I wish to register a complaint!

I know that the subject matter of today's ramble is a week overdue but my return to work dictated that blogging became a secondary activity...sigh...

However....last Sunday evening I pre booked the sofa, the remote control, and very nearly donned my Spanish Inquisition robes (oops did I really confess to that?) and settled down with I have to say some trepidation to watch the final live performance of Monty Pythons Flying Circus.

The trepidation was there due to the fact that the 5 remaining comic genius es or is that genii? are now in their 70s and I was dreading that their magical sketches would look ridiculous, dated and dim the light of greatness that has quite rightly shone on them for almost 45years. I had this nightmare image of anti python people turning around saying "told you they were no good"!

I had no cause to be concerned, for as The Beatles of comedy wove their magic the less my brain hurt. Until.

Around fifteen minutes into the show something happened that I did not expect and it wasn't the inquisition...I thought my cable box had developed a fault as there was suddenly a odd shrieking noise for around one second...then another...then another and then it dawned on me...told you I should have been a lumberjack...it dawned on me that in July 2014, 45 years after they first broadcast on mainstream television, Monty Python were being censored!!! I almost choked on my Albatross wing...

Worse was to come....a whole routine was omitted and replaced with a pre recorded sketch of MIchael Palin as a modern day Mary Whitehouse figure, the reason? The routine was a little rude....

I did try so hard for this crass political correctness not to ruin the evening but it very nearly did, not because I missed a routine but because the need was felt to dictate what we can and cannot watch or hear in our own living rooms because it was before 9pm.

Ah yes, the famous watershed, that magic time that ends at 9 pm because that's when everyone under 18 goes to bed and switch off their phones, tablets, and snuggle down dreaming of lollipops and kittens ....

These same little people have just sat through, news bulletins showing how people can obliterate each other, the aftermath of bombs and gun fire, they have sat through soap operas that show how drugs, violence, depression, cause depression and chaos, they have sat through advertisements promoting gambling and various other useful pastimes...but can hear Monty Python say f**k ? Or heaven forbid let them witness some laughter and joy...no,they can't!! Oops I just censored myself!! It's catching...

My brother used to sneak me downstairs to watch python in the early 70s much to mums fury but the point is did I then go to school next morning saying fuck bugger shit all the time? No...because the same mum dad and brother taught me that it was wrong...the same kind of parental responsibilities that seems to be lacking now...

There is though a more serious and much more dangerous aspect to this, in that, nameless faceless people are deciding more and more what is good for us and what they think is bad for us and this is something we have to wake up to or free speech and an open mind may become a thing of the past.

As a footnote, the stupidity of the above did not ruin it for me, and the viewing of history was as glorious as I hoped it would be...

An Englishman abroad?

After being struck down by shingles shortly after my last blog the timing of  my holiday couldn't have been better.

And I couldn't have chosen a better place to hopefully fully recharge the batteries than Scotland.

We chose to travel by rail so I wouldn't have to drive, and clean, efficient trains got us to Inverness in around 6 and a half hours of travel...marvellous.

It was during the first leg of this journey from Warrington to Glasgow it occurred to me that it could be one of the last times that I could make this trip in this way, as it is possible that, the next time I come up I may need my passport, as Scotland may be a foreign nation.

Some of the things I heard and saw on this journey convinces me more that this would be a great tragedy.

The train was populated by a cosmopolitan group including Asian, Japanese, European, and British.

Notice I used the word British there and I do so because that is how it came across to me, the English were travelling to either visit friends or family or, as ourselves, holidaying.

The scots who joined us at Carlisle were heading home after working for their company, in, England.

These were a typical group of workmates, filling the carriage with noise and banter between themselves but at no time did they give three cheers and sing Flower Of Scotland as they crossed the border just north of Carlisle, nor did they disparage the country they had just left, nor was there any digs at fellow passengers who were clearly from south of Carlisle.

The reason? Cynical people might say " they didn't want to get thrown off the train" or they are against independence anyway" I think it's more the fact that whether we like it or not we are far too similar to be different.

The four peoples that make up the United Kingdom certainly have their own traits and traditions and all have differing views on a wide range of issues, just like any family, in fact all four disagree amongst in each other. However when you look at things more closely there are far more similarities than differences, all of what combines the individual ingredients of Britain were present in that carriage, let's hope that if all of us in that carriage have to repeat the journey again in a year or two we will still be starting and ending in the same country.

Heroes For A Lot More Than One Day

Almost two years ago the David Bowie classic "Heroes" was played many many times a day as we celebrated huge success at London 2012. The heroes in this case were our Olympians. 

Today the word hero has again been used in abundance, this time to mark special people on a special day. 

If you weren't aware today, June 6th, is the 70th anniversary of D Day. The day that was to all intense and purposes the beginning of the end of World War II. That last sentence is so easy to write, yet, that so called beginning was an ordeal that few of us can imagine, and now, sadly, even fewer of us can say what it was like to be there.  

