Feature

From the front line…

… it’s all about the money, money, money…

BY JACQUELINE CURZON

Purim is over. Once more we ate, drank and were VERY merry, and have survived and perhaps vowed to drink less voraciously. Alongside this we might enjoy a little less peace and quiet, with the chiming doorbell zinging in harmony with the highly commendable visits from bar mitzvah boys raising money for their schools. However, in the cold light of day it suddenly dawns: Pesach is only 4 weeks away and we have to eat all of those goodies kindly left on our doorstep. If in doubt, leave the extra calories out, and Gift it instead. Much better, for your arteries and your mitzvot.

John Major and Gordon Brown are boldly calling for Putin to be put on trial for war crimes, along with 780,000 other signatories in their petition for a Nuremberg-style trial. I was amused to read on the same page that there will be no more eggs labelled as 'free range' as all of the 145 million chickens in the UK are now living in barns due to avian flu, and can no longer strut their stuff in the open air. The link for these two stories is another former politician, Edwina Currie, whose quotes are legendary, such as ‘old people who could not afford heating bills should wrap up warm in winter’ (wearing socks, I believe), and that ‘Northerners die of ignorance and chips;’ during all of this time she was of course coddling up to Sir John Major. Her nickname ‘Eggwina' was coined after she crashed the UK egg market by 60% after issuing a warning about salmonella in eggs. The industry had more than its feathers ruffled, but I don’t think she ever got the yoke.

On a lighter note, Vladimir Putin addressed a rally dressed in a $13,000 Lori Piana designer puffer jacket and a $1,500 polo neck sweater, an interesting outlay for a man on a declared annual income of only $70,000. Having said that, the UK fiscal police are now looking for any of his savings hidden in our fair isle and rumours certainly abound as to his true finances, but it is likely counted in tens of billions. Not bad for a man who has spent his whole life in public service, and small wonder the Italian government have been urged to seize a £500 million super yacht, currently moored for repairs at a marina in western Italy. Ostensibly staffed by the Russian Federal Security Services, including a dozen of

Putin's personal guards and servants, the 140 metre yacht, suitably called Scheherazade, is the world's most expensive yacht, with a swimming pool with a retractable roof which converts into a dance floor, two helipads, three saunas and six guest cabins. Now that IS truly Bond style, even if I predicted some years back, Mr Putin would only likely be cast as Vlad the Bad. The ownership is a closely guarded secret but it has further poured scorn over Putin, who is doing nothing to dismiss the world's view of him as a spend heavy leader sporting his Vlad Rags. Cast your mind back to the revelation last year by Navalny's investigative team that Putin owns a glittering £700 million palace on the Black Sea Coast. Clearly the Russian President enjoys the finer things in life.

In this week of further bad news for peace on earth, I recall some humorous words of wisdom from long-dead voices and comedians. Winston Churchill once said (1939) on BBC radio, 'I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia; it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.' How true it is, and how 80 years later the same quote still stands true. This remark could be repeated fresh as a daisy by today’s politicians, or likewise a particular old timer comedian who our grandparents and parents knew so well, who once said, ‘in Russia they treated me like the Czar, and you know how they treated the Czar!….’. Well, that was Bob Hope's view on the Russians. There is no going back for Putin now he has crossed this particularly horrific watershed.

In fact, the same can be said of Olaf Sholz, the modern day chancellor of Germany, who has at last shaken off the sackcloth and ashes of the Second World War and thrown off the pacifist shackles of the last 70 years. He has started to move Germany towards a positive stance against Russia by increasing defence spending, killing off the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 and leading Europe forward by putting Germany at the forefront in the defence of NATO countries. His rhetoric was a huge change from that of his predecessor Angela Merkel, who vowed to ‘defend every square meter of NATO territory.’ There will be pain though, as the country tries to break its dependence on Russian energy and nice dinners at Mr Putin's long tables in his rural dacha.

On a more humorous note it is definitely worth noting that eco terrorists around the world sometimes make huge errors due to incompetence on a grand scale. One example of this was the French eco warriors who decided they would attack a train full of foreign GM soya beans, remove them from the wagons and spread them over the tracks. In fact what they had actually spread was 1400 tonnes of best French wheat. Could they not spot ‘la difference?’ When there is a war going on between two of the largest wheat producers in the world, and there are shortages of flour, the dimwits went and ruined around 40 lorry loads of prime French produce, or in bread-making terms, 6 million baguettes, a real ‘pain!’

