Express & Star

Peter Rhodes on binge-viewing, conspiracy theories and the magic money we never see

Read today's column from Peter Rhodes.

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Going mad for Mad Men?

A survey of 2,000 British care homes reveals that nearly half of them have a bar where residents can enjoy the pub-like atmosphere of their younger days. I recall being surprised some years ago visiting a hospice to discover not only that it had a drinks trolley but that all the booze was free. And why not? When the grim reaper approaches, it may be easier to slip from one world of spirits into another.

Last year I watched 62 episodes of Breaking Bad, 92 episodes of Mad Men, 14 episodes of The Windsors, 30 episodes of The Crown and 31 episodes of The Good Place. My name is Peter and I am a binge-watcher. If you believe reports this week, some binge-view victims are resorting to Harley Street clinics to break this addiction which allegedly threatens their health, careers and relationships. Clinics? How do they find the time?

You may be surprised to hear Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips seriously suggesting that Britain may one day rejoin the EU. Conspiracy theorists will not be surprised. As I have mentioned before, the ultimate EU conspiracy theory is that Brussels believed Britain had far too generous a deal out of the Union with our annual rebate, exemption from the open-borders zone and keeping the pound. According to this theory, Britain would be allowed to leave but would then re-join with open borders, no rebate and would scrap the pound to adopt the euro. As with all the best conspiracy theories, there is not a shred of evidence.

Talking of conspiracies, a poll in the US found that only 29 per cent of those questioned believed the official account that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in prison. More than 40 per cent believed he was murdered to prevent him from testifying against his powerful associates.

This probably explains the posting by Virginia Roberts Guiffre who claims that, aged 17, she was trafficked to have sex with the Duke of York. She tweeted: “I am making it publicly known that in no way, shape or form am I suicidal. Too many evil people want to see me quiteted.” The spelling may be dodgy but I bet her fears are 100 per cent genuine.

Meanwhile, conspiracies aside, assuming either Jess Phillips or Rebecca Long-Bailey wins the Labour leadership, which regional accent do you think would vanish first, Jessie's Brummie or Becky's Scouse?

Police say the row which led to the fatal stabbing of a Deliveroo rider in London was “spontaneous.” So someone was just spontaneously carrying a knife?

Quantitative easing is set to return in 2020 as four massive central banks prepare to kick-start the economies of the UK, US, Japan and the Eurozone. Quantitative easing? That's the one where billions of pounds are mysteriously pumped into the system but you and I never see a penny of it. Magic.