People in high places with pressurised and important jobs need release valves if they are to stay sane. President Obama and the current occupant of The White House - whose name evades me - both like to play rounds of golf. Vladimir Putin lets off steam by wrestling bears or playing ice hockey. One former British prime minister, Edward Heath, liked to go yachting while another, Yorkshireman Harold Wilson liked to cheer on his beloved football team - Huddersfield Town or relax in his holiday home on The Isles of Scilly.
The late Colonel Gadaffi of Libya was interested in football, Beethoven and interior design while Adolf Hitler spent hours bouncing up and down on his pogo stick . (Pregnant pause)... Err, I must confess that I made the last bit up. The present political leader of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull likes to walk his dogs. Justin Trudeau of Canada likes a workout in the boxing ring or occasionally a visit to the local tattoo parlour
And so we come to Britain's current (unelected) leader - Theresa May. There she is in Westminster wrestling with the fallout from last year;s EU referendum and ostensibly trying to steer our country to the best deals she can. But of course, like all other leaders, she needs her escape activities. What does she pick? Perhaps a whist drive in the village hall or a game of bowls on the green?
Not on your nelly! Theresa chose to do a fashion shoot with "Vogue" magazine. Charitably, she was probably thinking - why should my husband Philip (a banker) be the only one to enjoy my modish fashion sense? As a British voter it warms the cockles of my heart to know we are now being led into the Brexit abyss by a fashion model. As Madonna sang:-
Oooh, you've got to
Let your body move to the music
Oooh, you've got to just
Let your body go with the flow
Oooh, you've got to
Vogue
 |
| The delectable Theresa May posing for "Vogue" |
Vogue was the name of a popular cigarette tobacco the was roll your own. Most kids got into smoking with Vogue when smoking was in vogue!
ReplyDeleteTheresa has probably got a pack in her Gucci handbag.
DeleteCan't make up my mind if your praising St. Theresa or taking the pee. Which is it?
ReplyDeleteOption b.
DeleteAnd your previous prime minister, David Cameron liked to support his football team. What was it now, "Aston Ham"? *naughty chuckle*
ReplyDeleteHe was trying to be a man of the people. Someone should have asked him to name the Aston Villa team. I bet he would have only known the names of two or three players.
DeleteShe could give Frau Merkel some very useful tips on how to dress well.
ReplyDeleteMrs Merkel is business-like as politicians should be. I very much doubt that we would ever see her in "Vogue"...but possibly "Playboy"?
Deletei think she needs to keep her day job
ReplyDeleteYou Aussies are only jealous that we have got a supermodel as a leader instead of a wealthy tycoon like Mr Turnbull.
DeleteShe looks very nice, but hasn't she got better things to do?
ReplyDeleteWhen you are PM it is hard to find time to do the washing and ironing. To me that would come first. I bet her bedding needs changing too.
DeleteI know that the modern world is struggling to have in impact in Yorkshire YP but times have indeed changed, husbands now regularly share the duties of washing, ironing, changing the beds. It allows northern women to go out to work or collect the benefits.
DeleteAs you are a "new man" Derek perhaps you could help more traditional fellows like me by making a post about ironing shirts.
DeleteWould love to YP but I make a point of never wearing anything that needs ironing. There was a time when I even used to iron my underpants and hankies but I realised that I was taking "new man" to the extreme and so stopped.
DeleteHarmless enough.
ReplyDeleteBut "Vogue" is about the outer layer - frivolous and fashionable. Surely prime ministers should display more gravitas. Where will she appear next? "Top Gear" in a helmet or as a judge on "The X Factor"?
DeleteI agree with Graham's comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what your point is, Yorkie. Others, men and women of varying high office positions...on any side of any fence, have done similar, haven't they?
I guess if May was a Labor PM she'd not receive such a criticism from you...just a thought...if I may.... :)
Please don't second guess me Lee. Although I am a proud socialist, I am also a free thinker. I would scorn any politician of any hue for associating themselves willingly with populist publications like "Vogue". Of course others in the past have done shallow, money-making things like this but that doesn't make it right in my humble opinion. Instead of massaging her image, May should be working tirelessly to get Britain through the Brexit mess created by The Conservative Party who walked so blindly into it. This isn't the time for "Vogue" interviews.
DeleteAgree with you Lee - you are right.
ReplyDeleteBefore turning his sarcasm towards Mrs May, I think YP should reflect upon what a total disaster the last two Labour PM's were !
No Lee is not right and neither are you CG.
DeleteDuring Tony Blair's first term of office, Britain had never had it so good. He disgraced himself by hanging on to George W. Bush's coat tails and leading us in to the unjustifiable conflict in Iraq. Bumbling Gordon Brown should never have been allowed to drift into Number 10 but he was stymied by the financial crash of 2008. He did not create that crash - it was a worldwide phenomenon.
Mind you, both you and Lee seem to have made the mistake of thinking that I am Labour through and through. This is not the case. Labour is centrist and I am instinctively much further to the left than that. As the signs say when leaving British ports - "Keep Left". In history, only socialist pressure had improved the lot of ordinary working people.
You so adamantly declare I am not right, Yorkie, but you are so very wrong.
DeleteI am Right. I've always been Right and shall always be Right.
However, to the best of my ability, I try to steer away from discussing politics in the blogging world.
Ah come on, at least give Labour credit for putting comedy back into politics.
ReplyDeleteThe way that Jeremy Corbyn has been portrayed by the establishment media is scandalous but typical too. Mind you, I can't ever see him winning over the majority of the British people to establish a new Labour government.
DeleteScandalous! - Corbyn would make a good shop steward but should never have been allowed to go any higher. Tony Blair's one amazing feat was to join Bush in creating so much instability in the Middle East and then become a millionaire by being a so called Peace Envoy trying to unwind that instability - that was clever.
ReplyDeleteWhat an odd photo. She looks like she's facing into a gale.
ReplyDeleteI'd bet you have the warmest cockles in all of Britain.
ReplyDeleteDid you not know, or not want to know, that Justin Trudeau and his wife did a Vogue shoot as well?!
ReplyDeleteYour Copy
ReplyDelete------ Forwarded Message
From: L&N Elber
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 13:07:59 +0800
To:
Subject: FW: English As The Official Language in Europe . . . . . . . . . . .
English As The Official Language in Europe . . . . . . . . . . .
The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".
In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.
Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.
Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.
If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.
------ End of Forwarded Message
Leave the poor woman alone - can't you see she's one of the JAM? (Just About Managing)
ReplyDeleteMargaret Thatcher was 3 times in Vogue.
ReplyDeleteWhat should do they do with Angela Merkel's old trouser suits ? Has anybody ever seen her in a frock? They're in every hue of brown, orange, black, and blue, and now in Rome at the 60th birthday bash I believe saw white, by now she must have hundreds. Give them to the refugees I suppose.