There are many new opportunities for people to make some money, some people have been renting out space on their driveways for years. This being a very practical proposition to people tired of parking their car on a street only to return with a ticket under the windscreen, damage to their paintwork, or worse, needing to park somewhere close to a sports venue. This is being extended with homeowners now recommended to rent out charging points on their drives to take advantage of the desperate shortage of kerbside charging units. This is definitely an example of 'plug and play'!

Domestic playtime has been greatly missed off the curriculum for the daughter of Nazanin Zahari-Ratcliffe. The mother, a pawn in the Iranian nuclear chess arsenal, has survived 6 years of brutal treatment by another of the despotic regimes who fill our world. She was kept in appalling conditions with a lack of medication and with very basic food, often in solitary confinement. She, now along with the other released detainee, can try to make up for some of their lost years. This week she has called out the British establishment as to why they had not resolved the situation six years ago. But we know at the end of the day it all comes down to hard cash.

There was no such happy ending for Australian hostage Shokrollah Jebeli (82), who died in custody after being deprived of all humanitarian treatment for his numerous ailments, at least they were not offered until it was largely too late. This country of supposedly ‘religious people’ who finance and support terrorism should be shunned by the world. In fact, they continue to work their wicked way with attacks on the Kurdish people, hoping that the world’s media is distracted by the goings-on in Ukraine. It does not stop there, for whilst they are actively trying to undermine this autonomous region, they are doing their best efforts to restrict oil sales - to Israel - amongst others.

A sad consequence of the current Russian offensive is the death of Holocaust survivor, Boris Romantchenko (96), whose apartment block was hit by shells. He had survived 4 seperate concentration camps {Buchenwald, Peenemünde, Mittelbau-Dora and Bergen-Belsen} and the depravity of the Nazi war machine, only to be killed in the much shelled city of Kharkiv. He was the vice president of the Buchenwald-Dora International Committee. May he rest in peace.

You never seem to be able to turn a page, or listen to a news bulletin without being assailed by controversial topics relating to the LGBTQ issues. Whether it be the apparent success of transgender college swimmers in American colleges or the waiting lists for gender change in teenagers in the UK. For many, these are topics that are well outside of all comfort zones, and are avoided as being just one step too far.

But to illustrate the divide out there; the poignant picture of a transgender college swimmer standing alone on the winner’s podium, whilst the other swimmers stand together to one side, clearly illustrates that this indeed is a hot topic and not one that will easily go away.

And for tube travellers a heartwarming story, the Police and TfL, another favourite of mine, are threatening to convict passengers on the trains of harassment if they look at another passenger in an 'intrusive way. Innocent people walk this way!’ This may be well intentioned, but it puts the Police in an impossible place and asks them to be mind readers and let’s be very clear, telepathy is not their strongpoint.

Every so often you come across an obituary that sparks an interest and drives you to read the article. One such was for a racing driver called Vic Elford (86). He broke many records and was the epitome of the “plucky Brit” who overcame adversity to reach enormous success. His successes were to be matched by only three other people to win six races at the dangerous Nurburgring track, and to lap the Le Mans track at more than 150 miles per hour in a Porsche 917. Another accomplishment was winning the Monte Carlo Rally in a Porsche 911, only then to get out of the car to fly to America and win the Daytona 24 hour race in a single seat Porsche 907. In the film Le Mans, he was Steve McQueen’s stunt double, but what made him stand out was that he not only drove on tracks, but also rallied in many cars including a 1962 BMC mini and was also the first person to rally a Porsche. A truly unique individual - especially as he came from working class stock - his parents ran a café in Peckham, and no - he never rallied a Reliant Robin!

Another week of bad news likely coming from Ukraine, doubtless spearheaded by the erstwhile and reviled Vladimir Putin. No Trans Siberian Express will be currently running for me right now. More likely Dr Zhivago,

Mr Shariff. Спасибо !

Jacqueline Curzon

PHOTO: LARA MINSKY PHOTOGRAPHY