Puppy Love...........

Just Finished Reading: Belle – The True Story of Dido Belle by Paula Byrne (FP: 2014)

Without a doubt Dido Belle (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the 2013 movie) lived a very strange life – indeed and incredibly lucky one too. Born in the second half of the 18th century in England she grew into a seemingly confident, well educated, financially secure woman who was, at least on occasion, the talk of the country’s social elite. Not too surprising you might think – until you discover that not only was Belle black but was actually the illegitimate daughter of a liaison between a decorated ship’s captain and a captured slave. Technically, and legally, Belle herself was born a slave and yet managed to avoid everything that went along with that most cruel of positions. Her father, Sir John Lindsay, had other ideas for his daughter. Not only did he officially recognise her (an untypical reaction in itself) he left her in the hands of a wealthy and positioned relative – Lord Mansfield, later Lord Chief Justice of England. Probably originally conceived as a companion for their adopted niece (the Mansfield’s were childless) Dido Belle became a part of the family and received an education similar to the most educated women in the land. Mansfield’s enemies (of whom he had many) thought him bewitched by this dark beauty – for beautiful she turned out – but he seems to have given such mutterings little thought and dotted on both of his young wards. Yet these were turbulent times – especially as slavery was still very much a reality for millions of men, women and children not as lucky in their fates as Dido Belle. Her story was, in a very real way, the mirror image of their story.

I bought two copies of this book when it came out in paperback. One for me (naturally) and one for my friend who had seen the movie not long before (something I am yet to do). After reading it she pronounced her disappointment with it that, until now, had put me off reading further. Firstly I must say that I can see why she found this book so unsatisfying. Although it purports to be the true story of Belle herself it really is nothing of the sort. What it does read like is a research project that started with the best of intentions but then, because of lack of documentary evidence, crashed and burned – but the author wrote the book anyway! Yet that is not to say that the resultant volume is bad or in any way poorly written – it isn’t. But the book is not about an individual who, through an accidental act of fate got incredibly lucky. The story the book tells is actually rather more interesting than that. The story it tells is one of the darkest periods in human history when, purely for the pursuit of profit, human beings were trafficked from one side of the Atlantic to the other and sold into slavery – by the million. Casting her light on the institution itself and those responsible for it – and those increasingly opposed to it – the author tries (with some limited success) to illuminate Belle’s life with reflected light rather than direct visualisation. The documentary evidence is thin indeed and much of the book is informed speculation rather than hard fact. Indeed the author says that the film goes well beyond her educated speculation into the grey area between complete fabrication (I am exaggerating somewhat here) and artistic licence.

As a biography, despite being billed as such, it is a failure. But as a history of the beginnings of the global abolition of the slave trade it gives an interesting insight into the culture and thought patterns of both the pro and anti-slavery camps. Much more on this subject to come. Reasonable.

Cartoon Time.

Just Finished Reading: In the Heart of the Sea – The Epic True Story that Inspired Moby Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick (FP: 2000)

There is nothing worse that sailing on a ship or with a Captain who is bad luck – except possibly for both at once. This, it seemed, was the fate of the famous whaling ship Essex ‘stove in by a whale’ in the deep Pacific on November 20, 1820. It all started rather badly with a green crew (by and large) and a somewhat over confident young captain out to prove himself. Trying to outrun a nasty squall the ship almost foundered mere days after leaving Nantucket. Putting into the Azores for repairs they decided to move on with reduced whaling boats confident that they still had enough to do the job ahead of them. But this was the age where whales in the Atlantic where scarcely sighted and the voyage was extended in range in the hope of filling their holds with the precious oil. With the hold less than a third full they decided to round Cape Horn and enter the Pacific praying that the largely untouched hunting grounds lived up to their reputation. At first everything seemed to be as they hoped and the number of whales seemed to be without count. As usual they were mainly females and their young calves but within each heard was a male known for their ferocity in defending what was his. But they had never seen or heard of anything quite like this. During the hunt, with several females already harpooned, the boat skippered by Owen Chase (played by Chris Hemsworth in one of my favourite movies of 2015) is savagely struck and damaged by a male bull and is forced to retire back to the Essex. Whilst hastily repairing his boat Chase notices that the bull has followed them back and is acting strangely close by. Suddenly the massive off-white creature begins to move towards the ship gathering speed as it does so – apparently intending to ram the Essex. Moments later the impact throws everyone on board off their feet. Only yards away the apparently stunned whale recovers its senses and slowly swims off. Checking the hull Chase is aghast to see that some serious damage has been caused as water is entering the hold. Not quite in danger yet Chase orders pumps and the start of repairs when the ship is hit again and mortally wounded. Already starting to list Captain Pollard (played by Benjamin Walker in the movie) in the other whale boat sees the trouble and returns to a scene of unbelievable carnage. Thousands of miles from land, with three boats and few supplies the officers and crew must decide how best to get home. Unfortunately their first decision, to sail for the coast of Chile rather than Tahiti, was a fatal mistake for most of the crew.

