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Paul Bigland

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Paul Bigland

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Another month whips by at lightning speed…

30 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Politics

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Musings, Politics

Where the hell did September go? One minute we’re chugging slowly and sedately towards the end of summer with some cracking days full of sunshine, the next it’s full-blown autumn, with the leaves already beginning to fall in their droves, encouraged by the torrential rain and gales that have been an on and off feature of the month.

Mind you, it’s not just been the weather that’s stormy. The political scene’s been pretty tempestuous too as Boris Johnson continues to both wreck Britain’s political standing in the world and make the country ungovernable in his hell for leather pursuit of a no-deal Brexit. No lie is to large for the man to tell it and no scenario too preposterous. Parliament’s fought back and now we find ourselves at a political impasse and the party conference season. The bits that I’ve seen of the Tory conference make it look like a cross between the Benny Hill show and a zombie movie, as this little gem shows. Add some batshit crazy speeches from a few clueless Cabinet Ministers and you can’t help but wonder what our European neighbours make of this mess when they see the scandals around Johnson unfold and hear the bonkerssruff coming out of the mouths of his Cabinet. It’s no wonder so many delegates are choosing to take a nap…

Tomorrow October arrives, which is going to be a pretty full-on month. On Wednesday we head off to the Community Rail Awards in Telford for ACoRPs annual celebration of everything that’s best about the sector. It’ll be a busy time but also a great opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues from around the country. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us as there’s a couple of ‘jollies’ included in the programme.

So, bye-bye September…

Sunday blues…

29 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Belgium, Hs2, Musings, Politics, Railways, Travel

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Belgium, Hs2, Musings, Politics, Railways

I’ve had little time for blogging today as (for once) we actually had a lie-in. After a week of getting up at 06:00-07:00 it was lovely not to have the alarm set. Mind you, we also had a fairly late night as a small group of us went to a friends for a meal last night. Forget the Tories Brugges group, this was a chance for a select six of us to get together and have a lovely meal at Tony Allan’s and chat about our own visit to that fair city.

We had a lovely evening and didn’t miss much by getting up late as the morning was (literally) a washout due to the weather. It’s yet another day where it’s chucked it down, so much so that I didn’t get out for my constitutional stroll until this evening when the wet weather abated. Instead, the pair of us have spent most of the day getting on with chores, not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle, but when needs must…

What I have had chance to do is catch up on the news and seen that the much hyped anti HS2 demonstration led by Chris Packham at Euston yesterday failed to set the world on fire. Sure, it got media attention because of Packham but only a few dozen people turned up. Most of the media photos are tightly cropped to show Packham and a couple of demonstrators with him. The ones that zoom out show just how few folk actually bothered coming along. Of course, all this is a sideshow, the main event is up the West Coast Main Line in Manchester where the Tory party conference is happening. What’s not happening is any StopHs2 presence. Several years ago they would have had a stall inside all the party conferences. Now their campaign’s on its uppers they can’t even be bothered to turn up and leaflet outside.

This evening, whilst Dawn’s been cooking some fabulous Indian curry I’ve been busy delving through the picture archives thanks to a friend who jogged my memory . Earlier today Anthony Roberts posted a picture from Belgium showing one of their Cass 62 diesel locos. This set me thinking, and searching my Zenfoilio site. I realised that I’d never added old pictures from some Belgian tours I did back in 2006. I used to have them on my old Fotopic website, but when that went tits-up I lost a lot of caption details as I’d never added it to the original files (which I still have). So this evening has been spent hunting down info to try and rebuld the collection on my Zenfolio site. You can find the resurrected gallery here. Thank God for websites like six bells junction, which has allowed me to check the details of the tour. I’ve more pictures to add but that’s going to have to wait until later in the week. It’s taken me 8 years, another few days won’t make any difference! Here’s a couple of samples. I must admit these pictures have triggered a real bout of nostalgia for what were some wonderful times with a great bunch of people. I used to go over on these tours with a group of friends from the Gloucester area under the banner of Pathfinder railtours. You’ll see some of them in the pictures.

The view from the cab of Class 62 no 6250 as we travel across Holland
A line-up of Railion Class 204 locos at Terneuzen. Holland. 4.11.06.

Bojo the clown? There’s nothing remotely funny about Johnson.

