tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71283242024-03-14T00:51:13.084-07:00SpoonfulOfDreamsChris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-89770891832644141502020-05-04T03:27:00.001-07:002020-05-04T03:27:34.852-07:00Stay Calm & Get Out the Brolly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Day 43</b></i></span><br />
<br />
It was a weekend. Yes it was a weekend and not everyone can say that. It was a weekend of few accomplishments, less than I'd hoped for but hey, who's counting. When you code software a minor breakthrough can take a major amount of time and small detail can take big thoughts. I had to put one problem down on Saturday and pick it up on Sunday because my brain just wasn't computing. You sometimes have to hold many things in your head and when your head's full of other stuff even simple tasks can be impossible. Sleeping on it works wonders. It's like passing it on to your backroom boys.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>very little of what we have to do is so urgent it can't wait</b></i></div>
<hr />
<br />
That's what weekends are for. I've got a crowded Monday but I'm sure I have enough hours if I can knock the things down one by one. We punish ourselves for procrastinating but doing something today just because you can is not always the best option. Priorities are fluid because life has a habit of throwing things in the mix and very little of what we have to do is so urgent it can't wait. So keeping lists short is a good tactic and resisting pressure can make us more efficient. Our cognitive thought is clumsy and slow compared to the back office in our brains which is insanely fast. That's why overthinking is such a waste of time and energy. It's not that we're thinking too much but too much of it is conscious.<br />
<br />
That's also why sharing ideas and concerns is such a good thing to do. You not only take the weight off your mind, voicing it is like dictating to your assistant (your unconscious brain). How many times have you asked someone a question and then come up with the answer yourself before they've had time to process it? How is it that your dog or cat solves problems for you? Even talking to brick walls is underrated.<br />
<br />
I've been criticised for being too negative and that's something I bear in mind. Dwelling on the negative can be destructive as can voicing it in the wrong setting. But dealing with the downs on your own can be bad for your mental health. Sometimes they need to be parked and other times trashed but they have to go somewhere. We need to be more patient and mindful. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves.<br />
<br />
So it's another sunny day with clear blue skies yet heavy clouds are over us. I gave up on the press conferences a while ago and don't read the government bulletins anymore. Social media is getting repetitive and the government lies are like elephant carcasses in the room.<br />
<br />
The dry British humour is borne of trial and perseverance. It's an outward expression of our inward pessimism, a way of exorcising our doubts and fears and clearing the floor of debris to make room for hope. It's a way of acknowledging reality without having it dominate us. It's a way of telling the self-important to piss off and defiantly press on regardless.<br />
<br />
What we have to avoid is the so called Dunkirk spirit where we mythologise our near misses and ignore the collateral damage. Don't be fooled by that blue sky - you will be pissed on. Just stay calm and get out the brolly.<br />
<br />Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-23763465753143318552020-05-03T01:39:00.000-07:002020-05-03T01:39:38.792-07:00Dissonance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Day 42</b></i></span><br />
<br />
While this pandemic has put everything in stark relief, the short memory of the public and its gravity towards messages of comfort and national pride continually dull its perceptivity and grind off the rough edges. While we each can generally hold two conflicting realities in tension there is inevitable public consensus in what is often referred to as the narrative. It’s that narrative upon which our government relies because without the binder labelled “We are beating this”, written in indelible ink, the loose pages would tell a confused and shocking story. The solidarity with front line workers and agreement that we should continue the lock down are both brittle and precarious.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>unless we address the future while dealing with the now
<br />the future present will be worse</b></i></div>
<hr />
<br />
The enemy is silent and invisible and regardless of the education we’ve received about the Coronavirus it’s difficult for us to grasp what it really is. Maybe the most dangerous thing about a virus is that we have nothing physical we can liken it to. Without tangible evidence, public support relies on trust and past experience.<br />
<br />
The problem with social isolation is that we have to process a collective problem individually and that takes its toll. We all process it differently, some struggling most with introspection while others face physical challenges of shared space, family dynamics and critical problems like financial and employment insecurity. If we are to emerge as a better society there needs to be a common understanding of what that society looks like but that requires we step back from the immediate challenge that turns our thoughts inwards. That’s a hard sell.<br />
<br />
What is comforting to malign forces that are determined to make hay in this almost permanent sunshine is that the fragmentation of society they have so successfully achieved over the last few decades makes it so much easier for them to impose hideous sanctions because there is no collective opposition.<br />
<br />
For those who seek a new future, what’s comforting is the evidence exposed by the pandemic that refutes the validity of the pragmatism that’s been drilled into us. The problem is that in order to fight for a better future, those dissonant truths and rough edges need to be foremost in the public consciousness, overriding the desire to go back to any kind of normal. It means society has to embrace the pain, not self medicate. It means we refuse to accept all hollow declarations of victory. At best we will be survivors.<br />
<br />
We will deal with the the present (well, poorly or abysmally) whatever is thrown at us because we have to. But unless we address the future while dealing with the now (and that’s not necessarily an exit strategy) the future present will be worse.<br />
<br />
For me, I’m learning to confront my demons; those irritating, nagging parasites that feed off all negativity. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger but the latter doesn’t inevitably follow the former. Such facile motivational phrases belie the depth of work you need to put in to prove them true or otherwise. What doesn’t kill you can make you weaker too.<br />
<br />
I’ll let the sun cheer me and help me live in the moment while I square up to what I don’t want to face and enjoy what gifts life gives me. Happy Sunday.Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-565505588677778522020-05-02T03:12:00.000-07:002020-05-02T03:12:04.417-07:00MAY DAY? WILL DAY!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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CoVID-19 <i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Day 41</span></b></i><br />
<br />
It was May Day yesterday but today would have been the May Day celebrations in Lancaster’s Dalton Square and on the streets. So instead there’s a virtual celebration — march round your garden or living room if you wish — and I’m part of it.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>That we refuse to go back to normal must be the reality</b></i></div>
<hr />
<br />
It’s weird because I’ll be watching myself, pre-recorded. It’s great that we are using technology to overcome the obstacles and it shows a determination that we will press on regardless. But each conversation, conference, rally and get together adds to the tension, amplifying the dissonance. We can’t live like this indefinitely.<br />
<br />
I can’t say I’m feeling the walls pressing in on me. I have the luxury of my own space and I can walk out onto the beach. What’s crushing is the sense of the world writing it’s own obituary. I should move on from this because it’s too depressing but it must be said. That we refuse to go back to normal must be the reality, not another hope.<br />
<br />
My song is one of hope but sadly was written when I felt hopeful. Yet May Day represents all that has been done because working people dared to hope when their lives were hopeless. Throughout the world and in all centuries the oppressed have stood up for what was right without any evidence that their aspirations could possibly be realised and though many of us who rage against the machine have good, or at least reasonable, lives our aspirations can feel beyond a glass horizon.<br />
<br />
The evils in our society largely come down to billionaires who cannot spend what they have and corporations that are literally heartless. As George Monbiot put it, we are beyond the age of hope, we must now act. The dystopian world we imagined is the world we live in and much of what we hoped to save has already perished. Carbon neutral by 2050 is a con. Green energy isn’t the answer. We have no cake to eat now the bread is gone.<br />
<br />
But hope is not only the green on the other side of our fence, its the denial that our paved yard is beyond remedy; that self determination is ever utterly beyond us. Its what one pope called hope against hope. We are 99% there. It’s the 1% we have to deal with, who are 99% of the problem.Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-6204208956546576412020-05-02T03:07:00.005-07:002020-05-02T03:07:51.399-07:00NO KERMIT, IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
CoVID-19 <i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Day 40</span></b></i><br />
<br />
Please imagine I’m up-to-date with my diary and I’m not writing 2 entries the same day to catch up. Please imagine I’m doing this for the benefit of my readership and not pandering to my own sense of self respect (of which there’s little — evidently).<br /><br />I don’t know what day I’m on. I’ve had to check what the number was yesterday before starting today’s drivel. I’m in panic mode and I don’t know why. There’s no pressure on me and I don’t know what anyone’s expectations are so why am I bothered?<br /><br />Anyway, less about me. How are you doing? ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… sorry, am I talking to myself? Well no, I’m talking to my phone which is worse than anything. My head is spinning. Too much information and not enough hugs. It’s mental (am I allowed to say that). But it is!<br /><br />Let’s carry on with this monologue pretending to be a conversation. My day, which was yesterday, was like doing a jigsaw of a green cat in front of a green screen. The finished thing looks like the box except it’s obvious I’ve forced the pieces into where they don’t belong — like who cares, it’s done. No Kermit, it’s not easy being green.<br /><br />Someone said Matt Hancock was self congratulating on TV earlier which, to me, sounded disgusting but that’s just how my mind works. Actually it is disgusting because it’s all a game to them.<br /><br />All they have to do is finish the jigsaw so they can say they’ve done it. It doesn’t matter that the finished thing looks nothing like the box, that they had to cut the corners off a few pieces, that the jigsaw will now have to be thrown away or that what really matters is that each piece is unique and that’s the whole point.Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-35096537849337572812020-05-01T01:38:00.003-07:002020-05-01T01:46:53.812-07:00Wet Hug<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Day 39</b></span><br />
<br />
I think there’s a pattern. I have a good day then a bad day, then a day where I get back in the saddle - its ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ isn’t it? And I’m now back into writing in the morning — I guess that’s just part of the rhythm. So its the morning of day 40 and I’m writing up day 39. Am I going on?<br />
<br />
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<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>We need the earth and we need each other. Screw everything else</i></b></div>
<hr />
<br />
I don’t know what to think right now. I’ve written about rhythms and patterns and now I’m thinking ‘grooves’. Someone once said that a rut is simply a grave with its ends knocked out. Put another way, a rut is just a very long cul-de-sac, the difference being that cul-de-sac’s and no-through roads warn you beforehand whereas ruts just seem to suck you in. While some are saying this crisis has the potential to change some fundamentals others are seeing the fundamentals being bolstered so that they are impervious to change. The surge in community spirit, on the other hand, is just that, and can be blown away without anyone noticing.<br />
<br />
All you have to do is move the goalposts slightly as the Daily Mail have already done by criticizing the NHS while making themselves look good by procuring a million pounds worth of PPE (and their proprietor remains a tax exile). We all know how easy it is to get people to bite the hands that feed them. You just need to nudge the community spirit ever so slightly to the right and, hey presto, you’ve got nationalism. Screw the love — institutions are not people — we need to be really, really, really angry with the government and let them know how pissed off we are. If you are not pissed off you’ve not been paying attention. We are being groomed by those who don’t do crisis, they just do it to us.<br />
<br />
They write the time signature, set the tempo, compose the bass and we just sing the melody. Listen to the bass. The only way real change happens is in cacophony and when the rhythm is interrupted like a glitch in the matrix. Its what happened when CoVID-19 hit. Everything changed, economically, socially and politically but what came through was the true rhythm of life. When we stopped playing, nature sang and it sounds beautiful.<br />
<br />
Today (actually yesterday) I got caught in a hail shower and it was wonderful. Its been lovely having the sunny days but that’s kind of like nature at a distance, pimping the sun and avoiding its difficult relatives. Getting drenched in a shower is like a wet hug or a meteorological kiss. We need the earth and we need each other. Screw everything else.</div>
Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-41711048887955355362020-04-30T07:44:00.003-07:002020-04-30T07:44:44.433-07:00False Positives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a7f3">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a7f3">
CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: x-large;">Day 38</span></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a7f3">
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<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a7f3">
I
know my days see-sawed before the virus struck but the rhythm wasn’t so
noticeable. We are all in a Mexican wave rising on the applause for NHS
workers and sinking with latest death toll. CoVID-19 has its own rhythm
but that’s not what drives our wave.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a7f3">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7356">
I
was up two days ago then down again today. But while our mental health
is more brittle under the constant stress of unknowing and lack physical
contact, that only explains the rawness, not what drives the moods.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7356">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hs dt ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib ic" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="46e7">
<strong class="gy hq"><em class="hr">Life is a series of negotiations, playing cause against effect and actions against consequences</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hs dt ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib ic" />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
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<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2a7c">
Earthquakes
devastate communities but much less so when the building are built to
withstand them. When you travel through Greece you see new homes
constructed around frames that will move as a unit during an earthquake.
