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When you get to my age you realize that most people have skeletons in their cupboard. Now before you start getting too apprehensive let me raise a hand in caution. Indeed the following story is not one that I have talked about very much although it is an incident which, I now realize, has influenced my approach to a great many things and has been helpful not least in my troublseshooting career in disaster management. It is said the devil is in the detail which is nothing I would be inclined to refute only possibly point out that details are often of  little use unless they are seen as part of a whole and also that there is  a clear understanding of what that whole consists of and one´s own role at any one precise moment in time. This understanding should then be indicative to the next move which of course could be no move at all. The latter in plain English is knowing when to shut up. Knowing when to shut up does not necessarily have to be a defensive position it may well be the realisation that the battle is won and no more is to be said or in fact should be said thereby risking a return to GO.

The year was 1969 a time when the Beatles era was coming to a close and maybe even the impetus of Bob Dylan´s The Times They Are A´Changing. The teenagers of the sixties were growing up, cutting their hair and getting jobs. To earn a little extra money I was giving evening classes in London teaching German. I had never taught before and looking in my files can find no reference confirming that I had. Now references are strange things and are rarely straightforward, so as I have little recollection of my actual teaching and the meaningless absence of any reference leaves me in blissful ignorance of if any success. What I do remember most vividly are the people attending my class. If you think this sounds like something out of Cluedo please believe me I am not making this up.  There was a Miss Brown who if I remember correctly was from London and there was a Mrs White, a lady originally from the Caribbean and not in any way representative of her name thus adding a third colour and more confusion especially for the teacher. The other two in the class were Tony and Dennis. Tony a Scotsman born in Liverpool and Dennis a Cockney with Irish parents. Now Tony, Dennis and I would sometimes round off our evening class sojourns with a few pints and then a curry. The term ”ring sting” was added to my vocabulary as well as one or two Irish rebel songs to my repertoire for drunken singing. Tony with his broad Scots dialect and wild temprement to match  contributed on my part to an increased understanding of Hadrian. 

On the 8 December 1969 our motley band found itself in a German Bierkeller celebrating the end of term. It was a pleasant evening although it ended in a rather unexpected way. Mrs White´s later analysis of the events that her presence was the cause is not one I share but for her to think as such is condemning in itself. Tony had gotten himself into a dispute with somebody on his way back from the gent`s toilet. The situation was obviously escalating and knowing Tony, Dennis and I attempted to intervene. Of little avail and the Old Bill (as Dennis would say) appeared as if from nowhere and began escorting Tony to a Black Maria. I soon found myself accompanying Tony and a very drunken Irishman on our way to Bow St. police station. The drunken Irishman was not Dennis who I believe was spared this trip due to his lesser sense of entitlement. What happened? Something like this: ”Now look here officer, there´s no need for this,” I exclaimed in my best what is linguistically known as received pronounciation. ”One more word from you and you´ll be coming along” He omitted the customary ”sir” which should have been warning enough. Watever it was I said is really of no matter and he kept his promise. A night in jail and standing next to Tony in the dock of Her Majesty`s Magistrates Court in Bow St. we both pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly resulting in a £2 fine. Looking back it was probably the best £2 spent in my life. Apart from having experienced the famous Bow St. Court at first hand albeit with a mighty hangover, I also learnt the necessity of taking in the whole picture, that negotiations are never only on your terms and there is a time and a place to just shut up. 

