The Next Bond ?

20th March 2024

Every day, it seems we have more and more rumours about who will be the next JAMES BOND 007 in the long running spy film franchise.

Some of these rumours are little more than clickbait, others seem a little more well founded.

Note : throughout the rest of this blog ‘actor’ is used to cover both male and female actors. 

A few of the actors that have been ‘linked’ to the role include :-

• James Norton
• Idris Elba
• Rege-Jean Page
• Henry Golding
• Theo James
• Lashana Lynch
• Tom Holland
• Tom Hiddleston
• John Boyega
• Henry Cavill
• Cillian Murphy
• Luke Evans
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson, in the last few days

There are many more. It’s a coveted and important role.

And the right actor must be selected.

As a massive James Bond fan, both in literature and on the big screen, here’s MY view on it.

Replacing Daniel Craig is a massive thing. 

Almost impossible.

But NOT impossible.

I think Bond producers will want and need a new Bond actor to be around for 5/6 films, it’s a huge disruption changing Bond actors, and they wont want to do it again for a while, if possible. 

Taking that account, and the time to make a film and develop the scripts for future films, that feels like a commitment approaching 15-20 years.

Bond films have been very physical in recent times, and the new Bond probably needs to carry this on, physical and mental fitness will be important.

It feels to me that to meet these needs the new Bond will need to be aged 30–40 NOW, so that will include and exclude certain actors.

Ok, a biggie now.

Could Bond be female this time ?

Absolutely YES. 

Bond producers could definitely decide on this way forward and select a female Bond. And there are a few that could fill this role brilliantly.

However, going back to the origin of Bond, in the writings of Ian Fleming, and it’s clear that Bond is male. 

Yes, producers could separate the bond designation with the 007 designation to come up with whatever way forward they wish.

But it still feels to me that Bond is male and should remain male.

And others may have a different view on that, and that’s ok.

So, let’s get to the point.

Who do I want to be the next James Bond ?

Well, I believe that Richard Madden, star of BBC’s Bodyguard series would make a fantastic next James Bond.

Richard has the right look, can handle the physicality of Bond, is a great actor and importantly is in the right age range, born in 1986, and approaching 38 at time of writing.

If you haven’t see the BBC series Bodyguard at all, or recently, I would highly recommend you having a look at it (again).

The truth is, any of the actors in the list above would make an excellent next James Bond.

But my choice for the next James Bond is RICHARD MADDEN.

A final option, and an almighty wildcard, would be filling the shoes of Daniel Craig with ….. DANIEL CRAIG.

It would not be beyond the ability of the producers and writers of a new Bond film to find a way of bring back Daniel Craig, if he wanted to do another film. And he has been an incredible Bond.

As I have said to many, Sean Connery was the DEFINITIVE Bond, and Daniel Craig was my FAVOURITE Bond.

Personally, I don’t think this is as outrageous as it sounds.

One finale note, this blog has been written by someone who thought selecting Daniel Craig as the last new James Bond was a HUGE mistake !!!

How wrong I was, and I am delighted to acknowledge and admit that.

So, that’s my view on the next Bond, who do you think it should be ?

Feel free to comment with your choice and why, below.

Thanks for reading.

Graham

Twitter : @apple_shwn

Please add any comments to my Twitter post at @apple_shwn

Worth a watch - The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson

12th March 2024

The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson

In the last week or so, Channel 4 (in the UK) have televised and streamed a new 4 part series called ‘The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson’.

After so many biased ‘hatchet job’ programmes shown on TV over recent times, many people wondered whether this new programme would just be more of the same; and lots openly suggesting they would not even watch the programme for this reason.

So, to the question …. Is ‘The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson’ worth a watch ?

What follows is my own view of the balance shown in the programme.

It must be up to individuals to decide themselves, some will determine the programme to be very biased, some will determine it very fair. I suspect most will determine it somewhere between those extremes.

Don’t take someone else’s view on it, watch it yourself and make your own mind up.

It doesn’t make sense to do a minute by minute review of over 4 hours of a TV show, it’s best for people to watch it themselves.

The following section will point out a few pertinent points and what my general view was.

