Turns out that things were not quite what they seemed on Tuesday when the government won three out of the four amendments. There is a "gentleman's agreement where if for reasons of illness or pregnancy, an MP on one side of the division can't make the vote, then one from the other side is "paired" and so will not vote.
That's the agreement, but on Tuesday it failed. And some investigating by The Tomes has shown it to be deliberate.
And the news has not gone down well, although it may not change the votes, it does mean that this agreement will not work again. It also shows to what lengths the Government will go to, to win.
Earlier this week, the UK's DExEU published its position paper/with paper/thingy, and although its a mess, it is something. Only, it seems that rather than get a crack team of translators to turn it into various European languages, the DExEU fed it into Google translate, which them chewed the text up good and proper. So that no two versions say the same thing. It could also be viewed as insulting, as most Europeans do speak good English, also this is also being viewed as trying to bypass Mr Barnier.
But don't worry, Mr Raab has been to Brussels today to take over from the useless DD and said he was looking forward to lighting a fire under the talks and would bring vim and vigour to the talks. And will try to get a good deal.
The deal will be as a result of the UK's A50 letter and May's red lines, use those and you will find what will come out the other end. To get a different deal, rub out those red lines and see what happens.
Boris would't approve, of course. He made is resignation speech yesterday, and droned on and on. But after two years in the job, promoting Brexit, his only plan was to "back Brexit Britain". And that was it. Nothing constructive, which is what we've come to expect from the former part-time Mayor of London.
The Government is to send sixty notifications to homes and businesses on the preparations needed in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The penny is beginning to drop that this might not be as easy as DD, Fox, Johnson and Gove said it would be.
And still there is no movement on a solution to the NI border.
The clock is ticking.
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Tuesday 17th July 2018
Tuesday.
And I am first up, just after five.
I feed the cats, give molly her pill and make breakfast.
All is done by half five, when Jools get up, has a shower, so when she comes down the coffee is at the right temperature, and her cereal has soaked up the right amount of milk.
I sip my coffee and survey the carnage on either side of the pond. It makes for grim reading.
Jools is ready to leave for work just after six, so I am left alone, as the cats have all escaped to a quiet place somewhere in the garden to see the stifling hours out.
There is work, as ever, with the small band of us that have not taken the summer off, work with the few grenades thrown our way.
I notice that the beans we planted have not just started producing pods, but those on one plant, near to the ground are ready for picking.
I have the task of downloading documents from our intranet site. Hundreds of documents. So I settle down on the sofa and begin to click and copy.
And that was my day.
I have lunch, sometimes have five minutes to drink a cuppa walking round the garden, seeing what there was to see.
And then back in the living room for more copying.
I make some pasta salad in the early afternoon, ready for the pan fried aubergines we would have in the evening. And some runner beans. From our garden.
At five, I am done for the day, pick the beans and prepare the aubergine, so it will all be ready when Jools comes home. It has been another warm and sunny day, another day in this endless summer.
Dinner is fine, the beans are special, out first ever bean crop, and go well, though would have been better with some roast beef and gravy.
We spend the evening watering the garden, as we missed out on Monday, and some of the plants were half dead from lack of it. They recover during the night.
And that is it. Another day down. And no football.
And I am first up, just after five.
I feed the cats, give molly her pill and make breakfast.
All is done by half five, when Jools get up, has a shower, so when she comes down the coffee is at the right temperature, and her cereal has soaked up the right amount of milk.
I sip my coffee and survey the carnage on either side of the pond. It makes for grim reading.
Jools is ready to leave for work just after six, so I am left alone, as the cats have all escaped to a quiet place somewhere in the garden to see the stifling hours out.
There is work, as ever, with the small band of us that have not taken the summer off, work with the few grenades thrown our way.
I notice that the beans we planted have not just started producing pods, but those on one plant, near to the ground are ready for picking.
I have the task of downloading documents from our intranet site. Hundreds of documents. So I settle down on the sofa and begin to click and copy.And that was my day.
I have lunch, sometimes have five minutes to drink a cuppa walking round the garden, seeing what there was to see.
And then back in the living room for more copying.
I make some pasta salad in the early afternoon, ready for the pan fried aubergines we would have in the evening. And some runner beans. From our garden.
At five, I am done for the day, pick the beans and prepare the aubergine, so it will all be ready when Jools comes home. It has been another warm and sunny day, another day in this endless summer.