That´s how the saying goes and as usual with this kind of squishy reasoning it covers just about everything without saying anything. The verb feel of course is useful for describing a number of things which in many cases you would find hard put to attribute to any age determining quality. To feel a pebble in a shoe can be painful and restrict movement but that´s about it. For all intents and purposes I intend to restrict myself to feelings coupled to age excluding a number of other interpretations. Even then it is still a matter of interpretation. The interpretation of the world around us and the realization that this interpretation is mutual and ever changing. As a child, as I believe the case is with most children, I was impatient to get older. It would appear that the status of age is a knowledge we seem to acquire early in life. Somewhere along the way the desire to be older than I actually was left me. I don´t know exactly when that would have been but I guess around the age of 21. I have no explanation for this other than the last age related restrictions were lifted and I most probably saw myself as a fully fledged adult.  This desire however was never at any time replaced by wanting to be younger. In fact the thought of having to once again go through all the trials and tribulations of puberty, youthful stupidity and recklessness not to mention a multitude of examination papers was never an attraction even later on in life when becoming aware that old age was creeping up on me. Paradoxically this had little to do with me other than the fact I was getting on in years which I just viewed as an irrelevant number in contrast to the legalities attached to becoming 21. The very first time I realized the significance of that number in relation to how the world and indeed I, myself included, view a person of age was when I glimpsed a reflection of myself walking past a shop store window and wondered who the old man was. It rather startled me although I do remember laughing out loud at the same time thankful that there was no one in the vicinity to add a label of insanity to my what must have seemed like extraordinary behaviour. The second time I recall vividly as it had several connotations. I was on my way to work on a crowded bus in Södertälje, a town renowned for its large group of non European immigrants mainly Christian Syriacs from the Middle East, when a beautiful young woman of about 18 offered me her seat. I thanked her kindly doing my best to hide my surprise which in fact was twofold. Firstly I saw little reason for me not to be able to stand on a local bus for a short period of time but then becoming aware that she was showing the respect due to older people e.g me that most surely was part of her upbringing. I don´t know whether it made matters better or worse that in Sweden this type of behaviour has become increasingly rare to the point where holding open a door for a female might well reap a look of disdain. I have to admit that even until a few years ago the penny hadn´t dropped entirely as to my status so gracefully enveloped in the epithet “senior citizen” when on a domestic flight in Malaysia my wife and I were allowed to board the plane ahead of everybody else. I checked our tickets several times and it wasn´t until several days later I realized it was a case of children and old people first.

More years have passed and things have not got any better. I´m giving Old Father Time a run for his money and even though I may concede that he now definitely has me looking the part, his inroads on my mental status are of a limited nature. I might add there has been no activity from me to halt or even inhibit the process by frenzied activities in the local gym. In my mind Golf and Bridge are two very acceptable substitutes. Becoming aware but not resigning myself to my new status in life has assisted me in battling further assaults on my integrity in a more intelligent and for me less disturbing way. Thankfully I might add as the time I was given incorrect information on which floor of a building the person I intended to visit was housed. Returning to the reception desk explaining as such, the receptionist then repeated her earlier directions in a condescendingly louder voice. I felt like reaching through the little hole in the glass window and throttling her but refrained as my brain conjured up tomorrow´s headlines in the local newspaper. Not, “angry client attacks receptionist,” which I could have lived with but more on the lines of, “deranged pensioner now in care of social services.”

The awaiting Brexit ”over the cliff” bus crash has taken me back to the Saturday morning matinées of my childhood. The hero in the film be he (always he) riding a horse, a train or driving a car or a boat would find himself in some irretrievable situation at death´s door and all hope gone. At precisely that moment with the young audience already mourning his apparent demise the screen would be as if swiped away and an agitated voice would admonish everyone to ”not miss next week´s exciting episode.” Next week´s episode almost inevitably began a few frames short at the end of the previous episode revealing a slightly less definite situation. The hero survives and the show goes on. 

That´s entertainment for you and the realm of fantasy and fiction which at varying levels of sophistication enriches most people´s lives. 

Not quite so enriching and not always humourous is when things around you begin to lend credence to the saying, ”truth is stranger than fiction.”  Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that but there appears to be something of an epidemic in England´s green and pleasant lands. One might be tempted to say ”things were better before”  with ”before” best left undefined. 

The world has changed and paradoxically enough one of these changes, the digital impact on our lives drawing the curtain on the world´s stage, is giving us the impression that what we see now did not exist before.   We look on incredulously as dramatic and or unbelievable events unfold before our very eyes. This did not happen in times when telephones were affixed to the wall with a cord and whose usefulnes was restricted to verbal communication between two individuals. 

Of course not, the world may have changed but it is as mad as it ever was albeit in a different costume. 

USA – The US has a president who boasts of grabbing women by the genitals. Probably just boasting but if true might be the only thing he has been successful with.

UK – BBC presenter John Humphrys suggests that Ireland should again become a part of the UK, i.e. colony status.

Russia – Putin says not respecting the Brexit referendum is undemocratic.

