WORLD CUP IN CATARA
A poem by Tom Leonard
Eight hundred sturdy footballers
Female referees
Thirty-two flags
Rainbow of Many Colours
Po-faced FIFA president,
full of crap,
Venomous sheikhs
Brave Laura McAllister,
our Welsh heroine
Superlative twin-screened football
Plenty of surprises
Whole world experiences when Messi scores.
Who will win?
Who really cares?
As the drama unfolds.
Tom Leonard---Christmas Greetings 2022
Greetings to all my friends and relatives, and I hope that you are bearing up during these troubled times. My social bubble (with my very forbearing flatmate Scott and his equally dynamic girlfriend Julie who is now teaching autistic children) have experienced our fair share of troubles and more than our fair share of good times (e.g Scott and Julie's wonderful trip to Prague while parts of Czechia were in flames)
and we are as always looking forward to Scrabble at Julie's place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. My carers, mainly from Africa and India, are following the World Cup, and also looking after me, as are the GPs and nurses at my new medical practice as I now fall into cognitive (according to my recent CT scan) as well as physical decline, My memory has already become very selective indeed, but I am hoping that my mind will improve if and as I progress into dementia!!.
My congratulations to Plymouth Argyle on their recent successes, about 64 years after I first started attending Home Park, and to my statistical friends Julian and John at the University of Plymouth for compiling all the relevant statistics on Argyle's behalf.
RECORD BREAKING ARGYLE WIN AGAINST EXETER CITY
ELEVEN TALENTED STATISTICIANS AT UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
I pray for my ex-partner Nicky, and my dear friend and literary collaborator Lindsay as they remain productive, in Tucson and in Edinburgh, during all their adversities. My thanks to Jim (Dame Ophelia Mountshaft) and several fellow attendees of Broughton St. Mary's Parish Church, and Rev Bill Taylor and Geoff Floyd for all their help and support.
Dame Ophelia
My thanks to Dr. Jan Kerr and the staff of Princess Alexandra's Eye Pavilion for speedily and successfully operating on the cancer in my eyelid, and the consultants in respiratory medicine at the Western General for treating my complicated chest condition.
James Cleverly continues to insult LGBT people, everywhere, now simply by his presence.
Having made homophobia statements towards our homophobic community, the jerk should no longer be permitted to represent Britain on the international stage.
He is a lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Army. As such he has assisted in illegal wars and could therefore be regarded, in technical terms as in breach of the Nuremberg and Geneva conventions.
Cleverly's not so clever presence in Qatar could cause all sorts of hideous problems./
Absolutely brilliant win in horrifically wet Devonshire weather, Mumba's goal was one of the most brilliant ever scored at Home Park. Crowd about 16500.
Argyle have now won first nine home games. All time record. Leaves Plymouth top of Football League 1, four points ahead of Ipswich. High quality title race
Guest comment from Argyle statistician John Eales (University of Plymouth):
And 11 wins and two draws in our last 13 FL matches (35 points under three points for a win) is a joint club record. It equals two, mainly overlapping, runs in 2016 in League Two and two, again mainly overlapping, runs in 1929 in D3 S. The runs in 1929 were across two seasons. We’ve never won more than 11 matches across 13 successive FL games in our history.
Mumba is from South Shields, England, and his parents are Congolese
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CALLS TO COURAGE
Tom Leonard
Eighty-Eight to Thirty Three,
By these votes , noble Holyrood,
The Gender Recognition Act through its first stage passes
As the bigots and NIMBYs revolt from within.
Meanwhile, in Westminster, clever Cleverly all LGBT people insults
by telling us to behave our selves in abhorrent Qatar,
as many countries in the world abuse their slaves, their women, and their
minorities.
As Armageddon approaches, and freezing starvation looms,
the Creator Spirit will reveal themself in our full image,
As the Rowlings and Cleverlys shrivel into oblivion.
Meanwhile, our Sylvia Riveras call us all to courage.
It is we who will survive and win.
Art by Seer and Sage
I am currently watching the last episode, for the time being, of Dr. Who with a woman playing the lead role, The plot is completely unintelligible, almost as confusing as Westminster. Maybe the current Dr. Who is about to get trussed by forced regeneration. But who will be next?
AISHA, MUHAMMAD'S THIRD WIFE (BRITANNICA)
All Muhammad’s marriages had political motivations, and in this case the intention seems to have been to cement ties with ʿĀʾishah’s father, Abū Bakr, who was one of Muhammad’s most important supporters. ʿĀʾishah’s physical charms, intelligence, and wit, together with the genuine warmth of their relationship, secured her a place in his affections that was not lessened by his subsequent marriages.
In most Muslim traditions, Khadija bint Khuwaylid is described as Muhammad's most beloved and favored wife; Sunni tradition places Aisha as second only to Khadija.[43][44][45][46][47] There are several hadiths, or stories or sayings of Muhammad, that support this belief. One relates that when a companion asked Muhammad, "who is the person you love most in the world?" he responded, "Aisha."[48] Others relate that Muhammad built Aisha's apartment so that her door opened directly into the mosque,[49][50] and that she was the only woman with whom Muhammad received revelations.[51][52] They bathed in the same water and he prayed while she lay stretched out in front of him
THE TRUTH ABOUT MUHAMMAD AND AISHA (GUARDIAN)
To paint Aisha as a victim is completely at odds with her persona. She was certainly no wallflower. During a controversial battle in Muslim history, she emerged riding a camel to lead the troops. She was known for her assertive temperament and mischievous sense of humour. During his lifetime, Muhammad established her authority by telling Muslims to consult her in his absence; after his death, she went on to be become one of the most prolific and distinguished scholars of her time.