Dinner is fine, the beans are special, out first ever bean crop, and go well, though would have been better with some roast beef and gravy.
We spend the evening watering the garden, as we missed out on Monday, and some of the plants were half dead from lack of it. They recover during the night.
And that is it. Another day down. And no football.
The Brexit Broadcasting Corporation
There is no easy way to say this, but the BBC has let the country down. And is continuing to do so,
Back in 2002, Andrew Gilligan made a one time report on the BBC before seven in the morning, hinting that the Government knew it's claims of the existence of weapons of mass destruction were, how shall I put this, not credible?
In the aftermath of that, the BBC has been stripped of its editorial integrity, getting worse with each passing administration. That the Government of the day, once evey ten years gets to renew it's charter, meant that the BBC bent over backwards to please it political masters to ensure the corporations ongoing life.
Now we come to Brexit, which has got to to the point where the Corporation will not enter into any discussions on air or online whether the referendum was fought on falsehoods, though we know that to be true. It repeats the Government statements without question, and where there are two points of view, it will give equal billing to both, even if one side is in a massive minority. Just to ensure that it is impartial.
When the Government disowns its own nightmarish figures on the effects of the various flavours of Brexit, should not the BBC be asking questions, to those that made claims two years ago about how easy Brexit would be?
It has come to the point where, yesterday, when the Election Commission came to the conclusion that the two main Leave campaigns colluded to overspend by some £600k, and had broken the law of the land, has so far failed to mention the breaking the law a bit, and given more space to the rebuttals of those in the campaigns.
Further, that many who ran and oversaw both campaigns are now senior members of the Government or advisors, isn't it fair that the BBC asks difficult questions of them, rather than state without question, that the overspend had no effect on the referendum result If that were the case, then why have the rules to ensure a level playing field?
Is the BBC so scared that it won't use the phrase "broke the electoral law"?
Yes.
Once upon a time we all relied on the BBC for news and facts. I several years ago gave up on it. I get my opinions from those who know about the subject they write, blog or tweet upon. What is the point of the BBC is their reporters have no real understanding of the issues they report on? How can we, the electorate make informed decisions if we don't know the effect of those decisions will be? Many might say, when asked by pollsters, that a no deal would be better than a "bad" deal, but do they really understand what this means?
I know what frictionsless trade entails, not because I am some expert in the field, but I have looked into it, and blogged, so you don't have to. Without a CU, member of the SM and tax equivillence then frictionless trade is impossible, and anyone who says otherwise either is lying or does not understand the subject.
Back in 2002, Andrew Gilligan made a one time report on the BBC before seven in the morning, hinting that the Government knew it's claims of the existence of weapons of mass destruction were, how shall I put this, not credible?
In the aftermath of that, the BBC has been stripped of its editorial integrity, getting worse with each passing administration. That the Government of the day, once evey ten years gets to renew it's charter, meant that the BBC bent over backwards to please it political masters to ensure the corporations ongoing life.
Now we come to Brexit, which has got to to the point where the Corporation will not enter into any discussions on air or online whether the referendum was fought on falsehoods, though we know that to be true. It repeats the Government statements without question, and where there are two points of view, it will give equal billing to both, even if one side is in a massive minority. Just to ensure that it is impartial.
When the Government disowns its own nightmarish figures on the effects of the various flavours of Brexit, should not the BBC be asking questions, to those that made claims two years ago about how easy Brexit would be?
It has come to the point where, yesterday, when the Election Commission came to the conclusion that the two main Leave campaigns colluded to overspend by some £600k, and had broken the law of the land, has so far failed to mention the breaking the law a bit, and given more space to the rebuttals of those in the campaigns.
Further, that many who ran and oversaw both campaigns are now senior members of the Government or advisors, isn't it fair that the BBC asks difficult questions of them, rather than state without question, that the overspend had no effect on the referendum result If that were the case, then why have the rules to ensure a level playing field?
Is the BBC so scared that it won't use the phrase "broke the electoral law"?
Yes.
Once upon a time we all relied on the BBC for news and facts. I several years ago gave up on it. I get my opinions from those who know about the subject they write, blog or tweet upon. What is the point of the BBC is their reporters have no real understanding of the issues they report on? How can we, the electorate make informed decisions if we don't know the effect of those decisions will be? Many might say, when asked by pollsters, that a no deal would be better than a "bad" deal, but do they really understand what this means?