When you build something hoping against acts of God you are living in
denial; that you are not subject to the same laws as others; that you
are a special case.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2a7c">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d038">
The
Coronovirus outbreak and much of the crisis run on parallel lines,
connected and interdependent but one is not the cause of the other. Its
like saying my car stopped because it ran out of petrol when your petrol
gauge wasn’t working and you just passed a petrol station. The fact
that you’ve never run out of petrol before or that you have a large tank
does not mean you are immune from breaking down.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="77d3">
In
some cases the mental, physical and economic outcomes are directly
related to the outbreak but never does one thing entirely explain the
other. Rarely does that happen. Life is a series of negotiations,
playing cause against effect and actions against consequences. There is
not a proper opposite of truth or love just as hindsight is not really
20:20 and much of our wisdom is mostly to do with false positives.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-62961226960549213022020-04-29T00:52:00.002-07:002020-04-29T00:52:40.666-07:00If Only…<span id="goog_1105075229"></span><span id="goog_1105075230"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Day 37</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="194e">
It
has rained before during the lockdown but today was a proper day of
rain. Though some have wondered if the cleaner air, as a result of the
lockdown, was causing us to have such a sustained bout of sunshine still
it had to break. True, particulates in the air do allow the
precipitation of moisture in the atmosphere but there are natural
seeding devices such as salt and sand thrown up by waves and as we live
by the sea and near mountains which drive warm air upwards there’s
hardly need for pollution.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c483">
I
created myself some masks this evening though I’ve not worn them in
anger yet. All it required was a T shirt and a pair of scissors and made
a pretty effective mask. There’s no sewing involved so that’s good. And
I watched my second conference in 2 days on dealing with racism.
Yesterday’s concerned racism within the Labour Party uncovered by the
latest leaked report which revealed some awful racism where there ought
not to have been any (as if there should be racism anywhere) and this
evenings was about a public enquiry into why BAME (Black, Asian &
Minority Ethnic) communities have been hardest hit by the Coronavirus
pandemic.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="09f8">
As
unwelcome as CoVID-19 is, it has shone a light on injustices that never
should have been tolerated before this and must be addressed now, along
with systematic abuse from the state, political parties and society at
large. At a time when society is being seen in a different light and
those who were looked down upon are being acknowledged for their service
its hard to hear that domestic abuse is on the rise and those very
people who are giving their lives for our health are living under the
threat of deportation.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="09f8">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ed5c">
Its
time we took a hard look at ourselves and separated the chaff from the
wheat. For all our liberated ideas we are still shockingly racist and
wilfully ignorant of how corrupt our systems are. Though our empire
ceased to exist several decades ago, our arrogance and exceptionalism is
still awful while the received wisdom of how benificent and gracious we
were, not only to those we colonised but to our own people, belongs
firmly in the fiction isle. The true history is pretty bleak.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ed5c">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="db99">
What
everyone is talking about today is the damning Panarama report. The
bottom line is that the government has been putting all its energy into
making itself look good rather than actually taking care of frontline
workers. While its true that no government could have averted the crisis
and there would have been a significant number of deaths particularly
among the elderly despite government intervention, any claims of success
on behalf of the current government are shameful and without substance.</div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="db99">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw hk ap by gy b gz ha hl hb hc hm hd he hn hf hg ho hh hi hp hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3769">
It
rained today because all the elements came to together under the right
conditions to make that happen. Its that simple. If only…</div>
Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-76184164996271147782020-04-28T06:59:00.000-07:002020-04-28T06:59:08.618-07:00Skin & Bones<section class="section section--body" name="44e4"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hziYO0dvaBE/Xqg2I-H2GRI/AAAAAAAAB2c/l3aWroET6P0hUdmd52wgLYmE-z2X_sW7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/alarm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1600" height="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hziYO0dvaBE/Xqg2I-H2GRI/AAAAAAAAB2c/l3aWroET6P0hUdmd52wgLYmE-z2X_sW7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/alarm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="section-divider">
</div>
<div class="section-divider">
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Day 36</em></strong></span></div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="defc">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="defc">
Wake up — its dark.<br />Check the time — 4am.<br />Back to sleep.<br />Its getting light — 5am.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="defc">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="4c8d">
Its 6am and I’m checking stuff on my iPhone. My eyes are clear because I despatched the sandman an hour ago. I will be tired but am not feeling it now. Hello Monday.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="4c8d">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="a686">
My mind is at its best when I wake up. That’s when ideas spark and deep thoughts surface with little resistance. If only I could divide my waking time into parallel lines of meditation and productive action I’d have life cracked.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="a686">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="7799">
We double account our lives, bemoaning the time we wasted obsessing about one thing when we could have broadened our horizons; and marvelling at that guy who dedicated his life to a singular passion at the expense of a world of experiences.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="7799">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="fcbc"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e64c">
<strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Accepting a 60% failure rate is the gateway to enjoying the other 40%</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="23a5"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e537">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e537">
If we’d spend less time worrying about misadventures, checking all the options and comparing our failures with others’ successes we’d live better lives — lives with warts and dimples, escstasies and doldrums, smiles and frowns.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e537">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="daa4">
Getting up is our commitment to living, where we admit there is something worth getting up for. Negotiation is pointless – it’s a done deal – it’s more about navigating the covert contracts and not obsessing over the small print. Accepting a 60% failure rate is the gateway to enjoying the other 40%.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="daa4">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="a53c">
This weird time is teaching me to seize the moment. We are not in the collision path of a giant asteroid or living though a nuclear winter but our mortal bones have become visible beneath our facile skin.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="a53c">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8179">
Its amazing how being deprived of one pleasure or sensation makes more vivid, that for which the edges were blurry. It forces us to analyse what we took for granted and decouple what we we thought were inseparable. Yet in the sterile vacuum where once was interpersonal space we also entertain strange ideas and invent personas we’d have dismissed ordinarily. We might look back with nostalgia to the days we learned social distancing, clapped for the carers and gave to the NHS, all without reference to true the cost of it.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8179">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="d341">
Its been another day of meetings, discussions, decisions, dilemmas and unfniished business. Another day of planning ahead without a clear view of the landscape and coming to conclusions based on flimsy evidence. Boris is back — whatever the hell that means. Priti is not so much bright as a button as like a loose button — plastic and having lost the thread. No one knows what to do because the what to do is not at all clear. If only we’d been prepared and resourced it might have been clearer and simpler.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="d341">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="057d">
Anyway my future 4am is much closer now than my past one. I know I won’t be able to sleep through to a reasonable getting up time. Instead I will fill it up with stuff and the trade off will be feeling tired at 10pm.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="057d">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="9f02">
There is no such thing as a 24 hour day and 16 hours of productivity is unsustainable. Not many of us will dedicate more than 10 hours to paid work. In reality the hours don’t matter because we discard most of them. What matter are the moments because its the significant moments that give meaning to our vacuous hours.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-30616688800492061382020-04-26T15:31:00.001-07:002020-04-26T15:31:59.967-07:00Crime Figures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UgiGXfNI0Kg/XqYLRJLaJbI/AAAAAAAAB2M/Rc2mRtdWxDII9ZJJsf9kE40WDtIoNtR4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="894" height="109" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UgiGXfNI0Kg/XqYLRJLaJbI/AAAAAAAAB2M/Rc2mRtdWxDII9ZJJsf9kE40WDtIoNtR4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/warning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
CoVID-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 35</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0113">
I’ve
just corrected my last entry. I marked it down as day 24 (10 days too
short). Since I started this diary I’ve written 40 articles (including
this one) which is more than a week’s work in just over a month (and its
not my job).</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0113">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8b0e">
I’m
looking out on an intense sunset marking the end of another day, a day
where I recorded one of my own songs written in a hotel room in Atlanta
Georgia. Its the longest video I’ve posted because it includes an
explanation of how the song came about and what significance each verse
and the chorus has. It’s an embellished story of my trip to Tennessee
and the country song that came out of it.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8b0e">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hm dt hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5db5">
<strong class="gy hk"><em class="hl">when you have a home secretary proud of the decrease in shoplifting at a time when most shops are shut</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hm dt hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv" />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5ba0">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5ba0">
Yesterday
I recorded a song I’ve loved for 40 years but have only just learned to
play. I love playing it and am pleased how the recording came out. I
think it sounds professional and that’s significant, not because there’s
any money in it but because it helps my confidence. For all the
concerns arising from the lockdown I feel more confident and am enjoying
playing more than I have for a while. Its also been a good time to
improve my writing skills. I just need to improve my work rate and get
reading — I’m embarrased by how few books I’ve read in my lifetime.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5ba0">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9693">
I
sense many have settled into a new normal and I suspect that’s not
specifically down to the pandemic or the nature of the lockdown.
