Henry/Jemima

"Children should be seen and not heard." This was the philosophy of the time when I was being dragged up. It was certainly the case when adults were around and we as kids always knew our place. For goodness sake we were put there often enough, and frankly would do more or less anything to avoid the company of adults.

The current cohort of children seem to be enjoying a different experience, and it seems that for some parents, the child is always right! I find it annoying to say the least, that fully grown people will bow down and change their own plans on the whims of a child.

It seems that as soon as little Henry, or Jemima is bored with whatever the family is doing, then it is time to move on to something new, regardless of the needs or wants of others. Little Henry/Jemima now rules the roost and does more or less what they want. Children today are brought up to fear nothing, to respect nothing and by and large to be utterly selfish. They are not being taught tolerance or patience and feel that they can always get what they want when they want it.

If Henry/Jemima misbehave in a public place, woe betide any adult who steps in to say anything or do anything. Parents will fly to their side and defend the indefensible, to the extent that teachers and even the Police have no standing in the minds of these precious little gits. Did I really say that? Oh well as always I speak from the hip and sod the consequences.

This is not a particularly new phenomenon, children have been spoiled throughout history, and such obnoxious persons have been described in literature since the time of Chaucer. I cannot go that far back but I do have a neice, a single child, utterly the focus of her parents lives (sad isn't it!) even at the age of 28. AS a family group we went to a baseball game in the national stadium. An interesting event, especially for those of us who had not seen such an event before. However, in the second half, the aforementioned brat, decided that she was bored. Now that isn't surprising at the age of 6 but what was surprising is that the whole party, all three generations, were then forced to leave and go home to satisfy the whim of brat! She still has brattish tendencies if allowed to express them, however she now has brats of her own and will no doubt be cultivating the brat habits with them - I can only hope that they rebel!

Just imagine what the backlash will be like when Henry /Jemima decide to produce their own litters. The backlash might be catastrophic..........I do hope so!

Things to learn before leaving school

That you may be the centre of your own universe, but you are not that of others.
That no-one owes you anything.
Some people care about you, MOST don't.
Money goes out faster than it comes in.

How to prepare a balanced meal from basic ingredients.
How to read
How to write
How to be polite to others
How to seek help when necessary
How to keep clean
How to deal with the opposite sex or same sex
How to use electricity and gas safely and economically.
Where in the world is..............?
How to swim
Where food comes from
Where energy comes from
That other people have feelings
How to wire a plug
How to fix a leaky pipe
How to build a compost heap
How to resist temptation
How to solve problems
How to recognise the edible and the inedible things around us.
How to make lists
How to let love into your life
How to think for yourself and not to be led easily by others!

Ignorance

The older I get, the more i realise how little i know.

I am in a quiz team and normally we do pretty well, in fact we win too often for comfort and most teams are glad when we don't turn up. We are also the ones to beat of course, and last night we were! Fundamentally, there were two complete rounds, about which we knew almost nothing. The first of these was about auctions, and never having attended one of these, and having almost no interest in shopping of any kind, I had no idea of the differences between Christies, Tattersals and Sothebies, I had bnever heard of a commission auction, although I had heard of ebay. The next round was even worse, and was all about various computer games. Now i am no stranger to computers and to games, but I know nothing of fighting dolphins and the like and so we failed dismally.

The quiznight is a great indicator of ignorance and I know that I know almost nothing about a whole list of topics, including American sport, American state capitals, soap operas, television in general and especially reality TV, I know little about sport in general, and i care nothing for celebrities. My geography is weak, as is my history, and I have no idea which of our monarchs preceded which and who arranged for the murder of whom. I speak no foreign languages and that includes Astrology. My recall of Greek and Roman mythology is shaky, and I am terrible at recognising the faces of the rich and famous.

I could go on, the list seems endless, and the list of things that I do know about is very short. I suspect that I am not alone here. I never considered myself particularly smart, nor stupid, but sometimes a quiz can make one feel the latter very easily.

Most people are in the same boat of course, and some can barely tie their own shoelaces, but there are so many things that everyone ought to know or be able to do in order to survive in a changing world. having said that, there is plenty of knowledge out there that I am grateful not to have, as they say - (THEY again!!) Ignorance is Bliss.

Music - play on

This has been the year of the live gig! Never before have i attended so many events in the course of such a short space of time, and i have to say that i could get used to it!

I just got back from a long weekend in France, and this may well have turned out to be the most expensive concert so far. The tickets were a reasonable price but added to that were, the ferry fares to the mainland and then the overnight boat to St Malo and then the drive to Quimper and the three overnight stays in questionable hotels. Taking meals and drinks and other incidentals into account, it was a very expensive gig indeed. However it was worth it.

