Current Affairs.

Given the title, I wish this post could be about dear old Jeffrey regressing back to the age of dalliances, but unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – it isn’t. It’s about the fact that for some time now I’ve been wanting to get back to making meaningful posts about the parlous state of the human condition and the decline of civilisation in the western world.

I’ve noticed over the past few months, for example, that a trend seems to be developing whereby agents of the state, here and in Europe generally, have been cracking down on public protests to a degree which might be deemed unreasonable. It’s leading me to the suspicion that the New World Order and its agenda might not be a conspiracy theory after all, but a credible vision of the future which is progressing nicely on cue. And then there’s the news coming out of America concerning the race to decide who will be Big Boss for the next four years…

… but I’ve been very busy recently and not in the best of moods. When you add depression to scurrying about for up to twelve hours a day – not doing things you want to do, you understand, but tedious things which have to be done just because they’re there – you create a cocktail which is incompatible with convivial communication.

(I am a little concerned about America, though. When I think of the top grade people I’ve encountered from the land of the free over the past few years, I truly sympathise with the prospect of them facing an agonising choice between Dunderhead Donald or Nasty Mr DeSantis on the one hand, or Old Joe lost-in-the-snow on the other. In consequence I’d like to make them an offer they can’t refuse – feel free to emigrate to the old country as long you’re willing to accept Big Macs which aren’t quite as Big and pint-size servings of sweet sugary liquids instead of gallons, and we promise to be nice to you. Unfortunately I can’t because we have a new problem over here. It’s an out of balance net migration thing caused by welcoming people from Hong Kong who were being treated badly by the Chinese, and people from Ukraine who were being treated badly by the Russians. As laudable as these welcomes were, it seems Mr Sunak thinks it’s too much and has to stop. Then again, he might make an exception for Americans because he learned his lessons in economics over there, but I can’t promise anything.)

So that’s about it for today, except to mention that the spring twitterings of birds at twilight is a most welcome addition to the seasonal round.

Oh, and I saw Gimli in Ashbourne yesterday for the first time in several months. He still strutted manfully with aid of his trusty staff, but my, had he lost a lot of weight. No more swatting of Orcs by the dozen on the battlements of Helm’s Deep, nor quaffing of ale by the gallon for him, I think. Quiet nights in and cocoa from now on.