Whatever strange situation we find ourselves in we learn to adapt
because that’s part of our survival instinct. The only alternative would
be to go stir crazy. And new challenges inspire invention and
creativity. Added to that is the built in, but irrational, sense that if
we are denied what we need we will die. The novelty of discovering that
we are more adaptable than we believed can be liberating and refreshing
— even exciting. Unfortunately its short lived and we need to be
prepared for when the bubble bursts.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9693">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6613">
Another
product of this lockdown is an unhealthy dependence on those at the
helm. Regardless of how well they are handling the crisis they are
driving the agenda and its only natural that we look to the government
as we are more dependent on their decisions than we would normally be.
Cast adrift on this lifeboat, the world outside is not friendly or
assuring. But while there is a benefit in having a designated leader it
also limits your options. Challenging that leadership can be unsettling
but there is a need to recognise that one can be both a team player and
be objective.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6613">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6068">
That
sense of perspective helps when you have a home secretary proud of the
decrease in shoplifting at a time when most shops are shut.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section><br />
<br />Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-55304657122538929222020-04-25T13:43:00.003-07:002020-04-26T12:31:54.726-07:00Land Fill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--RmPdH9BGIs/XqSg6zm_pqI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/RZnUsq9RA-4ux5uFgmbkR3h-VzTMW-GtACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/landfill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="1200" height="94" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--RmPdH9BGIs/XqSg6zm_pqI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/RZnUsq9RA-4ux5uFgmbkR3h-VzTMW-GtACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/landfill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
CoVID-19 <i><span style="font-size: large;"><b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><span class="markup--em markup--p-em">Day 34</span></b></span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<section class="section section--body" name="00da"><div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="d6f9">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="d6f9">
Two days ago I deviated from my usual format and gave a straight account of my day without political comment or takeaway. Yesterday my entry was pure satire. It was a reaction to a Facebook post complaining about journalists taking issue with the government on the basis that they were being negative when what we need is cheering up. A friend made reference to ‘the left’ typically following this trend and that annoyed me. The truth is that the government have only done what is right because of pressure from the public and the opposition.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="d6f9">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="e3a7"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="307f">
<b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><i class="markup--em markup--p-em">It doesn’t really matter what the truth is, so long as the narrative can be successfully defended.</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="31b1"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="dc87">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="dc87">
I took a walk before publishing the satirical piece and was seriously considering deleting it and writing something softer but met friends who reminded me that we are in a precarious position, with truth telling being particularly important at this time. When I got back I re-read what I’d written and concluded it was appropriate and not unnecessarily negative.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="dc87">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="f11b">
Then checking out Twitter and Facebook this morning it occured to me that much of what is being written at the moment is contributing little and only adding to an overcrowded information overflow. There is always space for articles that fit the inevitable gaps and remind us of forgotten gems that are pertinent to the current situation. But repetition and duplication ends up polluting the message and creating information land fill.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="f11b">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="1ff4">
That prompted me to write another article entitled "Don't Unite - Resolve" (its an earlier article in the blog). Its around twice as long as my diary entries and questions the calls for unity (because they generally come from the right) but advocates keeping to the ideals that unify the left more organically. Its truth versus the narrative. We can’t beat the system by disapproving of it or joining forces with what are conservative (small C) factions or beaurocrats because that only replaces one corruptable beaurocracy with another.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="1ff4">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8ea4">
So I’ve been more sanguine today. Less angry, less anxious and more thoughtful (as in thinking outside of myself). We are now in an information stalemate where new data merely replaces the old without materially adding to the pile. Its like a ledge on the side of the mountain where the past and future steeply fall away and rise respectively but we sleep on level ground. So long as the government cause us to forget or trivialise the incline and focus on the level staging posts they will have achieved their objective.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8ea4">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="6b85">
It doesn’t really matter what the truth is, so long as the narrative can be successfully defended.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-18947728222235973072020-04-25T11:54:00.003-07:002020-04-26T02:31:53.441-07:00Don't Unite - Resolve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5w6H5TXCJQ/XqSHZlwwWqI/AAAAAAAAB1E/1AwevoJSFjEwErGV7kVvI1vo4mfcLORsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bangladeshi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="889" height="140" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5w6H5TXCJQ/XqSHZlwwWqI/AAAAAAAAB1E/1AwevoJSFjEwErGV7kVvI1vo4mfcLORsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/bangladeshi.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></i></div>
<br />
<i><b>Joining the dots</b></i><br />
<br />
As a consequence of the Warsaw pact unravelling in 1990 bitter rivalries that had been buried by communism resurfaced. Grievances that had never been resolved exploded resulting in ethnic cleansing and mass killings. With political restraints removed tribal blood-letting swept through the Balkans and beyond. Glasnost not only opened up political discourse it opened up old wounds for which the liberal West had no answer.<br />
<br />
Consolidatiion of power often brings with it a faux peace. If you can get everyone to repeat the same mantra or buy into a common message you can smother dissent and if you can get the media to buy into your narrative (other than nationalising it), any dissent then becomes treachery. Many concepts around freedom, liberty and justice become distorted within such a paradigm. People develop a kind of Stockholm syndrome identifying with, and trusting, those to whom they are captive politically and economically.<br />
<br />
<section class="section section--body" name="4f23"><div class="section-divider">
<br /></div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="6a95"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="4c12">
<b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><i class="markup--em markup--p-em">You have more in common with a factory worker in Bangladesh than a CEO in the City of London</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="0de7"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p graf--empty" name="d63e">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</section>One of those concepts is unity - if only we can come together under a common cause we can fight a common enemy. But oftentimes its the dominating faction or beaurocracy within the organisation that makes the call so its of a conservative nature and calls for normalisation rather than radicalism. Radicals tend to come together behind an objective that is not homogeneous in itself but held together by common ideals. Where nation states and corporations control the flow of goods and capital and rely on economic and political stability the status quo remains in control with a narrow monolithic message.<br />
<br />
When the Berlin Wall came down Margaret Thatcher said that where people have the freedom to choose they will choose freedom. While we would like to believe that, its seldom the case in practice. Offer someone stability and creature comforts in exchange for liberty alone and they are very likely to accept the deal. One of the planks of neoliberalism is the freedom to choose but as Tony Benn put it, "people in debt are slaves to their employers". You only have the freedom to choose when you can afford what's on offer. The freedom she referred to is largely illusory.<br />
<br />
The interesting phenomenon we are seeing now is the media challenging the ruling power (the government) and being critical of both their policies and methods. With people being unsettled by the Coronavirus pandemic they hanker after stability and normality and unsurprisingly want to hear good news. At other times bad news would be entertaining and material for moans and groans but when life is difficult people want someone to tell them the world isn't going to end and we'll get through this. So when journalists ask awkward questions and question the competence of the government its unsettling.<br />
<br />
There can be little sympathy for the press. If they had consistently held the powerful to account they wouldn't now be pushing back against a current of their own making. But more importantly this illustrates the inertia that will resist anyone pushing against a government that everyone, for their own sake, wants to succeed. The ether is saturated with conflicting versions of what is happening and what is to come. Social media has given us a plethora of news channels and with everyone on lock down the audience is more captive than ever. Such a scenario is ripe for the dominating forces to drive through their monolithic narrative with dissenting voices drowned amongst the flotsam and jetsam.<br />
<br />
Those most vocal in their call for unity may well persue an agenda for change but seek to redress inequalities and injusticies without challenging the roots of either. Radicals, by definition, are less concerned with the fruit and branches which are visible to everyone, and mostly concerned with the roots that very few are aware of. This automatically puts the radicals (on the left) and conservatives (on the right) at odds but gives an advantage to the conservatives because they can more easily appeal to the masses who want sweet apples regardless of how they got them. Nature follows the path of least resistance and prefers equilibrium to inbalance.<br />
<br />
Having said that nature also works in cycles. Success isn't sustainable unless its distributed and challenged. Unchallenged, success will overreach and be self defeating. The crash of 2008 should have brought the world economy to its knees but there was enough resilience in the richest nations to keep economies on life support. CoVID-19 is likely to pile on the pain and pull us into a world recession the likes of which we've not seen for nearly 100 years. The New Deal, delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, came about because the only alternative was a nationwide revolt. We've seen some of that in the policies introduced by the Tory government because its only alternatives are sky high deaths or abandoning the economy.<br />
<br />
We can't know how we are going to come out of this crisis but you can be certain that those in power or with influence will be planning on saving their own skins before considering the rest of us. They will be happy with general chaos so long as they control the narrative. For that they will need the majority to at least acquiesce to the government line even if they are critical of its performance. They will need the public to resist any suggestion of radical change in favour of a new normal that might look different but won't be radically changed. The current news soup can only help them.<br />
<br />
We are up against a very powerful but loose coalition of world powers and billionaires who will move heaven and earth and stop at nothing to maintain their status. They will sow fear and prejudice and set us up against each other. You have more in common with a factory worker in Bangladesh than a CEO in the City of London though nationalism tells you otherwise. The pressure for institutional unity will be immense but the only way we will come out of this crisis, with anything to show for it, will be an international call to action between working people across the world that demands fundamental change.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
After writing this I listened to Chris Hedges, an American journalist and author, on the Jimmy Dore show talking about the current situation specific to America. His analysis is insightful and unapologetic, speaking truth to power - but he is not hopeful. The latest bailout by Congress was the final part in establishing the US as totalitarian, underpinned by a feaudal economy. With the machines of dissent dimantled its virtually impossible to see unrest leveraging the government to abandon its journey to hell.<br />
<br />
