Jeni Barnett

Gary Lineker said; ‘There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.’ Lineker berated Braverman over her immigration policy and all of … Read more

In 1970 I started in my first job at The Watford Palace Theatre. I got my Equity card and went on a trip to Harrogate to attend a children’s theatre festival. After tea and a plate of fat rascals in Betty’s Tearooms, we walked to ‘The Swan Hotel’ to watch an assemblage of visiting companies … Read more

Life feels chaotic. Saturday night and we should have been at the theatre but I left it too late and all the tickets had gone. Sunday arrives and I don’t remember getting through the week, what with train journeys and scaffolding in the front garden. What with young men called Ben who rip you off … Read more

January 26th 2023 and our first away day of the year. It was so cold I had the notion to stay local – Hastings could wait – so after pulling on two pairs of socks, and the rest of a wintry attire we set off for ~ Tunbridge Wells six miles south of our cottage. … Read more

When I was a chit of a girl I had a mind to know all the bus routes in London. A red Routemaster down Regent Street, its reflection on wet pavements, the smoky top deck, condensation on the windows. The spiral staircase to the bus conductor. A double decker with its double ding ding pull … Read more

The House of Windsor is a crumbling relic. The House of Representatives is 15 times as toxic as a septic tank. The House of Fraser no longer has the cache it used to have. The House of JB, however, is about to get a clear out. The cellar is so full of unwanted crockery, saucepans, … Read more

After the big melt two things happened. Our cellar flooded and South East Water turned our water off. After the rain came two things happened. Our cellar flooded again and South East Water turned our water off. Burst pipes, leaves on the line, racoons wrestling, whatever the excuse we are without water. Cooking, teeth brushing, … Read more

What the strike! Nurses Midwives Ambulance workers Railway Folk Postal People Baggage handlers Teachers Civil servants Tube Stations Bus Drivers University Staff Driving Examiners Eurostar Security Staff The Tories started the strike wave A general strike wave In such a way that The strikers do say that The Sunak Brigade Most certainly do have a … Read more

Today I feel sad. The kind of sadness that gnaws away in your solar plexus. I’m not alone everybody I know feels sad. It’s like suspended animation, like the world is holding its breath. Like everything that’s awful is being hidden in plain sight. Like the Green Party have given up because the local Tories … Read more

Thursday comes round quicker these days. One minute we’re eating Sunday fare, then before you know it it’s ‘Strictly Come Prancing’ . Einstein has a lot to say about time and speed and age and stuff, I understand a tiny bit, but only a gnat’s testicle’s worth. I’m ‘right brained’ which means I’ve got as … Read more