Do you wanna be in my gang?

Last night the “Grand Old Duke Of York” told the world that he wasn’t a paedophile and instead of having sex with an under-age girl he was having a Pizza in Woking.  Normally the “Royals” keep their mouths shut in the face of a scandal, but he decided to break protocol and give his side of the story.

It failed spectacularly. Today’s commentary is awash with people saying he failed to give a convincing performance, didn’t have good enough answers and couldn’t explain away the damning photograph of him with the victim.

Before the interview it was made clear the questions had been vetted by the security services, and was not under any oath, so getting to the “heart of the matter” was going to be impossible. The interviewer Emily Maitlis, tried her best to dig deeper, but left no doubt of her own position by looking deeply uncomfortable throughout.

So is it right to brand him as guilty before even a charge has been brought against him?  Clearly he’s lived in a complete bubble throughout his life. He was never the “heir” and just the “spare” for many years until the younger Royals have pushed him down the succession.  He was nicknamed “Randy Andy” by the press years ago and has been under a cloud ever since.  But is he guilty of something?  Can we ever find out? Can a charge of paedophilia ever be brought in a British court where it is The Crown versus …. The Crown?  It seems unlikely. Should we therefore presume innocence until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt?

But why did he join Jeffrey Epstein’s circle of friends?  Surely he knew what was going on?  Any self-respecting person would run a mile from a situation where they could be linked to paedophilia, wouldn’t they?  Especially after they have been found guilty in a US court.  This is not just bad judgement.  This is someone who was reluctant to give up a lifestyle that they enjoyed.  They stayed friends and hoped that the Royal connection would keep it all hidden.  Being part of Epstein’s “gang” was something that should never have come out.

Scandal is nothing new to the Royal family, or to Britain.  Boris Johnson’s claim that he did not have an affair with Jennifer Arcuri  looks likely to blow open in the next few days.  Little is likely to change as a result of these revelations. Soon it will be buried under new stories in the broadcast media’s frantic search for 24×7 news.

But the big question is whether a “normal” person be allowed to get away with the same level of duplicity and survive unscathed. We really should be holding our “leaders” up to the same level of scrutiny as we hold for ourselves and asking of they are fit to hold the office that we, the country, pay for.

Do you wanna be in my gang?2019-11-17T12:55:43+00:00

Clampdown

All of us have bands or tracks that we used to like, but which now seem a little embarrassing.   I have a copy of “Billy Don’t Be A Hero” by Paper Lace somewhere in the Garage.  Just awful.  In my defence, Is was only 13 when I bought it, and later that year I did go on to buy “Dark Side Of The Moon”, by Pink Floyd and “Autobahn” by Kraftwerk.  It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.

But it’s always a shock when someone you dislike ends up liking a band that you love.  When Johnny Marr found out that David Cameron liked The Smiths he said:

“David Cameron, stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don’t. I forbid you to like it.”

No comment from Morrissey on that at the time, but then again his views are appalling right-wing these days, so he may have been happy.

Now we find out that Boris Johnson likes The Clash.  Really?  Did you listen to the lyrics?

Did you really sing along to “Daddy was a Bank Robber” when your Pappa was at the World Bank?

Did you listen to “I Fought The Law” and thought…. actually I have ways to avoid all that?

Will you ever listen to “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” and think OK, I’ll bugger off then?

What would Joe Strummer think of this revelation? I doubt he’d be happy.

When Joe was asked what he favourite lyric was he “Vacuum Cleaner Sucks Up Budgie” (from “The Magnificent Seven”) probably because it’s the least political and because he was being playful.

Well Boris, I don’t believe you like The Clash. I think its all spin. This vacuum cleaner sucks up Bullshit!

 

“We will teach our twisted speech
To the young believers
We will train our blue-eyed men
To be young believers”

Clampdown2019-11-13T12:15:13+00:00
Go to Top