I remember (vaguely) last New Year’s Eve. I was in a pub in Vauxhall. The drinks were overpriced, the dancing was dodgy but the mood was hopeful. Everyone was so optimistic about 2022. We joked that it would be like the roaring Twenties. What none of us expected was the crash without any of the jazz hands.
None of us had ever experienced anything like the pandemic because it was a grotesque, cruel twist of fate. We all vowed that if we survived, we would learn every lesson going. We would revive, nourish, invest, and create resilience as individuals and nations. And yet here we all are, limping to the end of the year battered, bruised, our country at breaking point, wondering “what the f*** just happened?” We survived this global freak of nature, only to be torn apart by man-made disasters at home and abroad.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has done unspeakable damage. One man alone has brought pain, suffering and slaughter to millions of innocent people in Ukraine. And his actions have had profound consequences across the world. We’re all suffering because of the resulting energy crisis, along with punishing inflation. It was always going to be hard emerging from the pandemic and rebuilding strong economies, but one man’s unhinged ego has torpedoed large parts of the global economy.
Speaking of unhinged egos, let’s reflect on the bin-fire known as British politics. Post-pandemic, we were aching for leadership, integrity and stability. Instead, we got a Conservative Party which in political (and literal) terms inhaled a nosebag of drugs and went on the mother of all benders. As Labour MP Angela Eagle quipped, “this year, the Tory party has given us five education secretaries, four chancellors, three prime ministers, two leadership coups and the partridge has had to sell the pear tree to pay the gas bill.”
Again, all this turmoil was created by one man. Boris Johnson single-handedly sabotaged his own premiership with an enviable majority due to his out-of-control ego, addiction to lies and stunning incompetence. They say hubris before nemesis — up she popped in the form of Liz Truss, a heady blend of amateur hour, arrogance and political vandalism.
She managed to break her party and the economy in just weeks, proving that women really can multi-task. She wasn’t alone. Aided and abetted by the likes of Kwasi Kwarteng and a group of deranged, deluded ideologues, she delivered sleepless nights for millions. Last year we were racing to get vaccinated, suddenly we were racing to fix our mortgages. Alas, there is no immunity from Tory ineptitude.
And we can’t even moan about all of this in peace, as now social media has been ruined by another idiot. Twitter was never all good, but it was the digital public space. Thanks, Elon. So happy 2022 to you all. Scientists and doctors saved us from the virus. Who will save us from these morons?
How do people like Clarkson get away with it?
Spare a thought for top tw*t Jeremy Clarkson, who penned a column where he casually revealed that he hated Meghan Markle so much that he fantasised about parading her naked through the streets while people threw faeces at her (imagine that dude’s internet search history… pass the mind bleach), therefore proving correct all her pesky accusations of misogyny and racism in the British press.
Well done, Jezza. Cue fury even from his own daughter and a pathetic non-apology. He and his delightful supporters claim it was satire. Nope. His warped words were about as funny as cancer. Six years ago, Clarkson had to apologise to a Top Gear producer he punched after settling a large racial discrimination and injury claim. Why do we continue to celebrate and reward these thugs? Why do we think there’s so much hatred and violence towards women when our most feted celebrities get away with saying these things?
