Greetings from Singapore. The last time I was here it was two years after the island was expelled by Malaysia from the federation. Within a matter of hours the Singapore parliament passed the Republic of Singapore Independence Act, establishing the island as a sovereign republic.

Several decades on the transformation is remarkable. As one gets acclimatised to the local culture, its cleanliness, zero crime and unemployment amongst the under fifties, it is clear the UK has much to learn from this exceptionally efficient country.

There is an air of respect, good manners and pride. Taxi drivers, border guards, maids, shopkeepers, road sweepers and those running their own businesses, are all happy with their lot, smart and hard working.

The pavements are spotless; there is no graffiti, not even Banksy! The utilities work, road repairs and developments take place throughout the night and weekends, speeding things up and causing as little disruption to the public as possible. New under passes and underground stations appear in the city centre as if by magic, with minimum fuss, and quick as lightning.
 
There is little or no crime and any which does occur, is dealt with immediately and severely. At all ports and airports signs inform that anyone found with drugs will be executed! Everyone is accounted for and is accountable, and those found without an ID card are swiftly removed.

It is hard not to draw a comparison with the UK, which quite frankly appears to be increasingly sloppy. Successive governments have bent over backwards to try to please everyone and win votes. The result is a break down of standards and respect.  Filthy congested streets, soaring crime rates, resulting in a general feeling of disloyalty and discontent.

We all need rules and regulations, knowing there are boundaries. The gathering pace of the PC revolution, and priority of ‘Human Rights’ above what is best for the nation, is rebounding upon us all.
 
One person’s opinion or views are as valid as another. No individual, organisation or political faction has the right to silence another, unless of course violence or extremism is being advocated.

It is never too late to put ones house in order. The open door which is Brexit, offers an opportunity to put the UK’s house in order. If MRS May fails to grasp the nettle, which we all know will initially be painful, she will not be forgiven,

Those who voted Leave knew it would be difficult but worth fighting for. Those who moan and wish to reverse ‘the people’s vote’, are naïve and less resilient. They want a quiet easy life, sticking to the crumbling status quo. They appear not to care that the UK is being over populated, manipulated financially, politically and culturally by the EU’s master’s in Brussels, to suit Germany and France. They fail to look long term.

Leavers include a vast cross section from all communities, including young people, farmers, tradesmen and those who run their own businesses from different backgrounds and cultures. Many were immigrants themselves, and have played their part in moulding Britain as it is today. We are still the majority and we must stand up and make our voices heard.

Last week concerns were raised that police forces are unable to cope with the escalating levels of crime, including child abuse. One has to ask what is going on? Mrs May when Home Secretary failed to take advice from the very people who dealt with our security. Then as now, she believed that she knew best and cut budgets and boots on the ground. Let us hope the current Home Secretary will reverse the cuts, and follows the example of Singapore, where society, law and order, trade and employment work. Get a grip on crime including drugs, and clamp down on every faction or politically motivated destructive agenda, whether individuals, nationals or internationals, who wish us harm.

“Her Majesty’s Government’s ambition is for bells to ring out at 12.30pm on 11th November to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice which signalled the end of the First World War. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport wants bells - of any sort and in any location - across the country and worldwide to join in, as is appropriate, to mark this historic occasion.
 
This will be a symbolic way to give thanks for the end of war 100 years ago, and will replicate the national outpouring of relief that took place at the end of the war as news of the Armistice filtered through and bells which had long been silent rang out.
 
Bells ringing out at 12.30 will help mark the shift in emphasis from Remembrance in the morning to thanksgiving in the afternoon for the end of war and for peace. This will coincide with the start of the People’s Procession, as 10,000 members of the public march past the Cenotaph in a nation’s ‘Thank You’.
 
The DCMS would be interested in hearing about any bell ringing plans to mark this historic occasion and has developed a web map so that people can very quickly and easily add their bell ringing and Armistice Day events.” 
 
https://armistice100.org.uk/events/.
 
I am certain that as we approach this historic anniversary, the British nation and millions across the world will respond with enthusiasm, and ring bells sending a loud and clear message that we recognise the sacrifices which were made for us. They shall never be forgotten.
 
