Approachable
I want to make people feel comfortable to approach me.😉
November 18, 2023 · 5:31 pm
I am reading “Politics On the Edge” by Rory Stewart
Trying to understand why Politicians seem shallow and shady(well at least in the United Kingdom)
What attracted me about this book is it covers a period that saw the rise of some very odd characters in our National Politics. Boris Johnson (Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London) ,Liz Truss (Prime Minister), Kwazi Kwarteng (Chancellor of the Exchequer).
Liz Truss meeting the Late Queen Elizabeth II and being asked to form a government in a hastily arranged meeting was I believe a very sad ending to a productive reign by a well respected Monarch. It was ridiculously sad,the Queen performed her duty even though she was very ill , and Liz curtsied.
Little did we know that Liz thought she had carte blanche to subject us all to her lunatic economic theories. Not just were we to lose our beloved Queen,but we were also going to have to cope with Liz and Kwazi’s ill thought out free market economics which almost crashed our economy and sent our finances into a dangerous free fall , indeed it made “austerity” look a ride in the park.
So ,yes, I would like to know how these dreadful people got the top critical jobs in Politics.What process allowed them to rise to the top.
I’m only on Chapter 4, so it would be unfair of me to review Rory’s book.I do trust his point of view ,though, and I’m getting a feel for The Party System. I think he has a high-powered Civil Servant’s brain aswell as the capacity to educate (Harvard Professor). A powerful combination.
With the recent news that the now “Lord Cameron” is going to be Foreign Secretary ,Rory was honest enough to say on the Podcast that he works on with Alistair Campbell (The Rest is Politics) that he would have liked the job as Foreign Secretary.
I think Rory would do a good job as with anything he took responsibility for. He obviously takes the role as Public Servant very seriously. Unlike it seems some of his contemporaries who seem more interested in their next promotion
Early Days though and I’m enjoying the read…(well listen,I’m an audio book fan).
I’m learning a lot and enjoying the book.
Thank you for reading.
November 13, 2023 · 1:25 pm
The Good Of A Pet
(To Care is to be Aware)
To look after,to be attentive to care and nurture ,rather than destroy or ruin.That is why we look after Pet animals, or indeed Wild Animals that need our help. It is an amazing benefit to humanity.
Let us not forget the good that it does and the tragedy we all feel when there is suffering due to neglect or ignorance.
October 29, 2023 · 9:10 am
Let’s get Physical…..
What is your favorite form of physical exercise?
Dreaming about doing an Aerobics Class
I could only reply effectively to this prompt with a video of me doing an aerobics routine to “Let’s Get Physical” by the Late Great Olivia Newton John.
It would make you all cry with laughing so much. Fortunately ,the video exists only in my dreams.
October 22, 2023 · 1:07 pm
Grammar,Punctuation and Life
I’m a Tryer,but I’m also very Trying
I started using WordPress some years ago.I have never really got the hang of it to be truthful.
Thankfully,I have been able to put some of my ideas down in an electronic writing format.This gives me a sense of achievement. The Book “The Cuckoo In The Nest” approaches the subject of an elite minority believing that some people are superior to others because of their genetic make up and how as a Society we can ignore the “danger” signs.
Thankfully there will always be pockets of resistance who will stand up for humanity both for a general cause,but also because it affects them personally.
My heroes are a couple who have to face the reality of loss and become embroiled in a complex effort to protect their son from exceedingly dark forces.
I believe it is a good story although perhaps I need to do more drafts .C’est la vie. I like WordPress even if I don’t really use it to it’s full potential.
October 15, 2023 · 5:42 am
Orwell ….so much more than 1984…..an admirer.
Blog 1 The Road to Wigan Pier leads to Intel Inc.
I couldn’t have a writer as my hero,and George Orwell aka Eric Blair would not have had one either.His heroes were ordinary people and their struggles.The content of this series of blogs is based on Orwell’s books starting in no particular order with The Road to Wigan Pier.
“Blog”I magine is a word Orwell would have despised.I can hear him muttering “Blag” under his breath in some smokey drinking pub in London. Infact had it existed at his time,I am sure he would have utilised it in his stories in a way that left the reader in no doubt about it’s potential to do harm.
A desire, however , to make a well researched and planned piece of writing, well,he would have found that a worthy cause. As writing was in his blood, he lived his writing as indeed writing helped him live. Although, now we are generations away from the time that Orwell graced this Earth ,blog it must be.
