The Quality Of Our Leadership

According to WikiLeaks the incoming Tory administration was falling over itself to fawn on the Americans. William Hague proudly told Richard LeBaron, deputy Chief of Mission, that he and Cameron and Osborne were all "children of Thatcher". Their anxiety over the possibility that Obama might downgrade the "special relationship" was so febrile that (in LeBaron's words) it "would be humorous, if it were not so corrosive".

What Hague and his colleagues don't seem to have grasped is that the relationship between Reagan and Thatcher (whatever you may think of them) was based on mutual respect. Maggie thought nothing of ringing Ronnie up and giving him an earful

It's nice to know the gambolling of these little dogs amuses their American masters.

The Beginnings Of A Thaw

The weather has turned warmer. The snow's still out there but there's less of it. We did a couple of runs to the storage unit to bring home a load of stuff we've been managing very well without.