I know what frictionsless trade entails, not because I am some expert in the field, but I have looked into it, and blogged, so you don't have to. Without a CU, member of the SM and tax equivillence then frictionless trade is impossible, and anyone who says otherwise either is lying or does not understand the subject.
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
Chaos ahoy.
As I have pointed out, there has been two Brexit negotiations; one the UK with the EU, the other the PM with her Cabinet, party, Parliament and press.
What has played out this week and been purely domestic, but the fact that it is all played out online, the EU will be looking on, aghast as to what has happened.
May's Chequers document lasted just over a week, a series of Ministers of State and junior Ministers resigned, then ERG tabled four amendments, which on Monday the Government accepted in full. These were either nodded through or voted four, and in getting these passed the Conservative Party had a three line whip for it's MPs to vote against its own Policy. May even voted against it.
Yesterday there were four more amendments, this time from Europhiles, three of which were voted down and one passed. But May survived the one making it law that in case of no deal, then the Government would have to sign up to a CU with the EU. Against the threat of failing to support the PM, 12 Tory MPs still voted for the amendment, but four rebel Labour MPs voted with the Government meaning it was struck down. The threat to rebel Tory MPs that if they failed to support the PM, there would be a vote of no confidence and then a quick election.
They held firm anyway and voted with their conscience. About time.
But this will not have gone unnoticed in Europe, that the document that the UK published on Monday in several languages, has already been amended and is now worthless. Indeed, as a junior DExEU Minister was in Brussels negotiating with the EU on the Chequers document, May was already abandoning that "final" position.
And with the changes in the document forced by the ERG, the EU will almost certainly draw the conclusion that May will not be able to get any deal through Parliament in London, so what is the point in talking any further? The EU issued a statement to its rump 27 members last night to accelerate preparations for a no deal Brexit.
And should the EU decide there is no point in either stringing May along or talking, then the reality is that the UK will leave the EU with no deal in little over 9 months, with no real preparations done, no trade deals with the EU or any other country, as the idea of rolling over the ones we are part of as EU members would not now be supported by the EU, and the UK would fall back onto WTO rules, which would decimate agriculture first, then automotive and aerospace soon after. Planes could not fly, there will be limited cancer treatment, and there will be food shortages in a matter of days.
These, as well as the massive hit on the UK economy have been made by either Government departments of experts in their fields, or just a result of international trade or sectoral law.
When yesterday, the Government's own Office for Budget Responsibility stated there would be no Brexit Bonus, but a massive Brexit Tax, a Number 10 spokesperson said, we have been very clear there will be a bonus.
The media, people and other politicians must challenge such faith based statements and quoting their own departments projections at them. We must go back to evidence based decision making, not this hope that something will turn up, or just blind faith in some dogmatic ideal. Until we do, we will have things like Brexit, and people like Trump able to just lie without any consequence.
What has played out this week and been purely domestic, but the fact that it is all played out online, the EU will be looking on, aghast as to what has happened.
May's Chequers document lasted just over a week, a series of Ministers of State and junior Ministers resigned, then ERG tabled four amendments, which on Monday the Government accepted in full. These were either nodded through or voted four, and in getting these passed the Conservative Party had a three line whip for it's MPs to vote against its own Policy. May even voted against it.
Yesterday there were four more amendments, this time from Europhiles, three of which were voted down and one passed. But May survived the one making it law that in case of no deal, then the Government would have to sign up to a CU with the EU. Against the threat of failing to support the PM, 12 Tory MPs still voted for the amendment, but four rebel Labour MPs voted with the Government meaning it was struck down. The threat to rebel Tory MPs that if they failed to support the PM, there would be a vote of no confidence and then a quick election.
They held firm anyway and voted with their conscience. About time.
But this will not have gone unnoticed in Europe, that the document that the UK published on Monday in several languages, has already been amended and is now worthless. Indeed, as a junior DExEU Minister was in Brussels negotiating with the EU on the Chequers document, May was already abandoning that "final" position.
And with the changes in the document forced by the ERG, the EU will almost certainly draw the conclusion that May will not be able to get any deal through Parliament in London, so what is the point in talking any further? The EU issued a statement to its rump 27 members last night to accelerate preparations for a no deal Brexit.
