On Friday Fives for 19th October
Oct. 19th, 2018 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danieldwilliamIt's Friday, it must be time for five things comprising either a summary of my activities over the last week, a forecast for the weekend or things that are keeping me awake at night.
1) I don't know what has been keeping me awake at night but I've slept badly this week - waking up at least twice on each night. I feel pretty tired, MLW has been away this week and I've had the Captain to myself. He's not in fact been much work but he too is pretty tired. He's been very busy with tennis camp. I don't think he's slept well either.
I offer this dialogue as a guide to his mental state
Captain: It's a good thing we haven't lost the keys or set fire to anything.
Me: Yes...
... were you worried that we might?
Captain: Well, mum is away. It's the sort of thing that just happens when she isn't here.
2) Brexit - I think we'll see May's Robert Peel moment in the next three weeks or so. Things might get awfully exciting when the Queen, on learning that the May Ministry has collapsed and Boris Johnson is marching on Buckingham Palace with Farage! Nigel Farage! tucked into his boxer shorts, herself collapses with a stroke and is rendered (perhaps) diminished in her mental capacities but (perhaps) not incapax. I hope the Speaker of the House of Commons commands the respect of all sections and wings of the House and the civil service is viewed as impartial experts and bone fide public servants and neither will be viewed through the lens of our earlier, self-inflicted constitutional crisis.
In all seriousness it is probably no longer possible to delay a confrontation on Brexit without at least one faction being actually lied to and deluding themselves that they are not, in fact, being lied to. Leanne Wood to lead a government of national unity. Who she might have tucked in to her boxer shorts on the way to Buckingham Palace I leave as an exercise for the reader.
3) Namibia have qualified for the World Cup. That is nice, they are one of my top 5 teams. Ther others being Scotland, Australia, Japan and Uraguay. All five of my top five teams have qualified for the World Cup in Japan. The repechage for the final spot includes Canada, Germany, Hong Kong and Kenya. My preference would be for Canada to qualify. Scotlands' group incldues Ireland, the hosts, Japan, Russia and Samoa - so some old friends there and a great opportunity to stuff the Russians. Looks like a tough group. Ireland are very good at the moment, Japan are pretty handy and playing at home, Samoa can be tricky when they are in the right frame of mine. Scotland could finish top of the group or fourth. My guess is second, in which case we probably play New Zealand in the first stage of the knock out stages.
Difficult to see anyone other than New Zealand winning but recent results of theirs have given the rest of the world hope.
4) I have been observing the hoohaa of the Gender Recognition Act without fully grasping the details. I suspect I am the wrong colour of feminist to understand it properaly. As, I am sure, are you. The Green Party of England and Wales or (as with befiting humility), they refer to themselves, the Green Party seem to have tied themselves up in recriminatory knots about it. Largely I stick to thinking about windfarms, the constitution and ways to encourage people to be politer to each other. I understand at least two out of those three.
5) It is autum so there is lots of reality TV going on in the house. The Great British Bake Off and the Apprentice aka Nice People Making Nice Cakes and Idiots and Shysters In the Worst Recruitment Process Ever respectively. I am keeping my head down and enjoying Ricky Whittle in American Gods, Jamellia Jamil in the Good Place and America's answer to Mark Rylance, Jason Bateman in Ozarks.
1) I don't know what has been keeping me awake at night but I've slept badly this week - waking up at least twice on each night. I feel pretty tired, MLW has been away this week and I've had the Captain to myself. He's not in fact been much work but he too is pretty tired. He's been very busy with tennis camp. I don't think he's slept well either.
I offer this dialogue as a guide to his mental state
Captain: It's a good thing we haven't lost the keys or set fire to anything.
Me: Yes...
... were you worried that we might?
Captain: Well, mum is away. It's the sort of thing that just happens when she isn't here.
2) Brexit - I think we'll see May's Robert Peel moment in the next three weeks or so. Things might get awfully exciting when the Queen, on learning that the May Ministry has collapsed and Boris Johnson is marching on Buckingham Palace with Farage! Nigel Farage! tucked into his boxer shorts, herself collapses with a stroke and is rendered (perhaps) diminished in her mental capacities but (perhaps) not incapax. I hope the Speaker of the House of Commons commands the respect of all sections and wings of the House and the civil service is viewed as impartial experts and bone fide public servants and neither will be viewed through the lens of our earlier, self-inflicted constitutional crisis.
In all seriousness it is probably no longer possible to delay a confrontation on Brexit without at least one faction being actually lied to and deluding themselves that they are not, in fact, being lied to. Leanne Wood to lead a government of national unity. Who she might have tucked in to her boxer shorts on the way to Buckingham Palace I leave as an exercise for the reader.
3) Namibia have qualified for the World Cup. That is nice, they are one of my top 5 teams. Ther others being Scotland, Australia, Japan and Uraguay. All five of my top five teams have qualified for the World Cup in Japan. The repechage for the final spot includes Canada, Germany, Hong Kong and Kenya. My preference would be for Canada to qualify. Scotlands' group incldues Ireland, the hosts, Japan, Russia and Samoa - so some old friends there and a great opportunity to stuff the Russians. Looks like a tough group. Ireland are very good at the moment, Japan are pretty handy and playing at home, Samoa can be tricky when they are in the right frame of mine. Scotland could finish top of the group or fourth. My guess is second, in which case we probably play New Zealand in the first stage of the knock out stages.
Difficult to see anyone other than New Zealand winning but recent results of theirs have given the rest of the world hope.
4) I have been observing the hoohaa of the Gender Recognition Act without fully grasping the details. I suspect I am the wrong colour of feminist to understand it properaly. As, I am sure, are you. The Green Party of England and Wales or (as with befiting humility), they refer to themselves, the Green Party seem to have tied themselves up in recriminatory knots about it. Largely I stick to thinking about windfarms, the constitution and ways to encourage people to be politer to each other. I understand at least two out of those three.
5) It is autum so there is lots of reality TV going on in the house. The Great British Bake Off and the Apprentice aka Nice People Making Nice Cakes and Idiots and Shysters In the Worst Recruitment Process Ever respectively. I am keeping my head down and enjoying Ricky Whittle in American Gods, Jamellia Jamil in the Good Place and America's answer to Mark Rylance, Jason Bateman in Ozarks.
no subject
Date: 2018-10-20 04:30 pm (UTC)If there was a majority of MPs in a coalition, I think The Queen refusing to allow it to form a government would be one of those moments which ended badly for everyone.
The Captain makes me laugh.