I’m not going to …

I’m not going to fill this post with a look-see at the government’s behaviour this week. I’m not going to mention sleaze, George Paterson, the role of Rees-Mogg and the Chief Whip, the ongoing investigations into Johnson’s holiday-for-peerage affair (among others), that you can buy a seat in the House of Lords for £3m, and, this morning, that George Eustice tells the telly that this is all Westminster storm in a teacup. and that they (the government) just wanted to change the process and that Paterson hadn’t had chance (over two years) to defend himself or appeal. I think it would take someone with very thick skin not to see this as it is. Sleaze. Sure. Corruption? Probably. Especially as Randox, one of Patterson’s lobbying employers, was awarded a £347m PPE contract last year. I’m not going to mention that. None of it.

But I am going to say that it beggars belief that Boris Johnson, Rees-Mogg and the Chief Whip got this so wrong? They created this scandal. If Paterson had taken his 30-day suspension we probably would never have heard any more about it. Sure, the Standards Committee would have remained in place to be able to continue to investigate how Johnson had/hadn’t managed to pay for his wallpaper. And that was probably not acceptable to His Nibs. But … they created the problem which forced their own u-turn. It is a shambles. And, and this has worried me from the beginning, how can he/they be so blooming incompetent? Like the sewage u-turn (that was only two weeks ago, for goodness sake) how could they spot the dead end ahead? How could they not see the outcome of their actions? Pitiful judgement and leadership.

Which is a worry. isn’t it? Let’s imagine, for a second, we were hit with a global pandemic. How would this groups of self-serving incompetents manage? Would lots of us die? Would we forget about the care homes? Would we offer PPE contracts to our mates? Or would we lock down, mask up, and cut the likely death toll, whilst keeping the economy moving along? Who knows? But it is a worry.

I just love this photo …

On a more positive note, I am soooooo excited about my new book. I am at the point (60k words, half way through) where I really want to keep ahead of the story, which is running away in my head. But my fingers can’t keep up. I wrote 2,900 words yesterday, most of them in the right order. And 2,000 words is looking like the new daily norm, which means I could be finished well before Christmas, which would be fab.

And, as well as publishing the audiobook by 1 December, Jen and I have decided that we will revamp all seven Sam Green covers by Christmas. BECAUSE, and I am shouting at myself, next year I am going to become a marketing expert on Amazon and FB ads. I am. Next year, with eight Sam Green books out there, all with shiny new covers, I’m going to sell some books. I am. That’s the truth. It is.

Anyhow, stay safe. C and I have just booked our booster vaccine and all is looking good for skiing in January. Between now and then we all need to stay as safe as possible. You too, by the way.