26 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Musings, Politics, Uncategorized

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Brexit, Musings, Politic

As I predicted, there were angry and heated scenes in Parliament yesterday. MPs from all sides expressed their disgust at the behaviour of Johnson and his Cabinet coterie. Some, like Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman (a man I normally have little time for) didn’t mince their words.

The whole proceedings were a deeply unedifying spectacle, more so because of the complete contempt Johnson and his clique showed for both Parliament, the Judiciary and democracy itself. The final straw for many was Johnson’s clear disdain for female MP’s worries about him stoking up tensions and his attempt to co-opt the spirit of the murdered MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox, by claiming enabling Brexit would honour her memory.

I met Jo Cox once. At a station adoption event in Batley. Jo was very kind and helpful to my wife Dawn as it was Dawn’s first public speaking event representing her company, ACoRP. After that meeting I was convinced Jo would have gone far, maybe even all the way to the top. She was clever, witty and engaging. She also knew how to make things happen. What I do know is that Jo would have been horrified by Brexit and done everything she could to fight it. Johnson using her is typical of the man. Let’s face it, he has a long history of using and exploiting women. He has no moral compass whatsoever. The only thing that matters to him is his own ambition.

But don’t fall into the trap of thinking Johnson’s unapologetic performance and stoking of outrage yesterday was accidental. It was anything but. It was straight out of the Steve Bannon playbook, the one Trump keeps under his pillow.

Johnson’s trapped himself. His arrogance, willingness to lie fluently and lack of a moral compass have got him (and us) into this mess. Politically he’s a dead man walking, caught in a mire of his own making. He’s impotent as he has no majority so he’s at the mercy of others. He’s swinging in the wind like the famous picture on that zipwire. The only way out of it that he sees is to trigger an election – hence his behaviour. He wants a vote of no confidence – anything that will trigger an election that he thinks he still has a chance of winning. That’s why he’s trying to goad everyone, be they Labour, women MPs or even his own backbenches.

But remember the old Chinese saying. Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. Johnson’s problem is that others remember that saying too and are happy to give him enough rope…

Postscript.

Since I wrote this Parliament has voted to refuse to suspend itself during the Conservative party conference. It’s yet another humiliation for Johnson, who’s faced with being at the conference or in Parliament. Ten of the former Conservative MP’s Johnson withdrew the whip from voted against the motion. Remember what I said about revenge?

Rolling blog: Wednesday mixture.

25 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Politics, Railways, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

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Brexit, Politics, Railways, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

14:30.

I’ve already had a varied day at home, sorting out a selection of pictures for my show at tonight’s Bradford Railway Circle title “from contraction to expansion” which will take a look at the way the railways fortunes have changed in the last few decades. I’ve also been sorting out pictures for a couple of clients. Now it’s time to escape the house for a few hours as I make my way over to Bradford. After the torrential rain we had yesterday things are brightening up, we’ve actually got some sunshine to keep the dark clouds that are looming company. Hopefully, I might even be able to get a couple of decent pictures on my travels.

It’s not just over the Calder Valley where the weather’s stormy. I’ve just been watching some of the proceedings in the reconvened Parliament. To say that some MPs are angry is an understatement! I expect more thunder and lightning when Johnson appears at the Dispatch Box later this afternoon. This would make great theatre if the consequences for the rest of us weren’t so damned serious. All will be revealed later, but don’t expect Johnson to have any answers, or apologise for breaking the law.

15:56.

It looks like I made a mistake in trusting the weather forecast, which said we’d be getting some sunshine this afternoon. This was the view as I headed up the hill from home earlier. That’s more rain heading my way, not ‘sunny spells’! I managed to walk to the station without copping for more than coating of drizzle, but this is hardly ideal weather for photography…

17:00.

As often happens, once I left the valley behind the weather picked up. Not so much in Bradford, but I decided to sally forth to Shipley once more to kill some time and add to my gallery of CAF built Class 331 shots. For once, everything fell right with the two sets in traffic following each other on Skipton services, one from Leeds, the second from Bradford.

Now I’m making a move back to Bradford to try and grab a few more shots before heading out to my show. If only the weather was like Saturday, when for a few brief hours we returned to the summer!

18:10.

