Marxist or Monarchist?

How can you be a Marxist and a Monarchist asks one of my favourite posters?  Good question, and not one to which I have a logical answer.  

 

I’m not sure I’m a Marxist these days or if I ever was, though I did once go along to a meeting of Militant Tendency in Deptford High Street. It was one of the best nights out I ever had, though a tad bizarre because I had come straight from the office and

was wearing a suit, my ‘look’ in those days was Sue Ellen from Dallas, tory woman eeek! Regardless, within moments I was drinking pints and singing ‘The Red Flag’ alongside my comrades in arms. To be fair I didn’t know the words to the Red Flag at that time, and was pretty clueless all round.    

 

I don’t think I’d label myself as anything these days, there doesn’t seem to be any clique I would fit into even if I wanted to.  I am far left in most things, but surprisingly conservative in others.  In the interests of self preservation, enough people hate me already, I think it best to unravel my clash with mainstream beliefs bit by bit.

 

Royalty.  Hmm. As an amateur historian I am obsessed with the lives of the monarchs through the ages, and of course every age is defined by it's monarch, Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian etc.  Basically because nobody ever wrote about poor people because they are boring. Sadly it is as it is, but in its favour it has given us fascinating glimpses of times gone by and usually with beautiful costumes and in opulent surroundings.  I'm being a tad flippant, apologies, but I'm still luxuriating in Versailles, I've watched series 1,2 and 3, but have gone back and am watching it again! One of the advantages of being as nutty as a fruitcake is the ability to drift away to another time and place.

 

I am fascinated by the monarchy, but I'm not sure I'm a monarchist. In my younger days I was captivated by the French Revolution, the spirit rather than the bloodthirsty outcome, stirred me up to fight for equality, mostly in wine bars in a loud voice.  Usually in reply to 'how can someone like you support Arthur Scargill'.   I have actually written dramas based on real people who lived through the reign of terror that I really must submit somewhere. One of my heroines is the bare breasted ‘Liberty’ leading the people, a painting by Eugene Delaroix that I use as my background on twitter. I have called her Adele and brought her to life.

 

But I digress, I have mellowed over the years.  I am still far left, but brave enough now to say I am captivated by the lives of the Royals.   Studying history is my guilty pleasure, it is the equivalent of being handed a tray of delicious canapes or watching Seinfeld.  Is it possible to be an historian without being fascinated by the lives of the monarchy, past and present? 

 

As I have grown older I find myself looking on our own monarchy more kindly than I ever have. I was genuinely moved for example, when the very elderly Queen turned up to visit the youngsters in hospital who had survived the bomb at the Manchester pop concert.  I can’t say I have ever watched the Queen in any depth, but for me that one kind gesture from this fragile old lady changed my opinion on her entirely.  Of course, as a left winger, there is much I could disagree with or even ridicule, but I don’t feel that way inclined.

 

The truth is I love the pomp, splendour and ceremony, the gold carriages, even the flag waving.  I love that royal weddings and royal babies lift the nation’s spirits.  I love that these events are recorded by history and that our descendants in hundreds of years to come will be able to see and hear the faces and voices of those who made it into the history books.

 

I’m looking forward to the Trump visit.  Even his gold toilets cannot compare to the grandeur and history of Buckingham Palace. The only palace Trump ever owned was a casino in Atlantic City and it went bankrupt.  The dim witted Donald however, will probably try to persuade the Queen to knock it down and turn all that prime real estate into condos.  I’m trying to imagine how that meeting will go and I cannot get beyond farcical.

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I really hope the Queen wears a crown and her most spectacular Crown Jewels for the Royal Banquet. How will the Melania and Ivanka jewelry ranges compare? Duchess Kate, a natural beauty, simply sparkles but in a Diana tiara she will outdazzle them all. Duchess Meghan sadly will not attend, a shame really, because her presence would unsettle Trump more than her absence.  And on the dazzling front, the ladies of the House of Windsor already outshine and outclass the ladies from the House of Trump.    

 

The new young batch of Royals I adore.  As a mum of two boys, my heart broke for William and Harry as they walked behind their mother's coffin. I have since then felt maternal and protective over them and I genuinely like the men they have grown up to be.  I am sure their mother would have been so proud.

