Ukraine, a Penguin and a Rant

Hi Everyone

I read this week that since the war started in Ukraine, we are now Putin's greatest enemy because of our unwavering support for the country and its people. I am very pleased about that, as I said on day one, that the Russian invasion was an act of war on a sovereign European country and that Europe and the US should make sure that it is a conflict that Putin should not be allowed to win. Now the US have spent five hours in Moscow with Putin trying to negotiate a peace deal. When will they ever learn that Putin is only interested in victory rather than compromise and even if a peace deal is signed that Putin be back again unless Ukraine’s security is guaranteed and even then we would have to be prepared for further aggression. That, in my opinion, is the reality of the situation and if Trump wants the Nobel peace prize he will have to look elsewhere unless he is prepared to join us in his unwavering support. As far as being Putin’s biggest enemy, I am confident that we will still be here when he is gone, as long as it is sooner rather than later. 

Most of us probably remember one particular teacher from our school days. They may have been someone who was just our favourite teacher, or someone who inspired us to love a particular subject, or someone who led us in the direction of our future life. I can remember a few who did none of those things, like the new teacher who introduced himself as Mr Breeze and told us that at his last school, they called him Windy. He lasted two terms and then disappeared. Then there was Mr Foggett. We had him once a week for Religious Instruction, but he was so boring that hardly anyone went to his class and yet again, he disappeared into the wilderness. Mr Duffield, known to us as Dicky Duff taught Latin with no one in the class getting more than twenty out of one hundred in the annual exam. It seems hard to believe in today’s world that Mr Duffield spent a whole career trying to inspire a bunch of young teenage boys that Latin was an essential part of their future. One teacher we enjoyed was Bob Ingliss, a man approaching middle age who was our history teacher. He was a real character who coloured his lessons by making certain pupils part of his story, so we would have King Smith, Earl Jones, or one that I particularly remember, Baron Wilkinson. He would light up the room with tales of battles with soldiers on the castle battlements, pouring boiling oil on the enemy below. I cannot remember him picking me out to be a King, Earl or Baron. I was more likely to have been one of the invaders covered in boiling oil. The one teacher who did not change the course of my life, but did inspire a lifetime interest was my Geography teacher, Mr Kelly. He was a young ex military man who stood no messing about, which did not make him popular with some, but who knew his subject and commanded respect. By now, you are probably asking what is the point of this Rubbish. Well, this week we watched a film that was a true story about a man who went to live in Argentina to teach English. While there, he rescued a young penguin who was dying on a beach covered in oil. Although he tried to keep the penguin a secret, it eventually appeared with him in the classroom. I do not know whether he was a great teacher who touched their lives, but what is certain is that every pupil in that class will remember the English teacher with a penguin.

Since Trump became President, I seem to have used a word more often than at any time in my life - nauseating. This week, the President of football's governing body, FIFA, decided that the game needed a peace prize. Where that came from, I have no idea, except that he is apparently a friend of Trump’s, so it was an ideal opportunity to massage his massive ego even more. The FIFA man said Trump had “taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace” and “united people across the world”. In his reply, Trump said that he “had saved tens of millions of lives” and “stopped wars happening just before they started”. Trump then went on to say that “America is the hottest country in the world right now”. What a load of absolute RUBBISH and an insult to my and, I suspect, your intelligence. Rant over.

Just a thought : 

My friend has just written a book on penguins. His publisher thought that he should have written it on paper.

I’m selling a book entitled “How to be an Expert in Negotiations”.  I’ll accept any price for it.

  Brian