Monthly Archives: July 2024

Here is an exert from a talk given to Teachers by the writer James Baldwin, I couldn’t but help think of the situation in Palestine when I read it. I don’t think the World has moved much since 1963 , or has it indeed gone backwards?

“It is inconceivable that a sovereign people should continue, as we do so abjectly, to say, “I can’t do anything about it. It’s the government.” The government is the creation of the people. It is responsible to the people. And the people are responsible for it. No American has the right to allow the present government to say, when Negro children are being bombed and hosed and shot and beaten all over the Deep South, that there is nothing we can do about it. There must have been a day in this country’s life when the bombing of the children in Sunday School would have created a public uproar and endangered the life of a Governor Wallace. It happened here and there was no public uproar.”

James Baldwin 1963

On our visit to the Wye Valley Youth Hostel,we came across Goodrich and it’s Castle.Which is about 20 minutes from the Hostel.

We couldn’t book into the accommodation until 5pm and we hadn’t had any lunch ,so we stopped at Godric’s Cafe(attached to the castle) and parked the car in the Castle Car park,which is £3 for all day.

After refreshments,we decided to walk around the village.The buildings are pretty and well maintained. We followed the pedestrian path and turned towards the Church.

To get to the church, we passed by the school and took a fairly steep path up to the gates to the entrance to the graveyard.

When we arrived , we realised there was a church function on.It seemed pretty casual,so we didn’t feel we were intruding, and we walked around taking in the views and reading the odd gravestone that caught our attention.

We meandered back to the Car Park,we would have liked to have seen more of the village,but we were getting close to booking in at the hostel.We did however decide that the next day,before heading home,we would visit Goodrich Castle,which is  looked after by English Heritage.Pleased to say they welcome dogs.

The next day ,we parked up and bought two tickets to go to  the castle.

Firstly,I was surprised that the first part of the castle was called the Barbican. It was the area where visitors were met by the porter and basically depending on their status or if they were expected was where they would wait and see if they could enter the castle.It had open latrines into the moat,and I believe the porter would bring them refreshments.So it had some creature comforts.

The entrance to the actual castle was well fortified with various defence mechanisms.

The Castle itself changed hands a number of times in various seiges, so the defences didn’t achieve their aim.During the  English Civil War ,the Parliamentarians managed to steal 80 horses from the Castle in a raid,the remnants of the stable can be seen at the level of the moat,but no one is quite sure how they managed to get the horses their in the first place.

Surrounding the moat, there are areas of stone from which the stone was hewn to build and rebuild the castle. Some of the more recent walls are sandstone, and the earlier walls are a black local stone ,probably what the foundations of the castle were made out of.

Unusually, on entering the castle ,on the left, just pass the castle  entrance ,is a religious area ,due to lack of space within the main castle ,it was put here and was probably where the family would worship.

In the room, there is a stained glass window that catches the light from the sun beautifully. Well worth a picture(above).On the opposite side ,there is a more recent stained glass window commerating those who lost their lives while developing and testing radar systems for the R.A.F.

We omitted a visit to the dungeon,in fear that the steps may have been too steep.However,the Castle itself is forboding enough.We weren’t too keen on going up the Tower either, as initially there was a school trip on and they were going up there in threes.By the time they had finished we had lost interest.

Goodrich Castle was well worth a visit and certainly brought history to life.

There is a lot of talk in the UK about the press and politicians not doing enough to counteract genocide when it is happening in the World.

I’m trying to think of the logic that they would want to do this and where it would lead them to.

Basically, oppression of any kind  is always resisted ; and unless the black fist of a dictatorship and a seriously psychotic belief that opposition should not exist ; usually the opposition will eat away and eventually win the day or at least the ability to live together peacefully and productively.

If our Press and Politicians are supporting an anhilistic,psychotic oppresser, then they are themselves anhilistic and psychotic which unfortunately precludes them from being either journalists or indeed politicians.

