Hashtag I hate Trump

Another old unpublished post is set free.

It seems like California is the most progressive state in the US. It is certainly the largest by population and by economy. CA is the power house state in the US. Yet, how often has the President visited the state during his second term in office. Just once, in 2025 after the terrible Los Angeles fires, and even then tried to blame the state government for the fires. 

So why? Is he too old to travel? Or is that he knows he is generally hated on the west coast and there are no votes to be gained by visiting these states?

This question arose in my mind because I never hear a news story about #47 in California. I've never heard it reported that #47 avoids the west coast, but when my suspicions were confirmed by a little checking, it really is extraordinary that he never visits the most populous and economic powerhouse state. 

Of 59 interstate trips, (after discounting Florida, where he be visiting his ghastly gilt 'palace') in 2025 he made only one visit to California.

Of  15 trips, so far this year, none have been to California.

This would be unheard of in Australia, although at times federal politicians do tend avoid states where they are unpopular, but they know they must at the least fly the flag at times.

Aside from enriching himself and his cohorts, I don't understand why he is trying to destroy democracy, inclusion, world respect for the US, its long kinship with Canada, the decent hard working poor, the less fortunate in society, in fact alienating everyone he possibly can, except for his demented MAGA folk, the Basket of Deplorables.

I once thought it would not take long for the US to recover after #47, but now I am less certain. Other countries, as the learnt lesson was to future proof themselves during Covid, have now diversified their economies from the US. 

It is not just #47. It is the Republican Party that tolerates his outrageousness, the Democrats who vote for his policies and don't call him out. Worst of all is the 1/3 of voters, 77 million, who actually voted for #47.

A tax cheat, a multiple bankrupt, a rapist, a paedophile and the creator of ICE, which is like a paramilitary army, that kill US citizens who have done nothing wrong, and a war monger.

I just don't understand but what I do understand is that the world now needs to protect itself from US interests and the government's outrageous actions. The government can no longer be considered a reliable friend nor partner to Australia. 

AI Slop

Artificial Intelligence Slop. This is a term I've heard used and I've seen examples of AI Slop. This photo below is a prime example of AI Slop, as this photo pretended to a Melbourne Station in St Kilda but the building was actually London's Old Bailey Court.

In the 1950s there was a serious train crash at the Washington DC Union Station. The short YouTube video about the crash was interesting enough and sounded very factual, but what can be trusted in the video? I took a screenshot towards the end of the clip and something didn't seem quite right in what I was watching. Can you see it? Actually, I've seen a another AI Slop in the still. 

Medical treatment around the world

Free and universal health care is not exactly what it sounds like. In Australia you may well pay for certain prescribed drugs, but at minimal cost. I pay over $5 for each of my seven medications per month. But around October I reached the pensioner ceiling, and henceforth, my medications were free to me until January this year. Non pensioners pay about $25 per prescription. There is also a higher ceiling level for people who pay the $25 maximum. 

In England when I needed one drug because my chemist screwed up, it cost me £10, but only because I insisted on the brand name drug I knew. The medical appointment cost me nothing. 

My tenant Kosov after been bitten by a dog when crossing a road, paid nothing for a tetanus vaccination. While it wasn't a claim, overseas students are compelled to have private health insurance, as they are not Australian permanent residents.. 

New Zealand also has public health care, even though it does not seem to appear on this map. 

It took me a while to understand the US health care system, and correct me if I am wrong, but it seems your life will be saved after an emergency situation. If you don't have health insurance, and say for a car crash, you will get care until you are able to go home. But after that, you are on your own so far as recovery goes. So, you will receive free care, until you are kind of ok. Buy your own medications near the exit door at extortionate prices compared to the rest of the world.

Most of you in the US who are reading this will have good private health insurance, so not so much of an issue, but it certainly is for many citizens in the US. 

PS I don't actually understand the US medical system, just kind of what happens in an emergency.

