One of the most iconic things about being British is having a British passport. – Brandon Lewis (Immigration minister) In its first major announcement for getting a “country that works for everyone“, the UK government has announced the re-emergence of the giant hogweed, once labelled as Britain’s most dangerous plant. Touch it once, and you […]
Brexit Musings (10) – A Happy BreXmas To You Too, Mrs May
Now Theresa – May I call you Theresa? Thank you so much for your personal Christmas letter addressed to hundreds of thousands of poor innocent mugs like me, who couldn’t vote in a referendum that we never asked for. I hope you don’t mind if I distort just a teeny-weeny little bit, your much thought […]
Feminism Never Killed Anybody
I recently wrote a post on “The Neon Demon”, a 2016 horror film that I watched on my movie pay-channel. My main thought was that Nicolas Refn, who directed the film, had cast the female characters with such masculine bias, that they were literally transgendered into men. I got the following Facebook response that really intrigued […]
De Brexit Overeenkomst Negeert de Burgerrechten van Britse Burgers in de EU
Terwijl 23 juni 2016 de boeken in zal gaan als een van de zwartste dagen in onze levens, als EU-burgers in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en als Britse staatsburgers in de EU, zal ook de aankondiging van een last-minute overeenkomst over het “verzekeren” van burgerrechten, opgenomen worden in dit lijstje als “heel donkergrijs”. Twee zaken komen […]
Citizens’ Rights Have Been Swept Under The Carpet
Whereas 23rd June 2016 will be remembered as one of the blackest days of our lives, as EU citizens in the UK and Brits in the EU, the announcement of a last-minute agreement “securing” citizens’ rights, will probably rank as being “very dark grey”. Two things come to mind when analysing the outcome of this […]
For Dutch Children, Zwarte Piet Is No Golliwog
Photo: Wikipedia Commoms As always, around this time of year, the arrival on our shores, of Saint-Nicholas, with his band of merry Zwarte Piet’s (Black Peter’s), causes a few people to question the appropriateness of it all. They’re not concerned that he may be burning fossil fuels, in order to propel his steamboat all […]
“Beauty Isn’t Everything, It’s The Only Thing.”
Horror films are really not my genre, but I do admit that if the storyline is good, and the special effects not too distasteful, they can make for compelling viewing. With aspiring model, Jesse, moving to Los Angeles, and getting gobbled up by predatory beauties, Nicolas Refn’s 2016 film, “The Neon Demon”, certainly underscores my […]
Brexit Musings (9): Catfight In Brussels – Seconds Out, Round 6
The sixth round of the Brexit negotiations took place on 9th and 10th November, and brought absolutely nothing new. Well, you didn’t really expect them to reach an agreement on something as trivial as citizens’ rights, did you? My advice for all Brits on the continent is, get a second nationality…and quick, because time […]
Brexit Musings (8): Ain’t Britain Got Culture, No More?
Riches And Stitches in the EU It’s quite interesting to see how different European countries tackle the outcome of a general election that didn’t quite go to plan. It seems that, nowadays, the electorate want a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and end up getting nothing. Dutch politicians rhymed their way […]
Charlie Hebdo and the Caliphate Factory
“We didn’t know.” At the time of Hurricane Harvey, Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon, featuring Nazi’s drowning in Texas, with the caption “God exists, He has drowned all the Nazi’s in Texas,” provoked a mis-directed world-wide outcry. The latest controversy will probably cause much less international hysteria – if at all – but is even more important […]