THE RANDAL REPORT Is Football Coming Home?
Now I readily confess that my knowledge and experience of football is rather limited! I have only been to one match and that was Leicester City, playing I don’t know who and it was around 1969, and Leicester City lost, which at the time was not unusual!
Indeed, my limited interest was more in the legs of the players and how short the shorts were, but we’ll leave that there!
So, here we are again, with another World cup, with hopes for the England team, no doubt to be dashed at some point, as England needs a 1966 moment, now more than any time for decades, well at least weeks, now that the womens’ football team are acquiring trophies faster than you can say Qatar!
Our subject today is less about the game itself, the players and the teams, it’s more about where
the World Cup is being held this year! As Qatar is not renowned either for a good human rights record, particularly their attitude to the LGBTQ community, or for that matter its safety record concerning migrant construction workers. Indeed, since Qatar was announced as the host of this years’ world cup, some 6400 migrant construction workers have died!
James Cleverley suggested that LGBTQ supporters should amend their behavior whilst in Qatar, was this a constructive comment to make?
The penalty for gay sex is 7 years!
Should our team be going to the world cup, or should the supporters be boycotting? By going, are we simply endorsing a country which has repressive laws?

In today's episode of the Randal Report, we’re going to talk about US politics and how it looks from across the great pond! With the midterm elections more or less concluded, I noted that more than 16.7 billion dollars was spent in the pursuit of the result!
In England there are limits on campaign expenditure, each candidate has a limit of around £8,700, that they can spend, which means that we’re talking a total of less than £5,550,00. So, seeing the sums of money spent in the US, it would seem an appalling waste, which could be put to better use.

Should there even be midterm elections, as surely it is not sufficient time to have elapsed from the previous election, for the policies of a new administration to take effect? Mel, help me make sense of this!
There are often cries of foul in US elections, most notable, was of course

Donald Trump and the incursion on Capitol Hill in January 2021, lets just throw a few stats in here: US contested elections, 1800, 1824, 1860, 1876, 1912, 1948, 2000 (which of course was George W. Bush versus Al Gore) What does this say about American politics?
Is it something about the American Psyche, a society built on the concept of winners and losers?
Let's talk Donald Trump: With the majority of results now in, there was no Republican ‘Red Wave’ as many Republicans had forecast and seemingly, a lot of the Trump endorsed candidates failed to win the day. Of course, the latest being Kari Lake, in the race for Governor of Arizona. Now, Donald Trump has announced his candidacy for the 2024 elections,Trumpism isn’t yet dead but should have been drowned at birth in the first place?
What were the reasons for what would seem like a poor showing, considering Biden has the lowest approval rating of any sitting President in history?
Should the Republican party even countenance the idea of having Trump as their candidate, it would not seem sagacious on their part?
Should there be an age limit on candidates for the Presidency? (After all, it is
reckoned that Ronald Reagan was already suffering symptoms of dementia whilst in office).

After a tumultuous week in British Politics, in a week from now, we’ll be getting our 4th PM in just five years! Indeed, yet another! In this political drama that makes the House Of Cards look lackluster, recent events can only be described as a clusterfuck, or Trussterfuck, with the British people paying for it, at every turn! The latest incarnation lasted just 45 days in office, which is a new record!
It was no surprise to us that Truss wasn’t up to the challenge, what I can’t grapple with is how on earth the Tory party membership were deluded enough to think she would make a success of her premiership, as it seems now, they were the only ones who thought she would.
She became so beleaguered, so quickly, one newspaper earlier this week, put up a lettuce,
notorious for a short shelf life, in a ruse to see which would last longer, the lettuce won and seemingly, had more capability!
Truss is entitled, although arguable, to a payout of over £100,000 for her 44 days in office, 10 of which, were spent doing bugger all, whilst the country mourned the passing of the Queen. Should she really be paid this money?
There is no mandate now for this government to continue, yet they cling onto their fading power, rather than looking at the greater need of our country! Our nations institutions, the economy and our standing on the global stage, are all in tatters, because of gross incompetence and arrogance! Now, as the political situation has descended into farce, some within the Conservative ranks want to reincarnate Boris Johnson’s political career, a concept of pure and dangerous delusion!

Now there’s rumor of a possible delay of the fiscal statement that Jeremy Hunt, the latest chancellor, was due to deliver at the end of October.
Can Britain survive? Can we recover our koudos, can we earn back the respect that has been destroyed by the last two PM’s, or arguably all of those who have occupied number 10 Downing Street, since 2010?
As before, the procession of wannabees has begun, in a new contest, for yet another new leader and still not one worthy of attention, we suspect! Candidates, of which I wager there will be many, have to have a minimum 100 MP’s backing them by Monday, in order to go forward to a second round! Has the party become so factionalised that it will find it nigh impossible to coalesce around one candidate, or are we witnessing the destruction of a political institution?

Will any of them receive the backing of one hundred MP’s, which of course, will speak volumes as to the future of the party!
Quote Of the week: Is directed at Tory MP’s, ministers and the like: JFK
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?”
And of course I have the answer, please step aside, whilst we still have a country left!

What would happen if we decriminalized (or even legalized drugs?
Should Britain follow some other countries and change the law on the use of Cannabis?
Should it just be confined to laws on Cannabis or should all drug laws be changed!
Could this be the answer to resolving many of the worlds problems from broken economies to crime and more?
Quote Of The day:
“In the sixties, people took drugs to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, people take prozac, to make it normal!”

