Featuring Phillipa

Quick Thought For Political Obsessives

Statistically speaking, on election day, it is more likely that you will be run over on the way to the polling station, then that your vote will count for anything.


Sobering thought isn’t it ,and while I am busy working, I am going to "Feature ", my friend Phillipa`s latest Piece on Fortean Times . As Arthur’s legend puts it , "bringing it to a smaller audience" . She is , I think it is fair to say , a complex character , and here she is writing at her best on subjects she feels passionately about .I do not agree with all of this by the way and argued at length with her.



Cameron IS NuLab?
Could you get a cigarette paper betweeen the approaches of Cameron and NuLab to the recent report on children? Today, I understand that DC has advocated tax breaks to make fathers stay with their families as absent fathers are the reason for all the ills in society apparently? Well, makes a change from blaming women. Quite how forcing a man to stay in a miserable household they don't want to be in is going to help is beyond me. If it's a feckless father then the extra money will end up being spent on alcohol or drugs or something other than the child. Just forcing people to live in the same space does not happiness make. Neither does it make a good parent.

Where does this fluffy idea of fathers come from? Hark back to the Victorian era? Where 'childhood' was invented and children were very definately seen and not heard. Even as recent as my own childhood (say nothing) it was the norm for the mother to rear the children and the father to come home after work and the children to be quiet and not bother him. Given that women worked and children played outside, you could pretty much live until a teenager before having a conversation with your father. Rich kids who had nannies and went to private school didn't see 'daddy' much at all. Hang on, aren't they the ones running the country right now? Yup.

They did alright. Look at history and the posh model and you will see that fathers aren't essential. People have overcome some pretty awful mothers too. So what was different then? The social structure was such that children were subject to discipline. I think employment plays a part in that children would see a future, have a direction, an expectation. The decline in manufacturing and the restructuring of the welfare/housing system does not help (neither does immigration) Also they had activities and those were more freely available and spontaneous than is possible now. The law is such that now, doing anything with children is seen as dangerous for the good people and continues to attract the bad. Once again this government has reacted to a genuine concern stupidly, making the problem worse.

There was discipline in schools, backed up by discipline in the home (which is near impossible now) and discipline by policemen on the streets (again, totally impossible).

Single mothers are nothing new. There were many many men killed in the Great War and so a great many 'single' mothers. Ah, but there's the difference? You're not really talking of a generation of people sadly widowed are you? You're talking of a generation of feckless parents of both sexes, led by the nose to this end from the onset of puberty by stupid State interference. Educated into sex and drugs and rock and roll by NuLab. Don't work, there is none, take a computer course and spend your time downloading 'gangsta rap'. The only activities after school are drug dealers? There's no police presence and no boxing clubs or boys clubs (remember those?) What role models are there?

The worst child in ASBO terms I heard about recently lived near Wolverhampton. Quite young, about 12 years old I think. The only child of a single dad, whom he lived with, who was unemployed and had bugger all to do all day but be a father to his son. When his son was out and about doing all this vandalism, where was his dad? His father and his girlfriend said that people were too hard on the lad and he was just being boisterous.

Boisterous eh? Just goes to show that when 'daddy' does live at home he's not necessarily any bloody use!

The Conservative government will NOT stop the sex ed programme in schools.

In fact they have, as yet, shown no sign of doing anything genuinely constructive. And I honestly think it will be another victory for Labour if Bliar holds off long enough for a new leader to seem a shiny new hope for Britain. And that, my friends, will be a very very sad day indeed.


AND THIS WAS A COMMENT OF MINE

I have re read and I think what you are saying is that other social developments are to blame for social problems we have and that single motherhood is not in itself a worthy target. I`m not so sure you can have it all ways It is not necessary to suggest that all fathers are paragons of virtue to have an opinion that a father and mother would generally be a better bet for the child . I will admit that finding evidence for this will be next to impossible given the impossibility of establishing a class neutral sample but still it is something we see around us . We should therefore be setting policies in place to encourage this desirable state and least stop the state taking over the role of the father usually with his money.
Your conclusion , in that there are any , seem to tend the way of all silly feminist thought which is that men are an unfortunate encumbrance to the happy home there , if anything , to get drunk and be abusive.

Not so. The absence of father figures from estates and schools has been “catastrophic” for white working class boys and part of the difference between them and there far better socio economic equivalents is exactly that Asians and Chinese families , for example have retained a nuclear family and are ascending . Educational results and crime figures for these fatherless groups , whites and Afro Caribbean are staggeringly worse that for others in exactly the same social circumstances. Of course you are right to say that the fact that the single mother is generally contributing so little to the community or the treasury takes a further framework of value away. True , you cannot hide this from children and she will tend to be treated as the child she has chosen to remain by young males. Quite clearly a woman who lives as a serf will command little authority and in any case the link between action and reward has been fatally broken .Does one blame the actual women for allowing herself to get into this circumstance . Partly yes . My wife as you know came from a very poor part of London and was the daughter of a single mother who came to Islington to get a Council flat. However she did not do this deliberately and the fact her marriage had failed was not because the intention that it should work was never there .More than this, she was prepared to work FULL TIME and leave Marian in what were inadequate care facilities. It is my opinion than while today a lot more help would be available that lesson ,that if you make problems with your own mistakes you pay for them, was more important in her life than any number of state crèches . Now it is to easy to sit around saying oh dear I can’t be head of the BBC I there will get no job at all. Additionally , by far the largest group are those who actively chose this way of life. Remember this , they are not only resented by men . They are also fiercely resented by the many other young women who are obliged to live with their parents work full time and
Make endless sacrifice to while they watch there efforts squandered on the most feckless of the community living a far better life in every way
It is certain that men are just as bad but they do not happen to have this choice
I know you are always on the side of single mothers but you take it more personally than is useful. You are one single mother , not all of them . You do not speak for them all a lot of what you say is sensible but what you do not discuss is what w the taxpayer should or should not be paying for . To actually be paying to undermine socially useful structures like the nuclear family is an outrage and unless you are suggesting that policy should be set to further undermine the family I `m not clear where this sort of special pleading takes us

Priorities

In view of drinking commitments both tonight and tomorrow night nothing to see here until the weekend .

MOVE ALONG MOVE ALONG

Dullest Lunch Ever Recorded ?

"There's now a posse of us bloggers with book deals with a secret forum - and over the last few months we have happily procrastinated by sending emails round, encouraged each other, shared whinges and victories and tips for writer's block and deadline hell. A few weeks ago we all went out to lunch and some of us carried on until the evening."

( Rachel North London)

Astonishingly I was not invited .Just think of that all of those tedious media creeps gathered in one place .... What an opportunity... I wonder who belongs to this clandestine society of the dishonest blogger. I look forward to seeing the roll of shame published. I only ask that they should be pursued with pitch forks and burning torches through the night until they leave this land and never return .....but noone ever listens to me.


DALE - I was suprised to see him in the Telgraph this morning . It was a pretty vanilla flavoured article but on refelection there wasn`t much more he could do with it . Its a dull story .I do think he might have put a bit more effort into the title though." Keep The Champagne on Ice" ..that really is " as old as the quills ".
Still , good to see Iain doing well no doubt the next one will have a bit more personality to it

Quick One

On the Chinese written language, the ideograph that stands for "trouble" represents two women under one roof.


I`m saying nuffin

Race and The English

Race and English Nationalism

As some may know ,my family is of mixed race, and I can’t say this would have occurred to me as an issue, but ,lovely soft skinned and delicately scented David Allen , mentioned the dislocation of ethnic minorities, and, looking at the paper today, it has cropped up again, in an article by Martin Beckford.

More Blacks and Asians see Themselves as British

“ More black and Asian people regard themselves as British than whites, a survey has found ….the study also discovers that fewer people in general see themselves as British ,as they identify with England , Scotland, Wales or Ireland.
The Institute for Public Policy Research , a left wing think tank, found fifty-one percent of ethnic minority respondents describe themselves as British, compared with twenty-nine percent of white people..”
In 1996 , fifty-two percent called themselves British out of preference and the report concludes .
“ Britain’s identity crisis looks set to continue and the implications for community cohesion look clear.” Looking back over the past week or two, the last really impassioned defence I can find for the Union was mounted by none other than ,( new best friend) ,Trevor Phillips , who has so delighted me by irritating world record cab fare holder Ken Livingstone. This is his much improved recent track record

Trevor Phillips

“After supporting multiculturalism for many years, Phillips is now one of its most outspoken mainstream critics. He expressed fears that multiculturalism could cause Britain to "sleepwalk towards segregation" and has argued for school selection to be amended to prevent segregation in British schools.
In 2006 he was appointed the head of a new organisation known as the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights,”

Trevor Philips on Britain … ( abridged version)


Perhaps if we want to see what it truly means to be British, we should ask hard-working, Indians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese and Filipinos……...
Vietnamese and Eastern European families arrive barely speaking English; within two years, their children are rising to the top of the class and qualifying for our best universities….
.Modern Britishness does not define you by your colour, your ancestry or your tribe; but rather it asks you to treat fellow citizens with respect and fairness, to share basic rules of conduct and to contribute to our common good……..
He wants measures to actively foster this inclusiveness
1)Over the past twelve months, English classes have been quietly disappearing from local colleges, to the despair of new migrants and their employers.
2) efforts to bring young people of different backgrounds together – say English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish — in voluntary, cultural or sporting activities.
3)a major drive to encourage initiatives such as summer camps for teenagers
4)citizenship ceremonies

Why it is that Trevor Phillips feels Englishness is so much less likely to be inclusive than Britishness.? Why would you not use the phrase Black -English ? You see I think there is fault line here ,and while I applaud to some extent, what he tries to do , essentially ,he is still denying the that the England is a country in the sense that others are.

