Britain, like the US is divided right down the middle, and who was it that said, "A house divided against itself will Fall?" President Putin is rubbing his hands in glee at the weakness and troubles of Europe and the US and is emboldened by it. Already Russia is dominating the situation in Syria, and thwarting every attempt by the UN to act. He annexed the Crimea with hardly a whimper in response, and his forces remain in action against the Government of Ukraine. Even now Putin has his eyes on the Baltic States and other former Soviet Union Countries and there is a growing sense of Cold War whilst Russian military forces practice their arts in the proxy war in Syria.

Returning to the currently still United Kingdom, Since David Cameron lit the blue touch paper and retired, Mrs May has not been doing well. Granted that she faces one of the biggest challenges any Prime Minister would have to face, short of going to war, she is clearly not up to the job, and her party knows it. But who would want the likes of Johnson, Gove, Leadsom or heaven forbid, Jacob Rees-Mogg to take over from her? The centre ground of British politics has been squeezed in all parties and seems unable to mount a substantial challenge. That leaves us with the prospect of Coalition. Probably the best we can expect under the circumstances, with a minor party moderating the excesses of its senior partner, as Clegg did with Cameron last time. As far as individuals are concerned, the 'other' Miliband would do, if he decided to return to UK politics. Or, dare I say it, the much discredited Tony Blair! There's a thought! Whether it comes from a leadership challenge in the Tory party, or a vote of no confidence triggering a fresh general election, something has to change.

Time on my hands.

It's nice to have time on one's hands. It is, after all, our most precious gift, but it passes so quickly, whether we use it well or we let it slip through our fingers and waste it. As one gets older many experience the perception that time passes more quickly and this can be quite disconcerting. A number of big sci-fi films have focused on the value of time. Logan's Run (1976) depicts a utopian future society on the surface, revealed as a world where the population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of 30.  and In Time (2011), people are designed to stop aging on their 25th birthday. All people have a digital clock on their forearm; when they turn 25, they stop aging and their clock begins counting down from one year.When the clock reaches zero, that person "times out" and dies. Time has become the universal currency and can be transferred between people or "time capsules."

All of us are on our own individual journeys, shared at times with others and at others on our own. Each person's life is unique to them.

Christians see their lives as a gift from God with a plan and a purpose that He has designed and pre-destined for us, and it is our task to discover this and live it out in the strength He gives us using the talents and abilities He has gifted us with. Psalm 139:16 says this: "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Being semi-retired sounds amazing, but it brings it's own challenges and a whole range of emotions and feelings. After the initial honeymoon period of taking day trips and holidays, a new reality kicks in. One is likely to be living on a pension with a dramatically reduced income, with responsibilities such as to one's grown up children or ageing relatives. We never stop being parents, and the State is no longer the universal carer it used to be in our age of cuts and austerity. Society runs on the goodwill of volunteers, and everyone wants your services. Their need is seemingly insatiable. It is very easy to over commit, and put oneself under pressure we don't really want in our lives. Some of us will prefer to find part-time work to supplement our reduced incomes. There seem to be so many grandchildren, nephews and nieces to find Christmas and birthday presents for, and then there are the charities asking for our generosity. It is true that the "Baby Boomer" generation have done better financially than our children's generation, and they have many needs. There is also the likelihood of boredom in how to fill our time when we can't afford to be on holiday again, or our partners are either working or busy carers and can't get away. So you see, retirement is not what it seems! Now some people have lots of hobbies or sports, but if you have worked full time for thirty or forty years you may not have developed these interests and not everyone can take them up so easily once they are in their sixties or seventies.
None of us knows the time we have before us on this earth, or how healthy we will be to enjoy it yet the Government makes grand assumptions and keeps putting back the State Pension age based upon the fact that people are living longer, ignoring how many of us will not actually be able to work longer due to ill health or dementia for instance. This growing elderly population requires increasing medical treatments yet the NHS is denied the funds it needs to provide for these needs, and lurches from one crisis to another. 
So, what's one to do? Live life to the full. Grab the opportunities that come and remember to help the poor, the disadvantaged, the homeless person and the refugee. They also have a life.