The object of the expedition was Loreena McKennitt, who was the star feature of the Celtic festival taking place in Quimper. I have for several years been a fan of Loreena and her amazing band of players and to see her in the flesh, as it were, was too great a temptation. To make things more interesting, Holly and her father also attended - they flew in from Southampton, and Holly managed to get backstage passes in the hope of meeting the great lady. That however wasn't to be, but we did meet an equally lovely and talented Caroline Lavelle, the cellist in Loreena's band. She is a delightful person and generously offered Holly free cello lessons. I hope that she can take her up on that offer.

It was a wonderful evening and my illusions were never in danger of being shattered. Loreena enthralled a huge audience and received a well deserved standing ovation.

We were a little disappointed not to have met her, but on the other hand what would I have said to her that hasn't been said so many times before? I guess that maybe in restrospect that things turned out well. Ironically though, as Holly checked out of her hotel, she found that Loreena had been staying in the room opposite hers!

Tuesday afternoon

Nothing to say and here I am saying it! Tuesday afternoon always link to the song by the Moody Blues. I had a friend who had that album when it first came out and it was the only one that he played, probably because it was the only one he had. Sharing a room with an album can have long lasting effects and one might think that I'd hate it, but no, Days of Future Passed with all the cliché, bad poetry and lack of real meaning, remains as one of my favourite albums of all time. Some days i try to compile lists of favourites and yes dear reader, today is no exception. I am mind numbingly bored today and am finding ways to fill in time so here goes - today, at this moment in time, these are my favourite albums.

The division bell - Pink Floyd
Led Zepplin 2 - Led Zepplin
Days of future passed - Moody Blues
What we did on our holidays - fairport Convention
Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel
Surfs up-Beach Boys
Abbey Road - Beatles
Raising Sand-Robert Plant/Alison Krauss
The Mask and the Mirror- Loreena McKennitt
Greatest Hits- Leonard Cohen

Tomorrow I may change my mind but those are pretty much always with me in my heart and in my head, some for very good reason and others not.

People Torn By Fate

People Torn by Fate is a line from the national anthem of Hungary. It struck me that I, like probably many others, know very little about Hungary as a nation and even less about its people. I have only ever spoken to one Hungarian person that I am aware of, and although I sense a great deal of pride in the country, there is also a degree of modesty, associated with one of the smallest and possibly poorest of the European states. It is a fascinating country nevertheless. The great Enrico Fermi when asked whether extra terrestrials existed replied "Yes they do - they re called Hungarians!" I am not sure what he meant but one day I'd like to find out for myself. It is on a short list of places that I'd like to see before i die.

I collected stamps as a child, in fact I still have them somewhere, and I recall being quite fond of the Hungarian part of my collection, being puzzled by the fact that the word Hungary never appeared on them, instead MAGYAR POSTA was boldly emblazoned on the colourful scraps of paper. i never knew where Hungary was, just that it was east of here and west of Russia. I knew that they had good reasons for not liking Russians or Germans for that matter, but even now i am embarrassed by my utter lack of knowledge.

I have been looking things up and to my surprise find that 10,000 Magyars live in the UK. I know that doesn't seem many set against the number of Muslims, but that is still a small town's worth of displaced souls.

Hunga has the biggest lake in Europe within it's borders - Lake Balaton covers 598 square miles - that is a lot of water and a great place to hide all sorts of things. maybe Sadaam Husseins weapons are sunk into it.

I never knew until today that it borders on Austria. To think that I have been quite close to it and never even noticed. How could I have overlooked what is clearly a jewel set in the middle of an increasingly characterless Europe. I have seen something shining there and now i want to see it for myself.

Black bags

Is it just me? Or are black plastic bags really very poor these days? The other day while clearing the debris from my decorating adventures, I dropped some rubbish into a bag and it fell straight through the bottom. It wasn’t particularly heavy or sharp, the bag was just not good enough. Nowadays if I fill these things with stuff to take somewhere else, usually the end of the drive so that the refuse men can collect them, but frequently to the refuse tip itself, as they are not too keen to take some materials away, I struggle to put more than leaves into the things without sharp pointy thing sticking through, splitting the bag and allowing everything to fall out!

Things like black bin bags are probably made in China. Let’s face it, most of the crap that we are sold these days does come from there. I once vowed that I would never willingly buy anything made in the People’s Republic, but that is very hard these days. It would seem that they are taking over the industrial processes that produce all those little things that we “need” in 21st century living. Dammit I bought a new laptop the other day. Apple are so well known for quality, and now they are assembled in China! I almost sent it back, but I will wait for it to breakdown first.