A blog is surely the antithesis of effort as someone with Orwell’s intellect and writing ability would easily identify. I have my prompts about grammar, spelling and layout. Green lines telling me I could do better. Orwell had a notepad,a typewriter and his brain.
Orwell would no doubt laugh at the irony of a machine telling me how to write.Perhaps he would see the potential for malicious manipulation.He would surely argue the case for talent as indeed he was a great one.
Revisiting “The Road to Wigan Pier” , I admire his faith in The Working Class as people,The Ethic of Valuable Work and a disavowel of Great Writers such as HG Wells,DH Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw is honest and forthright.
Would you rather hear about a writers imagination or a workers reality? Orwell goes further and surmises that these esteemed writers have either cuckolded themselves to the bourgeoisie or are so blinkered to the benefits of unstoppable progress that they treat the drawbacks as inconveniences eg. in Well’s books there are elites and servants. The servile get the short end of every stick. A sort of right wing utopia.
In an endeavour to improve my craft, I shall blog and at the same time share my appreciation of Orwell and convey I hope how his ideas affect us today in quite unexpected ways. We may not be living 1984,but Orwell knew what would make things better for more people,his heart was in the right place.
Part One of ” Wigan Pier” gives a description of the harsh reality of life for the unemployed in a period when Colonial Britain was slowly coming to an end. It is a record of back to back houses detailing sizes of rooms ,how many people lived in them,poor sanitation, and poor diet. The working class getting married and having children while unemployed ,with no prospect of a steady income,and being shunned by a middle class who would do no such thing themselves.The middle class as they looked down on the working classes would pay their way no matter what,let the sun never set on their idea of what was right or wrong.The workers seemed more in touch with reality and the continuation of the planet.The middle classes petulant and priggish.
I particularly like that Wigan Pier, is a myth,a Music Hall Joke.It does not exist,it was the material for of a joke by George Formby snr in his very successful act. A mythical stop on an inland cruise,a wooden structure to distribute coal.The search for a glamorous side to Wigan continues, perhaps it is their rugby team.Orwell does not mention rugby or rugger as he might have called it ,so perhaps the Wigan Warrior’s did not exist in his day,they seem quite Glamorous though.
When in Part Two of “Wigan Pier” ,he describes the Middle Class Socialists and their Vegetarian beliefs, I found myself thinking,well, nothing much has changed.
Orwell states something quite true even today,that Working People do not believe in theoretical Socialism, they believe in the part of Socialism that gives them better pay and conditions for the work they do and enough money and leisure time to raise their children should they have them or pursue a hobby or a dream in their own time should they have one.
Orwell comes across as both brash and humorous with his ideas. He says in “Wigan Pier” that the Bourgeois Socialist have never came up with a “good song” . Not like the rousing songs in the pubs and working men clubs he visited while researching his writing and indeed “finding himself”. Orwell would have hated that phrase “finding myself.”
However,he is definately on a journey of discovery to understand his role in a Society which to him is decaying.The Class System which separates human beings in a irrational ,judgemental,discretionary and debilitating set of rules which serve no purpose other than to encourage inadequacy and selfishness is suffering from the demise of The British Empire and the disturbing effect of Wars.
Orwell himself suffered the humiliation of belonging to the Lower Middle Class and being shoulder to shoulder with the privileged classes while at Eton,but with no money.
He mentions, when talking about Russia’s communist system and detailing the perceived success of the introduction of Mechanisation in increasing productivity in what was probably a fairly Brutal Soviet Russia with Stalin in charge.
He states that there is a Salmon Canning Factory in Moscow. I am amused that in the same breath he says he has no access to Russia,that he really doesn’t know what is going on there,apart from the reports of how many tractors they build and their efforts at production,but he mentions this Moscow Canning Factory.
It peaked my interest.So what happened to the Salmon canning factory in Moscow. It’s like having a Pilchard Tinning Factory in London .
Orwell saw Mechanisation and the exponential Production Targets as indications of failure of the Russian Socialist System .
Mechanisation would lead to the demise of Working people skill levels and free time. Let’s face it anyone who has worked in a low skilled ,repetitive job and done overtime to achieve production targets is going to relate to this. His premise is that the emphasis on successful production figures is not indeed Socialism ie. not everyone benefits, but purely a form of Capitalism.Where does the Canned Salmon Factory profits go if it is successful?
So, with the aid of Modern Technology and Google,I asked the Internet.Was there still a Salmon Canning Factory in Moscow? Surely, it had been a failure,just a fish in a pan like everything in Soviet Russia was according to Western Ideaology and thinking .Well no, and the answer surprised me and made me think.Orwell would I feel pat me on the head.Well done girl!Though I can’t help but feel he would be surprised too at the result.
