Yesterday, part of the Oxfordshire internet went out and cut the Chateau d’If off from the rest of the world. By standing on the roof of a car, holding onto a branch, I regretfully managed to get the tips out, (sorry), and thus I heard the sad news. It was impossible to ignore the woeful text of a national loss, but that woe was marred by a number of vindictive and inaccurate comments on the anti-social media, about a man who had served his country during peace and war and who had done so much for so many. It was a small, steady stream of invective typed out by the cowardly, arrogant and self-centred, too busy displaying their virtuous grasp of political and social ills, to see the paradox. Too stupid to understand that their freedom to be spiteful and simultaneously wrong, was the gift of Prince Philip’s and Her Majesty’s generation. A generation that understood sacrifice; who had no access to jumbo organic oats or Kaffiya or mobile phones or Netflix or free healthcare or the million things the Yahoos and their ilk enjoy. Their problem is that they have contributed nothing towards these gifts, but instead regard them as an inalienable right.
Prince Philip and all the rest of the armed services, including his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was torpedoed and lost half his crew, simply believed in duty and country. As did his wife who, together with her sister, helped ferry machinery from factory to port. All of them joined with the nation’s people and of course, Her Majesty’s then Empire now Commonwealth and prepared, however reluctantly, to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep Freedom a reality rather than a concept. It was a generation who didn’t get counselling but were sent back to finish the job, every month for over 75 months. Prince Philip later gave up a career in the Royal Navy, a job at which he was very good, to support his wife in her enormous task, which was to help get a country back on its feet after WWII and, don’t forget, the Korean War. Never mind the lives lost and injuries suffered. The land wasted and livelihoods shattered. The houses disappeared the infrastructure crumbled. These hateful people do not remember that the UK only finished paying our war debt in 2006; or that even children had ration books until 1952. These busy little extremists, trolls and “e-warriors” do not deal with inconvenient truths or need to understand history. Prince Philip on the other hand, never forgot and never failed to thank every serviceman and fireman and nurse and anyone else who tried to help and serve their country.
I can’t type one fingered any more on the ‘phone, so no explanations today for the races, until the system, data links, downloads etc are fixed properly – but for the last day of The Grand National meeting, this is my thinking:
13:45 HOMETOWN BOY e/w – CORRIBEN RIVER e/w
14:25 MY DROGO Win – DREAL DEAL 1pt rfc
15:00 SHISKIN Win – No bet 1/8 on. Just enjoy. If you must, then bet w/o The Fav and go FUNAMBULE SIVOLA.
15:35 PAISLEY PARK & ROKSANA dutched
16:15 HOLD THE NOTE & SNOW LEOPARDESS both e/w
17:15 THE GRAND NATIONAL
At 11:30 am, the best book had a 126% over-round! Please check out [a] The Special Offers for new accounts [b] use Oddschecker or Easyodds to compare the majors’ prices AND their odds for a place.
A Trends shortlist of ACAPELLA BOURGEOIS – MISTER MALARKEY – ANY SECOND NOW – CLASS CONTI – CLOTH CAP – CANELO – MINELLA TIMES
If he suffers no bad luck, it is hard to see things going wrong for CLOTH CAP. I am a little less enthused by his jockey booking. I’m backing ANY SECOND NOW and CANELO from the trends shortlist and TAKINGRISKS and MAGIC OF LIGHT on capability. All e/w.
18:20 MOT A MOT e/w – PEKING ROSE e/w – WORLD OF DREAMS e/w