What a glorious day here in the Calder valley! We’ve had sunshine all day, whilst temperatures have been racing upwards to reach what’s probably been the hottest of the year so far. It’s been so warm I’ve been able to work in the garden in a singlet. With not having got away to Asia this winter I’ve really missed feeling the sun on my skin so today was a real tonic.

What was less of a tonic was observing the latest antics of the madman across the pond in Washington, who seems to have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning (doesn’t he always? Ed). His latest ranting on ‘truth social’ is posted here.

I mean, where do you start with unhinged, fact-free nonsense like this? The man’s completely lost the plot. First he’d won the war within a couple of days, then he wanted NATO and everyone else to back him up and join in, then he didn’t, then he did as it was all going tits up in the Straits of Hormuz – and now he doesn’t (again). If he wasn’t the most powerful man in the world it would be hilarious, instead it’s bloody scary. All the checks and balances the founding Fathers built into the American political system seem to have collapsed, leaving Trump basically unopposed and running riot, both in the USA and the world.

His Iran adventure (egged on by the Israelis) is proving to be a political and strategic disaster. Some maintain the military outcomes could still be a success but no-one seems to have told the Iranians that and they seem to have other ideas. They may not be chucking as many missiles around as they were at the start of the war, but politically it’s getting worse. Informed sources suggest Trump’s replaced one Ayatollah with another one who’s backed by even more hardline people than his father was, so that’s going to turn out well. This shows all the signs of becoming a protracted conflict – even if Trump loses interest, claims he’s ‘won’ and tries to walk away. Meanwhile, he’s trashed America’s reputation around the world and alienated just about every ally the US has.

In one of life’s ironies I’m reminded of the Vietnam war (which I’m old enough to remember) and the title of a 1966 play which became a popular slogan at the time, “Suppose they gave a War and Nobody Came”. I suspect there’s a few old US allies who’re rediscovering it right now too. Of course, Trump, who repeatedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam war (a doctor signed him off with ‘bone spurs’) has probably never heard of it…

No doubt I’ll be revisiting this tragi-comedy again soon, but in the meantime I’ve more pressing matters as tomorrow the pair of us head to Derby for a few days for the 2026 Community Rail awards, which should lead to some more light-hearted blogging!

In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from today’s stroll around my ‘manor’.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
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Cheers,

Paul