President Raisi tragically died in a helicopter crash on Sunday night. The president of all of Iran, famous for being an amazing Ayatollah-impressionist, met his doom when the aircraft was traveling across a mountain range in dense fog. So good work there from Iranian Air Traffic Control. The vehicle suffered what they are calling ‘a hard landing’. And I always approve of a wonderful euphemism. Hard landing. It hit the side of a fucking mountain; how is that a ‘landing’ in any sense.

But heh, I’m not here to criticise anything Iranian, just to bury a few.

Because President Raisi was… errrr… he did… errrr… wonderful… was a fabulous man? Yeah, whatever.

I have no idea what the President of Iran does. I’m guessing that his duties include wearing a black hat and long beard at all times and spouting Islam at every opportunity. Unlike the Ayatollah, who is the nation’s ’supreme leader’, because he’s more responsible for spouting Islam and wearing a black hat. More like the King. But with a hat. Beard. Yeah.

And the President is democratically elected. Everyone in the country gets to vote, even women!!! And as long as you vote for the ‘right guy’, that’s fine. If you vote for anyone else, you’ll probably be killed. Women have had the right to vote there since 1963, and even to stand for parliament. Yet there are no rights of protection for women from domestic violence or sexual assault. But countless laws about headscarves, enforceable, as are all laws in Iran, by the ‘Morality Police’ who will beat you to death for the most minor of infringement. But that’s fair. So they elected Raisi, who was known as ‘the Butcher of Tehran’ because he organised the mass murder of thousands of political prisoners, way back in 1988. Heh, we’ve all made mistakes, right?

Meanwhile, in Hampstead, my brother is doing much better. Than President Raisi. And much better than previously. He’s about to ‘move’, out of the ICU after 4 months, and into a general ward. That is big. He’s off life support. Other than nutrition, cos he still can’t eat. And dialysis. Few other bits and pieces of no real consequence, other than keeping him alive. The main monitor behind his bed showing his ‘vitals’ is not just a big clock. He’s been ‘turned off’!!! Which is great. And moving with great difficulty but its happening. And moaning. Almost back to ‘pre-illness’ levels. Yet he’s allowed to moan. Its a million miles from what anyone would ever choose. But onwards.

Happy Tuesday

A xxxx