218 days ago
My good friend, our in-house Euro loon Jonathan Price is in a terrible state after I told him about my post Brexit experience at Athens airport late on Wednesday night. More on that later. But now there is some real angst for the poor man in the battle between two demons from the Eurosceptic right: the wretched Daily Mail and JD Wetherspoon (JDW) run by heroic freedom campaigner Tim Martin. The latter has lashed out at the former.
1204 days ago
We are good Europeans, the Mrs and I. We live in Greece as much as we can and love the place. The Mrs is a fluent Swedish speaker and she would, I suspect, live there again. We speak to each other in French when we do not want Joshua to understand and we happily toasted our freedom at 11 PM on December 31 with Metaxa, greek brandy. We love Europe, we detest the EU. The toast was to three great Eurosceptics not there to witness this great day: Ronald Bell, father of my friend despite the day’s earlier humiliation Andrew*, my uncle Christopher Booker and my Grandfather Sir John Winnifrith.
1559 days ago
My paternal grandfather, Sir John Winnifrith, was a Bennite so I’d imagine we would not see eye to eye on everything although, as an ardent Eurosceptic, we would have agreed on some things. I have noted before on this website, how as Director General of the National Trust, he thought the organisation’s remit was to preserve historic buildings and landscapes. Today the Trust is almost as woke as Prince Harry and wastes vast sums preaching to us all and annoying many of us who might be minded to back it. I am, for that reason, not a member.
2626 days ago
As a father, I know how useful the goggle box can be as an assistant parent and thus after my mother's death my father understandably relented and bought us an old black and white TV. Who can blame a newly single parent from seeking assistance in this way. But for the first eight years of my life we lived without a TV and I think that I watched just three, or maybe four, programmes in that time.
2837 days ago
Tim Martin of pubs chain JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is a Eurosceptic and a man who calls a spade a spade. In today's trading statement he deals with those who lied blatantly in the run up to the referendum. Tim Martin: we at ShareProphets salute you. Personally I find his pubs fairly ghastly but next time I am passing buy I shall pop in and have a drink for Mr Martin toasting you publicly. Does Mr Martin serve ouzo? Tim writes in the RNS:
2856 days ago
last night I met an amazing woman here in Kambos. More on that later but I am in awe. Then it was watching the Brexit results on the BBC on the internet as the smug biased lefties had to come to terms with how the great unwashed had given them and the rest of the elite a total kicking. I tried to get two hours sleep but a drunk comrade from the Eurosceptic trenches, Lucian Miers, woke me up. So I worked a bit and then slept. By 2.30 PM it was ouzo o'clock. So I headed to Miranda's as you can see below and raised a class to Boris, Priti, Nigel, Michael et al but also to my late grandfather Sir John Winnifrith and my Uncle, Chris Booker, who was in a fine mood today. Cheers to you all.
2869 days ago
As the grandson of a prominent Bennite Eurosceptic from 1975 I look with interest at how Labour is just imploding in the current referendum as its core support is surging towards Brexit and away from Project Fear. I look at why and what happens next.
2873 days ago
If we vote for Brexit on June 23rd we will get to leave the European Union, right? No. Wrong. Certainly that is the view of certain MPs, Tory and Labour who have stated that they will use Westminster rules to insist that the UK still stays in the single market, pays money to the EU and allows unlimited numbers of migrants in, even if the UK leaves. This contempt from some of of Westminster "servants" for the folks who pay their wages is obscene.
The EU itself has "form" in ignoring referendum results it does not like. It either
2901 days ago
I am no late arrival on the Eurosceptic ship. Euroscepticism is hard wired into my DNA. My father's father, the Bennite Sir John Winnifrith spoke for the "out" side in 1975. My mother's brother is Christopher Booker. How could I be anything other than an "outer"?
And so three years ago I designed a T-shirt which I have worn happily in Greece & England ever since. It's Time to Leave. The imposition of a Soviet hammer & sickle on the EU stars says it all about this most undemocratic of establishments.
As hatred of the EU has grown not only in Britain but
2917 days ago
My old pal Jim Mellon is an ardent Europsceptic who campaigns for Brexit although, as a resident of the Isle of Man, he cannot actually vote himself in the great referendum. But all power to his elbow and I am sure that his offshore donations will be put to good use. But there is surely some irony in today's announcement from SalvaRx (SALV) where Jim is the largest shareholder and chairman.
3211 days ago
I had a long chat last night with my Eurosceptic Uncle and godfather Christopher Booker and who like me is hoping that Greece votes Oxi. But he knows that we have some strange bedfellows in the Oxi camp.