Guard the Leaf

It is not an official kind of boycott, but Canadians are boycotting the United States. Most provinces have cleared US liquor from their outlets. Buy local Canadian products is huge.

The numbers of Canadians visiting the US has dropped dramatically. They are avoiding flights to anywhere that travels via a US airport.

So called Snowbirders, Canadians who travel to Florida and other warm locations during the Canadian winter for a month or three are not doing so this year. Some of those who own holiday property in Florida are selling for what they can get.

Instead the Canadian Snowbirders are travelling to warm countries where they feel welcome, such as Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Asian countries. They don't have to deal with the grumpy US border force, and from my experience they are very grumpy and unfriendly. They don't want to risk having their phones and social media examined by Border Force to see if they made negative comments about #47.

Why do Canadians have a hate on the US? It began with #47 saying Canada should become the 51st state of the US. Then there were increased tariffs on goods imported from Canada. Canada and the US were the closest of friends and allies but #47 has ruined the relationship. 

The Canadian dollars that normally bleed into the US just aren't happening, especially affecting the northern US states, and as I mentioned, Florida, along with Las Vegas too. 

While I don't intend visiting the US, I can confidently say, in the present climate, I would not. The very thought of someone going through my phone is horrendous. It can happen in Australia, but there would have to be very good suspicions for our Border Force to access our phones. The idea of being rounded up by ICE, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, as a visitor is remote, but it's happened. People who were born in the US and are US citizens have been rounded up. But I don't have black or brown skin, so maybe I would be safe from ICE. 

The loss of millions of Canadian dollars into the US is hard to conceive. It will be felt for a very long time. Meanwhile, Canadians are holidaying locally or in other countries. They are not crossing the border to the US for cheap shopping, quite the reverse now. 

But like my attitude, people in other countries are not visiting the US. Visitors to the US from Europe and Scandinavia have dropped too. 

At times I watch the YouTuber, Guard the Leaf, that is the maple leaf, a symbol of Canada. He documents statistics, interviews of people talking about the matter and is very pro Canada and anti US following the actions of #47. His trigger was #47 saying Canada should become the 51st state of the US. He seems to find enough to post daily about what is happening between the two countries, and it is certainly not good for the US. If you care to watch this clip, you can observe his passion and anger. 

In a country of 350 million, 154 million voted in the 2024 election, 77+ million for #47. He feels bad for those who did not vote for #47 but they are collateral damage. It is all about Canada, its sovereignty, the insults by #47 and his sycophants and the MAGA movement.

Cat hunting and catching a train

Phyllis went out sometime around midnight last night to 'escort' Kosov home. I was in bed at 11 and I didn't hear him leave. He said the bus didn't turn up, I expect he was late and missed it, so came back home, to Jass created havoc. He told me this morning she had knocked down a sword from their bedroom window ledge and a plate on the lounge room shelves, and when he returned she was sitting on top of  the fridge, which I've never see her do. 

What I noticed when I got up, were small clumps of her fur all over the place, evidence that she had been running around, and her being nervous. It wasn't a little fur, it was a lot. 

I do remember that when I got up in the morning, the balcony door was slightly open, not enough for her to get out. It is too heavy for her to move, but my guess is an insect or more than one came in and she had being in pursuit, and she had been very excited. She hid for most of the day under the lounge chair. 

The new mayor of New York City is very pro public transport, yet flew to meet #47 in Washington DC, when the train trip is only three hours, zooming along at 255/160. How disappointing. What could have a been a positive media story for him, was not. 

Later: My guess was correct. Jass had been chasing a bug. I don't know why he didn't tell me in the first place. There was an insect wing sticking out of her poo the next morning. 

Thursday Thoughts

No matter how much many despise MAGA, what it stands for and what it preaches, no one should be killed for their political views, and they are entitled to voice their opinions in public, as long as it isn't hate speech.