Black plastic bags are important. They are a symbol which in the end signifies US. When we die, effectively our worldly things will end up in them, and not long after we have been carried out in our boxes, our goods will follow, hastily shoved into bags so that our next of kin can clear the house and sell it.

I don’t want all my worldly things falling out as the bags are dragged out to the end of the drive. I’d hate to think that my remnants were on display to the whole world. Maybe I will request cardboard boxes, both for me and my stuff, and maybe we can be incinerated together.

They

"They" are amazingly powerful people, and I don't even know who they are. I have searched high and low all of my life and have never yet met one of them. They are the ones that predict the outcomes of our actions and our decisions, they are the ones whose voices are so often heard while others are not, they are responsible for many of the big decisions that we make in life.

I wonder why we are so subject to their views and why they are so universally accepted as being the final word on things? It seems that few of us make decisions unless "they" are consulted. I mean this evening I am going out. They say it is going to rain, so I will wear a raincoat! See what i mean? I believe them and yet there is no reason why I should. What makes their word any different in value to mine? Ok I say that it isn't going to rain! No one listens, and no-one would believe me if "They" say the opposite.

There have been times in my life when decisions that have had huge impact on me, have been made on the basis of what "they" say or think, and i really would like to meet them and punch them on the nose. Actually I wouldn't as i don't do that sort of thing. I have never intentionally punched anyone anywhere let alone on the nose. I would like to give "them" a pice of my mind however and maybe suggest that they keep their opinions to themselves.

I wonder if they operate outside this country? Do the Chinese have a "They"? and if they do, what are they saying about the forthcoming olympic games? They say that a third of the population is Chinese and I reckon that means that they can say and do pretty much what they want!

Bloody rain

The rain today is heavy and unyielding. I know that i needed some to fill up the empty water butts but I have had enough now, it can stop. Not only is it raining but I also feel cold! Cold in the first week of July??? Yet another wonderful British summer. This is all made to feel so much worse when i get messages from my daughter telling me how hot it is in Greece right now.

It has been suggested by some that peoples are the products of their climates, and that it is the dour and miserable weather that we get here that makes us what we are - dour and miserable i guess! And also as a nation, very hard working and industrious. I suppose that while it is raining like this, you might just as well be at work as on holiday.

I see that Iran has just tested a rocket with a range that would make Israel a potential target if ever they manage to complete their weapons programme. Now forgive me if i get things wrong here, but Iran is a Muslim state, yes? and we are told that Islam is a religion based on peace and understanding and tolerance of others? Now what would a religious state want with weapons capable of such mass destruction? I am clearly missing something here. The thought of nuclear capability in the hands of any religious group is surely a scary prospect but in the hands of Iranian fundamentalists who have openly declared that Israel should be erased from the map (peacefully, and in an understanding way of course as God is good!), is so scary, and today has come a step closer to being a reality.

Rain in Israel may soon contain a lot more than water, and if that happens then farewell Iran!

Maybe that is why the Muslims are all moving here, the weather dampens their enthusiasm for everything except making money.

Ok hands up those who I have offended today!!

life, don't talk to me about life

LIfe is strange. There are times when I think that it is quite ridiculous and am not surprised that people look for a meaning. I mean, what is the point of it all? We are born, we grow, we learn and some make a big impression on the world, but in the end we all die and for the majority of us, the world is no better, nor any worse for our passing.

Ok some of us choose to breed and so our own little cluster of nucleic acids, albeit in a shuffled up and diluted form, gets another spin of the wheel, but even then within a few generation, what made us unique will have spread and mingled so far, that our impact has been no more than a pebble dropped into a very large pond.

I am a great adherent to the ideas of Richard Dawkins, who among other things, maintains that we are simply the tools that our genes have assembled as a means of ensuring their care, survival and procreation. I know that this is an over simplification but for me it works. I often see myself as an assemblage of genes and i have done my biological duty, producing two wonderful children who in their turn, may or may not choose to become biologically successful.

One of the big changes that science has brought about is that people now do have that choice. Before modern contraception, the biological urge for sex ensured that people bred, as long as they were able to anyway. Those with the greatest drives were often the ones that produced most offspring and so their genes proliferated. Alas it seems that now the choices made for economic or other reasons mean that the intelligent, or genetically more able, are choosing to delay the breeding process or not bother at all, while those less well endowed genetically speaking, are not exercising the same choices, thus altering the balance in the composition of the gene pool.

Those of us who have been lucky enough to get this far, have become redundant. I know that I have nothing more to offer and can contribute nothing more to the world, at least nothing that makes any difference. I did just finish decorating my study, and while it looks ok now, I know that it is a temporary thing and if i were to drop dead this instant............