And should the EU decide there is no point in either stringing May along or talking, then the reality is that the UK will leave the EU with no deal in little over 9 months, with no real preparations done, no trade deals with the EU or any other country, as the idea of rolling over the ones we are part of as EU members would not now be supported by the EU, and the UK would fall back onto WTO rules, which would decimate agriculture first, then automotive and aerospace soon after. Planes could not fly, there will be limited cancer treatment, and there will be food shortages in a matter of days.
These, as well as the massive hit on the UK economy have been made by either Government departments of experts in their fields, or just a result of international trade or sectoral law.
When yesterday, the Government's own Office for Budget Responsibility stated there would be no Brexit Bonus, but a massive Brexit Tax, a Number 10 spokesperson said, we have been very clear there will be a bonus.
The media, people and other politicians must challenge such faith based statements and quoting their own departments projections at them. We must go back to evidence based decision making, not this hope that something will turn up, or just blind faith in some dogmatic ideal. Until we do, we will have things like Brexit, and people like Trump able to just lie without any consequence.
Monday 16th July 2018
Back in the jug agane.
Back to work, but with Denmark on two to three weeks holiday, it should be quiet.
And just as well as it is a wonderfully warm and sunny start to the day, with the temperature only going up. And up.
Jools is up before me, feeding the cats and making coffee. I get up at quarter to six just in time as the coffee pot boils and as I walk down the stairs my nose is thrilled by the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
By half six, Jools was gone and I write blogs before the work of the day really begins, swapping seats at the dining room table.
Once the sun is up, I go to the bathroom window to snap the glory that is our back garden. All the flowers are out and it looks wonderful, even f the grass, what is left of it, looks burnt to a crisp.
Then work.
When it is hot like this, the cats eat at six and go to find somewhere cool, only coming back if the sun goes in or they are very hungry, which means I am left to my own devices and to work.
I have the radio on, and so the time crawls by, but with the soundtrack of some of my favourite songs.
The morning passes, and the afternoon begins, with everyone's enthusiasm waning. All my colleagues are offline by four, so I pack up, watch some TV, then sit in the garden to catch up on my reading. Amazingly, Molly comes to sit on my lap, and is purring like crazy and still there when Jools comes home at half five.
I warm two pizzas up, pur beers and we relax knowing that we were 20% through the week.
I had bought Jools a re-released copy of New Boots and Panties, so we play that, marvelling at the sound of Ian Dury on 180gm vinyl.
Outside it gets dark, half an hour earlier now than a couple of weeks ago. And in the distance there is the sound of a combine, working hard. The year moves on, relentlessly.
And finally, we book the final stay on our three stop trip to New England in October, booking a five night stay in a "shagadelic" suite at an inn in the mountains. Should be awesome.
Back to work, but with Denmark on two to three weeks holiday, it should be quiet.
And just as well as it is a wonderfully warm and sunny start to the day, with the temperature only going up. And up.
Jools is up before me, feeding the cats and making coffee. I get up at quarter to six just in time as the coffee pot boils and as I walk down the stairs my nose is thrilled by the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
By half six, Jools was gone and I write blogs before the work of the day really begins, swapping seats at the dining room table.
Once the sun is up, I go to the bathroom window to snap the glory that is our back garden. All the flowers are out and it looks wonderful, even f the grass, what is left of it, looks burnt to a crisp.
Then work.When it is hot like this, the cats eat at six and go to find somewhere cool, only coming back if the sun goes in or they are very hungry, which means I am left to my own devices and to work.
I have the radio on, and so the time crawls by, but with the soundtrack of some of my favourite songs.
The morning passes, and the afternoon begins, with everyone's enthusiasm waning. All my colleagues are offline by four, so I pack up, watch some TV, then sit in the garden to catch up on my reading. Amazingly, Molly comes to sit on my lap, and is purring like crazy and still there when Jools comes home at half five.
I warm two pizzas up, pur beers and we relax knowing that we were 20% through the week.
I had bought Jools a re-released copy of New Boots and Panties, so we play that, marvelling at the sound of Ian Dury on 180gm vinyl.
Outside it gets dark, half an hour earlier now than a couple of weeks ago. And in the distance there is the sound of a combine, working hard. The year moves on, relentlessly.
And finally, we book the final stay on our three stop trip to New England in October, booking a five night stay in a "shagadelic" suite at an inn in the mountains. Should be awesome.
After the chaos there is more chaos.