From what I can understand the victim, one Charlie Kirk, was a preacher of hate speech. As he was shot, he was talking about transgender people being guilty of more mass shootings than??? I know this 'fact' has been well and truly debunked. So, I suggest he was talking hate speech. That of course doesn't make him in any way a target for murder.

It disturbs me that such a preacher of hate is allowed to speak on university campuses, and if he holds strong MAGA views, that automatically makes him a chronic liar and distorter of the truth.

What further disturbed me was that a man in the crowd who was interviewed by media, had brought along his three year old daughter to hear lies and hate. I think MAGA and #47 are so bad, letting children hear the vitriol they spout, it is a form of child abuse. 

What is obviously happening in the US is not democracy at work but an extreme abuse of power. The country has turned into one where political differences can no longer be ignored to keep society polite and workable, but of two different sides venomously hating each other. I think this began with #45's presidency, exacerbated by Covid and the planted doubt about the result of the 2021 election leading to criminal behaviour as the White House was attacked. 

Murder is wrong, but don't expect me to shed any tears over Kirk's death. 

A wee rant

There are a number of YouTube clips showing Trump voting Americans in great distress as his policies come into force. Once clip I saw showed a Trump voting woman in tears and praying, and asking for prayers, because the father of children and his mother were being deported to Venezuela by ICE. 

Another farmer of a large agricultural property said her farming staff had all disappeared and were not coming to work in fear of ICE, and deportation. She thinks her farm will go into bankruptcy, yet she voted for Trump.

There are clips of an almost empty Las Vegas. Canadians are not visiting Florida, and are selling their properties there, getting rid of US timeshares, as one blogmate has done.

There are clips about Canada withholding super phosphate from the US, that is its farmers. While I disapprove of Canada PM's backing down over payments for digital technology, apparently Canada has been working hard to diversify its economy, reaching out and into the rest of the world. What ever the **** rare earth magnets are, they are essential in this modern world and China, being the major supplier,  has stopped exporting them to the US.

Some of these clips show a sense of glee about how the US is seemingly collapsing. 

Very reputable news sites, including conservative organisations, are calling out #47's ridiculous claims of how well the US economy is travelling. 

Whatever the truth, I too feel glee about Trump supporters suffering, and those who may have voted Democrat, if they got off their arses and actually voted.

But for all of you who voted Democrat, and as is said after school gun shootings, you are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Seriously, you decent US citizens have my empathy and sympathy, and I'm not judging you by what #47 and his henchfolk are doing.   

NYC

A post inspired by Travel Penguin.

It's interesting. I don't know what I expected of New York City. Maybe it was the terribly hot and humid weather that put me off.

There some things I really liked but there was swindle that happened to us when catching a subway, although we didn't lose money, I think that being I guess the train operator. 

The cloying service where we ate with half a dozen checks to see if we were happy with the food, and almost exposed tits under our noses by a waitress. 

One man with a vacant seat next to him on the subway to Brooklyn has some serious manspreading happening. I sat, he did not move his legs, I gently pushed back and made my space. 

Some very poor subway platform directions, and then the kindness of strangers kicked in.

Our two attempts to see Central Park were thwarted by the heat and humidity. We saw a little. 

We did enjoy The Highline, seeing Matilda on Broadway, The Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, MOMA, and also a smaller museum (NYC Museum?), the train museum in Brooklyn, the cruise on the Hudson River, passing by the now tearful Statue of Liberty, and travelling along the shores of New Jersey. Also the friendly barman at Port Authority who gave us shot glasses as souvenirs.

Our apartment accommodation was adequate but far from flash, and three storeys up. We were fitter after we left NYC after climbing up and down three sets of steep stairs. The price was cheap and we did stay near the corner of West 40th and 8th Avenue. 

The Hop On, Hop Off bus was not bad, although I remember a live commentary error. We visited all NYC boroughs. We visited the gay area in Greenwich Village and walked along Christopher Street. 