Those who know me are aware that I am not what you might call a flag waver, most forms of fervent patriotism leave me cold if not a little wary, as everyday normal people suddenly morph into nationalistic Churchillian bulldogs. I think my indifference to this kind of patriotism stems from more recent conflicts and really anything to do with Britain in general where the waving of a flag, preferably really large ones, makes everything better. As the saying goes they hide behind the flag. 

Seventy years ago the men, boys, in those boats had no flags to hide behind, once the fronts of the carriers dropped they were exposed, with just their courage and wits to get them to beach. 

If they made it...then they had just entered another stage of brutal combat that was to last for months, yet that foothold was so important. 

A year later when the fruits of this initial labour was gathered in, these men, young men for they had ceased to be boys, were hailed as heroes but as part of the whole nations relief, and , once the celebrations passed these heroes went back to their homes and families and jobs they were forced to leave from 1939 onwards, because, yes, these were not soldiers, they were engineers, plumbers, electricians, shop keepers, miners, dockers, drivers, they were just like you and me. Listening to some of them speak today was truly humbling and they were so matter of fact, they told it like it was, no flannel, no action man stories, no jingoism, no flag waving, the phrase I heard many times was" I was doing my job" 

The understating I heard time and time again was truly remarkable,  it was a lesson in true patriotism, a lesson that a great many people in this country could do with learning. 

It's time to come out from behind that flag! 

Apathetic performance and a pathetic decision

This year marks the centinary of the beginning of the First World War, seventy years since the d day landings & 86 years since everyone has been entitled to vote. Three very different anniversaries but all with a connection. As a result of the gargantuant effort and sacrifice of millions of ordinary people during WW1 the powers that be kindly allowed ordinary people to vote and have their say...though it took another 14 years for them to recognise that women may have the same thinking power as men and in most cases more. Then as we all know came the greatest threat to the new found emancipation with fascism and dictatorship threatening our shores, June 1944 was the beginning of the end of that, allowing a general public to at least have the minimum say when it comes to who ruins err runs our lives. Millions of normal everyday folk gave everything for that right and exercised it eagerly thereafter. Well eagerly upto the past decade or so. The turn out for elections must leave our forefathers wondering "why did we bother in the two wars?" And that feeling must be multiplied by the events of the past week. The 60% or so who didn't bother have helped to create a very dangerous situation, not only here but all over Europe, the same Europe everyone fought to free has been handed to people who would have it return to the 1920s and 30s. Insular, nationalistic, paranoid. The excuse of "they are all the same" does not wash anymore as,clearly, they are not all the same at all. Fuelled by nationalistic media and over exaggerated statistics, a great many of the 36% or so that did vote chose an extreme party. I will repeat that figure, 36%. Not even half.... What would the situation be like if 70,or 80% had voted? I hope beyond hope that it would have been very different. All the main parties need to take a good long look at themselves as much as the general public does as the self regulated, self judged vested interests have turned people off and that now needs urgent change as it is no longer just a case of " we will win with 40% of 36%" and leave it at that, these low turnouts are now threatening to make the extreme the norm and put in jeapordy the freedom won at such a cost. One last thing to think about, there have recently been elections in Afghanistan and India. How many saw the lines of queuing people waiting in some cases hours and hours to cast their vote, a vote that means so much to them, the same vote that seems to mean so little to us. I never intended this blog to become a outlet for spleen venting but I have to mention a decision that does have a kind of link to the above. Remember my term insular? Well I cannot see any good reason why our so called Education Minister has scrapped children reading American classics such as To Kill A Mockingbird, The Crucible or Of Mice And Men in English Literature. The reason? They are not British...apparently there is another reason for Of Mice...Mr Gove hates it...good sound policy reason that one! I can remember reading all three of these in English Literature and along with the 4 Shakespeare plays I can still remember them clearly now 30 years later! They are brilliant stories and powerful and I don't think it turned me off reading anything "made in England" since. I hope that these titles and others are still passed onto students for spare time reading as they should not be allowed to gather dust on the shelf or the digital equivalent on Kindle. Maybe Mr Gove doesn't like the tragic ending to Of Mice...perhaps seeing himself as Lenny asking George (or David) "tell us again why I scrapped this book?"

Initial Thoughts

Well it's been an interesting week with lots of things to catch the eye of the average observer. Letters seemed to have played a big part in defining some of the events of the last few days. Now I'm not going to do a Dickie Valentine here and wonder through the alphabet (that's one for the kids!) I'll just stroll through the ones that caught my eye...here's four to start with...U K I & P it's been quite a week for these guys...suddenly they are everywhere (apart from Newark) and nothing they say seems to stick or is just laughed off. Some of the utterances of some of their members have been disgraceful but it's treated like they are a minority fringe, mouthing off but never going to have any power so ignore it...at your peril in my view. Now how about these letters? H&S add a number on the end, let's say...2 and we will be on the fast track to, Birmingham, and we can get there 20 mins sooner than now, and then we will can get connections to the North and to Scotland. The thing is if you want to go further on HS 2 you may have to wait at Birmingham for a little while, about decade or so. I will be honest I still can't get my head around the needs for this...apart from the slight reduction in journey times I can't help feeling that improving what we have by spending a small percentage of HS2 would be more beneficial as my overcrowded train to Leeds last week proved. Other monies could then be used to sort out our roads and get the repairs carried out that are so desperately needed rather than issuing a paltry amount and then asking councils to "bid" for some of it, looks like Ill be continuing to combine my driving with potholing for a wee while yet. And talking of cars that brings me on to our final group of headline making letters, B B C & N if was to add the initials JC to this would it be clearer? No...not that JC! The other one, the one that seems to be able to do or say what he likes because he knows, he has the support of his employer who knows that he is watched by a few million people who really now should be waking up and voting with their remote controls. Part of my job is to talk to young people about equality and diversity and how people should be treated etc... And the consequences of failing to do this, not really much point when they put on the TV and see some of their heroes behave in such a way. I mentioned consequences there which brings me to my final group of letters, if the allegations are true then BBC...Y?

