Pics 1- 4 are by Perkin Warbeck
‘LET’S CELEBRATE, WE’RE FEELING GREAT !’
The most important General Election held during the past week saw the re-election of the man who has been, in effect, An Taoiseach of the Truncated European Union for the past six months.
That would be Joseph Muscat, the leader of the Labour Party in Malta. His party regained power after defeating the Nationalist Party with an increased majority: 170,000 to 130,000. The turnout was 92%.
(Don’t judge the book by the look.: Dom Mintoff of the Labour Party was nothing if not a nationalist, amongst other things).
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The celebration took the form mainly of a (seemingly) continuous cavalcade of red-bedecked vehicles crisscrossing the island(s), honking in a way which the Wild Geese would have approved with a dramatic spreading of their wings.
-Yes ! It was for THIS !
(Crafty opposition bigwigs reportedly decamped to Sicily for a midweek break).
No cul de sac or boreen was left unhonked as if to emphasise the Inclusivity of the victory. Hard on the chassis of every vehicle, very.
One is reminded of a story one overheard once about a returning Derry Minor Football Team detouring on their way home from winning the All-Ireland. The thoughtful detour was designed to include a honk pause in front of obscure residence of the Rev. W. McCrea, a honky tonk music fan, so he wouldn’t feel excluded. Before revving up their team bus and effing off.
But this story may well have been apocryphal.
(For a modern day up date, substitute, erm, The Umbrella Fella for the Rev Willie.).
PIC 4:
A thoughful billboard from the Transport Division of the Natinalist Party.
‘Kaos’ – a darling word, Joxer – is, of course the Malti word for, erm, Chassis.
(From ‘Céad Míle Malta’ by Perkin Warbeck).
Pics 5-10 are by Antrim Lens
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“This is a first for me, Bees have been coming to my veg plot in the evenings and sleeping through the night on the flowers , I’ve heard of them doing this but never seen it before now. The two dark images are from a few nights ago as I monitored a barn owl nest close to my home, and final photos of a Buzzard hunting for worms at 04:30 on Friday morning at my place.”
Judea
The point was well made on Question Time last night that the DUP propping up the tories throws the assembly negotiations into doubt
Will SF be willing to deal with a Tory SOS when they are so close to the DUP?
Will they be looking for an outside mediator?
Will the DUP mind if negotiations stall or fail and Direct Rule is brought in?
They do seem to have landed on their feet this time though it will surely fall apart fairly quickly.
I just can’t see how this coalition or informal arrangement can work. The majority is too thin for the Tories to survive even with DUP support. Coupled with this is going to be the discontent and revolts within the Tory party over May’s leadership, over the calling of a general election and its timing, over a hard Brexit etc. I’m hoping this leads to the Tories imploding from within. What I feel is a positive though is the DUP have now been unleashed onto the mainstream British public. The British media will be all over this and a resurgent Labour with their eyes focused firmly on the next election (could be sooner rather than later) will expose the DUP – Tory relationship for everything it is – farcical.
I’ve no doubt this arrangement with the DUP is not what the British public would want and the backlash will happen. I can’t see how the negativity that comes with the DUP will do May or the Conservatives any favours. In fact, much of May’s campaign was personally attacking Jeremy Corbyn for his links to the Republican movement yet she’s quite content in entering an arrangement with a party that have been endorsed by loyalists paramilitaries, as well as their leader meeting with Dee Stitt and Jackie McDonald. Amongst many of the other alleged link between the DUP and loyalism. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order. Not only that, the moral stance of the DUP, the scandals of Red Sky, NAMA etc will be unleashed. I don’t know about you but I’m actually looking forward to all the dirty washing being hung out to dry in public – maybe the British people will have some sympathy with the cause of Irish Nationalism after all when they meet and here all about their kingmakers who will be playing their part in governing them.
Well Jude we’ll all be able to have lots of fun with this new guessing game, but realistically how long can this really last?Under scrutiny the DUP have the potential to explode the Tory party and split it asunder…Sure there are elements of of their kind of thinking within the Tory party , but not quite to this virulent DUP degree.For the first time the entire population of the other isle will sit up and take a really close look at their creationism , homophobia, racism, links to illegal paramilitarism (UDA) and all the rest of their awful scandal-ridden backstory and intransigence over so many elements of what most people would call “normal life” in Scotland, Wales and England.They have never before had to look into that deep ,dark well that we’ve all lived with for so long and now they are forced to.
They’ll see just what has been our real story in Ireland for so many years.Will the DUP do any good? Well if they are kingmakers for long enough they’ll have to beg for some money to replace all that lovely EU loot that has transformed Norneverland in this past forty years.Will the rest of Britain want that dosh to be scooped up and taken away to line the pockets of a scandal -ridden party with a long list of financial scandals in its desk -drawer? They’ll finally have time to do all that catching -up that should have been done years ago.Now they’ll read just why the Executive here collapsed and just what the Loot for Soot scandal was about and why it was the final straw in a long list of wind-blown straws. Theresa May is obviously cut from the same kind of cloth as Arlene Foster in that she’ll cling to power no matter how bitter the taste , but would she have survived without taking “gardening leave” had she made the financial blunders Arlene made?