• Deafness - it was stated that Boris had a severe hearing problem until he was about 8. I imagine most people would have been unaware of this.
• Jennifer Arcuri - I only saw her input into the programme as that of opportunist, self promoting chancer, who attempted to use Boris for her own aims. Her involvement was unnecessary. 
• Brexit - I think it would be very fair to say that Nigel Farage must be credited with getting the UK to the point where a referendum on Brexit would be held. Without Farage, there would not have been a Referendum. But it’s also clear that the winning of the election for the Leave Campaign had more to do with Boris than anyone else. Boris said he would get Brexit done, and he did.
• Michael Heseltine expressing personal views of bitter, old and jealous old man, who was on the losing side of an argument with Boris, was in the minority of the electorate, and still after many years cannot accept democracy and seeks to undermine it, actually it’s the electorate he seeks to undermine, you and I.
• December 2019 General Election - In 2019, he won the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, turning constituencies blue that had been red for generations. Voters did not vote for their local Conservative candidate in 2019, yes they put a cross against that name, but they were voting for BORIS JOHNSON. This was instrumental to getting Brexit done.
• Covid - Covid reared its ugly head in the first quarter of 2020, and for the next two years took up most of the bandwidth of the Government and the public. Whatever people’s view on the Covid time, that’s what happened. The Government were diverted.
• Ukraine - Boris was immediate and steadfast in his support for Ukraine, and that was instrumental in galvanizing support around the world. He led the world in this, actually.
• The various sections of input made by so-called journalist merely added to my feeling that they we but activists masquerading as journalists. As Elon musk tweeted …

• It was clear that the establishment were frightened of Boris’s popularity. They had never seen anyone like him before, and the only way they could deal with it was to discredit him, and that’s what they set out to do and that’s what whey did. As Labour PR / activist and so called journalist Pippa Crerar tweeted, Boris was the politician that Labour feared the most … 

• That there was a plot to undermine and bring down Boris Johnson, there is no doubt. The suitably named book ‘The Plot’ by Nadine Dorries is a must read and joins the dots.

As stated at the very start of Programme 1, ‘This century, no one has done more to shape the destiny of this country than Boris Johnson’.

And that’s true.

Boris is the one true ‘rock-star’ politician in the UK, he always was and always will be.

The Rise and Fall AND RISE of Boris Johnson

I blogged a while ago about the options, as I saw them, that were open to Boris. In many ways, those options are still valid. 

If you missed that Blog, you can catch up on it HERE.

Undoubtedly, Boris has been busy since he left office and left Parliament. He has had some well earned and well deserved family time, yet his profile remains high, making many speeches in the UK and around the world, and writing his thought provoking newspaper articles.

He has done what we all would have done, licked his wounds, recharged his batteries and learned some lessons. 

And there are some lessons to learn.

Clearly, a massive influence on Boris has been the life and times of Winston Churchill. Boris even wrote a book about the great man.

Boris’s great political hero, Winston Churchill, was Prime Minister of the UK in 1940-45, leading the UK through World War 2, and came back to Lead the country as Prime Minister again in 1951-51.

Boris will no doubt feel that events, and people, conspired against him.

That he still had much to do when he left Number 10, and Parliament.

That the potential wasn’t realised.

And he would be right.

The remarkable mandate that Boris won in the December 2019 General Election was somewhat derailed almost immediately.

What Boris does next must clearly be a decision for him and his family to consider.

He doesn’t need the lure of the spotlight, he has that every single day.

He doesn’t need the money, a very lucrative future lies ahead in whatever Boris decides to do.

But the drive and ambition to emulate his great political hero, and to finish the job he set out to do, will be strong.

And I believe that it will be too strong for Boris to resist.

Boris will be back at the top of British politics within the next 6 years (think about the timeframe), in whatever capacity he thinks is right, and the job he returns to will not necessarily be the job he ends up doing.

And it won’t be the same Boris, after a period of reflection I am sure Boris v2 will emerge, having addresses some of the flaws that he undoubtedly has. And after all, we all have flaws.

And when that happens I am looking forward to seeing an additional programme from C4 called ‘The Rise & Fall & RISE AGAIN of Boris Johnson’. 

The Conservative Party knows it.

Conservatives MPs know it.

Conservatives Members know it.

The Country knows it. 

Boris Johnson knows it. 

The Conservative Party and the Country needs Boris.

It’s time for Boris to come in from the cold.

It’s time for Boris, again.

And finally, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this blog, is ‘The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson’ worth a watch ?, I think it is worth a watch.

There were parts of the programme I liked and thought fair, likewise there were parts I disliked and thought were unfair. There were sections I thought added no value to the programme, and shouldn’t have been included. 

It showed a political phenomenon, a politician unlike any other in the last generation, a politician that will be remembered 100 years from now, and a politician that connects with the public.

And it also show a man with flaws, well, we all have flaws, I certainly do.

I wasn’t looking for a programme that ONLY sang the praises of Boris, or a programme that only painted him with negativity, a character assassination.  

This programme TRIED to provide at least an attempt of balance, and therefore I think it deserves a watch.

 

Thanks for reading.

Graham

Twitter : @apple_shwn

Please add any comments to my Twitter post at @apple_shwn

Knife Crime

 28th September 2023

Knife crime is rampant in the UK.

It’s out of control.

It has been for years.

And it’s getting worse.