As the cacophony of bells ring out I hope the Cambridge students who voted against recognising Armistice Day and the wearing of poppies, will hang their heads in shame.
 
Just how supposedly educated young people can display such ignorance is breath taking, and their lack of respect and gratitude truly shocking.
 
I wondered why Mrs May decided to appoint a Minister for suicide prevention. On reflection it is all too clear by watching her latest disastrous negotiations with the EU, that she knew exactly what she would willingly be giving away.
 
Brexit clearly did not mean Brexit, despite giving her word. However, she can be sure that those who voted Leave are not suicidal, and we will not require Ms Jackie Doyle-Price to stand watch at Beachy Head. Homicidal perhaps - we are very angry. How can a British Prime Minister so blatantly thwart the will of the people?
 
Mrs May and her colleagues are turning their backs on 17,410,742 Britons who voted to Leave the EU, by locking us into the EU Customs Union indefinitely. This means we will never take back control of our borders, laws and trade. We are now in danger of missing the best opportunity in decades to. Borrowing the words of President Trump, “make this country great again”.
 
How refreshing to hear that pupils at a primary school in Totnes, Devon, are being asked to vacuum their own classrooms. At a time when too many children are mollycoddled at home within an inch of their lives, and leave school with precious few practical skills, headmistress Hilary Priest must be congratulated.
 
It appears the knives are out for Tory MP Dr Dan Poulter who as well as carrying out his parliamentary duties, still works as an NHS doctor as he trains to become a valuable consultant. In the past most MPs had ‘day jobs’. Today  many are career politicians, some having never had a previous career or ‘proper’ job.
 
Dr Poulter brings to Westminster an invaluable insight while working within the NHS, as does Maria Caulfield who regularly returns as a specialist breast cancer nurse, at the Royal Marsden Hospital. They and others like them, who do manage to balance their valuable work alongside being an MP, must be allowed to continue doing so.

Michael Gunn’s father was the proprietor of Gunn’s Fish Shop in St James’s Street, Brighton. Michael however developed a love for farming, when as a boy he spent some holidays with the Jenkin family at Randolphs Farm, Hurstpierpoint.
 
He joined Hurstpierpoint Young Farmers, and in due course acquired Wyndham Farm, Wineham where he managed a very successful Jersey dairy herd along with some beef cattle. And Wendy his wife, ran a very popular Tea Room.
 
Despite retiring from farming some years ago Michael continued to take an interest in all things agricultural, and he always attended the Hurstpierpoint & District Ploughing Match.
 
Sadly on the day of the Match in October last year Michael died, despite making every effort to attend.
 
This year’s match day must have been a poignant occasion for Wendy and their four daughters. However, to honour his memory and many years of involvement with the Hurstpierpoint Ploughing Match, they generously donated a silver cup. ‘The Michael Gunn Memorial Cup’, awarded to the winner of Class 44  - Best Beef Stores.
 
The cup was presented at the Ploughing Match dinner last week at Pangdean Barn, Pyecombe. I had the privilege of receiving this beautiful trophy on behalf of Ote Hall Sussex beef cattle.
 
I think Michael would be content knowing his cup was presented to these superb Sussex cattle, some of which have spent the summer grazing at Randolphs Farm!
 
Farming and the countryside continue to hit the headlines in the national press. The Agriculture Bill debated last week, is perhaps top of the list, as concerns regarding the government’s lack of recognition of the importance of food production, is deeply troubling.
 
Mr Gove plans to end direct payments to farmers over the next seven years, replacing the system by rewarding them solely for ‘looking after the countryside’.
 
His dogged urbanised approach confirms that he is not listening to those entrusted to speak for the farming community. As NFU President Minette Batters said: “We are the National Farmers Union – ‘F’ is for farmers. We are not the National Park-keepers Association, and we have no intention of becoming it.”
 
French farmers are erecting fences along their border with Belgium, in a desperate attempt to prevent their wild boar, many of which are infected with African swine fever, getting into France and infecting their domestic pigs. This has happened in Belgium, where 4,150 commercial pigs have already been culled. One has to wonder how this African disease arrived in Belgium in the first place.
 
