(1348) Afternoon all. Jazz coming up about 1500. (1413)

 

10. Moo corner

9. Forgive me for swearing in a minute

… but there’s no more effective way. We’re utterly fatigued with being f-ed about by all these arrogant, disdainful clowns. FAFO:

The two main topics just now, by the way, which have attracted countless comments, are Mueller and Cadbury.

8. Liverpool Echo has an interesting one

|https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/15-year-mystery-vanishing-liverpool-33631211

It was a Disney cruise remember, youngish girl, this was an interesting paragraph:

Rebecca’s parents Mike and Ann claimed their beloved daughter was murdered, believing she was thrown overboard after being sexually assaulted. But, Disney insisted she was swept overboard by a freak wave and vanished at sea and the alarm was raised a few hours later when she failed to turn up for work. The family settled a lawsuit with Disney out of court in 2016.

7. IYE mentioned

CK’s mentor dead:

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/pickleball/pickleball-tragedy-charlie-kirks-mentor-dies-after-fall-article-153889077

I posted on X, bringing in a couple of random points:

6. Torquaymada wrote, at 1330

Coffee break read…

https://restoremag.com/you-cannot-govern-through-purchase-orders/

Andy responded:

What this means is that we have, have had and always will have a government incapable of governing.

 

This is a feature length version of Van der Valk. Just signalling to y’all that I’ll now get some brunch going, plus Sunday lunch set up. If you’re looking for some Sunday watching or listening, don’t forget the Paul Temple Gilbert Affair at UHC-WP. Cunning plan is to get back to the politics after this, then jazz … am gradually gathering snippets, kicking off with Torquaymada. But first brunch.

My “sort of review” of this episode is below the video.

Some comments on this episode and the series:

The making of a series in a continental setting reminds me of the Gambon Maigret, usually compared to the early Davies series. I also watched the Cremer in French. To my mind, the Gambon Maigret stood up well, even though it was less popular … I don’t fully understand which reason put Brit audiences off, if at all … not filmed in Paris but in Budapest, it was quite British in outlook, though it followed the Simenon books.

The cast was first rate, esp. Geoffrey Hutchings as Lucas, so what was the issue? Not exotic enough? Not authentic? With the Van der Valk, Barry Foster did well but he was hardly Dutch, naturally, the cast was right up there, esp. in this episode above. Some call it drawn out … maybe … the real baddy OTT for mine … the children’s rhyme was ok to use, there were some nice establishment shots.

Afterthoughts at 44 mins and at the end:

The print is too dark but ho hum. The plot … two plots mixed in, main and sub, both good, the theme of adopted daughter dear (Van der Valk’s), with her own daughter, hubby away on biz … the really crotchetty mother, quite offputting mother actually, VderV telling daughter we learn from out chn about life … all good, ties in with what I know is coming about nadty chn’s rhymes and how chn are not lovable darlings in the least … they just look sweet, plus the blood tie is strong.

Apart from daughter dear, the women in this episode are not nice people. The men? A mixed bunch.

Last thoughts … much better than I remember, the episode, except for the dark screen. Another theme was mother daughter aggravation, revolving around Hoffman’s children’s story of 1848, ultraviolent for children in those days. The grandmother had already muscled in on the daughter’s bringing up of the g’daughter and the daughter-mother had gone off at the g’mother.

Turns out it was related to the mainplot … it helped VderV solve the case. /END.

 

Two issues here … the iffy uses of ML (AI) in itself, see video … but also this Sunday, there’s an issue of dearth of news and even features at this stage. Rather than force items of less interest, better to run with what we have … so another detec-drama soon.

 

(0731 or 06321 +1) I just wrote on X:

The reply was swift, plus my reply to that:

 

 

5. Theatre? Yes … but important theatre

Some of us can’t see beyond our local politics but those local politics are very much affected by global matters, even if organically, not through treaties per se. We do need to watch the overview through the corners of the eyes.

