The other Andrew

 I keep seeing my name in the headlines. It's something to do with being called Andrew. 40 years ago I found myself in quite a bit of trouble and attempted to get myself out of trouble by agreeing to be interviewed by the BBC, first on Radio 4 and then in a TV programme. Instead of helping me and focussing on the real baddies, all that I succeeded in doing was making everything worse and wishing I had kept quiet. Prince Andrew, as he was then, has not done himself any favours either and many see him now as as much a bad person as the person who was at the centre of all the events we are now reading about every day, Jeffery Epstein.

When the photo first appeared of Andrew looking quite young and cheerful, with his arm around a young a cheerful-looking Virginia, I don't think anyone was particular surprised and certainly not 'horrified' or concerned in any particularly dramatic way. We knew he liked girls and, although he probably was married to Fergie at the time, his lack of faithfulness to her was no big deal. As I recall, at that time the story was all about Andrew having a bit of a romp with a girl and we didn't pay much attention to who or what the other people were. It then began to emerge that he'd been at parties with Epstein who we then began to learn had shipped in a number of young girls to accompany partygoers at various locations around the world. Still no big deal, as far as I could tell but we then get stories from some of the young girls and things get a bit darker.

The girl in the photo with Andrew tells the world that she was obliged to have sex with him and that Epstein effectively forced whole loads of girls to do things they didn't want to do with men three or four times their age. Then we start to be told that many of the girls were 'young', inferring that they were under age, whatever that means. In the USA, I believe, it is against the law to have sex with a girl who is under 18 in some states, 16 in most. Virginia looks like 20 something in the photo the whole world had seen. I don't think anyone at that point was of the opinion that Andrew was sleeping with very young girls. There began to be stories about Epstein gathering lots of schoolgirls and abusing 14-year-olds and that's what he went to jail for but we weren't calling Andrew a paedophile or particularly bothered about what he had or hadn't done with Virginia.

If he had simply accepted that he'd had a brief relationship with her then things may well have turned out differently. Instead, he denied ever having met her and decided to let the BBC interview him about it all as, by now, Virginia was asking for lots of money and making a scene. Quite why she had been quiet before the photo emerged I am not sure I understand. But now everyone watched Andrew trying to explain how he hadn't met her and should really have dropped his friendship with Epstein far earlier than he did. And things have pretty much exploded ever since. Virginia gets a huge amount of money as some sort of 'out of court settlement' but Andrew remains on the ropes. Now everyone is talking about Epstein and he's killed in his prison cell and then some new investigation by the FBI gets under way and, heavens, everyone you've ever heard of and not liked very much is in the frame for having not only been to Epstein's parties but maybe also enjoying the company of young or very young girls in times past.

It becomes pretty obvious that Andrew really did know Virginia and did have sex with her a few times here and there and, probably, with several other girls too, although so far we have not been given anything to suggest any of his girls were 'under age' or that he broke any laws in that respect. So he starts to appear really rather stupid and even those of us who felt a bit sorry for him at first started to feel a bit frustrated that he could be so badly advised. Basically he looks foolish and very bad now and deserved to be dumped by the family, although I question the removal of his Prince title and his military honours. I thought that a son of a King or Queen was entitled to be called a prince, regardless of their character and he did serve and was respected at the time for his action in the Navy. 

If Andrew had owned up at the start to being with the girl he could have defended any wrongdoing or accusations regarding whether she or any other girl was forced to be with him without too much trouble. There would have been publicity and we might have laughed at his randiness and questioned why he would associate with the leary Epstein but that would largely have been that. Instead we have this circus of documents and commentators and girls who now wish they hadn't been involved and seek compensation. Some may deserve it but I am really not sure many would not have seen the whole thing as some sort of chance to lie back, think of Armenia or wherever and make some money quickly. If we do discover some girls were forced into all this then I accept it is all worth all the trouble of the investigation but one has to wonder why they stayed so long and made no effort to seek help from any of the people they encountered. Surely some of them would have helped if they had seen or been told about forced sex or compliance. It seems to me that those doing most of the commentating on all of this are forgetting that sex and the high life with a bunch of rich, maybe old, but probably clean and harmless men was a small price to pay for the returns they could receive. How many girls would jump at the chance of joining a rich group on a yacht for a few months, knowing full well what was expected by way of services other than some cleaning and cooking. Who wouldn't resist some fun times even if the blokes seemed a bit pervy, in comparison to whatever life they had at home. OK, many might run a mile but I still maintain that a good number would see it as an opportunity or adventure and I still make the point that, unless they really were physically restrained in properties and threatened with violence if they didn't perform as requested, escape if things went wrong should always have been an option. Looking at all the names of people with whom the girls were to be associated or, if not sexually, as company or decoration in the rooms, surely some of these men would have been willing to help any who needed to get away.

