All posts by Keith

I’m a controversialist and catalyst, quietly enabling others to develop by providing different ideas and views of the world. Born in London in the early 1950s and initially trained as a research chemist I retired as a senior project manager after 35 years in the IT industry. Retirement is about community give-back and finding some equilibrium. Founder and Honorary Secretary of the Anthony Powell Society. Chairman of my GP's patient group.
current affairs, thoughts

#MeFirst

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I’ve been thinking recently about personal attitudes and the state of society. There has been a marked shift in the willingness of people to be active in the community, for the greater good of the community.

It’s been happening for quite a while, but has got worse since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. We now live in a world which has shifted away from community spirit to an almost ubiquitous focus on personal gain: “what’s in it for me?”.

People get angry about being inconvenienced. Their plans matter more than public safety, or the community. It’s selfish and ultimately destructive.

We’ve lost the civilising philosophy of “Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you”.

As I say, this was happening before COVID; however the isolation of lockdown, the fear, and in many countries the indifference (or worse) of government have multiplied this “me first” attitude. Everything has become focussed on “how does this affect me?” rather than the broader picture of “how does this protect us?”, “how does this benefit the community?” or even “do I really need this?”.

Freedom has shifted from living peacefully with others in society, within the law, to “I can (and will) be allowed do whatever I want, regardless of anyone else”. That’s not to say that we should all be mindless, conforming drones. There is still, and always must be, a place for free speech, a variety of opinion, demonstration, and challenging the status quo. Nor am I saying that self-care doesn’t matter. But we’ve been brainwashed into a view that everything is a service we pay for (especially when it’s free!) and is therefore a right which must be provided here and now, or else.

This has not been helped by the political modus operandi which has become so polarised that there is no thought of compromise and common ground. Worse, what are people supposed to think when they see the politicians avoid any consequences for their lies, malfeasance and broken promises. The USA is demonstrating this in spades; and they aren’t the only ones. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

We’ve gone from “we, we, me” to “ME, ME, maybe we”.

We’re seeing this in so many areas. One place I see it is as Chairman of my doctor’s patient group: patients are demanding to always have a face-to-face appointment with their GP – today! – rather than trusting the GP to make a decision based on the clinical need. Because if a phone call is sufficient (as it is in a majority of cases) it benefits everyone: it is less disruptive, quicker, and thus better for everyone as the GP can get to treat more patients (who may be at greater need). But no, I must come first; my desires are paramount.

How many these days voluntarily put themselves forward for community roles? For example: as school governors; as charity workers; as interest group newsletter editors. Judging by the number of organisations advertising (internally or externally) for people, the answer is “very few”. I don’t recall this being an issue when I was younger; there was almost always a volunteer willing to step up. And it is all levels of society, top to bottom, regardless of which method you use to slice the “society cake”.

The idea of contributing, even sacrificing, something for the community has pretty much disappeared. When enough people are putting themselves above the group’s wellbeing, things shift, trust turns to suspicion, every obstruction engenders anger; and the community starts to fracture. When “we” becomes “me” the community dies. Just as we’re currently seeing in society – worldwide.

It’s not so much #metoo as #MeFirst.

There’s a fuller exposition of this in the article When “What’s In It for Me?” Kills Community … . Ignore the naturist foundations to the article; it’s just as appropriate for any community, of any size.

history, memes

August Quiz Answers

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Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

General History

  1. How long, in days, was the year 46BC? 445 days; the longest year in human history. It had three extra leap months inserted by Julius Caesar as preparation to make his new Julian Calendar match up with the seasonal year.
  2. According to the 1516 Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, what are the only ingredients allowed in beer? Water, barley & hops, although yeast was also used but not stated.
  3. Who was the first woman to die in an aviation-related incident? Sophie Blanchard (a balloonist who died in 1812)
  4. In what year was the Battle of Lepanto? 1571
  5. In 1800, the capital of the USA was transferred to Washington DC from which city? Philadelphia
  6. The War of Jenkins’ Ear (a term coined by British historian Thomas Carlyle), 1739-1748, between Britain and Spain, was fought where? Caribbean

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.

books, memes, quotes

This Month’s Poem

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Kubla Khan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

Find this poem online at Poetry Foundation

amusements, memes

Ten Things

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This year our Ten Things column each month is alternating between composers and artists a century at a time from pre-1500 to 20th century. As always, there’s no guarantee you will have heard of them all!