What is Englishness and Where has it Gone ?

What do we want ? Larry the lamb, knee length bathing trunks, steam engines , foxtrots and all male cricket clubs. Probably not . I locate the heart of it in institutions like Common Law, our Literature music and customs. All old cultures are under threat from globalisation and the media . The land loses its personal face and the English have begun to feel they are noone and they live nowhere special. They also seem to hate themselves……

Prescribed Ethnicity

In 1999 during selections to the European Parliament 78 year old George Staunton was putting up UKIP posters in Liverpool . On a derelict wall he painted the words “Don’t forget the 1945 war” and “Free speech for England “ . He was arrested by the Merseyside police and charged with “Racially aggravated damage”. Racially ,was on account of the gratuitous reference to England, a country for whom the defendant had fought a war. Pubs have refused to extend opening hours for St . Georges day because it would be provocative and jingoistic. To be English has become to be a “little Englander” a small mean and embarrassing thing . A blot , as Trevor Phillips implies, on the bland vision of “Britishness “in which uniquely , England , and English ethnicity, is abolished.
As we well know ,to Europe, England does not even exist. The official map of the European union, issued by the European commission of Brussels ,which divides the continent into regions ,makes absolutely no mention of England . It would be a vast deal easier to drop Nelson from the curriculum than Nelson Mandella but this seems to concern no-one ..until recently .

The English Wake Up

We are waking from a long sleep, and remembering without triumphalism, the value and distinctive nature of our own history . Is this is a dangerous Pandora’s box , I see the worry but I hope not . Tolerance has always been a leading motif ,but the fact that this country is England ,and the dominant culture in it is that of the English, cannot go on being treated as a shameful secret.

Back to Race.

I know why Trevor Phillips and others fear English ethnicity. It is because he is more comfortable to give us no identity at all in order that others can maintain theirs. “Racism “will be bandied about as it always is ,but it is to do with culture and a real commitment to the “home” ,you live in. Britain is not a country ,it is a political unit . It is something you can join ,and leave ,to whatever extent you like , with full entitlements. “England” ,on the other hand , is a country , a thing made of love, time ,and a thousand bonds of affection .It is not enough for those who come here to tolerate it . This is not racist it is asking for a real joining over the years , not simply ”Parking up “. For some communities it may be a challenge ,but in the context of our reasonable ness I trust we will find a new accommodation.



“English Nationalism is not a question of race, it is a question of being proud of our way of life (ethnicity), our heritage and our culture and about loyalty and a sense of community. All races are welcome as members.”

( English National Party Manifesto)

..and I would want top be a bit more plural than that…just to be on the safe side !!

Dull Husband in the South ( of London)

Oh god I’m so depressed . Absolutely everyone in the whole world is fighting through a blizzard of publishing quids except me . There`s Wife in the North , now rich well connected writer in the North , but never mind . There’s … well one is far to many and what gets me is that some mysterious ingredient called ,“ the quality of the writing “, is the catnip in the garden. As far as I can tell this “quality of writing “, consists of over blown similes and being sad every now and then . So fighting through a haze of anti biotics I don’t see why I shouldn’t have a go . The core material is a bit weak granted, but I soldier on regardless.

I walked to the tube station , like a nifty little speedboat zipping into cut sapphire Aegean inlets . I picked up the paper and the news danced and sang with the Technicolor joy of a young Dick van Dyke. I looked at a grubby old bag lady ,( didn’t really shhh ..), and her face was a blossom falling from the Cherry tree in our house one spring . When I got to work I perused a Liability Policy which called like a Venetian courtesan’s scent caught by her entrapped lover on the bridge of sighs and goodness I felt a bit sad…..
I sat feeling sorry for myself and my soul skittered through the whispered aspens like a prayer. Oh blimey I realised I forgot my packed lunch.. But in such a strange enchanted day , a golden day , I made do with a Kit Kat from the machine……not bad not bad

Honest I can do it with a perforated edge if you prefer ? No takers ? Blast !. Not even a fiver? Ok Ok…….

Ha I prefer the griitty reality of being hard up anyway

England`s Future Decided in Scotland

“Shortly after the defeated Jacobite army withdrew from the battlefield on Drumossie Moor, the Duke of Cumberland rode into Inverness clutching a drawn sword to show he was the victor. It was a gesture full of menace for Highland people. The battle was over, but the killing was not.The roads into the town from the east were scattered with the bodies of men, women and children cut down at random by his advancing dragoons, while on the battlefield, parties of infantry, encouraged by their officers, covered themselves in blood as they ranged the ground stabbing or hacking to death any enemy wounded who caught their attention.
The day after the battle, patrols were sent back to the area and found and butchered 70 more injured Jacobites. And on the day after that, another 72 were discovered and executed, 32 of them being deliberately burnt alive as they sheltered in a barn at Leanach “

That was the battle of Culloden and while things have clamed down a bit this ancient battle line is now re drawn and ascrucial for Gordon Brown as it is for the hopes of the English right.

New Labour are seriously scared about the upcoming Scottish local elections on May the 3rd. We can tell this from the cavalcades of heavy weights that have been dispatched to the chilly land o` the Jocks recently to plead the Unionist cause. Alec Salmonella welcomed ( boomerang) Blair`s attention as his best weapon post Iraq but the Prez rarely blinks and he is busy assuring the Glasgow Herald that for countries the size of England and Scotland (?) to separate was “regressive and old fashioned”. He does however concede that these elections are” huge and fundamentally important “, but has to be careful . Something the Labour position can be seen from his description of the SNP as an “£8 bn. Betting slip” , what about the other £12bn?He is quick to remind us down here that “England also benefit from the Union” and must not overly criticise the devolved settlement by implication, “We must not just point ou the disasters of independence” .I have though for some time that the most pivotal shift in British politics was that of the English from Unionists to Nationalists and for Labour it brings a horrifying prospect of the end of Socialism under the first past the post system. For us , the English , there is much to hope for . The means to decide our own destiny in Europe , the freedom to settle the social ills that Celtic powered socialism have wrought upon us , a fiscal bonanza and more important than all of this the chance to rediscover a pride in our heritage as free Englishmen and women. I am going to try to do a survey of where we are now and then look forward to the prize on offer. As ever the forces of established interest are ranged against the people’s wishes but the cracks are now so wide that they cannot , simply cannot , be papered over indefinitely .I may well have to go and rest in the scented garden of Miss Smack by the time I`ve finished but duty calls .

Counting up the money

The current English taxpayer’s subsidy to the Scottish Exchequer is some £20 billion per year and growing, which approximately equates to over £1,000 per English taxpayer. Public spending in Scotland is now 23%, (Government spending of £5,271 per head in Scotland), above the English average. In Northern Ireland the figure is 39%, (£5,939 per head), and 18%, (£5,052 per head), in Wales. This compares with a figure of £4,283 for England. If the subsidies to all parts of the United Kingdom were taken into account it is likely that each English taxpayer is paying £3,000 each year to subsidise the other parts of the former United Kingdom. If the subsidy to the European Union was taken into account, that figure would rise to over £4000 every year.
We know of course that the SNP have convinced the Scottish that without the encumbrance the English they will be like either Norway( Oil ) or failing that the EU will bal them out like Eire. The oil point revenue is highly questionable, especially as the Shetlands may well pull out .I have no doubt that behind all the misty moors and tartan waffle this is the real calculation going on. The fact that Scottish people live such poor lives despite huge subsidy shows how worthless dead state money is to the economy and we have to fair . There is also dim sense that they cannot go on living like serfs and must take control of their destiny . I think they are quite right

That Famous Question

Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for West-Lothian asked it, and its still the neatest way to put the problem ‘Why should the representative from West Lothian (or any other Scottish constituency, for that matter) be able to sit in the Westminster Parliament and vote on parochial matters affecting the English, when the English members who sat in the same parliament (are) entirely unable to vote on parochial matters affecting the Scots, for those matters (are) now to be considered by Scotland’s own parliament?’
The House of Commons currently has 659 members with only 529 parliamentary seats allocated to England. While England does not have a national assembly, on really democratic principles, England should have greater representation than the devolved nations, but should certainly at worst should not have lesser representation.
In fact the system discriminates heavily against England and although England represents c. 86.3% of the population of the former United Kingdom and accordingly England should therefore have 569 seats in the House of Commons, while in reality, it is 40 seats short of its minimum proper representation. At present nearly 20% of the seats in the House of Commons have been allocated to c. 13.8% of the population of the former United Kingdom. This means that the devolved parts of the United Kingdom, in addition to having their own assembly, are nearly 50% over represented in Westminster. Whereas on any fair answer to the West-Lothian question they should be substantially under-represented at Westminster.

