Puddle

I watched this little boy playing in the puddle from my office window. In the end his exasperated mother had to practically drag him away. Sometimes life is like that, you become transfixed and don’t want to move on. 

Another really busy day on the work front. Lots to think about. Need to get my head around the fact that I am out of the office for nearly three weeks after tomorrow, barring one half day meeting next Wednesday. The team I work in is a bit thin on the ground at the moment so hope everything will be okay whilst I am away. 

The privileges committee report today named seven people, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, who it said had sought to influence the inquiry through non-legitimate means and intimidation of inquiry members. I didn’t see that coming but was pleased that they were called out. The tactics these people employ are nothing other than bullying. And on the subject of bullies, Suella Braverman saw the Rwanda asylum plan turned down in the high court today. 

The snarling, the snide remarks, and the smug behaviour of people like Jacob Rees-Mogg and Suella Braverman have been a feature of our public life for too long. Now is the time to challenge and move on. I am mildly inspired - if that is not an oxymoron - by Alistair Campbell’s book, "But what can I do?" which I was reading this evening. He emphasises the need to not let these people get away with it, and to have a campaign mindset. That, I think, will very much be a feature of my later years. I will be the oldest, most annoying, activist in my own small way. I will not just stare into the puddle of my old age and do nothing.