We observed and learnt how to leave a $1 tip for each serve on the bar at a gay bar.  

We had the best meal at an Irish themed pub. 

I can't say exactly why as I don't know, but NYC just did not feel right to me. It isn't a city I want to revisit, let alone live there. Friends were surprised at my opinion. 

Quickie

Yesterday was so busy. There was terrible condensation on the windows, and the water on the sills had to be mopped up. A friend of Phyllis arrived at 10am.I went out soon after and did not return for three hours.

They were out when I returned home, and at 2.30 Phyllis was supposed to be ready for a driving lesson but he was nowhere to be seen. We went out a little bit later with Kosov and their friend Sarah in the back seat, remaining silent as I told them, via the big blue shed for some stationary for them. I had a headache after returning, and my leg was aching from riding the invisible brake. My droning on to Phillip with driving advice had sent Kosov and Sarah to sleep. 

I had forgotten Ex Sis in Law was parking here while she and a relative went into town to dine and see a show. She called 20 minutes before their arrival, and I let them into the carpark and then let them into the building. 

I made them tea and surprisingly, my already opened Aldi ginger biscuits weren't stale. Go chemicals. They went off to do their thing and Phyllis and Kosov went out to buy bento boxes for their meal, which is rare and also rare, they ate the same time I did, they having picked up a hamburger I had ordered on their way back.

The theatre goers returned home and we chatted for a bit and off they went. It was 11.30 by then, later than I normally stay up but I feel fine this morning. 

This is a bit of a nothing post, but I'll publish it as it will quickly go stale. 

There are so many adjectives that could be used to add to #47's name and not one of them is good. Contrast him to a truly great leader, a statesmen, a fine speaker, a man of grace, kindness, honesty and decency. 

June 14th

Barack Obama Appreciation Day.

The African white farmers

#47 made ridiculous claims when he met the South African president. The idiot showed photos and footage from The Congo, nothing to do with South Africa. The president of South Africa, who I know nothing about, conducted himself with grace and dignity against the absurd verbal and inaccurate assault by #47. 

I suppose I could look it up but the location of the small town in South Africa where our coach left us to amuse ourselves for a couple hours, was quite interesting. There was a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, which included a pub with large tv screens. There were a few local people there, all black. The staff were all black. Apparently white farmers and other whites visit the pub to watch sporting events and have a drink together. No black mates though. It is still a very divided country. 

Yet the owner of the business was one very old white woman, who was in charge of the till, surrounded by black staff, we being the only other white people in sight. 

In the middle of nowhere, she seemed to feel quite safe surrounded by black people. 

I know in Zimbabwe, once Rhodesia, there have been serious issues for white farmers and murders of farmers, but #47 has exaggerated, as usual, and goodness knows what his motive is about that, aside from discrediting black people.

Daily #47 comes up with new nonsense, but keep the faith. He has three more years of damage to make,  but it can be repaired. He will back off close to elections.  I wonder why he does not care about the world thinks of him.

If I've missed your posts or not commented when I should have, this is the reason why. I rely on The Old Reader to read blogs. It is normally good but is on its third breakdown in two weeks. While I pay only a $1 or so a month, it is very annoying.

A laugh

At least the 10% tax on the penguins of Heard and McDonald Islands has given us a laugh in the extraordinary world within we live.

Jackie in the threatened country Canada's city of Toronto posted a great collection of memes about Australia's territory islands. The more stupid the US administration is made to look, the better, and to use American words, boy is it looking pretty damn stupid. 

https://junkboattravels.blogspot.com/2025/04/penguins-rule.html

Outraged Penguins

The almost sole inhabitants of Australia's territories, McDonald and Heard Islands, are outraged and mystified about why their exports to the US have had a 10% tariff imposed.  The penguins have a hard life in the extreme cold and are very busy surviving. They don't understand why their non exports have been hit with a 10% tariff.

