King Charles 111 V Trump - No Contest

Hi Everyone

I have to admit that I was not sure whether our King should go on his state visit to America, as I thought that Trump might use it to promote many of his own crazy ideas and opinions. The result was completely the opposite of what I expected. It was a triumph for our King as he brilliantly demolished all of Trump’s opinions in a gentle but devastating way while still gaining many standing ovations from not only the Democrats but also from the Republicans. Did it show that the majority of the Republicans do not support Trump’s direction of travel, or were they not used to hearing an intelligent speech and did not understand the message?  Interesting. 

I know that much of the speech would have been prepared by others as well as the King himself, but he had to deliver the words and the jokes, which he did with great confidence. We are not the great country we once were, and many of us are disturbed by the direction of events both here and across the world, but when it comes to putting together a speech like that, we still are almost in a class of our own. As with most things, it seems that we cannot agree about anything, and whether we should continue with a Monarchy or evolve to a Republic is one of them. After the events of this week and watching the two alternatives in action, I know where my preference lies. 

When you approach middle age, one of the things that inevitably happens is that you make all too regular visits to a church or crematorium to celebrate the life of a family relative or friend. Although it is sad for the ones who are no longer with us, it very often gives us the opportunity to meet up with family and friends, some of whom we may not have seen for many years. This time, it was another of the Main Contractor’s cousins who had passed away suddenly. The crematorium service was well attended with the usual order of service available to everyone. The first hymn was followed by a bible reading. Now I know that we have to accept change, but I had never seen a vicar reading the text on his phone. After a very good eulogy, it came to the point in the service where we recited the Lord's prayer together. Now, almost all of us can recite the Lord’s prayer even though we may not attend a church very often, and you would certainly expect the vicar not to need any sort of prompt, but no, this time the vicar produced an iPad as we all waited while he uploaded the words. Fast forward twenty years, and it seems likely that the iPad will still be needed, with the vicar replaced by a robot with a stiff white collar.

I heard a talk this week by a young man on the environment and sustainability. For our children and certainly for our grandchildren it is probably the most important subject on their agenda. Unfortunately, many in his audience where approaching middle age and will not be around to see how the story evolves. While we are here, however, we should do everything possible to ensure that future generations enjoy this wonderful world that we have been fortunate to experience.  

Just a Thought:

My friend gave an emotional speech at his conjunctivitus support group this week. There was not a dry eye in the house.

The only time that I have got a standing ovation when public speaking was when I tripped over the microphone cord.

I am not lazy. I am concerving energy.

Brian