I believe his pessimism is somewhat compounded by the fact that the Democratic Party itself has crushed dissent to the point that firebrands like AOC are toeing the line, mindful that if she doesn't she will certainly be shoe horned out of her seat. The caveat to this is that Chris still believes good draws to it good and holding to the truth is not pointless. What is instructive is that the bailout bill was passed unanimously.<br />
<br />
I think the key is knowing where to place your hope and what that hope looks like. Bernie Sanders' bid for presidential candidate in 2016 and Jeremy Corbyn's bid for government in 2017 were beacons of hope that finally got extinguished in 2019 and will not be relit this coming November. Hope is always alive while we look out for each other and work for a better society but its hard to see where its coming from on a national and international stage. If we are to keep hope alive in our hearts we need to be wise who we share it with.Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-54386679064095000312020-04-24T10:33:00.000-07:002020-04-24T12:20:24.562-07:00Hoorah for Boris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oC5751LtiP4/XqMiq8HK39I/AAAAAAAAB04/BoWDNOlOq0cVO7lAz7f2_9DwyFBsQjj7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/boris2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1600" height="107" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oC5751LtiP4/XqMiq8HK39I/AAAAAAAAB04/BoWDNOlOq0cVO7lAz7f2_9DwyFBsQjj7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/boris2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
Covid-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 33</span></b></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
Its that time of the week when you ask “what day is it tomorrow?” and exclaim “thank crunchie its a day with a <i class="hl">y</i>
in it.” You’d leave work early ready for the weekend except since
you’ve only left home in the last month to do a shop or stretch your
legs, that’s kind of redundant. Anyway its time to get positive, not for
CoVID-19 but about everything else. It’s time to cut the government
some slack and get in the spirit of <i class="hl">all in it together</i>.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="611a">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hm dt hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3559">
<b class="gy hk"><i class="hl">Its reassuring to know we have a much better government than the one we had last month</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hm dt hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv" />
<br />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ef40">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ef40">
Clap
for Boris, which is a bit unfortunate after getting the Coronavirus
too. But never mind, he’s a fighter and we love him to bits. Poor chap
is cooped up with only 1500 acres to exercise in and the nearest corner
shop is miles away but I hope some kind soul picks up his Happy Shopper
foie gras. We’re with you in spirit Boris. We need you to get better
(much better).</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ef40">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d98d">
We are all being enthralled by the daily <i class="hl">Have I Got Government News for You</i>
though we’re missing Ian Hislop‘s cheeky smile. Fortunately we’re still
getting zany, made up and completely irrelevant bits, but from Matt
Hancock rather than Paul Merton. The <i class="hl">Odd one out</i> round has been replaced by the <i class="hl">Which one is true</i> round but of course none of them are. Still its still fun working out which lie is the most egregious.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d98d">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3e1f">
With
only 10 years to practice, the government are doing remarkably well
under the circumstances — the circumstances unfortunately being of their
own making. But then no one’s perfect. They’ve never had to deal with a
CoVID-19 pandemic before and haven’t really been governing either so
this is all new to them. Thankfully the NHS hasn’t been overwhelmed,
just the doctors and nurses and other workers in it. Isn’t that good to
know.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3e1f">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1e30">
What
we should all take heart from is that they are making lots of wonderful
promises like there being 100,000 tests per day in a weeks time even
though its only in the 20,000’s currently. Shipments of PPE are
apparently coming in even when they aren’t and getting to where they’re
needed when they’re not so its reassuring to know we have a much better
government than the one we had last month.</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1e30">
<br /></div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0a55">
The
problem is these pesky health and other front line workers keep
complaining that what they’re experiencing is nothing like what they’ve
being promised and that’s so unsettling for the rest of us. So we’ve got
a couple of hundred workers dying because they haven’t quite got the
equipment they say they need. Why can’t everyone look on the bright
side? We’re enjoying the sunshine and we only have another couple of
years to wait for the vaccine to be mass produced.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-60773412392090841492020-04-23T15:35:00.000-07:002020-04-23T15:37:25.742-07:00Little Ole Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cttxslBJWis/XqIYnFMpBUI/AAAAAAAAB0o/k1KVzyTkXfADr1hr7SepbtY3LV762mBmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/me21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="717" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cttxslBJWis/XqIYnFMpBUI/AAAAAAAAB0o/k1KVzyTkXfADr1hr7SepbtY3LV762mBmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/me21.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
CoVID-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 32</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ef6d">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
I’ve
been writing this diary for over a month now and I’m conscious I’ve
largely spoken of my feelings and my reaction to news and events but not
gone into great detail about what my day consists of. So here goes:</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9b01">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
I
was awake aound 5.30 this morning and was onto Twitter and Facebook
before writing up yesterday’s entry on my iPhone. Writing this takes up a
fair bit of time so I didn’t get up till after 7am. I wasn’t writing
for all that time, however, I did grab the odd bit of shut eye. So I got
up, grabbed myself some cereal and a cup of tea, tarted up what I’d
written, copied it to my personal blog and put links in my Facebook
timeline and one of my pages.</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f2a8">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
I
then got on to working on a client’s website (that I built) for whom I
also do customer support. I was working on improving the website’s
visibility on Google, hoping to drive more traffic to it. We had an
online meeting at 9am with the website being the main talking point.
Afterwards I carried on with what I was doing which took me through to
late afternoon. A Zoom meeting was scheduled for 6pm where our Big Local
group would be discussing our role in the Coronavirus crisis hitting
our town.</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ee85">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
Big
Local groups were set up by a charity called Local Trust which gets its
money directly from the National Lottery. Our area was chosen to
receive £1 million and our group was created to deliver that to
community groups and businesses in the area. I was voted in as chair
person 15 months ago even though I didn’t put my name forward (you had
to opt out rather than in). I had never done anything like this and
never saw myself as a chair yet the very first meeting I chaired I
managed to introduce new etiquette into the meetings. 2019 was a
tumultuous year with deep divisions in the partnership nearly breaking
it apart. I managed to steer it through those trouble waters with the
help of colleagues and we came out stronger for it.</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bdda">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
At
around 2pm I had a conversation with our community development worker
ahead of the meeting before getting back to the website. I completed
that work by 5pm and played my guitar until the meeting. The meeting
went very well and we have some exciting stuff coming up — I’m looking
forward to being instrumental in helping the community at this difficult
time. At 7.30 we closed the meeting, I made myself a cup of tea,
listened to Stafford Live and did the clapping thing at 8pm, after which
I put the bin collection out and took my daily exercise.</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="783a">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
Stafford
Live is one of these online open mics. Stafford is where I come from so
I did a gig last weekend and enjoyed it. The guy who played tonight
said he had some songs on Spotify so I looked him up. That got me to
remembering I have some songs on Spotify so I looked myself up and
played the album. I never pushed it at the time because I wasn’t sure
how good it was after some luke warm reviews. But its actually pretty
decent. There goes another opportunity I missed.</div>
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="hb hc ap by hd b he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1c9f">
<div class="hd b he hp hg hq hi hr hk hs hm ht ap hu">
That’s
not a typical day because I don’t have typical days. But none of it was
unusual. So I’ve made myself another cup of tea and am finishing this
off before retiring to my bed chamber. I did dabble in social media
throughout the day but not to any great extent. I have no morals to pass
on and won’t clutter this with external news, I’ll just bid you
goodnight and stay safe. I just need an image to finish this off — and a
title.</div>
</div>
Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-3541965317740338262020-04-22T23:41:00.001-07:002020-04-22T23:41:10.622-07:00The Finish Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJxbWFxxzn4/XqE4di1hShI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/lWTs_WVmBq4DfJ3OWgyK90TdL0oRyVr9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/finishline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1417" height="128" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJxbWFxxzn4/XqE4di1hShI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/lWTs_WVmBq4DfJ3OWgyK90TdL0oRyVr9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/finishline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
CoVID-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 31</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="de20">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
I’m
now stressed because I don’t know what is stressing me. I cleared a
couple of items off my worry list and now I have a headache. I’m wanting
to be positive but what I’m hearing is that we don’t know what is going
to be the most effective way to come out of this so I’m just confused.</div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="34df">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
One
thing a crisis does is focus the mind. We don’t perform well in the
middle, we need a target to aim for or a hurdle to clear and often
neither is in focus. Being on lock down isn’t generally helping but in
this alternative bubble we do find ourselves thinking more critically
about some of the things we otherwise take for granted or we get away
with not paying attention to.</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<hr class="hs dt ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f165">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<strong class="gy hq"><em class="hr">there are months ahead of us before we are even out of the starting blocks</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hs dt ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib" />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2006">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
Most
of us know what we need to know about Coronavirus and social distancing
and much of what we’re picking up is repetition. Even stuff that should
be shocking is becoming part of the new normal. Yes, action needs to be
taken but the landscape isn’t going to change dramatically soon. The
curve is flattening which is what we wanted but what do we now do with
it?</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4dbb">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
It
seems like the lockdown has been fairly well accepted, loo rolls are
not hard to find in the smaller shops and there is a sense of being in
it together. There doesn’t appear to be a sense of unrest but I’m not
sure whether that’s assuring or concerning. Long standing stress is
unhealthy but so is getting comfortable with a bad situation (which can
simply be an accommodating strategy that makes us feel better but
actually leaves us just as stressed).</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3b72">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
The
flattening curve doesn’t mean we are getting over the crisis, it simply
means that it’s getting worse less severely. It’s a kind of managing
phase rather than panic phase, a little like managing the water rations
in the lifeboat rather than trying to get off the sinking ship. We
should think of it as climbing Everest, being half way up but not in the
middle of a blizzard.</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="78c6">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
We
should not be thinking of hunkering down and getting through this but
taking charge of the moment with an eye on the summit and planning the
decent. Anyone who’s done serious running will know that you don’t make
getting to the top of the hill your goal, you imagine yourself on the
other side.</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f768">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
Winning
the peace is more difficult than winning the war. Getting through this