I’ve managed to bag a few library images. Nothing special as the weather wasn’t playing ball, but useful nonetheless. I also had the opportunity to see how recent track alterations have cut out conflicting movements to allow trains from Leeds and Halifax to arrive simultaneously. Now I’m waiting for my train out to Low Moor, the sole station between Bradford and Halifax that reopened in 2017. I’ve never visited before but now I have an excuse as it’s the nearest station to tonight’s venue.

18:32.

My train to Low Moor is being worked by my old friend, the e-Pacer!

23:21.

The show seemed to go well, although it’s always slightly unnerving when you have such a famous railway photographer as Brian Morrison in the audience. No-one fell asleep, there were several questions and I was invited back! I’m very lucky that my line of work gets me to places the public don’t normally see, so it’s always great to be able to share the pictures and anecdotes with aporeciative people. Heading back from Low Moor the e-Pacer arrived again to take me back to Halifax and I’m now home and ready to call it a day.

There’s another busy day ahead of ne tomorrow, plus an early start in order to fit everything in. Watch this space…

Breaking: Britain officially downgraded from being a banana republic.

24 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Politics

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Brexit, Politics

As if three and a half years of putting up with the brexitshambles wasn’t enough! Seeing our once proud country descend into third-world levels of political incompetence and corruption, whilst our two main political parties are run by a coterie of politicians whom you wouldn’t trust to run a bath, never mind a country. Whoever suspected that such an old democracy as our could fall into this state so easily? But that’s complacency and being stuck in the past for you.

Today, we’ve reached peak shambles. The Supreme Court’s 11 judges have unanimously ruled that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament was unlawful. In a pitiful response, John accused the judges of trying to ‘frustrate’ Brexit – completely forgetting his own narrative that prorogation was absolutely nothing to do with Brexit in the first place. In just a couple of months in office, Johnson’s lost his first six Commons votes in a row, broken the law by suspending Parliament and misled the monarch. Even some die-hard Tories must be wondering how on earth they managed to back someone who is so clearly incompetent, but then they ignored the fact the man was a proven serial liar in the first place. To make matters worse, another scandal has broken over Johnson’s relationship with a former American model, Jennifer Arcuri, when he was Mayor of London – only this time it’s not just about illicit bedroom activities, this is about real allegations of corruption, the abuse of office and also misuse of taxpayers money. This is serious stuff.

Meanwhile, the cult of Corbyn has made a resurgence at the Labour party conference where it’s like a revival of the 1970s. Composite votes that are passed (or not passed, the result kept changing) by a simple show of hands look bizarre in the 21st century. The end result was to pass a Brexit policy that will have Remainers abandoning the Labour party in droves. It was a classic political stitch-up the hard left have practised for years. This wasn’t the longest suicide-note in history, but it was certainly written on the same paper! Anyone thinking Labour may just have been rediscovering a semblance of looking like a party fit for Government has been sadly disabused.

God only knows what our friends in Europe are thinking as they watch this shit-show unfurl. We’re beginning to make Italy look like a model of political stability. Where the hell is this going to end? I have no idea. I’m no lover of Johnson, but even I didn’t think he could be this politically inept. His predecessor, Teresa May, was the first Prime Minister to be found in contempt of Parliament. Johnson’s gone “hold my beer” and has been found to have illegally shut-down Parliament – and misled the Queen! And, he’s still saying he’ll break the law to crash us out of the EU without a deal on October 31st!

The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow has announced an immediate recall of Parliament. I suspect we’re going to see a lot of angry scenes in the chamber when it is, and I can’t imagine Johnson having anything other than a very rocky ride from all sides of the house. He won’t be able to cope. His lack of attention to detail and the fact he lies so easily (despite the consequences) will ensure that.

We’ve now gone from a fiddled referendum into the brexitshambles and now added a full-on constitutional clusterfuck to the mix – and no-one looks like they’re in any position to pick up the pieces.

Welcome to Britain in 2019.

