I had a go at being religious once, not so long ago; but the burden of being middle class with all its attendant feelings of guilt meant that the added responsibility to God made each decision a nightmare: Don’t pass on the other side of the street, even if you might catch fleas and give them to your children; turn the other cheek, even when the bastard has just cut you up at the traffic lights and almost killed you. I found I couldn’t even put my shopping trolley in the trolley park without reorganising the blithering trolley park so that all the trolleys were parked like with like and none of them had stray shopping lists or empty packaging from a toddler’s lunch, left at the bottom. No, I just didn’t know where to draw the line. I apologise to those of you with strong religious convictions but to me, being middle class is a bit like having a religion. The influence of peer pressure is so much more powerful than that of an allegedly all seeing all knowing Deity. (more…)
1/6/2005
31/5/2005
Barker vs Mugabe
Whiz and I settled down one evening a few weeks ago to watch the two Ronnies who have recently returned to our screens. We were a little disappointed in the show and both remarked at how old Ronnie Barker looked and seemed. It was a little sad to see the energetic Fletch. looking so gaunt. You would think that a man who has dedicated his life to making the public laugh would, at the age of only 75, seem serene or at least lively.
Later that evening we were treated to the vision of President Mugabe dancing some kind of tribal war ritual at the incredible age of 80. He didn’t look a day over 60 and had more energy than most 30 year olds I know!
Who says crime doesn’t pay!
16/3/2005
On Supermarkets
What would we do without the ubiquitous supermarket?
We are repeatedly reminded by farmers that supermarkets are the enemy of British farming, forcing down prices and dictating trading terms. Perhaps this is true. As I have said in my article ‘There’s No Way Out’, we have the society we deserve.
Some farmers have used their imagination and gone organic, produced their own sausages or even opened to the public. Others seem to think that the government should bail them out, create some kind of nationalised industry.
For my part I am jolly glad we have supermarkets, most of our lives have been improved by them, sorry farmers, my morals buckle a bit when confronted by the alternative. Supermarkets allow me to buy my groceries, clothes, toiletries, medication, housewares and much more in one stop. I can wheel them to my car and drive from door to door. As a conscientious consumer I can’t easily make my ‘opinion’ known about the fact that I would prefer to buy local produce, British goods etc because my local supermarket doesn’t offer these goods. If it did, I would buy them. If supermarkets charged more for these products, I would pay it. Simple. But I’ll be blowed if I’m going to traipse all over town to find them, too time consuming, too frustrating. Food shopping is a necessity not a pleasure, not for me anyway. (more…)
5/3/2005
Education, I’m a Dinosaur
I was somewhat surprised after writing my article ‘There’s No Way Out’, to discover that I appear to be a socialist. But when I start to think about education I see that I am a ‘grey area’, a floating voter, a dinosaur. Is that a bad thing?
As my two children are both at very different stages in the state school system I have an interest in education. Actually I still remember my own secondary education and measure that of Horace against it, not altogether favourably.
The present system attempts to give all young people the same opportunities. It insists that they all take GCSE’s regardless of their ability. (more…)
4/3/2005
There’s no way out!
This country is financed by a pot of money provided by The Tax Payer. The money is spent on our behalf by The Government.
The poorest members of our society are the Non-tax Payers. These people, often through no fault of their own, need extra money from The Pot. Proportionally their health is poorer, they need benefits and services to help them survive and many are poorly educated.
The whole of society, including The Tax Payer, expects certain benefits to be provided by the Tax Payer. It wants decent health care, education, roads etc.
The Non-tax Payer and the less able members of society need these services as well. In addition they need extra Social Services such as Care for the Elderly and Youth and other Social Workers. (more…)