crisis should not be our aim. In the bigger challenge of saving our
planet from a climate catastrophe and saving society from the wolves,
there are months ahead of us before we are even out of the starting
blocks.</div>
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="gw gx ap by gy b gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="72c6">
<div class="gy b gz hk hb hl hd hm hf hn hh ho ap hp">
This
shouldn’t depress us but should make us mindful that kicking off from
the starting block is the most critical part of a sprint. Those seconds
waiting for the gun can make all the difference between winning gold and
walking away with nothing. But it’s not even the best starters who win,
you don’t get the medal till after you’ve crossed the finish line.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-2400652036085455832020-04-21T23:52:00.001-07:002020-04-21T23:52:28.799-07:00String Theory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udq1FUcBO-0/Xp_pihf5jII/AAAAAAAAB0E/1DNiHJe6Lv0fW4fhy1nuXUiK21v3aGB7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/string.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="850" height="125" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udq1FUcBO-0/Xp_pihf5jII/AAAAAAAAB0E/1DNiHJe6Lv0fW4fhy1nuXUiK21v3aGB7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/string.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
CoVID-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 30</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bf99">
Today,
for me, has been about search engines, key words and figuring out how
to get people we don’t know who are asking questions we are not privy to
find a website they were unaware of. Then asking a developer how long a
particular part of the program is going to take to be ready for
release. How long is a piece of string? This is the same day we
discovered the shipment of PPE from Turkey that was apparently delayed
on Sunday was actually a figment of our imagination when that news was
announced. We are also discovering that no one has a clue how many
people are dying each day from the Coronavirus.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bf99">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0be7">
<strong class="hj hv"><em class="hw">will people collectively demand knots be tied in the piece of string,<br />the length of which is otherwise indeterminate</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c52a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c52a">
On
other matters I’ve been getting answers to questions (or part answers)
that have been bothering me for days and raising ancillary questions
that have lost me sleep. The difference between this and the sham daily
press conferences is that I’ve not been misled about Google searches,
development work or finances I’m dealing with and no one has been
withholding information either for the sake of it or with a devious
agenda while the government information is spin that is neither open nor
honest.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c52a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e620">
It’s
exhausting living in a state of suspended animation where you are
looking for information to string together what is going on in your
personal, local, national and international life when some of the normal
lines of communication have been taken away. With human interaction
drastically curtailed we are waste deep in communication effluent,
processing the detritus, seeking out clear water. In reality we were fed
this garbage before and though we knew we were swallowing crap there
seemed little we could do about it.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e620">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c86f">
This
time has focused my mind on how I deal with the information I have to
hand that personally affects me. Apparently less than 10% of those
surveyed said they want to go back to normal after this crisis. The
question is, will people collectively demand knots be tied in the piece
of string, the length of which is otherwise indeterminate.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-81904301831095312192020-04-20T11:21:00.004-07:002020-04-20T11:24:32.652-07:00Sleepless in MorecambeCoVID-19 <b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 29</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="494e">
I
was up really early this morning. I needed a drink and wasn’t going to
sleep through. My mind was buzzing and I decided to write. I’d listened
to Glen Greenwald last night, the journalist who was instrumental in
getting the Wikileaks story supplied by Edward Snowden, published. He’s
stood up to South American dictators and certainly risked his life in
holding truth to power. He was encouraging left wing activists to stay
with the programme despite being shafted over and over again.</div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="494e">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hb ea hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cd7d">
<b class="gn gz"><i class="ha">I have a feeling its going to be a week of sleep walking</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hb ea hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk" />
<br />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="041c">
<br /></div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="041c">
He was speaking to Americans but I could see the parallel here in the UK so I wrote my piece here on Medium. Its called <a class="cl hl hm hn ho hp" href="https://medium.com/@chris_t_price/hard-lessons-for-the-left-3f1bd598a25e" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hard Lessons for the Left</a>.
That took me over 2 hours. I had planned to write for a short while
then go back to bed but that never happened. I finally published the
piece <a href="https://medium.com/@chris_t_price/sleepless-in-morecambe-6326aa84923">in Medium</a> on this blog
and copied snippets and links into Facebook by 9am when I had a
scheduled meeting. That turned out to be a 4 hour meeting with gaps.</div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="041c">
<br /></div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="78f2">
Otherwise
its been a slow news day after yesterday’s explosive revelations in the
Sunday Times. So I’m watching Rishi Sunak deliver tonights Have I Got
News For You (not the real #HIGNFY of course, just one that’s not funny
and contains no news). Unfortunately its impossiblke to watch for more
than a few minutes.</div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="78f2">
<br /></div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a07c">
But
on the real news front you should know that while councils have given
out grants to businesses in line with promised funding by central
government, it looks like the government may not honour their
commitments. If this isn’t remedied even councils that have done all
they can to mitigate the drop in funding they’ve seen over the last few
years, will be desperately short next year.</div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a07c">
<br /></div>
<div class="gl gm ap by gn b go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="19bb">
I
have a feeling its going to be a zombie week, most of us satiated with
information we can make little sense or use of while health workers and
care workers continue to put their lives on the line, volunteers slave
away meeting people’s desperate needs and the government lie through
their teeth about what they’ve done, are doing and promise they will do.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-53153197706439450522020-04-20T00:57:00.000-07:002020-04-20T05:12:52.864-07:00Hard Lessons for the Left<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRI7De4X8t8/Xp1VjcDcuTI/AAAAAAAABzs/hjjfUKXCIqgvxVDc78kcVJ_jR2XJ6I3ngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/no-final-victory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRI7De4X8t8/Xp1VjcDcuTI/AAAAAAAABzs/hjjfUKXCIqgvxVDc78kcVJ_jR2XJ6I3ngCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/no-final-victory.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d179">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d179">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d179">
<b class="gx hj"><i class="hk">Home Truths and Family Feuds</i></b></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2839">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2839">
Let’s
not kid ourselves that the recently leaked Labour report is the
kryptonite that will automatically kill the power of the Labour right
and that of the residual Blairites. The report was to be submitted to
the EHRC as part of the investigation into alleged systematic
antisemitism in the Labour Party. Labour lawyers managed to stop it
being submitted and then it was leaked. You don’t have to be a
conspiracy geek to figure out that this action would effectively have
buried the report (which is probably why it was leaked) and its hardly
surprising that Labour HQ would primarily go after the leakers rather
than the sabateurs named in the report.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2839">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6f33">
To
be fair the party machine should have been expected to attempt to lock
down the report and disallow any official dissemination of these
revelations pending an investigation and to comply with those
instructions is proper. But we also should have expected the membership
of those named to have been suspended prior to an investigation as would
have happened if they’d been accused of antisemitic activities.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6f33">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hl dt hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2f92">
<b class="gx hj"><i class="hk">the corrupt establishment is corrupt …<br />That’s why a new movement is needed</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hl dt hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu" />
<br />
<section class="ea eb ec ed ee"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af ef ah ai">
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="192e">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="192e">
Many
of us came into the Labour Party inspired by the vision of Jeremy
Corbyn and, thanks to the activities of Momentum, we were buoyed by the
numbers. Here was a case of herd immunity — the neoliberals would have a
hard time suppressing half a million activists in the largest political
party in Europe. But scandalised as they were, they were quick to
attack and very nearly succeeded in quashing the rebellion on their
first attempt. The infamous Chicken Coup was scarily close to shutting
Corbynism down within a year of its emergence.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="192e">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a882">
Jeremy
Corbyn’s second win sealed the future for Corbynism and because it was
so unusual and so forceful it caught the media and the political class
on the hop. Him being relatively unknown, it wasn’t too tall an order to
present Corbyn as disloyal, unBritish and left of Stalin and make it
stick. But when Theresa May threw him into the spotlight and people got
to know the man, they grew to like him. Given 2 or 3 more weeks
campaigning a Labour victory in the 2017 elections would have been
irresistable. The law mandated that he be given equal air time and a
fair crack of the whip while more exposure for Theresa (Maybot) May only
made her look worse.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a882">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c349">
Even
in 2017 we were aware of opposition to a Corbynite Labour government
from within Labour HQ, Iain McNicol directing clandestine efforts to
blunt the election campaign. The leaked report merely fills in the
blanks. More damaging was the open hosility by right wing Labour MP’s
who were more than happy to go to the press with stories of bullying,
ineptitude and power grabbing by those close to Corbyn. Some even openly
criticised the party leader while campaigning to be re-elected as
Labour MP. Its hard to argue that a Labour government wasn’t emminently
possible or likely in 2017 if it were not for the shameless antics of the
Parliamentary Labour Party and Labour HQ.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c349">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cecd">
The
Labour defeat was rightly claimed as a victory for the left. We removed
May’s majority effectively making her a lame duck PM and insured that
Jeremy Corbyn, those who supported him and the radical Labour manifesto
wasn’t going to be assigned to the bin of history. By 2019 Labour had
been transformed from a Tory-lite centrist party to something that, at
least in appearance, was a left of centre true opposition. But the
poisonous right had worked their dark magic so well they managed an
historical defeat that meant Jeremy would have to resign and those
around him would be dispersed.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cecd">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5200">
The
Labour Left are still reeling, the leaked report rubbing salt in the
wound. Once the new elected leader was announced it was expected of the
left to draw a line under the past and get behind the new leader even
while the right were still laughing in our faces. The hollow call for
unity didn’t wash and with the Covid crisis hightening everyone’s
stress, the leaked report only intensified the feelings of those who so
enthusiastically campaigned for a Corbyn led Labour government. As an
opposition we have been underwhelming against a miserably incompetent
government. It hardly inspires socialists to fight for what seems a
nominally socialist party.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5200">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e26d">
Many
have left the party, not only disheartened by last year’s defeat but
lacking any hope of Labour being a force for socialism. Five years feels
like a lifetime when, in that time you gone from being vaguely
political to a socialist activist to feeling like an unpaid leafleter.
