Breathe deeply and think of dolphins

She who must not be named gets her send-off today, but that will only stir up 30 year-old conflicts and bitterness. I am going to take Weaver's advice and stick my head in the sand, even though this will inevitably lead to my exposed arse being kicked, as she has predicted.

People (especially men) are supposed to grow more right-wing as they get older, but - as my 70 year-old Conservative local councillor friend corrected me - in fact, they just become more sensible, which by which I think he meant 'pragmatic'. Sometimes - like him - they become militantly pragmatic, if they don't drop dead through a heart-attack caused by the high blood-pressure that Weaver also warned me about.

Even in my sit-in students days of 1968, I did not think of myself as politically minded, despite all my devout Anarchist mates telling the 16 year-old me that it was impossible to avoid politics. It is pretty easy to avoid Party politics though, especially these days of post New-Labour, after Mr Blair took up where she who must not be named let off (I wonder if she ever did let-off? Can't imagine it somehow).

You cannot get a cigarette paper between policies right now, and you cannot get elected in Britain without the backing of international corporations, even if Mr Murdoch has had his arse kicked in recent times. Funny how his rag turned from staunch Conservative to staunch Labour overnight. Now that's what I call pragmatism.

Anyway, I am sick of conflict. Where there is discord, may we bring harmony is what I say, and I'll probably get my arse kicked for saying that too.