Yesterday, saw the latest needless and devastating death by knife, on the streets of Croydon.

A 15 year old girl, on her way to school, stabbed to death by a 17 year old male, who is now in custody. Witnesses described a large ‘sword like’ knife or a machete.

A MACHETE !!!

Why the hell is a 17 year old male, carrying a machete ?

There can only be 2 reasons. Defence or Attack.

SORRY, THAT’S WRONG, THERE ARE NO REASONS.

Only excuses.

And this is not just a ‘London problem’.

It’s in the villages, town and city’s right across the UK.

It’s in the streets near you.

It may have already come to your street.

If it hasn’t yet, IT WILL.

Unless we turn the tide, unless we tilt the balance.

NOW.

So what do we do ?

Let’s consider :

• DETERRENTS :
• POLICE : Criminals feel confident to commit crime because they feel there is little or no chance of them ‘running into’ a police officer in advance of or during the criminal act. This is not just knife crime, it’s mugging, burglary, assaults including sexual assaults, guns crime and other types of crime including murder. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND GET MASSIVELY MORE POLICE NUMBERS ON THE STREETS, RETURN TO COMMUNITY POLICING, TO A POINT WHERE PEOPLE ALMOST ALWAYS SEE A POLICE OFFICER WHEN THEY ARE OUT AND ABOUT, RATHER THAN ALMOST NEVER.
• STOP & SEARCH : Stop & Search has been a hot potato over the years. I believe that it has not always been used fairly and effectively. We must put aside cultural concerns, demographics, concerns of bias etc Getting knives, guns or other weapons off the street saves lives. Simple. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE OUT AND ABOUT EXPECT TO BE STOPPED AND SEARCHED. IN FACT WAY PAST THAT, WHERE PEOPLE WELCOME IT. WE MUST IMPLEMENT MASS STOP AND SEARCH. IT WILL GET WEAPONS AND CRIMINALS OFF THE STREET.
• ZERO TOLERANCE : Too many crimes are not investigated, or not investigated fully and to a conclusion. Probably because of lack of resource, changing priorities and flavour of the week policing. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND INVESTIGATE EVERY CRIME , WHETHER SO CALLED LOW LEVEL OR HIGH LEVEL, TO A CONCLUSION. AND WHERE EVIDENCE SUPPORTS LIKELIHOOD OF PROSECUTION, THAT MUST BE PURSUED. FOR EVERY SINGLE CRIME !.
• ONE STRIKE : These crimes are serious, and often result in life changing physical and mental injury, and death.They must always be treated that way. It’s clear that a large number of crimes are committed by a small number of people. Even IF they are detected they are often not prosecuted. When they are, they are not learning a lesson, they do not change their ways. They do not fear the judicial system. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND IMPLEMENT A ONE STRIKE AND YOU ARE OUT APPROACH. PROSECUTE FIRST CRIMES, PROSECUTE SUBSEQUENT CRIMES. TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW.
• SENTENCING : Criminals no longer fear the law, they don’t fear being caught, they don’t fear prison. They don’t fear their sentences. We have become too liberal, too lenient. It time to change that. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND BRING BACK FEAR. WE MUST INCREASE SENTENCES FOR CARRYING WEAPONS (GUNS, KNIVES etc), INTIMIDATION WITH WEAPONS, AND USE OF WEAPONS.  THE EXACT LENGTH OF SENTENCES CAN BE DISCUSSED, BUT WE COULD AGREE AND IMPLEMENT A STRONGER APPROACH. MAYBE 25 YEARS WITHOUT PAROLE FOR CARRYING A WEAPON, LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR KILLING.

• SUPPLY OF WEAPONS : We can never STOP the availability &  supply of weapons, And bad people that want weapons will always be able to get them. But, we must try harder to stop their availability. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND IMPLEMENT THE LAWS AND POLICING NEEDED TO REDUCE AVAILABILITY OF WEAPONS. STOPPING IN PERSON PURCHASE, IMPORTS, ON LINE PURCHASING, AND BANNING SPECIFIC AND MORE GENERAL WEAPONS.
• UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES : It’s difficult to solve problems without fully understanding the causes. In trying to understand the cause of these crimes and attitudes, EVERYTHING must be discussed, everything must be on the table. Without making any judgement here, we must consider at least Policing priorities, Policing numbers, the Judicial System, Prisons (Yes, lets build more prisons if we need them), gangs, drugs, alcohol, supply of weapons, lack of respect for the law,  parental responsibility, absent dads, family breakdowns, strong male role models, community support, social services, stop & search, lack of discipline, Social Media, the list goes on. WE MUST TILT THE BALANCE BACK IN FAVOUR OF LAW AND ORDER AND DO THE HARD YARDS TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES, TO THEN DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTIONS  WE NEED TO STOP THESE CRIMES.