Its not just a case of getting back on the wagon. This wasn’t a
relationship that didn’t work out and there are plenty more fish in the
sea. This project began decades ago when an internationalist,
anti-fascist, anti war, socialist became member of Parliament for
Islington North not long after Thatcher reformed this country for the
worse with her disastrous moneterism and toxic neoliberalism.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e26d">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8b14">
I
for one shouldn’t be surprised having long held the belief that all
institutions are either corrupt or tend towards corruption. As Michael
Walker of Novara Media has beutifully put it, the officials running the
Labour Party around 2015 enjoyed a relatively small party of largely
non-activists. Corbyn has never been an existential threat to Jews or
anyone else in this country apart from the Labour apparatchiks who had a
very lucrative and cosy lot and were not going to give it up easily. A
massively increased, enthusiastic and largely socialist membership must
have terrified them.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8b14">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5838">
Does
that mean I should have learned my lesson and now give up on a party
that doesn’t appear to have any aspirations of forming a socialist
government. That is a question I’ve asked myself and could have been
pursuaded had I listened only to those with that view. Those saying we
should stay and fight were not particularly convincing and even given
that there is no credible alternative, why should I give myself to a
hopeless cause just because its the only one in town? There has to be a
better reason — some light at the and of the tunnel — some residual glow
that tells me there are embers of hope and not just a heap of potash
and charcoal.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5838">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="db70">
Glenn Greenwald has put it beautifully, in <a class="cl hv hw hx hy hz" href="https://youtu.be/RSSnaGCXanA" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">an interview with acTVism Munich</a> when talking about the Bernie Sanders campaign in the Democratic primaries:</div>
<blockquote class="ia ib ic">
<div class="gv gw ap hk gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ba3e">
<b>"Yes,
there are villains responsible for Bernie Sanders not being the
Democratic nominee but that’s the whole premise of … the populist
movement generally that the … establishment is corrupt. They’ll do
anything to cling to power. So you can’t launch a campaign that’s
designed to wrench power out of the hands of a corrupt establishment and
then when you fail, whine afterwards that the corrupt establishment is
corrupt … That’s why a new movement is needed."</b></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ae32">
Just
as the the Sanders campaign got many things wrong, so did the Corbyn
team and Corbyn himself. Its clear from the report that he and Jenny
Formby threw Corbyn allies under the bus in order to appease the <a class="cl hv hw hx hy hz" href="https://www.jewishlabour.uk/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">JLM</a> and <a class="cl hv hw hx hy hz" href="https://www.lfi.org.uk/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">LFI</a> and gave in to pressure to accept the <a class="cl hv hw hx hy hz" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Remembrance_Alliance" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">IHRA</a>
in its entirety when its own author warned against it being a
definitive document. Jeremy’s right hand man, John McDonnell, abandoned
the Labour commitment to honour the referendum and so helped seal
Labour’s fate in 2019.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ae32">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fd4d">
Even
if Labour had won in 2017 the entire establishment would have moved
heaven and earth to bring it down, using every dirty trick in the book.
If the revelations of the leaked report had come out earlier, what would
that have done to the Labour Party? Those of us on the left might have
fought hard and made sacrifices but in other ways we had it easy. The
Left was crushed in the 1980’s and it took 30 years to rise from the
ashes. The Corbyn movement has been shafted but not crushed. We are down
but not out. The 2019 manifesto is our stake in the ground, the leaked
report our whip. Around the world progressives are comparing notes while
the coronavirus has created a crisis from which there is no return to
normal.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fd4d">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5324">
The
Chartists, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Peterloo and the miner’s stike teach us
there is no easy path to victory. We won’t walk into the halls of power
just because we have half a million people behind us. We certainly won’t win
by complaining about our lot or joining a circular firing squad,
shooting those who stray a little from our radical positions. We are not
innocent bystanders or collateral damage. We are wounded, fallable
soldiers who maybe missed the odd target and with our own instances of
friendly fire. We haven’t been led by donkeys but they are not saints
either.</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5324">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="faee">
Look
around and be thankful. The last 5 years will not be washed away easily
and we’ve already been vindicated. The next 5 years are going to be
tougher and some of the fights will be closer to home. But we stand on
the shoulders of giants, some of whom literally gave their lives for
justice and a fair society.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-35738098291859918982020-04-19T13:02:00.000-07:002020-04-19T13:02:46.135-07:00Taken to the Cleaners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-73oBhCZucRY/Xpyt3pPXTwI/AAAAAAAABzg/G92VwiNskZUajhi4ELJPOn-02ATJCbvEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/henry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="1600" height="111" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-73oBhCZucRY/Xpyt3pPXTwI/AAAAAAAABzg/G92VwiNskZUajhi4ELJPOn-02ATJCbvEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/henry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 28</b> </span></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
My
day started with the question, “What am I going to eat?” I had little
more than eggs in so I made an omelette with a few non-foody things in
it. Sorted. The sky was blue again. Again. It has rained once since the
lockdown started and then for only a few minutes. We’ve seen the sky
cloud over but that was just to let us know that we are not in a Truman
show. It all adds to the strangeness as if there was someone in control
of this which, it would appear, is not true.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fb80">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="77f2">
What
is obvious is that the government certainly isn’t in control — of
anything. The coronavirus might be novel, invisible and strange but its
not mindful. Its not trying to outwit anyone or deliberately target
certain types. While being more potent than we probably thought, its not
omnipotent. Its nothing more than a string of information wrapped in a
coat of grease. It relies on host cells to multiply which is why its
difficult to fight. Its also very vulnerable to the most simple of
cleaners, household soap — nothing fancy or modern. Its less effective
in small doses because that gives our immune systems a fighting chance.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="77f2">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fc41">
<strong class="hj hv"><em class="hw">We have a vacuum and nature doesn’t like vacuums</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="212d">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="212d">
We
know how to deal with viruses in general and CoVID-19 is a virus.
What’s different is that we don’t have a vaccine because there is no
such thing as a general vaccine. We know how to protect health workers
but, as Matt Hancock so pithilly put it, we don’t have a wand to magic
the equipment out of thin air. And that’s what we are dealing with. We
have a government that has made no preparations for such an event (which
it planned for 4 years ago but did nothing about). And even when it was
clear what needed to be done, what needed to be done wasn’t done.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="212d">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6c5e">
The
truth is that we have something which calls itself a government but has
no clue how to govern. The Sunday Times published what many feel is an
explosive story of incompetence and negligence on behalf of the Prime
Minister, but its been clear for the last month that that has been the
case. The General election of 2019 made clear that Boris Johnson could
not be trusted in anything he said and when confronted would either
deliberately hide the evidence (e.g. a mobile phone) or hide himself in a
fridge. The media knew then that his cabinet couldn’t organise an orgy
in a brothel.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6c5e">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cc3b">
Talk
is, that Michael Gove is being lined up to replace Boris should he be
forced to step down which leads some to suspect there is more to the
hand wringing than just cottening on to Boris’ incompetence. It seems
that whenever something is happening that the public really ought to be
aware of, the press deflect with a non story. Then when there’s little
that can be done they drop a ‘bombshell’. Maybe someone is in control or
maybe its a certain class that manoevres to maintain the status quo.
What is certain is that we are not all in this together.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cc3b">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a0d7">
Now
we are hearing that a consignment of PPE from Turkey has been delayed.
With warnings that many places would run out this weekend it was vital
they dropped today but they are not going to and we don’t know why. I
don’t believe there is any conspiracy here. While the ruling class have
managed to maintain their status for millenia its not through guile, its
just that they have their hands on the levers and they know which ones
to pull. You don’t need to be a genius to ensure you survive a tsunami
while others perish, you just need to ensure that they live on the beach
while you live in the mountains.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a0d7">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b7c4">
When
it comes down to it, the press are not the Tories’ friend, they are
just on the same side. Boris is expendable as is Michael Gove. All that
matters in the end is that the ruling class maintain their status.
Everyone else can go to hell. But just as world powers can be humbled by
a microscopic virus that can do little more than find a cell to
corrupt, so they can be overthrown by seemingly insignificant humans.