I began writing about Brexit because I was angry. And then I realised it would be far more difficult than the Brexiteers imagined. So I began to write
And in those two years and a month, I have not read any one of my old posts, but this is mainly because as time goes on, the news cycle gets quicker and quicker. To the point, like yesterday, when one blog just won’t do as things move apace.
I suppose one day I might read it, if it ends up with a (fairly) happy ending. But it will end in tears.
Yesterday, I wrote about the chaos regarding the four amendments from the ERG, that in the end the Government accepted. Three were voted one, the NI one was nodded through as if neither of the main parties could give a shit about NI. Says lots.
The Government won the other three votes, pone by just three votes after the current and former leader of the self-proclaimed anti-Brexit party failed to turn up to vote, as did 14 Labour MPs. 5 Labour MPs also voted with the Government.
This now makes major parts of the Government’s withdrawal white paper illegal, which is as mad as it sounds. Another junior minister resigned as he was backing the Chequers agreement, which might be the first time that there has been a resignation because someone supported the Government. The PM herself voted against her own White Paper, and saw no problem with that, and said there was no contradictions or major changes to the White Paper, just large parts of it now against the law.
No news on what the EU thinks of this.
And today, the Electoral Commission announced that the two main “leave” campaigns had colluded with each other to deliberately overspend during the referendum, and then either lie of obstruct the overspend of 10%. This is actually breaking the law, and many Government members were part of either campaigns, so could be implicated in breaking the law.
Papers have been sent to the police for consideration regarding prosecutions, and there have been calls for resignations. But the Brexiteers are shameless and will try to bluff it out, pointing fingers at anyone else, the remain campaign which they say did the same, although there is no evidence of this, or just that the Electoral Commission is packed full of remainers…..
Tonight, remainer Conservative MPs have tabled an amendment of their own, which will force the Government into entering into a Customs Union with the EU talks fail: another fall back position.
One of the other ERG amendments was the blocking of VAT equivalence. This will have the effect of forcing a hard border between the UK and EU, as without this, no one will know what tax to levy. This is a group of MPs actively trying to wreck the economy and exports, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.
I can’t tell you how mad this is.
And finally, the Governments own Office for Budget Responsibility, set up in 2010 to oversee that spending was indeed, responsible, today stated that there will be no Brexit bonus from the figures it has seen, and suggests that any potential savings from contributions to the EU may have been spent more than once, and an increase in tax revenue is needed to match May’s promises on NHS spending.
And in those two years and a month, I have not read any one of my old posts, but this is mainly because as time goes on, the news cycle gets quicker and quicker. To the point, like yesterday, when one blog just won’t do as things move apace.
I suppose one day I might read it, if it ends up with a (fairly) happy ending. But it will end in tears.
Yesterday, I wrote about the chaos regarding the four amendments from the ERG, that in the end the Government accepted. Three were voted one, the NI one was nodded through as if neither of the main parties could give a shit about NI. Says lots.
The Government won the other three votes, pone by just three votes after the current and former leader of the self-proclaimed anti-Brexit party failed to turn up to vote, as did 14 Labour MPs. 5 Labour MPs also voted with the Government.
This now makes major parts of the Government’s withdrawal white paper illegal, which is as mad as it sounds. Another junior minister resigned as he was backing the Chequers agreement, which might be the first time that there has been a resignation because someone supported the Government. The PM herself voted against her own White Paper, and saw no problem with that, and said there was no contradictions or major changes to the White Paper, just large parts of it now against the law.
No news on what the EU thinks of this.
And today, the Electoral Commission announced that the two main “leave” campaigns had colluded with each other to deliberately overspend during the referendum, and then either lie of obstruct the overspend of 10%. This is actually breaking the law, and many Government members were part of either campaigns, so could be implicated in breaking the law.
Papers have been sent to the police for consideration regarding prosecutions, and there have been calls for resignations. But the Brexiteers are shameless and will try to bluff it out, pointing fingers at anyone else, the remain campaign which they say did the same, although there is no evidence of this, or just that the Electoral Commission is packed full of remainers…..
Tonight, remainer Conservative MPs have tabled an amendment of their own, which will force the Government into entering into a Customs Union with the EU talks fail: another fall back position.
One of the other ERG amendments was the blocking of VAT equivalence. This will have the effect of forcing a hard border between the UK and EU, as without this, no one will know what tax to levy. This is a group of MPs actively trying to wreck the economy and exports, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.