I think it was back in the 1700s when it was established that the tall and straight trunk of a Norfolk Island Pine tree was unsuitable for use as a ship mast, in spite of the tree's appearance. 

The trunks just broke when used as a mast. Aside from the  proven failure as ship masts, and not demanded by any country, the Australian territory Norfolk Island has been slapped with a 29% tariff, quite a bit more than the general 10% tariff for Australia. No one can imagine what the 2,000 people who live on the island can be exporting to the US to have such a penalty imposed. 

Not only is #47 incompetent in his role, so it seems is his administration. 

Could #47 run for a third term? I understand not by law, but #47 has little respect for the law. Aside from a courage of a few, the Democrats seem fairly silent. This may be a good idea politically, let #47 destroy himself. But you know, I don't even know who the Democrat leader is? 

Ok, Hakeem Jeffries. Youngish, not bad looking but I've never heard of him. Is he the person put in place before a proper leader of the Democrats is found? 

It is sad that such a competent person, Kamala Harris, was not elected. Fuckin' rich old white men are such a problem in the world. 

We have free trade with the US

Yep, in 2005 Australia and the US signed a free trade agreement, that seems was not worth the paper it was written upon. 

#47 slapped a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imported from Australia. While that will affect Australia, we are not paying. The citizens of the US will ultimately pay. In the US, people on the street seem to have no understanding of this. They think Australia will be paying. No, it is US companies who import steel and aluminium that will pay, and US citizens will ultimately pay. 

The is a day coming soon where Australia can expect more tariffs over some rather tenuous matters.

He does not like the ban, as I believe is also in place in Europe and Great Britain, on the importation of American beef. Given we export beef to the US, this is puzzling. The reason we and the aforesaid areas of the world won't import US beef is that it is full of anti biotics and growth hormones, with the cattle often grown in an intensive farming manner. Nah, we don't want that. Aim for clean and green. 

Prescribed medical drug prescriptions are subsidised in Australia. At the moment the cost can not exceed around $31 and if the current government is re-elected, this will drop to $25. For poor old age pensioners like me, it is capped at around $7. I don't understand what the issue is here, but I guess it is about US drug company profits. The drug companies are lobbying the US government very hard to punish Australia. 

Our government is pressing for pay to view companies like Netflix to include some local content. I don't think that is unreasonable, but again, it is problematic for the US. 

Nor is it unreasonable for Meta and other large US tech companies to pay the content producers for direct copies and links to their sites. Will be hear of a tariff slapped on us for that? 

Where there are joint US and Australian research facilities here, #47 wants to know effectively about Australia's diversity policies etc. I assume funding would be cut if the expectations are not met. 

Many of the above are direct interference in Australian domestic policies. 

I read somewhere today that the world needs to show a bit more appreciation for the money US has spent around the world, more than compared to say Europe. Bah, America has only spent money where it sees there is an advantage in funding countries, people and organisations, so save me from 'What we have done for the world'. That is just what countries, including my own, do. 

Let's end with a laugh. 

Thoughts about words

I am not sure where I was going with this old post draft. 

About twenty years ago while driving Mother somewhere on one of our motorways, a driver did something bad in front of me and in the presence of Mother, who had slapped me as child for saying bloody, I dropped the c word. You c***. It is not a word I normally use. I can't remember using it since. I immediately apologised to Mother, who continued on telling me about her medical woes without seemingly to notice. Nearly twenty years later, Mother was correct and her medical woes proved to be fatal, with a lot of medical woes along the way.

While I've never mixed among the lower classes in England, apparently they use the c word without abandon. The word becomes boring with overuse and loses its effectiveness. But like gay men embraced homophobic terms, so too are women embracing the c word. I recall a beggar calling me a fucking old poof. He stated the obvious. His insult was a fail.