Just another manic Monday…

16 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Musings, Politics

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Brexit, Musings, Politics

After a reflective weekend I’m back into the fray with a vengeance. I’ve been playing catch-up with editing last weeks rail and travel pictures to get them up on my Zenfolio website, which happened this morning. If you follow this link, you can see which galleries have been updated with new images. Here’s a couple of samples to whet your appetites. Anyone passing through the Calder Valley by train will probably have looked up at the hills above Todmorden and noticed Stoodley Pike plus the monument atop it. This was completed in 1856 and replaced an earlier one that was constructed to commemorate the end of the Napoleonic wars. 121 feet tall, it has an observation deck 41ft above ground that’s reached by internal stairs. It looks impressive from a distance, but it’s even more so close up. I can’t imagine what it must have been like as one of the people trying to build such a structure in such a windswept and desolate place with the tools available at the time.

Seen from the balcony of Stoodley Pike, a new Northern Class 195 makes its way across Lobb Mill viaduct outside Todmorden as it heads from Huddersfield to Blackpool North.

That done, I’ve been busy sorting out other pictures for a couple of clients as well as trying to prepare for the week ahead. It’s a busy week as I’ve got a lot of travelling to do, catching up with the ever-changing rail scene as the introduction of new fleets ramps up and the withdrawal of old trains escalates as a consequence. There’s some major changes happening out there at the moment and that’s going to continue for some time. I’ve also a blog on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade to update after attending a Network Rail consultation over the weekend as I’ve a lot of new information to add.

As if that wasn’t enough I’ve got to dust off my ‘penguin suit’ ready for Thursday’s National Rail Awards in London.

After working as the event photographer between 2003 and 2017 I’ve been honoured to be a VIP guest for the past few years along with my wife, Dawn. Now I can relax and spend time with friends and enjoy the awards rather than be on duty, wondering just how many people will turn up on stage to collect each trophy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working there, but it wasn’t without it’s stresses when you knew you had to deliver great pictures of such a prestigious event. It’s good to see Huw Edwards returning as presenter this year, he’s been one of the best. That said, we’ve had some great ones over the years and it’s always been a challenge to get pictures of them as they pace the stage.

As you can see, there’s going to be plenty to blog about over the next few days – and that’s without the long-running farce that is British politics and the Brexitshambles. The latest tragi-comedy has taken place in Luxembourg where Johnson’s utterly stupid remarks comparing himself to the cartoon character the ‘hulk’ have backfired in spectacular fashion. Here’s a headline from Rupert Murdoch’s ‘Wapping Liar’ – sorry – the ‘Sun’

The reality? Johnson went from ‘Hulk’ to sulk and ran away from a joint press event with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel! Christ on a bike, how stupid we look to the world right now, and it’s all our fault, despite the blame game the Brexiters are desperately playing. This is the political equivalent of “a big boy did it and ran away” – and the rest of the world knows it. In fact, everyone does but the Brexiters. Start stockpiling those foodstuffs folks. This has no happy ending – unless you’re a millionaire hedge fund manager…

Sunday thoughts.

08 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Politics, Rushbearing, Sowerby Bridge, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Politics, Rushbearing, Sowerby Bridge, Travel, West Yorkshire

After the fun of rush-bearing yesterday today’s a bit of a come-down. The procession does continue but its focus is more rural and I’ve got other things to do – like edit the hundreds of pictures I took yesterday, as well as houshold chores, cooking and some DIY. It’s not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle, but it keeps me occupied!

That said, so does trying to keep track of the latest iplosions/resignations/floor crossings in UK politics! Today the headlines are all about the latest Cabinet Minister to abandon Johnson’s sinking government. That would normally be extraordinary enough but we live in such bizarre times we also have news that the Prime Minister is allegedly prepared to break the law to deliver Brexit. Meanwhile, the Lib-Dems gain their third defector in a week in the shape of former Labour MP Angela Smith. Truly, the old political party system is broken. Tribal allegiances have been torn apart. Brexit’s broken everything as both Labour and Tories have drifted to the extremes of left and right but neither have any answers to the mess we’re in. All we have now is voices of reason on both sides who cut through the crap and deal with the realities of the situation. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be on the side of Michael Heseltine and Ken Clark, but that says it all really.

The depressing thing is seeing how many UK citizens are so ignorant of the trouble we’re in. As long as ‘Eastenders’and ‘Coronation St’ are still being broadcast, all’s well in their world. Apparently, we’re British, so we’re immune to all the world’s normal travails. Shit will never happen to us. Only it is and sticking one’s head in the sand isn’t going to help.