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.

Another rainy day

It is raining again and i am waiting for a student to arrive. This is the last week for them as their exams begin in earnest next week and I will miss them. I will miss them for a number of reasons, but mainly because they are young and they remind me of times when I felt worthwhile and had a useful role in the world. Nowadays I am to all intents and purposes rudderless and adrift with no aims, ambitions and aspirations. That is not to say that I am miserable; I am not, and there are a number of things in life that I look forward to and some things even make me smile now and then.

Having no students will leave a big hole in my week however, and I will have to find something to take their place. Ok i can blog more often, but then I need to have things to talk about. I cannot forever ramble on about my feelings, after all, who cares about those?

I have put in an application to become a volunteer photographer for the National Trust. Whether my efforts will be considered good enough is another matter, but if i am successful, it will get me out and about and will give me free access to Trust Properties all over Britain. All I need now is a free bus pass and the world is my oyster, or at least part of it will be.

So anyway, today i am filling in time, and have nothing controversial to say. It has been good to get a response from Canada, especially as I was quite nice to them. So far my dig at the Kiwis has not produced a response, but then, it is unlikely that any New Zealanders will have read my blog. Readership is very limited and i have only given direct access to people I know and trust.

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

I feel completely drained.
I have had an interesting weekend, with visitors from the past descending one after the other, and as a result I am talked out and numb with nostalgia.

It is always risky to go back, and to spend time with people with whom you grew up but lost touch with years ago, has elements of risk, especially when they come to stay in your house. any trepidation I may have felt evaporated when Martin and his wife appeared. Talking to Martin seemed as natural as it did all those years ago when I was alive. It was as if we had picked up a conversation that abruptly ended in 1970. Ok we both look old and past it, but inside we are still the same people and the weekend was a timely reminder of the good times that we had as late teens. He was able to remind me of so many events and people that i have long since forgotten, and some that I have no recollection of even now and that is pretty scary. I always maintain that I don't ever forget people that come into my life, but clearly there are those who lacked the ability to stay in my head.

We talked almost without stopping for three days, interspersing with food and liquid refreshments, but the time went very quickly and now they have gone again and I am winding down after what has clearly been a stressful time albeit a pleasant one. I seem to have lost the habit of talking to real people and spend too much time alone. Hence the overwhelming sense of fatigue that has washed over me.

Now that the ball has been set in motion, it is possible that more contacts may be established, and who know? maybe a reunion of the lads may come to pass. It is more likely however that we may never meet again and that this weekend was more like the final twitches of something that has taken a long time to die.

More stereotypes - Oh Canada!

The best way to upset a Canadian, in fact the only way that I know that CAN upset a Canadian, is to mistake them for Americans. (OK there are other ways too!)

Now, please, I do not set out to be offensive to anyone, and if any of my readers take umbrage at this then i am sincerely apologetic. I am not talking about ALL Canadians but more so of the stereotype. Canada is a huge country, much of which is unpopulated and some of which is unihabitable. It has a harsh climate, with hot short summers and bitterly cold long winters. Centres of populations are few and far between and between them good roads wrecked by pathetically low speed limits. There are parts of Canada that are utterly beautiful and parts that are, in the words of Marge Simpson, so very bland.

The Maple leaf flag is on display wherever there are people; i have never seen a country where there are so many flags reminding you of where you are. Maybe they are there to remind Canadians of there THEY are, or is it just a statement of - I am not American.

Some Canadians are afraid that they may become yet another American state and see a risk of being subsumed into that culture, and yet there seems little difference to the outsider between the American and Canadian ways of life. Canadians often drive American cars, the towns and cities are very much like those in the US, and they talk alike ............ Oh there is a way of distinguishing a Canook from a Yank - Listen carefully to the way they say "out".

Ok the pace of life in Canada may be slower, but that may have something to do with the long winters and the need to thaw out slowly. I cannot speak with any authority on this (or much else I know!) but I'd guess that the first flowers of spring will be the Maple leaves sprouting on the flagpoles.

I wonder what percentage of Canadians have Maple leaf logos on their underwear, just in case they get run over by a bus?

Canadian travellers all over the world are festooned with the flags, ranging in size from the tiny buttonhole variety to the full size jobs draped around shoulders or stitched carefully and lovingly to rucksacks. They are shouting to the world that they are Canadians and NOT Americans and yet maybe deep down they know that they are a part of North America and that by and large the rest of the world doesn't make much distinction and that few actually care.

