Cheers and Jeers 11: Cats and crocs

 

It's been another interesting and eventful week.

Cheers to Bhavin Dedhia, Anne Blake-Coggins and Nicole Hawkins after their respective council by-election wins this week. Two gains and a hold are testament to some fantastic local compaigning.

Cheers for Stevo Pendraovski, the President of North Macedonia, who walked 11-year-old Embla Ademi to school after she had been bullied for living with Down's Syndrome. The President held her hand and talked with her parents about the challenges she faced. It was a terrific gesture that helped to strip away the stigma and raise awareness.

Cheers to Tottenham Hotspur, who have asked fans to "move on" from using "the Y-word" this week. I'm particularly impressed by how they've gone about dealing with the issue of anti-Semitism, working with supporters' groups, providing information and involving fans in their decision. Most fans seem very supportive. 

Double cheers to former John Major, who criticised the current Prime Minister as responsible for a corrision of public trust in politics and condemned the Nationality and Borders Bill as "inhumane and un-British". 

On Johnson, Major said: '[He] broke lockdown laws, appears to believe rules do not apply to him and is creating an atmosphere of mistrust in politics that threatens the long-term democratic future of the UK... Too often, Ministers have been evasive, and the truth has been optional.'. Ouch! On the dreadful Nationality and Borders legislation, Major urged Conservative MPs to "search [their] souls": "Can it really be a crime to be frightened, homeless, desperate, destitute? Fleeing from persecution or war or famine or hardship?" he asked.

Cheers to Somerset Cricket Club for building a "home" for one of their most famous fans, Brian the cat. 

Cheers also to the footballers from Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan Athletic, who caught and took care of Topsey, a cat who had been missing for seven months and invaded the pitch during a midweek match. Topsey is now united with her owner and has received urgent medical treatment. 

Cheers to Tili, a bird catcher from Indonesia, who successfully removed a tyre from a crocodile's neck. The crocodile had become ensnared in the motorbike tyre six years ago but, thanks to Tili's empathy and bravery, has been finally freed from it.

Jeers for West Ham United's Kurt Zouma, who seemed to think that kicking a cat and slapping it in the face not only constittued acceptable behaviour but provided legitimate content for a supposedly amusing TikTok video. 

Jeers to the mob who surrounded Keir Starmer outside Parliament, calling him a "paedophile" and a traitor" in the aftermath of Boris Johnson's dishonest Jimmy Savile related smear.

Jeers also for the Prime Minister who has refused to apologise for the misleading and incendiary remarks. 

Jeers for Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke, who blamed Dover queues on “Brussels bureaucracy” and EU “red tape”. It really is amazing that, rather than take ownership of the realities of Brexit, these people regurgitate the same tired clichés they've used for years. 

Tears for author and former University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne, who has died aged 87.