HOLMSEY: Whoever you vote for badgers lose and the taxman wins
Isle of Wight ObserverSpring has sprung, the clocks have gone forward, and – praise be! – the Easter holidays are now upon us.…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Two weeks away and everything’s gone bang…
I’ve been missing in action for over a fortnight. I hope you enjoyed Michael, my stunt double. My oh my,…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: A realist’s guide to optimism
“Cheer up, Holmesy, try and keep a sense of perspective,” writes Yarmouth-based Matthew John Pomeroy Leeming. I love feedback and…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: If this is grown‑up government, fetch the crayons
Sir Keir Starmer has come out fighting, and apparently the great enemy of our age is… Reform. Insults seem to…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Another week, another omnishambles!
It’s no secret: everyone running a business is spooked. In 2020, hiring 21-year-old cost employers £17,035. Today, that same person…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Trump, Starmer, and the art of getting it wrong!
The Orange One loves winding up Europeans – and the Canadian PM, obviously. His threats against Canada and Greenland are…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Prostate and planning updates
“I’m pleased to tell you, it’s not cancer.” The consultant sounded chirpy, almost as if he’d cured me. Breaking bad…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Whatever happened to the Saturday job?
I don’t remember anyone complaining that President Obama invaded Pakistan to grab Osama Bin Laden. Once captured, Bin Laden was…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Sometimes we don’t realise how lucky we are!
We shared some of our grown-up kids with their partners’ families this Christmas. Those giant get-togethers of years gone by…
Read MoreMICKEY’S MUSINGS: Death, grief and why can’t we be more private?
“Die, my dear? “Why that’s the last thing I’ll do! I intend to live forever, or die trying.” I smile…
Read MoreMICKEY’S MUSINGS: The nation’s farmers fight back
My late father had a line he adapted from Groucho Marx: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Oscars and Grammys – we can do it!
In 1996, Anthony Minghella lifted his Oscar. I told my kids, “If a boy from Ryde can do that, you…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Covid wasn’t the first scare story
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and according to the costly Covid inquiry, 23,000 lives were lost because Boris failed to…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: How’s your driving?
A third of us think that driving standards in Britain are bad or very bad, another third think they’re only…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: They all lie to us…
The total world population is 8,191,988,453, which is around one per cent higher than last year. The still-increasing number of…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Who are the victims?
Most patients are eventually released from Broadmoor Hospital; however, they rarely return home directly. Despite its fearsome reputation, the average…
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