Local Marine and others

Stanhope is not a big village, or a small town these days. It has a Town Hall and a Town Football Team, but a village vibe as defined by me. Of course I'm not a Local, it's impossible by definition after all. I was not born here, and that's the minimum requirement. Still, the locals are kind enough as long as you are kind to them and help out where you can, without trying to advise them that you know how to improve their Dale, which is a common mistake.

Anyway, being an incomer of some years, and intending to stay until the bell tolls to call me home again, the regular ritual is to walk around the village to see who's about early. This morning it was Dmitri, or Dell, who landed here some months ago, with his wife Karen. He was once a Marine in South Africa, and now trains folks over here. She worked for the Police Force, investigating corruption, including within the forces of Law and Order, believe it or not! After a pleasant walk with Dell, a kind man with an open mind, I moved on up the Dene, until Nigel appeared for conversation, followed by Janet, also resident of Crawleyside, up the hill from Stanhope.

Now Stanhope attracts all sorts of people, some of whom are now my friends. Take Mack, for instance, a Scot who served in Naval Intelligence and commanded a small warship during the Falklands war against Argentina. He's long retired and his wife died earlier this year, after spending her past few years dying with cancer. Mack likes to walk with Pepsi his little dog, and we often speak of how we spent our youth on the opposite sides of the fence, what with me playing Che Guevara and him in navy signals intelligence, tapping into the wires of crazy reds trying to overthrow the state. Thatcher the Iron Lady was the fascist then, now it's Johnson the tosser!

So what's coming next? Well folks, you read it here, so please remind me if I guessed wrong. Reading between the lies of the media, where the lying Beeb reports on Keir Starmer planning for a 2023 General Election, and a new Labour government unlikely ... The Government of National Unity,  a coalition, after a snap election in October 2021. Remember The Great Reset rolls on in 2021 to 2030 as phase 2 brings the softer regime ... financial crisis and gas price hikes, winter deaths through the roof? Or can our esteemed PM carry on through to November for international infamy in Glasgow at Climate Crisis time? The voters of any country seem to elect the Leader they deserve, as was observed before, which is not great news for the U.K. is it?!

Never mind, wood is in for colder weather, blackberries too, apples on the agenda tomorrow and a demo Saturday ... Sunday's for the Tribe again and life at A Place to Be is fine ...