There are few if any hares remaining in Sussex. The national population has been in decline for years, and now we hear distressing news that hares are in danger of being wiped out by an outbreak of Myxomatosis, which has spread from rabbits.
 
The iconic hare with their black tipped ears and long legs, has for decades been decimated by illegal hare coursing. Now it seems that disease could be the final straw.
 
Whilst sticking to the rural theme, it appears that Jeremy Corbyn has become increasingly ‘agricultural’. At his first post-party conference meeting of the Shadow Cabinet, he insisted that no one speak for more than 10 minutes. It was reported that he droned on for 15. The Labour insider said, “It’s beginning to feel more like Animal Farm. All of us are equal in Jezza’s world but some people are more equal than others!”
 
It is deeply concerning that Mrs May is determined to lock us into the EU Customs Union indefinitely. Meaning we will never be able to take back control of our borders, laws and trade.
 
Could it be that she is taking the view that if the rumours of an attempt to unseat her are true, she will take the United Kingdom down the plug hole with her?

Following the reports of Mr Gove and Select Committee chairman Neil Parish’s announcements last week regarding more public access, despite the increase of dog attacks on livestock and wildlife, and other anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping on farmland, there is deep cause for concern.
 
The minister is sticking to his well-worn theme of more public access to the countryside, despite acknowledging how difficult it is to police.
 
At least Mr Parish is pressing for amendments to the Agriculture Bill which would enshrine the importance of food production. He said, ‘I do not want to re-write the Bill. I just want something in it so future Secretaries of State can see supporting agriculture and food production is part of the environment’.
 
He is heading in the right direction, but it would help if the Bill offered the option to restrict access to farms and the countryside during sensitive times of year: when ground nesting birds are rearing their young, and when livestock and wildlife are rearing theirs too.
 
The combination of ‘the public’ and their dogs, roaming unrestricted across the countryside during the breeding season, does endless harm to livestock and wildlife, and has resulted in the decline of so many of our native ground nesting birds.
 
Mr Gove’s determination to encourage even more public access will only make things worse. A closed season may make the public appreciate the ‘privilege’ of accessing private land in particular, and open countryside, and encourage them to respect our precious countryside.
 
The Irish backstop is a complete sellout. The border is already in place for matters concerning Vat, currency and customs. The EU’s rouse that the border has many crossings which cannot be policed is spurious. There are not as many roads, or vehicles crossing the border as run into Central London each and every day. None of these vehicles passing into the C charge area gets through without being logged and charged.
 
It goes without saying the same can happen along the Irish border where there are fewer routes, and vehicles crossing the border. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
 
When headlines state that ‘style emerges a clear winner over substance’, and ‘the content mattered less than the delivery’, we should be very worried.
 
Was is about Mrs May or about Government policies? The Prime Minister pranced onto the stage and managed a few self-depreciating jokes which apparently won over her audience.
 
It may have fooled those in the hall but it did not fool the rest of us. The content does matter and other than announcing that ‘austerity’ is over, which obviously took the Chancellor by surprise, she said very little else of consequence.
 
‘Good housekeeping’ works better for me, and people understand what it means. If you haven’t got it don’t spend it. Credit has given generations a false sense of security and the ability to spend above our means.
 
The same goes for governments which print money, and borrow sums which future generations must repay. At least the Conservatives try to build up reserves and repay the debt, which every time Labour returns to office, they squander, and spend buying votes, until the kitty runs dry.
 
Mrs May should have chucked Chequers, picked up Canada Plus and encouraged her Chancellor to reduce stamp duty, lower Vat and stimulate the economy in his Budget later this month.
 
House building is important but until local planners are encouraged to make practical and thoughtful decisions, taking into account local issues, the houses will not be built.
 
They must stop rail roading councillors and local residents into accepting infill sites which are inappropriate and ruin communities.
 
Neither should they allow local individuals with more money than sense, and undue influence, to stop perfectly sensible building applications which would enhance the area, particularly near railway stations, as is happening in East Sussex.