 

I agree the monarchy in the UK was getting very close to extinction, particularly after the death of Diana. The 'old guard', the last generation, Prince Charles and his siblings truly believed they owed their position to the divine right of Kings.  They demanded strict protocol and deference. There is nothing likeable or endearing about Anne, Andrew and Edward.  By contrast, Wills and Harry are their mother's sons.  They have stepped down from their royal pedestals (not all the time I know)and have become actively involved in the causes they represent, they don't just, shake a few hands and go back to the palace. They have even shared their own mental health issues.  This new generation of royals I believe are 'shock horror' becoming more like their liberal, bicycling, crown wearing cousins in Europe. Happily though, they have been able to preserve the pomp and ceremony, and I hope they continue to do so.   

 

To those who would abolish the monarchy I would say be careful what you wish for. What state announcements (for the sake of history) will take the place of the births, marriages and deaths of Monarchs? History is probably recorded more now with events (and videos) preserving these times for future generations, than the lives of royalty.  But don’t think historians will ever define an era by the politicians or personalities who have their moment in the limelight, they will begin with ‘who was the reigning monarch at the time?’.  

 

The young royals I think will rescue the monarchy because they are using their privileged positions to help people in need.  Both William and Harry are kind, decent young men who seem to understand the need for the monarchy to be updated to the 21^st century.  But as I said above, I hope they continue with the pomp, ceremony and traditions and I hope to see the House of Windsor in all it’s finery.  If a banquet with a US president, even if it is Trump, is not reason enough to get out the Crown Jewels, I don’t know what is.

CRISTOBELL UNCUT

I don’t feel sorry for Theresa May, not one bit.  Like every other right wing leader she is only concerned with the interests of the top 1% she represents. She cried yesterday for herself, her tears said ‘why are you are all being so mean to me’, and maybe, ‘I’m going to burn in the fires of of hell for all eternity for taking the UK back to the beginning of the last century, when people actually died from poverty’. Their deaths will forever be on my conscious.  To be honest part 2 of the above probably hasn’t kicked in yet, but it will.  Every PM cares about their legacy, how they will be remembered.  History will not be kind to TM, probably why she wept for the first time.

 

I’ve never been able to understand how she had the barefaced nerve to stand alongside other world leaders, knowing they were all aware of her objective to crush the British working classes into complete submission.  She has no shame that world leaders see homeless people sleeping on the streets of what is supposed to be one of the most advanced nations in the world.   For shame Theresa May and for shame any leader that leaves office with their nation going backwards.  She leaves a legacy of failure. Failure to win the votes of the public, parliament and even her own party. She will be remembered for trying to cling onto power long after she should have gone, and she will be remembered for launching British democracy into chaos.  

 

Anyone who follows her, as leader of the Conservative party and PM, won’t fare any better.  Happily our constitution has a system of checks and balances, that will prevent an emboldened new tory PM from pushing through a Brexit deal without the approval of parliament.  And seriously folks, will the charmless Boris do any better with the progressive leaders of Europe than the charmless Theresa?

 

But the past week was not without it’s highlights. I had no sympathy for Nigel Farage either. If anyone deserves to be milkshaked, it was him.  This is is a man, who, for some reason has been given a platform by every mainstream news network to preach hate filled rhetoric to the public on an almost daily basis.  Why?  Who does he represent?  Not half as many as we are led to believe.  

 

He is by any reasonable person’s estimation, a slimey, snidey, POS, laughing at all those stupid enough to take him seriously. It wouldn’t surprise me one tiny bit, if he along with his mate Trump were not in the pay of Putin.  He is the personification of WWII’S Lord Haw Haw, he hates England and it’s history of welcoming immigrants and new ideas and new cultures.  He is the numbnut sent out to pitch ignorance and backward thinking to the masses. The acceptable face of capitalism and greed, he likes a beer and fag, he is one of us.  

 

Talking about the acceptable face of capitalism and McDonalds milkshakes. The Queen apparently, has invited ‘the Donald’ to a State Banquet.  My sympathies right now are with the Queen. Imagine being told all the stars of American Housewives and several 'Sopranos' were coming to dinner?  I am sure Buckingham Palace has the finest chefs in the world (so too the Whitehouse), but just to make the Donald feel at home, perhaps she should order in Kentucky fried chicken and McDonalds burgers? For Donald sadly, that is the only way he can ensure his food has not been spat on, and its what he offers America’s finest when invited to the Whitehouse.  The only problem I foresee there is the milkshakes.

