After treating world leaders to a dinner of Kilkeel crab, Kettyle beef and apple crumble with Bushmills whiskey custard at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, David Cameron is beginning to look more secure in his job.

Moreover, the strong possibility of a Europe/US free-trade area is not doing him much harm either. When the man gets going he’s hard to stop. Let’s hope he doesn’t revert to Lassitude Central when back in No 10.

There is one alarm bell ringing over the free trade deal, though. It will be used remorselessly as an effective battering ram to keep Britain inside the EU in the run up to 2017.

It shouldn’t. If the UK were to leave the European proto-state, a trade agreement would be part of the settlement and, as we would already be a signatory to the transatlantic trade arrangement, it would be in nobody’s interest to kick us out.

However, expect the usual suspects to try twisting the truth in their favour. It would be useful for Dave to insert a clause in the new trade treaty that if Britain votes to leave the EU in the 2017 referendum, it would not affect the country’s status in the broader trade area.

Radio 4, the BBC’s ever-interesting talk channel, brought me a “blast from the past” yesterday. It was a programme about Derek Tangye, author of the Minack Chronicles series of books set in deepest Cornwall.

I went to Minack in 1997, just after Derek’s death, to investigate the agricultural lease to the main property. The house and 21 acres was available to the right person. The owner, Viscount Falmouth, was determined to maintain the Minack legend as created by Tangye and his wife, Jeannie (pictured).

It seemed to me then a wonderful opportunity to make a new start after seven years living in Spain. But it soon became clear that this was Derek and Jeannie’s dream, not mine. Their imprint and their legend was all over the place. Any newcomer would inevitably feel out of place and out of time.

I took the scenic route along the cliffs from Lamorna, which is not as easy as it sounds in the Chronicles, and found myself walking beside a lengthy metal fence which skirted the cliff path. Totally lost, I eventually took a gamble and climbed over an old gate into what seemed a deserted farmyard. It was Minack.

There was the much-described cottage — so small. How could they have lived in it all those years? The famous “bridge” (a vantage point) was bijou in the extreme; and “Monty’s Leap”, that giants’ causeway of the imagination, was a little trickling stream across the lane.

From such small and and simple features came a whole world that resonated in the minds of jaded urbanites in every corner of the planet. Gilbert White did it for Selborne, and Derek Tangye made a mighty edifice out of his beloved molehill at Minack.

Small really is beautiful when there’s no one else around.

We’re currently going through an extended period of what I call “whether weather”. Nobody quite knows what’s going on or what will come next. The Jetstream is frequently cited and seems to be further south than is good for us.

However, uncertainty has always been a staple of the British climate. Here’s what I wrote on the 1st of November, 2005:

As I look out of my study window here in southern England I can see girls going to work and college in T-shirts. Nobody’s wearing winter, or for that matter, autumn clothing. The temperature here is an almost balmy 67F (19C). So Global Warming is upon us?

Hah! All is never what it seems in this life. Summer has been particularly warm, though never hot. And it’s certainly nipped a whole month off winter … so far.

But, the long-range weather forecast predicts the bitterest winter since 1962/63 when the UK froze under 20ft snow drifts for three months from Christmas Day till March.

The word “predict” is relevant here. How different is this forecast from the racing tips in the tabloid newspapers? Well, it’s based on readings from scores of special submarine buoys out in the north Atlantic, apparently. Computer models show that the peculiar nature of this year’s data is only matched by those of 1962.

Except for one fact, the forecasters didn’t have the remarkable submarine buoys back then. So do the figures match as well as the meteorologists suppose? And, what if there are other factors not being looked at, and missed 40 years ago?

Humans make huge judgements based on narrow data and scattergun information. The wonderful intrusion of paradox is never taken into account by our boffins.

Syntagma predicts a remarkably warm and balmy winter here in northern Europe, and especially in southern England, where the girls will continue for some time to go to work and college in T-shirts. And an early spring will take us all by surprise. You heard it here first.

From memory, I was not far out, and the Met Office has been forecasting cold winters ever since — mostly wrong.