Sweden – The Liberal party and the Centre party in Sweden enable a Social Democrat and Green party coalition government on the condition that they implement a list of political reforms that the Social Democrats and Greens went to the polls opposing. The Social Democrats and Greens accept the condition and the Liberal and Centre parties then claim they are still in opposition. (No, I´m not drunk) 

UK – Theresa May stands by Brexit means Brexit. Everybody else holding their breath.

Venezuala – Socialist run Venezuala, the oil richest country on earth making a mess/success of distributing wealth. Everybody´s poor.

Germany – Neo Nazis on the rise in Germany.

The World – Man made climate change is still being denied by some and ignored by many more.

UK – UK sends out Royal Navy warships to stop refugee dinghies crossing the channel.

UK –  Uk minister says Royal Navy should paintball Spanish naval ships encroaching Gibraltar waters. Mad maybe but at least it´s funny.

UK – Important reason given for leaving the EU is getting a blue passports back. 1. The new light blue is a long way off the old near black colour. 2. Colour choice no problem even as a member.

UK – Brexit is at road´s end. Parliament majority for what is not wanted (May´s deal and no deal crash out) no other options on the table other than remain (revoke article 50).  2nd referendum considered undemocratic by some.

Sweden – Commercially organized cheating for university entrance exams has led to an identified number of law and medicine students still reading for their degrees in Lund.

UK –  Electoral commission exposes referendum as fraudulent due to overspending by Vote Leave. Nobody seems to care.

UK –  EMA leaves the Uk and many companies re-locating to the Continent. Leader of the Labour party Jeremy Corbyn talks about a ”Brexit for the many not the few” adding ”not a job lost”

UK – On the outside looking in, the comedy of  Monty Python has been replaced by the comedy of Brexit.

UK – Uk minister Dominic Raab admits to not realizing the importance of Dover being so close to Calais. 

UK – Tory MP says companies relocating to the Continent is positive because it confirms there is no anxiety about post Brexit supply lines.

UK – ”We liberated Europe.” Baby boomers in the UK re-living World War 2 without actually having lived in it.

UK – Brexit backing Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski asks Polish government to be instrumental in over-ruling the House of Commons if they vote to delay Brexit.

UK – Little England sailing up to be the bad boy of the United Kingdom of Gt. Britain and Northern Ireland with a re-united Ireland and an idependent Scotland on the horizon.

 UK – Vocal advocate of no deal Brexit suggests parliament should be suspended until it´s all over.

UK – National newspaper Daily Mail calls judges ”enemies of the people” after High Court ruling on Brexit.

UK – Gov making preparations for martial law in event of disturbances post Brexit

UK – The Uk´s nervous breakdown continues with an incredulous world looking on. 

An Irishman might say, ”whale oil beef oct.”

This story goes a long way back, so far in fact that a number of details have slipped my mind. I am talking of an incident that occured somewhere between 1970 and 1974 so I feel no immediate pressure in pretending otherwise.  I was on my way back from the US and I do not recall if it was my first visit which in fact was a private trip or a subsequent business trip, not that any of that would have a bearing on this story although the naivety of my actions suggest the former. Nor does the fact that I do not remember the actual airport (other than it was New York) from which I was returning to London or even in fact how I got to the airport. I do however have a vivid recollection that on finding the gate corresponding to the number printed on my boarding pass I was surprised that there was nobody there and that all the other passengers were apparently already on the plane. I believe I was aware that in those days some domestic flights in the US were run much in the same way as London Transport, buy your ticket and jump on the nearest bus or tube, yet I found it a little strange that there was nobody to punch my ticket or as I was travelling internationally check out my passport. Once on the plane the nagging feeling that something was wrong was hardly dispelled as I took a quick inventory of my fellow passengers. I am not prone to xenophobia so please don´t get me wrong when I say that nobody looked as if they belonged in London and why would this plane of all planes be filled to the brim with American tourists going to London. The gentleman standing nearest to me was wearing a ten gallon hat as if to underline my train of thought. I meekly asked him hoping nobody else would hear my question, ”excuse me is this plane going to London? He was well over six feet tall so I wasn´t just imagining that he looked down at me as he replied, ”London Canada?” I felt the blood rushing to my face,”no, London England,” I managed to stutter. ” Gee no, we´re on our way to Texas.” Looking back I can imagine people must have thought that the plane was on fire if my hasty departure was anything to go by. Again my memory fails me, which under the circumstances is I feel completely forgiveable, yet somehow I acquired the information that I had in fact gone to the correct departure gate only I was in the wrong terminal. Jumping into the first taxi in a long line of taxis waiting outside I breathlessy expressed my desire for rapid transportation to the neighbouring terminal. The journey couldn´t have taken more than a few minutes but with me realizing that I was in the immediate risk of missing my plane to London it seemed like ages. Just for good measure I probably had the angriest New York cab driver of the month next to me. In no uncertain language, familiar to me from watching American television series rather than any wider grasp of the English language, he explained to me that he had to stand in line for hours at the airport to hopefully catch a fare downtown; a ride from his point of view definitely more lucrative than the one I had requested. Not only to placate my chauffeur but also in matters of expediency I quickly unloaded all my remaining dollars into his hand and disappeared into the terminal imagining that the string of abuse still emanating from the yellow vehicle had abated somewhat. Next time you stand in line for a security check after showing your boarding card and/or your passport for the umpteenth time just think, ”well at least nobody will be getting on the wrong plane.” 

