Remembering Reagan
As an old man with little grasp of reality is laid to rest (and I'm talking about back when he was 'the leader of the free world'(tm), not in his later years), I'd like to offer my own reflection and reminiscence:
I'd like to reflect on the President whose grand plan to deal with the AIDS crisis was to pretend it wasn't happening.
I'd like to reminisce about the man of whom Barbra Streisand said:
"I will never forgive my fellow actor Ronald Reagan for his genocidal denial of the illness' existence and for blocking adequate funding for research and education which could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives."
And I'd like to offer the view that we know everything we need to know about Reagan from the fact that that evil old bitch Thatcher says she'll miss him.
Stating The Bleeding Obvious
""There is clearly a strong protest vote, and we have to take account of what people are telling us.""
That would be Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, responding to what is, by any standards, a pretty damning night for Labour in the local elections.
My Democratic Privilege
I actually managed to get out of work at a reasonable enough hour to vote this evening (having been in work before polling opened this morning - work is once again my reason for being quiet round here by the way).
And now, election junky that I am, I'm obviously going to sit and watch as much of the BBC's coverage as I can stay awake for.
I couldn't help but be amused by reports of complaints about the London Mayoral election process. Apparently it was too complicated for some people because of the first and second choice system not being clearly enough explained.
What a load of bollocks - how much clearer could it be than "Put a cross in column 1 for your first choice and a cross in column 2 for your second choice". Some people just need to find things to moan about.
Food Review
Top. That's what the food was.
And the wine.
And the company.
Good evening all round in fact.
Smart Dress
Well, smart-ish for a Saturday night anyway.
Fancy dinner looms at a Conran in the city - it's a surprisingly close kind of day, warmer and more humid outside than it looks, so the chance to sit out in a roof garden for a pre-dinner drink or two holds significant attraction.
And Lara's going to be there, which is very very cool, because I haven't seen her in two years.
Food review later.
Gay Marriage Again
This worldwide momentum that has continued to swing behind the recognition of gay marriage is, no matter how you look at it, pretty astonishing.
It's as if someone threw the same switch in the collective consciousness of half a dozen widely disparate countries at the same time.
Today, France is starting to get into the act. It's almost certainly no more legal than a number of those 'marriages' that took place in various US states in the last few months (not including the really legal ones in Massachussets of course), but it's absolutely part of a pattern that's spreading around the world.
I've already said that I'm no fan of marriage anyway, but anything that destroys the barriers of intolerance and inequity (all of them), will certainly get my support.
Many Happies And All That
So both Dave and Barnaby turn 30 today, so many happy returns to them both, and here's hoping they're neither of them too delicate from yesterday's excesses to enjoy this latest step on the road towards death maturity.
And….. They’re Off!
Most unusually for me, I've been gambling this afternoon. The work summer outing was to Epsom for The Oaks day. Seven races to gamble on with someone else's money, free food and drink all afternoon, and a lovely sunny day to boot. (Too sunny in fact - I'm *very* red.)
I had a small win in the second with the fabulously-named Uhoomagoo (how could you not bet on a horse named that?), bet the winnings and lost them, but then managed to extract £65 from the seventh race-winning Makfool, which made for a very satisfying end to the day.
But my word I'm red....
Edit - and I notice they've ejected radical feminist lesbian Kitten from Big Brother - the day just keeps getting better.
‘Sleb Again Again
And today's winner is.... (with some actual Hollywood Celebrity status for a change)
..... Keira Knightly