Happy Days Are Here Again

We finally made it to John Lewis. I’ve never been so tired in my entire born life. The government very helpfully instituted a lockdown the day before our stock was being delivered, but we decided to go for it anyway, half a loaf always being better than none. It was a really weird week – on the Sunday, there were over a hundred in the queue when the store opened, which was mental. Monday was quieter but it picked up as the week went on, then we had to pack up on Wednesday. Can I just say how marvellous all the people at JLP were? From the guys in the loading bay, to the admin staff, the merchandisers, the team members on the 3rd floor- they were terrific. I was gutted for them when job losses were announced this week – 2500 people! Please shop online with them if you’re a fan of JLP; let’s try and save those jobs and high street jobs if we can. It’s the best experience so far, and it’s only now that I realise how stressful it was sorting out spaces at fairs etc, not that I’m dissing them. There’s just clear blue water between both experiences. The people at GBEx who arranged it are doing a wonderful job, getting us new brands out there; a big thank you to them also. Even better, we’ve been invited back post-lockdown, so watch this space. Christmas is ON!, and thanks to all of you who’ve ordered online. Most of all, thanks to my intrepid friend Tayo who took a week off and travelled from London to wo(man) the pop-up. I don’t even know how to express my gratitude – you’re an absolute star.

Left JLP on Wednesday, back to lockdown on the high street on Thursday to find a huge increase in my workload. Then followed the kerfuffle of the USA elections which is just ridiculous. The media bias on display was staggering, I guess the gloves are definitely off now. I’m no prospective republican and I would certainly never vote for Donald Trump. Unless of course, my only other choice is a 77-year old man who is clearly suffering from dementia. I might consider it then, but I suspect that even then I’d vote for someone else, not The Donald. What I am is a veteran of many, many dodgy African elections, and I know electoral malfeasance when I see it. We now need observers from Africa to oversee western elections 🙂 This one was a doozy – from the dumped votes found in garbage to the mysterious halt in counting before 100,000 votes were found behind the sofa, all of them for the losing candidate, to the software ‘glitches’ – you’d need a heart of stone not to laugh. Unfortunately, the joke is on us. Meanwhile, you have the media asking Donald Trump to prove the fraud before the count is over. I believe there is a group of people for that – they’re called law enforcement; the police and the FBI. JFK died in 1963 and there are still doubts about how he was assasinated, for crying out loud. Then you have the strident declaration that Biden is the 46th Prez-elect – er, he really isn’t. Not till the Electoral College reports back in 5 weeks’ time. If you doubt it, I refer you to Bush vs Gore in 2000; who could forget the hanging chads?

It’s great psychology though – shout it out loud and often enough, and hope your opponent throws in the towel. It’s an attempt at declarative utterance but it won’t hold this time. As the saying goes, a lie goes round the world twice before the truth has even got its shoes on. Just because the man is an obnoxious vulgarian, it doesn’t mean that I’d like to see him replaced by a fraudster. The bit that amazes me (apart from the possibility that a mind-boggling 75 million people voted for a man who through no fault of his own, is unwell) is how little thought the TDS sufferers are giving this. They hate Trump so much that they are willing to embrace a liar and a cheat as their president if it turns out the democrats have been cooking the books. A man who would steal and cheat his way to the office of president is unlikely to give two hoots about the electorate; that is the problem right there. If Biden has won fair and square, congratulations to him for a battle well-fought, and fair winds and sunshine for the next 4 years. Well, one year anyway, before they declare him unfit for office and the real president, Kamala Harris steps into his shoes as planned. If they have defrauded the voters, they should all be in jail. My prediction? Believe it or not, Donald Trump is destined to be the 46th president of the US. So here is the new boss, same as the old boss. God help us all 🙂 Have a wonderful week, once you’ve recovered from choking on your dinner. AlaraApothecary: we call it as we see it 🙂