LAST ORDERS FOR BRITISH POLITICIANS
The traditional British pub is in crisis, caught between a pincer movement of rising costs and customers short of money, cutting down on their drinking and eating out, apart from special occasions.
Where we live in the UK there have been several good pub restaurants which have closed in recent years, and it’s sad.
Successive governments have been to blame for introducing additional costs on business in general and it has hit the hospitality industry hard. Rising taxes coupled with increases in the living wage have all taken their toll on pubs.
But now I hear that pub landlords are fighting back and many have got together to ban MPs from their premises. Yes, you have read it right.
They are angry over all the costs inflicted by governments on their businesses and at the same time MPs having their own bars and restaurants within the Westminster bubble providing drink and food at subsidised prices paid for by British taxpayers.
I wish them well and I’m sure they will win much support from the British public, who are hit by constantly rising prices for a pint or a glass or wine or spirits.
My tipple is a Vermouth – not the expensive Martini or Cinzano but supermarkets’ own like at Carrefour where its around 2.50 euro but in Britain it’s £8. What a difference. Sky high taxes and profiteering but it’s this appalling mark up which is hitting hospitality and closing places where traditionally young people have gained their first work experience.
No wonder we hear of a growing number of young people not in paid work.
STRICTLY SPEAKING
The BBC committed an on-screen blunder during last Saturday evening’s Strictly Come Dancing Final when it incorrectly identified the Duchess of Edinburgh using an outdated title.
As Prince Edward’s wife appeared in a surprise video segment, the broadcaster displayed “Sophie Wessex, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh” beneath her image.
How terrible – I doubt if many Strictly fans noticed, but GBNews did and took great delight in once again having a pop at the BBC.
The British national broadcaster has a lot on its plate and its rivals would love to see it gone. There used to be a code that dog did not eat dog. Sadly that seems to have disappeared with the advent of rival broadcasters with their own dubious agendas.
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Spain will be seeing the creation of a national network of climate shelters this summer, and from all accounts they cannot come soon enough.
Climate change is driving the summer heat to be ever more pronounced, despite the money-mad fruit cake doing his best to convince everyone to the contrary (I think you all know who I am referring to).
This last week the sea temperature in the Med off our coast was almost 2 degrees centigrade above the normal and if this continues it will give the 2026 summer heat a big head start.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the plan as part of broader climate measures, making spaces like libraries, museums, and social centres accessible with cooling, water, and seating.
I say good for him because they will be needed. Every year we hear of an increased death rate caused by heat which puts the human body under increased strain and hits the old and vulnerable and also children, the hardest.
In 2024, Europe experienced an estimated 62,775 heat-related deaths, a significant increase from the previous year, while in Spain this summer there were 3,800 heat-related deaths.
ORDER ONLINE AND DONATE TO CRIME
It’s well documented that Britain has become notorious for crime – shoplifting having reached epidemic proportions with shopkeepers and supermarkets despairing because police are too busy to investigate or prosecute and more are turning to facial recognition cameras to identify repeat offenders.
In the UK, crimes seeing increases include fraud, which is now over 40% of all recorded offences; hate crimes, particularly race and religious-based; and knife/sharp Instrument offences, a significant concern in many cities alongside general violence, with major rises in sexual offences and theft from the person in recent years.
But one thing which we have not heard of much until now is parcel theft, and it has been revealed that such theft in the UK has experienced a massive surge, with the total value of stolen goods reaching approximately £666.5 million in the 12 months leading up to July 2025, nearly doubling the £376.6 million stolen in the previous 12-month period.
Some of the theft is organised crime, with gangs targeting delivery lorries but “porch piracy” has reached epidemic proportions with around 4.83 million households falling victim to stolen parcels on doorsteps. It’s become big business for thieves because of the growth of online shopping.
What a country Britain has become.
FROM COLD WAR TO PLAYGROUND POLITICS
So, according to Putin, Britain’s government is being led by a “little pig” and now the Russian dictator is openly discussing Russian missile deployments within striking distance of the UK.
Speaking at the annual Russian defence ministry meeting he went on to blame former US President Joe Biden for “consciously” beginning the war in Ukraine, before calling European leaders “European little pigs.”
What is the world coming to when we have countries led by crackpots hell bent on getting their way no matter what. We see it in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in the religious conflict in Israel and Gaza between Jews and Muslims and the US throwing it’s weight against Venezuela.
Tiresome little tin pot gods! Let’s all hope common sense dawns in 2026 but sadly I fear it is more hope than reality.
COMMUNIST PLANNING IN THE BEDROOM
It made me chuckle to read that China, worried about a slow down in the birth rate, has decided to tax contraception.
Contraceptive drugs and products such as condoms will no longer be exempt from China’s 13% value added tax from January 1.
In past generations the Chinese people have followed the wishes of the State, but not now.
Women have been quick to point out that the expense of raising a child is far greater than a 13% tax on contraceptives, one woman has started a campaign promoting total abstinence, determined not to have another child, and other protest groups are concerned about an increase in unplanned pregnancies resulting in children born to families unable to cope financially and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases.
It seems that the Chinese work ethic has now created big problems for the Communist State.
