Gas-Lighting
This article on CNN is called Donald Trump is ‘gaslighting’ all of us.
It introduced me to term gas-lighting, which all goes back to a 1940 British film and an earlier play.
This is said about the term in the Wikipedia entry for the film.
The psychological term gaslighting, which describes a form of psychological abuse in which the victim is gradually manipulated into doubting his or her own reality, originated from the play and its two film adaptations.[7] Gaslighting, today, mostly refers to one of the methods of abuse used by a narcissist to emotionally control a victim, through which the narcissist gains pleasure.
Now CNN is accusing Trump of doing this to us all.
This is an extract.
After mimicking a disabled reporter and seeing the video used as evidence against him, he repeatedly denied it, claiming his opponents should be embarrassed to say he did. “I would NEVER mock disabled. Shame!” The denials continued after Meryl Streep brought up the subject this week at the Golden Globes. With the video easily available, Trump’s argument boiled down to “Who do you trust, me or your lying eyes?”
Here’s the video.
Trmp is going to gove the World’s comedians more material, than any other politician in history.
Kempton Park Racecourse Could Close For Housing
This article on the BBC is entitled Kempton Park racecourse faces closure to make way for housing.
This Google Map shows Kempton Park racecourse and the surrounding area.
Kempton Park
It is a large site of about a third of a square mile, bounded on the Southern side by the Thames, with the Shepperton Branch to Waterloo on the Northern side.
Note.
- London needs lots of quality housing and it would certainly provide that.
- Kempton Park station currently has two trains per hour (tph) taking 44 minutes to and from Waterloo.
- As I said in An Analysis Of Waterloo Suburban Services Proposed To Move To Crossrail 2, whether Crossrail 2 is built or not, four tph could run on the Shepperton Branch to Waterloo in perhaps 30 minutes.
- There might be space for a section station on the London side of Kempton Park station.
- Road connections are good to the M3 and M25.
- A black-cab or mini-cab to Heathrow wouldn’t be outrageous.
On this rough look it certainly looks to be a good site for housing.
It is also possibly the only site owned by The Jockey Club, whose sale would create enough cash for thei improvements to go ahead.
But as on Radio 5 tonight, not all horse racing participants and fans will like this decision.
Summoned By Bells
When I saw the pictures of the new bells for Southwark Cathedral, I just had to go and have a look.
It was just as well I did, as after the dedication yesterday, they will not be on view, but hanging in the belfry.
I’ve Listened To The Tape
I went to Liverpool University in the Autumn of 1964.
The University in those days had a Rag \Week, which in Liverpool was called Panto Week.
This link to the University of Liverpool web site, gives a flavour.
There used to be a debate in the Mountford Hall of the Guild of Undergraduates and usually someone locally famous was invited. In 1965, it was The Scaffold.
I don’t know how I got there, but a few days after seeing the Scaffold, I ended up in a Hall of Residence listening to a tape of the debate of the previous year.
It was a virtuoso performance by Ken Dodd and it went on for hours.
I wonder, if that tape still exists!
Southend In The Sun
I went to Southend more out of curiosity than anything else, as the BBC Weather web site said that nearby Shoeburyness would be one of the sunniest places in the UK.
As you can see, the BBC was right.
Walking From Hampton Court To Kingston
I hadn’t intended to walk, but when I saw the distance was 3.5 miles and it was sunny, I thought why not!
It took me twenty minutes over the hour and I had lunch in Bill’s by the river before taking the train home.
A Walk Along The River
It was very sunny so I walked along the Thames from Blackfriars station to the Tower.
Note.
- The works for the Tideway Tunnel.
- The impressive new Blackfriars Pier for the Thames Clippers.
- Queenhithe.
- You walk underneath the City’s waste transfer station at one point.
I couldn’t believe that the weather was that good for December.
At Queenhithe, you have to walk inland as the Thames Path is blocked by development, that was done a couple of decades ago.
I do hope that the new development at Queenhithe will include a bridge across the ancient dock to continue the path.
Why Isn’t The Mall Traffic Free?
This article on the BBC is entitledPlans to block vehicles from the Mall brought forward after Berlin lorry attack.
I can’t understand, why the Mall isn’t traffic free from say nine in the morning until perhaps four or five in the afternoon.
This would create a large walking area from Trafalgar Square to Victoria, with the shops of Oxford, Bond and Regent Streets and Crossrail to the North-West and the Thames not far away in the East.
This Google Map shows the area around Buckingham Palace.
It would improve London for everyone, except prossibly taxi and Uber drivers.
But just as with the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, there would be protests.
Why Did You Cancel Your BT Direct Debit?
I picked up the phone and a believable voice asked the title of this post.
As there was no number visible on the phone display, I said that I hadn’t cancelled it and said, that I’ll check with my bank, before I put the phone back in its cradle.
It rang immediately, so I picked it up and told the caller to Fuck Off, as no company like BT would react like that, after I’d told them, I would check with my bank.
The phone rang about four more times and I suspect they had control of it, so I didn’t use it, but conteacted my bank on my mobile. The BT Direct Debit was still there.
An hour or so later, I rang a couple of friends to check my phone and the phone appeared to be working fine.
On checking with BT, they told me it was a well known scam.
The strange thing was that the call came on the day before my BT bill was due to be paid.
So as the scammer, had my phone number, name and billing date, it sounds like someone had read my details in a BT database.
One thing though the helpful girl from BT told me, was that if you cancel your Direct Debit to BT for any reason, you’ll get an e-mail.
So if you haven’t received an e-mail saying you’ve cancelled, it would appear that you haven’t cancelled.
Bloodly scammers!
The Last Cowboy Rides On
Kirk Douglas is a hundred today.
I always liked his film; Lonely Are The Brave, ever since I watched it late one night, whilst programming Artemis.
Happy Birthday, Kirk!
The Anonymous Widower 