On the bright side, I’ve managed to start uploading yesterday’s pictures to the rush-bearing gallery. You can find them here. For now, here’s a couple of samples. I’ve a lot more to add over the next few days.

Another day of Parliamentary paralysis, high drama and low farce.

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Politics

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Brexit, Politics

Remember the days when Parliament used to do something useful, like scrutinise legislation, talk about important things pass legislation and stuff? No. Me neither. For the past three and a half years the place has been turned into a circus thanks to Brexit and the impossibility of delivering the lies it was based on whilst still pretending the Unicorns are real, if only we just ‘believed’ harder. Now we have paralysis in Government, where billions of pounds have been wasted trying to deliver the undeliverable and prepare for the unthinkable – a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Now the tragi-comedy has entered a new phase with the appointment of the bouffant buffoon as Prime Minister. He’s transformed the Cabinet in to a Brexiters wet-dream. It’s packed with hardliners and he’s surrounded by the ‘great minds’ of the Leave campaign. But he has one huge and insurmountable problem. He can’t make a lie true.

Brexiters never had a plan. They never expected to win, so they never thought they’d need one. They’ve spent decades dreaming about leaving the EU but never worked out a plan to make a success of doing so if they ever got the chance. Now they have, and it’s a shambles and it’s getting worse.

Brexiters always loved blaming other people to cover up for the lack of a plan. The latest wheeze was to say Brexit couldn’t be delivered because a ‘Remainer’ (Teresa May) was in charge and ‘remainers’ held cabinet posts. It was all bollocks of course, and how big a pair of cojones it was is becoming painfully obvious as Johnson flounders. His only successes have been to alienate many in his own party, start #StopTheCoup demonstrations the length and breadth of the country and make Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour front bench start to look vaguely electable. Who would have thought that we would see former Tory ‘Big Beast’ and Father of the House, Ken Clark MP thrown out of the Tory party, not to mention Winston Churchill’s grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames? Meanwhile, other moderate Tory MPs like Justine Greening have announced they’re standing down at the next election. In his overweening personal ambition, Johnson’s turned the Tory party into the Brexit party. His only ambition is to win an election before the car-crash that is a no-deal Brexit hits. Could he still do it? Possibly. The fat lady’s not yet sung and the farce continues in Parliament throughout today.

Yesterday parliament defeated Johnson and voted to take control of proceedings. Today there will be a vote to take a no-deal Brexit off the table and extend article 50 until January. Johnson wants to call an election now, but he needs a 2/3 majority of MPs to allow it. I can only pray they vote for the former and reject the latter. Let Johnson own his mess. He fell apart in Parliament last night. His normal comedy act and blithe lies don’t play well in Parliament. One of the MPs who exposed him for what he is was the former Tory Chancellor, Philip Hammond, who neatly skewered Johnson with his own lie that talks with the EU were ‘progressing’ and he’d be able to deliver a new deal. To add to the farce, as he was speaking, his Parliamentary majority in the shape of Dr Philip Lee MP got up, walked across the floor of the house and joined the Lib-Dem benches. It was a wonderful moment to watch!

There’s a sense that even some of those who backed Johnson are now starting to realise that he’s unfit for office. His performance last night was not one of a leader nor a statesman. He was woeful. He blustered, he lied and he refused to answer straight questions. It didn’t get any better, The oleaginous Jacob Rees Mogg provoked both fury (and later mirth) for the contemptuous way he draped himself across the Tory front bench. Here’s one of the wits responses on Twitter earlier today!

Sometime late this evening the next chapter of this farce will close, hopefully with a vote that will agree to take a ‘no-deal’ Brexit off the table. But that’s not the end of the story. Not by a long chalk. This shambles is going to drag on for years yet. This is just volume 1. At this rate it could compete in size with the Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Even if/when we leave the EU, we have years of trying to make good the damage to our economy, our ability to trade, our world standing and our fractured country. Is it any wonder more and more people are wanting to leave? Not the EU, but the UK…

I don’t like Mondays…

02 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Musings, Politics, West Yorkshire

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Brexit, Musings, Politics, West Yorkshire

Well, ones like this where the weather’s been miserable, I’ve been stuck at home collating vast numbers of pictures for a client and I’m watching my country slowly implode both economically and politically. Apart from that it’s been just fine!