British Eurosceptics are usually on the right. We want the Euro to fail. As I noted on Friday the Oxi camp here want to have their cake and eat it: they want no austerity, debt write-offs and to stay in the Euro. They are lefties. Hearing the message of support to the Oxi rally from the old murderer Gerry Adams makes both Chris and I wonder about our bedfellows. Oh…as an added bonus the Nazis of Golden Dawn are also strong supporters of Oxi! Truly we travel in strange company.
But there is a third way: Kappa Kappa, the hard-line commies. They are today urging folks to vote Oxi but then to spoil their ballot paper. Kappa Kappa got 5% in the General Election and if half its supporters toe the party line that could well be enough to deliver victory to the Nai camp.
My NBF the KKE precinct captain
3224 days ago
I don't support the fruitcakes but am 100% Eurosceptic and say what you like about UKIP its latest video advert, below, is superb. Bring on the referendum!
3396 days ago
Just a short BearCast Special on the situation in Greece with another election now looming in late January. What does it mean, who will win, will it mean the beginning of the end of the Euro and gow does it affect us? From a man who lives in Greece for a good part of the year and is an ardent Hellenophile if a profound Eurosceptic a few thoughts.
3409 days ago
A UKIP voter tweeted out a UKIP image suggesting that immigration causes, among other things, crime. I disagree. There is not a causal connection per se between all immigration and increased crime in the UK. And so I challenged this thesis.
I now face a volley of abuse from UKIP tweeters. Apparently I am a “leftard”. Hmmm… the various libertarians with whom I discuss shrinking the state in a way that deficit denying UKIP – happily announcing a raft of new spending pledges all paid for by the cost savings from leaving the EU – will be surprised to hear that I am “leftard”.
I support immigration because it makes Britain richer and it makes it more diverse. I am partly descended from Irish immigrants and my wife’s parents came here from India. Had UKIP been in charge sixty years ago, the parents-in-law would not have been able to pay taxes here for fifty years supporting the NHS (as a doctor) and small businesses as an accountant.
We can debate the economics of immigration all day. To assert that immigration causes crime and that anyone who disagrees is a “leftard” may win UKIP some votes. But it is sort of poison that means that, even though I am dyed in the wool Eurosceptic, it will never gain my support.
3722 days ago
Tim Yeo has been de-selected by his local Conservative association in the safe Tory seat of South Suffolk but of course it is not his fault is it? Yeo is a member of the political class and so he knows better than we plebs.
This odious slug says that the shrinking membership of the Tories now has views which might make the party unelectable. Because of their “extreme” views on Europe and climate change they have got rid of him, a decent, hardworking, moderate compassionate conservative. It is hard to know where to start.
Yeo is famed at Westminster for trousering vast sums from green firms where he is a chairman, an investor or non-exec whilst at the same time pushing for ever more draconian policies (and taxpayer subsidies) to fight climate change. What he fails to appreciate is that:
1. Firstly this stinks as an arrangement
2. Secondly
4325 days ago
As you cannot fail to have noticed there is yet another Greek election on Sunday. The choice is clear: one of the two “old” parties (Pasok and New Democracy) which are both run by crooks and who will sign up to more austerity/another bailout or a variety of fruitcakes who will reject the EU’s kind offer. Some of the fruitcakes have some utterly repellent views on other matters.
4328 days ago
I cannot say that I always agree with Farage and UKIP. They appear to have some rather dodgy views on issues such as immigration and civil liberties which I cannot agree with. But on Europe Farage is always bang on the money. If you do not understand why the Spanish bailout will not solve anything and will just postpone the inevitable watch Farage in full flow today. If you do understand, the man is so funny it is worth watching anyway.
4331 days ago
Yes I love My Fair Lady. A wonderful film and I remember seeing a stage version with Tony Britton and Liz Robertson which was pretty stunning. But this is about PIIGS not Pygmalion. A while back the leaders of the Evil Empire told us that Greece, Eire and Portugal would be bailed out of “local difficulties” and that a line in the sand had been drawn under the Euro crisis. At the time some of us suggested this was a big fat Euro lie and it has not taken long for we sceptics to be vindicated.
In the 3 lead PIIGS the people are rebelling against austerity measures. Let’s see if Greece stays in the Euro and avoids default. I cannot see why or how it can stay inside the single currency but only time will tell. Meanwhile austerity measures implemented elsewhere (Spain) as a result of EU diktat have pushed Spain ( and others) into a mega recession which now shows just how flaky are the balance sheets of most of its banks ( something we sceptics also called correctly a while back). And so the EU ( via the European Financial Stability Facililty – EFSF) is to hand over £80 billion to Spain to allow it to bail out its banks.