If you are wondering why I haven´t commented Brexit today, let me say Theresa May has gone mad, Jeremy Corbyn has gone AWOL and both of them and me think whatever it is they are not doing  can wait until after Christmas.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

To be honest I am at quite a loss for what to say. I suppose with amateur political analysis as a hobby I should find some consolation in the fact that at the Brexit present there is hardly a professional opinion that does not carefully hedge its bets as to where and what the Uk will end up with at the end of the Brexit process. As far as I can discern there is a reasonable amount of understanding amongst most parties and interest goups about what the different types of Brexit will entail albeit with a ”mums the word” attitude with those advocating the most damaging one. The great divider would seem to be the acceptance of the various price tags and the reasons for that acceptance. A price tag that effects everyone though no matter the outcome is the effect Brexit has had on the country’s reputation. An advisory referendum resulting in a no to the EU most certainly came as a shock but it also came with a large portion of advice to Westminster that had very little to do with membership of the European Union. Unfortunately voting ”no” became the warning shot that didn’t miss. From there on it just went from bad to worse. At the moment the country needed leadership and not a small portion of statesmanship it got sound bites, cover ups, obfuscation and head in the sand politics from the Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the opposition has been offering much the same only in red. The world may be laughing, Brits are not.

When you get to my age the future has some very limited options one of them being an extremely persuasive factor in looking back rather than forward. As yet I haven´t actually got to the stage where I might have second thoughts about  booking next month´s theatre tickets but it might be fun to begin relating the occasional ”aha” moments of my life. I believe I have at some time already mentioned my second ”real” job was working for an American publishing company and in fact the very reason I first moved to Sweden. Please do not think that working as a Horsham council lorry driver or as a  dustman, as the term was in those days, are considered by me as not being ”real” jobs. For me at the time they were just temporary jobs supplementing my income as a student. Anyhow to get on with my story the company was short of a Middle East representative and added it onto my list of areas to visit. I have always been interested in politics and world affairs so my reason for confirming that I was quite happy with this appointment had little to do with any ignorance of what was and still is going on in that area. Leila Khaled had made a name for herself parking airline jets in the desert and the PLO was on everybody´s lips. This was my opportunity to see the world or at least more of it than before. With Stockholm as my base for Scandinavia, the countries on my new list now included Greece, Turkey, Israel, The Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria and Iran. I actually managed to visit all of them at least once, barring Saudi Arabia which being last on my list of priorities remained unvisited due to me changing jobs. I have a story for nearly all the countries on this list and common to them all are memories of meeting kind and hospitable people. Perhaps one of the most revealing experiences of my life is that whatever country I find myself in, believe me to date that is quite a number, with the exception of language and local peculiarities people´s daily lives remind me very much of my own. 