We talk nowadays about the “democratic deficits “ but it is worth reminding ourselves to what extent we are mistreated in England . As each new problem . Fees ., Road tax and so on crops up the problem will open up like a raw wound . It is clear we cannot stop where we are .

The Nation that was Britain

Thomas Carlyle writing from his home in Dumfriesshire competed his address with “ North Britain?”, and in the Victorian period the English and most Scots completely bought into the idea of British one nation . There were destinies to be found abroad . A white man’s burden to pick up and great commercial opportunities for the Scots both in London and in the empire.”. We can see that the English used this ruse to dominate the “Nation” by the premierships of Macmillan, Home Roseberry, Campbell Bannerman, Balfour and the Ulster Scot Bonar law .Britain” itself was an invention dug up from pre Roman times to give some sense wholeness to the politically expediency of the union of two countries 300 years ago Gordon brown was prominent in the cabinet that sought to diffuse nationalism in Scotland with an act of constitutional vandalism without equal the current devolved parliaments. The Liberal Democrats were his partners in cynical manoeuvring and we mustn’t forget that their strength has great ties with the outlying Celtic regions and the attitude of Ming will be crucial to the future in Scotland if there is to be a pro independence coalition as there may well be .

WALES

Welsh National Assembly achieved a very dubious mandate (c 25%) from a tiny majority of voters in a poorly attended referendum, Should the Welsh prefer to be independent I would hope that such independence was "independence under the Crown" at least, thus maintaining our historical association with the people of Wales The position of Monmouthshire in this context is anomalous, as historically it had been part of England until recent boundary re-organisation and may require special treatment Historically, since Medieval times, Wales has been an integral part of England .On the basis that the Welsh National Assembly is dissolved and Wales is represented in parliament and subsidised on a principle of absolute equality with England I personally would like to continue to be connected with the principality. The very different relationship between the countries should not at least be conflated into one out of bureaucratic convenience.



Where we are now

The latest ICM poll put support for independence in Scotland at 52% and this is the really important news .“68% of the English support the idea of having a parliament for ourselves.” So we must turn away from staring balefully at Hadrian’s wall and look at ourselves and what has happened to us .. What has happened is this . Britain was never more than an extension of England for us and the speed with which all that affection has disappeared is because it has quite easily settled on its true home “England “. It may well be that eventually it is from England the break will come especially if Labour seek to impose its legislative will on England with a programme entirely reliant on the fifty or so seats they have in the their client state. The position elect orally is tricky . The SNP have 33% a lead over Labour on 31%. The Lib Dems may well hold the balance of power but they are wedded to the Nationalist cause and cannot act entirely for the cynical good of the Westminster Party . Ming is currently standing firm but this is a fractious and fast moving position . The local elections if they are bad for the labour Party will be the proof that it “Can” be done. For the Liberal Democrats to sit on the fence will be commensurately more difficult . Personally I see the idea of ruling England with Scottish votes becoming the crow bar between the counties but the process could be a lot quicker.

Well that’s enough or today I think . Tomorrow its.

1 False reasons for the Union
2 Britain is no nationality (answering Trevor Phillips )
3 What is Englishness
4 The forbidding of Englishness


I appreciate that this is not exactly fresh and minty stuff but I hope it will be a good summary as we approach the Local elections.

Look Back In Languor

Don’t know if I `ll do this regularly or not, but at all events ,welcome to a more than usually aimless meander around the silly stories I `ve enjoyed lately. It seems the police share my manyana attitude judging from the BBC News Headline

“Another schoolboy shot dead in London- Police to hold urgent talks” ……..well lets have a chat shall we then………

PINKY MASSACRE

You might think , “OAP bit off neighbour’s little finger in row over geraniums “,would be hard to top . It is a goody , apparently Pamela Fox , 65,spat the severed digit into Maija Andric`s face . It was a two year simmer which started over guess what ? Parking spaces. The very same issue that got me into politics so keep you hands well away from my mouth lefties.!

FRAUDS GET FILM

There is hope for Blair after all . The famously lip synching Milli Vanilli are about to be recipients of the full Hollywood treatment. Jeff Nathanson, who was the screen writer for ,“Catch Me If You Can “, explained that he had always be fascinated by frauds and phoneys. So I’m sure we can all suggest his next subject .
The intriguing thing about Milli Vanilli is that while they were actually involved in the whole silly game they began to believe they could sing themselves . The German producer Frank Farian got so frustrated with them that he outed them and the ensuing scandal lead eventually to depression drugs a death for Rob Pilatus . Isn’t it peculiar how fame warps people’s minds . That name Rob …hmmmm

ROBBIE

Similarly Robbie Williams was given fictitious song writing credits for Guy Chamber`s sometimes excellent material. This was a Royalty sharing ruse that is common in the Music biz , but then he began to think he could write his own stuff. The resulting melange of risible doodling has nearly sunk EMI and is commonly reckoned to be the worst record ever made. Poor old Robbie ,faced with the truth that he is and always will be no more than a fat tap dancer from Stockport , he`s gone druggy to. Where do these grandiose delusions come from though.

MORE FILM NEWS

Incidentally there is also a film in the pipe line to tell the story of Charles De Menzes. .I wonder whose story they are going to tell exactly . I will be curious as to how the scene at Stockwell Tube Station is played and looking out for the word . Oops

TIM RICE FEELS IGNORED

Poor Tim Rice just feels utterly spent and empty darling . The Tories just don’t love him anymore. ”Dave and his dynamic thrusting team are simply not interested in me or my Neanderthal views. They couldn’t give a stuff what I think” (Speccie). Well I do know how he feels perhaps he can write a song or the ribbon of many colours that is due to replace my beloved Blue Rosette. What Colour will it be Tim ? Altogether…
……. red and yellow and green and brown
And scarlet and black and ocher and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey
And purple and white ….and so on infinitum

( Newmania fact . I played Joseph in the Primary School production and had a goodish Treble voice .)

TODDLER FIGHTING

A really nasty story this about a group of women forcing their 2 and 3 year olds to fight each other . It was filmed and the footage “shocked and stunned all who saw it “. Its the details . The little boy repeatedly cries “I don’t want to “and is called a “wimp and a faggot”. There are some things that I just do not understand at all and this is one of them . Perhaps with all this banging on about the how wonderful the family is we should bear in mind it isn`t always .As I recently mentioned the most likely people to steal from the old are their own relatives and the people torturing these children were their own mothers .

IT GETS WORSE

Then a new born girl was discovered in a bin having been dumped there by her 19 year old mother Samantha Robertson The baby may be returned to the mother who claims she was to scared to tell her parents she was pregnant. Does that justify attempted murder then ? Not for me ; but with pro abortionist women seeking the right to pursue their unwanted teenagers down the street with a baseball bat , I may be not with the zeitgeist here.

BACK TO THE 70s

Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels no longer contain artery clogging trans fats announced Burton’s foods .Ahhh Wagon Wheels that takes me back to the 70s . I actually had one of the first Choppers in the Street because Newmania Senior worked in the States and was the coolest thing in the playground , I thought .
I bought K-tel Top of the Pops records and my favourite band were Sweet. In fact I `m not at all sure that you can top Ballroom Blitz to this day .

MONEY ..what is it worth eh ?

A Los Angeles Zoo paid a feng shui expert £2300 so three golden monkeys from China will feel at home ( In their swinging pad!)…Amazing. Meanwhile a Peckham Preacher who took money from clients whose fertility he assisted by the power of prayer has been refused legal aid to battle against his extradition to Kenya. Less amazing . Inevitable ..there seems to be about one of these a month.



INTERNET CASANOVA

Hey turn down the light as and put some soft music on . Welcome to my love salon. Casanova con men (like me ), are targeting the lonely so says the Office of Fair Trading ..(actually anyone will do .) they befriend them , before starting to mention an urgent operation or being stranded abroad. So what’s the harm in that then , everyone gets something out of the deal . Don’t be put off send me your money ,and if you are a women …I love you.