I really can’t see that this is the case, I feel that the situations that exist where genocide is happening are so complex that no one apart from the aggressive protagonist has the answer. They are the ones who need to change their behaviour.

Press and politicians favouring one side or the other,will not achieve anything

July is my Birthday month,so to celebrate I decided way back in February 2024  to book a night at YHA Wye Valley to stay in one of their six Bell Tents beside the beautiful River Wye.

One of the key considerations was that the hostel is dog friendly,which it is. It cost £63.00 for the night and cooked breakfast in the morning at £9.95 each. For two people,maybe the cost of a B&B with four walls and heating,but for five people which the bell tent sleeps pretty good value.

Also, it only takes us about an hour and forty minutes to drive to the Wye Valley.

The road by passing Gloucester was made more enjoyable by seeing this lovely dog in the back of a landrover.

Herefordshire’s countryside;after by-passing Gloucester, always seems to me to  be to be real organic farming land,green luscious with an  abundance of  small businesses with  poly tunnels and fabricated buildings for storage and growing of all sorts of crops.

Like most rural England, it is seriously business minded, not a cow in sight,so it’s definitely  different from rural Glocestershire and Wiltshire where we live.Cows are very much part of the landscape there.

As we later found,through conversations with staff and residents at the hostel. The  road down to the Wye Valley Hostel is hair raising and not for the faint-hearted. In wet weather conditions,it would certainly make a good  episode of The World’s Dangerous Roads.

As we bumped and trundled down the steeply  inclined single track road ,avoiding deep ruts, drainage holes, and the sawn off trunks of trees that had blocked the road in the past.

We  briefly followed  the cyclist whose bike is propped up outside the hostel’s reception (picture above) and who we thankfully  passed when he dismounted  just before the steep downward  incline at the cattle-grid before the cut meadow.

We  learned later that  he  was from California on a trip around Europe.Been ex military  he had participated in the Normany landing memorial that had happened a few months previously.

Getting back to our journey ,I was blissfully unaware of the  view of the sheer drop from the driver’s side window.Uneven ground was all that lay between us and tipping over into a vast gulley.

While driving dry-mouthed and basically frightened I was told by said driver in no uncertain terms that I was to check with him before booking another  remote location,should we survive this one; and should we  ever  go away again together.

The hair pin was the final straw as we had to do a three point turn to get around it.I said

“Well done” as we made it around .

I was thankful that we could  now see what looked like the hostal building in the distance.

Later,the husband of another couple who were in  one of the other Bell Tents told me  that his wife had said that the hair pin could have been done in one go.

“Well ,we took two.”.Thinking if you’re not driving,then best stay quiet.

As the man later waved a very sharp knife around  in the communal kitchen ,(I think he was cutting the rind of  some  bacon and was very  pleased to find the knife. ) I  was making myself a cup of tea ,but it crossed my mind maybe that his wife was living on borrowed time.

Still, despite a rainy weather forecast,we arrived and it was sunny and  warm, and we saw where the bell tents were located.

I breathed in the fresh, warm air and looked for our bell tent ,which was No.5. As usual ,I was overwhelmed with the booking in procedure and was only half listening to the gentleman  explaining where our bell tent was.

However,no 5,( the only one not numbered) smelt a bit rancid and only had uncovered duvets and pillows.I was accused of not checking if duvet covers and sheets  were supplied I thought they were,but I suggested to keep the peace that we could use the blankets from the car.So we made up the beds as best we could and him indoors needing a call of nature went up to the hostel by foot.

On his return,we decided to go back up to the hostel to order pizza for tea as the shift change was at 5.00pm, and the guy who was going to cook would be there.

Fortunately, a lady and her daughter who were  camping in a tent opposite were heading up to the hostel to wash some clothes justas we were leaving  and that was how we  we discovered the back steps.Steep but better than the long road around  which him indoors had taken initially and brilliantly it gave us access to all the self-catering kitchen and spotlessly clean toilets.

