From politics to living costs, there are crises at all levels

To say this country is in a mess would be the understatement of the week, maybe the year. Right now, we face a care crisis due to shortages of nurses, a travel crisis which has stranded tens of thousands of Britons overseas, a cost of living crisis of soaring prices, and a political crisis with a prime minister hanging on by his fingertips.

Disillusionment with Premier Boris Johnson has been gathering among, mostly back-bench, members of his own Conservative Party for several months, heightened notably by his behaviour over parties he attended during the Covid lockdown.

His attendance at one such party led to his being fined, a first for a prime minister in office, and being accused of lying to the House of Commons – for many MPs, an even worse offence.

Growing opposition

The growing opposition to Johnson led to a formal confidence vote by his MPs last week, which went 211-148 in his favour, but meant that some 40 per cent of his own MPs want him out.

Johnson described the vote as “decisive” and declared it was “time to move on” – that is, to move away from areas that cause him discomfort. Insiders say this will not be as easy as he wishes, that anger at his conduct remains and he is now seen by many Conservatives as an election liability and therefore, a threat to their own seats.

Two by-elections are due shortly. Their results may prove decisive in any leadership battle.

While the political battle was raging at Westminster, the National Health Service, much cherished by people here, was in the spotlight again.

The Royal College of Nurses warned that a shortage of nurses in the NHS was posing a risk to patient safety. Feedback from more than 20,000 nurses across the UK gave examples of patients going without medicine, receiving late treatment and failing to get personal care, such as assistance to the toilet.

One in 10 nursing posts in England is unfilled and many nurses say the situation is affecting their wellbeing. One said, “Myself and my colleagues are mentally, physically and emotionally burnt out and exhausted.”

Of even more concern to the average citizen has been the cost of living crisis which has seen swingeing increases in food, and, particularly, gas and electricity, prices.

Many people have said they are faced with a choice of eating or staying warm.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak introduced a £15 billion package to alleviate the pain, including cash payments to help defray people’s energy costs. But he also warned the government could not fully insulate people from the cost of living crisis.

After the good feeling generated by the Queen’s platinum jubilee weekend, reality has returned in earnest.

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Two ways to stay happy and healthy … drink heavily and smile a lot! At least, that is what the scientists are telling us.

Researchers who questioned 628 people aged over 60 in Bonn, Germany, found that heavy drinkers, that is, people who drank the equivalent of two bottles of wine a day, were slimmer, happier and more mobile than their teetotal or low-drinking counterparts.

The study was presented at a meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care.

Meanwhile, in Britain, we are currently half-way through National Smile Month, when we are encouraged to smile a lot because it reduces stress.

Dr Khaled Kasem, a leading orthodontist, said, “Our mouths are more damaged by stress than we might realise because the tension added to muscles can lead to teeth clenching or grinding.”

Smiling, Dr Kasem says, increases endorphins and makes you feel better, so you should do it for at least seven minutes a day.

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A Scotsman crashed his car into an Englishman’s vehicle. Climbing from the wreckage, he told the Englishman, “You look quite shaken, here, have a drink.”

The Englishman accepted the whisky flask gratefully, took a couple of swallows, then politely said, “Won’t you have one yourself?”

Replied the Scot, “Perhaps after the police have gone.”

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A priest had his hair cut at a barber’s shop, then asked, How much?

“No charge,” said the barber. “I consider it a service to the Lord.”

Next morning, he went to open his shop and found prayer books, rosaries and holy water bottles at his door, plus a thank you note from the priest.

Later, a policeman received the same free haircut and was told by the barber it was his service to the community.

Next morning, the barber found a dozen doughnuts on his doorstep and a thank you letter from the policeman.

Towards the end of the day, the barber cut the hair of an MP and declined payment, saying it was a service to the nation.

Next morning he went to open his shop and found a queue of MPs waiting at his door.

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