BEEN THERE

The number of Drivers advertising their gas guzzlers on E bay has gone up 23 percent since July says the auction website and there’s a seventy five percent increase in people buying motorbikes. Of course Red Ken is to blame for this but I `m alright I already have a motor bike, when I need a Pizza delivery job I come with my own kit.

ROUND ONE

A gang of happy slappers got more than they bargained for when they picked on ex amateur boxer Curtis Mulcare 31. Mr . Mulcare put two of them in hospital and a further four were arrested .One of them had approached him at a bus stop and slapped in this face I do hope it was one of the ones in hospital.


In the world of silly otherwise there was the discovery that Cleopatra was ugly .So what was it that first attracted you to the Queen of the wealthiest grain basket in the Ancient world Mark Anthony ?Some things are pretty constant aren’t they. A lethal pink bunny was recalled by Fisher Price and Pubs are closing at five a week say CAMRA

HAGUE THE SOT

The best thing to do is to start drinking early and often. Ask William Hague who said this in an interview with a lad`s Mag years ago “ My holiday job was as a drivers mate , delivering the bottles and beer around South Yorkshire. We used to have a pint at every stop and we had ten stops a day …Then go out in the evening to the pub.”
Impressive but when GQ questioned the veracity of the boastful Yorkshireman staff at Conservative Central Office , no less, squealed” We can get you firm evidence he drank 14 pints , he used to come home completely plastered”. Should have stuck to the skunk really . Less trouble


Next up . Scottish Local elections and the end of the|Union

Who is the Villain ..remind me ?

I have to admit I`ve never been much of Daily Mail fan, it always seems so shrill as to undermine its position, and in any case I `m a crashing snob at heart . The Telegraph has the same stories with slightly longer words and that seems to do the trick for me. So; I am far better acquainted with the fake Peter Hitchens than the real one . It was only whilst browsing around the subject of the Loss of the English culture that I first read anything by him ,this weekend . What do I find , but that I rather like the chap. His output is huge but the "World Socialist Web Site " hated, "The Abolition of Britain " which Roger Scruton, my new best friend , mentioned in "England an Elegy " .He cannot be all bad. This is what World Socialism had to say.

.”WHEN TWO TRIBES GO TO WAR….dubba dubba dum,,………..

" Hitchens ramblings echo those of the right wing of the Republican Party".says WORLD SOCIALISM..now why do the left always make an American link? ..."His nationalism and xenophobia"....Hoorah we got an phobia ,no sane man should be without one.., "his paean to the family and traditional values, and horror at the impact of the radical 1960s "...just to remind you this is all supposed to be a bad thing..." Even his portrayal of Blair as a pseudo revolutionary mirrors the demonisation of Clinton by the Republican right "..again off we go to America why ?.."In essence"....wait for it "Hitchens is testing the water for a formation of a fascist movement in Britain !"
.Well of course he is, isn’t he . Anyone who has any doubt about the received wisdom of the liberal elite must be a fascist. Anyone who feel the massive social experiment going since the 1960s ,for example Comprehensive education , has failed , must , of course , no question , be a fascist. Quite a few in the Labour party nowadays then .
All of this makes me wonder why certain friends of mine seem to so dislike the Hitch . Pending further evidence I do not . He seems well worth further reading and lets and lets not forget this was back in 1999 when the Blair project was only starting to smell bad..

To give you an inkling of how things are getting better, lets remind our selves of what “Observer Columnist” Andrew Marr had to say . He was nervous because behind Blair’s “Britain at Peace with itself “” Reactionary forces are gathering …he doesn’t say “Counter Revolutionary “ but its close. He went on (in 1999) ,as follows:

“ There is forming in this country a the beginnings of a broad anti labour coalition, it may be ragged but it looks angry and determined. It stretches from the pro sterling campaigners, to farmers , fox hunters , grammar school enthusiasts and supporters of the Lords “

Yes and no Marr . You completely misunderstood the nature of the right wing challenge to the Blair “consensus?” which is more along modern libertarian and Neo Con economic lines ,than the traditional resistance you mention, but you sensed a wiff of smoke on the breeze back then ,didn’t you .Angry and determined , you got right. Moving forward a few years and he is one of the first to run for cover

“Political pundit Andrew Marr said( this year) 'The BBC is not impartial or neutral. It's a publicly funded, urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people. It has a liberal bias not so much a party-political bias. It is better expressed as a cultural liberal bias.”

Andrew Marr is now Telegraph columnist….. When a vacillating media weathervane like that ,starts pointing your way you know you’re winning . Andrew Marr has shown himself to be unprincipled but clever. Peter Hitchens seems to me to have shown some character and consistency.

Miss Smack is Rotting The Fabric of Society

I have a day off work and I am still recuperating from what feels like the worst Flu ever known to man or beast. I was plotting a long boring political diatribe but instead found myself wandering into the scented garden of Miss Smack, who appears to be a very naughty young lady indeed from Adelaide.
As I explained to Miss Smack , Conservatives are respectable people with well controlled libidos and are unlikely to be tempted into her absinthe soaked world a sherbet and sensual pleasure . I therefore feel confident that I can rely on the self control of anyone who might have been hoping for some comment on current affairs not to be enchanted by the strange languorous music calling ..calling softly and insistently , from the world of Miss Smack. Not tempted at all.
As Blogger have kindly removed links you will have to express your lack of temptation by visiting the comments on the previous post. So called Miss Smack has a rather arresting avatar …if you like that sort of thing . Which I don’t .I disapprove of her , her lascivious ways her immoral thoughts , her cunning wiles her womanly snares and her long legs , her bright eyes , her ……any way; I disapprove.

Blog Goes Big Time

"The Charity Commission has warned an online blogger he could go to jail unless he submits information he has gathered about the activities of the Smith Institute, the left-wing think tank under investigation for links to the Labour Party.

The formal direction was issued to Paul Staines, who runs the Guido Fawkes political website, ordering him to release documents relating to the institute by Friday.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has admitted that his policies are shaped and influenced by the think tank. " DT

Well..... superfluous I know but cooo!!

Small Fish seeks Teeny Weeny Pond

See that "top Local Tory" ....that me that is .Good Old Gazette a terrific local Paper doing its job of winding the Coucil up. They are furious about this.


Council job ad sparks racism row
nlnews@archant.co.uk
14 February 2007
A JOB advert on Islington Council's website asking for 40 Afro-Caribbean men to become teaching assistants has been branded a disgrace by a top local Tory.

Paul Newman, vice-chairman of Islington North Conservatives, says the advert for the roles in Islington's Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) is insulting and could encourage support for right-wing parties such as the BNP.

He said: "Do we need divisive special treatment for newcomers? Absolutely not, there is already growing suspicion and mistrust. This will add to it.

"Black children and white children should be treated the same and so should their teachers. Simple."
The advert, entitled African-Caribbean Men Wanted in School to Make a Difference to Children's Lives, offers applicants "an all expenses paid training package" and the support to "develop a rewarding career in education".

But many other jobhunters feel discriminated against.

A 21-year-old from Essex Road, who only wanted to be named as Victoria, was so furious when she saw the advert she began a petition objecting to it.

She said: "I find it racist and sexist and there are a lot of people who feel the same. I've already got 36 signatures, and some work in Islington schools."

Councillor Ursula Woolley, Islington's executive member for children and young people, said: "Islington Council and CEA would never condone any kind of racism.

"The advert is for a training course that is run regularly. It's not a job offer, but we hope the training will help unemployed residents to find a job.

"Giving our children positive role models they can identify with is an important way of helping them to succeed.

"Advertising that's targeted to attract underrepresented groups is not discrimination, it is specifically allowed under equalities law.

The Master Plan

OK , as of now ,this is the plan. I am going to do one or two longer pieces per week (boo) and in between fill in with short lighthearted stuff( Hoorah), if I can be bothered.
This will leave me time for commenting on other peoples blogs which I like to do.
The blogs I have linked to , all of which I really like ,contain many superb daily political posters, and I cannot see the point of another similiar one.



Thats the Plan.I know there will be many who will be desperately disappointed not to see more glutinous diatribes about the state of the nation but with luck I might have something original to say once or twice a week. Even that sounds like a tall order to me

Thanks for the comments recently.

"Its Absolute Bollocks" . C. George .( Artist .)

Football. The world of Pooter people seems odd to me in that sport is almost entirely absent. I have always loved it. My father gave me little choice .
I was a far more serious at rugby player than footballer, without being much good at anything really and Arsenal have been my team, right back to the days of Charlie George . I stood on the North bank on many occasions although I was usually playing , and recently went to the oddly quiet Emirates Stadium. I wouldn’t especially want to bore anyone but I thought this was such a good summary of the state of the game and the actions of the ruling body I couldn’t resist it. Well written to and with bitter passion.