Then there’s also the fiction of the Tories and Brokenshire being honest brokers in any debates here.How can that even be possible when the Tories are in the DUP’s pocket? That fiction will probably be the first thing to shatter should the negotiations ever start. Sinn Fein will still have to walk away if the Tories chair the meeting.As for the Good Friday Agreement being a guarantee for anything .Well the DUP never wanted it and refused to implement the parts of it they didn’t want so we are really right back at ground zero now.There are no nationalist/republican MPs prepared to play any more games and theirsupporters voted that they shouldn’t play them anyway.The very idea of majority rule would probably ensure that politics here would end forever and that would simply lead to increasing violent actions to fill the vacuum. The bottom line is of course that Mrs Mayhem will be gone within months anyway…I’d say that if she gets another year it will be the height of it …..and then what?
Interesting points Jude, on ‘majority rule’ the Tory-DUP alliance was clearly seen, and not blocked by the Alliance party’s colleagues, then in the DUP role of government proper’s, when the 50/50 recruitment to the RUC was abolished by the tories shortly after coming to power. Will they exert this influence again? You are probably right that it is being mooted, and I strongly suspect it is achievable except, the ’98 peace accord is an international accord, registered with the United Nations, herein may lie wee Arlene’s problem, regardless of how her career develops in the coming weeks.
I heard Owen Jones on BBC this morning making the point the DUP are supporters of terrorism, indeed, certain of their elected officers are former UDR members, misogynistic, queer given their leader and Belfast south Deputy and MEP are female and climate change deniers, where they may have a point but, the key, and unfortunate thing is, now, the Gerry Adams dream of dying in re-united Ireland is certainly off the table, all and any investigation into brit murders during the war is off the table, the only means for Families legal teams now lies in Strasbourg, fair employment for the Taigs is potentially reversed.
We’re back in the 19th century.
Hi Jude I think you’ve got a bit of cross-pollination going on between two pages …The comments are now appearing on the Saturday pics page instead of the original article …Nice pics though!
What Paddykool said Jude!
may lost ground in the election being soft on immigration,especially after the bombing of the kids,and then the london attack.millions didnt vote over her soft approach speech.once she tackles this head on support will rise again.shes far from a leader but it could have been worse,imagine if that corbyn had of got in.
Yet Billy, Jeremy Corbyn is significantly more in favour of immigration, so to are the liberal’s, they both gained, SNP substantially in favour and lost a third of seats so, I just cannot buy the ‘it was the foreigners fault’ argument.
Certainly, lack of focus on Brexit, and dreadful personal attacks (negative campaigning) on Corbyn certainly lost her votes.
yes your right in a way,but if she had upped the anti on the dangers posed by open borders from the start then the bombings and attacks coming in the middle of the campaign it would have been a landslide.as you say she lost focus.
And yet, UKIP, the party that promoted what you suggest the Tories should have done, crashed and burned.
no, they just jumped ship for this one,they knew anything was better than that other outfit getting in.scotland was the same message the people want this problem sorted.
Billy, your previous predictions about Corbyn I.e unelectable, will have somewhat reduced and diminished your credibility now here on in.
whys that,if you had of backed him in the bookies you would have lost.like him.
Yes, true, but fortunately the bookies also offer special election bets that can still allow you to win even if your team loses……just like he is doing now.
Can we get blog again mixed up with pics
Defeat from the jaws of victory …!!!
A Tory election campaign of stunning ineptitude and stupidity matched only by supercilious complaisance and contempt for the electorate. But it wasn’t really supposed to matter. The basic message was:
Vote for us you pathetic sheep or you will get IRA/Terrorist loving Jeremy Corbyn along with the ineffable Diane Abbot and their great unwashed left wing rabble, who haven’t even the guts to press the Nuclear Button and kill a few million nasty Arabs or Russians like our Theresa or Boris will do, no bother ..!!
But surprise surprise, in fact astonishment ..!! The sheep (or enough of them) turned and snarled and bit Theresa on her scrawny arse ..!!
It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed anything on tv as much as watching the Thursday night General Election results unfold ..!!
Jude, I am monitoring Barn owls for Ulster Wildlife, and we are interested in any sightings ?
Actually, the message is for all readers if Jude’s blog: any Barn Owl sightings ?
What area are you covering?
Hi ciaran, Antrim area. But, if you could please email Ulster Wildlife with any sightings. Thank you.
Hi Moser, I’ve been surveying owls with Ulster Wildlife for a good few years now, in Tyrone, Derry and Antrim. The owl in the photos is an Antrim owl not far from the town. There’s a pair around the Muckamore area and Sixmile if any use to you. Someday our countryside will be like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/antrimlens/albums/72157655582248719 Good luck with the hunting.
Ciaran, thank you so much for that.
Ciaran, they are truly wonderful photos.
Many thanks, and if you think I can help your survey in anyway feel free to give me a shout over on Twitter @antrimlens
Gee, your a gentleman Ciaran. I will do that.
You’re a gentleman even*