The War On Christmas: The Postage Stamp Campaign

Well it's an even-numbered year, which means only one thing. The Post Office's Christmas stamps are on a secular theme, and a thousand and one blithering idiots with too much time on their hands and persecution complexes bigger than a very big mountain of very big things, will be whining and moaning that the Post Office, for some vague reason probably connected to Militant Secularism™, are trying to ban Christianity. Because that's what post offices do. Obviously.

This post began life as an attempt to put that straight by listing the basic theme of every set of Christmas stamps since 1966, when the tradition began. And that would have been as boring as hell. But along the way, it kind of grew into a collection of digressions loosely held together by a list of stamps. We have Joyce Grenfell in there, and a short discussion of the slang pertaining to British coinage, and many other brief but, I hope, interesting and amusing snippets of trivia, reminiscence and opinion.

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Some Answers I’m Really Tired Of Having To Repeat

This isn't a blog-post, per se. I merely want to gather together several answers that I've had to give over and over again in discussions elsewhere during the last few months, so I can just provide a link instead of retyping the damn things, as I say, over and over again.

So, okay, here goes…

No, the court decision was not an attempt to subvert democracy, or to block brexit. The court merely pointed out that article fifty cannot be invoked unless it be by a decision of Parliament. Not the Prime Minister, not the governing party. Parliament. You know, the body you allegedly voted to return power to, thus wresting it from the grasping hands of the Evil EU™. If anyone is currently holding up the process, it is May's government, who are refusing to obey the law of the land in this matter, by not allowing Parliament to act. (This is not new behaviour for May, she having, as Home Secretary, been found to be in contempt of court for refusing to release a time-served prisoner after being expressly instructed by the court to do so.) Talking of which…

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Genevieve & Other Harmonica Easy-Listening

Yes folks, it's another music post. Basically, I think I'm avoiding saying anything serious about the current mess because then I might have to actually admit it's not just a really bad dream. Ho-hum.

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That Metropolitan Élite We Keep Hearing About…

Posted without comment. This lily, Gentle Reader, hardly needs me to gild it.
—Daz

[Click picture to enbiggen]

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Fig Leaf

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Instrumentals

So, yesterday, looking for something to take my mind off the constant barrage of bad news, I decided to put together another music compilation. This one's all instrumentals. A little more variety of genre than the last one I posted, but still with a fair few that I reckon will be new to the ears of most listeners.

Enjoy. And feel free to post any favourite instrumentals in comments, should you wish.
—Daz

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W. T. F?

So let me get this straight. A dodgy private server is more important than rape?

To any readers in the USA, I am so, so sorry. You don't deserve this.

I dunno what else to say.
—Daz

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Dear USA,

My country, Britain, has recently attained the much-sought-after position of Laughing-Stock Of The World. Our glorious leader, Saint Theresa May, is working tirelessly to not only maintain this position, but to raise us to such a condition of laughability that we cannot be removed from it. Our heroic gutter press have excelled themselves—even going so far as to resurrect tactics and headlines from Nazi propaganda rags—in their fervour to aid her in this quest.

But we need help from you, USA.

You don't need to do much. Just refrain from voting in an orange-skinned, sexist, racist, xenophobic, self-interested, egotistical, bone-headed, lying, swindling, tiny-fingered self-confessed sexual-molester as president of your country.

You have one job. Vote Clinton. We're counting on you.
—Daz

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Meanwhile, In Brexit Headquarters…

"I say chaps, now we're leaving Europe, we need to make ourselves attractive to Johnny Foreigner, for trade deals and all that rot. Any suggestions on how to do that?"

Long silence.

"Wellll, it's just an idea…"

"Speak up old bean!"

"Why don't we try acting like a bunch of racist, xenophobic fuckups who've been banging on about getting out of Europe for forty years, yet have never bothered to come up with a plan for what to do after we leave? That should inspire confidence, surely?"

"Splendid! All in favour…"

—Daz

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On Glamour Magazine & Bono

"Bono Just Became Glamour's First Man of the Year," exclaims the headline at Glamour Magazine. Note that it does not say, contra to the claims of reporters and commentators seemingly everywhere, that he's been named Woman of the Year, and most definitely not the Woman of the Year.

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