There are no words. Just really there are no words for the mess we’re getting ourselves in.
And really what is this year doing to us?
First, the Great British people vote, in a non-binding referendum, to take the UK out of the EU, and the government treats the result as binding. As someone near me observed the other day, never overestimate the intelligence of the great British public.
Then earlier this week the American people elect Trump — a self-confessed misogynist, racist, bankrupt, megalomaniac bully — to be their next President.
What is it about people that has caused such apparently idiotic choices?
Well it seems to me that it is partly down to the fact that too many people these days feel deeply pissed off, abused and disenfranchised.
Add to that the fact we are tribal — however much we like to think we aren’t. (I wrote briefly about racism and tribalism a while back in my Five Questions series.)
This means that when people’s backs are against the wall they will default to following their tribal instincts: xenophobia, racism, aggression, bullying. And, as a gross generalisation, the less intelligent people are the easier they find it to slip into tribal mode; those who can (and do) think are more able to rationalise and counteract such tendencies (although, of course, not all do as they may give a higher weighting to protecting their vested interests).
Thus, it seems to me, when people are so deeply pissed off, they will tend to vote for the more right-wing (Fascist) choice. This, they think, will satisfy their emotional and tribal needs. Hence another UK Conservative government, hence Brexit and hence Trump. And that’s despite the fact that such situations are so often the ones which will disenfranchise people further.
There is another factor at play here too. It’s “we don’t like what we’ve got so we’ll vote for something different”. We’ll have a change — that’s any change! — as it must be better. In an essentially bipartite democracy (UK, USA) that just means whoever isn’t in power. [Although this doesn’t explain the current UK Conservative government.]
So maybe we shouldn’t find the current mess quite so surprising.
So what next?
Well if, as the old wives tale has it, “things come in threes” and the year isn’t over “until the fat lady sings” we have about 7 weeks to survive. We’ve had Brexit (with its fallout), now Trump. What’s going to be the third almighty cock-up we can inflict on ourselves?
Keeley on Facebook has suggested the third cock-up is the Columbians voting down the proposed deal with FARC. I don’t know — I don’t know enough about this to be able to judge — but it could well be a good contender. We shall see.
Meanwhile just hang on in there and push back against racism, abuse, bullying wherever you can; ‘cos 2017 just has to be a better year.
And 2016: May a thousand monkeys dance sideways on your grave!
Another in our very occasional series thinking about some of the aspects of the “Brexit mess” the UK is now in.
[Note: What follows are largely my thoughts on the legal landscape as I see it, based on various legal items I have read over recent days and weeks. I am not a lawyer. This is not legal opinion. It is my ramblings.]
I am heartily sick of all the misinformation and stupid comment which is pervading the media waves at present. So in the wake of yesterday’s court judgement on the constitutional issues surrounding Brexit I thought a few (legal) facts about the mess we’re in were in order. These thoughts will be uncomfortable and unwelcome for the unthinking masses.
Conclusion: What we have in the UK at present is a political crisis, of the Government’s making, and not a constitutional crisis.
Now will everyone STFU and act their age not their shoe size. Yes, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and others, I’m looking at you.
We’ve not had any amusement recently from the catalogues of our local auction house. This is mainly because they have recently been relatively dull. But it’s time to catch up, so here are the highlights from the last two or three auctions, and as always it is not just the stuff that people sell but what gets lumped together to make a lot and sometimes the somewhat erratic descriptions. Presumably someone must buy this stuff or they wouldn’t sell it! Anyway, here goes (any emphasis is mine) …
A Venner time switch, a Metropolitan taxi meter, and a speed and power playback reel to reel tape deck
A treacle glazed pottery Toby jug, a dinosaur teapot plus three erotic netsuke in china and wood
A pair of cream ground elephant seats, a quantity of DVDs including Sex and The City, photo albums, a figurine of a rabbit, two modern dishes, wine bottle opener, and a coffee table
An antique native primitive bow of natural branch form with gut bow-string, and two quivers, one in bamboo with plain leather binding, the other in decorated leather, each containing bamboo arrows with barbed iron heads
A good collection of garden ornaments, incl. a dog holding a basket, a planter upon a cherub, vintage chimney marked Doulton & Co., Lambeth, and various cherub wall plaques and decoration, two male busts, mirrors, and a marble-topped table on metal base
A Suzuki MG25 marching Glockenspiel
[That’s worthy of Terry Pratchett; it must be a cousin of “The Luggage”!]
