Liz Truss

Heroes.

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Liam Gallagher uttered a typed racial slur on Twitter/X. The late great wrestler Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea wasn’t shy of controversy. Meat Loaf was anti-vaccination. Never before has it been clearer that heroes are just like you and I: flawed.

“Yeah, and he’s not even a very good one… But he’s out there alone, and he’s probably scared” – lead character of Superman (2025) about the dog Krypto

Heroes are hard to find. That is, of course, the reality. For every Lance Armstrong cheating the system, there are an army of unsung volunteers, health professionals, RNLI boat crews and support staff, and countless other examples of putting others ahead of themselves. Those who deliver aid to Palestine, operate health clinics in Ukraine, or pluck refugees from the deadly English Channel go above and beyond their calling. And not all heroes wear capes: see also, Mam.

“Any sort of bullying is a terrible thing, but I think online bullying is so much worse because it’s psychological bullying” – Dean Cain, actor

And that leads me neatly to the recent fictional superhero, the one of my many childhood dreams, and many play sessions: Superman. The recent movie of the same name has earned plaudits and created a strange debate. Labelled as ‘woke’ by, the lycra-wearing superhero was the creation of children of immigrants that headed to U.S.A. Joe Shuster (artist) and Jerry Siegel (writer) would have been all too aware of the atrocities facing their fellow Jewish people. Their empathy shone through one of fiction’s greatest assets. The latest movie incarnation left me spellbound. I left the cinema with a smile, for the first time in many years. It was a joyous love letter of a movie, by James Gunn and his production team. Absolutely full of geeky details and hope.

“Knock the ‘t’ off the ‘can’t'” – George Reeves, actor

Being from elsewhere and existing in an unfamiliar landscape was my choice when I moved to China in 2014. Unlike many who seek better places to live and survive, I had the choice. That choice took me back to Britain, a new Britain, less Great, more lost. One that had departed the European Union and seemed to be having (and still is) more internal battles than a U.S. civil war. Religion, race, nationality, and gender fill newspaper covers daily. Social media, seemingly unchecked, spouts mistrust, counter-science, and conspiracy theory. The consequences lead to a broken Britain.

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”- Christopher Reeve, actor and activist

If being woke is to champion the smaller person, to puff your chest out at bullies, and to want a better world, then count me in on Team Superman. #SupermanIsAnImmigrant (coined in 2013 by Define America and the Harry Potter Alliance) who now deny that ideal are an example of flip-flopping u-turns that former Prime Minister Liz “Lettuce” Truss would be proud of. Much alike the latest version of Lex Luthor, excellently portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, there lies a smudge of grey amongst the confused right wing views. Those contradictions make us human. Much like the David Corenswet version of Superman. Where Christopher Reeve made generations believe a man could fly, David Corenswet has restored belief in hope once again.

“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” –
Christopher Reeve

Sadly, every hero stands to fall on their sword, so choose your heroes wisely. I chose my Mam as my hero for good reason (and her supply of fig biscuits).

Shithousery.

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The trouble with popular energy drinks, like Monster, is that you can no longer tell who the drunks are in the morning. Those 568ml (a pint) cans they use make the only visible sign of the drinker to be the rapid eye-movement and early signs of an incoming brain seizure. And so, we enter the season of General Election 2024.

“I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper-class, I have friends who are, you know, working-class. Well, not working-class.” – Rishi Sunak, before he became Prime Minister

Mud is being slung, the Prime Minister has abandoned D-Day Commemorations, alongside global leaders. Perhaps the 81st Memorial next year is more important. That or he didn’t want to see his last one. Our pint-sized leader Sunak, the Wreck-it-Ralph of political debate, is floundering on the rocks as waves go down or up from a higher point. The debate itself was absolutely shambolic and an insult to viewers. Just like his recorded transgender jibes.

“They were 7.2 million, they’re now 7.5 million. He says they are coming down, and this is the guy who says he’s good at maths.” – Keir Starmer, Labour leader

Rishi “can’t use a bank card” Sunak has scandal in abundance. He loves numbers, and he lives for money. As he battled a debate like a schoolboy in a playground, refusing his challenger a stage to speak, it was clear, Sunak is like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming HGV. The former non-domicile tax-evader, holder of a US Green Card, occupant of Scottish Darlington doesn’t know people. His wife’s childcare firm does know his government’s budget, though.

An elitist that defecates on all beneath him is not fit to represent people. Sunak has boasted about taking from poorer regions to feed his more privileged regions. Those supporters may vote for him. Cash-strapped residents of once-okay towns and cities will explore other options. Or likely not abstain from voting. The mandatory identification provision before voting isn’t an ideal world. The Full Monty movie in 1997 tackled social issues that its sequel series in 2023 expanded upon. The latter of the two productions seemed to highlight the magnitude of education, health care, and employment problems faced by everyday people. It was human and touching. Unlike The Conservatives and their Terminator-style governments.

Truss: a woman in form but out-lasted by a lettuce; King of the CoViD epidemic Boris-wannabe-Churchill; Theresa bloody May; and David “where’s the pig?” Cameron have overseen the decline of the UK since 2016. We’ve exited Europe based on a hairline fracture of a public referendum. The Premier League football panel has higher voting standards. The House of Commons and House of Lords, relics of our times, equally need overhauling. People need people looking out for people. At least Rishi helped fill a supermarket employee’s car with fuel once. Once.

The opposition of Keir Starmer and Labour looks relatively bland. After years of ruin and increasingly-larger-than-reality doses of populism, many crave bland. A coalition of minor parties, making prooer decisions may be better. Remain UK and scrotal-face Nigel “Up the Rah” Farage can jerk their movements and jog on. Until July the 4th, U.S. Independence Day, we face weeks of faeces and detritus being tossed. Shithousery is guaranteed. Change is coming. I can feel it in the air.