The main killer with CoVID-19 is viral load, where the victim is not
just exposed to the virus but overwhelmed by loads of it. That’s why
those on the frontline are so vulnerable.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b7c4">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0fdf">
What
an ineffective media does is lesson the load of public opinion on those
in charge. By delaying judgement on the government they have
effectively done that just as the government have tried to protect the
NHS by flattening the curve. We have also seen the dismantling of
collectives such as unions which further protects the government from a
loaded attack. But what is most disappointing at this time is the lack
of effective opposition from what is Her Majesty’s official opposition.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0fdf">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9cc5">
Ideally
we would have a good government and an effective opposition holding it
to account. A poor government with an effective opposition might still
be functional. What we have is a useless government and no real
opposition. We have a vacuum and nature doesn’t like vacuums.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-64573153668430288502020-04-18T15:02:00.000-07:002020-04-18T15:02:07.375-07:00Fit for Heroes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9YOJ1FjeYU/Xpt4glGVb1I/AAAAAAAABzM/0IsnK9FdlX43B1iy51yI_4EZT8yxPf7dgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fit4heroes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1276" height="233" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9YOJ1FjeYU/Xpt4glGVb1I/AAAAAAAABzM/0IsnK9FdlX43B1iy51yI_4EZT8yxPf7dgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fit4heroes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: large;">Day 27 </span></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
I
walked and walked and walked today. It wasn’t my allotted daily
exercise though I guess that got covered. I needed to deposit some
cheques and the bank isn’t nearby. The walk there was very pleasant —
the walk back, less so as my feet began to rub and one or two joints
began to complain. I’m obviously not in shape so there’s something I
need to tackle.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f341">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="83ab">
I
had planned to do less social media today. I think I probably did less
though I wouldn’t call it a success. I’m not sure what’s best for me at
the moment in this respect. It doesn’t get me down but while I was
walking I kept finding myself reaching for my phone as if I needed to
keep track when I didn’t. Well this diary keeps me posting on Facebook,
my blog and here anyway. It can take up considerable time depending on
what I’m writing about or how easily the words come to me so my
commitment to this virtual life isn’t in doubt.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="83ab">
</div>
<hr class="hv ea hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ae9e">
<strong class="hj if"><em class="ig">We
cannot allow them to be painted as heroes<br />on cardboard cutouts,<br />once
again we must demand a land fit for heroes<br />and an NHS fit for purpose</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hv ea hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b1ee">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b1ee">
As
well as posting me singing (which I recorded yesterday) I also recorded
a song for the virtual May Day event being organised by the Trades
Council. I was going to play in person but, of course, that was
scuppered by CoVID-19 so its all going to be online with recorded
messages. Mine is a song I wrote some time ago. I wrote it walking to my
breakfast club job, feeling a bit glum. Its a song of hope (I wrote it
to cheer me up) which found inspiration in the prospect of ushering in a
Labour government. The leaked Labour report that came out last week
explains why our optimism (in the short term at least) was misplaced.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b1ee">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0898">
Yet
we must always maintain hope because without it we are left only with
despair. So in spite of what we are being faced with day in day out, we
must believe that a better future is possible and that the work we are
doing towards that will not be fruitless.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0898">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7d66">
There
is so much confusion and so many voices amidst the utter incompetence
of the government, the tragedy of lost lives in the care industry and
ruptures within the Labour Party, that when we look to forging the
future we are in danger of ceding the narrative to malignant forces. The
only antidote is for us to develop a common left narrative and at least
a loose coalition of left groups to press that narrative.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7d66">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="98b2">
The
good people of Britain won’t save the NHS or truly honour its staff
through charity or applause (as noble as they are) but through a
fundamental shift in policy that brings services back within the NHS and
restores responsibility to the secretary of state. There is a deep
sickness and corruption within established politics and the mainstream
media that must be openly challenged.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="98b2">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9ebc">
There
is certainly an appetite for this but it will be challenged fiercely by
the powers that be. The government itself pays lip service to the
heroic efforts of our frontline workers with no intention of following
through with concrete changes. We cannot allow them to be painted as
heroes on cardboard cutouts, once again we must demand a land fit for
heroes and an NHS fit for purpose</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-46854198798199301812020-04-18T04:21:00.000-07:002020-04-18T04:21:35.302-07:00Taking the Lead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UGWohTRXSsA/XpribD6tXhI/AAAAAAAABy8/9o3GO0UezhQfW8Ty8HANruBP6sGrOVB8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/covid-ttl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UGWohTRXSsA/XpribD6tXhI/AAAAAAAABy8/9o3GO0UezhQfW8Ty8HANruBP6sGrOVB8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/covid-ttl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
CoVID-19 <span style="font-size: large;">Day 26 </span></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
You
don’t need to want to be a leader but you do need to want to lead when
you are one. Someone has pointed out that so many politicians are
sociopaths, you can only conclude that there is something natural about
politicians having sociopathic tendencies. Its that naked thirst for
power that would concern a balanced person and ring alarm bells. But in
the world of politics the bells are muted by pragmatism and process.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd6f">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="73b3">
There
are many politicians who are driven by service while others are
careerist but don’t have an agenda that’s focused on rising to great
heights. Many genuinely want to use their position of privilege and
influence to help those they represent while others want to steer
politics from inside the machine (technocrats). Some set out to lead
while others find themselves thrust into the position. But you can’t
lead unless you are motivated by being one.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="73b3">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hv ea hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c683">
<strong class="hj if"><em class="ig">It comes down to the difference between leadership and control</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><hr class="hv ea hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d21b">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d21b">
You
don’t need to be power hungry, just comfortable in the role and driven
by having people follow you. What is strange is that there are those who
want to be in a position of power but don’t relish taking the lead.
They want the accolades that come from being the figurehead but not the
responsibilities that leadership brings. Such a person is likely to be a
bully, given to mood swings and with a fragile ego. True leadership
finds satisfaction in achievement rather than plaudits, expressions of
appreciation rather than favours and apprentices rather than copyists.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d21b">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5ba9">
It
comes down to the difference between leadership and control. The
Dickens character, Uriah Heap, illustrates this. His whole MO (modus
operandi) is to be in control, whether that be manipulating his employer
from below or plotting a takeover. His end game isn’t to lead the
company but to control it and use it as an instrument to enrich himself.
Even where there is no financial gain to be had some seek to take
control to make them look important and win friends or admirers.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5ba9">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d83a">
In
these unprecendented times there seems to be an absence of leaders.
There are many who present themselves as such but the evidence would
suggest they have done little more than act out the role. It appears we
might have only done slightly worse had they come through The X-Factor
or Love Island. Its impossible to pin the blame but with a brush stroke
we might be able to cover the usual suspects like the press and
corruption in the echelons of power. There are certainly individuals and
groups who benefit from chaos.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d83a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3cfa">
Things
are bad enough as they are but if we are to come out of this with
anything remotely constructive that doesn’t line the pockets of the rich
and screw everyone else, some kind of true leadership needs to emerge
from somewhere.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-44154561964058686542020-04-16T23:40:00.001-07:002020-04-17T01:28:18.995-07:00When You Ain't Got That Swing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-afZbU7eCKYc/XplPII_8iEI/AAAAAAAAByw/_oCpHBAmsAE6PTYuvOxBfSYjUniPzTMQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/swing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="1600" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-afZbU7eCKYc/XplPII_8iEI/AAAAAAAAByw/_oCpHBAmsAE6PTYuvOxBfSYjUniPzTMQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/swing.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Day 25</span></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
I
had an extended Twitter conversation this morning (much longer than
usual) with someone I’ve been following for a while and whom I tend to
agree with on most things political. Where we’ve diverged is on who we
supported in Labour’s leadership election. There wasn’t a great divide
in the elections as many members weren’t particularly energised — none
of the candidates were very compelling.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e93d">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hw ea hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie if" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4f76">
<b class="hj ig"><i class="hv">A
pendulum must swing its full arc before returning to the normal<br />so must
we experience the extent of our grief or disappointment<br />sometimes
before making a constructive journey<br />back to the point of equilibrium</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hw ea hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie if" />
<br />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ad83">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ad83">
With
so many people calling for Labour’s first female leader (though Harriet
Harman stood as interim leader after Ed Milliband resigned) I’ve been
surprised that so many women voted for Kier when there were 2 women
leadership candidates. This Twitterer voted for Kier Starmer who she
felt would be the most electable when it came to a general election. I
had certain reservations about him and voted Rebecca Long Bailey.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ad83">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a725">
Although
a Starmer leadership was pretty much on the cards it still came as a
hammer blow when he won the ballot, for many Corbyn followers. It wasn’t
just about Kier it was grief over saying goodbye to the leader we’d
pinned all our hopes on. However many Corbyn supporters voted for Kier
and some with enthusiasm (though I never understood why). The tweet I
initally responded to was one she’d liked. He was disappointed that
there had been so much negativity and I was trying to explain why that
was.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a725">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d04b">
I
wasn’t being concilliatory but neither was I being intentionally
confrontational. I was merely justifying the anger and trying to
explain that you can’t simply dismiss someone’s behaviour because you
have difficulty accepting it. One argument was that there was a crisis
out there with people dying, so why were we crying over spilt milk. But
when tempers are short it serves no purpose to point out the illogic or
inappropriateness of someone else’s feelings unless you are actually in a
live situation where immediate focus is critical.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d04b">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4496">
There
are times when its necessary to behave irrationally so you can work
through your feelings. A pendulum must swing its full arc before
returning to the normal so must we experience the extent of our grief or
disappointment sometimes before making a constructive journey back to
the point of equilibrium. I am not the best me when I make sacrifices
unwillingly unless I can rationalise why I’m doing it. And in that case I
am using my negative inertia to power my positive movement. You will
make best use of your enemy when you harness their energy. When it
dissipates its lost.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4496">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9d66">
We
so often fail to undertsand grief because we don’t grasp the
fundamental nature of it. Its a way of coping with loss but it isn’t
reserved for when someone dies. You can mourn for all manner of losses
including losing the hope that your child will ever marry or live the
kind of life you imagined for them. Its selfish but its not invalid even
when another thinks of it as trivial. A child can mourn the loss of
their favourite toy and its as real as your grief even though its
consequences are not profound.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9d66">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="df3a">
There’s
a grief in isolation, in not being able to enjoy your usual activities
and pleasures. Its the stuff of life and yet we don’t recognise it most
of the time because our coping mechanisms are so practiced. Its
situations like this when you have to face losses that are strange and
unfamilar. You have to remember that you are not being punished (because
depravation is used as a punishment) or you have to accept that it can
be a gift (even when its a punishment). It has echoes of the past where
child motality rates were such that a young death in the family was
almost inevtiable. “God giveth and God taketh away” was not simply a
theological truth rattled out at a funeral, its was an understanding
because everyone knew it first hand.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="df3a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9e1d">
The
deaths we are experiencing due to CoVID-19 are not normal but with it
come the removal of the props that separate us from life’s normal cycle.