When we got up to reception and  while talking to the guy who was going to cook the pizza(which we forgot to order)  I asked about the duvet covers,chaos ensued,he was beside himself,the two bell tents should have been made ready.

So we headed back down and found it was No.6 that had been made up. So we transferred our stuff and sat on the picnic benches beside the tent, drinking ginger beer and eating our sandwiches.Foolishly, we had declined the wood for the wood burning stove ,it was summer after all.

We then decided to go for a walk along the River Wye.It was a lovely evening and our dog likes to paddle,but we were a bit wary of the signs saying fast flowing river.It was lovely to be on the non-populated  side ,just fields and the banks of the river .Across  over the water was a main road and houses and a very noisy pub at one point.So, the peace and tranquillity of our meander along the river was much appreciated.

Tedi disappeared ,attached to his  long lead, into the undergrowth, and discovered a sandy beach with a paddling area.So he was happy to get his paws wet and have a good drink from the river.We clambered after him down  the steep bank and back up and somehow survived.

The sun was beginning to go down, and as we were right at the bottom of the valley,we decided to head back while it was still light. On the way back, we decided to have a look at the portaloos, which were for the campers in the field.They were handy but pretty awful.We did the necessary and headed back to the tent.

We settled in for the night ,had sips of ginger beer, and munched on some crisps.We used wet wipes to wash our faces and hands and charged our phones on the car battery,not realising that there was a battery pack in the tent.Neither of us fancied making the trek up to the stairs to the main hostal.

There’s this really oddly located Church and graveyard beside the hostal and the camping field . Apparently, it is now owned and maintained  by the Methodists. It has a working bell tower,which chimes every hour, and the building fabric is solid and looked after.However, it would be difficult,given the terrain for a congregation to gather there and as far a we could see no one was allowed in the gates.

When the sun went down,the tent went from being very hot to freezing cold. I luckily had brought some Ron Hills to wear in bed and a jumper.So with the duvet on top,it was bearable.My better half was not quite so lucky. He was feeling the cold very badly.

The dog, though, was quite happy,wrapped up in his blankets and duvet. Not a squeak out of him.

The dog managed to get asleep and stay asleep. However,we  tossed and turned, feeling the icy cold on anything that was exposed to the atmosphere,we just couldn’t get to sleep. Really, we needed the wood burner,it was a shame we didn’t make use of it.

Inevitably, at 3am in the morning,we felt the need to reply to the call of nature. We had a tacit agreement that if I needed to go,we all would go,including the dog.So we  trotted off  to go to the portaloos . (Walking by the disused  Church and up the stairs seemed a bit spooky at that time of night.)

The dog weed in the bushes, and we  relieved  ourselves in the nearly overflowing portaloos.At least the walk relieved the freezing cold in the tent.

We were nearly back at the tent when  we came across a large hedgehog  crossing our path.The dog took one look and ignored it.We did the usual awe isn’t that wonderful and then  after a short walk we all got back into the tent.

We moulded ourselves into the double duvet ,and I suggested that we make use of the duvets from the other beds.So I think we finally got some sleep for a few hours.

I woke up  when it got light  and sat on the futon and used the last of my phone charge to keep up with my Spanish Apps,Memrise and Duolingo.I then decided to go up to the hostal for a wee and make myself a cup of tea which I did.It was lovely.I wondered back down,half drunken mug in hand and warm sun on my face and thought this is the enjoyable part of camping.

When I got back, Dog and Bod were still fast asleep ,and my phone battery had died.So I sat on the futon and snoozed.

We’d booked a cooked breakfast for 8am,so we went up to the hostel for that.I made some more tea and we had two very good cooked breakfasts,plus a cold sausage for the Dog,which he was most appreciative of.

It was nice just staying one night,packing and unpacking was easy, and when it was time to go, it didn’t take long to put our things in the car.

