‘Sunak seems to know what he’s doing

Strange that during those terrible days of panic and bereavement we were cheesy enough to call him charming, even cute. But that’s how we coped with Covid, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, clapping on doorsteps every Thursday night to show how much we loved the NHS. Sentimentality was how we built bridges, felt connected.Now, oddly, life seems bleaker than it did back then. Anger and resentment has replaced that ‘we’re all in this together’ sense of mutual support.There’s no way the media would call him ‘Dishy Rishi’ now, not after he drove the final nail into Boris’s coffin. But someone had to, didn’t they? We couldn’t carry on like that.Our new PM has many enemies, but to be honest I think Jesus Christ would find it impossible to unite the Tories since Brexit.They’re a party who were slung out of their own personal Garden of Eden years ago, after David Cameron hurled a great big serpent called Referendum at the apple tree. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits Croydon University hospital (Image: GETTY)I’m sick of all the malicious chatter from the Westminster bubble. Every time an MP or some journalist starts carping about ‘uniting the party’ I want to scream.Most of us don’t care about the bloody party. We care about us and our families, paying bills, affording the heating and keeping our livelihoods.I don’t care if Rishi is a Tory, Labour, or even a little green man from Mars. I just want him to be good at his job. I want Britain not to be a global laughing stock any longer.I want him to settle the bills and give us a future. Unlike his immediate predecessor he seems to know what he’s doing.So can we give Rishi a chance please? Can the Cassandras of the political media just shut up for once and give us all a break?Lord knows I don’t want to keep bashing Strictly Come Dancing. In a bleak world the show’s a force for good, an oasis of cosy calm, autumn’s spectacular staple inviting us to curl up on the sofa near a blazing fire, curtains drawn against the developing deepening gloom outside.What’s not to like? Well this year quite a lot. At our local shops, Strictly fans were unanimous that last week’s turgid celebration of 100 years at the BBC was utterly boring.Tiresome theme tunes from old programmes don’t make for good dancing or listening. The music was awful and so was the choreography. ‘Worst show EVER,’ grumbled a superfan in M&S food hall.The BBC needs to get over itself. It’s the show that matters, not the moral message. Fans are fed up with it, just as they were with the last dreary series of Dr Who. We don’t want to be lectured – just entertained. Giovanni Pernice and Luba Mushtuk dancing to singer Becky Hill, during the results show of Strictly (Image: BBC/PA)It’s Halloween on Monday but I won’t be waiting for trick or treaters – I’ll be glued to Sky Atlantic for the second series of The White Lotus, the fantastically funny and clever drama about intrigue and murder among the filthy rich at a luxury resort.The last series was set in Hawaii; the second is in Sicily and reports are that it’s even more hysterical than the first. It’s fabulous to look at… lush, gorgeous and hilarious – the perfect antidote to these grim times. Enjoy!