The Artist formerly known as Prince Andrew

So the grand old Duke of York is no more. And on purely spurious grounds he retains the title of ‘Prince’.

He was ‘born a Prince’ and could have stopped using the title. He chose not to and Charles let him. #princeandrew #kingcharles #epstein

The King can grant, revoke, or amend titles using a legal instrument called Letters Patent. Charles chose not to do so. 

It is time to get rid of the lot of them.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Worthing Musical Comedy Society production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert gives new life to songs we thought we had forgotten. The costume department are the unsung heroes of this show. Each time I found myself thinking, "They can't get more outrageous and extravagant than this." Each time I was wrong.

It was a hugely entertaining evening. The plot follows an improbable journey of three drag queens across Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs. En route they have a series of impossible adventures in a number of places with unlikely (but accurate) names.

Australia is not the worst place in the world for homophobia (That would be Saudi Arabia where gay relationships carry the death penalty) but at the time of the story it was a serious problem and it still is.

So to make light of it with some very good (and rather shocking) jokes is an interesting approach.

The improbability of the plot does not matter, the production of the musical numbers does. On that score it is a great success.

Zionist narrative

The BBC has stated this morning that hostages were tortured by HAMAS. In the same breath they assert that the released Palestinians have made ‘allegations of torture’. 

Who is telling the truth? Who is making allegations?

Should a news organisation be trying to find out the truth or peddling the Zionist narrative

Trump

The media is saying that the #hostages  will be welcomed by #Trump - surely they have suffered enough.

The Struggle for World Socialism

Peter Taaffe’s legacy lives on through his writing, which will continue to inspire future generations of socialists.

I had the privilege of working alongside Peter during the time Militant transitioned into a weekly newspaper. It was an ambitious undertaking that stretched the resources of the Militant tendency, but ultimately, it proved to be a worthwhile effort—both in its impact and in the dedication it inspired.

Peter had a rare ability to both inform and inspire. Deeply well-read and consistently persuasive, he was a powerful advocate for socialism—whether through his writing or his speeches. His words brought many to the cause and left a lasting impression on all who heard or read them.

Like the universe this book is full of dark matter

"Expect the Unexpected" would be a fair summary of this book of short stories. Short stories ought to have a twist in the tale and these are no exception.

Would you trust Mick Herron with your life? He might have you killed and dismembered in a Harrogate tea house for fun. Someone who could invent Roddy Ho is capable of anything.

Like the universe this book is full of dark matter and it is a first-class read.

The Demon Drink

Many teachers find the job quite stressful and consequently drink a reasonable amount of alcohol to take away the sting. Sometimes this spills over into an unreasonable amount of alcohol - a glass becomes a bottle. I am no exception.

For some people the only solution is to "go cold turkey" and give up drinking altogether. In my experience, this is easier than giving up smoking but Alcoholics Anonymous tell a different story. AA do very good work and if it weren't for their insistence on meetings I would have signed up to them.

A compromise is to pick a day and keep it as a non-drinking day. (Or two days, there is no limit). The advantages of having a Methodist Monday or a Teetotal Tuesday are twofold.

1 As the adverts say, your liver and heart will welcome a day off.

2 Equally important, you will realise that you can manage a day without the demon drink.

There is a third advantage, which is that you will save money.

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