Day: 12 November 2020

My name is Paul and I am 63 years of age. I live in a village in Wales, with my wife of forty years Kate. Our local is fifty yards away from our home. In mid-May a number of the regulars got together and decided to renovate the pub. The pub was closed under the regulations at this time. The regulars gave freely of their time and money, some spending thousands of pounds out of their own pockets. They didn’t employ anyone as amongst the regulars is every trade known to man. I should point out that all the beer had gone down the drain by May and the beer lines emptied. We joined the group in mid-June. We are both retired. We have both always engaged ourselves in charity work. A Past President of the local Rotary Club, I travelled to Africa to build a bridge over a river in a remote village, water aid etc. I only add this to point out that we are not the local pissheads who can’t go a day without a drink. On July 3rd we commenced work at 10am and during the day painted the walls of the beer garden. A sandwich and a bottle of water for lunch. We were the only people working at the pub that day. From 4pm ...

by Dean Fraser You could almost have been forgiven for thinking we weren't living in a dystopian nightmare up here in the Kingdom of Fife. Because back in April and May this year you could not have witnessed anything more spectacularly bucolic. The picturesque, almost leafy country lanes. The tractors, ever so gently meandering and bobbing through partially ploughed fields. Hares darting, for what seemed like their lives, from still motionless ‘lies’ on the brown earth, or females fending off randy jacks ("not at the moment mate, thanks"). The birds, squirting into hedge rows, and then into trees – beaks full. And let's not forget the farmhouses and cottages, releasing small wisps of smoke via the chimneys up into the blue still skies. My God, like something out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the weather, all over the UK, was glorious, then). We cycled along main roads, with virtually no traffic, having to pinch ourselves to properly recall what kind of hell this was. Myself and my partner – who believed everything that both Governments were telling her (Ouch!) So, as you can imagine, I have my work cut out for me up in the Frozen North. More kinds of hell to negotiate in the form of Kim Jong Krankie – and all her sycophants – briefing us with televised ...

Boris Close Aide Quits In Downing Street Power Struggle Trouble is brewing in Downing Street as tensions over access, strategy, style and leaks come to a head. The Financial Times has the story. Boris Johnson’s Director of Communications resigned on Wednesday night following a bitter Downing Street power struggle over access to the Prime Minister and over who will lead the UK Government’s communications strategy.Lee Cain, one of Mr Johnson’s longest-serving and most loyal aides, said that “after careful consideration” he would quit Number 10 at the end of the year.The departure of one of the Prime Minister’s most important allies follows a rejected plan that would have seen Mr Cain promoted to Mr Johnson’s Chief of Staff, an idea that resulted in a furious backlash from Conservative ministers, MPs and officials.In a statement, Mr Cain said, “it has been a privilege to work as an adviser for Mr Johnson for the last three years – being part of a team that helped him win the Tory leadership contest, secure the largest Conservative majority for three decades – and it was an honour to be asked to serve as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.”Mr Johnson thanked Mr Cain for his “extraordinary service” in government over the past four years. “He has been a true ally and friend and I ...