Saturday 25^th June – already we have a petition for another referendum in which ‘remain group’ hope to reverse the decision. Maybe it confirms the belief that the UK is no longer democratic or perhaps it’s the best of three. It’s not often I quote Ken Livingstone but one thing he said springs to mind as the repercussions of Brexit reverberate.

If voting changed anything they’d abolish it

Never a truer word.  Maybe the ‘remain’ group want to use the EU approach. Keep voting until you get the result the EU requires! Many of those signing and marching are youngsters who wish to remain in the EU. Perhaps they haven’t heard that nothing has changed yet. They can leave for Europe tomorrow – freedom of movement still exists. It will be interesting to see which European country is next to demand a referendum. Perhaps the USA should take note. When the people at the bottom of the heap finally decide they have had enough the result becomes unpredictable. Fear The Donald! We must ask Obama if we’re still at the end of the queue as he stated or has the special relationship a la Bush/Blair been resurrected? We hope not since we’re not in shape for another war.

    Sunday 26^th June – thank heavens for normality as London celebrates gay pride week. Rainbow flags have brightened up a dismal week and a comment heard, ‘what referendum’, put the world back in perspective. A minor note of confusion arose. Those of us who are not team members, read of tours being organized at the Victorian & Albert Museum. The subject matter made sense as it explores gender and sexual identities through a selection of related objects in the V&A’s rich collections. The objects were identified as LBGTQ. That was when we got confused. Q = queer. Any ideas who or what carries that definition? And to aid the celebration, rainbow toast is available courtesy of travelling ‘toastie’ van Grill My Cheese. In the face of this, how can the media keep talking referendum?

    A bit of good science learned this week. Toast is better than bread. Most of our crowd are avid toast fans and we just found out why. When toasted, bread goes through a Maillard reaction. Most of you know that, but for the couple that did not know, the Maillard process is a reaction between amino acids and sugar in the bread. This produces furanones that create a caramel-y flavour. So the taste improves. As a connoisseur, I would add that if you soak the toast in real butter the science becomes immaterial.  

    Monday 27^th June - Ramygala in Lithuania held its annual goat beauty pageant on Sunday. The contest winner was a 16-month old female. She beat five other contestants. The six goats were paraded on a red carpet that changed colour as the contest progressed and the goats passed their views on being paraded. A number of sheep farmers attended the event, their concensus being that sheep are generally better looking!  

    The new Top Gear continues to go down the pan. It just doesn’t work. Replays of the original are running every day on digital channels so there is no respite from comparisons. The new series is due to start filming in September so decisions about its future must soon be on the table. Will the BBC have the courage to bite the bullet? We doubt it since they get their funds as of right from the despairing public.

    Watched Glastonbury from the comfort of the sofa, the only mud a bit I picked up in the garden earlier. We don’t often envy the young but the atmosphere at Glasto must have been great. When Adele isn’t singing her language reminds me of blokes I worked alongside at a steelworks in my youth. No airs and graces, what you see is what you get, but what a voice? She’ll become timeless like Ella, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee – listened to long after she’s gone.

    Tuesday 28^th June – Jamie Oliver has entered the post Brexit fray. He says that if Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister he will leave the UK. If he’d said it earlier the ‘Leaves’ would have won by a landslide!

    The apocalypse is with us as the media blares forth about the drop in the pound and share values. Is our life as we know it about to end? Since we’ve seen similar happenings more than once during our lifetime we’ve decided not to panic. If we last long enough, we’ll reflect on the FTSE in 12 months time. If it’s around 6100/6200 where it has sat for about a year it might suggest that the world didn’t end after all. It probably won’t make the news then. In the meantime, if you have any spare cash, there has never been a better time to snap up some bargains.