We were assured that the road up the hill would be clear,as those going down had the right of way. The staff are often asked to reverse people’s cars down the hill when they meet an oncoming delivery lorry.

On the road up ,I was, of course, on the side looking down at the drop,it was impressive. We made it, and we had already decided as we were in Goodrich that we would visit Goodrich Castle,that though is another story….

Just a short update on my bird listening efforts.Have had nothing new to report since February 2024.I’m finding I’m hearing common birds who are resident in the UK all year round ,but what the heck,they make such a beautiful sound.

However,I can now add a new bird,the tree creeper.

There is one species native to where I live,but most other species of tree creeper seem to be more exotic and live in more exotic locations.

Still excited to hear  one.

Chapter 12 So What should we do?

©GeraldineBanksJuly2024

Today is first the first of July 2024, and the General Election is now just 3 days away and having looked at some of the economic ingredients that add to the mix of the Recipe for Disaster that will be the next 5 years or so economically in Chapters 1 to 11, now is the time to look at what we should do to make the best of a bad job.( so much more honest than saying make Britain Great Again which has been done to death).

Firstly , should you vote, well yes if you are eligible, it’s probably a good idea. When I’m walking down the street or even thinking of how my relatives and friends will vote, I figure out my vote will be cancelled out by someone who votes in the opposite direction to me, however, if I don’t vote then the ones who vote against what I believe won’t be cancelled out by me so therefore I’m deciding to let them win. Sounds a mite defeatist just to let the other side win and wash your hands of this whole democracy thing. Just think of your vote as cancelling out someone you really don’t like, we are after all a cancel culture aren’t we?

I won’t have covered all the things that concern all the people in Britain in my Chapters, but then again the Politicians with their sniping and sniveling haven’t covered very much in the last 6 weeks either. The Public have been carefully fed what they want you to know, rhetoric about stopping boats and Labour’s GB Energy Company who even the Labour Party’s MP’s don’t quite know what it will do or how it will really affect our supply of Energy. Let’s face it who wants to read those boring manifesto’s? Apart from journalists, who will take great pleasure in telling said politicians that they lied three years down the line. Surprise , surprise.

I got to admit I chuckled at the Reform Party having some of their members caught on video calling for our PM to go home to Pakistan, when he’s a thoroughly British product of upper class education and lifestyle and let’s face it despite not having Sky Television as child he has no reason to visit Pakistan except in his role as the top representative of the UK Government. I’m hoping that this will have made right thinking people in the UK choose not to be prejudiced towards skin colour, when you see the irrationality behind such taunting from a party who wants Reform, but what type of Reform?

Getting back to the Economy, well it’s going to be difficult for everyone for the next ten or twenty years. Things that we’ve taken for granted, peace, clean water supply, cars, public transport, healthcare , energy supply and education are all under threat, but threat from what . Lack of investment. This has been going on such a long time that it’s impossible to make up lost ground. It sounds to me that our next Government will be playing everything by ear. Not the best listeners though, apart from at election time and then it’s only superficial.

Despite Liz and Kwasi’s ideas on a quick, supercharged fix, trickle down economy and new global business deals and markets opening up , well that is just pie in the sky. The whole world wants the same thing, everyone wants to maintain or better their standard of living and if you believe that you’ve got to earn money to do this and manufacture and sell goods that people want or aspire to then, everyone will be doing the same thing.

All the resources we need to manufacture these aspirational goods are in areas that are either owned by someone else or are very inaccessible. These are going to get more expensive and their availability will be restricted. So what is the answer recycle and reuse, enjoy the challenge of making something, at the moment you have a choice to do this , but in the future you won’t. We have to learn and understand how to use our resources better .Why not start now and enjoy it.