A charming Edwardian pram with Greek fabric detailing on inside of hood, a weatherproof covering for doll, and what appears to be a leather head support strap across the top of buggy, four spoked wheels on metal frame, a doll (one leg missing) with serial code AM Germany351/41/2 K on neck and rolling blue eyes, eyelash detailing, open mouth and in knitted blue dress and cardigan
[GOK why you would want a one-legged doll (though I guess it is politically correct); and are the spoked wheels part of the pram or separate items?]
A collapsible child’s micro scooter, also dumbbells, and a chest expander
A figure of Christ crucified
[Why?]
A pair of framed watercolours of birds, a set of old golf clubs, some hickory-shafted, vintage movie cameras, a Windsor model 71 voltometer, a collection of cameras incl. Kodak Brownie 127, a metal safety box, stoneware bottles, spirit levels, and a pair of aluminium ladders
2 hand-painted decorative saws depicting village scenes, a vintage lawn mower, a spade and a shovel
[Clearly an ancient art-form which has passed me by]
A pets bed styled as a miniature sofa in buttoned velvet, raised on shell carved cabriole legs
A bronze figure, Ancient Egyptian or later, on a stone base
[Basically it could be any date, but it looks Egyptian]
A Victorian stag hoof converted as an inkwell
A fine Victorian Indian ivory page turner carved with a pierced handle surrounding a maiden
An interesting lot of small items including an enamel-lidded glass jar, other jars, old buttons in a box, 2 old watches, miniature enamelled vases, a naval whistle, lizard claw, etc., all in a brass-faced box
An album of black and white adult photographs
A Lachenal & Co concertina, early 20th century, no. 160071, with 33 buttons to the pierced nickel-plated ends, wooden rests stamped with trade mark etc. and ‘steel reeds’, in ebonised wood box
[AKA a button accordion]
A one-string fiddle, home-made, with brass horn, and a violin bow
An impressive ceramic Quartz clock decorated with shell decoration and two handled on top
[A two handed what? Included also as it is so stunningly … impressive]
A leather Doctors bag and contents, plus a further leather Doctors bag complete with instruments, a Policeman’s helmet, and a Kodak Instant camera
[There’s a theme here, but I’m not at all sure what it is; maybe Agatha Christie?]
[And of course there had to be a collection of things stuffed. What is it about taxidermy?]
A taxidermy kestrel on rocky base enclosed in glazed wooden display case
A taxidermy kestrel on a mossy base in a glazed wooden cabinet
A taxidermy barn owl on rocky base enclosed in glazed wooden display case
A large quantity of china to include 19th century part tea services, a small collection of Wade figures including a lady and a blow up Dalmatian, further decorative wall plates, meat plates, ornaments, animal figurines, etc.
A Life Guard Trooper’s helmet, presumed circa 1900
A modern bronze group of two conjoined torsos
[Scrap metal?]
A wooden cased table organ with nine pull-outs and three and a half quavers, in aluminium carry case
[I suggest they mean 3½ octaves]
Three Union Jacks last displayed on VE day
[We know this?]
A cow skin, probably Charolais
A Laura Ashley red velvet quite with beaded trim edge, a Greek fabric national doll and a Spanish flamenco doll
Two 19th century powder-coated cartwheels
[Oh, really?]
Five vintage petrol cans …
More anon.
Winter is coming, the cats are getting keener to be in rather than out — not that this stops them going out for a little light mouse-foraging! All afternoon I’ve had two of our three cats with me in the study, very asleep and both determinedly trying to make it rain.
