I didn’t realise that up until the mid 60s, the ballot paper in general elections displayed only the candidates’ names, not their party affiliation. The idea behind this was that it actively encouraged voters to find out more about their prospective honourable parliamentary member and that you would then genuinely place your X for whoever you thought would best represent you in the corridors of power.
If the latest polls are to be believed, the Labour Party looks set to return to government with a record number of 425 seats, a whopping majority of over 300 and unlimited power determined by 39% of the electorate. They won’t.
Not yet three weeks into the general election campaign and we’ve heard all manner of promise, pledge, assurance, commitment and guarantee. Claim has been met with counterclaim and we’ve been told falsehoods, fibs, myths, porkies and mis-speaks. Lies have been repeated with damn lies and verified by statistics.
Driverless cars have popped into conversation twice of late. First when a pal of mine bought a Ford Mustang Mach-E, the first car where drivers are legally allowed to take their hands off the steering wheel on the motorway, and secondly when Wayve, a UK AI company founded in a garage (where else!), scooped over $1bn in funding.
I’ve never watched the Great British Sewing Bee. Furthermore, I’ll never watch the Great British Sewing Bee. To anyone who knows me, or has seen me out and about, this will come as no great surprise. However, as it transpires I do have something in common with one of its presenters, Patrick Grant.
In a recent interview actor Matthew Broderick conceded that to many, myself included, he will always be Ferris Bueller. Having just binged-out on the Netflix series, Painkiller, I’d like to say to Ferri…er, Matthew, not to sweat it too much as there are far worse characters to be permanently associated with than the movie’s eternal teenage optimist, a chancer with chutzpa.
A global race is on to unearth a somewhat magical element, lithium, that is fueling our post-oil future and leading to what many are calling a modern-day white gold rush.
The good news is that following confirmation that the November US election will be a rematch of the 2020 contest – the current President of the United States against the former one – Joe Biden, last month, delivered a much more combative and coherent annual address. He ad-libbed, silenced the hecklers, experienced no ‘senior moments’ and enjoyed himself to such an extent that even Fox News had to concede he seemed ‘jacked-up’.
I still believe that the best advice for healthy eating is Michael Pollan’s simple mantra: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” No gimmicks, sensible and, with a little willpower and forethought, potentially achievable.
A pal of mine is seriously worried about his memory and constantly frets about why he is becoming so forgetful. Mind, he is an ex-professional rugby player from the days when cognitive concussion was better known as the drummer of your favourite prog-rock band, so I get his concern.