Donald Trump might be an awful president but he’s got 1 thing spot on | UK | News

This week, I broke bread with three Italians and an American at a lakeside house in Montreux. The conversation turned to sensitive topics. I joked that sex, money, politics and religion were classic no-go zones in my day. My mother never tolerates vulgarity during dinner. To maintain harmony and avoid embarrassment, we are restricted to topics deemed safe. For example? I said football. We talked a lot about football.

Joy came as talk of the decline of America’s global dominance broke out. There was a verbal execution Donald Trump as the architect of mass social dysfunction. All eyes turned to the American, as if mocking him. What did he think? “Trump is brazenly and blatantly lying,” he said, “because 50% of us know full well that [Americans] “They obey his every word and believe everything he says.” Tell me what you mean, I’m petrified. “He is the American Hitler responsible for the collapse of our country,” he elaborated. This was very reassuring because you never know if there’s a MAGA in the room.

“Some claim he is a Russian agent accused of destroying the power of the United States,” he spat. “Others think he is a driving force for China’s growth. I and many others know that he is an incompetent, treacherous and malicious narcissist, an economic vandal and the worst thing to happen to our country in its 250-year history.”

I looked across the sparkling Lake Geneva to the majestic Alps, bright blue in the approaching dusk. A schooner with fairy lights passed in the distance. It was as if a corner of the world was silent and had taken a break from peace. Anger welled up inside. I remembered the Brexit years. Covid period. Not all families agreed, some dividing fatally. Maybe there was a good reason behind my mother’s rule about talking at mealtimes.

On the other hand, I was wondering if Trump’s blatant rejection of dignity and propriety might be the only thing right-thinking people could admire about him. Because how can something change if we pretend it doesn’t exist? Isn’t cowardice, fanaticism, political correctness and being ignored the very attitudes that put our country in such a bloody situation? Antisemitism increased because people were afraid to say the unsayable.

The sex and gender debate had become so toxic that we wouldn’t accept that a woman couldn’t have a penis or agree that “pregnant person” was too encompassed. While not everyone who gets pregnant identifies as a woman, and trans and non-binary people should have the same rights and dignity as everyone else, it took the Supreme Court this year to determine that “gender” refers to the biological sex recorded at birth, not legal sex.

Only biological women can get pregnant. At least this. Trump may be corrupt and a threat to democracy in the eyes of much of the Western world, but you have to admit he has brought the conversation back to the fore. No issue is too deadly. There are no obstacles.

And perhaps, to borrow from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is also the possibility of being dragged down by his own well.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Have you listened to Bill Nighy’s podcast yet? What nonsense. He sits there, dressed in immaculate suit and boots, posing like a long-suffering uncle, offering listeners advice on a wide range of topics, from what to wear on a plane to how to choose the right glasses to what the best song to play air guitar is.

Billed as “for people who don’t get out much and can’t handle it when they do,” it’s a hugely successful film. But why? Nighy, 75, is single, has no friends and never cooks. Despite his 50-year career, he never wanted to be an actor. Although he never struck me as a misanthrope, that’s exactly what he seems like.

I love it. Are most of us secretly like him?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Benedict Cumberbatch announced that he refused to send his children to boarding school. He’s absolutely right. Boarding School Syndrome continues to be a problem for many who are denied a normal home life. Torn from their mothers’ arms, in some cases as young as seven or eight years old, many of these children were drilled, punished, deprived of affection, and subjected to cruelty and abuse.

Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer’s account of his own educational experiences is heartbreaking. I have several friends who have been subjected to similarly unimaginable torture. Some parents who worked in the Armed Forces took their children away because they had no other choice.

Others did it because they were sent for it, and it was considered a done thing. So why even have children in the first place, if your goal is simply to put the responsibility for their upbringing on complete strangers?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jimmy Cliff was reggae’s first international superstar. The Bob Marley legend has long suggested otherwise. Marley’s death from cancer in 1981 at the age of 36 cemented his status as a global symbol of Jamaican music and a Rastafarian icon.

But it was Cliff who paved the way. She took chances, carried the torch, scaled barriers and transcended culture and race into the mainstream. Many people know his hit songs If You Really Want It, You Can Get It and Wonderful World, Beautiful People. If you haven’t seen the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy and for which he created the soundtrack, pull up. Feast your eyes and ears.

Pre-internet, long before YouTube, Cliff transcended his boundaries. He won. He died in Kingston this week at the age of 81. He had been writing songs since he was little. There was music in it. It always was.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Brian May reveals a plan to transform Queen into an ABBA Voyage-style extravaganza in Las Vegas, giving younger generations the chance to experience the excitement of the band in their heyday. He and drummer Roger Taylor are investigating a hologram show that would bring back the late Freddie Mercury and retired bassist John Deacon using advanced technology. It’s early days, but watch the fans go monkey. Hello.

There are plenty of live performance videos to watch. Yes, I know they all spoke highly of the ABBA show. I went to see it too, but it left me cold. So I didn’t return to the band’s live performance? Not even for a New York minute. Taylor and May should sit this out. It’s not like they need the money.