I can honestly say that I was completely entranced by the movie version of this book and thought it was one of the two best films I saw in 2015 – the other being Bridge of Spies. Just like this fascinating short history of those events it worked on multiple levels simultaneously – as the real events behind the American classic Moby Dick, as a tale of daring and adventure on the high seas, as an insight into one of the great industries of the 19th century on the edge of radical decline and as a tale of great fortitude (and incredible navigational skills) that became the talk of the age. The reality was, interesting enough, quite different in many ways from the movie which was rather more sensationalist that this work of history. Most of the elements are there but somewhat enhanced or ‘sexed up’ as if any greater drama needed to be added. What I found particularly interesting however was that the attack (and destruction) of the Essex by a whale was not the only such incident recorded just the most famous. It seemed that near the end of the industry that the supply chain had actually started fighting back! Fascinating from many points of view this book is a must read for anyone interested in 19th century industry, whaling in the age of sail, readers of Moby Dick or for those who saw the film and simply wanted to know more. Recommended.    

Cartoon Time.

Bosses 'do not deserve bumper pay packets', study finds.

From The BBC

28th December 2016

The link between what bosses are paid and a company's financial performance is "negligible", new research finds. The median pay for chief executives at Britain's 350 biggest companies was £1.9m in 2014 - a rise of 82% in 11 years - the study by Lancaster University Management School found. However, performance as measured by return on capital invested was less than 1% during that period. The report's authors said the findings suggested a "material disconnect". The study, commissioned by the investment association CFA UK, said the increase in executive remuneration was largely driven by performance-based pay.

It also said the metrics typically used to gauge company performance, such as total shareholder return and earnings per share growth, were too short termist. The research suggested the need for "a more refined discussion about the type of performance measures employed" rather than remuneration levels and performance-related pay arrangements alone. Will Goodhart, head of CFA UK, said: "Too few of today's popular approaches genuinely align senior executives' pay with the economic value that they create." Chief executives of companies in the health care sector were the best paid, on an average of £2.9m, with those in the "basic materials" and oil and gas sectors on £2.2m, and telecommunications at £2.1m. Bosses in the lowest-paid sectors included technology on £1.3m and industrials (£1.1m), which the authors said were "hardly trivial amounts but significantly lower nonetheless". The study comes after government outlined its plans to make companies justify high levels of executive pay in November.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted to stop an "irresponsible minority" of companies acting badly and ensure "everybody plays by the same rules". Among the measures under consideration are pay ratios, which would show the gap in earnings between the chief executive and an average employee. Shareholders would also be handed more powers to vote against bosses' pay - although an earlier proposal to force companies to put workers on boards was dropped. According to a recent study by Vlerick Business School, UK executive pay is the most generous in Europe. Chief executives are paid on average 50% more than in Germany, the next best-paying country.