Good Friday?

I feel quite fortunate today as I have been enjoying the first of four days off...well needed I may add but none the less gratefully accepted. The reason of course is Easter, the moving target of religious festivals, sometimes early March sometimes, as this year mid April, obviously the Emperor Constantine couldn't quite decide when he fancied his Spring break at the council meeting which decided the festival dates, so Easter became a moveable feast. Now as those who know me are aware I don't normally do religion but I was reminded today of a Good Friday around 40 years ago which links in with all of the above. I was around 7or 8 and for some reason that I am unable to recall my dad had to go out on Good Friday afternoon, I went with him. Though I can't remember the reason I do remember vividly what I saw and heard, or rather what I didn't. We walked into the town and possibly for the first time in my life I saw no people, not a soul...just me and my dad walking through the town centre, not only were the no people but there were no cars, no buses, nothing, only my dad and me and some pigeons and I am sure they were there because they felt they should be. Now why would this spring into my mind today again? Apart from it being Good Friday of course. Well not too many years into the future Easter for me was a blurr of work for I was caught up in the aftermath of the changing attitudes of our land. How can people live without being able to do anything on one Friday and Monday each spring? How on earth can people manage without some kind of retail therapy for 24 hours? How can the economy survive?? Truth is they could live,manage and survive but somehow,as mentioned in a previous blog, we as a nation seem to think that we should never take any time off for no reason...hang on though...isn't it Easter? This brings me back to the point of not doing religion, if you are a believer Easter is the most important festival of the year, but in all the years that the erosion of the holiday took place I cannot remember much in the way of objection from our churches. First it was...a few hours open if you want, then 9-6 only, now it is a free for all with my local supermarket open 24 hours, a full bus and train service, all manner of places to go with your loved ones to be served and attended to by people away from their loved ones...very Christian. There has been a news story this week about bringing religion more into the public debate, if it happens then the people who debate it have to include all angles, and not do a Constantine and select the bits that suit. As I pointed out I don't really do religion but I would like to ask whoever leads the debate about where they stand on the story of ridding the temple of the sellers and the "den of thieves" though somehow I am not sure I would get an answer. Happy Easter everyone and if you have been lucky enough to have a few days off, stay in and enjoy, back to normal soon, see if you notice the difference. However if you feel you need to be Christian over the holiday pop down to your local tesco temple and read the sign which says "sorry we are closed Easter Sunday" and forgive them, for they know not what they do...or do they?

Odds and Apps

Did you know that as I write this blog the Venezuelan Ladies under 17 football team are pitting their wits against their Italian equivalent? Don't worry if you didn't I am not even sure that the majority of the good people of the two protagonists are sat on the edge of their seats huddled around the TV or radio hanging on the every word a South American John Motson. So, how is it that yours truly know about this iconic sporting event? Well...it's all to do with the Grand National, an annual flutter and the downloading of a couple Apps. Having performed a kind acupuncture on the list of runners and riders for tomorrow I thought why not avoid the annual trip to the betting shop and take a leap into the 21st century and have an online dabble, after all Vic Paddy Ray et al make it sound easy and entice you with offers. It was after the download and looking at each of the sites that the only thing that's easy is the losing of money. I listened to a debate the other week about why the number of people with gambling addictions is rising, it was similar to the debate I heard about binge drinking...the main cog in the wheel was ignored, the ease of obtaining your addiction. Off licences and supermarkets have made it so easy and in relevant terms inexpensive to obtain alcohol in greater quantities than ever, the new look book makers and their cyberspace offshoots have the same affect. Now, I know, that some of the few who read this will be saying" it's up to the individual" and in many ways your right. However, when an individual becomes a vulnerable individual then that attitude changes and when there a suddenly thousands of vulnerable individuals then everyone's attitudes need to change. Which brings me back to our young ladies football match. As I'm not a gambler I chuckled at first,shook my head and moved on, deleting the app, if I was a gambler there was a host of in play options with ever changing odds all just one click of a button, and another click and another click away and before you know it you could have lost more money the they took at the ground. And if under 17s international ladies football isn't your thing, you could always try, well, almost anything... My old grandad used to say he knew people who would bet on two flies crawling up a wall...have a bang on that!