 

Not as current as I would have liked, but I feel I have to comment on the demise of Jeremy Kyle.  Tis true there are days when I have laid on the sofa eating bacon sarnies and kitkats and watching Jeremy admonish the low life scum he groomed to appear on his show.  I’m not proud of that.  But, like millions of others, it was always with the wish that a guest would get past the meatheads and land the odious Jeremy with a Glasgow Kiss.  To say he exploited society’s most vulnerable would be an understatement.  He preached a philosophy of punishment and exposure, a return to the dark ages where the feckless and the inadequate were held up for public ridicule, run out of town or forever targets of the sanctimonious. That his show was pulled for one suicide is frankly unbelievable, in this instance, it was probably one too many. 

 

But returning to the Royals, and I probably will quite often, as the mum of two young boys, my heart went out to the two young boys who walked behind their mum's coffin.  I felt a maternal surge of love and protection, that I have never been able to discard in favour of my Marxist principles.  I wish them happiness, peace and contentment now as much as I ever did and hope they know how very proud of them their mother would have been. 

 

The forthcoming meeting with the Trumps must I am sure, be a nightmare.  Now I don't know how much the Queen gets each year (does anyone?), but I guarantee it is not nearly enough to compensate for having to spend even five minutes of her time in the company of an uncouth, ill educated, boorish oaf telling her how Windsor Castle doesn't compare to Trump Tower.  We the masses have the option of telling him exactly how we feel, and we will, but the Queen and the Establishment do not. 

 

Who gets an invite to the Royal Banquet?  Now is the time for all those who despise the racist trump and his grifter family to dish out the biggest snub of their lifetimes.  But will they?  Will they do what their A List contemporaries on the other side of the Atlantic do and ignore the malicious oaf, or will they turn up like his paid lackeys and pay homage?

 

CRISTOBELL DISCOMBOBULATED

Apologies for the yucky green and spooky blog title,  I'm afraid I started fiddling about with the tech stuff and have retreated before I do any more damage!  Unfortunately I can't find a way of taking my blog offline before carrying out major refurbishment so technical difficulties continue :(

I have restricted the comments to 'members only' for now because quite frankly I need a break!  However, I don't want to stop discussion completely in whatever new format I opt for because stimulating discussion keeps the blog live and current.  And as can be seen, a lot of people have a lot to say about the subject.  The problem lies in the misunderstanding that my blog is a 'hate blog', not the kind of blog any decent person would want to associate themselves with. 

Those who read here regularly and those who contribute to the discussions, know that is not the case.  The MSM are not telling the truth, I am.  Truth does not equal hate, something the angry pro McCanns cannot understand.  Sadly, for my sins, I know way too  much about this case to keep silent when I see the public being lied to and manipulated, I feel morally obliged to challenge the fake news.

But to return to my conundrum.  I compare it to buying a new home or extending and refurbishing the original.  Add to that my very basic, almost chimp like, knowledge of computers and technology and you have a very unfortunate mix. 

Let me set out my conundrum:  I want to receive comments but fully understand why people would rather comment incognito, and that's not just here, it's everywhere, I'm often reluctant to comment on other websites because I do not want to leave my name and get bombarded with even more spam.  I need an anonymous or pseudonym option. 

I would also like new functions, multiple pages - something I have never been able to figure out on 'Blogger', oh and an outdoor swimming pool with a bar and a waiter called Carlos.  I jest, I don't want to go full 'new fangle dangle', I just want to feel as I did when I got a phone with an actual keyboard to send texts!  And I feel sure the technology is out there!

On the new house front, Wix seems to be the most popular from my, albeit scant, research.  This brings up the question of 'domain', I don't even know what that means, do I need one, should I have one?  I am stuck on page one at the moment because it is telling me to download (or is it upload) a new browser and I don't know if it is safe to do that.

At the moment I have my head buried in the sand.  Or more accurately buried in Versailles on Amazon which I am binge watching. For some reason watching costume drama wafts me away on a magical cloud.  And I have the added joy of being able to google every character and see their real pictures and read their real biographies.  In the past it would have meant trekking home with a pile of books from the library!