I am never sure if is appropriate to describe a black American as being black. I think the preferred term is African American. That's fine with me. Whatever. But I laugh when I hear stories of Americans who visit England describe black English people as African Americans, even though the black English have no connection to America. In Britain, you are British, and your colour and racial heritage is not so publicly important. You are British first. The plight of disadvantaged African Americans in the US is the equivalent in Britain of the plight of the disadvantaged British. 

It is a queer thing that so called African Americans, many who have been in the US for far longer than their British counterparts have been in Britain, yet they need to be distinguished as Afro Americans, and not just Americans. 

Whatever, black American, black British and black Australian, they all face discrimination. It is just not so in your face in Britain and Australia, and there are programmes to promote an inclusive workplace. That has just disappeared in the US. This Afro American term is very queer. The first black slaves arrived to America in the early 1600s, yet they need to be name qualified beyond just an American by the colour of their skin. I am not naïve enough to suggest your best mate is a black person, yet here, I do see socialisation between the Indian immigrants and white Australians, through work, neighbours and of course food. 

The leader of Australia's His Majesty's Opposition Party is one Peter Dutton, an extreme conservative, and he would like to do many of the things that #47 has been doing in the US. I gave some thought to a insulting adaption to his name and the best I could do is Duttrump. Yes, the wrongly named conservative Liberal Party leader is Peter Duttrump. 

Friday Funnies

League of Gentlemen was a British tv show. Rather than make you laugh, it was very good at making you feeling uncomfortable. 

This is not the worst. I wasn't sure if to post the original or this one by the US guy made while watching it. I thought the guy watching it was worthwhile. 

Someone, somewhere mention the English comedian Harry Enfield, who is unknown to me, and down the rabbit hole I went. Close to two hours later, this clip grabbed my attention. The woman's brain made me laugh heartily. Lol at the first mention of BBC (try Urban Dictionary, if you don't know), and towards the end, I was surprised he didn't know the name of the most famous media broadcaster in the world, BBC. 

Commentary and clouds

Once having a Tesla car was a bit of thing for we more common folk to admire. Now, owning a Tesla is a badge of shame, and the richest man in the world has ruined his public image, although I must say it was already ruined by him calling one of the brave divers a paedophile, a man who rescued children who were trapped in a water filled cave in Thailand. Don't we just want to spit at Muskrat. Bloody Boer. 

--- 

"I'm off to work, Andrew" said Phyllis at 9.30. "I'll be home early". 

He wasn't and arrived home at about 8pm. I said to him that my day was not great. Why? You said you would be home early, and that was part of it, and you weren't.

Sorry. When would you be worried? 

When I told Kosov to call you and you didn't answer.

When.

Maybe 10pm.

What if no one knew where I was and I had disappeared?

Fuck off Phyllis.

---

Birds are behaving strangely. I've never seen so many birds flying past the High Rise. They seem so busy with their flying with intent. Could it be related to the Queensland cyclone?

Here are some not so calming cloud photos. Whatever chaos we folk on earth cause, clouds go on.

Friday Extra

I came across this US YouTuber Adam Mockler and I sat mesmerised for an hour. While in some ways I think he is a bit too clever for his own good, he does nail it, in clip after clip. I love that in such a short time, chickens are coming home to roost for #47 voters. 

And speaking of the US, I was not alone when I thought bad thoughts about the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthCare. He led a truly evil company, and according to polls, some 41% of young people under the age of 30 thought the murder was 'acceptable'. 

Viva la Economic Black Out Day.

Saturday Satire

The Australian ABC TV programme Planet America is a mix of satire, news and commentary. Naturally it is about America and I thought this short clip I recorded from the screen was quite amusing. Pssst, don't tell the ABC. The show is presented by comedian Charles Licciardello and straight man John Barron. It is a very enjoyable watch and for Australians, it can seen on ABC's iview but is probably geoblocked elsewhere. Maybe not if you sign up to the ABC. But wait, there are clips on the programme's FB site. 

He is my own promo recording. The sound is poor, let alone my filming, but it's enough to see and hear. 