In the foyer of the Kuwait Hilton a gentleman in a well cut suit approached me with the words, ”hello again, maybe you do not recognize me?”  He presented himself and I realized that he and I had attended the same meeting at the university that very morning only at the time he had been wearing traditional Arab dress. It took me a while to understand that my mind had played me that not uncommon trick of diverting attention from what really matters. We exchanged a few words about our earlier meeting and decided to continue the conversation over dinner later that evening. His parting words were ”if you brought some whisky with you, bring the bottle along so we can have a pre- dinner drink. In fact I had been in doubt as to whether or not to take some duty free with me full well knowing the attitude to alcohol in Kuwait. The advice I was given before leaving was that bottles of spirits need not be declared unless directly asked for by a customs official in which case they could but would not necessarily be confiscated. Nobody asked. A little subconsciously I took the bottle to the dining room and instructed by my friend, placed it under the table. This was quite amusing as it slotted in perfectly with the Swedish mode d´emploi of the day where hard liquor was not put on the table. My friend on ordering two empty glasses explained to me that the Hilton hotel was the only place in Kuwait this could be done. Well I never! 

After a very pleasant dinner my friend offered to show me around Kuwait City which I gratefully accepted and we arranged to meet the next day.

On getting into his car he handed me a small package containing a white headscarf, a small white embroidered skull cap and a black cord. ”Now you will look like a true Kuwaiti,” he said with a laugh. Anyone who has seen Lawrence of Arabia will understand my feelings although I did refrain from breaking out in ”the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” and had a little difficulty not feeling somewhat awkward as we had tea in the Sheraton later in the morning. As we were drinking our tea there was a newsflash on the radio and apparently a group of terrorists as yet of unknown nationality but suspected as being  Palestinians had occupied offices belonging to the Kuwaiti foreign office. ”That is very close to my own office,” my friend exclaimed and suggested we drive over to see what was happening. Getting out of the car there was a strong wind blowing and again I had this Lawrence of Arabia moment as I wound my Keffiyeh around my face and tucked it in to prevent it blowing away. The large square in front of the office buildings was cordoned off and as we walked up to the barrier, a policeman or soldier unslung his rifle when he saw me. A few words from my friend and the rifle was returned to his shoulder. ”What was all that about”, I asked. My friend´s explanation was that the soldier could not see my face and was suspicous of me because of my blue eyes. I was a little confused at this and said, ”Palestinians and blue eyes?” ”Yes,” he replied, ”many Palestinians have blue eyes, the Crusaders you know.”

I recently saw a picture of a man wearing a T-shirt with the words, ”we won now send them back.” You might imagine I was shocked yet if anything I was shocked at not being shocked. Sadness could probably best describe my initial reaction immediately followed by a sense of curiosity shrouded in incredibility. Contrary to my usual rather flippantly dismissive attitude to discomfort I paused to think why this picture had that effect on me. Of course I realized that it was the usual case of ”we and them” or in this particular instance ”him and them.” As he must have bought that T-shirt somewhere it can be assumed he has companions sharing his views or rather more unlikely his T-shirt maker’s market analysis is for the dogs. So this man thinks ”they” should be sent back. He makes no reference to who ”they” are and expects us all to understand. Sounds a little bit like the one question on the referendum, all including you choose the details.  As usual in this kind of sound bite messaging there is no way of exactly knowing who or what is meant which of course is the intention thus freeing the messenger from any sort of well thought through or well founded argument. Instead this vagueness puts the onus to define ”them” on the recipient of the message.

Sending someone back is pre-determined by someone actually having come here. For reasons of logic that even our friend with the T-shirt would both understand and subscribe to, being born here may comfortably be excluded from this category. His ”we won” would seem to refer to the referendum so I suppose that in that case he would, in any logical context, only be referring to EU citizens who had utilized their freedom of movement although I feel tempted to suggest he is unwittingly exercising a little poetic licence. Whatever message he feels he is communicating, the T-shirt says so much more about its owner than anything else. The words are provocative and hurtful, they could apply to any one of millions of people whose only common denominator is that they were not born in the UK. There is complete disregard for any other factors negative or positive that might be considered, they should just be sent back. 

So should this happen, does T-shirt man think his life will improve?  I don´t think he gives it much thought either way. His message, his provocative attitude have given him something he rarely experiences in daily life, attention and respect which is what he would call the fear he raises in many breasts. T-shirt man is not a new phenomenon. Insecure, small minded individuals spouting nationalistic and other rubbish with great self confidence. The greater that self confidence the more we had better watch out.

