Mad Darby Diaries

 In the US dozens of children are killed every month by guns and hundreds of people in total, and yet lawmakers, mainly Republicans, doggedly stick to their mantra of their right to bear arms.  When the Constitution was written there were no rapid fire rifles, machine guns and the myriad of other weapons that are now to be found everywhere in the States.  In addition, the right to bear arms was intended for men to come to the help of law enforcers and even military, in time  of need.  It's intention was not for every person in the country to hold multiple weapons in their homes or for the children to be the targets.  A Senator this morning said that it is the fault of people with mental health problems, get them identified and the killing will stop.  When they can't accept their own mental incapacity to see that they are aiding and abetting the killers by refusing to take the necessary steps to curb gun ownership, then how are they any better than the ...

 Will he, won't he?  I am not that bothered if Trump is indicted in New York or not,  although it would grieve me if, having been indicted he was then found not guilty.  I am waiting for him to be charged on the major cases, trying to change the results of the election, sedition and mishandling of official documents.  I am tired of hearing that he is a special case because he is a former president.  No he is not.  He is a criminal and should be treated like anyone else, although so far, the law seems to have tip-toed round him.   If you look at the UK newspaper headlines you would think that the whole of France is suffering from burning cars, riots, piles of stinking rubbish and of course, strikes.  In Paris this would be sort of accurate, although not the whole of Paris is under siege.  Here in Saumur we have a weekly protest, noisy, banner waving, nothing else.  Is that why the centre is being dug up by the council do you thi...

I have just spent 10 days in the UK.  It rained every day for five days and then it snowed.  After the snow came the sleet and the day I left it was warm and sunny.  On one of the snowy days I brushed 3 inches off the car of my daughter in law and went to collect my grandson from school.  The narrow,  country roads where my son lives, has thousands of potholes and on that particular day the snow had covered them, drawing unsuspecting drivers into them.  Bang went the car in a concealed pothole.  Immediately I knew that the exhaust had been knocked off but I had to drive another 60 metres in order to pull off the narrow road.  Clanging along I thought of that Beatle's song, there are 12,000 holes in Lancashire, or something like that.  Try Buckinghamshire!   I spent some time travelling by underground and train and was intrigued by the number of young people 18 to 40, male and female, who spend there journey time looking at themselve...

 Running uphill, racing and playing tag at high speed is all part of looking after an exuberant 7year old.  Yesterday I took my grandson to the field to play football, which was competitive with no allowances made for age, on either side.  At one point I went in to tackle the ball but somehow our feet became tangled up and there I was crashing face down in the mud.  With neither of us being able to control our fall, my grandson  landed on top of me.  As he rolled off we looked at each other and burst out laughing.   I was covered in mud from head to foot.  We went on playing for a while before heading for home.  My son opened the door and exclaimed 'what have you two been up to?'  Oh dear, I remember asking him and his brothers the same thing when they were children. Boris Johnson has recommended his father for a knighthood.  Which planet does he live on and didn't his father move to France to escape Brexit? Electioneering has ...

 I have never taken much notice of my age, partly because my birthday is rarely acknowledged and partly because it seems largely irrelevant.  That's fine for me.  I am an ordinary person, jogging along with life.  My age is irrelevant, not only  to me but to everyone else I imagine.  However, in some walks of life, it is important to know how old someone is and there has been much discussion about Biden's and Trump's ages, although where Trump is concerned, he has barely moved on from infancy.  Yesterday an aide, who looked as though he was just out of short trousers, was asked the age of the new President elect of Nigeria.  'He's older than me,' came the quick response.  'Age is just a number.'  The reporter, becoming very close to discriminating against someone said, 'What about his shaking hands?  He may have Parkinson's.'  Bad move on the journalist's part.  I have shaky hands, I don't have Parkinson's and my brain is ...