It’s about time the Burka was banned (Image: Getty)
Well, at least the latest Reform row has highlighted one of the issues of the day: should Britain ban the burka? I’m not massively in favour of banning much (except stupidity) and on the whole people should be allowed to wear what they want, but the burka is different. It doesn’t protect women, it cancels them. People have absolutely no idea of who is lurking underneath those robes and that is the point. It takes individuality away from women and reduces them to the status of objects owned by a man.
It has been said that some women want to wear the burka: that’s all very well, but if you’ve been brought up in a certain way, it can be very difficult to see the opposing point of view. If a group of black men had been indoctrinated into believing it was a good idea for them to walk around wearing shackles, as that is what their ancestors had been forced to do, we would quite rightly be appalled.
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But the burka is quite as much a sign of slavery as a ball and chain yet for some reason it’s thought to be acceptable, not least by the kind of person who likes to make a big song and dance about slavery. But the type of slavery they’re talking about is in the past. And anyway, in this age of insecurity, the burka could be dangerous. Just as we don’t know what woman is lurking in there, we don’t know if it really is a woman.
Journalist John Simpson famously wore a burka to sneak into Afghanistan and while his motives were worthy, that is not always the case.
We live in an age where MPs have been attacked on their own premises: no wonder then that Kemi Badenoch says she will not see anyone in her constituency surgery who is wearing a face covering. She has also said companies should be allowed to ban the burka in the workplace, which most people would agree is common sense.
What if you are in the hospitality business or operating complicated machinery? The burka is hardly conducive to that. And anyway, it only originated to protect its wearer from the heat of the desert. Its time is past.
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My Family And Other Animals is justifiably one of the most popular books ever written: I loved it as a child and when I reread it a little while ago it had lost none of its charm.
Now a new book about the Durrell family alleges they were really a bunch of unpleasant dysfunctional alcoholics: actually, who cares?
Most people embellish their personal histories and if, in doing so, they bring even a fraction of the happiness Gerald Durrell did to his millions of readers, then frankly, they have done the world a service.
Forget the naysayers and go and bask in the Corfu sun.
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Donald Trump and Elon Musk have fallen out over the President’s spending bill (Image: Getty)
They said it wouldn’t last and they were right. President Trump and “First Buddy” Elon Musk have turned on each other with all the ferocity of a couple of rhinos fighting for dominance over a patch of the River.
This was predicted by absolutely everyone. Sometimes you really do wonder why they bother. It’s the old joke: why do people take an instant dislike to him? It saves time.
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Poor Geri Halliwell, coming in for stick because she doesn’t want to join a Spice Girls reunion tour. Give her a break. It was 30 years ago, for goodness’ sake, and I wouldn’t want to return to my life three decades past.
We’re all allowed to reinvent ourselves and frankly she’s done a considerably better job than Mel B, with her loudmouthed vulgarity and multiple marriages.
Ginger Spice is the real Posh one now.
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Greta Thunberg was on board the sailing boat Madleen heading to Gaza (Image: Getty Images)
The usual antisemitic trolls have been out in force claiming Israel “attacked” a boat full of unarmed activists on its way to Gaza: it did nothing of the sort.
Instead it intercepted a ship carrying 12 self-righteous little prigs, including the Swedish eco-brat Greta Thunberg, gave them water and sandwiches and probably saved their lives in the process.
It also forced them to watch videos of the atrocities Hamas carried out on the elderly, women and children. I hope those scenes haunt them for life.
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More abject nonsense: George Orwell’s novel 1984 has been given a trigger warning. I think it has something to do with the main character’s views about women.
To say this misses the point of the book doesn’t come into it: 1984 is one giant trigger warning in itself. It’s about what happens when you give absolute power to a communist state and it’s terrifying.
Can’t we just ban some from reading books altogether if they can’t understand what is actually on the page?
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To Lincolnshire, to watch my husband giving a speech. The night before we stayed in Cleethorpes, in a room with a sea view. That beach! Why had no one told me?
The seaside town has one of the most stunning beaches I’ve seen in years, but you never hear anything about it. Why not? That might be about to change following the news that the city may be on the verge of getting a direct train link to London King’s Cross, its first in 30 years.
It deserves one but if you want to see it act fast. Once the word is out the place will be swamped with visitors. If I were you I’d go and have a paddle now.
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I totally fail to understand the outrage that has greeted the news that David Beckham is to be made a knight. People seem to be upset on the grounds that he’s rich and famous but frankly, there are an awful lot of considerably less deserving knights than Sir Goldenballs.
He’s stayed married to the mother of his children for decades, is by all accounts a good father, loves his country and never once as a footballer do I recall him falling out of clubs and picking fights with the paparazzi. Arise Sir David – very well done.