Just over 2 years ago I made a most memorable cruise from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles via amongst other places the Falkland Islands. All in all it was an enjoyable cruise but for two minor incidents that a little over a year later made me realize I had for the first time come face to face with supporters of two political forces that would come to change the lives of millions. At dinner one evening the subject turned to Trump and even though in my experience the American passenger contingent had their fair share of Republicans nobody seemed enthused by the idea of Trump becoming President. The conversation halted abruptly followed by an embarassed silence when a gentleman at the table exclaimed, ”I would vote for Trump.”  I shrugged it off thinking, ”no way that´s gonna happen.” 

Somewhat later on the cruise whilst sharing a table with an English couple the conversation turned to the upcoming referendum. The couple were struggling to give the impression that they were upper middle class after only a short while pointing out that they had gone to university and the woman loudly exclaiming she would never buy anything from Marks and Spencers saying it would be akin to wearing a uniform. As Marks & Sparks do a nice line in lingerie I sat there musing on how many people actually get to see her drawers. At first I was a little surprised when the husband came across as being in favour of the UK leaving the EU. A little later a distinct flavour of xenophobia intruded into the conversation and I began to understand. He was however of the opinion that although he intended to vote ”Leave” that it would not happen. I agreed with him on this suggesting that a ”Leave” vote could result in Scotland breaking away from the union. ”Let them go,” was his immediate response. I think the aghast look on my face must have shocked him a little as he began to stutter explanations. I have always felt it is important to be polite to people so for the remainder of the cruise I shunned them as politely as possible. Little did I realize that the American gentleman and the British couple were evil omens signalling the beginning of a disturbing journey nobody yet knows how it will end.

A lot of water under the bridge since then and we now have President Trump and Brexit yet notwithstanding with only 4 months to Christmas I think you can guess what I want from Santa. It is not inconcievable that Trump will be ousted as president and Brexit will eventually be abandoned yet when and how, before or after Christmas, is anybody´s guess. That is quite a turn around, so what happened?  As far as Trump is concerned I shall leave him to his fate and answer the question simply by saying that I believe him to be a despicable human being and people are finding that out.

In the case of Brexit much ado is made of the electorate consisting of large numbers of people who really have no clue about anything. This of course is unkind and also very untrue. Even the greatest lack of understanding or analysis of a political situation does not deprive anyone of the means to judge the qualities or lack thereof of their daily lives. In a democracy this has to be respected if a country is to call itself a democracy, with representative democracy and elections being the tools that make this work. The system may be slow and clumsy but well capable of punishing politicians or parties not living up to their promises on important issues.  Referendums play by different rules and as such should be treated with much greater respect than elections where people have a general understanding where to find their political benefactors. Leaving the EU was done on a blank sheet of paper and the electorate, knowledgable or not, was asked to fill in what it was it wanted, anything from a close association with the EU to leaving with no deal. The first step was leaving and whatever the outcome the sunny uplands would follow. The argument for ”Leave” has now shifted to a promise of a better life in maybe 10 to 50 years and in the short term a stagnant economy, isolation and less influence in the world. Project fear and Brexit may not be the end of the world as Theresa May now claims but for many Brits it is not the beginning of a new and better life either. People now realize they have been shafted and judging by the latest opinion polls the country is coming to its senses. Unfortunately referendums have no electoral escape hatch so now it is up to our politicians to come to their senses.

#PeoplesVote

For heaven´s sake what the hell is going on.  The entire UK seems to be in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Now I wouldn´t go as far as saying everybody has gone stark raving mad as there seem to be a large number of sane voices on Twitter telling me otherwise. Without a doubt though there is enough mad input from a great number of people, politicians not excepted, that makes for a very scary feeling. Tuning into the UK with serious talk of food and medicine stockpiling in the event of a “Hard Brexit“ as well as large sections of the community being labelled as traitors for expressing their views makes me feel I am in the middle of an Orwell or Huxley re-run. After having pinched myself a number of times to ensure the whole thing is not a nightmare which of course it is but not my own personal one, I feel somehow that this will end as nightmares do, by us all waking up.  Until then or latest in 4 weeks no more on Brexit from me.

