Way back in June, the television presenter Eamonn Holmes described Meghan Markle as ‘uppity’ when she arrived at the Wimbledon tennis championship and her bodyguards would not allow spectators to photograph her.

I often used the word to my offspring when they were growing up and beginning to argue back, but now we are told by ITV no less that it is racist. What utter bunkum!

Apparently one viewer to Holmes’ programme – just one! – complained that uppity was a nineteenth century insult in America,  used against black people who did not know their place.

According to sources at ITV, Holmes is now fully aware of what the word means and has promised not to use it again. And the network has gone even further – banning the use of the word completely.

Has the advanced modern world really come to this?! I feel distinctly uppity when I read such nonsense.

I see that the Lib Dem harpy, Jo Swinson when defending her party’s policy of legalising marijuana should they come to power, now tells us that while she was at university, she smoked the stuff ‘with enthusiasm.’

Legalisation does not seem to have worked anywhere else and the Harpy’s rantings are yet more evidence – if it were needed – for the link between the use of cannabis/marijuana or whatever you want to call the stuff and reduced intelligence.

Despite my feelings on this election, I occasionally find myself drawn to watch these political twonks trying to out perform and outlie each other on the idiot box. For instance, I watched the said Harpy make a total mess of things for the Lib Dems the other night and shortly before that, watched part of the supposed clash between the two main party leaders.

None of it was particularly impressive but I did get the feeling that Bunter Johnson begins to twitch when he is questioned about his long record of dishonesty. The presenter of the Johnson/Corbyn clash, Julie Etchingham failed to push him on the subject as she should have, yet reports afterward named her the only winner in that contest. All she did was ask the two men to shake hands and be nice. Is this what modern politics is about? Being nice to each other? God help us all!

And you know, in that particular programme, it was macabrely interesting that the audience openly laughed at the various evasions of these two very senior politicians. Applause can be faked and often is, but scornful belly-laughter, which this was, cannot be. This is not a good omen for our future. If democracy has become such a joke, can dictatorship be far behind?

Just for good measure on another soggy Sunday, did you know that World Toilet Day (I didn’t know there was one damnit!) coincides with International Mens’s Day – I didn’t know there was one of those either, but this is surely very appropriate. After all, in my limited experience, men tend to stay in the loo much longer than women. Could that be perhaps because we do our best thinking in there?

Now there is a thought for what promises to be another wet week ahead.