With the most recent case being in London, the London Mayor would do well to clear his desk, stop talking about ULEZ, HS2 and other PR opportunities and start dealing with this in HIS city. TODAY.

TIME FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO ACT !!!

TIME FOR THE PUBLIC TO DEMAND ACTION !!!

What do YOU think we should do ?

Thanks for reading.

Graham

Twitter : @apple_shwn

Please add any comments to my Twitter post at @apple_shwn

What’s Next for Boris ?

 10th June 2023

So, Boris stepped down as a Conservative MP yesterday. 

It was a shock. A massive shock.

The Left Wing blob and the main stream media media we determined to get their man. 

Not content with forcing out of his job as Prime Minister, they could not even have in as an MP, such was their fear of his popularity.

A man that gained a massive 80 seat majority in 2019, that turned seats that had been Labour for decades to Conservative. 

A man that promised to GET BREXIT DONE and he did.

A man with a massive mandate from the UK voters.

And it was his electoral popularity that scared them so much, and a need to punish him for Brexit. And make no mistake, the next General Election will be about saving Brexit and stopping the boats.

There is no reason to go into the detail here of the coup to remove Boris. That’s all been documented elsewhere. There are many tweets about this on my twitter profile.

However, the note that Boris issued on standing down as an MP is important to include below.

Looking forward, the telling phrase for me is ‘It is very sad to be leaving parliament - at least for now - …’

And we should remember that his political hero Winston Churchill returned to the role of Prime Minister for the period 1951-55, after leading the UK through the war as Prime Minister between 1940-45.

Winston did it, so can Boris.

So, What’s Next for Boris ?

There are countless opportunities open to Boris now, below are some options, you will have other ideas, and as we know Boris very often surprised us.

For the 8 opportunities I have listed, I have also included a % chance of that happening, in my view, and listed them in most likely to least likely order.

1. A future within the Conservative Party ? - There may still be a future in the existing Conservative Party. Many Conservative MP’s still support Boris and understand that he is the ultimate electoral asset. He gets votes. Lots are vocal about their support, some less so, for obvious reasons. He still has support of many members and ex-members and support in the electorate. He could well decide to stand in another by election, or bide his time until after the next general election, an election the Conservatives seem determined and likely to lose badly, and mount a comeback then. Nothing is beyond the realms of possibility - CHANCE : 25%
2. Unite to unite ? - Could Boris look to join forces with an existing ‘Right-of-Centre’ Party. Well, there are plenty of advantages in doing this, both for the Party and for Boris. The blocking factors are what role would Boris want and managing the egos of those already in that party. But Boris would bring publicity, support, money and the prospect of MPs - CHANCE : 20%
3. New build ? - Boris forming a New ‘Right-of-Centre’ Party is definitely a possibility. He has the knowledge and experience, he has the support of many MPs that would perhaps defect to a new party led by Boris, he has the support of millions in the electorate, he would surely have the support of major financial backers. It would be a long road, but sometimes building something new is easier than changing something with a deep seated way of working.  - CHANCE : 15%
4. An Independent future ? - Boris could stand as an Independent in a future election, and a carefully chosen seat would surely see his selection. But the route to real power would be difficult - CHANCE : 10%
5. Move to media ? - A future in TV ? Yes, he could do it. Easily. I just don’t see that being enough for Boris - CHANCE : 10%
6. Writing & Lecturing ? - Boris, of course, is an accomplished author and journalist. A continued career writing on politics and history could well be the way forward. Throw in a clear high demand that would exist for Boris on the lecture circuit, and a fulfilling and highly lucrative career could still lay ahead - CHANCE : 10%
7. Big Job for the ‘Big Dog’ ? - There are many political big jobs available around the world. I really wouldn’t be surprised to see Boris appointed to something high profile - CHANCE : 5%
8. Enough is Enough ?  - Boris could quite easily retreat back to a well deserved family life with Carrie and his children. After the trials and tribulations of the last few years, who could blame him. I couldn’t. And if that’s the choice he makes then his family, his friends inside & outside politics and his countless fans and supports must and will wish him well and health and happiness in his future, wherever that leads - CHANCES : 5%

Only time will tell, its never boring with Boris.

Hang on to your hats, it’s not over until it’s over.

I am 100% certain that politics is NOT finished with Boris Johnson, and I am equally certain that Boris Johnson is NOT finished with politics.

I am sure that he will be Prime Minister again, IF HE WANTS TO BE.

And he will continue to have my support and the support of millions in the UK and around the world.

Watch this space.

Thanks for reading.

Graham

Twitter : @apple_shwn

Please add any comments to my Twitter post at @apple_shwn