Poor old Charlie – he hasn’t had much luck:  that is assuming you discount the chance of being born to be king.

And now he’s gone down with the lurgy.    Aged 71 and fit, he should recover.   But if ever there was a man blighted by cherry brandy, it is he.

Prince Charles has been set upon by the tabloid press pretty much all his life.   In many respects, and often with good  humour and astonishing tolerance,   he has proved them wrong: he has tried to hold minsters to account (the press call them his “black spider letters); he has stressed the importance of living in harmony with nature (the press says he “talks to trees”) and he has stood up for traditional buildings and values (the press calls him “out of touch”).

Now, at last, in sickness as never in health, he is showing himself to be a man of the people.  Long life to him.

Much is uncertain about when and how the UK will finally emerge from the crisis. Two things are already clear: 1.  the economy will have taken one hell of a battering; and, 2. the US under Donald Duck looks to nobody’s interest but its own.

To press ahead with Brexit – ie to walk away from our largest market – is, at any time, stupid, when the economy is on its knees it is total insanity.  It is frightening that so many Tory MPS – and not a few members of the Cabinet – appear determined to press ahead, driven by nothing better than political dogma.   With the Flatulent Leader’s majority of 80 it will be tantamount to impossible to stop them.

If there is one man – for man he is – who can spike their plans,  it is Sir Kier Starmer.   As a QC, and more importantly, a highly experienced prosecutor, he is used to picking holes in other people’s arguments, to exposing their vulnerabilities and probing to expose the truth.  Those skills have never been more needed.  It is almost frightening how much is riding on him.

Labour’s replacement for Comrade Corbyn will not be announced until 4th April.  It seems all 3 candidates are in with a chance.  I am sure that both Lisa Nandy and Becky Long-Bailey are good and worthy candidates – they have both fought hard – but in my judgement they are not the leaders to take on Johnson.  I just hope Labour voters agree with me.

Today is Comrade Corbyn’s last appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions; well, last as Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition that is. It seems an appropriate time to consider how he did.

First and foremost, he failed.  The primary goal for any Leader of the Opposition is transform him/herself into a Prime Minister.   Corbyn never  came close.   Even worse, the Labour campaign in the last election, for which he was responsible, resulted in the Flatulent Leader – a man more unfit to hold office than any PM in living memory – being returned with a thumping majority.  We are all living with the consequences.

That having been said, the good Comrade spoke up for many things things that needed saying, and for the most part I think he said them with sincerity and with passion.    He was a leader who never set out, nor expected, to become leader, and I am afraid it showed.   He tried to hold the governments of the Boy Leader, the Grim Leader and her spawn, the Flatulent Leader, to account; he didn’t they went from strength to strength, and even when Theresa May seemed – on more than one occasion – mortally wounded, she managed to continue in office, if not in power, to be brought down in the end by Tory dissatisfaction

But regarding the most important issue on his watch, he failed: he never gave a clear lead, never really voiced an opinion, on Brexit.  He preferred the semblance of Labour unity, such as it is, over the prosperity and international repute of the country.  In my judgement that is unforgivable.

Marks out of 10 ?   1 – for effort.

On 2nd March we were told that the Cabinet Secretary would investigate the accusations of bullying made against the Home Secretary, Pee-pee Patel.

I fully appreciate that the Cabinet Secretary may have other things on his mind at the moment, but the Home Secretary is supposed to be a significant member the government. One might have thought that in times such as these it would be important to have an efficient and effective one; ie. one who got on with her/his job without falling out with officials.

Not so long ago I turned on the wireless (alright, alright, Radio 4) only to hear Stanley Johnson, in his plummy faux-British accent, telling who ever would listen, that the Brexit referendum is behind us.  We must all accept the result and get on with it, and that his son would make an excellent PM.

Today I read that the same Stanley Johnson has applied for a French passport.   I wish he would apply for a Turkish one and then go and live there, as far away from me as possible.

The family, self-centred egotists to a man/woman,  are beneath contempt.

I do not know whether Rishi Sunak read Lies and Rules – he’s probably too busy at the moment. But I think I owe him an apology. This is it.

By all accounts he is doing a splendid job as chancellor, proving himself thoughtful, intelligent, courageous and flexible.  It can’t be easy and I take my hat off to him.

Amongst the many qualities of our would-be “world king,” the Flatulent Leader, are lethargy, complacency, evasiveness and, it grieves me to add, cowardice.  Whether or not he is stupid – the bumbling incompetence is universally held to be a  sham – depends on your view of hack journalism vis-à-vis literary merit.   It is certain that he has the moral back-bone of a jelly fish.

One other aspect of his character – or lack of it – that needs to be understood is a yearning to be popular: poor Boris, he wants to be liked.  Unfortunately, in the foot prints of every braggardly coward from Flashman onwards, he prefers to be liked by weak, loud-mouthed, toadies than by the humdrum, hard working, run of the mill.