I can’t tell you how mad this is.
And finally, the Governments own Office for Budget Responsibility, set up in 2010 to oversee that spending was indeed, responsible, today stated that there will be no Brexit bonus from the figures it has seen, and suggests that any potential savings from contributions to the EU may have been spent more than once, and an increase in tax revenue is needed to match May’s promises on NHS spending.
Monday, 16 July 2018
Mum update
Those of you who have read my words for some years know that there are issues between my Mother and I, but this is even more fundamental.
Last September Mum had another heart attack, and as a result had a cardiac artery graft, called a cabbage, in I con't remember, some of the main blood supply arteries to her heart.
The surgery nurse at Papworth told me that once the operation was done and Mum was back at home, she would have a greatly improved quality of life. So, the operation and recovery would be worth it.
Only, once back at James Paget, her therapist said that Mum would only do what was required to keep the staff happy, nothing more; Which did disappoint her. And me.
In December she was released and a temporary care package was set up; people came in three times a day to change dressings, prepare food and so on. On top of Sheila who still called twice a day to tidy the house and do chores.
We are now in July and Mum still has people coming round three times a day to prepare food. Only, she doesn't need it, as she gets the food out of the freezer, puts the food in the oven, gets plate and cutlery out and all the person who comes round has to do, is to dish it up and take to Mum in her chair. Turns out Mum likes someone to talk to three times a day, and so is paying £27 a day to have people come round so she has someone to talk to.
And despite having the operation and the potential improvement in her life, she walks less, moves less than she did before her heart attack. She just watches different TV shows now.
I have spent 20 years trying to get mUm to change, and she hasn't. If two heart attacks don't make you change course, then nothing will.
We speak each Sunday night, stilted conversations that last no more than three or four minutes; she does nothing, except once a week her friend's daughter takes her into town so they have lunch out. She has little interest in what we do, I had hoped that seeing the orchid segment on Gardener's World would make her see what makes me tick, understand and see some of the fabulous places we see. But no.
So, I have decided that I am not going to play these games any more, and said that the weekly calls will stop and we will only call if there is news. She thought I was joking. No.
If Mum wants to live her life that was, she has earned the right to do so, does not mean, however, that I have to agree and play along.
Like Brexit, I would love not to have to think about Mother dearest again, and could just concentrate on our lives filling up our days with wonderful experiences.
Many people have lost their parents, Jools has lost both, and I will lose Mum at some point to. I will regret nothing.
Last September Mum had another heart attack, and as a result had a cardiac artery graft, called a cabbage, in I con't remember, some of the main blood supply arteries to her heart.
The surgery nurse at Papworth told me that once the operation was done and Mum was back at home, she would have a greatly improved quality of life. So, the operation and recovery would be worth it.
Only, once back at James Paget, her therapist said that Mum would only do what was required to keep the staff happy, nothing more; Which did disappoint her. And me.
In December she was released and a temporary care package was set up; people came in three times a day to change dressings, prepare food and so on. On top of Sheila who still called twice a day to tidy the house and do chores.
We are now in July and Mum still has people coming round three times a day to prepare food. Only, she doesn't need it, as she gets the food out of the freezer, puts the food in the oven, gets plate and cutlery out and all the person who comes round has to do, is to dish it up and take to Mum in her chair. Turns out Mum likes someone to talk to three times a day, and so is paying £27 a day to have people come round so she has someone to talk to.
And despite having the operation and the potential improvement in her life, she walks less, moves less than she did before her heart attack. She just watches different TV shows now.
I have spent 20 years trying to get mUm to change, and she hasn't. If two heart attacks don't make you change course, then nothing will.
We speak each Sunday night, stilted conversations that last no more than three or four minutes; she does nothing, except once a week her friend's daughter takes her into town so they have lunch out. She has little interest in what we do, I had hoped that seeing the orchid segment on Gardener's World would make her see what makes me tick, understand and see some of the fabulous places we see. But no.
So, I have decided that I am not going to play these games any more, and said that the weekly calls will stop and we will only call if there is news. She thought I was joking. No.
If Mum wants to live her life that was, she has earned the right to do so, does not mean, however, that I have to agree and play along.
Like Brexit, I would love not to have to think about Mother dearest again, and could just concentrate on our lives filling up our days with wonderful experiences.
Many people have lost their parents, Jools has lost both, and I will lose Mum at some point to. I will regret nothing.
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