Poppycock Watch
The old yun is at it again. Ken Clarke — yeay, for it is he — is sounding off against anyone who wants to leave the EU as if it is a mortal sin.

He, and Peter Mandelson are the two most fanatical supporters of this unworkable, artificial creation which has all but destroyed half the Continent’s economies and hard-won powers of self-government. Both lack judgement and proportionality.

Mandelson recently admitted that the last Labour government, of which he was a prominent member, “sent out search parties” looking for immigrants — presumably those who could be relied upon to vote Labour. In the process they imported millions of angry people, many of whom are intent on turning Britain into an Islamic caliphate.

Clarke is a lazy-minded lawyer who sees the world as a treaty construct, built by politicians in their own image.

It’s hard to know which of them has done the most damage to our much-diminished island home.

Profundity of the Week
It is a sickness of the mid-twentieth century that the basic virtues are publicised as dull. The arbiters of this age, finding it profitable to destroy, decree from the heights that trust, love and loyalty are suspect qualities.
Derek Tangye, from A Donkey in the Meadow. See picture.

John Evans

Coming up: Mystology: A different way of looking at the world. Also a website, mystology.com.

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Bartender, I’ll have a large omnishambles, if you please!

Sorry, sir, we’ve only got the megashambles left. There’s been quite a run on them lately. You might also try the doomsdayshambles. That’s the really strong stuff. The posh boys go mad for them. And they’re definitely not the common type, if you know what I mean.

The Commons type, perhaps?

Yeah, even that Little Richardjohn couldn’t make it up.

On the live topic of the seemingly wilful destruction of the age-old marriage laws purely to burnish the image of one David Cameron, there’s a potent card in the pack that he hasn’t played yet. I’m surprised that, as far as I can tell, no-one has thought of it.

Gender-bending chemicals.

These have been around since World War II and began making their mark in the Fifties through Rachel Carson’s epic game-changing book Silent Spring in America.

The world’s bread basket, the immense wheat-growing plains of the Mid-west fell silent as no birds sang and whole species of animals disappeared after the annual chemical spraying season began.

Decades later, the natural environment is soaked in supposedly safe pesticides which have ripped through nature in surge after surge of destruction.

Fish inhabiting inland waterways have been particularly affected by chemicals that interfere with gender, some even growing two sets of sexual organs, one male, one female.

Hermaphrodite fish might not seem to be a problem, but these substances now have a firm foothold in the human food chain. “Endocrine disruptors” pose a silent threat to life on this planet, even to human fertility and civilisation.

This appeared in New Scientist on 27 May, 2005: “Gender-bending chemicals mimicking the female hormone oestrogen can disrupt the development of baby boys, suggests the first evidence linking certain chemicals in everyday plastics to effects in humans.”

The Daily Mail goes with: “The diverse systems affected by endocrine-disrupting chemicals likely include all hormonal systems and range from those controlling development and function of reproductive organs to the tissues and organs regulating metabolism and satiety. Effects on these systems can lead to obesity, infertility or reduced fertility, learning and memory difficulties, adult-onset diabetes or cardiovascular disease, as well as a variety of other diseases.”

The New Scientist headline was: “Gender-bending chemicals found to feminise boys”.

Could this be the cause of the fairly recent upsurge in “gay” issues, politics and demand for same-sex marriage? It certainly seems likely, and totally changes the terms of the current debate.

One wonders what scientific advice the Prime Minister is receiving from the Food Standards Agency and Cobra. In politics nothing happens without context.

It’s beginning to look like a case of “bend it like Cameron”.

John Evans

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Nigel Farage in typical upbeat style

Nigel Farage undoubtedly won Thursday’s Council elections in the South of England — classic Conservative country — even though his nascent outfit, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), gathered in just a quarter of the votes … which was a startling result for them.

As a Devon-based man, I was considering voting for UKIP until abstaining at the last moment. I have only ever voted for one party, so it was not easy to change the habits of half a lifetime. Rest assured, that reticence will not stand in a General Election on which the fate of Britain will hang in the balance.

In this neck of the woods, there are thousands like me, toying with the apostasy of voting for a newish, single-issue party of uncertain provenance.

