Just published. An extract, emphasis mine, please complete the survey if you’re in the group Collins specifies, and in the UK:

However, a very obvious question is what will actually happen in practice. Moreover, the effect of the lockdown may change as time wears on. To capture data on the actual effects, the charity FNF Both Parents Matter Cymru has created an online survey “Survey of separated parents’ shared care of children during Covid 19 pandemic“. If you are a separated parent with shared care or contact arrangements, please complete the survey via that link. Also, please pass the link on to anyone else for whom it may be relevant. UK residents only, please.

If you have problems with that link you can also complete the survey on the charity’s web site (it’s the first thing you see).

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Our thanks to Alan for this, text of the BBC report in bold:

Mike,

I saw a story this morning that must be the most ridiculous claim of rape ever made, or is it? Perhaps it should be a challenge.

Duffy: Singer was ‘drugged for four weeks, raped and taken abroad’

In the story ‘Singer Duffy has opened up about a four-week ordeal during which she says she was drugged in her own home, raped and taken to a foreign country.’

That already sounds deeply implausible more like the plot of a novel than real life but it gets better.

She wrote: “It was my birthday, I was drugged at a restaurant, I was drugged then for four weeks and travelled to a foreign country.”

Lets get the story straight, was she drugged in a restaurant or at her home?

“I can’t remember getting on the plane and came round in the back of a travelling vehicle. I was put into a hotel room and the perpetrator returned and raped me.”

The star said she then “could have been disposed of by him”. She contemplated running away but was afraid he would call the police.

So she was put on a plane unconscious? Yet the crew and any other passengers did nothing and she was afraid that the man who kidnapped and raped her would report her to the police!

She explained that she flew back to the UK with him but “knew my life was in immediate danger” because he made veiled threats to kill her.

“It didn’t feel safe to go to the police. I felt if anything went wrong, I would be dead, and he would have killed me. I could not risk being mishandled or it being all over the news during my danger.”

In other words she flew back to Britain with her ‘kidnapper’ and ‘rapist’ but didn’t make any report or complaint.

In summary she is asking to believe that on her birthday she was drugged in a restaurant by a man who then kidnapped her and took her abroad for 4 weeks during which time she was kept in a hotel room and then flew back to Britain  with her kidnapper all without making any attempt to escape or complaint to the police.

This must be the most ridiculous claim of rape and kidnapping ever made, utterly ludicrous yet it is reported as ‘news’.

She spent a month with a man travelling abroad and staying in a hotel room and then claims kidnap and rape.Who was her companion for this time period and will he sue her? Why do the journalists involve report this with a straight face. It is clearly utter nonsense.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

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If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

A tip of the hat to Peter Wright, an Australian MRA, for this.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

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If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

Along with Amit Patel, I have been working on devising a workshop about male empowerment. Amit is a 29 year old man who has majored in Business with a concentration in Marketing. He’s currently looking forward to going back to grad school for Accounting/Finance. He’s interested in helping men out, because he’s been through struggles in life from being emotionally, sexually, & physically abused. He made it out alive by graduating from college when his family & peers said he would fail. Amit believes he has the “personal experience” of a man who was beaten by the system, but fought through it and made it to the top.

The workshop has, we hope, a broad scope and reach so could be of use to many men. We hope that the materials prove useful to other organisers to include in their own events and courses, but are planning to run our own online workshop with several volunteers in the near future. We haven’t finalised which platform we’ll use (options include Zoom, Discord and Microsoft Teams) or the date but we are planning to record the session and make it publicly available so participants will need to be willing to have their audio contributions shared – if not their video.

If you would like to take part, please email me at elizabeth@j4mb.org.uk.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

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If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

Last night I posted a piece about the death of a friend, Paul Carrington. My thanks to all those who responded privately with messages of sympathy.

In his memory, I’ve decided to publish his life story, as related by himself. In 2008 I interviewed him, along with seven other Bedford-based guitarists, for Guitar Gods in Beds (Bedfordshire: A Heavenly County) (paperback 2008, e-book 2014). The men related their life stories, Paul’s chapter is here.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

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If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

A tip of the hat to Gunnar Kunz, the author of this.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

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If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

It occurred to me this evening to call Paul Carrington, a friend, to see how he’s coping with the current Covid-19 situation. Paul has for many years suffered from emphysema, a progressive lung disease, brought on by an enzyme deficiency for which there is no cure. To my surprise, a woman answered his phone. It was his daughter, who informed me that Paul died this morning, following a lung infection.

Paul was a very well-known character in my home town of Bedford. He was a “larger than life” popular entertainer in the local pubs. He always reminded me of Al Murray’s comic creation, “The Pub Landlord”. I interviewed him, along with seven other Bedford-based guitarists, for Guitar Gods in Beds (Bedfordshire: A Heavenly County) (2014). The men related their life stories, Paul’s chapter is here.

When I had money – until 10 years ago – Paul was my chauffeur and companion during two month-long holidays in France, which I related in Two Men in a Car (A Businessman, a Chauffeur, and Their Holidays in France) (2008). Both books are out of print, but used copies are occasionally available to buy on Amazon and elsewhere, and they’re available as e-books.

A solidly and proudly working-class man, a socialist who never shared my concerns for men and boys as a class, he was very frustrating to debate with. Yet I’ve rarely admired anyone more. I’ll be among many who will miss this remarkable man.

I am deriving some solace from two things. Paul won’t have to endure what he most feared, an old age dominated by physical incapacitation. He was a very fit man in his younger days, a martial arts expert, details in his chapter. And he was a passionate advocate for Brexit. When I last met him, for lunch three months ago, he was bubbling over with delight that the UK was finally going to exit the EU.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

Our YouTube channel is here, our Facebook channel here, our Twitter channel here.

If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

I recall a conversation on the London Underground soon after we appointed Elizabeth Hobson as our Communications Director. Given our age difference (I was then 60, she was 30) I was surprised to learn that we appreciated many of the same musical artists. They included Led Zeppelin, The Cure, Fairport Convention, Bjork, and the legendary Australian rock band, AC/DC.

I’ve recently started to explore YouTube as a source of evening entertainment, and now understand why so many people watch so little of the output of the major broadcasters. Selecting at random AC/DC, I found a video (4:14) of one of their best-known songs, Back in Black. It’s had 600+ million views. I’ve just checked the J4MB YouTube channel, and was  surprised to find none of our videos have had 600+ million views. It’s only a matter of time, though.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

Our YouTube channel is here, our Facebook channel here, our Twitter channel here.

If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

A song for these difficult times, our thanks to John for pointing us to it. Please don’t watch the video if you’re offended by occasional strong language, but otherwise, enjoy (1:41).

Our last general election manifesto is here.

Our YouTube channel is here, our Facebook channel here, our Twitter channel here.

If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.

Just published.

Our last general election manifesto is here.

Our YouTube channel is here, our Facebook channel here, our Twitter channel here.

If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.