Returning to the main topic of this blog, I need help.  I am going to switch comments on temporarily, in the hope that there may be helpful suggestions on my way forward.  Technical advice perhaps or examples of blogs or websites with the kind of format that may work here.  I have even considered going to Facebook but I can't say it is an option that instantly appeals.  I have always preferred to be a lone wolfess!

I'm not going to publish abuse and rants in case some see this as a last chance to condemn me as a heretic and much, much worse.  I am looking for helpful advice. 

THAT'S IT FOR ME

For the past few months I feel as though my blog has been under seige, that is, it has been taken over by one or more supporters of the McCanns who have made it their life’s work to stop reasonable discussion of the missing Madeleine case.  They don’t just want to stop discussion, they want to threaten and intimidate those who dare to question the abduction story.

 

It is to my eternal shame that they were able to drive away Shallis, an intelligent, interesting new poster who ‘s academic interpretations sent the ‘Malevolents’ into a feeding frenzy. Even now, after she has gone, they ‘accuse’ every intelligent poster of being ‘Shallis’, reaffirming they will come after her if she reappears.

 
How has it come to this? These malevolents are acting in the same territorial way as they do in the cesspits. A stronger host could have prevented it, I’m sure, and all those who mocked my lack of rules and censorship, have their moment to say ‘told you so’.  But yes, I am mid conundrum.  I cannot bear to read through the 10,000+ words Ziggy writes each day, thus they are slipping through, filled with their contempt, ridicule and pure spite.  They are miserable reading.

 

My recent postbox is filled with complaints, I’m not enforcing ‘the rules’ properly.  They are asking me, another adult, to tell them, also adults, how to behave!  Seriously? Do they need actual written instructions on how not to be an arsehole? I politely asked people to show consideration to others. That’s not a big ask.  It shouldn’t even be necessary in polite society.  And how do they expect me to enforce said rules? Make my every post a ticking off?  It's like the McCanns' simpleton argument, Warners did not put up posters telling them to take care of their children.  When tf do these people take responsibility for their own behaviour?

 

For me, the Shallis affair was a turning point, a wake up call. I’m running a forum where a clique of posters can drive away new posters they don’t like. Wtf? Heck, they have even managed to drive me away.  The thought of reading their posts makes me sick to the stomach, which has sadly meant that many posts from newcomers and those who do respect the rules are going unanswered.

 

This blog is coming to an end, in this form at least.  I am no longer going to waste my time and talents on people who really do not deserve my time and talents.  I have far too many interests and subjects that I want to explore and discuss in greater depths, hopefully with others who are like minded.  I am a bit of an amateur historian and would have loved the opportunity to pick Shallis's brain I am sure there is so much she could have taught us.   

 

I’m afraid I am bored with the same arguments going around and around in the case of Madeleine McCann.  And the arguments never change because those will 100% faith in the parents, are unreasonable.  That is they cannot be reasoned with, they acknowledge no other arguments than their own.  It's like asking the Taliban to tone it down a bit.  They think if they bore people long enough they will say 'OK, ok, the McCanns are innocent'.

 

You know who I am most resentful of?  Ziggy's wife.  She is away enjoying herself while I am having to put up with all his shit.  She has skilfully avoided him for fuck knows how long now, so must be looking and feeling madeover, whilst I am on my second gin and contemplating roasting my head.  Good move Ziggy's wife, but I possess the ruby slippers and the power to return my blog to normality whenever I want.  A thug free zone.

Where are we now?  I suspect non believers vastly outnumber believers of the abduction story now, 12 years on.  Men who climb in bedroom windows are not supervillains in the Bond sense, they are caught within days, if not hours. Maybe it is finally beginning to dawn on all those who rushed to the parents’ aid, that there was no abductor.

 

Operation Grange goes on without any clues as to who they are investigating, while those who speculate will continue to speculate.  One day the truth will be revealed, too many people are involved for it to be buried. At the conclusion of the investigations, the dogs will have to be explained. They were either right or wrong. Proving they were wrong may present difficulties.

Meanwhile Ziggy et al will have to find somewhere else to publish their pro McCann propaganda, and vitriol against Goncalo Amaral.  They are parasites who are using the popularity of my writing  to promote their own sinister agenda, they can't get an audience of their own so they have set out to steal mine.  Unfortunately for them, I am the kid who owns the ball, and I can take it away whenever I want. 