The Government can live beyond it’s budget but individual’s can’t . The government can borrow both from the Public or from Global Funding and because in essence they are big borrowers, perhaps they can get away with it. The individual can’t , and it’s a double whammy , because if we start reducing our spend then the government also loses income and increases their costs because private sector manufacturing and service industries reduce head count and increase unemployment. A viscous circle

No one, however, is going to keep lending the individual money, if it looks like they can’t pay it back. That is what is going to happen to house buying and therefore house prices. They’ll soften and the landlords with multiple properties and fewer people able to afford their rents will find their assets reducing in value, at a time when repair bills are increasing, and it is harder to sell their properties on.

This is perhaps the biggest worry for a property owning population. Not to mention, the value of the house being used for future medical or care bills. Can governments afford to have all this money locked up in property , I’m not so sure, particularly if they are not been maintained. I expect a few demonstrations with

” Hands off my Assets” placards.

Push marketing is a young persons career, can you imagine where they want to push the old folk. They want what old people have. Me in my 60’s, I can feel the ire that young people feel towards us. Ridiculously , I have to work until I’m 67, I have to work with young people and find it quite funny, they want to succeed but lack confidence and no wonder.

If I was them I’d wonder what the hell I was working for, over the last thirty years working terms and conditions and job quality has been eroded. Even a push marketer is expected to be deskbound for 8 hours a day and knows their future is to be replaced by an AI software programme, once the patterns of consumer behaviour have been established and “human” input is no longer required. My confidence would be knocked too.

In other words the job market has changed for the worse. There will be less people to sell to and the only work that will be available to those of working age are jobs that society needs and inevitably they will be regarded less well and be lowly paid eg. road maintenance, healthcare , customer service.

The skilled jobs, such as lawyers and bankers will probably go the AI way to , after all , it’s the process of reading, assimilating facts , recognising patterns and implementing a plan based on that information. Thus it may well be that the higher level jobs will disappear along with the higher level salaries. I mean Keir Starmer has given up his lawyerly career to become a politician, that’s telling isn’t it?

So the world of work will change significantly and less people will need to be employed. It is then that a universal income plan will need to be introduced , as well as a human right to be suitably housed and have access to suitable leisure facilities. This won’t be just in the UK, it will be throughout the whole World. This is Global Economics or at least Global Aspiration Economics.

Car manufacturing used to play a big role in employment, I’m not so sure that it will in the future. It’s been decimated in the UK, and I suspect , increasingly other manufacturing countries will go the same way. Without putting restrictions on travel, individual car ownership will reduce and people will decide not to travel. I used to think nothing of driving a hundred miles to a beach at the weekend, but now I look at the price of petrol, wear and tear on the car and decide no it’s not worth it.

I certainly won’t ever be able to afford an electric car every five years or so( when the battery reaches it’s end of life.) Replacement batteries are not going to be cheap.

Because I’m old I’ll accept that, but the young won’t, and because of lack of investment there is no good public transport option. Thus , the new government has a dilemma, just how do they sustain an economy based on a combustion engine and with no cost effective replacement for every day working people who have restricted employment opportunities?

The most likely solution is that the combustion engine will be around a lot longer than people think and that there will be good quality second hand market for cars with low emissions and no I think the new Government will find it hard to tax them out of the market, although they may try. I do believe that any government will find it impossible to give working people no options on transport and will override the noise about battery power and the reality of climate change. Yes , get rid of diesel buses, but the truth is modern cars with combustion engines are pretty clean and efficient.

Finally, reduce what you consume you’ll feel better for it .The Global Economy is out of your control, but the big Plans that politicians have, needn’t impact you for the worse. Whoever is voted in must be held account for their decision making, we are a smaller Britain, we have an economy that is teetering on the brink of implosion, a lot of money has been wasted by corruption. Vote with your heart and head and whoever gets in monitor what they do and if they do something you don’t like contact your MP and talk to others about how they feel. Don’t feel that you aren’t part of it and that somehow these Gods in Parliament know more than you do. They don’t. Thank you for reading.