We generally live in a world unequipped to deal with nature’s
capricious stealth but sometimes its good to find ourselves in an
armlock, battling forces we wouldn’t normally engage with. In these
times we need to give ouselves and others a little more grace and take a
little less umbrage.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-90666721502695442622020-04-16T11:41:00.002-07:002020-04-16T11:41:57.594-07:00Hope in Hell<section class="section section--body" name="4790"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KKlLWDyeOIU/Xpimz3OHzGI/AAAAAAAAByk/dt3pouTCuyE602x2SnmhnvNCye22Vjs0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/inferno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="750" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KKlLWDyeOIU/Xpimz3OHzGI/AAAAAAAAByk/dt3pouTCuyE602x2SnmhnvNCye22Vjs0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/inferno.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="section-divider">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="section-divider">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="section-divider">
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Day 24</span></div>
<div class="section-divider">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8fb6">
Today was hopeful if I can be permitted to describe it as such. My meetings were either positive, helpful or forward looking. It’s important when in such a dire situation that hope isn’t extinguished. Laughter and grief often play off each other, one framing the other giving meaning to our existence.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="8fb6">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="fb0a">
I learned about networking via LinkedIn and was reminded of the importance of clear communication and the value in openness. Futures are built on trust while fortunes are often castles with no foundation. Don’t underestimate how much people generally want your best, instinctively understanding that successes are made for sharing.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="fb0a">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="0d96"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="a6d3">
<strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">we must come together with the common interest, not of picking up where we were<br />but demanding that things be different</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><section class="section section--body" name="669d"><div class="section-divider">
<hr class="section-divider" />
</div>
<div class="section-content">
<div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e110">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e110">
Today a 28 year old mother died before her baby could be delivered. She was a black nurse and her colour is important. While CoVID might be colour blind statistics are not. We need to understand why black and coloured medics are dying non proportionally. We are all connected but we are not in this together and the virus is not a leveller. Coronavirus might generally be unpredictable in which victims it takes but it does appear that foreign and black workers are more likely to be put in harms way.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e110">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="9a10">
What this virus has exposed is years of neglect, contempt for those like cleaners and care workers, who actually run the country, endemic racism and needless austerity just as 2008 exposed massive corruption and criminally in the finance industry.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="9a10">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p" name="e363">
We cannot carry the weight of the tragedy in each life lost, upon our individual shoulders but somehow we must come together with the common interest, not of picking up where we were but demanding that things be different. The death of the 28 year old heavily pregnant nurse so struck me I couldn’t comment on it. I had no wish to retweet the story or add my mark. It was horrible.</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-16335146421221010582020-04-14T14:24:00.003-07:002020-04-15T02:59:01.081-07:00Waves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjm-_4tQZis/XpYn9py4ukI/AAAAAAAAByU/7kzOq5IagUcNh2oo9tawWKqAK0o24ehhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1600" height="122" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjm-_4tQZis/XpYn9py4ukI/AAAAAAAAByU/7kzOq5IagUcNh2oo9tawWKqAK0o24ehhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wave.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Day 23</span><br />
<br />
Following the sinusoidal Easter weekend with its positive and negative highs, intense analysis and introspection, its perhaps not surprising that my morning began dark. "What is the point of all this" was the overriding feeling especially after a conversation wading through a bleak financial landscape. My first response was to put on my shoes and head for the beach but instead I picked up my guitar.<br />
<br />
I decided to record a song I enjoy playing then post to the internet and hopefully lift someone's day. My beach walk would have been better served by turning my brain off and just taking in the time and space. Instead I tried writing a song by repeating nonsense in a beat I wouldn't normally compose in. I got back feeling as stressed as I left. I'd not wound down but I was ready to apply myself and got down to it.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>just as an aggressive parasite will kill its host, <br />the neoliberal elite may well have strangled their golden goose</b></i> </div>
<hr />
<br />
At midday I had a long phone conversation around housing and urban gardening, talking about local economies, regeneration and holistic progress in areas of depravation and low expectation. CoVID-19 could be the game changer, the dividing line between the past acceptance of a failed economic model and the future prospect of demanding a more inclusive and sustainable one. It ended in voicing a desire for programmes that would leave a legacy rather than a huge footprint.<br />
<br />
That remained with me in a mood of cautious optimism. A subsequent conversation that I was tempted to postpone further, lifted the mood as it went much better than I'd expected. I'm now weary but its late enough to consider bed without the complication of waking at a ridiculous hour.<br />
<br />
I'm still in a precarius position, not knowing how I'll come out of this crisis. And from what I'm picking up there is likely to be considerable distress in communities across the nation and the globe in the coming months. The little resilience we had in 2008 is now looking more stretched and any prospect of a bounce back has been pretty much scuppered by the dismantling of the forces of moderation over the last few decades.<br />
<br />
It could be that while it will, as ever, hit the poorest and weakest most this could fatally wound the neoliberal agenda of Reagan and Thatcher that has effectively reduced us to a feudal system and just as an aggressive parasite will kill its host, the neoliberal elite may well have strangled their golden goose. Meanwhile the government continues to betray the nation while her Majesty's opposition implodes.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is Wednesday and its only the first day of our working week. What happened to the last four days.Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-59433452353733526142020-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:002020-04-13T10:40:16.213-07:00Day of Reckoning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHQGB1tXhHQ/XpSj01PGJEI/AAAAAAAAByI/aM8BMdD0neQYo7o2vYF4fxyUlLDVWsiAACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/dayofreckoning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="1181" height="149" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHQGB1tXhHQ/XpSj01PGJEI/AAAAAAAAByI/aM8BMdD0neQYo7o2vYF4fxyUlLDVWsiAACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/dayofreckoning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="58cf">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="58cf">
<strong class="hj hv"><em class="hw"><span style="font-size: small;">CoVID-19</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Day 22</span></em></strong></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="58cf">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="be2f">
Wow,
its been an information bomb site today. I joined the Labour Party in
2016 when Jeremy Corbyn was heading for his second win as leader after
the infamous ‘chicken coup’ where members of the shadow cabinet resigned
one by one after the referendum went Brexit. I’d registered with the
party the year before to vote for him as leader and Tom Watson as deputy
(how I regret the latter vote). When Theresa May called the snap
election in 2017 my heart sank. With Labour well behind in the polls and
the Parliamentary Labour Party having done a job on Corbyn. But I
really enjoyed the campaign and we were buzzing after the election even
though we lost. Jeremy had been magnificent and we’d robbed May of her
majority. We came tantalisingly close to gaining power but it wasn’t to
be.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="be2f">
<br /></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ea38">
<strong class="hj hv"><em class="hw">The one who we adore and love, captivates us with her charms<br />Reassures us with her rhythmic presence and terrifies us in her capriciousness</em></strong></div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="55e5">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="55e5">
There
were rumours of the General Secretary throwing spanners into the
campaign while some MP’s made it no secret that they were fighting for
their seat but not the prospective Labour Prime Minister. Watching some
of the Labour faces when the exit poles were announced was very telling —
clearly this wasn’t what they were hoping for. Now we know they were
hoping for another leadership contest that a narrow defeat wasn’t going
to give them. And there are many more grizzly, lurid and shocking
revelations that confirm what some of us have been saying openly — that
we were robbed in 2017, not by the Tories but by our own party machine.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="55e5">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="57b9">
The
fury of party members is palpable but while many are leaving in disgust
it’s also galvanising members of the left, now armed with evidence and
no longer having to fight our small corner. Disingenuous calls for unity
are bouncing off our growing demand for action against those whose
hunger for power and influence was at odds with winning a Labour
victory. Whatever your feelings for those you openly fight against,
betrayal by those who should be your allies and friends is bitter and
deep.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="57b9">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="653c">
However
as bitter the pill is, the bile of truth is more palatable than
poisoned honey. Those of us who’d barely dipped our toes in the water of
politics entered the Corbynite world with some naivity but that was the
charm that won the country over and nearly gave us victory.
Unfortunately it was also our undoing. We’d hailed a new leader from the
back benches who didn’t do politics like the pros. But he was up
against a hoary machine, lubricated with the oil of cynical, seasoned
and seedy politics. Though they didn’t get their way in 2017, their wet
dream played out in 2019. In retrospect it seems Labour’s best effort
for many decades was not enough for the Corbyn dream to come to
fruition. The loss in 2017 turned out to be a mortal wound.</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="653c">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6d25">
I
took the realisation, that such devastating revelations had a silver
lining, with me on my daily walk and found inspiration in the tide. I
stood on the water’s edge as the sea came in with gentle waves that were
barely perceptable except they’d periodically wet another inch of the
sand. And over the next few minutes small waves would splash the rocks
and I’d have to stand back. Then I walked along a stone jetty and
watched from another angle. The thin layers that made up the shallow
waves were like skirts covering fleshy sands like they were being
dressed and so this poem got written on my iPhone:</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6d25">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</section><hr class="hx ea hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig" />
<section class="en eo ep eq er"><div class="n p">
<div class="z ab ac ae af es ah ai">
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2b9a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2b9a">
The naked sand is clothed with an indigo dress<br />Sequins shimmering and skirts cascading<br />The bay queen will soon be regaled from Neptune’s wardrobe<br />And crowned as the sun withdraws to its chamber</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2b9a">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2bf6">
For now she takes her throne<br />In subtle, graceful steps, with little pomp<br />Another day she will raise her army<br />And take the rocks by force</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2bf6">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="79fd">
Shouting down all who would oppose her<br />Then retreating with magnanimity and poise<br />And while the mountain king pushes out his vaunted chest<br />She dances with the moon in regal beauty</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="79fd">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8f86">
The one who we adore and love<br />Captivates us with her charms<br />Reassures us with her rhythmic presence<br />And terrifies us in her capriciousness</div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8f86">
<br /></div>
<div class="hh hi ap by hj b hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu en" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2fc8">
<em class="hw">The Bay Queen</em></div>
</div>
</div>
</section>Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128324.post-47478099286729645612020-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:002020-04-13T08:53:18.158-07:00The Bay Queen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1BZWoMifLU/XpSKk_GU-wI/AAAAAAAABx8/4JbTEhO4EmoPUfjY8_AL9LDnjySnRAKgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bay-queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="1600" height="127" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1BZWoMifLU/XpSKk_GU-wI/AAAAAAAABx8/4JbTEhO4EmoPUfjY8_AL9LDnjySnRAKgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/bay-queen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b730">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b730">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b730">
The naked sand is clothed with an indigo dress<br />Sequins shimmering and skirts cascading<br />The bay queen will soon be regaled from Neptune’s wardrobe<br />And crowned as the sun withdraws to its chamber</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b730">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7107">
For now she takes her throne<br />In subtle, graceful steps, with little pomp<br />Another day she will raise her army<br />And take the rocks by force</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7107">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="39f2">
Shouting down all who would oppose her<br />Then retreating with magnanimity and poise<br />And while the mountain king pushes out his vaunted chest<br />She dances with the moon in regal beauty</div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="39f2">
<br /></div>
<div class="gv gw ap by gx b gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi ea" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1afe">
The one who we adore and love<br />Captivates us with her charms<br />Reassures us with her rhythmic presence<br />And terrifies us in her capriciousness</div>
Chris Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11466633924893594434noreply@blogger.com0