Monday, 19 January 2015

#Politics - do we get what we deserve.

POLITICS - DO WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE

The status of politicians in the UK is regarded to be pretty low with the electorate - maybe at an all time low.

A common complaint - politicians avoid telling the truth, they wriggle and squirm and duck answering direct questions. They are in it for themselves - look at the expenses scandal.

These accusations and observations might be true - but I would argue a great deal of the blame - indeed the fundamental cause, lies with a wilfully disingenuous, badly informed and immature electorate (and media). It is the publics fault. We get the politicians we deserve.

Now I have to justify that observation. Here goes:-

We live in a democracy. Every 5 years we have to vote for a new government. Without our votes politicians have no power. Does the politician who tells us how it really is, and who stands up to vested interests  get our vote - or is it the one that dresses it up, avoids the bad news, spins, panders to the weakness of the electorate, tells them what they want to hear that gets elected?

This is our corporate position in the UK.
  • The national debt is now at £1.5 trillion.
  • The debt is increasing by £5000 per second.
  • The deficit is running at £100 billion and seems almost impossible to get under control.
  • We are spending far more than we are generating.
  • The country is closer to bankruptcy than solvency.
  • The country is probably on the verge of anarchy.
  • The NHS is a unsustainable bottomless financial pit.
  • We have an old age crisis.
  • We have an obesity crisis.
  • Welfare and benefits are out of control.
  • Net migration is running at 250000 per year.
  • We are tied into EU - like it or not.
  • We live in a global village - manufacturing and low skill jobs will locate anywhere in the world for economic advantage.
  • International Corporations have more power than governments. 
  • As a general rule penal taxation rates results in a lower tax take.
  • Higher wages means higher prices and is inflationary or results in redundancies etc etc
  • We live in a society with a "victim" mentality.
  • People know their rights but not their responsibilities.





Sunday, 18 January 2015

London and the ballet and 2 churches.

LONDON - THE BALLET AND 2 CHURCHES

I have made a promise to myself to get up to London more. There is obviously so much to do and see. A world class city on our doorstep. (someone observed pointedly in a third world country!) It is relatively easy to get to London from the Island - and now I am over 60 I get a special deal on the coaches - ha! I invested £50 on an Oyster card for the underground and plan to get up there at least twice a month during the winter.

I do not actually consider myself as a philistine - but perhaps I am not someone you might expect to be buying a ticket for the ballet but that is what I did. I watched a matinee performance of Swan Lake by The English National Ballet Company at London's largest theatre - The London Coliseum.

It was a quiet Thursday - got into Victoria in good time and had a coffee sat in the main Victoria Station concourse. It is incredible how people go about their business. Such a diverse community. I definitely live in a backwater. It was a sight in itself to see such a multitude on the move.

Anyway - tube to Leicester Square and I walked up to Covent Garden - which on a cold winters day was pretty quiet. I wandered into St Paul's Church (not Cathedral). St Paul's Church is known as the Actors church - not surprising given its location in the centre of theatre land. The church itself is quite modest but it offers a really tranquil setting - in such bustling area. Inside the church - all around the walls are wooden plaques with the names and dates of departed actors - some long departed - some more recent. I spent 20 minutes or so looking at the names - many I remembered. One particularly made me smile - Hattie Jaques. I remembered fondly as a kid watching Hattie and Eric Sykes's mad capers and of course Hattie in the Carry On films - often a big buxom nurse. One slightly poignant observation - if someone is going to put a plaque in your memory - you would hope it would be in quite a good spot. Hattie's was in a corner - near the skirting board and close by a waste paper bin. Never mind Hattie you remain larger than life!

Eventually I wandered down towards Trafalgar Square. A glass box - like a poor mans Pyramid at the Louvre caught my eye. It was adjacent to St Martins in the Fields Church. I followed a couple down the steps to The St Martin's in the Fields Crypt Café! What a space. They have created a massive cafeteria/restaurant in the crypt. It was buzzing and full with subdued lighting and flag stone floors and walls which must be hundreds of years old. (a great place to use the toilet too - ha!). (As an aside I wondered about the blatant commercialism of the Church of England - with this café. Is it right to be so money focused - it wasn't as if they were feeding the poor - far from it. I guess the reality is churches take a lot to run and maintain. It is rather like pubs - we protest when they close - they are part of our fabric - part of our Englishness - but we are not using them. We head for Wetherspoons or Tesco! Increasingly we are a secular society - congregations are falling. We will soon complain if landmark churches fall into disrepair or close - so I guess the church has to be realistic and use their assets to generate income as best they can.) From the café there is direct access to this famous church. I waited in the entrance for a service to finish. They have regular lunch time musical performances as part of their services. I was too late for this one but what a shame. The choral singing was stunning even though heard through heavy wooden doors. One to look out for on another visit.

So off to the London Coliseum - home of English National Opera and English National Ballet. The theatre has quite a wide street frontage but it is absolutely massive inside - very high - very ornate - quite spectacular and full - even for a matinee. This was my first ballet. I had chosen Swan Lake because it was accessible - well known - and Tchaikovsky's music almost household. The Swan's position too, classical ballet - in their white tutus. (it is a good tip to know the story in advance as you are unlikely to work it out from the performance itself - thank you Rich!). 

The audience was mixed - few in formal dress - apparently much more formal in the evenings. There were hundreds of mums there with children - mostly little girls. There was a lot of excitement and it was amusing watching the little girls showing off their ballet moves on the way to their seats and during the intervals. It was clear what they aspired to - I wonder how many will get there?

The ballet itself was danced over 2 1/2 hours with a couple of intervals. The time passed very quickly - and quite honestly it was riveting. Just to hear the orchestra in itself was probably worth going for - powerful and real. The individual dance performances drew your focus and I was glad I took a small pair of binoculars which I used from time to time. The choreography and mass groups of dancers on the very large stage created a spectacular scene - at one stage 26 identical swans - a fantastic - memorable sight. I really enjoyed it - glad I went. I am not going to get carried away - but would I go again - yes - maybe the Nutcracker!

It was dark when I came out - but a nice early evening. I decided to brisk walk back to Victoria - always get a buzz from striding around in London - feel in the centre of things. The Mall, St James Park, Buck Palace. Dived in for a quick pint in Buckingham Palace Road - very busy pub - £5.40 a pint! I didn't choke on the price - because it was a very good day.

FOOTNOTE - one of my sons made me laugh. He said this account read like a school trip - and a mundane boring one at that!

Saturday, 17 January 2015

A late start to 2015

A LATE START TO 2015

I have got out of the habit of blogging. Time has been a factor. I got back from Nepal at the end of November. It was right into preparing for a family Christmas then. There was inevitably a back log of jobs to wrestle with too. A massive factor is a hugely significant and unexpected change in my personal life - a positive one - initially resurrected in Kathmandu - ha! Anyway I want to keep it going and there is masses in my mind to write about so watch this space.