Even though I will never visit again, I like Canada and most of the Canadians that I have met. They are open and warm (once they have thawed out!) and i hope that should any of them read this, that they will not take my words as a personal affront. They are just words after all and from such an inconsequential source too.

Stereotypes

A while ago I wrote about the English. I claim no expertise in anything, and all i can do is speak from my mind, which some might say is not necessarily a good thing. I have been thinking about Nationality and national characteristics, and the more I do so, the more I realise where these stereotypes come from.

I have a niece, who, though born in this country, lived in New Zealand for much of her life. She cam back here a number of years ago however, and has lived and worked in London along with most of the rest of new Zealand youth, for years. She is a lovely girl but, there is always a but is there not?........... she has become a New Zealander, and by that I mean that she is arrogant and utterly insensitive to the feelings of people from other countries. Most New Zealanders consider themselves to be superior in every way to the rest of us, and i wonder why that is the case? They come from a small, remote, beautiful and utterly insignificant country, where nothing much happens that doesn't involve a rugby ball, and their participation in world events goes unrecorded, largely because there is little to record.

It is a country that lives in the past, it is a country with huge racial issues, few roads, less railways, lots of scenery, and an aging population because all the intelligent youth leave to come to London, New York, Paris etc. They call it God's own country, and yet they seem only too eager to leave it in their droves and then sit around in London pubs in the winter saying how awful London is and how wonderful it is back home. They go on ad nauseam about how they really want to go back but they never do. The temptation of the big money that they can earn here seems more powerful than the lure of the unmade road and the culture of 1950s Britain.

Their TV is appalling, radio stations not much better, and the Cultural scene is pretty backward. I attended a performance of a Midsummer Night's Dream in the National Theatre in Wellington, expecting something quite special. It wasn't, it was dire and probably the worst production of a Shakespeare play that I have ever seen.

Why am I slating New Zealand? I guess i am trying to establish the cause of the arrogance. Is it that underneath it all, they know that they come from the ass end of the world and rather than try to defend the indefensible, they feel the need to impress? For goodness sake, all they have is scenery- Oh and sheep, i forgot the sheep.

So whenever you hear a Kiwi, whining about how bad things are here, and that they would rather live anywhere else, ask them, why they are here and why indeed they are not sitting around in pubs over there whining about something else.

ps I forgot that they once had a good Rugby team, but they spent so much time telling everyone how wonderful New Zealand was, that they didn't notice the other sides scoring!

Bloody politics

I am getting tired of so many things. I know that it is largely my current state of mind, and i am aware of some of the triggers, but it doesn't really help to have that awareness. There are some things which I can write about and others that I can't, and not being able to vent is very frustrating.

So I will stick to what is safe and empty at least a part of my spleen through this vehicle.

One thing that I am really tired of right now is Party Politics. We are looking at the last throes of a weary government, who, battered by the media and savaged by virtually everyone have fallen to rock bottom in the opinion polls. The opposition, are of course in the ascendant, and that is of course because the press are demanding change. As soon as things begin to turn sour, regardless of world events that have created the problems, the media bay for the heads of those in charge, and so we continue the swinging backwards and forwards between the only two political parties that make any difference. The minor parties have no voice at all and they may as well not exist. The liberal democrats only chance of power lies in a hung parliament and maybe, just maybe that could happen in an election one day. Until that time, they will carry on collecting their salaries and murmering their complaints about a system that never sees their party elected to government. How cosy they must be to know that they will never be accountable for anything.

The public are stupid! No I will not listen to the MPs who say that the voters are intelligent. I have worked with the public long enough to know that the vast majority out there are extremely thick. The best selling tabloid newspapers that cater to the majority are little more than comics with content aimed at low reading ages. The editors of these rags, have power, they can tell their readers what to think, and that makes it so much easier than getting them to think for themselves. And so it is the time to hang the current leaders out to dry, and the press has already begun the process. They rely on the fact that the electorate has the attention span and memory of a mayfly, so they forget what the last lot were like, and they imagine that a turn around will be a step towards Utopia, when everyone will be so much better off.

What people fail to realise is that in a Capitalist system, there is no way that everyone can be better off. Sure, some will be better off in any system, but if some gain then others will lose. The wealthy always gain because they have the power, and so the poor and weak will always be the ones to pay. It would be so refreshing if a politician of any persuasion, would for once tell the truth about how it all works. I suspect that if they did, then their career would also be very short. People don't want the truth, in the words of Jack Nicholson - They can't handle the truth!

The system stinks and is built on lies and skulduggery. All parties are bad and some worse than others. Whatever happens in the next election is of little consequence to anyone but the rich lists, so why do we even bother to vote? I guess we are brainwashed into thinking that we can make a difference - we can't.