
They say a week is a long time in politics and the past week has been a proverbial lifetime.
Please bear with me – I promise there will be a Cumbrian ending to this piece, but I simply cannot ignore the goings on in Westminster and over the border, as well as across the Atlantic.
Let’s start in Washington or, maybe, Mar-a-Lago, where it is alleged, President Trump kept boxes of secrets in his bathroom. Ignoring the cheap joke about a shortage of toilet paper, it has always been easy to see Trump as some sort of comedy character, who, had he been British, have plied his trade in pantomime, but considering he was, for four years, the most powerful man on the planet, that has to be truly worrying.
To find him now facing federal charges in relation to the secret documents and a case revolving around payments to a prostitute, yet still commanding deep loyalty among those right of centre in American politics, is also worrying as it lowers respect for the most powerful country in the world while China and Russia increase their influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Closer to home, we have all manner of happenings with, apparently, Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list the blue touch paper with plenty vying for the chance to strike the match.
Johnson had already rewarded his brother, someone who is hardly a suitable candidate for the second chamber (House of Lords and how it should be reformed – a whole column in itself) with a peerage, and the original honours list had father, Stanley, resident of Greece, with a murky personal life, in line to join his son in the Lords.
Then we have a peerage for Nadine Dorries, author, I’m A Celebrity contestant, and part-time MP, and someone who clearly would die in a ditch for Johnson, being removed from the list because a standing MP should not have a peerage waiting for them when they leave the Commons.
Add to that Jacob Rees-Moglet and a knighthood for services to the 1800s, and you have the measure of the man Johnson is and always will be.
The other despicable thing he did, on receiving a draft copy of the report of the House of Commons privileges committee was to call them out when they were not able to respond until their full report was published.
Yet another example of the ‘me, me, me,’ culture that shows him to be the complete narcissist and liar and someone who, whatever his jokey, public image, had never the integrity to lead this country.
Then we have Nicola Sturgeon arrested and while the case is sub judice, where any comment is contempt of court, she is able, on release to make comments while the rest of us can’t.
And to cap it all, Silvio Berlusconi, a man for all seasons in Italy, dies.
But what has the past few weeks in Cumbrian politics seen?
Well, we have the continuing saga of the bin strike in the old Allerdale area who have now resorted to bi-weekly emptying of household waste with all recycling suspended.
He who must obey is now on first name terms with the staff at the local recycling site as he trudges in with she who must be obeyed editor’s empty Prosecco bottles (actually, stout bottles).
And speaking of the new local government regime, with the Lib Dem controlled Westmorland and Furness, who seem to be doing quite well, and Labour controlled Cumberland who are, well, good on social media posts, we now have Carlisle Tory MP, John Stevenson, lobbying for the Government to allow an elected mayor for Cumbria.
Hang on, haven’t we just gone through a review of local government bringing about the geographical split that few can really understand, and without any time to allow these entities to bed in, Stevenson wants to take away many of the strategic powers from the councils and hand them to one person? Is this a fit of pique because the Tories failed to win control of either council and he believes they stand a chance of having a Tory mayor?
But what is the real hot topic for most of us? Well, heat.
Cumbria basking in a heatwave and farmers complaining about the lack of rain, apart from those hit by thunderstorms in which case there was too much rain. It’s all very well for those who can quench their thirst with a cold can of cider, us felines with our coats have to head for the shade and keep mouse chasing to a minimum.
The advice is pretty clear, stay out of the sun from 11am to 3pm, drink plenty of liquids with water being best (but boring) option, close windows during the day and draw curtains on sun facing rooms, then open them again in the evening and let cooling breezes waft through.
Beware of electric fans – they may feel cool but all they do is move hot air around so use them only at night. And don’t forget to wear a hat and splash on the factor 50 if you have to venture out.
Check on those vulnerable to the heat – the over-75s and, especially, females are particularly vulnerable according to the NHS – especially those who live on their own.
Make sure your pets are out of the sun during the day and make sure they have plenty of cool, often replenished, water.
Summer is a brilliant time, especially when it is nice and sunny which is why so many jet off to the sun for their annual break. But hot weather brings it challenges from the increase in those pesky flies to the risk of sunburn and heatstroke.
It is also the time when our politics goes crazy – we will have to wait a long time for another week like this past one.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and, now, back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t. After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county. I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.