The dilemma for David Cameron is that the single issue in question, independence from the despised European Union, lies at the heart of almost every slice of political debate: law, immigration, public services, defence, education, financial services, foreign affairs and more.

You name it, the choice between independence and obeying remote edicts from people who speak another language, is ultimately between the pride of self-governance and a return to the conditions of the Roman Empire.

There is, then, no choice at all. And the voters know it, even if the metro politicos in the capital don’t. They will know soon enough. There really is a tide in the affairs of men when the only option is revolution, albeit through the ballot box.

Can the Tories escape from the pit of muddled mediocrity into which they have tipped themselves? There is one way.

David Cameron is an urbane product of one of the world’s great schools, Eton College near Windsor. Throughout the Victorian and Edwardian eras it effortlessly produced the leaders and administrators of the mighty British Empire, as well as a very large number of the nation’s prime ministers and ministers of State. It’s a proud record.

In the 21st century, it has struggled to stay relevant, often turning out a recognisable cohort of effete, self-satisfied, work shy individuals who, although as bright as buttons, lack a tough Army training as a necessary finishing school. By contrast, Princes William and Harry are worthy graduates of that school of hard knocks.

David Cameron’s Downing Street has almost no public definition. It lacks shape and the urgency needed to tackle the broken social fabric of our time. Most of the Coalition’s successes come from the hard-toiling products of abolished Grammar schools in lesser ministries.

Cutting to the chase, David Cameron is the kind of PM most English people like: friendly and articulate, he represents Britain well on the world stage. He is a safe pair of hands as the public face of government. Most folk can agree on that.

In policy terms, he just about cuts it for the southern half of the country, but is a lost cause north of Watford and increasingly west of the Home Counties. That’s where Nigel Farage comes in.

UKIP is a truly trans-Britain, trans-class party. With the possible exception of Scotland, whose mind is elsewhere at the moment, UKIP’s reach is an almost precise copy of the Conservative’s best past efforts. Together, they would be much more than the sum of their parts.

Even Farage’s personality supplements Cameron’s perfectly. A Con/UKIP fighting force would inherit the mantle of the unbeaten Thatcher-led party and attract the C1/C2s of recent memory.

If Britain is to have the government it truly wants, Con/UKIP is the only game in town. If it were up to me, talks would begin now. Farage would have his moment of glory in the Euro elections next year, before a serious joint platform is launched.

The UKIP leader could be found a safe seat for a byelection he would fight on a joint Con/UKIP ticket.

The Lib Dems would, of course, retreat from coalition, leaving Nigel Farage to become Deputy Prime Minister.

The rest is future history.

John Evans

… who is the author of The Eternal Quest for Immortality: Is it staring you in the face? Available from Amazon and all good booksellers.

Coming eventually: Mystology: A different way of looking at the world. Also a website, mystology.com.

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Margaret Thatcher is being commemorated in a special session of Parliament this afternoon. It will not be a peaceful or pleasant occasion.

She was a passionate believer in individual freedom who despised the soggy collectivism and groupthink of Marxist socialism, especially the secretive “entryism” of today’s Labour movement which, she thought, belonged in the 19th century.

Her political philosophy was simple. If everyone turned their energies to bettering the fortunes of their family and bringing up their children to be law-abiding, peace-loving citizens, the country could embrace anyone of moderation, whatever their views and origins.

For her pains, she is despised for it by around a third of the population which wants to take from those who succeed and divide it up between those who in some cases don’t even try.

The organisers of this “fairness” movement are handsomely rewarded in wealth and power. In modern times they have won the big battles by aggression and sheer persistence. The 21st century is now labouring under libraries of oppressive laws and armies of pitiless enforcers.

Contemporary society crushes anyone who craves an individual existence, while extending liberties to shallow differences, oddball opinions and practices. They are the voters who maintain the new elite in power in a rigged version of client-state “democracy”.

It is astounding how easily our fellows have become inured to silent oppression, and how effortlessly the young have been brainwashed into impotent mediocrity by a state-controlled education system. The Trots and Leninists have won in the end.