If it does transpire that some of these men were asked for help but ignored the requests then I am all for their being taken properly to task for that. But if they enjoyed sex with seemingly willing and cheerful girls who appeared to be older than some minimum legal age of consent then I am not going to be too bothered. whether president, ex-president, minister or prince, that's no big deal. I have to admit to being surprised at some of the names and smile at the rebuttal or assertions of innocence but that's all really.

What does trouble me, though, is the story we are now finding about where men have shared business or financial knowledge with Epstein inappropriately. By that I mean where the men have had access to information which they were duty bound not to disclose, either by law or honour. In the former camp one would place government members who knew when a new regulation or change in subsidy, for instance, might be being introduced but which was yet to become public knowledge. In the latter camp could be business people who had knowledge of forthcoming acquisitions, deals or products which a competitor might usefully benefit from knowing about. Andrew got himself embroiled in this as did several others we have read about. His involvement, though, is going to be his second most significant downfall. The first has to be the way he lied in the BBC interview, At least I was honest in mine and admitted to being foolish and trusting too much some American. He should have done the same.

So I can see Andrew's sharing of business and government information causing more trouble and outrage. He was for some time the Business Envoy for the Department of Trade. And here lies the rub; my brother Rupert travelled with the then Prince Andrew on several trips abroad. I learned of all kind of enjoyable times they had on these trips and I am sure my brother would have been more than happy with the company of some young girls had they been arranged to keep them company from time to time.

So I am now waiting to see if Rupert appears in the headlines one day! And then will my name reappear once again? I don't think I'll agree to be interviewed this time.

We need to do something about Donald Trump. Maybe ignore him completely.

 We live in strange times. There is hardly a day when I have not looked at the latest news and found myself getting annoyed, frustrated, dismayed or just a little bit sad. I really cannot remember when I read some good news about what is happening in the world and in this country and Ukraine particularly.

There is the problem that is Donald Trump, of course. I did have some passing respect at various times since his last election as there was some sense that he wanted to get things done. The problem was that I didn't always like what he wanted to get done nor am I sure that the majority of Americans did either and the fact that he appears to be operating effectively solo I find surprising and extremely worrying. I had read before he was elected that this was a possibility, that he would simply require people to do what he wanted without consultation with anyone and this could be enacted by some sort of presidential power that, mercifully, our top guy doesn't have. If parliament doesn't agree then it doesn't happen. Well, more or less - I'll come back to that later. Despite there being a whole raft of senators and the like elected at the same time, I have not seen any evidence that there has been any attempt by anyone to vote on any of Trump's actions or proposals. He just rambles on some weird Social Media outlet which no-one else seems to be a member of, so it's just Trump sharing a Trump online document, as far as I can tell, and does so in a way that would embarrass me if I were an American. whether I had voted for him or not. It is invariably quite childishly worded content. I accept that he often does get to the point pleasantly quickly in comparison to the dithering of so many other people supposedly in charge, but the phrases and grammar and general presentation leave a lot to be desired and are not what one would expect from the most senior team managing the world's most powerful nation. Except there isn't really a team. Trump appears to do much by himself or, at best, gets someone to do stuff on his behalf but they're instructed to do it exactly as he says and don't have either the nerve nor the ability to tidy things up or query the sense of some posts.

