memories

This morning, I poured my muesli into a coffee mug! I am sure that I am doing more and more stupid things with every passing day. I wonder if this is normal for gentlemen of a certain age, or am I joining Terry Pratchett on the slippery slope to dementia.

Actually memory is not much more of a problem than it ever was. Mine tends to be selective I guess and I, selfishly remember the things that are important to me at the expense of things that are not.

This week I am redecorating the study. It’s a smallish room but by and large it is mine, and it is where I spend most of my life. I write there, I paint now and then, I dream there and I teach there. I also listen to music and visit virtual worlds. It is my sanctuary and where I feel happiest.

Ok I do come out from time to time and I do enjoy the company of others in reality, but given the choice between integration with Joe public in general or remaining where I am, there is no contest.

People in general, and I stress the generalism here, are becoming by and large quite unpleasant. Recently in the company of 80,000 others, there were stark reminders of the pure selfishness and lack of consideration for others. People are no longer polite, they push, they shove, they are aggressive, and utterly focussed on their own needs. Few open doors for others, the words please and thankyou have begun to vanish from the vocabulary, and the world in general seems to be becoming a far less pleasant place.

When I was a kid people were more considerate of others I am sure, or it that just a figment of my failing memory??

Black v black

Robert Mugabe claims that he was appointed by God and that only God will remove him from office!
Well now, this to me is like fuel to my fire. How many more atrocities will be carried out in the name of
this so called God!! I have not had a religious rant for a while but statements like this really do get my goat!

Mugabe has to be one of the most evil men on the planet. I know that is a sweeping statement, and there are plenty
more in that particular competition, and there will be plenty more coming along fuelled by material wealth and the
prospects of power. This man has almost single handedly demolished a country in order to provide for his own personal needs.

He removed the educated white farmers, who held the infrastructure together and who also employed half of the populace. They were a threat to his power base. Their land was confiscated and as a result the food production system is being run by headless chickens.

He has been defeated in a democratic process and his answer is to kill as many of those who oppose him as possible. He will not shift unless he is shifted.

Ok he may die in office, but the idea that a God will have the final word is laughable. If there was a God, then the situation would never have developed in the first place, unless she/he/it has a black sense of humour!

If only Zimbabwe has oil reserves! Then the CIA would have removed him years ago!

New things

At my age, new experiences are pretty hard to come by, and most of them are not pleasant. Generally new experiences tend to be associated with various parts of the body breaking down and needing repairs, and so it is pleasant to make new discoveries of a non medical nature.

Last weekend I went to see Bruce Springsteen at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, along with 80,000 other people. There were no rooms to be had at an affordable price in the whole of the city, and so we were booked into a hotel near to the airport, some ten miles from the city centre. Originally the plan was to take a train into the city centre to save all the hassle of parking, however the last train leaves the city at around 9.30 so that was knocked on the head. Knowing that parking would be a problem, we drove into Cardiff in the morning, for a concert that was due to start at 7.30. Typically there were plenty of spaces and we had a whole day to fritter away in exciting activities like shopping.

Anyhow, to cut a long day short, we made the stadium at 6, as we had standing tickets, and found the pitch area half filled already. It would seem that REAL fans get there even earlier and probably sleep standing up. Fan club members are let in in the morning I think, so goodness knows how they spend the hours before the event.

Having made sure that we hadn’t had a lot to drink, we chose a space, a tiny one, about half way back from the stage, and stood waiting for the stadium to fill. People watching can be fun and watching places fill up also has its fascination, however by 7.30 that was beginning to pall. The minutes ticked by and there was no sign of activity on the stage, and the awaiting throngs began to get twitchy. By now the place was filled to bursting point, beer flowed on the floor and probably other fluids too. Slow handclaps rose and fell, and mutterings of complaint buzzed around the crowd. Eight o’clock came along and by this time we had already been standing more than 6 hours and frankly I ached.