Exciting as life is as a photographer, the wading through loads of library images to upload onto a client’s website is the least glamorous side of the job – even if it’s crucial. It’s monotonous and takes time as well as commands attention to detail. I suppose I should be grateful that the weather’s been so iffy so I’ve not been tempted to venture forth with the camera. The seasons really do feel like they’re starting to change up here in West Yorkshire. The nights are noticeably drawing in and the autumn chill is starting to creep in on the tail of shorter days.

My distraction would normally be to have the radio on, but the news bulletins are so depressing as they report on our increasingly dysfunctional Government and its suicide mission to deliver a ‘no deal’ Brexit, thus crippling the economy and trashing our reputation with the rest of the world – who already think we’re mad. That so many of my fellow countrymen think that Johnson’s threat to leave the EU without a deal is actually a threat the EU take seriously says a lot about the state of the UK nowadays. If someone’s holding a gun to their own head and threatening to pull the trigger anyone with an ounce of common-sense knows that there’s only going to be one result. Sadly, common-sense left these shores in 2016 and it looks like it has no intention of returning.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are caught up in this absolute farce as the Tory party morphs into the Brexit party, minus that lying, slimy toad Farage. Instead, they have their other poster boy, Boris – a man who’s relationship with the truth is just as divorced as Farage’s. This is not going to end well…

My only hope is that enough members of all political parties remember where they’ve left their backbones and put country before party. In the meantime, we’re in for a very rocky ride.

Right now, I have other considerations. I’ve finished uploading a batch of pictures to the client’s website and now my attention’s drawn to the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen where Dawn’s busy baking biscuits to take into the ACoRP staff meeting tomorrow. I may be gone some time…

September already? Shit – where’s the year gone?

01 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brexit, Musings, Politics

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Here we are, the first day of September and only three weeks to go before autumn. Can I ask, who nicked the summer? We didn’t really get one up here in West Yorkshire. Sure, we had a few scattered, sunny days – but nothing that equates to those summers of memory (or even last year) where you know you could rely on the weather to be consistent. Here’s an example. Back in July, when I was judging the ACoRP awards we had a Friday where the trains were delayed by buckling rails because of the heat, yet the following Monday we were suffering problems because of torrential rain and flooding! August was much the same. The climate is changing, it’s becoming harder to predict and much more extreme. Of course, we’re going to get the usual right-wingers and conspiracy theorists tell you it’s all down to sun-spots or the fanciful bollocks that we’re actually entering a new ice-age and the planets actually cooling but none of them will address the fact that we constantly hit new temperature records.

This is the problem with living in a post-truth world where people can stand up with a straight face and tell you that they’re talking about ‘alternative facts’. Imagine, we live in a world where – thanks to those handy little smartphones most of us carry – we can check almost any fact and use our intellects and education to work out when we’re being lied to. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work anyway.

The Brexitshambles is a classic example of this and also how the narrative can change and yet so many people never realise and blindly follow the new message like sheep. Back in 2016 the Brexiters swore that if we left the EU we would be going into a new ‘Golden age’. The EU was holding us back, but anyway, ‘Johnny Foreigner’ would soon fold when we showed them that we meant business. Here’s some of the bullshit people lapped up.

Can any Brexiter who insists that they knew what they were voting for explain how we’ve gone from this to the Tory Government now preparing to crash out of the EU without a deal with all the consequences that will bring? How have we gone from David Davis saying there’s only ‘upsides’ to Boris Johnson saying that at least we’ll still have Mars Bars and clean water?

At what point are Brexiters going to admit they’ve been conned? That this country is on a suicide course for no other reason than a bunch of media moguls, disaster capitalists, spivs with Belizean diplomatic passports and the head-banging wing of the Tory party have manipulated them? Name a single benefit of Brexit – and don’t you dare tell me it’s about democracy when you’re calling half of the country ‘traitors’ and suspending Parliament so that you crash us out of the EU without a deal.

Whatever happens the UK is fractured. The ‘united’ kingdom was always an uneasy alliance. Now it’s looking like it won’t survive English exceptionalism and their contempt for foreigners – which includes long-standing issues with the other elements of the Union: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It seems that anything can be thrown under the wheels of the Brexit bus as long as they keep turning.

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