However, shareholders are increasingly hitting out at excessive pay, with investors in BP, Smith & Nephew and Anglo American all voting against deals this year. Helena Morrissey, chair of Newton Investment Management who was guest editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday, said lessons from the financial crisis had not been learned. "Despite acknowledging that group-think played a big role in causing the financial crisis, many of those at the top seem to have either been oblivious or dismissive of the risks of the widening gulf," she said. "Executive pay has kept on rising, and leaders have behaved as if it were business as usual." Mrs Morrissey added that the votes for Brexit and President-elect Donald Trump could not be dismissed as populism, and that too many business and political leaders operated in "a narrow comfort zone". The Brexit supporter described her "public humiliation" at one meeting after the referendum where she was accused by a colleague of ruining the economy for the next decade: "I was regarded as something of a heretic. The system doesn't encourage people to challenge."

[This sort of thing disgusts me at a visceral level. The people at the bottom have been ripped off and exploited for, well, ever, and it goes on and on. There is some talk, when it gets particularly obvious, of tinkering around the edges of things but, as usual and as we should all know by now, even if something does get done it’s either purely cosmetic or avoided or neutered in no time at all and the exploitation goes on after hitting a minor bump in the road. Honestly, it makes me too angry to think straight.]

Just Finished Reading: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (FP: 2012)

Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck in the 2014 movie) has no idea what is going on. Finding his front door open and his wife missing, he naturally calls the police. But what they discover is even more confusing, for both Nick and the investigating officers. There is sign of a struggle that seems a little too perfect and there is blood in the kitchen that someone has rather clumsily attempted to clean up. But who would have the motive to hurt his beautiful wife Amy (played brilliantly by Rosamund Pike) and why is Nick acting so strangely unconcerned, even light hearted about it all? Did he has something to do with Amy’s disappearance or was it her former lover or creepy wannabe ex-school friend. As the police focus more and more of their attention on Nick and his possible motives for killing his wife Nick must unravel a whole host of clues before the police do so – clues that seem to be all part of an elaborate scheme to trap him in a web of lies and manufactured grievances designed by Amy herself. So has Amy been abducted or has she been killed? Or is she alive somewhere manipulating events from afar to make Nick suffer? But suffer for what and is Nick smart enough to finally out think Amazing Amy?

I saw this on DVD (having missing it at the movies) long before I read the book. It honestly blew me away with its cleverness and its totally surprising brutality – I’m not particularly easily shocked but the film did shock me. The book – somewhat less so. For one thing the movie and the book are very close. Some of the scenes alluded to in the book are brought out graphically in the film but much of it made it straight from the page to the big screen. This could of course make reading the book rather boring – it didn’t. For one thing there’s a great deal more background in the book both from Nick’s and Amy’s point of view. I liked the fact that the book allowed the reader to get inside both character’s heads. Films can only do so much and they have a limited time to play with – editing here is crucial if you want to keep the plot concise and focused. In a book you can cover much more ground and go into much more detail. This is one reason why I like reading a book after watching the film. If I see a film I particularly enjoy I inevitably want to know more – reading the book often gives me that opportunity.

Although the novel didn’t have the same impact as seeing the film I still enjoyed it a great deal Both main characters are very well drawn though neither is really likable to any degree. Amy is actually a very scary person who I doubt any of us would want to be involved with in real life. But what I liked, really liked, about the novel is just how so damned clever it was. It was very well plotted, had excellent pacing and managed to contain many telling criticisms of modern society and modern relationships. This is a highly intelligent book for intelligent readers and if you make the effort to dig below the surface story you’ll derive a lot from it – and not just by trying to work out exactly what’s going on. Highly recommended – but be warned: This book contains disturbing scenes, disturbing ideas and a LOT of swearing. Not for the easily offended!  

Cartoon Time.

Welcome to the annual Love & Relationships Month here @ SaLT! Be prepared for the usual ups and down of relationships in some of their many, many flavours. It'll be fun - honest.......