Even the so-called Toffs and Etonian leaders of the new-nice Conservative Party in government are compliant in this enforced transition. They have been brought up to roll with the punches, speak with soft voices, and never make waves as a means of preserving historic fortunes and possessions. They are the “useful idiots”.

If you want proof that Britain’s current rulers under David Cameron are speaking with a forked tongue, especially on his apparent determination to pull back from the European Union, here’s a snippet from today’s Open Europe newsletter:

“The UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain (G5) have agreed to deepen cooperation to tackle tax evasion. ‘The finance ministers of the G5 express in their letter [to the European Commission] the expectation that other EU member states will join, the German Finance Ministry said.’ ”

Another rope to bind us and emphasise the “sameist” status of Britain in a dying Europe.

Margaret Thatcher was the bitterest enemy of this defeatist tendency. Her scorn was palpable during her lifetime. She is hated for vigorously defending the freedoms of others.

John Evans

Coming soon: Mystology: A different way of looking at the world. Also a website, mystology.com.

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In the mid 1970s, under a Labour Government, Britain effectively went bust. Prime Minister James Callaghan had the humiliating task of asking the International Monetary Fund to bail out the UK. That was the nadir of Britain’s post-war history.

Callaghan memorably told the 1976 Labour Party Conference, where he was roundly jeered by trade union leaders: “We used to think you could spend your way out of recession and increase employment by boosting government spending… I tell you that option no longer exists. And so far as it ever did exist, it only worked on each occasion… by injecting a bigger dose of inflation into the economy, followed by a higher level of unemployment as the next step.”

But what of now? Since those dismal days, our national debt has ballooned to twelve times more than the 1970s figures. Another Labour administration, under Gordon Brown and Ed Balls has made the British plight very much worse.

According to Moneyweek(.com)Magazine, in an apocalyptic article titled The End of Britain, the present situation is almost impossible to solve: “when you add in all of Britain’s ‘unfunded obligations’ — promises the Government has made on things like public sector pensions — our debts swell to 900% of our economy.” And, they say, no country has ever escaped from a debt that big without total collapse.

Moreover, “There is nothing the government can do to solve the debt crisis. Better people than David Cameron and George Osborne have tried to get out of similar crises in the past – and failed. As you have seen, the hole we have dug for ourselves is simply too big to ever fill back in.”

The magazine is predicting a catastrophic collapse of the British economy not too far into the future. Will it be as bad as that? In the Moneyweek scenario:

In 1933, President Roosevelt signed executive order 6102, forbidding the man on the street to hold any significant amount of gold. In the midst of the Great Depression, the government basically made it illegal for anyone but them to hoard the precious yellow metal. Refusal to comply with these demands was met with a five-year prison sentence. That’s essentially how the US filled Fort Knox – by seizing other people’s gold.

Just last year in Hungary, facing a debt crisis similar to our own, the government nationalised all pensions. In effect, they confiscated people’s savings. Can you imagine waking up one day and being told that the income for the last 30 years of your life hangs on a government promise?

In Greece right now, benefits have been cut to the bone, salaries and pensions have been slashed up to 40% and the retirement age has been hiked to generate more income from the population – the very victims of the crisis.

The past is another country. We think we have escaped its cataclysmic episodes, but look at how the European Union has devastated Southern Europe with its profoundly ill-conceived euro currency and, even now, refuses to admit it is dead in the water. Vanity knows no bounds in Brussels.

At the limit, most people are inadequate in the scenario the global finance industry has created. They have constructed a world machine so complicated that no one person can ever understand or control it. The result is that the engine of this behemoth is now running out of control, with no individual politician or parliament able to seize back the initiative.

And the agonising position is that Britain’s debt Himalaya is much worse than even that of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy — the much derided PIGS.

As the article puts it, “… things won’t be this way for long. Because the simple fact is: When interest rates rise – and they WILL rise – Britain will face the greatest crisis in generations.”

Alarmist? Perhaps, but even so I suspect we are all in for a bumpy ride.

John Evans

… who is the author of The Eternal Quest for Immortality: Is it staring you in the face? Available from Amazon and all good booksellers.

Coming up: Mystology: A different way of looking at the world. Also a website, mystology.com.

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