Really?

Welcome to a rainy south Manchester, where the weather has turned autumnal. I had a brief reminder of summer last weekend when I visited Málaga in southern Spain to have a reunion with four of my oldest friends from university. It was great fun to catch up. 

The travelling isn’t over though. Mrs PM and I are heading off to Budapest on Monday with two close friends for a river cruise along the Danube. Unfortunately, the heatwave that Europe has experienced this summer means that the river levels are very low in some places so the itinerary has changed to accommodate that. 

However, we will still visit four countries in our seven-day trip, including Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Germany. I have never been to Austria or Slovakia so that will be two more countries I can add to the list of countries I have been to. 

Shall we dive into some silly questions from Sunday Stealing? 

Four Superlatives

1. Your MOST overused word or phrase:

I have no idea. I use the word “Really?” quite a lot to express disbelief at the state of the world. 

Newsreader: Donald Trump thinks he can rename Lake Ontario as Lake America.

PM: REALLY? Just when you think that the Orange Goblin has reached the bottom of the incompetency barrel he comes out with yet more bullshit. What next? The Atlantic Ocean to become The American Ocean? The UK to become The United American Kingdom?

Mrs PM: Stop ranting. 

2. Your BIGGEST expense:

Holidays. 

This year I have spent a lot of money going to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nerja and Málaga in Spain and a river cruise to Hungary, Germany, Austria and Slovakia. In fact, Mrs PM and I are also planning a trip to the Canary Islands in November too. 

It all costs money but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

3. Your WORST fear:

At the moment, I am quite worried about the rise of the far right. 

Donald Trump and his MAGA cult in the United States seem to be changing things for the worst across the pond. And here in the UK, Reform UK, led by Trump acolyte Nigel “frog face” Farage are trying to spread the same message in the UK. Farage is using Trumpian tactics and this involves telling lies, changing his mind, coming up with ridiculous populist soundbites and treating reporters as if they are traitors for questioning him (especially female reporters). As a result it seems to be more acceptable to be a racist now in the UK. 

The good news is that there are signs that it is all imploding for them. The mid-terms in the US are in November and Trump’s approval rating is at an historic low. This is hardly surprising really given what he is doing and his totally ridiculous war against Iran, leading to the US economy being in a terrible state. Here in the UK, there have been a few scandals recently involving frog face Farage and support for Reform has dropped significantly. We now have a new Prime Minister called Andy Burnham, who was previously the Mayor of Greater Manchester and he seems to be very popular. Time will tell of course and I am hopeful that the British people realise exactly what Farage is. 

God help the UK if Farage is elected. 

I’m sorry for the mini-rant. 

4. Your BEST memory of Summer 26:

I have lots of really good memoires of the Summer of 2026. Probably chief amongst them is the huge party we had to celebrate the marriage last year of my eldest son and his new wife. They had a very quiet family wedding last December and this year they decided to open it up to all of their friends as well with a much bigger post-wedding celebration. 

Both events were wonderful and I am very proud of my son and daughter-in-law.