I might be being prematurely optimistic, but things might be starting to look up. It now looks inevitable that Trump will be impeached, possibly within weeks. His dodgy links to Russia now look irrefutable, so much so that it must be only a matter of time before he’s booted from office. On this side of the atlantic, the shit is really starting to hit the fan with Brexit: all the economists predict a catastrophe, and calls for a second referendum are growing louder and louder. It’s only a matter of time before Corbyn heeds  his party and comes out against Brexit. When that happens, surely  this stupid farce’s days will also be numbered.

On both counts, then, I feel we can at last see glimmers of hope. I’ve always said  that it would be only a matter of  time before sensible people start to assert theirselves again and stop the    nationalist idiots. On top of that, we’re going to celebrate our friend Debbie’s  birthday  in the pub tonight (I’m still just on the Coke). Things are looking up.

Let me just say how much I like Edinburgh. It may be fairly hilly, and John had to really put his back into pushing me up one or two of those hills,  but it really  is a beautiful city. Some of the medieval architecture is stunning. We spent the whole of Tuesday there, first taking the bus to Crammond – a small village just east of the city where we tried to get to a small island, but were prevented by the tide – then going to a music evening in a pub in town. It’s quite amazing how much we managed to fit into just one day, although there was so  much more we could have done that we resolved to go back there.

Yesterday was also quite a day, but for other reasons: John needs to fly to Poland today, so we needed to get back to the metropolis, and the cheapest way to do so was by bus. I’ll tell you now: eleven hours sat on a coach takes some stomaching. It wasn’t quite as bad as I had expected, as I’d brought a book to read and John had his laptop so we could watch a film, but nonetheless it isn’t an experience I wish to repeat in a hurry. Next time I think we’ll go by train.

Just to record this moment , I’m sat in an Edinburgh pub after a long fun day. I’m surrounded by people, including four of John’s friends. I can’t see them from the low sofa where I’m sat, but there’s a band playing. It’s rather cool, but I really must record that I think this the first time I have ever heard rap in a Scottish accent, and I think I like it.

I’m writing this on the coach again, although this time I remembered to take a pee before I got on. We spent the morning in Leeds after enjoying an excellent Ethiopian dinner and a good nights sleep. I must say I found Leeds intriguing: it’s city centre is small and walkable, and old industrial buildings seem to juxtapose with modern shopping centres in quite an awesome way. There is an arcade with a new glass roof. You can see it was once a normal street, but it’s roof gives it the feel of the Trafford centre or Westfield in Stratford. I couldn’t help musing to myself that someone had definitely been reading their Walter Benjamin.

John and I are heading for Leeds en route to Edinburgh for a few days. He suggested it a few days ago and I thought, why not? We looked into taking the train but it was too expensive so we decided to go by coach. It takes a bit longer, but it’s something I’ve never experienced before. It’s going quite smoothly and we’re about halfway to Leeds, but about ten minutes ago I found I needed the loo. I’ve been for pees on planes before no problem, but I honestly think I just took the most dangerous piss of my life. Two sets of stairs….through the most narrow door ever…on a bus going at seventy miles per hour. Next time I’ll just hold it in.

Just to pick up on an old subject and one of my  big fandoms, the Independent is reporting that the majority of americans now think Idris Elba should be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig. Why the Indy is reporting American opinion rather than british isn’t clear, but this nonetheless echoes my opinion since the possibility of a black bond first cropped up three or four years ago. Why can’t 007 be black. Daniel Craig has apparently signed up to do a couple more Bond films – and I definitely think he’s capable of them, although he is said to be tiring of the role – but after that the door should be open to take bond in a new direction. Fail to do so and the franchise risks stagnating.

Not that I want to advertise, especially for a company like Disney, but  my jaw dropped when I saw this trailer for the new version of The Lion King. The graphics/imagery look incredible. Imagine watching it in  a darkened cinema auditorium on a big screen.

There must surely be a point at which the people of any country must turn to the government and say ‘enough is enough’, and I think we have reached that point. I just came across this shocking Guardian article on a UN report due  out next year on the devastating effect Tory austerity has had on the UK. It is utterly fucked up: Britain was in breach of four UN human rights agreements relating to women, children, disabled people and economic and social rights. The limit on benefits payments to only the first two children in a family was “in the same ballpark” as China’s one-child policy because it punished people who had a third child. Cuts of 50% to council budgets were slashing at Britain’s “culture of local concern” and “damaging the fabric” of society.  Between this and the utter stupidity of Brexit, how the hell  can we let these contemptible embarrassments to humanity remain in power.

I’m not sure how impartial  or unbiassed it is, but if true the allegations reported in this Young Turks video are very worrying indeed. It reports that Donald Trump is actively trying to have his political opponents jailed. Apparently according to the New York Times, the  p’tahk wants people like James Comey and Hillary Clinton put in jail simply because they  are political adversaries. If there is even a grain of truth to it, surely this is very  worrying indeed: Trump is acting more and more like a dictator, demanding power  over everything. Surely as a responsible, mature democratic nation, it’s only a matter of time before the US grows up, gets a grip and replaces this insecure child with a proper president.

I just came across this anti-Brexit video/song on facebook, and just had to flag  it up here. It’s very catchy, and will probably be stuck in my head for a while, but that’s cool. More and more  things like this are appearing online every day, to higher and higher standards. I get the impression that a distinct artistic and cultural movement is amassing against brexit; so much so  that it is now just a matter of time before the bollocks is stopped.