Good Old FIFA Sort Out The Things That Matter

Diving is an endemic problem that seems to get more and more coverage every week. The offside law is a shambles; no-one knows what's happening, least of all the referees. Every corner or free-kick around the box sees defenders pulling shirts or holding attackers. Every game features players gesturing for their fellow professionals to be booked or sent off.

A policeman was killed in Italy less than two weeks ago by rioting fans. A French fireman lost his fingers trying to remove an explosive thrown into the pitch from the crowd. Hooliganism mars Dutch football. Black players are openly abused in Spain and Eastern Europe.

Third-party ownership of players has reduced any sort of control over transfers to a laughing stock. A bung culture apparently dominates the English game, covered up by a media scared to lose their special relationship with clubs. Small clubs are left to rot as big clubs get richer and richer. Television and money run the game. Men like Peter Ridsdale have free rein to bankrupt club after club. The FA Cup draw has been moved to Mondays.

International friendlies cripple squads at crucial parts of the season. The African Nations' Cup snatches away players from top divisions in Europe every two years, and no apparent attempt has been made to find a compromise. The next World Cup is likely to be marred by higher levels of crime than have ever been seen at the world's premier football tournament.

FIFA executives sell tickets on the black market for ridiculous profits. So do a hell of a lot of other people. Football shirts, shorts and boots are made for pennies in third-world sweatshops and flogged for vastly inflated prices. Peter Kenyon still exists.

And I can only applaud the FIFA delegates who have found time to bring in new laws for next season that will see a player celebrating a goal booked for such things as 'cupping his ear with his hand or holding a finger across his mouth in a 'Silence, please' gesture, Klinsmann-type dives or dancing round the corner flag.'
Seriously lads. Well done.”


Charlie George had this to say about it

'I've been a fan myself and I feel you're giving them something back. If you score and just run back to thr halfway line it's absolute bollocks' - Charlie George






How right he was.

Uninspired..thats me

You know what that last post was a load of balls. I feel as if I `m a mile underwater and I started writing before I had something to say. It was never going to be good . That’s the problem with this blogging thing sometimes you aren’t inspired. I am reading Ted Hughes at the moment , re reading I should say and the first pome in the collection( by Simon Armitage another good poet) is The Thought Fox. I was looking glumly at the last slab dullness and it reminded me that sometimes you have to wait. I `m sure almost everyone in the world knows this but in case anyone does not …


THE THOUGHT-FOX

I imagine this midnight moment’s forest:
Something else is alive
Beside the clock’s loneliness
And this blank page where my fingers move.

Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness:

Cold, delicately as the dark snow,
A fox’s nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now

Sets neat prints into the snow
Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow
Of a body that is bold to come

Across clearings, an eye,
A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly,
Coming about its own business

Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox
It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks,
The page is printed.


The key point of the poem is when the Fox appears not as distant , almost imagined but real and pungent .Ted Hughes suddenly switches to a surprising description of the olfactory sensation of Fox. The idea is in your head.
Now that would be nice.......

Update: as some people have bothered to post below feel abit mean about this remark. I`m afraid the truth of CU`s critique rather struck me .

"A ring of truth in some parts, nonesense in others; much like the source material." I was thinking you have to start with an idea not look at some information and hope it looks like one. Its odd isn`t how most people settle down to a niche and do their thing . I still haven`t decided exactly what I am going to do with this.No doubt the answer is creeping about in the darkness as I write.

Blimey I get dull when I have a cold

Happy Valentines Day I Don`t Think

Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.….


Hmmm, perhaps there is more resonance for men in this Valentines day thing than I had thought. Seriously ,men have become sulky load of Primates picking their ears disconsolately behind a jungle shrub and the interweb is populated by more than its share of embittered divorced males. Lets try to be understanding just for once. Oh go on…

Some things never change , Jackie Collins advised Posh on her Hollywood adventure as follows ”I don’t think you can leave men in this town on their own. I really don’t . Not more than a day or two at the most”. There we go then ,problem one ;men aren’t changing . The fauxmosexual new man is a myth, and when it isn’t, its only because he has his own despicable agenda. That men remain as despicable as ever is evidenced by a recent survey on attitudes to internet pornography. Seventy five percent of men responded that it was natural outlet they needed for their excessive and unsatisfied desires, whereas ,two thirds of women pronounced themselves variously shocked , unhappy and so on….
Poor deluded things, but not only is the new man a myth but so is the new woman. For all you read about women juggling career baby ,man and a tarte fine aux pommes for tea ,the truth is this .The average woman will vacuum 7300 miles in her lifetime whereas the average man clocks up a feeble 850 miles . In other words life simply doesn’t do what it says on the tin ,for women .

No clearer evidence of this can be found than in the bizarre obsession women have with their bodies Tessa Jowell , never one to jump on a vacuous band wagon has “Joined forces” with ”Fashion leaders” to launch a crusade against size zero models . Meanwhile Ann Nicole Smith whose shape, in its day , was the cause of much male salivation , dies , apparently, of excessive boob jobs. What are we to make of women`s determination to become vastly thinner than men would prefer ? Is it some crazed competition they have amongst themselves or are they just unhappy . They have good reason to be .

Women remain seriously under-represented in senior positions ,often being sidelined to the ,“Mummy career track” They are 10% of the senior judiciary 14 % of Local authority leaders and only 17% of editors of national newspapers. Thanks to determined reverse discrimination , and political convenience, they are currently 20% of MP`s but the calibre of the Blair babes was so low as to set the cause of women’s rights back for decades . My hopes are not high for Priti Patel`s and Joanne Cash`s either . Both seem to be yes-women,a phrase soon to have wide currency. Anyway the figures are slipping and we are currently below the level of Rwanda , Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps we men should give the girls a go at being hunter gatherer ,and do the cave paintings and berries for a bit .No I `m sorry but that won’t work , women hate it. Lauren Booth confessed in the Mail that there are great problems for the 21 percent of couples where the woman earns more than the man ( Government stats ..seems high to me ). Her husband will be picking out a valentine present and she will be worrying about how much it costs her. He has to ask for more money when he runs out and faces a variety of humiliations one might not foresee . In many cases the wife loses respect for the husband who feels emasculated and sex disappears Guess what, women resent the fact they have to do all the work .Welcome to the club girls .

Inevitably men are ceasing to want to get married , there is less and less in it for them. In December last year the number of single women outnumbered married spouses for the first time. The decline in a marriage , says the centre for policy studies, has serious implications for children and women.

“ ..parents moving in and out of relationships ..A lot of women in the forties and fifties will be living alone ..with all sorts of emotional and financial implications” . while agonisingly modish females may go “Blonde with grief “,about their failed relationships, there is a vast well of unhappiness for ordinary , lonely middle aged ,“spinsters” ,stuck in low grade jobs or , more likely nowadays , on benefits.”

The CSA has further alienated men whose sense of ill treatment is such that the law cannot operate . It costs 70p for them to acquire every pound they eventually get, and there is an outstanding £3.5 billion uncollected since 1993. With divorce courts blaming the man ,be his wife the scarlet whore of Babylon, men simply do not believe they owe anyone anything .

So its tough for women. They have got most of things they said they wanted ,and now they find noone wants them .The stark truth is that if a mans IQ rises by 16 points his his chances of marrying rise by 35% if a woman’s IQ rise as much, her chances slump by the same amount. Women, you see ,are not happy , generally with men that are lower achievers than them . As they are now 57% of University entrants and rising , there simply aren’t enough Alpha’s to go around. Forty percent of women born in 1970 are likely to enter their forties childless .Brutal isn’t it.
Most ordinary Eves fail to reach the mirage they glimpse shimmering in the magazine pages, and those who do find its just more sand when they get there.
So even for the “To posh to push” ,caesarean having , double degreeing, career achieving supergirls, life is not that great after all.


Happy Valentines girls …I`d go out buy yourself something nice if I were you! You deserve it and noone else is going to bother …probably.

I am Sick As a Bird (with Flu )

Pinched this from the C Hunt which is poor as I was only slagging her off yesterday.
I am sick and in bed feeling sorry for myself .Sorry Croydonian and PHITCH that I will be unable to attend the "Putting the world to rights" session.Can we please reschedule for later in the week ?