Ten Artists Born in 18th Century

  1. John Constable
  2. JMW Turner
  3. Jean-Honoré Fragonard
  4. John Sell Cotman
    John Sell Cotman; Windmill
  5. John Crome
  6. François Boucher
  7. Giovanni Battista Piranesi
  8. William Blake
  9. Katsushika Hokusai
  10. Antonio Canova
photography, ramblings

Hospital Panorama

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Just to prove that I occasionally do some real photography these days … Earlier in the week I was sitting outside our local hospital, waiting to be picked up after having just interviewed my wife’s consultant. Unusually for me the only camera I had on me was my mobile phone – I normally carry at least a small “point-and-shoot”. But I thought, let’s see if I can take enough OK shots with my phone to make a panorama.

I like this this joiner technique, which I originally saw done by David Hockney. The angled edges and not quite perfect fit of the images make the whole thing interesting.

Here’s the result. It’s turned out better than I expected.

Panorama of Ealing Hospital
Ealing Hospital
[Postprocessing in Photoshop Elements and Paintshop Pro]
[Click the image for a larger view]
history, memes

August Quiz Questions

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Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.

General History

  1. How long, in days, was the year 46BC?
  2. According to the 1516 Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, what are the only ingredients allowed in beer?
  3. Who was the first woman to die in an aviation-related incident?
  4. In what year was the Battle of Lepanto?
  5. In 1800, the capital of the USA was transferred to Washington DC from which city?
  6. The War of Jenkins’ Ear (a term coined by British historian Thomas Carlyle), 1739-1748, between Britain and Spain, was fought where?

Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.

food+drink

Culinary Adventures #117: Gooseberry Fool

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It’s summer, so the supermarket have gooseberries. Mostly green gooseberries, although the other week they did have some gorgeous red desert ones. Anyway they need to be encouraged to these seasonal (and local) fruit and veg options, so we try to buy them when we can; hence the enjoyment of English asparagus (see many earlier posts). The supermarket also already have English plums – blimey they’re early even for Opal – so we’re on those as soon as they arrive.

Before anyone says it, no I can’t be doing with growing my own (I wish I could); if nothing else my back won’t do it. Besides gooseberries are always destroyed by sawfly; ours were at home when I was a kid, and the couple of bushes we had when we were first here were destroyed too; there really isn’t room in our garden for a fruit cage (we could have done it instead of the pond, I guess) and I won’t use “industrial” pesticides.

Anyway, back to gooseberries. Having made gooseberry tart the last couple of weeks, this week I decided to try something I’ve never done before: Gooseberry Fool. As usual I merged several recipes and then made it up as I went along. So this is how it went.

Gooseberry Fool

Serves: 4 for a normal size sweet course
Preparation: 10 minutes and 15 minutes, plus chilling
Cooking: 10 minutes

For the Gooseberries

  • 300g of topped & tailed gooseberries
  • 4tbsp caster sugar
  • 2tbsp good Gin (or water if you want to avoid alcohol)
  • 2tbsp Elderflower Cordial (optional)

For the Cream

  • 220g Greek Yoghurt
  • 220ml Double Cream
  • 2tbsp (heaped) icing sugar (but caster sugar is OK)
  • 1tsp Vanilla Extract
The gooseberries looked really emerald green in the pan

What to do …

  1. The day before you want to eat, start by cooking the gooseberries. Having topped and tailed them, put them in a saucepan with the caster sugar, gin and elderflower cordial. Simmer gently until the fruit is soft and beginning break apart.
  2. Remove from the heat and mash the fruit down a bit more with a fork. Transfer to a box and when cool fridge overnight.
  3. A few hours before you need to eat, put everything together.
  4. Put the yoghurt, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl and beat gently until smooth. Now gently whisk in the cream (I used a fork for all this) until everything is well mixed and the cream is beginning to thicken. Add the gooseberries, combine gently and spoon into glasses (or dishes).
  5. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving with (crumbled) Amaretti.
The finished fool, just out of the fridge and waiting for a spoon

Notes

  1. Don’t worry about the gooseberry pips. Some recipes insist the gooseberries should be sieved, but in my view this is an unnecessary waste of time (and fruit goodness). You’ll hardly notice the pips in the finished product.
  2. The gin and elderflower cordial add some depth of flavour, but are entirely optional. If you omit them use a couple of tablespoons of water in their place.
  3. Crumbled Amoretti sprinkled on the fool makes a nice crunchy contrast.