You always know something "big" is going on in the UK when a lectern suddenly appears outside 10 Downing Street as happened last Monday. It is not usually good news for whoever happens to be in residence at the time.
The previous time I had seen the lectern appear was in May 2024 when in the pouring rain an extremely soggy PM Rishi Sunak announced a new general election which he deep down knew he was going to lose. At least the rain held off for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation speech last week although the message was equally gloomy. It seems being PM in Britain isn't much fun, which might explain why there have been six PMs in the last 10 years.
There have now been 18 UK PMs in my lifetime. The first was Clement Atlee but I was too young to remember him. Then came Winston Churchill who needs no introduction. The premiers I remember most from those days were "the two Harolds" Macmillan and Wilson.
Wilson liked to display a public persona of a working class fellow although his opponents would argue he was more a middle class man. It was on this theme of Wilson's purportedly poverty-stricken childhood that Macmillan once commented "If Harold Wilson went to school without boots it was merely because he was too big for them".
In 1961 Macmillan bravely attended the satirical show Beyond the Fringe only to find himself brutally parodied on stage by the talented Peter Cook. The PM appeared to take it in good spirit although he was probably gnashing his teeth. Explaining Macmillan's relaxed reaction to being made fun of his biographer wrote: "Macmillan felt it was better to be mocked than ignored." He may have had a point.
The watchful moggy
I was disappointed there was no sign of "chief mouser" Larry the Cat during the Starmer resignation speech. The Downing Street moggy is probably quite irritated at the prospect of having yet another new face moving into his residence. The problem is that they never stay long enough to fully appreciate his "mousing" abilities.
However, Larry has been receiving considerable support on social media, some photos showing the cat standing proudly on the aforementioned lectern. One observer was probably speaking for a lot of the electorate when he posted: "Larry the cat has now outlasted six UK prime ministers and is set to welcome a seventh. At this point he might be the most stable figure in British politics."
That just about sums things up. Can the moggy save Britain?
Feeling the heat
It seems bit of a paradox to be sitting in a hot tropical country like Thailand and seeing the news being dominated by the heatwave sweeping across Europe, including most of Britain. In the UK warm weather is normally something to celebrate but not this time. It has apparently been far too hot to do anything. Even my home town of Reading has been under a "Red Heat" health alert. That never happened in my day.
In England authorities have even requested pet owners not to take their dogs on long "walkies" as the animals suffer from the heat just like the humans. At a Somerset zoo, creatures including pandas and parrots were treated to ice lollies. And once again there has been the odd sight of farmers lathering their pigs in sunscreen hoping it might just save their bacon.
The hot weather also saw Brits discovering that umbrellas are not confined to keeping the rain off but also are very useful as protection from the sun. No doubt the heatwave will eventually give way to spectacular thunderstorms which should cool things down a bit. Certainly the British are more adept at handling miserable wet weather than the hot stuff.
Beating the cheats
Reports of a multi-billion baht exam-rigging gang in Thailand being busted last week is very good news, but sadly it does not come as a great surprise that such an operation has been in existence.
Apparently some of those who sat the local administration exams in February paid 350,000 to 800,000 baht to the gang to have their answer sheets altered to ensure they passed. This is a bit of a worry when you consider these are the very people who would be holding key positions around the nation in the future.
There was a celebrated case in Bangkok some years ago when a senior education official was accused of leaking university entrance exam papers. After considerable pressure the official admitted he did have a "quiet peek": at the papers but only out of "curiosity". He reassured everyone that in no way did the question papers reach the sons and daughters of influential persons. The very thought!
The public was not convinced however and demanded action be taken… and it was. The official in question was promoted.
The revisionist
Sitting exams is undoubtedly one of life's less enjoyable experiences, which most of us sadly cannot avoid. I recall college days with exams approaching when one evening I boldly attempted some serious revision. It will come as no surprise that after half an hour I gave up and sprinted off to the pub. It is amazing how Plato's philosophy became so much clearer after a couple of pints.
