There are a few stories in this month’s magazine that made me think.  Take a look at the Brexit story on page eight written by my brother David, for example.  We have stayed quiet about Brexit for a long time because nobody had the faintest idea what was going on and I saw no point in adding to the speculation.  But now, as B-Day approaches (again), we have broken our silence, mainly for our overseas friends who constantly ask what we think about it. 

I could fill the entire magazine but, in short, it’s an embarrassing cock up.  I am ashamed of our politicians who have proven, what we all knew anyway, that they are self-serving manipulators who think that we are too stupid to notice what they are doing and know that, even if we are not, we are virtually powerless to do anything about it. If there is ever any economic benefit from Brexit I doubt whether I will live long enough to see it.

Talking of which, there’s another tale on page 34 called The Dance.  It’s about a slight health wobble I negotiated a few weeks ago.  I wrote it while waiting for a lift home from hospital.  Now I know the score.  We all head off to conferences, make a few contacts, book a few boxes, drink the bar dry and abuse our bodies with enough saturated fat to keep the chip shop going for a year and convince ourselves that we are indestructible. To my total shock I found I was not.  But what will surprise you is what I was thinking about staring into the surgeon’s eyes while on the slab in the operating theatre.  Please read it before you go to Chicago.

One other thing.  Congratulations to Adam Lowry who has successfully completed 10 years with Move for Hunger.  I have tremendous admiration for people who don’t mess about, they just get on and do things because they are right, not because they are easy.  Well done Adam.

And, while I’m at it, may I offer my support to Walt Peniuk who’s about to start his next crazy adventure running from Toronto to Chicago. He’s another guy who doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘can’t’.  Take a look here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1086975875025984/