Hope of a football fan (Arsenal v Spurs)

.

The stars have aligned

rivals for top spot have lost

don’t capitulate

.

by Scooj

Three weeks to go

.

Ski holiday booked

lurking on snow forecast sites

addicted to hope

.

by Scooj

Break over

.

Shoulder to the wheel

twenty twenty five beckons

new resolve, new hope

.

by Scooj

3 Sleeps

.

Opportunity

I’ve been waiting a long time

fourteen painful years

.

by Scooj

  • We have a general election in the UK on Thursday, and with any luck we will have a Labour Government on Friday. Being realistic, I think it will be several years before we start to see improvements, because the Conservatives have asset stripped the country, made off with the money in their back pockets, and left the old place in a far worse state than they found it 14 years ago. It is incredible to think just how much poorer we are as a nation and how our international reputation has plummeted while they have been in power. The richest have got richer (don’t they always) and are completely protected from the cost of living crisis that the rest of us face. I genuinely hope that the incoming Labour administration live up to their aspiration to serve the country first, because the Conservatives have been serving themselves for way too long. It looks like, while we are leaning to the left, the rest of the world is lurching to the far right, which is all rather worrying.
  • I genuinely can’t think of a single part of my life that has been improved by the Tories, not one, but that is no surprise, I work in the service of my country, and always have. I am part of the squeezed middle – the cash cow that has been exploited when the millionaires and billionaires are laughing, and the multinational corporates avoid their tax contributions.
  • I’ll stop there, because I could write a very long essay about all of this. Suffice it to say the winds of change are on the way.

Dare to dream

.

Tightest league in years

with seven remaining games

victors one of three

.

by Scooj

Glastonbury tickets on sale

.

Camping on the site

sucking life and hope away

try again next year

.

by Scooj

Head above water

.

The world in free fall

bad news seems to trump the good

keep breathing keep faith

.

by Scooj

4855. Porto (13)

 

Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

This piece, by Costah, was photographed in early June and is clearly in support of Ukraine. The shock waves of Putin’s aggressive war against Ukraine since then have contributed to human suffering far beyond the borders of the two countries. There is little that citizens of Europe can do apart from offering help and hope.

Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Costah has placed a pair of his characters in a solemn embrace in the centre of a Ukrainian flag and the word HOPE. In an act of solidarity for the oppressed, he has also listed Palestine, Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq along the foot of the piece. Pieces like this remind us about the bigger picture and take us away from our first world problems, at least for a moment.

 

 

Dynamic

.

Constants disrupted

and a nation all at sea

despair before hope

.

by Scooj

Managing expectations

.

Struggling Arsenal

play a resurgent Chelsea

I predict a rout

.

by Scooj