We currently have the crazy nonsense that Trump wants to 'have' Greenland. He wants Greenland to be a part of the USA. As far as I can tell from a great deal of intelligent people who know what they're talking about, the USA already has all the permissions it could possibly need to do whatever it is that Trump wants to do by way or increasing security, creating business or whatever in the country. There are agreements in place between all the appropriate parties to this effect. Disregarding for a moment the fact that Greenland is an autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, and its citizens are citizens of Denmark, everything that Trump would appear to want can be achieved now. Announcing that the USA wants to 'buy' Greenland or, worse, that they might consider just taking control of the place was something I just smiled at when I first heard about it some months ago. Now it seems that Trump has got himself into a position where he has to get it as part of USA and all hell is breaking loose. It is sheer madness, totally unnecessary and surely someone needs to bring a halt to this ridiculous charade called the Trump presidency.

We have had enough. We have forgiven or put up with enough nonsense, enough announcements of this or that, or threats of this or that which never quite develop as they were going to. We shouldn't be part of this game. I wonder if the best plan for all the world leaders is simply to ignore Trump. Actually not pay any attention to him whatsoever. Sure, he'll rant and rave but he will not actually attack anyone and eventually people in the States will wake up and start finding ways in their Constitution to bring him back down to some form of democracy instead of what is perilously close to dictatorship in many ways.

I am amazed that so many otherwise smart and powerful men and women just sit and watch and do as they're told by this idiot. Maybe he is not an idiot but he is certainly a bully and an inconsiderate arsehole. He has lost the right to tun America and we need to stop paying attention to him.

USA is not about to invade Greenland. They may make an offer that residents find difficult to refuse but I don't see Greenland ever becoming a state within USA.

In the meantime people in USA will have to pay some extra duty on imports from a selection of European countries, including the UK. So be it. We may lose some sales or make less profit but I don't see it lasting long. If it does become permanent then we will retaliate and it will all get evened out after a while, to be rescinded completely by a new president in due course.

The other problem with Trump is his ridiculous treatment of the situation in Ukraine. USA is proving now to be hopelessly unreliable and that sense of untrustworthiness is not going to go down well with anyone over time and will be remembered. Ukraine is and will continue to get by without US support. It will be far more difficult for everyone there, whether trying to keep warm or defending towns and villages from Russian attack, but they will survive. Trump will be responsible for the huge number of additional casualties by virtue of his lack of real support and his stupidity in believing a lot of what Putin has told him. Putin should also have been ignored and, instead of rolling out a red carpet, Trump and, for that matter, every other country appalled by the Russian invasion, should have rolled out vast numbers of troops and equipment and shown that Putin stood no chance right at the very start. That would have ended the war there and then. It could be ended now too, four years later, if Trump and other leaders actually had the courage.

Here in Britain, I have been saddened at the continuation of the gender nonsense and the fact that staff are still being sacked for something they may have said or written in the past. We have Palestinian rights people marching in many towns and Palestinian flags flying left right and centre but display the English flag or support Israel in hammering Hamas, Hezbollah or whoever and you'll be in trouble. What I find really strange is why all the students are not out on the streets declaring how bad Putin and Russia have been and still are, demanding action not words from governments here and abroad. Why are they not supporting the uprising in Iran, not apparently upset that the Islam leaders are killing innocent people in the streets just for disagreeing with their government's policies and wanting change? Where are the Green Party on all this? The main parties may talk about how bad this or that action is but they really are not doing much at all, not have they done since it all began.

There was a Supreme Court ruling to the effect that you are either a man or a woman. Period. But this seems to have been ignored and organisations are still asking people for their preferred prefix and people are being dismissed if they even dare to smile at how nonsensical all this has become. I have no problem with men dressing as women or women dressing as men but I do object when these transvestites start asking for the facilities and rights of the gender they look like rather than what they are. There are also still schools that appear to be helping children get treatment to change the way they grow. I find this unbelievable. There maybe one or two children who genuinely do wish, and would benefit from being able, to have a physical body that more closely resembles their preferred gender but these are surely exceptions, in very low numbers and for whom special treatment is arranged only with the permission of their parents. It is nothing to do with teachers, headmasters or whatever, unless they discern that a child is being badly treated at home, in which case they should report the matter to Social Services and the Police as appropriate, step back and let experts deal with it.

