I suspect most of us would agree that too much of the world is a strange, sad, and, at times, dangerous sort of place at the moment.

Rational thought, freedom of speech, calm reason has been largely suspended in too many circles and replaced by insanity.

It's a minefield, depending, of course, on who you are. Woke? Handwringer? Say whatever you like, if you're not, you need to be cancelled.

Baroness Jenny Jones, a member of the House of Lords suggested men need a curfew. It came after a murder in Britain. In that comment is the microcosm of all that’s wrong.

Once, a murder was something of horror, upset, and sadness. And it came, at times, with a debate as to whether there were issues to be addressed. Things like police investigations, whether clues were missed, whether the person known to the police, whether justice was served, what sort of sentence was dished out, and if sentences were hard enough.

But that has been replaced by Ms Jones, whose suggestion is that men need a curfew, men not allowed out at night. Now, even in a mad world, this sets new standards for idiocy. And yet within 24 hours the headline was to be found in a local outlet here, "Why a man’s curfew isn't such a bad idea."

And so it goes.

If you're on the right side of the PC ledger you can literally say anything and get away with it.

I also saw over the weekend stories about the Oprah memes, post the interview. I haven't seen the memes, given I'm not on social media, but there are, I am told, lots of them and they sort of make fun of Oprah, her gasping, and facial expressions over the so-called royal bombshells that were dropped on that California patio past week.

Sadly, if you were part of that, and you aren't black, you are a racist. It was deemed so, by some tragic social media warrior that you could only post those memes if you're black. Because if you're not, it's the equivalent of digital black face.

The bigger picture is this. Are we eating ourselves?

My wife asked me if the 1960s were like this. That obviously is ageist, and she needs to be cancelled. I wasn't around in the 60s - well, I was, but I was three years old.

Anyway, the question was asked by way of comparison. Was the bra burning, the rampaging, the sit ins, and the riots just their version of the cancel culture now pervading the 21st century? And if it is, how long before we wake up, grow up, and get back to some semblance of normality?

There is no doubt these are sad and pathetic times. And I'm in no doubt it’s a phase.

But until Ms Jones and the Oprah meme nonsense came along last week, I sadly would have guessed we were at peak stupidity.

But more fool me.