Earthworm’s article in June’s Parish Magazine was unfortunately published in a truncated form so we’re republishing the complete article here.

Cogitating About Politics

A funny month was May muses Earthworm from his heap, not growing with its usual speed as May has been so dry thee is not so much to take off the lawns and not too much weeding can be done because the ground is just so dry! There has been very little rain throughout the month, and such as has come of late has not really made much impression…yet thinks Earthworm with a glow of unusual optimism that more may follow!

But the hedgerows are giving great pleasure, the cow parsley in full flower, wonderful bluebells everywhere, and with the trees now almost all in leaf they are a picture.

One can now see the damage that the night frost of 27 April wreaked. Very strange thinks Earthworm that the same plant in two place can be affected or not. There are signs now of recovery. Nature is astonishingly resilient and able to effect “repair”

Earthworm muses on the present affairs of state. The local elections finished with really no surprises in view of the country’s disenchantment with some politicians, the Labour Party’s losses, and UKIP nearly wiped off the map, and the Lib Dems not exactly making the come-back they might have hoped for. Now the General Election looms that probably will not make things much different as the UK and Prime minister struggle with Brexit. Will her election gamble pay off he wonders? Would thinks Earthworm, that a Brexit result could have been explained in better terms to the electorate as a whole. Perhaps he adds dreamily it will all end well and we will be better off our own masters and “out”?

There is anxiety about things “across the pond” with Trump peremptorily sacking his FBI chief.  Will it be proved that Russia and Putin in particular skewed the presidential vote? Perhaps a ”Russia gate” looms, Earthworm wonders?

Vann Lane has once again seen an increase in traffic and even disruption not this time caused by road closures for a burst main or road repair. There were lorries and vans, mini buses and taxis all trundling along the lane from early morning until late evening apparently due to the filming of another episode of Howard’s End at Vann.  Earthworm expectantly awaits the transmission of the episodes somewhere about Christmas he has been told. It seems even the Paparazzi got hold of the news of the location, though they only said “near Godalming”, and crept along the lane. A picture was published in the Surrey Ad but it seems that did not even name the actors photographed correctly!

Earthworm will await too the result of the Dunsfold Aerodrome enquiry. It could change our lives in the village he thinks and probably not much for the better. Perhaps we should just all be thankful that we have had such undisturbed peace for so long.

Summer should we hope, soon be upon us with winter woollies put away hopefully out of the reach of moth which seem to have hit plague proportions

Holiday plans are being made and the young are embroiled in exams. Earthworm feels so glad that he is no longer “tested” on very much. But he did read with interest about the Act of Union more than 300 years ago, precipitated by years of war, economic depression, atrocious weather and climate change, (for which witches were blamed) refugee camps for the destitute and starving where  dysentery and typhus were rife, all that had brought Scotland to its knees. Earthworm wonders if history will not be repeating itself if Scotland elects once again to be independant?