Wiz has found the warm spot in front of the airing cupboard …
No, OK, I do understand why. But it is a real pain …
Yesterday morning I had my ‘flu jab. I do this every year as (a) I’m now over 65 and (b) I have diabetes so I’m considered to be at “high risk”.
By mid-afternoon yesterday I was feeling rough. Last night I might as well have had ‘flu, I felt so awful — and I was so hot you could have fried an egg on me. (What a nasty idea!) I felt marginally better this morning and luckily I’ve gradually been improving as today has gone on.
Every year follows a similar pattern. 10+ years ago when I first started having ‘flu jabs they would make me feel rough for maybe half a day; on one classic occasion I felt awful for just one hour.
However a few years ago, when the vaccine contained “bird ‘flu” it knocked me out for over a week. Each year since then the vaccination has affected me for at least two full days, usually starting about24 hours after the injection. Consequently I scheduled this year’s shot when I knew I had three four days clear afterwards. It’s just as well I did, although if it has knocked me down for little more than 24 hours this year that’s definitely progress.
Yes, I do understand why this happens. Although the vaccine cannot give you ‘flu (the constituent strains are either live but attenuated or are totally inactive) like all vaccines they stimulate the immune system into producing antibodies — that’s what they’re supposed to do. And it is this reaction of the immune system, which thinks the body is being attacked, which causes the “illness” side-effects. What’s curious is that not everyone get these side-effects; and of course there are a small number of people (eg. those who are allergic to eggs) who cannot have the vaccine (or have to have an expensively produced alternative).
While the side effects are not pleasant they generally only last a day or two, and for my money they are far better than having real ‘flu which could last 2 weeks even without complications.
It’s just a nuisance to have to go through this every year. However until a way is found to produce a reliable “one shot forever” ‘flu vaccine we are stuck with annual injections. The ‘flu viruses are so variable, and they mutate so quickly, that the vaccine has to be changed every year. The game is to pre-guess which strains are most likely to be active during ‘flu season — for the northern hemisphere this guess has to be taken in February for the following winter; that’s because of the time required to produce the vaccine. When the experts guess right the vaccine is maybe 75-80% effective; guess wrong (as happened last year because of a late mutation) and effectiveness may be down at around 10%.
So while having a ‘flu jab is an annual PITA, it is one which for me is worth it. Until we get a universal vaccination, that is.
Law and Lawyers reports that the House of Lords EU Select Committee has issued a new report, Brexit: Parliamentary Scrutiny.
There are three key findings:
But critically, as Law and Lawyers quotes from the report:
The forthcoming negotiations on Brexit will be unprecedented in their complexity and their impact upon domestic policy … it seems … inconceivable that [the executive] should take the many far-reaching policy decisions that will arise in the course of Brexit without active parliamentary scrutiny.
[The government must] recognise a middle ground between the extremes of micromanagement and mere accountability after the fact.
Within this middle ground, Parliament, while respecting the Government’s need to retain room for manoeuvre, should be able both to monitor the Government’s conduct of the negotiations, and to comment on the substance of the Government’s negotiating objectives as they develop. Only if these principles are accepted will Parliament be able to play a constructive part in helping the Government to secure the best outcome for the United Kingdom. Such scrutiny will also contribute to a greater sense of parliamentary ownership of the process, strengthening the Government’s negotiating position and increasing the likelihood that the final agreement will enjoy parliamentary and public support.
Which, in my view, is quite correct. However I perceive two flies in the ointment:
Honest, open and considered Parliamentary scrutiny is essential.
As of about 3 o’clock this afternoon, Noreen and I have been married for 37 years! Eeeeekk!
That’s 10 years more than we haven’t been married!
I can’t decide whether if feels like forever or feels like for never. It just is; it’s like an old shoe that is so comfortable you don’t know you’re wearing it. Although like all shoes you get a stone in it occasionally — indeed, contrary to the usual tenet, marriage is a bed of roses: it looks pretty but has thorns too!