Just Finished Reading: Wild – A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed (FP: 2012)

It all started with bad news, very bad news. The Mother she doted on was dying of cancer and 26 year old Cheryl (played by Reese Witherspoon in the 2014 movie adaptation) didn’t know what to do. Without her mother to ground her, to keep her centred, she had nothing to stop her flying in all directions at once. Within months she was divorcing a husband she loved, sleeping with any man who would buy her a drink in the bars she frequented and taking drugs to make the fear and loneliness go away for a few hours. She was indeed lost. Until, on impulse, almost by accident, she picked up a guide to the Pacific Crest Trail, and made the crazy decision to walk over 1100 miles up the West Coast of America – on her own. For seven months she planned, saved and organised the trip with way points, packages to pick up, and advice from the stores where she bought her equipment. Finally the day arrived to set off on her journey of a life time. In her motel room at the beginning of the trail she packed everything into her backpack and only then discovered that she couldn’t pick it up, she just didn’t have the strength.

With gritted determination she started her trek weighted down by useless items, few navigational skills and, the final indignity, boots a size too small. Cheryl found very quickly that what little preparation she’d put into the trip was nowhere near enough but she couldn’t back out now. She had to go on, no matter what it cost her in lost body fat, hardened skin, strained back muscles and lost toenails. Slowly, over weeks of hard graft, her body became tougher, she learnt skills that she never thought to have needed and met some wonderful people along the way who both lightened her backpack to more a manageable size and, eventually, lightened her soul too.

This was a totally impulsive buy at my local supermarket because it looked ‘different’. It was certainly that! As a biography this was a warts and all account of a young woman adrift in the world with no clear idea of who or what she was. It is also the tale of a woman with an incredible amount of grit and determination who, apparently, amazed everyone she met with her simple ‘can do’ attitude. Just like the Pacific Crest Trail itself this narrative was occasionally hard going – especially at the beginning when describing her mother’s illness and ultimate death – but there was also a fair amount of humour, anxiety, wonder and beauty too. It was essentially an interesting tale rather well told. Not exactly as ‘inspiring’ as the reviewers would have you believe – at least not to me – this is still worth a read especially if you have ever considered doing something as crazy as Cheryl evidently did. Just one (or two) piece(s) of advice: Do your research, do some prep before you go and for god’s sake make sure that you have the right sized boots on!  

"The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people's fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That's why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration - and a very effective form of promotion."

Donald Trump: The Art of the Deal, 1987.

Cartoon Time (with a familiar ring to it).

Don’t Blame me – I told you this would happen………

Typhoo Tea: Cost of a cuppa to go up.

For chief executive Somnath Saha, the economics of tea are simple and brutal. Typhoo Tea produces 125 million tea bags a week at its factory in Moreton, Wirral, which have just one ingredient - tea leaves, and they are imported. Black tea is a global commodity, traded in dollars. Following the fall in sterling since the Brexit vote, costs have soared for this renowned brand as 95% of its sales are in the UK. "This is an absolute disaster for a company the size of ours," says Mr Saha. "The very sharp fall in the pound means the impact is at least a quarter of a million pounds a month for us. This is having a very negative impact on our business and we are really suffering. It's now come to a point where it's not sustainable for us." There are plenty of winners from the fall in the value of sterling. But Typhoo Tea is a graphic illustration of what it's like for a business with one raw imported material. Typhoo has been trading for more than a century. These days, most of its black tea comes from Kenya. It's then blended and packaged on site. The company also packages own-label tea for most of the major supermarkets. In addition, it produces a range of herbal teas and those ingredients are sourced in euros. It's a high-volume, low-margin business. The cost of the ingredient depends on the quality of the leaf. A typical 80kg bag of black tea could be bought for £90 to £100 at the beginning of the year. The company says that same bag now costs £120 to £150 at the weekly international auctions. In other words, it is paying an awful lot more for the same amount of tea.

Morrisons raises Marmite price by 12.5%.

The Grocer magazine reported that the firm is charging £2.64 for a 250g jar. It is the first supermarket to raise the price of Marmite since the recent dispute between Tesco and manufacturer Unilever over the effect of the falling pound on production costs. A Morrisons spokesman said: "Sometimes we have to increase prices as a result of costs rising." Unilever has raised the wholesale price of many household products, including PG Tips tea and Pot Noodles, because falls in the value of sterling have increased the cost of products made outside the UK. The pound has lost nearly a fifth of its value since the UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June. It is the world's worst-performing currency on the global money markets this year. This makes imported goods more expensive because they continue to cost the same in dollars or euros, but the price is higher when converted into sterling.