No doubt, we are in unprecedented times,  but the extent of our predicament is exacerbated by a government which failed to make necessary preparation when there was a little time; and now fails to take decisive action when required as a matter of urgency.  Johnson and his cronies account their popularity above their duty: they ask people not to strip the supermarket shelves, but they will not introduce rationing;  they beg people to adopt social distancing, but they will not mandate it; they tell us schools will be shut, and in the next breath we are told they will remain open, for some.   Where are the protective suits needed by health workers?  Who is to ensure the supplies of fruit and vegetables?  Who has responsibility to see that the weak and elderly do not fester in self-isolation? Why is a policy of rudimentary rationing drawn up by supermarket supremo’s and not government ministers?  Why has clear medical advice (key symptoms, necessary actions and phone numbers) not been issued and available, preferably, door to door?

The answer to these, and a myriad more pressing issues, is that a weak and vain man, our scruffy, crumpled, prime minister,  chooses  to place his personal comfort and applause above the welfare of the country.

The incompetence, arrogance and sheer complacency of our “government” defies belief.   Around lunchtime today I went into out local supermarket, the fruit and veg shelves were bare: empty.

When asked, the environment secretary, George Eustice had this to say: “I don’t think it’s necessary for the government to intervene further to say what an appropriate limit is.”  He went on, ““The reality is that most of the supermarkets are already, of their own accord, putting limits on certain items so I don’t think it is necessary or appropriate for the government to dictate this.”

He might not think it is necessary to ensure that food is shared equally amongst those who need it (ie all of us), but then I doubt he does his own shopping. As one who does, I bloody well think some government intervention is needed: NOW!”

I have just watched one of the most appalling video clips it has ever been my misfortune to see.  It consists simply of a white British man, aged in his mid-60s, I should guess, talking to camera.  What he says is not racist, sexist or pornographic, but it is a trap for fools; and it is evil.

The man in question is the owner of a chain of pubs.  I will not name him, or them, nor give a link to his video, purely and simply because I have no wish to promote, in any way, his message.   What he says is that in his opinion – he acknowledges he is no expert – but in his opinion, there is no reason to close pubs and restaurants at this time.  He does not consider they play any significant role in the passing on of coronavirus, and if he possibly can, he intends to keep his open.  If he does, he will have blood on his hands.

All that would be bad enough.  but what makes this message so terrible, is that he openly admits that his motivation in saying this is not for the benefit or comfort of those fool enough to be his customers, but for one reason and one reason only: profit.

His aim is to sell death to make money.

The same man,  with the same motive, was one of the most vocal supporters of Brexit.  Such men, and he is not the only example, set out to capture and corrupt the soul of the nation.  It is for that reason that I,  for one, will never relent in my fight against  everything he stands for.   At times such as the present, when the fear of death is all around, we should, we must, stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Europeans: their fight is our fight, and our fight is their fight.  Death knows no borders.

If ever there was a misnomer, it is common sense.  Sense it may be, but it certainly ain’t common.  Experience shows just how uncommon it is.   Take the coronavirus, for example:

I do not think government advice has been particularly forthcoming, consistent, or clear; but, it is undoubtedly true that nobody from the Cornish Lizard to the  Sounds of Shetland could fail to be aware that coronavirus is highly contagious, and dangerous.  The advice, at its simplest, is: “Keep away from other people, and material that might have been infected: wash your hands.”  Difficult perhaps, in the execution, but hardly an intellectual challenge.  Or so you might think.

And yet, within the past 2 days remarks I have heard include: “it’s a shame they say they might have to close the swimming pool”; “I can’t bear it if/when we go into lockdown,  I’m enjoying my trips to the local coffee shops”; and, best of all, when told of the cancellation of planned ‘litter pick,’ one acquaintance remarked “feel free to take a glove each time you visit and pick up bits as you see them.”  Two friends have dropped round for a coffee, a chat and maybe a wee “stroll round the park.”   Such is the wisdom of the great British public.

Not so long ago we were told, by a senior government minister, that we had “heard enough from experts,” the Blitz spirit would rescue us.   We hadn’t and it won’t.   Even last week, the 3-Minute Wonder, Raab, the foreign secretary (by the way, we must, surely, be approaching time for his next departure from government) assured us that the coronavirus would be no obstacle to completing our severance from Europe by the end of this year.  He must be off his rocker.

Churchill remarked that “Democracy is the worst form of Government,” but added the rider that “except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”  He may have had a point, and Democracy is, no doubt,  a wonderful thing.   The “opium of the people” as you might say,  but in terms of common sense, it leaves a lot to be desired.

My point is twofold: first, government needs to take a firm grip on the current situation. It is not enough to rely on public understanding and goodwill.  Second, allowing the country to stagger race towards economic and diplomatic oblivion on the grounds that “they voted for it,” did not, does not, and will not,  justify the self-destruction of Brexit. It should be halted, effective immediate.