You only have to read the reports each month from the Free Speech Union to see how many people are being dismissed, arrested or generally badly treated by their employers in ways that have to be regarded as grossly unfair and in contradiction to our basic laws. Unfortunately, in many cases there have been all kinds of new rules and regulations brought in, not so much by government as by ministers using Statutory Instruments to enact something that appears not to need parliamentary scrutiny. So stuff can happen that affects us all but which we may only hear about after it has been introduced.

I do accept that most of the woke nonsense actually arrived in Britain under the auspices of a Conservative government, one that I had voted for. I am amazed that they let all this happen and can only assume that most of the people at the top genuinely did not appreciate what was going on in HR departments across the country until it was too late. But when it did become clear and we started to see things like 'hate speech' incidents and worse, as well as a host of restrictions on what anyone felt safe saying at almost any meeting, that government did nothing. It deserved to lose the election but we did not deserve to get the awful apology for a government that replaced them. This lot are downright useless and don't seem to know how bad they are. Most are terribly inexperienced which means the Civil Service get to rule the roost and essentially do what they think best. Sadly, the civil servants are no better these days and many are more inclined to socialism than capitalism and to support Palestine than Israel and many Russia rather than Ukraine.

The whole place has gone to pot. I am so relieved that I have no reason to deal with schools any more or get involved in any of the disputes that I read about. I can hide away and put my head in the sand here in Bozeat in nowhereland, Northamptonshire. I am embarrassed by my country's government. Starmer may not take to social media with silly statements in capitals but he is still pathetic and, despite all the talk, seems unable to convince people to do what is necessary.

We should forget Trump and leave America to do what the hell it wants. By all means tell them what we think but let's not try and do battle with them. Soon enough the intelligent people there will work out how to rebalance the madness and Trump will be a joke in history.

We should act on our own in helping to defend Ukraine and I am sure our actions will be supported by many other nations worried about making the first move. We don't negotiate with Putin. We find a way to stop his advances and also get him arrested along with a bunch of other bad people in what passes for a government there. We deal with the opposition there and help it to gain real momentum.

We should maintain accurate records of who is actually in the country at any time. Those who arrive illegally get sent straight back to where they were last in a safe country. That will usually be France and France should be entitled to do the same, and every other country too, so that every single person planning to make an illegal trip here sees that we are serious about this and they will finish up back where they started. Now, I appreciate that the burden will then fall greatly upon Greece and Italy, being the first landing for many people wanting to move away from Africa or the Middle East. So a concerted EU venture needs to find a mutually funded place that these people can be help while their claims to be at risk in their own country can be decided.

Where someone is allowed to enter Britain then they should not be entitled to benefits or housing. If they choose to come here then they must be supported by someone or have means to support themselves. Why, otherwise, should they come? They come to contribute to British life not take from it. Once they start paying taxes then they begin to get their entitlements as the rest of the nation, health and education first and then other benefits can be earned later. No tax, no free healthcare or education. So think before coming to Britain. They may find other nations more attractive.

I cannot ask anyone to commit to any religion as I could find that hard to do myself. What I would seek, though, is an acceptance that they do not engage in action or activity that threatens anyone resident here. So those whose religion regards Christians as bad people or that regards Jews as people who shouldn't exist or, for that matter, wants to bump off anyone supporting Islam. just to keep things fair, they all get kicked out on the first offence. We don't want anyone here who will stir up hatred. We have enough here already that we can't get rid of. Obviously we have to respect rights of free speech and I am aware of my previous comments about 'hate speech' so I need to be careful. I am thinking, in the main, of supporters of extreme religious sects who preach or support the preaching of taking violent action against others because of their religious belief. Clearly I am happy to have people here who talk about wanting to get rid of Putin and various other evil people so the wording needs to be carefully selected. What we don't want are huge numbers of some religious sect who have as their basic premise the belief that some other group of our residents need to be killed or who come and live here but actually hate what we stand for. Defining what we stand for, though, is not as easy as it sounds. I may try one day. I will probably then get arrested.