VLAD AND KIM A DANGEROUS DUO
Posted on 9th September 2023
What wonderful weather and to add to my good spirits this year Red Admiral butterflies abound. The spectacular light on the trees along the banks of the Boyne is reflected in the evenings on the mirror-like surface of the water. The only thing to disrupt the pleasurable feelings that all this induces is hearing on the News that this has been the hottest July on record and that the oceans are warming. Climate change is truly upon us. It is going to change everything. We must adapt to survive.
So, what is Vlad the Bad up to? Off to Vladivostok by all accounts. In what I view as a sinister development the rotund and paranoid leader of North Korea is going to travel to Vladivostok by armoured train to meet up with the Russian Dictator. North Korea has huge stockpiles of munitions and Russia is fast running down the stocks required to feed its war machine in Ukraine. Russia has oil and food which in turn could feed North Korea’s starving people. The Koreans have, in fact, been sending large quantities of shells, rockets and missiles to Russia for at least a year and the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was in Pyongyang last month, presumably making sure of future supplies. This is all pretty unsettling, even if some of the Korean munitions are a bit out of date because the Russians clearly believe in quantity rather than quality. It looks like the Russians are building up to mounting some kind of counter offensive in January. This is a disturbing prospect because as we know they have a total disregard for human life and have no qualms whatsoever at throwing as many soldiers into the meat grinder as is required to overwhelm the enemy. Images of the first World War leap to mind. If it gives you sleepless nights just think what Kim Jong Un would like to extract from Vlad the Bad. Russian nuclear technology in the hands of the North Koreans would be a huge boost to their aim to have a reliable ballistic missile capable of striking a city in the United States. The very thought of it sends shivers down my spine.
So, with all those dark thoughts I need something to uplift my soul and make me smile. Well, I got that metaphorical shot in the arm from those legends of Rock and Roll The Rolling Stones. With great fanfare at a press conference at the historic Hackney Empire Theatre in London they announced the release in October of a new studio album called ‘Hackney Diamonds.’ Their new single ‘Angry’ is already getting rave reviews. “An absolute blast powered by defiantly dumb stop start riff that recaptures the energy of ‘Start Me Up’” – Neil McCormack in the Daily Telegraph. I was brought up with the Rolling Stones, their music is part of my youth. I first met Mick Jagger when he came to the Castle in the 70s. ‘Start Me Up’ came before their first Concert in Slane in 1982. I still remember my now grown-up children jumping up and down on their beds singing ‘Satisfaction’. Check out ‘Angry’ on YouTube, all I can say is: “Respect.”