The Grammys

Oh yes. You heard right. I am nothing if not a diverse blogger. Actually, I have no interest in the Grammys. I don't know how to describe Troye Sivan beyond him being an attractive young gay Australian man, whose on stage behaviour when singing, can be quite provocative and very out there. Good on him for rattling some chains. 

When I saw he attended the Grammys, I wondered what he wore, which sent me to the red carpet photos. Here are a few red carpet photos I saved, from The Age.

Troye Sivan. His Prada suit is ok, I suppose. The scarf is not.

We are left guessing as to whether Lucky Daye has a muscular chest or bitch tits. I've never heard of him. 

Avery Wilson was looking very gay in his colourful jacket.

But, who is this with his head in a castle? I may have clicked on a photo of Justin Bieber on FaceBook, and I was then flooded with his photos, then the algorithm stopped sending me Justin photos and thought Jayden Smith was more to my taste. Yeah, he is ok, with a pleasant enough face that doesn't need to be hidden in a box. His clothes are not normally as conservative, with or without a box on his head. 

At least I know who this is, Will Smith. His slap encouraged me to take some interest last year. His outfit is good. 

Olivier Rodrigo. I said pet, I said love, I said pet, I said love, by exposing so much, you have spoilt the mystery and desire. 

The very elegant Ingrid Michaelson was my pick for best dressed. The fabric is great and the pattern, stunning. 

It's all about the words

The longer I am a blogger with US blog mates, the more I learn but what I never expected was such difference in our common language of English. I knew the basics like tyre/tire, bonnet/hood, boot/trunk. Why are these so car focused? I can't remember the US equivalent of glove box. 

From blogging, I learnt mould/mold and various other different spellings. I even learnt about Sterno stoves yesterday, and what Sterno actually is. Most interesting and I don't know why we never had the ultra safe Sterno here. 

However, our grammar almost always matches, yet I've been jarred by one difference. Take a bow Steve. 

I am a poor old age pensioner, so the government gives me $450 a week to support myself. This is not enough. I need to inform our Prime Minister that this is not enough. I need to write the Prime Minister, and I will have wrote the Prime Minister. Do I have that right for how it would be written in the US?

No matter, whatever is written like that just smacks me in the head like no spelling difference ever has. I will write to the Prime Minister, I will have written to the Prime Minister and I wrote to the Prime Minister.

Given how US, UK and Oceanic English grammar matches, this is one mighty big difference. Steve is an American and was a professional writer, so I am quite sure he uses correct grammar for his US readers, but isn't it remarkable that this is the only grammar difference I've noticed. Aside from my own grammatical errors. Maybe you know more?

I think the New Jersey Boud is UK or Irish born? I hope I am correct about that. But she has difficulty understanding the speech in Downton Abbey. Their accents aren't mine, but I can understand them perfectly well. The world is a strange place in so far as the English language goes.

Last night I took Phyllis and Kosov out for dinner. They shared a pizza and ate some of my chips, and souvlaki bread. The bulk of the bill was my two glasses of wine and an affogato with Scotch whisky. If you don't know, affogato is strong Australian style coffee poured over ice cream and with whisky poured over the top of that. 

Kosov's English is quite good, but you may remember me mentioning the way he pronounced margarine, as marg, as in Margaret, arine. Given he has to drop his résumé into to many places to find work, I insisted on him learning how to pronounce resume. This night I've learnt the difference between resume and a CV, Australia, US and Canada are in agreement. But is does strike me as odd that we have a choice between French and Latin for a job application, and not English. 

My hearing aid batteries will be changed today, as I do every Sunday, but this Saturday night, one is already warning me, baddery and not battery.

I'm not done yet. With one day of 40/104 degrees, media warned us of a heat wave. One day of extreme heat is not a heat wave. Media shot itself in the foot, as what superlative can it come up with for a real heat wave, such as today, tomorrow and the next day, 38/100,  39/102 and 36/97?