The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland played a major part in the post Article 50 negotiations between the the Government of the United Kingdom and the European Union. Who knows it may still have a significant role to play. But it has provided a distinct line in the battle against Covid-19,…
Boris Johnson, the Waters of Wuhan and panic buying
Twenty years ago, when The Mumbler was a much younger and still ambitious Local Government Officer, his employer paid for him to study and obtain a Post Graduate Certificate in Management. It was a continuous lesson in how to persuade your employees or subordinates to do the things you wanted, by persuading them that they want…
The sick man of Europe suffers a relapse
“The sick man of Europe” is a phrase reportedly used to describe the Ottoman Empire by Tsar Nicholas II in the middle of the 19th Century. It has been used since then periodically to describe whichever nation of Europe is lagging substantially behind the others. Throughout the immediate post war period it was a title…
The Fraud who would be King
When Boris Johnson announced that he would be supporting the campaign to Leave the EU in the referendum campaign of 2016, The Mumbler stated that in his humble opinion, Johnson had thought long and hard about what position to take. He had considered whether leaving or remaining would be in the national interests, before making a…
The man who knew too little
The Man Who Knew Too Little is a spoof spy movie from the end of the twentieth century starring amongst others Alfred Molina as a Russian spy called Boris. The farcical actions of the lead characters continue unabated throughout the film with countless unfortunate casualties and narrowly escaped disasters. The film has an all star cast…
Deal or no deal?
The Mumbler retired from public pronouncements following the disastrous result of the EU Referendum on 23rd June last year. But with the EU Chief Negotiator giving the UK Government just two weeks to come to an agreement over how much the UK will pay the EU as a financial settlement for leaving, as the terms…
A mumbler's musings 