Apple raises computer prices in UK.

On Thursday, the company unveiled new Macbook Pro laptops, with prices similar to the US after currency conversion and addition of UK VAT. But the company also increased the prices of its older computer products, including the three-year-old Mac Pro, by hundreds of pounds. One analyst said consumers should expect further price increases. "Apple has to recalibrate prices after significant currency fluctuations, and since the EU referendum, UK prices are out of sync with the dollar," said Patrick O'Brien, analyst at the Verdict Retail consultancy. "Apple has taken the hit up until now. While price increases won't look good to the consumer, it's difficult to blame Apple. Once you strip out UK sales tax (VAT) and the currency conversion, the new UK prices could still be viewed as fair."

Nissan talks were open and honest, says Downing Street.

There was "no deal, no compensation package, nothing about tariffs", a No 10 spokesman said. The Times reported that ministers had given a "last-minute written promise" to protect Nissan from the consequences of Brexit to keep investment in the UK. Labour has said the government should say what was promised. Business Secretary Greg Clark is to be questioned on the subject by MPs. Nissan announced on Thursday that it would build two new models at its Sunderland plant following talks with the government, securing 7,000 jobs. The Japanese company's commitment to the UK's biggest car factory had been in doubt following the referendum decision to leave the European Union. Downing Street has been asked to confirm the Times report that a written promise was made to protect the company from any consequences of Brexit, such as possible increased trade tariffs. The prime minister's spokesman said there had been "numerous discussions" between Nissan and the government. Pressed on whether a letter had been written to the company, he said there were "all forms of communication between Nissan and the government at various levels" and that it would get the "best deal" for all industry when the UK leaves the EU, which is expected to happen in 2019. But Conservative MP and former business minister Anna Soubry said that "something has been put into this, effectively a sweetening of a deal, to keep Nissan in our country".

Greg Clark stands by refusal to publish Nissan letter.

The business secretary says he will not publish his letter to Nissan because it contains sensitive commercial details. Greg Clark told MPs companies had to be confident their plans would not be shared with their competitors. Nissan has said two new car ranges will be built in Sunderland, saving thousands of jobs, after "support and assurances" from the government about the UK's future outside the EU. Labour attacked the "backroom deals" and demanded the letter's release. The building of the Qashqai and the X-Trail SUV in Sunderland had been in doubt following the Brexit vote. In a Commons statement, Mr Clark repeated that he had assured Nissan the UK would be seeking trade that was "free and unencumbered by impediments" for the motor industry after Brexit. He said the carmaker's announcement was a "massive win" for 7,500 direct workers and the wider supply chain, adding: "It is hard to think of more unambiguously good news." Labour's shadow business secretary Clive Lewis welcomed the investment, but said MPs and the government were being kept in the dark on the deal - and the government's post-Brexit plans - despite Mr Clark revealing "tantalising details" in a BBC interview the previous day. "Are we really to believe that Nissan are risking millions of pounds of investment and the success of its newest models on the basis of the government's intentions alone?" Mr Lewis asked.

All details above from BBC News website.

[As the PM travels the world hoping to drum up future trade deals and Parliament gets ready for the big debate followed by the big vote – causing Labour MP’s to desert theirs posts because of Corbyn’s 3 line whip – it’s all getting very interesting again. By the looks of it we’re heading towards a ‘Hard’ Brexit (which thinking about it was bloody obvious from day one) which will mean greater than expected economic upheaval and a goodly number of jobs going to the Continent – led by the financial institutions. All very predictable and all very, very unnecessary.]