Today, we discuss the continuing trials and tribulations of one Liz Truss as she desperately clings on to the floating log, that is the remainder of her political career!
Hunt’s summary to rescue Britain from the abyss, No cut in basic rate of income tax. Looks like a withdrawal of the unit cap on energy, i.e. no longer capped at £2,500. Truss has pedaled this policy as her centerpiece since winning the leadership.
What now for a political party that after twelve years in government, four different PM’s and at least six chancellors? With their support melting away, disastrous opinion polls, still refusing to accept that it is they that are destroying the credibility of UK PLC, when will they do the decent thing and call an election?
Will the British public forgive them and how long do they risk being in the political wilderness?
Former Bank of England Deputy Governor, Sir Charles Bean, says “It is disingenuous to say the UK’s economic issues are down to a global phenomenon” After everything that has taken place over the last two weeks, isn’t it about time that this government owns up to the charge of economic mis-management?
Truss’s mantra of growth, growth, growth, should now be replaced with “cut, cut, cut!
What now for a government, who’s manifesto, which delivered their last election victory, promising 50,000 more nurses, 20,000 more Police Officers and 50,000,000 more GP appointments, when the latest incarnation at number 11 Downing Street, is Jeremy Hunt, who’s talking more cuts? Where’s the mandate for this?

Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to who got COVID the other week and delayed us getting a new episode out to you? 

Today we discuss where we are with the latest variant and the end of restrictions and mandates in the UK. Are things improving or are our government turning a blind eye to a worsening situation to save our ever more precarious economy?

Until recently, the idea of talking about mental health in personal terms was quite rare, for the stigma attached to the health of the mind was so great, that the mere mention of it often resulted in friends giving you a wide berth and in the context of one’s professional life, often resulted in one being surreptitiously manoeuvred out of one’s job. Whilst attitudes have improved, with seemingly a greater understanding and sensitivity surrounding mental health issues, in my opinion, it still remains the reality in the commercial world, that most companies will still view those who are brave enough to talk about their own mental health struggles, as a liability and there is plenty of evidence to support this assertion. Whilst there has been a welcome change in the attitude of employers, I am less certain that it is but lip service being paid to matters of mental health and that real progress and substantive change is still to take place.

SUPERMARKET WOES
I’m someone that generally goes to the supermarket every day, usually when it’s just opened, but I really get annoyed by other shoppers and their weird habits!

Once the preserve of fading Hollywood stars and retirees to Miami, it seems now that going under the knife, injecting paralysis inducing toxins and lip fillers all, in the pursuit of vanity, is nearly as common as brushing your teeth. I’m not adverse to a few enhancements, such as tattoos and piercings, you understand, which I consider to be an expression of one’s self,
I’m not talking about those pop stars either, from the 70’s and 80’s that try desperately to cling onto the youthful look they once possessed, when topping the charts and mysteriously end up in a time warp of their best self from forty years past, dying what’s left of a pony tail and their beards, desperately trying to maintain their relevance rather than accepting that they will never be twenty again. I can’t work out whether or not they think they look good, if its some sort of delusion, caused by the quantity of drugs they consumed back in the day, but equally perplexed as to why their friends don’t take them to one side and say something!

With the controversy surrounding the actions of Prince Andrew and his association to a convicted and now deceased sex trafficker, one Geoffrey Epstein, Prince Harry having more or less left the Royal family and the latest incarnation, the cash for honours charity probe, which could lead to the questioning of Prince Charles by the police, is the British Monarchy on its last legs and past it’s best before date.

As Russia begins its invasion of the Ukraine, it is on this subject we will concentrate today and what that might mean for all of us in the days and weeks to come.
Is the world on the brink of a protracted world war, is there shifting power that is creating an axis between Russia, China and other sympathetic countries.

Today we talk about Covid-19 and the lifting of legal restrictions, such as the isolation rules if you display symptoms and of course, abandoning testing, which has been costing the tax payer some £2 billion per month.
Since the start of the pandemic, some 160,000 people have died from the virus in the UK. Whilst the death toll is clearly now falling, there were still over 1,000 deaths within 28 days of testing positive, between 14th and 20th February, which is still 52,000 fatalities per year. Although noted an increase in deaths mid-week back to around 165 over a 24 hour period.

Cyclists, Pedestrians, Drivers; whomever you are, do we share our roads with the same consideration we once used to? Road rules; have they changed in the last 20 years, there used to be a tacit understanding between us, is this now lost?

Today we discuss Veganuary and how Veganism has become mainstream over the past few years.

Interest rates are rising, Inflation is at a 30 year high , the cost of living is rising across many sectors.....Is this the inevitable result of an impending recession or is there a financial or fiscal resolution right around the corner?

There is nothing like a good rant from time to time and no one better to deliver one than Simon. Today he discusses the wonders of creeping old age.

NOW ITS PROBABLY OF LITTLE SURPRISE IN RESPECT OF THE SUBJECT FOR OUR FIRST FORAY, AS THERE’S NOTHING GETS THE HECKLES UP LIKE A BIT OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE. IT’S BEEN RELENTLESSLY COVERED IN THE NEWS OF LATE AND THAT OF COURSE IS PARTYGATE, WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE RELEGATED WALLPAPERGATE, ANOTHER YET UNRESOLVED MATTER OF POSSIBLE IMPROPRIETY, ALL OF COURSE PERTAINING TO OUR PRIME MINISTER MR BORIS JOHNSON.

In this Episode we discuss the looming conflict between the Ukraine and Russia. Are we heading towards military conflict or is the West conflating matters to force Russia into a fatal reaction?