Lady Thatcher's Funeral

As I wrote last week, thousands of words will be written and spoken on this subject.  I have raised it solely because I was pleased to see that the Viscount Carrington was present.

I mentioned him in a post here in 2008; (I am sorry that half the text in the original has disappeared; blame it on HTML. The second gentleman in this article was a French banker who though entirely innocent, resigned immediately following the appalling acts of certain of his staff). 

Lord Carrington was for me, the epitome of the disinterested aristocrat, a type which  thanks to disastrous experiments with taxation, democracy and socialism, now is more or less extinct.   Look on, Mandelson, Blair & co. and weep.

Sic transit gloria I say.

Afterthought:  I noticed that Mrs Blair has finally found some manners and managed to wear a hat.

Until the next time

"Front"

So many prominent people have "Front" - sometimes referred to as "Neck" more positively perhaps described as the ability to "tough it out".

"He's got more front than Brighton Beach" a friend of mine would say when confronted by this aspect of human behaviour.

So of whom am I thinking when raising this topic?

Well there's Tony Blair for a start: as another friend would remark, here's a bloke who could fall down a lavatory and come up smelling of roses; the bastard will probably get away with it. And then there's his old pal Peter (now Lord) Mandelson; he's fallen into the khasi on a few occasions and each time popped up again, richer and even more influential.

And what about Eric Cantona? The ex-footballer given to making bizarre statements, who recently tried to organise a run on the banks in France, of course without success. Now he has popped up as "Director of Football" (whatever that means) at an American club called "Cosmos".

Here's a video showing "Front" in action:

I am always in awe at the incredible self-belief of these people, and even more in awe at their lack of shame. I suppose one of the most outrageous examples at the present time (though it is not always easy to choose) must be Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. The New York Times, in an entertaining piece describes recent events as a "soap opera" which I suppose it is, despite what could be unpleasant consequences for the Italian State, its population, political institutions and economy. Despite apparently incontrovertible evidence from wire-taps and witnesses, Berlusconi continues, loudly, to protest his innocence. It is important to bear in mind that he has a track record in a variety of scandals and so far has got away with everything. Indeed, some people think that he might even get away with the current scandal.

If he does, he will deserve an award for "Front of the Decade"!

Until the next time.