Back to bed , I am hoping to be back in the "Land of the living"


MISERY MISERY MISERY

Ellee -gaic Musings

I watched Ellee on Andrew Marr`s show this morning .I was hoping to see a bit more of her but it was worth the trouble .I spied Croydonian flashing onto the Screen and furiously pointed this out to the bemused Blog Virgins I was with. Anyway I have been thinking on matters Ellee -gaic and by means of an odious pun shall we segue to ,"A sense of Loss"



LOSS
I suppose the Blogger who more than anyone represents the sense I am looking for is Cranmer. A magnificent confection of course but I missed the real significance until this week. I have been reading ”England an Elegy “ by Roger Scruton and found it is one of those books, that takes unformed thoughts one had ,and gives them a home . Cohere would be the modern word.

This passage struck me as peculiarly apposite with reference to his Grace’s wraith presence.
“The world of the English was a world of rituals,uniforms, precedents and offices. In any serious business they would spontaneously , adopt another and higher tone, borrowing legal and biblical words, addressing their colleagues not directly but through some real or imaginary chairman and creating a mystical body out of mere gathering of people .”

A strong sense of the ironic and ridiculous is also in evidence which balances any suspicion of pretension but , as always , there is a message in the medium. I doubt his Grace would like that reference much , but isn’t mimicking an ancient English form on a web site an image of both the connection, and the dissociation we have from our culture and its quiet necessities. I find ,as I get older ,I increasingly want to reconnect myself , to recover what has been lost.

IMAGINED EDENS

Sometimes the sense of loss is for something that never truly existed but it is no less powerful for that
The first time my wife and I holidayed in England , we had enjoyed Italy and Egypt in particular but to go to a beach with our child and play in the rock pools was to recreate an imagined English Eden and I fell into the enchantment . In fact ,I never had such a holiday , as a child, but must have acquired the memory from books and , no doubt, the television.

THE GARDENERS

This weekend we have been staying at my friend David Gardener’s Hampshire “seat“. He is an lawyer specialising in international disputes and is often abroad . He and his wonderfully hospitable wife have made for themselves the sort of haven given to the Dickensian hero who ,having walked through the darkness of the Victorian underworld re attains middleclass financial security .It is a super sized rose covered cottage ,in a chocolate box village with Hardyesque church and rolling hills thrown in.. The cottage has about eight bedrooms and numerous en suite facilities .David is hardly connected to he land , and his wife’s background was quite underprivileged ,and yet this what they have done with their doubloons. In such blissful surroundings I was almost able to forget the horror one naturally feels at someone else’s success.
We walked up to the church and visited Montgomery’s Grave . It was raining and freezing and I asked David , pointedly if we had now finished the walk. He naturally replied

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning….” he always was a clever bastard.

THE ROYAL FAMILY

I have just watched “The Queen “it was on a knock off DVD purchased in a clandestine deal by Mrs. N at the Toddler group. Good quality though , and it reminded me of how alienated I felt at the time of Diana’s death. One by one people who one had felt were sane; “turned”. I vividly recall saying ,” Oh for god’s sake ,she was only a self besotted brainless clothes horse “..to a most sniffy response .I am still convinced that this country went badly wrong at about this time and the film brought that out. The queen did not like Diana , she did not like the cult of emotion , the soupy looks to camera , the celebrity friends and the way she placed her own childish needs before an enduring institution. She was right , and I responded to her fictionalised pain at a change in “The People “ . A rare British film worth watching and Phil the Greek gets some great lines.

“Elton John …well that’s a first for Westminster Abbey …mutter mutter,.. have you looked at the guest list….well don’t.” The Queen does not emote and she explains she thought quiet dignity duty and privacy were what was expected of her. Yes indeed and I for one like the change that came over this country , not a bit.

Oh how I wish I could implant in Croydonian a proper respect for this wonderful women the very embodiment of the nation. His cold flinty republican eyes see nothing but bombast and hypocrisy. It is so much more than that.

(I need hardly add that Blair`s despicable opportunism was treated a vast deal too kindly in my humble opinion.)


HEART and SOUL

Soul music has always been important to me . I was , like everyone else , enamoured by the anger of Punk , albeit a bit late. One night , however, working a late shift at a garage, I found another world , Kid Jensen played six of the best by Wilson Pickett . The first track was “I found a love” These are the words

I found a love
She `s everything I `m dreaming of
And oh if she leave me
I think I will dies ay ay ay

And sometimes in the midnight hour I wanna call I wanna say
Yoooooooohhoooo (scream) don`t leave me darlin`

That pure voice expressing the pain of loss over the simple piano accompaniment echoed over the forecourt, and I have never really recovered. I was reminded of this Damascene conversion by the death of Billy Henderson of the Detroit Spinners.”I `ve been working my way back to you”, was the sound of a summer long ago. Not much connection really.

If anyone has an experience of encountering a music that changed everything please share……

AND FINALLY ESTHER

I suppose at some time we must lose W F Deedes. Has anyone noticed what astonishingly good form he is on? For a man well into his nineties it is nothing short of miraculous,and combining a sharp mind with a unique long perspective he often slips a deceptively civilised blade into the rotten body politic.
In a recent article he contrasted Chamberlain`s exit with Blair`s grim limpet-like attachment to power. Chamberlain left to the bitter sound of Ronny Cartland shouting from the Tory back benches ,"Some of us are going to fight and some of us are going to die !"

The effective cause of his departure was not losjng a vote of confidence but the rebbellion of 41 supporters . Why is there no rebbellion against Blair .Perhaps the answer is simple



"Being a Member of Parliament is a better-rewarded occupation than it was in Neville Chamberlain's time. It was then more of a voluntary service than the paid profession it has become. The salary was nominal – £600 a year. There were no allowances for staff nor space for them, no private rooms for secretaries and filing cabinets, only a small oak cupboard. "Good place to keep cigars fresh," as a senior MP observed to me at the time.

Most Labour MPs were subsidised by their trade unions. Tory and Liberal MPs paid for the privilege of being MPs. My batch of candidates who entered the Commons in 1950 were the first to have their election expenses paid by their local association. We were forbidden to contribute anything.

Would such considerations weigh with Labour MPs called upon to vote on Blair's future? In short, is the House of Commons still fit for purpose? I cannot answer that question. I don't know the answer. It is a question the electors must ponder for themselves"


You know I think he does know the answer and so do we.I look at the efforts of the Home Office , not to solve problems but to hide them, at the corruption endemic in our already degraded police and the lying smug face of the millipede and I feel the way Dennis Potter once did about the way things are going.

"...everything is getting shittier and shittier and shittier"

Pentonville ..The Liberal Folly

http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=34239 I don1t get links here any more blogger)


Now I usually try to keep the blue end up, here in the topsy turvy land of Iz by getting in the letters page of the local Papers. Yesterday therefore , as usual , I was combing through the lost cats for something to disagree with. This is my prey for this week . Greg Fox is the Lib Dum Hillrise councillor and that is my ward . I met him around at the hustings and he`s not a bad fellow really , although somewhat pleased with his inner goodness. Since bumping into each other at Chartwell, (avec familles ), of all places, we’ve become somewhat friendly. Nonetheless his letter looks like an open goal to me containing the usual muddled Lib Dum thinking .

What I usually do is look up the background, fling some press cuttings in the air and wait for the muse to snuggle up, but I thought I would try begging instead this week. So; if anyone can be bothered have a look ,please give me any useful links and / or ammo to lob into the their nest of Liberalsim.






OUR prison system is failing. Our prisons are so crowded that convicted criminals are being kept in our police stations.

Re-offending is at an all time high. And while prison numbers rise, incidents of violent crime also rise, people don't feel safe.

The UK has the highest prison population in western Europe, we also have some of the highest crime rates. In simple terms if prison worked, high numbers of prisoners should mean falling levels of crime.

The conditions in our prisons are appalling and little is done in prisons to stop people re-offending.

At a recent council meeting, we condemned the conditions at Pentonville Prison which have been widely reported as intolerable.

Not all councillors backed the motion which suggests that some are still unaware of how the prison is falling to rehabilitate its prisoners, many of whom are Islington residents and who will be released in due course back onto Islington streets to re-offend.

That is why I have asked council leader James Kempton to arrange a visit so that all councillors can see for themselves the conditions inside Pentonville Prison. - Councillor Greg Foxsmith, Liberal Democrat Member for Hillrise, Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1.


OK that’s Greggy with the usual mildly expressed wish that things were somehow nicer. This is the sort of area of attack
1 The fact that crime is a good career option for those caught in the poverty trap of marginal taxation is the fault of him and his kind
Tough on the causes of crime ? You are the cause…
2 By what madness do you conclude that by making prisons nicer places to be in people will want to go to them less?
3 Rehabilitation is not the aim of prisons it is punishment and safety. Rehabilitation should be separated and handled by other agencies so as not to confuse it with Justice
4 The moral frame work that used exist in the communities form which criminals come has been eroded to destruction by the sort of patronising welfare based policies you support and your insistence on the false doctrine of NO BLAME.

