Creative interference!

 Mansfield market place with the nineteenth century
Bentinck Memorial in the centre.

I never imagined that there would be a mention in this blog, of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, U.K., a fairly unlovely East Midlands town and my birthplace, the town where I lived for the first 34 years of my life. I went to King Edward’s Primary School there and then the Brunts Grammar School. I taught there, danced and socialised, lived and loved there. Oh, mostly happy far-off days!

I bought a copy of The Times on Saturday 18^th May and was totally bemused and pretty incredulous to read in it an item headed ‘Rees-Mogg’s sister is the star in Brexitland’. There is a picture of Annunziata Rees-Mogg in Mansfield market place, described as ‘surrounded by a gaggle of middle-aged admirers’. The article claims the crowd, queuing to see her, was anxious to shake her hand and have selfies with her! I pinched myself. Ms Rees-Mogg, sister of the Right Hon. Member for the 18^th Century, and high profile recruit to the Brexit Party, attracting adoring interest from Mansfield inhabitants! And,

 Annunziata in Mansfield with supporters

standing for the Brexit Party in the East Midlands, virtually guarantees a seat in the European Parliament. Which is the secret to this public adoration and unlikely pairing of former mining town with member of an old, important family definitely situated in the upper crust!!

There is quite an excerpt in the item on 63 year old Laurence Caunt, ex-Labour and ex-NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] who accuses the Labour Party of deserting the working class and decries the fact that Brexit constituencies have Remain MPs. Mansfield and its ilk are now driving Corbyn’s policy of ‘Look both ways’ for Brexit in an endeavour for Labour to reclaim these lost, traditional strongholds. The poignant pity of it all is that the stratum in which the Rees-Moggs reside will simply enjoy the luxury of nostalgia restored and dreams of latter day Empire revived. While the chiefly working class of the Midlands and the North will bear the brunt of the anticipated economic turbulence and austerity. The more I see of Brexit and its destructive social and economic effects, the more inclined I am to wring David Cameron’s neck for his ill-judged, arrogant and careless attempts at Party management.

 Boris Johnson

And now, late to post the above, I hear that Theresa will be pushed from her post on June 7. Which means that the fifteen or so eager candidates to replace her will all be jostling for media attention with the focus reliably on Boris. If he can persuade M.P.s that he can out-Farage Farage, then political considerations may well cause Members to swallow pride and ethics and place him on their list of two. And then the 130,000 elderly Tory Party members, Boris-adorers apparently, will assuredly vote him in as Prime Minister, the least qualified, most ill-equipped ever. As Martin Fletcher of The New Statesman online, suggests., “He is a congenital liar, serially disloyal, untrustworthy, irresponsible and hopelessly chaotic”. One could add his lack of the work ethic, inability/ unwillingness to properly prepare for important public occasions,; disrespect for business, for Northern Ireland, for any complexity in almost any situation, for truth. Boris does have many gifts, not least his way with words, his oratory. If only the rest of him lived up to those standards. As it is, or may well be, impending catastrophe is approaching. A little postscript to add this Saturday morning; I heard on Radio 4, one contender for the leadership, Rory Stewart, an immensely able and honourable man, saying he would not serve in a Boris-led government. SO interesting!!

 Rory Stewart

 Theresa May's resignation speech.

 Nigel Farage at the launch of his new Brexit Party.