Tag: Brexit

What a year

My all too brief summary of 2020 and thoughts for 2021

2020 has followed much of 2016.

  • A change of president
  • Brexit
  • Deaths of many we’ve known and loved

Plus we can’t forget something that started in 2019 in China – Covid.

Here in the UK, we seem to have made a complete hash of it, but what can you expect from the country that brought you Brexit? Britain is particularly great at shooting itself in the foot. Voting to leave the UK, failing to shut down quickly enough, failing to wear masks, and seemingly creating or at least helping to spread the new Covid variant. We’ve done a great job of showing we can’t sort ourselves out.

Thankfully, this time around the change in president (in the US of A) is from the one many have named “45” to avoid using his name and giving him legitimacy, to Joe Biden, who immediately appears more “normal”. At least he is not focused on “fake news” or disrupting the world. Joe seems to be more about bringing people together. A total turnaround from what the world has experienced during the last four years.

We voted to leave Europe, and now it’s actually happening. The “oven ready” deal wasn’t quite that, though somehow Boris has managed to get something in place. I’ve no idea if it will be enough to save the UK businesses that I know are looking at what business they will still manage to run in this new world of the UK outside of the EU. Time will tell and I hope it will work, but I fear the British public’s choice was so ill-informed and we’ll never quite manage to be the Great nation we once were. Early analysis suggests that services, which makes up most of what Britain sells abroad to the EU will not be as easy or successful. What is still worrying is the noise that rumbles about whether Ireland will reunite, and if that does, it opens the doors for Scotland and possibly Wales to push for independence.

The deaths this year have almost reached 2016 levels. Sean Connery, Derek Fowlds (Basil Brush and yes Minister), Terry Jones, Nicholas Parsons (Just a Minute will never be the same again), Kirk Douglas, John Shrapnel, Max von Sydow, Bill Withers, Honor Blackman, Sir Stirling Moss, Little Richard, Vera Lynn, Ennis Morrison’s, Chadwick Boseman, Diana Rigg, Eddie Van Haley, John Sessions, Geoffrey Palmer, Dave Prowse, and Barbara Windsor.

And my Mum. 19th November 2020 will be forever etched in our family memories.

2020 ends with Covid throwing another spanner in the works with a new variant that spreads faster, so many of us in the UK are in Tier 4 – and if it continues, possibly a Tier 5 might have to be developed. I feel that 2021 will continue to be challenging with respect to the ongoing Brexit and COVID-19 situations, but there’s more to 2021 than that.

2021 holds a lot of promise, some challenges for sure, but like many people around the world, I’m positive it can only get better. When compared to the sh*tshow that 2020 has been.

Fingers crossed 2021 delivers on all the hopes and dreams. And on that note there are some positives to watch for:

And these are just some of the items to which we can look forward in 2021.

Make 2021 your positive year.

Happy New Year

Brexit – the insanity

One definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Mrs May, currently the British PM, has done so twice and now it sounds as if she may do so again.

However, she will not allow the public a second vote on the whole concept of Brexit.

One of the most fundamental findings post the referendum was that some weren’t voting about Leave or Remain and instead used the vote to vote against what they perceived was the government’s idea of Remain and thus “stick it to ’em”.

Further the dischord between Remain and Leave continues apace.

This only shows how badly dis-United our Kingdom is at present – and no one, from any party, has done anything noteworthy to address that aspect.

We need a new set of people to represent us who are true representatives and not just entitled “whatsits”.

Brexit is a mess

I’m just watching an advert from the government offering advice on what to do about Brexit.
They can’t organise a plan that can pass parliament’s review…
We’re divided as a country, as a parliament – as a nation.
Rather than addressing the divisions, some of which caused the mess we’re in, the government messed around with “Brexit means Brexit” and only at the last minute have a plan, which it seems isn’t good enough.
Labour are just as bad.
We have May, a Remainer taking us into Brexit. Corbyn is a Leaver but trying to muddle through with his party and semi-pretending to be a Remainer.
None of the parties has taken the stand of finding a way to make us a United Kingdom, instead they’re focused on trying to make us a Great Britain.
We really do need a new way of doing politics.
Other countries have had revolutions, peaceful ones, we need to make changes like they have done and fix this mess properly.