At the very moment a rather desperate @borisjohnsonuk was failing to deflect attention from Tory sleaze by excitedly saying the words ‘Lord Mandelson’ in the Commons, the said Lord, who sadly is not on social media, was texting me an entry for Tree of the Day. His dog even stopped on his walk to admire it ... you can see why. So a 🥇for PM. Total Fail for the PM (sic) whose corrupt regime is finally beginning to be exposed for what it is - People who think they make rules but don’t have to take them. People who think they are above the laws they make for others. People who think the public money is their money, but don’t treat it as though it is their money. Otherwise they would be a bit more careful with it. The rot starts at the top and happily Johnson’s hopes that he could get all the focus on Cameron are being dashed. Enjoy the tree and Peter enjoy your celebration of a great win for a great tree
Apols here is Leo’s two headed portrait
Meet my three artists from today’s filming for next year Portrait Artist of the Year series, L to R Harriet, Leonardo and Emily ... not telling you which one of the three paintings I picked but I would be interested in your views ... Harriet did the white suit look, Leo the two heads and Emily the small more classical portrait. So hard to choose and I know @celeste and @lydiawestie found it just as hard. The judges have to pick one! Really enjoyable day.
Well this is fun ... with fellow sitters @celeste and @lydiawestie for the Portrait Artist of the Year TV show ... nice way to spend a day. Learning a lot about art ...
Tree of the Day pics 1/2. Runner up the one just to the left of my big toe after doing the @mndassoc #icefoot92 challenge for Lenny Johnrose
For today’s Tree of the Day .... Going for something small, urban and so in tune with its surroundings you would hardly notice it unless you were on the lookout for something a bit different for TotD!
I did wonder about not bothering with the cold water swimming gloves today. After all it is MID-APRIL!!! By the time I got out of the water it was snowing! No post-swim pics available. Despite the excellent gloves (this is NOT a sponsored post!) my fingers were not functioning well by the end!! But there was something magical about swimming with snow flakes falling on the water and melting away ... and I kept up my winter challenge of 2 mins per degree (do not try without building up to it!)
Tree(s) of the Day. Two trees. Inseparable roots. Hampshire. Winner @djcollinsinsta but he is a bit lucky tbh. Went out for a long walk today, saw some amazing trees ... but forgot my phone!! This is a rare event. I cannot remember the last time I was anywhere without a phone. DJ my phonelessness and your joined up roots = 🥇 = a lifetime highlight I am sure !!!
Thanks for all the nice comments and questions yesterday when I read extracts from Irish Diaries. Published by Dublin based Lilliput Press. Link in Bio if you want to know more. Of my 17 books it is one of my faves!!
And here a clip on why the violence in N Ireland is something @borisjohnsonuk and Co have helped to cause and must act to address
';
Francis Maude Associates. How nice ... #sleaze #ffswakeupbritain
Revealed:
PM’s deputy chief of staff Simone Finn retained 35% ownership of company that advises foreign Governments after entering No 10
Clients of Francis Maude Associates include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kazakhstan
She denies conflict of interest
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e6a65a00-9d51-11eb-a908-ec96e110073e?shareToken=462082e00ede7d65efe31564bf51c858
I’ve never seen a psychotic break depicted so incredibly. The acting from Denise Gough is astounding #TooClose
We are seeing the return of Tory sleaze.
Today, MPs can vote to uncover the truth, or they can vote to cover up cronyism.
The choice this Conservative government makes will tell us everything we need to know about them.