That’s as far as I have got. Any ideas concrete example and facts are the thing ,impact at a premium and entertainment essential. We are minority here and we have to be twice as good ass the Jobs worth Coucillors of the two main parties.

Kevin , you have police experience
Croydonian , you know everything
IT and CU always clear on policy and political background
Anyone ?

Or anything you might have to add to the hive brain….I usually get in and I `ll tell you if we are successful.

Right I `m off to bleed money at the dentists then working , then child minding .it’s a tough life eh.

Millipede on Questiontime

I think Mrs . N summed it up
"God he`s so slimy he`s going to slip of that chair in a minute"

MARITAL HARMONY

.."..Cameron`s just the same..."she continued

Oh dear

Forsyth was very good and I`d forgotten how impressive Ken Clarke still is.
Incidentally the millipede "gaff"( Gordon Brown will be just as unpopular as Blair a year from now ), was a throw away remark the limited meaning of which was entirely clear.It was his ghastly espousal of an enviromental quasi-case he clearly knows little about that was the most well lubricated contribution.

Global Freezing Panic !

I `m thinking of doing bits and pieces as I go along but an article ( so to speak ) once a week. I don`t mean any of this very seriously its just whatever silly story catches my eye


And You Thought This Was A Mild Winter...
The Daily Express dedicated its front-page lead story to Diana, Princess of our Hearts a trifling 46 times during 2006. So far in 2007 it has lead with a weather warning on five separate occasions: 'Killer storms are set to rip into Britain again next week, weather experts warned last night' - 06/01/07; 'Britain is bracing itself for more "explosive" storms this week - and they could bring greater chaos than the gales of the past 10 days' - 15/01/07; 'Britain is today braced for Arctic blasts as low as -9C, with snow and hail in most regions - 22/01/07; 'Huge swathes of the country may have enjoyed their warmest-ever start to the year, but temperatures are now set to plunge' - 23/01/07; Britain is on full alert for blizzards to dump up to seven inches of snow and plunge much of the country into chaos - 07/02/07'.

Why is it when its nippy we don`t get stories about global freezing ?I appreciate that theres no sense to it climate and weather being distinct but that does not apply the other way round. That was yesterday and the New Ice Age is now with us .
I `m scared


PS I know this is old but I `ve just noticed the detail of the nappies.

'An obsessed woman astronaut was charged with attempted murder last after botching a plot to kidnap a love rival. Lisa Nowak - nicknamed Robo-Chick - armed herself with a gun, knife and pepper spray for the showdown with Colleen Shipman. She also wore a wig and trenchcoat disguise and drove 900 miles in NAPPIES to confront Ms Shipman - so she would not have to stop for a toilet break' - The Sun.

Arsenal Rumour

Believe you me people in Islington care a thousand times more about this than about our Coucil.


'Arsene Wenger was last night told he had signed European football's prospect - who could be the new Thierry Henry. French prodigy Gilles Sunu will join Arsenal when he turns 16 next month from tiny Chateauroux, whose vice chairman Patrick Trotignon said: "He plays as an out-and-out striker like Thierry Henry, but he can also play in midfield."



I should explain I am sort of experimenting with daily blogging so I`ve gone a bit off topic

Envy

If anyone ,like me, feels a few more quids wouldn`t go amiss try this for size.If Bill gates put his fortune in dollar Bills under his mattress and fell off, it would take him 6 1/2 minutes to hit the ground....


(Aha I didn`t know I could post from work,future titbits may follow)

Waiting For Guido ...

.......and its the waiting that drives you mad





MARVIN GAYE THE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR

As Marvin Gaye put it “What going on ?”. Not much really . We are in the phoney Tony war. Labour are imploding but the blue team are not picking up the spare votes and are yet to breast the magical 40% tape . Prisons collapse and crime stumbles unchecked around the country faintly confused that no-one cares . Our glorious President Blair is ensnared by the many tentacled sleaze monster and Brown will be hatching his “It wasn’t me”, story as we speak . Caps on Party spending is my guess for New New labour .The stinking rotten tooth of Islamic fascism is getting pulled painfully into the daylight despite the best efforts of the anti racism industry . Notably a little snuff movie that got lost in pre-production ,and some terrifying figures about “Radicalised Muslim Youth” ,(criminals that is), and their great liking for people who want to kill us .Nothing new there though. One yearns for action , to be involved ,to don the blue rosette and sally into the lists . Come on Blair ya `big pansy “Lets get it on”..

………as Marvin Gaye also said….



GREAT LIARS PAST AND PRESENT

Stanley did not say “Dr. Livingstone I presume” In fact he was a serial self re inventor and hid his glorious lineage( son of a Welsh whore) with a variety of tall tales. He made it up, and used it to pocket loot on lucrative US lectures tours . Remind you of anyone ? John Guilgud said …of Claude Rains ,“He failed and went to America“. are we warm yet? Yes it is of course the President of Britain who has leapt unbidden into my mind . What will he say of himself when he turns up for his Beckham like ,” One for the money”..” I have nothing to declare but my genius”, I think not . Frank Johnson had a marvellous insight into what Labour have been doing after clause four got chucked out of the life boat.” They couldn’t nationalise companies anymore so they decided to nationalise people”

Or here’s one I made earlier in the show ,“They tried to fit meritocracy into equality“. It fits as well as a glass slipper fits an ugly sister .How did they imagine it could work?

PREPARE FOR PASSIVE DRINKING

Doctors have called for higher taxes on booze. Even higher they mean , we are due for an extra 10p on the price of a Scottish and Newcastle Pint and they make one in four pulled. A combination of EU related costs ,employment tax and so on , and VAT are responsible for 6p of the 10p. This is not , however , a tax rise. Oh no. they want yet more . This is because of the health implications of the 24 hour licence we have enjoyed. That licence was to revive local economies , like the gambling and soon , no doubt, prostitution and drugs. It is clear where the revenues from this revival are headed is it not .

Doctors will not mind much on £300,000 per annum and will , of course, remain the epic piss heads they have always been.

HUH?

Every car has a licence and the DVLA ,as we know has Hal`s evil brood of super computers monitoring us . The number of unlicensed vehicles resolutely continues to climb steeply , so why on earth would we imagine that ID cards will work. I have read costings of anywhere between £5bio and £20 bio. Given that £53bio is the UK`s food bill, we can safely say its an awful lot…

LAZY LUCKY FROGGY SWINES

In a rare tip toe into Croydonian territory I notice Xavier Bertrand the Frog health Minister is proposing a right to nap . Yes that’s right, with only a 35 hour average working week, the French are about to have statutory right to a siesta . I also notice that France topped a poll for quality of life in which we were below several war zones. About 35th actually. We should never have given up our French holdings …and the women are gorgeous as well. Why is everything here so “mal”.

Je ne sais pas.

BUT OF COURSE THEY HAVE….

Reinforced steel Parking meters are being designed for Lewes east Sussex , after ordinary models were blown up more than 300 times. Ruth O Keefe a County Councillor said the town had a tradition of dissent and “explosives expertise”. If I don`t move to France I `m moving to Lewes, “Save me banger to throw chaps ..!!!”

SENSE OF PROPORTION

Peaches Geldof , and don`t pretend you don`t know who she is , has just been voted number ten in an Arena Magazine Poll of ,“celebrities least worthy of the status”. The winner was Peter Doherty but David Cameron came in a creditable fourth. I can think of other contenders myself …as I `m sure can we all… Prescott …Beckett…spoilt for choice really.

SEX AND MONEY

Three out of ten men claim they would abstain from sex for life, for a million pounds . This was a survey for ,“Company “ ,magazine. I don’t get it . The first thing I would do with a “Million pounds “ is purchase the finest sex money can buy.. By this I mean , of course , take my lovely wife out to Dinner.
In France probably , its nice there.


BOY`S LOVE NUMBERS

Following the planned closure of the Office for national Statistics in Pimlico ,staff will either be relocated to Newport or made redundant when the office moves ,in 2010.Mark Sewotka “the Union General secretary claimed the quality of statistics would be undermined and that the announcement “will anger staff and increase the possibility of a strike”

The increase in the possibility of a strike was calculated to be 123.5467397874 5% but they could be wrong…..(sorry)

BAD LAW…BAD BAD LAW!!!
Since the dangerous dogs act 800 Londoners have been wounded by dog attacks . `Tis about the same as before the Act. I think I can do without statisticians to tell me that as a waste of time.