Back in 1979 we were still coming out of the hippie-ness of the 60s and 70s, and we were still students at heart — we still are! So we did the wedding our way, slightly eccentrically. There wasn’t a lot of money around — the country was crawling its way out of recession, we didn’t have any spare money, neither did Noreen’s mother, nor my parents. So we did it all ourselves, made it all up as we went along, did our own thing, very simply, and still had a good time.
We were married at St Peter’s, Acton Green; at the north end of Chiswick where it merges into Acton. We had been living there for about 4 months, and going to church, so it seemed sensible to get married there. St Peter’s was Anglo-Catholic, and sufficiently high church that it even satisfied our RC friends.
We lived just 400 yards from the church, so we walked to church, from our flat. No, cars; what’s the point when it is less than a 5 minute walk? My best man was my friend Victor, from my post-grad days, who was old enough to be my father. Noreen had three “maids of honour” all her own age — friends from school and university — and all four had made their own frocks. Noreen was given away by another university friend, her mother did the flowers and one of my aunts made a cake.
So a couple of weeks ago the Bank of England reduced interest rates lower than ever to 0.25%.
They hope this is going to stimulate the economy. It isn’t. At least, as Mary Dejevsky pointed out in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago ever-lower interest rates have failed; so why should they work now?
Anyone with a mortgage has never had it so good. They are paying peanuts in interest. Meanwhile those of us who paid off our mortgagees years ago and are now the much vilified savers are being shafted — savings interest is struggling to match inflation.
The banks seem to have forgotten that people like me, the savers, are an essential part of their business. Without our money coming in, they don’t have money to lend. They need us, just as they need the pension funds etc.
But all the banks have ever done is shaft my generation. When we started our mortgage in 1981 we were paying 14.5% interest on it; within six months that was 17.5%. And we were being encouraged to save for our retirement — which we did as much as we could. That was barely sustainable; and totally unsustainable compared with today’s rates. We were being priced out. No wonder the bubble burst and people ended up in negative equity and the banking sector with a merry-go-round of toxic debt.
Having saved, against the odds, we are now being shafted for having done so by not getting a decent return on our investments. We’d almost be as well off with our investments in the Bank of Mattress. And we’re supposed to feel happy about this; go out and spend our money; make the economy grow and recover.
Sorry but why the f*** should I? That money you want me to spend has to support me for maybe another 20 (or more) years. If you aren’t going to give me a decent return on investing it, then I’m going to hold onto it for dear life and milk as much as I can from all of it.
On the same day as Mary Dejevsky’s piece, Simon Jenkins wrote (also in the Guardian):
Want to avoid recession? Then shower UK households with cash.
Just give people the money. Give them cash, dole it out, increase benefits, slash VAT, hand it to those most likely to spend it: the poor. Put £1,000 into every debit account. Whatever you do, don’t give it to banks. They will just hoard it or use it to boost house prices.
Britain is suffering from a classic liquidity trap. There is insufficient demand. Yet all the Bank of England [has done is] wring its hands, blame Brexit and go on digging the same old holes.
They are labelled lower interest rates, quantitative easing and more cash for banks. Those policies have been in place for some seven years. They have failed … Not one commentator … thought cutting interest rates to 0.25% would make any difference to the threat of recession.
And again …
In the present climate, there is not the slightest risk of inflation — the traditional hazard of monetary expansion: £1,000 “printed” and moved from the Bank into every household account would still cost less (at £30bn) than Hinkley Point or HS2 … There could be vouchers, scrappage schemes, Christmas bonuses and, horror of horrors, cash for the undeserving poor. Why not try it? All else has failed.
Yes, and out of the change from cancelling HS2 you could probably give every university student a decent maintenance grant and/or scrap student fees!
It’s a novel idea. Raising saving rates would be another. For indeed all else has failed.
It’s time for a new and different approach.
It might even be a vote-catcher!