Over the past 5 days I have been involved in a nightmare of a different kind which unlike Brexit is not self inflicted. For quite a while now the weather in Sweden has been dry and hot with weeks of sunshine and temperatures normally associated with holiday destinations in warmer climes. Mixed feelings of appreciation coupled to nagging concerns of global warming and the long term effects on peoples lives these extreme temperatures have led to some very frighteneing short term effects in the way of enormous forest fires. With the entire countryside in practically the whole of Sweden as dry as a tinderbox, a fire of the smallest kind easily becomes a monster spreading over thousands and thousands of acres of forest where the tree tops as well as the undergrowth are bone dry. As a member of an FRG group (Frivillig resurs grupp) under the auspices of the Swedish Civil Defence authority I recently spent 5 days in Färila and Ljusdal, the scene of Sweden´s largest ever forest fire.  The work assigned to our group consisted mainly of administering vast amounts of volunteered resources both people and material. Primarily this means listing offers of help via a telephone call, an e-mail or communicated via the Municipality of Ljusdal´s website. Organising a group of volunteers to set up a tent camp on the football field of Färila school, the headquarters of the co-ordinating team, was one of our very first assignments. Some of these tents were later occupied by a French contingent proudly hanging their “tricolore“ next to the blue flag with the yellow stars. I stopped to think for a minute. The pilots in that tent as well as the Polish, German, Danish, Finnish and Portugese firefighters may or may not have very much in common with the locals in the county of Hälsingland whose forest, properties and maybe even whose lives they are saving but they share the values that have made that flag the symbol of co-operation amongst the nations of Europe putting an end to fighting each other, instead working together for the sake of our common future.

• An enormous demonstration in London demanding a final say in the negotiated deal with the EU including an option to remain. 
• Theresa May embarrasses herself on the internet with a near to deranged appearance spouting new sound-bites.
• Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says ”fuck business”
• Airbus and BMW leaving UK as a consequence of a no deal Brexit.
• Government criticises Airbus and BMW for revealing their plans?
• Scotland heading for a new independence referendum.
• Polls showing growing suppport for a united Ireland.
• House of Lords says what the House of Commons would like to say.
• Latest polls suggest the tide has turned in Remain´s favour.
• Jeremy Corbyn hiding in Jordan during #PeoplesVote march.
• Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry et al. hiding somewhere else.
• Labour and anti-Brexit well represented by the young people OFOC, Our Future Our Choice
• Left wing Labour people say FBPE is full of Tories?
• Left wing Labour people say the #PeoplesVote is a Lib Democrat attack on Corbyn?
• Left wing Labour people say people who are openly anti-Brexit attack Corbyn?
• Left wing Labour people say unless you love Corbyn your political views are irrelevant.
• Tories are divided.
• Labour is divided.
• The country is divided.
• The Good Friday agreement needs the single market and the customs union.
• Ireland needs the Good Friday agreement.
• British business needs to know what the deal will be.
• Theresa May needs to know what the deal will be.
• Theresa May has sound-bites, red lines and little else.
• Unless #PeoplesVote is successful the House of Commons has a choice; any old deal or no deal.
• Some people think no deal means status quo. 
• Some people haven´t a clue, they just hate foreigners.
• Some people have a clue, also hate foreigners and are bonding with those that haven´t a clue.
• Jacob Reese-Mogg is funny; both meanings, makes you laugh and squirm.
• David Davis is busy taking somebody out. 
• Brexit for the many not the few decent Tories left.
• Tory government doesn´t know what it wants.
• Everybody´s forgotten Gibralter and the Falklands.
• People starting to prepare for a no deal Brexit.
• Remainers more confident there will not be a Brexit of any kind.
• The EU has several off-the-shelf offers which with or without adjustments are unacceptable to the government.
• May hosts sleepover Cabinet meeting to agree on plans for leaving the EU, including those not acceptable to the EU?
• The EU knows the UK is leaving but not how.
• The government knows the UK is leaving but not how.
• The government is pretending it has a ”no deal” ace up its sleeve.
• Brussels knows the ace is a suicide bomb.
• The government knows it´s a suicide bomb but isn´t telling anybody.

How will this end? Haven´t a clue but it´s better than anything on TV. 

Like when the French bellboy in the Peter Sellers film wishes the newly weds: ” a great `a penis”  Time to say, I beg your pardon what was it you really meant? 

#PeoplesVote