It's not just the blog either, but his Twitter feed too, which struck me as odd considering his mentioning in the past that he found Twitter not only a medium with the potential to outdo blogging, but also enjoyable, and if anyone has ever followed him they may agree that that is the impression he seemed to convey.
On expressing surprise about this on Twitter tonight though, Old Holborn tweeted thus:
I can fully understand that, to be honest, but the problem I have is what would I do if I did pack the thing up and dropped out of the blogosphere?
See, domestic arrangements at Puddlecote Towers would directly work against that probability - take last night, for example. Having divested myself of the mortar board ... and the gown, cane and false moustache (well, might as well go the whole hog, eh?) while discussing Newton, causes of the weather, Marie Curie and World In Union and its classical music roots (it was an eclectic, and kid-led, first class), I sat down in Mrs P territory ... in front of the TV.
After a few warnings to watch and not comment, I was finally given my marching orders when Chris fucking Choi popped up on ITV news with some top drawer gobshitery.
"I've spoken to a councillor who said 'if we were a private company, we'd be filing for bankruptcy' but of course, for councils that isn't an option"Yes. He was talking about public sector cuts and how cash-strapped these poor councils are. His 'exclusive' report had regaled us with emotive (and no doubt sensationally cherry-picked) tales of 70% increased charges for burying the dead; pricier meals on wheels; and stinging the elderly with savings for more home care charges.
Nothing about the quite astounding levels of waste prevalent in every fucking council in the country. Not even a nod towards local authority meddling in areas with which they should not be concerned. No pointing out that these charges are going up not because of government cuts, but simply because self-important local fucksticks are addicted to spending our money on quite irrelevant schemes.
Every viewer watching Chris 'look at me' Choi last night will be able to point to waste perpetrated by his/her local council (or councils pural if afflicted with a County one too), yet he instead chose to paint them as small town heroes who are forced to punish the vulnerable as there is no other option.
Because diversity seminars are more important than the elderly apparently, LBGT initiatives are indispensable so the bereaved simply must be charged more, litter police are core council objectives so meals on wheels prices must rise to compensate.
What a cunt you are, Choi.
There was actually a clue to be had in his (unreferenced) comparison between public and private sector. Think about it, Chris, if a private company was faced with a reduction in income, the directors would be identifying parts of their business which are unnecessary, shedding staff who are irrelevant, and restructuring to cut out the daftest ideas. And if a private company wasn't imaginative enough themselves, or was reluctant to do so, the administrators would quickly sort that nonsense out.
The very last thing they would get away with is to ramp up prices to their customers while still carrying indefensible dead weight. Because, yes, that way bankruptcy definitely would lurk.
And, as Choi says, that isn't an option for councils as their income will never dry up. Their charges will have to be paid by the public they are screwing because they have cleverly targeted those for whom there isn't a valid alternative supplier.
It was after saying much of the above to Mrs P that she patiently asked if I was quite finished, before telling me that she knew all that and would I just fuck off and let her chillax in front of the goggle box as is customary.
So there you have it, I'll be around for quite a while yet. In fact, until either one of the little Ps leaves home and I can convert their room and soundproof it, or Mrs P invests in effective gagging equipment.
Oi! I know what you're thinking. Don't go there, OK?
