Hope springs eternal

It was a seminal day yesterday. I went to the hospital for an ultrascan and it seems they found nothing wrong, despite my having had a bit of a persistent ache in my torso for some time. Is this I wonder a herald of ageing, or am I simply developing senior hypochondria? Nothing to worry about anyway. Whilst the cold gel was being applied, I glanced at all the high tech gear the nurse used. That made me wonder how much this procedure might cost as and when Boris Johnson starts selling the NHS off to U.S. healthcare companies, a la Trump’s design. From the scant information available on the net I think the 20 minute appointment would cost between £200 - £280. I doubt that I would have made it to the hospital for free either – I suspect it won’t be long before buss passes are withdrawn. Following the precedent set by the withdrawal of most free TV licences for the elderly, all the government need do now is give local authorities the freedom to apply their own bus pass schemes – and like the BBC, vary the qualification criteria as they choose. Bloody baby boomers! Ironically, the ageing Tory membership which will choose our next PM probably won’t need to worry too much about losing their bus passes, and I wonder how many of them have private medical insurance?
Speaking of Trump, it came as a bit of a shock to hear yesterday that he had stopped a U.S. attack on Iran minutes before it was about to happen. This apparently followed his discovery that 150 people might be killed, which he considered ‘disproportionate.’ So it turns out he has a heart after all. This must be big news. Perhaps – just as he avoided the Vietnam draft – he doesn’t actually like military confrontation, despite all his bluster. Of course it’s too soon to read too much into this incident. But it may tell us that there are still some adults in the room with sufficient influence to connect the swaggering braggart with reality. Let’s hope so.