 

ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY ANOTHER NEW SUSPECT

 

This time a guy wearing a surgical mask who climbed in the windows and beds of young British girls.  Surgical mask man sounds much like Smelly Man, the ‘new lead’ 5 years or so back, who had the exact same modus operandi, but was noticeable by his stench.  Surgical mask man by contrast, sounds like a germophobe.  Two opposite ends of the hygiene scale, both with a penchant for small British girls on holiday in the Algarve.

 

At the time of that new lead, the smelly pervert who climbed in windows, Operation Grange called for restraint by the press, to protect the young British girls affected. I remember being a little cynical at the time, for example, I wondered how the world’s press, camped out in PDL and scratching around for stories in the summer of 2007, heard nothing whatsoever about Smelly Man or Surgical Mask Man? And nothing whatsoever about the 40 plus break ins that are being reported today, 12 years on.

 

The source for the latest story in the tabloids appears to be the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, who claim the PJ have received more money to follow this new lead. I have no doubt the PJ have been given more money, but a new lead after all this time? It begs the question what have the PJ and OG being doing this past 7 years, just sitting around waiting for a new lead to come in?  And given Portugal's very strict Judicial Secrecy laws, is it likely the PJ gave this tip off to the press?  If the PJ were leaking, wouldn't they be leaking against the McCanns rather than for them? 

 

Gerry and Kate would like to skip through the first two weeks of May, and who could blame them? Every 3^rd May, they come under the spotlight of the world’s media, this year especially due to the Netflix documentary. And each year there is no sign of an abductor or an abduction, nothing to take the heat off them. It is becoming more and more difficult to prove that Madeleine was abducted.

 

The word 'abduction' these days is notable by it's absence, that is, it has been replaced by 'disappeared', it is no longer central to the Madeleine narrative.  It is not difficult to understand that the parents, and indeed many others, want to keep the abduction scenario very much alive.  Remove the abductor and what are you left with?  So who  has a vested interest in planting 'new leads' and new suspects in the media?

 

The police?  On this occasion the PJ?  Unlikely, unless they are trying to mislead the suspects.  The abduction story was good for many, not just those who hotfooted it out to PDL, but for police agencies and national charities.  the cherubic face of little Madeleine was much more sympathetic than the pimply faces of the surly teens they usually have to look for.  And it was good for the tabloids, on a sales chart, threats to cherubic children outsell every other heinous crime.  How about the politicians who backed Gerry and Kate unreservedly, Blair, Brown, Johnson, not to mention Harriet Harman, shamefully sitting alongside a hacked off Gerry.  Yeah, let's change Freedom of Speech laws to protect this pair even further.

 

Meanwhile the tabloids and their feeders, continue to persuade the public that an abductor was responsible for Madeleine's disappearance and that the police are in no shape or form looking at her parents or their friends.  In fact shape was a good word there, lol, the police are in fact looking for an elusive shapeshifter.  Either that, or there were an inordinate number of weird predators wandering the streets of PDL that night looking for a child to steal. 

 

 

 

THE BIZARRO WORLD OF THE MCCANNS PART II

 

As lovely as it is to have my postbox buzzing and thriving,  it is forcing me to bring in [shudders] Rules, as the comments section is becoming unmanageable for me and I am sure it is for readers. I can’t help but think it is tactic to drown out the very sane and compelling arguments of the new posters.  

 

With regret, no more ‘one liners’, no more Winnie the Pooh stuff, no more copying and pasting entire posts, the last one especially, it is a waste of space, refer to the time of posting.  And finally, please, please identify yourselves in some way, even if it is only a letter from the alphabet.  It is simple courtesy and good manners, particularly if you are replying to one correspondent.

 

The discussions on here are becoming increasingly more interesting, I have always been proud of the calibre of my posters, and now it has gone up a couple of notches, the discussions are more interesting still. Perhaps that is why I am being invaded!

 

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The discussions on the last blog related to the declared innocence of the McCanns, police corruption and a zillions ways in which hate to GA.  My view is that Gerry and Kate have, on occasion, had police protection (depending on how you define 'protection', but I do not believe that an entire force, OG, which began with 30+ homicide detectives, would cover up the death of a child.  Those 30+ detectives must face not only themselves but their family, friends and colleagues, not to mention the impact it could have on their future careers if they are found to have lied.

 

*this is a work in progress, I will be continuing the blog, but rushing to get the 'Rules' out!