Just Finished Reading: Fail-Safe by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler (FP: 1962)

It started with a UFO. Watched on the NORAD radar screens it steadily approached US airspace and then, inexplicably, disappeared. Following procedure, just like hundreds of times before, high speed interceptors raced to investigate whilst nuclear armed bombers lifted off from airfields across the country and moved to their fail-safe points. It was a matter of pure routine. Nothing to get anxious about. Just another day at the office. Then, quite suddenly, it wasn’t. One group of six bombers reached their fail-safe point and then, seemingly without any good reason, went beyond that imaginary point in space and continued on, towards their designated target deep inside the Soviet Union. Alarms rang, circuits were tested and tested again. Finally, after minutes of frantic activity a phone was lifted and an Airforce General, deep in the Cheyenne Mountain complex spoke to the US President (played by Henry Fonda in the 1964 movie adaptation). The unthinkable had apparently happened. A fool proof system with safe guard built upon redundancy, a technological marvel had failed and had, by a million to one accident, launched a strike against the Soviets that would in all likelihood result in a massive retaliatory strike against the US and the end of the world. After attempts to stop the planes fail there is only one option left – to help the Russians shoot down their own planes! But what if their training is enough to surmount even this unexpected hurdle? What happens if the bombers, even one of them, gets through to its intended target – Moscow?

This is, hard to imagine I know, yet another book that has been collecting dust on my shelves for years (although not as far back as its print date of 1965). I don’t know when I would’ve read it if it wasn’t for the books into movies set I’m working through right now. After all this time I wasn’t expecting too much from this Cold War thriller so I was doubly surprised at just how gripping the tale was. Told over a compressed period of 10-12 hours between the first radar contact and the final dramatic moments the narrative built its tension inch by inch and turned the screw a little bit more on each page. As the reality began to sink in and the very real possibility of Nuclear War approached each character acted in his own way (there was in effect only a single peripheral female character in the whole book) and struggled, sometimes to breaking point, in their own way. It was, in all senses of the word, a real page turner. I might have seen the movie years ago but I had clearly forgotten much of it so I had no clear idea of what was coming next. Everything seemed so logical, so reasonable and so screwed up that it felt real. It felt real that the world could indeed end because of a blown circuit in a computer buried beneath millions of tons of rock dispassionately dispatching nuclear death to its enemies without a thought to the consequences. This was real, very real, fear and must have terrified people much more aware of the possibility of nuclear holocaust than we are today. Whilst being more than a little dated this still packs quite a punch even after all these years and technological advances. If you want a thick slice of Cold War nuclear paranoia this is definitely the book for you. But be warned, it might give you a few sleepless nights!

Cartoon Time.

I Predict a Problem (or two)

Brexit stance may not be 'crystallised' before Article 50 triggered, says minister.

A Brexit minister has suggested the government's aims in negotiations with the European Union may not be finalised by the time Article 50 is triggered. David Jones told a House of Lords committee the UK's negotiating position may not be "totally crystallised" by next spring. Mr Jones said the government was at an early stage of the process and that thinking was "developing". Theresa May has said Article 50 will be triggered by the end of March 2017. This will put in process formal talks with the EU, which will last for up to two years before Brexit happens. Mr Jones, a minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union, was appearing before the EU Home Affairs sub-committee, which is investigating the security implications of Brexit. He was questioned on what government departments hoped to get out of any eventual agreement with the EU.

Theresa May: We'll still work closely with EU after Brexit.

Theresa May has pledged to continue to "work closely" with the EU after Brexit, as she arrived for her first Brussels summit as prime minister. She said it was important to have a "united European stance" against "Russian aggression" that included "sickening" violence in Syria. European Council President Donald Tusk called the summit a "nest of doves". But French President Francois Hollande warned that if Mrs May pursued a "hard Brexit" negotiations would be hard too. The prime minister was keen to emphasise this when she arrived in Brussels, saying: "I'm here with a clear message. The UK is leaving the EU, but we will continue to play a full role until we leave and we will be a strong and dependable partner after we have left. "It's in the interests of both the UK and the EU that we continue to work closely together, including at this summit." She added: "We must continue that robust and united European stance in the face of Russian aggression." It was "vital" to "put pressure on Russia to stop its appalling atrocities, its sickening atrocities, in Syria", the prime minister said.