The left in Japan organised demonstrations of thousands with pre-made placards against her “kowtowing” to Trump and America. Her constant polite bows can be misconstrued. Karoline Leavitt:

Then also:

4. Steve at 1329

• Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles at UK-US Base of Diego Garcia Mere Hours After PM Starmer Authorizes the Use of British Airbases for American Strikes on the Mullahs’ Regime
• Iranian-German actress Elnaaz Norouzi says US President Donald Trump “Kept His Word” and is “Saving the World”
• Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Arrested Christian Street Preacher
• The Battle for Hungary: Brussels, Kyiv, and the West Are Gunning for Orbán
• Iran Attacked American-British Bomber Base 4,000 Kilometers Away In Indian Ocean With Missiles
• Sleep deprivation damages your gut lining, which contributes to metabolic and cardiovascular disease
• Radical’ Biden Judge Reverses RFK Jr. On Trans-Child Surgeries, Other Procedures
• Governments attempting to control “hate” is a hallmark of totalitarian regimes
• Much more.

3. There’s one decade of popular music I avoided

… and because of that, this charts quiz almost always catches me out … I’m ok on the 70s or 90s until about 1997.

2. DAD at 1329

a) A few days ago I posted a video that postulated big problems for UAE(?) because they are depleting their groundwater. Iran has the same problem.

b) Another video – more problems for Moo Slem countries – not groundwater this time.

1. Quick glance down the news

The major story is Mueller’s death and Donny’s “ungracious” comment yesterday. The Lydia girl featured yesterday, goodheart, dead against full term abortion (agreed), nevertheless said there was no call to say hurty things to Mueller.

Sorry, Lydia … look at this please:

(1909) Evening all, ran out of time, not a lot new, there were some repeat items.

 

20. Political twofer in passing

… don’t forget NOWP too.

19. Moo corner

18. Was going to wait until tomorrow

… but started listening to this yesterday and could not stop … they did have a way of getting listeners in. Imho, one of the best episodes, though almost all were fine.

17. On the topic of youtubes

… I’ve been gathering material to post, there was a VderV went up today, here was the timeline:

Those yellow squares are in each case double ads. Truly stinks.

16. Anthems for couples

The picture reminded me of our anthem, sung by Dolly and Kenny, back in the 80s.

(1443) Afternoon all. (1454)

 

15. And so it begins

14. Implications

13. Call the church police

12. I want one

11. One hopes it might be so

 

Mixed feelings about this episode, as did quite a few reviewers/commenters. I always felt that Barry Foster and fellow cast to be OTT in the reactions, gestures anyway and in this one, they made the new character, his son the special policeman, into a right prat … particularly when an old lady is brought down a ladder at a burning building and he starts yelling up at them, then she’s lying on the ground, a mess, and he wants to interview her. Whaa?

There was another episode where VderV is playing piano front and square … whereas he’s not, and it’s annoying. It’s a case of how much do such incidents annoy … enough to stop us watching? Yet if one does keep watching, it seems to redeem itself and there’s some good acting, good plot development. A mixed bag, I keep thinking.

Well well well … turned out not bad, I’d forgotten. Corrupt politician, married, cheating with gay lover … anyone we know? Wife falls for young man. Uh huh. 7.5/10.

(1017)(1105)

 

10. Moo corner

9. IYE corner

Saturday 1 to 5 has two IYE’s I was ready to run here … until going through them. Gaza was Philistia for so long, not Edom nor other similar. Sea people origin. Urls are still in place, just as War Room is over at NOWP.

8. The humble hoody

Horses for courses of course in outerwear … I had a range in each country I was in … very quickly adopted the sort of wear the natives did … once back here, the most effective flu-preventive device I ever bought two of was:

Zipped jackets are ok but not as good imho as the three button “polo type” with hood, have one on right now.

7. Meningitis B

6. Steve corner

I’m chuffed, I called this over a month ago – matching weapons platforms to target types fell within the scope of my job as a combined-arms forward observer: mortars, artillery, naval gunfire and close-air support. Here’s General Dan “Razen” Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff speaking yesterday (cued up):

Sec. Hegseth, Gen. Caine reveal latest on Iran operations | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjAqeLg_jao&t=792s

More on those A-10’s..

Hunt and Kill’: US deploys attack aircraft to confront Iranian boats | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmUe3mLCqVs&t=7s

A second Marine Expeditionary Unit is on it’s way to the Gulf – the 11th MEU is onboard the amphibious warship USS Boxer (LHD-4). Methinks they will join the 31st MEU in theatre to take out the enemy, circled below:

|https://21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ALMA-Research-and-Education-Center.jpg

 

I’ve never been just pro male, never been just pro female … it’s always been male plus female together, finding a path, a way forward, both today needing to pull their big heads in and find that path forward. Even as a sigma.