How do you know her Brian?
I donât know her but I met her on several occasions.
It strikes me that we have few, if any, active politicians who have had to bear arms to defend their country. The long peace in Europe has allowed extremists on all sides to flourish. The experience of war can have a sobering effect on the man, or woman, in the street. I also believe many of us are losing the ability to step in another persons shoes. The most absurd are the NIMBYs⌠Yes, we should build more houses. But not around here.
We have a recent thread on the subject of personal roots. I can understand why there are people who are anti immigration. When you find that the corner of the world where you were born and raised has been taken over by immigrants who live, dress and speak very differently from you then you can understand how people with a very strong sense of identity can adopt narrow and extremist views.
I can hear Tony Blairâs mantra of education, education, education ringing in my ears. Didnât work. Did it?
Gus
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Or FarageâŚ! 
Oh, also, I saw this and had to laugh⌠
Perhaps it would have done had his government implemented it.
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Itâs probably an immigrantâŚ
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Woof on immigration and woof on the causes of immigration.
So handy for overpopulation too, isnât it, and a good motor for the economy with all the reconstruction needed afterwards not to mention rebuilding depleted armament stocks for the next show.
Ah yes, what we need is a good war, eh.
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As you mention, all very Act 1 Scene 1 Macbeth
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When I wrote this I was thinking of how National Service changed the lives of many of those that I met as a youth. I didnât get called up being just too young. When you get thrown into a group of people from all sorts of backgrounds, and are trained for a task where you will be told to put your life on the line, you tend to get a new perspective on society.
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France had military service in my era. My pals forty years ago had served, some in the military and some in civilian roles in the domtoms. I think t was a year in the military or eighteen months abroad. Vero will know.
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My pals and cousins etc in the 80s did 18 months, most of them were in the chasseurs Alpins because theyâre all good skiers. Another friend went into the navy, he spent 2 years going round the world on the Charles de Gaulle 
. Itâs a day-long thing now but they are thinking of changing it.
My father wasnât old enough to do National Service in the UK.
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Mine was but was excused because of his chronic asthma, which I inheritedđ
Although I can quite believe that Braverman could stand on the dogâs tail and not care I canât see even the most mild mannered and stoic of assistance dogs putting up with their tails being mistreated in this manner.
Various enlargements of the photo have circulated which seems to show the heel of her shoe adjacent to the dogs tail and even with fur around it, but not actually standing on the tail itself - that seems the most plausible explanation.
When you think about it, thereâs been a reverse takeover of the Tories by UKIP, what a hoot.
https://twitter.com/TheNewsAgents/status/1708899646465359900
Dog smells a rat!
Many had absolutely nothing to do, twiddling their thumbs waiting to be released.