David Davis 'in cloud cuckoo land' over EU negotiating stance.

David Davis is in "cloud cuckoo land" if he believes Brexit talks are heavily weighted in favour of the UK, a former Treasury civil servant told the BBC. The Brexit Secretary and other minister should "rein back" "hard and unconstructive" talk, former Treasury civil servant Sir Brian Unwin said. The UK has said it will begin formal talks about exiting the EU by the end of March 2017. But Conservative MP John Redwood said the UK was in a "very strong position". Mr Redwood, who advised Margaret Thatcher on European issues as head of her policy unit, said Sir Brian's comments were a "great pity" as "I'm sure he wishes our country well". Mr Davis told the House of Commons on 10 October: "One of the things that I have discovered in the past few months is that in many areas - not just the City, and not just as regards cars - the balance of negotiating advantage is incredibly heavily stacked our way." Sir Brian, who was a senior civil servant under Labour and Conservative governments - including Margaret Thatcher's, when he helped negotiated the UK's budget rebate - said he felt ministers and civil servants had a "horrific" job ahead. He told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "I saw that Mr Davis the other day was reported to have said that the negotiating odds are unbelievably weighted on our side. Well I think that is utter rubbish, I mean, it really is cloud cuckoo land." He said opinion was "hardening" towards the UK among EU countries: "They do not want the integrity and the future of the European Union to be put at risk by Brexit and in particular they do not want the United Kingdom to emerge with advantages which might encourage other member states to think of leaving." He predicted Theresa May, who is in Brussels for her first EU summit as prime minister, might not get a "terribly cosy" reception from her fellow leaders adding: "I really do think the language which the present government is using needs to be tempered if they are to have a successful negotiation." Sir Brian, who was president of the European Investment Bank, also said he felt it would be "suicidal" were Britain to leave the EIB - which is owned by the 28 EU member states, as its funding had been "enormously important" to UK infrastructure.

Ceta: EU 'not capable' of signing deal says Canadian minister.

A trade deal between the EU and Canada is on the brink of collapse because a Belgian region with a population of just 3.6 million opposes it. An emotional Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland left the talks in Brussels, saying the EU was "not capable" of signing a trade agreement. Belgium, the only country blocking accord, needed consent from the regional parliament of Wallonia. The wide-ranging deal, seven years in the making, was to be signed next week. Speaking outside the seat of the Walloon government, Ms Freeland told reporters: "It seems evident for me and for Canada that the European Union is not now capable of having an international accord even with a country that has values as European as Canada. "She added: "Canada is disappointed, but I think it is impossible." It was unclear whether the EU would keep negotiating with Wallonia in coming days to solve the impasse.

Theresa May 'optimistic' she can get right Brexit deal for UK.

Theresa May has predicted "difficult moments" ahead in Brexit negotiations but said she is optimistic she can get a deal "that is right for the UK". Speaking at a summit in Brussels, she said she felt it could be achieved, despite the continuing deadlock over a landmark EU-Canada trade deal. Mrs May said she had played an active role in discussions and was not "backwards in coming forwards". It is her first EU summit since she became PM following the Brexit vote. At a news conference before meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a working lunch, Mrs May said Britain would be "a confident, outward-looking country". She said she aimed to "cement Britain as a close partner of the EU once we have left", with the country able to control its immigration but trade freely with the EU. She said she would seek a "mature co-operative relationship" with the EU.

All details above from BBC News website.

[It seems like the news regarding Brexit is circling overhead like vultures – lots of promises, lots of warnings and a fair few threats which surprised me a bit since we’re the ones actually leaving the party. Play nice after we leave, or as we leave, or there will be trouble….. That definitely sounds like a government very worried about the reactions of the rest of Europe as we negotiate our way to a very personal economic suicide. I’m guessing that the Supreme Court decision [tomorrow I understand] has already been double guessed by the government – they know they’re going to lose – so they’re going to say that they always had a vote in mind! Where it goes after that… Well, watch this space!]

Cartoon Time.