To make matters worse, there are always those who have to spend the evening travelling triangular journey between the pitch, the bar and the toilets, pushing and barging through the crowd, and it seemed that we were on a through route. I hate being pushed, I don’t much like being touched by people I don’t know and I can be very stubborn, standing my ground refusing to budge. I began to feel a degree of claustrophobia, and frankly at that time I’d have happily left, however at eight fifteen, without any apology, the East street band along with The Boss, began their set and played for three hours. They are great entertainers and within seconds the audience had forgotten the long wait and were swept along on a wave of Bruce mania.

By the end of the concert, every muscle and tendon in my body were aching, and we still had to get out of the place and walk a mile back to the car. Due to the late start, the pubs were shut and we’d missed our evening meal. Finding the hotel after midnight, dinner was bottled water and custard cream biscuits.

Ok we chose to stand. It was a new experience and now that I have done that, I know that from now on I will choose to sit. I really am too old for some things and that in itself is a sobering thought.

Junk Mail

I am about to change my email address. This is not something that one does lightly, or without careful thought, but alas my ISP has lost any attraction that it may have had and another company is prepared, in theory to offer more for less, so the bullet has been bitten and wheels are in motion, the change being set for monday. I have this fear that for a while i may well be disconnected from the virtual world and that my window on the outside will be missing. I know that I am addicted to the internet and what is more, I don't care.

My present ISP has one great plus - I never receive any junk mail. Previous accounts have been bombarded with everything from Viagra to penis enlargements, and it has been pretty good not to have to filter these out on a daily basis. Junk mail is a curse that seems ubiquitous in the virtual world and it is amazing that so many people are still subjected to it. I suppose that there are some who actually enjoy it in the misguided idea that at least someone is writing to them.

I worry that by changing ISP that I may once again become the target of spammers and Phishers and all the rest of the bastards that try to ruin things for everyone else. Time will tell I guess.

There has been a certain irony in all of this - at a time when Viagra may actually be a useful item, I no longer receive their ads!

Blame the parents??

When it comes to bad behaviour in teenagers, it is very easy to say, blame the parents. True that bad parents often produce badly behaved children but not all bad behaviour stems from a kids upbringing. Peer pressure means a lot to a kid and in the presence of a gang, even the nicest of kids can become a raving idiot, capable of almost anything.

The latest government initiative is to increase the number of crimes that a kid is able to commit. The punishments? More of the failed ASBOs that most kids ignore anyway, and raps on the knuckles or big fines for the parents. It will not work for any number of reasons, and it is like treating a bad dose of acne by squeezing the odd zit!

Fundamentally what need tackling is the heart of the problem, and that is the nature of youth culture. Youth culture is an active and dynamic thing that changes all of the time, and is reflected in the music the way kids appear and the way in which they behave.

Unfortunately the current trends are based on, and I hesitate to say this because it sounds so bad, black youth culture. Black youth culture seems to be about non achievement, violence, incoherent RAP, and an utter disregard for any sort of authority, whether that be the law or agencies that are supposed to be there to help.

Why do so many white kids want to look as if they are black? They dress black, they walk black and they even talk black and make the same noises. Now they go around in gangs, killing each other with knives. Maybe we need to look at what it is about being black that these kids aspire to, if indeed they aspire to anything.

For years now, the education system in this country has been bending over backwards to raise levels of achievement in girls. It worked. Girls now achieve far more in educational terms than boys do. As a result though, the majority of boys see achievement as uncool, and wandering the streets aimlessly, pretending to be black and with chips on their shoulders is far easier and far more appealing. Once on this road, it is very hard to extricate oneself, and so many bright and promising kids are doomed by their own misguided choices.

Unfortunately it is leading to the development of a growing underclass that do not fit into society, and as society gives them nothing, they feel obliged to take it.

I am not a racist, I have friends of all races and nationalities, and I respect them and their cultures, but I do feel that our own culture is in danger of being subsumed by those growing in our midst. Alas the present situation gives fuel to the hideous fires of the British National Party and the idiots that represent them. It is alarming that with each election, their numbers grow. If only the kids could find a way of getting back a culture of their own, maybe the days of the BNP would be numbered.