Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The Idler, Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Brexit -

the drama

drags on

DRAMA in Old Blighty! Theresa May temporarily dodged the bullet by postponing yesterday's scheduled vote on her negotiated Brexit deal, and is currently scurrying about Europe looking for concessions that would make it more palatable to her own party and the House of Commons overall.

It seems a folorn and sad exercise. What next? Does Theresa May lose the vote then, with a crazed gleam in her eye, lead the Brits in a mad lemming-rush off the White Cliffs of Dover?

Will parliament allow such a thing as a no-deal Brexit which – it now seems widely accepted – would be absolutely disastrous economically.

Will somebody else take over as prime minister? Cancel Brexit and start again with negotiations? Perhaps stay in the EU anyway? If so, who?

Dominic Grieve, Tory MP and former Attorney-General, is the fellow who steered through the Commons the motion that, if Theresa May's deal is voted down, parliament takes over.

He might be worth a few bob with the bookies. If it happens, remember where you read it first!

 

 

I WAS somewhat bemused the other evening watching the Cape Town leg of Sevens Rugby. Who were these fellows in the brownish jerseys (from a distance) who were so spectacularly socking it to the New Zealanders?

Then – blow me down! – it turned out to none other than the Blitzbokke, making up for their iffy performance in Dubai. I'd somehow missed the news that this year they'd be wearing a jersey designed after the colourful shirts worn by President Nelson Mandela.

The new Blitzbok jersey is based on a largely gold-coloured shirt favoured by Madiba and, seen close up, it's intricate, ornate and rather splendid.

Also, these Sevens jerseys are so tight-fitting they give an impression of intricate tattoo work on the upper body, rather like some of the damsels in the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties.

The big difference though is that bodily contact with one of the tattooed damsels of the Street Shelter is no momentary thing as on the Sevens rugby field. It leads to prolonged scrimmage with no quarter given, the damsels having no scruples whatever about playing the man on the ground.

It can be a horrible experience, heh, heh!

 

 

THE Egyptian authorities are investigating after online images and video show a naked couple sunbathing on top of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

 

The minister of antiquities has referred the case to a prosecutor for investigation, according to Huffington Post.

 

Climbing Egypt's ancient pyramids beyond carefully assessed paths is forbidden, and the whole area is out of bounds after 5pm, patrolled by security and police.

 

The pyramids have always exuded mystery. By what wonders of mathematics and engineering were they constructed? Do they really align with points in the distant galaxies?

 

And now a new layer of mystery. Did the bloke and the gal start out starkers or did they drop their gear when they got to the top? Was the gal aligned with points in the distant galaxies?

 

Egyptologists could mull over this for quite some time. They are no doubt giving the images their close attention.

 

Tailpiece

THE manager of a brokerage firm is watching a new employee counting put and call slips at astonishing speed.

"Where did you learn to count like that?"

"Yale."

"Yale? I also went to Yale. What's your name?"

"Yimmy Yohnson."

Last word

Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. - John Kenneth Galbraith

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