KEEP YOUR HAIR ON

People are so touchy aren’t they .Trevor Mathews the revered head of Standard Life was setting out the firm’s employee pension proposals when he was asked why plans to close the final salary scheme had been buried on page 126 of the prospectus. ”Ah “ he said gravely” That’s the nigger in the woodpile”. Endless statements and apologies later he has kept his job . This will please him as at £450,000 pa he is on some sweet action. Far more than Blair and somewhat more than the head of the BBC. He seems a nice chap and explained the phrase was common in his youth and had slipped out .Know the problem.
Meanwhile Ginger Footballer Paul Dyke has reported a referee for making Gingerist comments during a match. Apparently the official barked “Oi ginger shut up”
Refs ..”he says, “should not be allowed to abuse and discriminate.. Hampshire FC are investigating the unusual incident. …


I bet they are sitting in the pub laughing their jolly old Jacob`s off about it .I would .

NOTHING BETTER TO DO?

On a day when we discover that 8000 Policemen are doing an hour a week for full pay and in the shadow of their tremendously important Big Brother interviews I am reminded of the recent coup scored by the Bobbies of Purton Wiltshire . About 30 pairs of knickers were found draped over road signs and gravestones prompting a full investigation .Top sleuths made this statement, “Noone has reported any stolen and they all appear to be new and of good quality”.

Hmmm. Highly suggestive..but of what?

MORE SEX

Richard Gere ( the actor , it says) was to be found a couple of weeks ago shouting ,“No condom , No sex” ..as thousands of Indian prostitutes danced . This took place while he presented awards to Aids workers, at a ceremony in a Mumbai fairground .I `d like to have seen that.
Scientists report that a portion of chips can have a damaging effect of fertility. Good job to . In Croydon this is the main tool in family planning . Richard Gere should have a word with thousands of dancing Chavs , not that they would listen.

AND FINALLY

We live in a country where the most likely people to steal from the old are their own children but I can`t face it today. I don’t want to face it . I may be about to crack ,and it can happen for the smallest reason .A 53 year old Turkish man who killed his wife with a hammer told police it was because she cooked him noodles for a month . “ It was unbearable “ ..he said .

It is isn`t it . Sometimes we can only say “Nihil radicibus sparget “




( Translates as : Spread nothing on the root vegetables ..sounds good though)

No Blacks Allowed.....(?)

"Whites Only Signs"

Naturally I would never say such a disgraceful thing.




…….. but what an outcry there would quite rightly be if I did. I might be forced to weasel out of it by reference to “ Section 38 of the Race Relations Act (1976) and Section 48 of the Sex Discrimination Act (1975). “. That is what Islington Council are doing. but they are discriminating against whites.
I am not a racist. Verity,the famous right wing commentator and equal opportunity eviscerater, put it something like this . “I don’t care what colour you are or who you have sex with , so long as you agree with me .”A fine attitude.

My wife is of semi Trinidadian descent and so,of course, is my son. I wonder if his blackness would be too attenuated to qualify ,( when he`s older), for Islington Council’s racist Black men only teaching course. Would they have to measure the curliness his hair , the thickness his lips ? I suppose they would , how else would you decide . I need hardly say how abhorrent I find this rancid nasty piece of gutter level bigotry . Incidentally white working class boys are the poorest performing educational group.

THIS IS ON THE COUNCIL WEB SITE

African-Caribbean Men Wanted in Schools
to make a difference to children's lives


Following the success of our first programme,
Islington's Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) is offering 40 African-Caribbean men* the chance to become fully
qualified Teaching Assistants (TAs). This unique programme will give you the opportunity to take part in an all expenses paid
training package that will lead to OCR Level 2 national qualification. The course will use a range of teaching and learning
methods to accommodate different learning styles. It will also present you with the opportunity to build a network with other
African-Caribbean male TAs, to help support you whilst developing a rewarding career in education. Note: You must be
unemployed or about to be unemployed.
Closing Date: 30/01/2007
How to apply: For further information contact: Karen Weir or Marc Thompson on 020 7527 5899.
karen.weir.cea@islington.gov.uk. marc.thompson.cea@islington.gov.uk. Quote reference: Male TA scheme.
Please leave your name and telephone
contact(s). Please note: Course begins in February 2007.
* This post is exempt under Section 38 of the Race Relations Act (1976) and Section 48 of the Sex
Discrimination Act (1975).
Interview Date:
http://www.islington.gov.uk/DownloadableDocuments/EducationandLearning/Pdf/cis_job_bulletin.pdf



Update.: Some further thoughts

Recently, the Decibel Penguin Literary prize for British writers of Afro Caribbean and Asian origin was forced under threat from the CRE to admit white writers . That’s how sensitively monitored the subject is .To the point of absurdity.White people can be excluded from a job application quite explicitly , on the other hand....

Quotas and positively discriminating measures are always harmful.Forty deserving candidates have been shunted aside in pursuit of some mis-conceived politically correct Benneton ad inclusiveness .The Coucil no doubt feel that under privileged Black boys do not have enough male role models . Well nor do white boys , but in any case what is this role model ?The message is that “Black men” are incapable of succeeding without special help and, likely as not, to be unemployed. Rubbish of course but why make it appear that it is not ?

Sir Keith Ajegbo commented in a recent Government report” White children can feel beleaguered and marginalized finding their identity under threat as much as ethnic minority children” also” Nor is there any advantage is creating confidence in minority ethnic pupils if it leaves white pupils feeling disenfranchised and resentful“. How , then , can we possibly justify this sort of Social micro meddling ?

Lets look at the backdrop. The BNP doubled its Council seats last Summer and it is thought that this sort of initiative drives white youth into the arms of extremists. We are after all living in a country where Mohammed has overtaken George in the Popular name list and one immigrant arrives every minute. The phenomenon of white flight , from London is well known , and Labour Mps like Ruth Kelly and Dianne Abbot routinely buy their children out of schools where eight languages are taught.
Do we need divisive special treatment for new comers ? Absolutely not , there is already growing suspicion and mistrust. This will add to it.

Across the Parties there is an acknowledgement that multi culturalism , ie accentuating difference, has been a disaster. This idiotic idea is part of that problem.

Black children and white children should be treated the same and so should their teachers. Simple .This tawdry doctrinally motivated mischief is an insult and a digrace

MATCH THE PICTURES TO THE GOSSIP

BRIDGET FOX
I `m really coming round to SUZ` blog. Her political views are those of a child but then she rarely discusses the bankrupt collection of whimsies that is Liberal Party thinking. She is a great gossip though, and seems to have a GSOH. I wonder, considering the sanctimonious auto-eroticists that she associates with, how she keeps it . Anyhoo, I like the way she’s dealt with the re-selection of Bridget Fox. Now if Liberals think she is prissy, god alone knows what manner of soul sucking incubus she really is.

She writes…
“Didn't envisage any surprises locally. As expected Bridget Fox (Miss Prissy Knickers my mental image of her) has been reselected as the LibDem PPC for Islington South & Finsbury to contest Emily Thornberry's seat. It's was known months ago that Dominic Mathon offered to front her campaign and since then there were moves in the background to ensure she was reselected.

Personally I wish the local party members had chosen somebody else this time around”

Suz is still in trouble with Steve Hitchens I believe but I can’t get her to bring me up to speed.

EMILY THORNBERRY ( Environment MP of the year and lard addict)

Mountainous Emily Thornberry has gone off on an arctic expedition,. Someone get me a harpoon and I may just spend my life following her. Damned whale

Call me Ishmael…….please ..someone.

A NEW BLOG -ARTHURIAN LEGEND

A great new blog has stated in Islington by someone who is quite clearly a chap with his head screwed on the right way. How much do I love the first post.? Lots and lots is the answer. Some sound work already


There is a new Conservative movement in Islington. It's being added to one blog at a time. Newmania led the way. King Arthur's in support. Other good men and women are following fast. Surely the moment when the opposition splits, 1931-style, is only a short time away. Watch this space...

I have linked to the site , well worth looking in and I will be doing so from now on.

Salutations Mystery Blogger. I like the cut of your jib I could almost sing “Things can only get better” if the thought didn`t make me want to regurgitate the elegant repast of omelette and Chardonnay I have enjoyed.


JUSTIN HINCHLIFFE

Mr. Croydonian and I attended the spontaneous outpouring of joy and love we know as Justin Hinchcliffe`s birthday Party . Justin is the magnificent leader of the Tottenham and Haringey Conservatives and a celebrated North London Conservative.
Gamine handsome David Allen , the deputy leader , wafted hither and thither like a fragrantly scented Zephyr with chicken wings and palpable benevolence. He brings joy wherever he goes , that man.
The centre piece though was Justin who drew admiring glances from all genders .Picture Michelangelo’s David , youth ,beauty and physical splendour caught in a moment of perfect poise. That is Justin….although I `m not tempted myself .Seriously , a clever chap and with some real charisma. I hope he will go far.

Ahem I got far to drunk and may have behaved badly . If so sorry…..Other Luminaries were Peter and his wife ,interesting , and a gorgeous pouting coquette of a Blonde .Interesting as well. Was she Catriona ?