Dorboflot ,a global Salmon Canning Company, established in 1911, has one of it’s Head Offices in Moscow today. Their website is most informative from their production figures they seem to be thriving.They have a number of Canning factories across Russia.
“We procure only wild fish because only it has a natural taste” They proudly state.
I googled a bit further, “Wild Salmon,where does it come from.”
Basically, two large producers ,Alaska and Russia.However ,the industry has been impacted significantly by environmental factors.Overfishing,pollution and loss of habitat.Wild Salmon and their spawning grounds needed protection.
Enter the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation American philanthropists . Gordon Moore was the founder of Intel Corporation and the creator of Moore’s Law ,which enabled Silicon Valley’s continued progress in smaller more efficient devices….basically why we have hand held mobile phones and why Mainframe Computers are no longer the size of houses.
The Foundation stepped in and provided funds to safeguard the North Pacific Ecosystem and enable the salmon to successfully migrate and provide their important role that Nature intended for them.
Gordon and Betty’s money provided for the Kol River Salmon Refuge on the Russian Far East Kamchatka Peninsula.544,000 acres of protected wild salmon ,the first of it’s kind.
So thanks to American Philanthropy, Dobroflot can continue producing it’s “tasty” Salmon
I think this connection would have made George very happy.The coming together of American Philanthropy and the continued success of a Russian Canning Company along with the benefit of sustainable fishing grounds is quite amazing and is indeed true Socialism in action.
Filed under Short Stories
October 8, 2023 · 10:49 am
Cry
What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
If I lost all my possessions,I would first have a good cry, not because Ownership is Nine Tenths The Law,but because they are familiar to me,part of me.
Next, I would have to figure out what I could do.Hopefully , my friends and family are not in the same position and could help me out until I could get back on my feet.
I know I would be optimistic,as long as I was fit and healthy. I would also become philosophical.Perhaps I would ponder that I was too attached to the past, I needed maybe to simplify my life. Whatever; I would approach the present and try and move forward.
No doubt I would have some limited choice in the matter and would do the best I could .Hopefully ,I could access help ,support, and advice from others who would have my best interests at heart . Thus , I could move on confidently with my next chapter.
October 1, 2023 · 9:33 am
Landfill
LandfillThe Ultimate Corporate Short Sightedness To make holes in the ground and fill them with our rubbish and crud having no idea what effects this detritus will have on our environment seems short sighted and irresponsible.
We must be wary of this thinking at Government and Corporate level. How can it happen? Just dig a hole and hide it.No rational person would imagine that holes once they were filled could be of use to man nor beast,indeed could poison them.Yet it has been going on for years.We must question what “easy solutions” our Goverments and Corporate Leaders are currently actioning.What exactly are they throwing in a hole they have dug? In the hope that it will disappear and that by the time the environmental damage is realised they will be long dead and gone. Only their stone monument honouring their achievements and the historic record of the honours they were awarded in their life will remain as evidence of their contribution.
September 6, 2023 · 4:58 am
The Dream Maker
The realisation that Alice had the power to make someone dream whatever she wanted them to had been a gradual awakening. Her first recollection was that it was a harmless quirk and coincided with her first burgeoning love affair with Tom, her then beau. Tom had laughed , his post-coital laugh after they had both fallen asleep in each others arms and woke up seemingly capable of talking about any subject under the Sun. When she shared her innermost thoughts, he had contradicted her and talked about coincidences and being so in-tune with each other, that it was perfectly natural and not really that unusual.
“Perhaps.” she thought. However she began to experiment.
She would lie awake beside Tom, with his gentle breath on her shoulder and his arm gently placed on her waist. At first she had placed pleasant dreams in his head, and asked him nonchalantly at some moment in their day if he could remember them.
” Funny you should say that, yes, I can remember my dream, I dreamt that you and I had gone hiking, it was amazing, we camped on a wonderful mountain top, we could see for miles and the weather was warm and we were very cosy. I woke feeling really refreshed. Which is odd, you know that I hate camping.”
She never discussed again with Tom her conviction that she had the power to make someone dream. His increasing dismissiveness in what seemed all areas of her life hurt her. Unbeknown to her there was a growing resentment from her side. However, she needed to find out more about the process of implanting dreams and began to experiment more and more with Tom and her power . She no longer asked him specifically about his dreams, but would wait patiently for him to raise the subject in the increasingly mundane moments they spent together.
” I had a nightmare last night, it was very scary. I was standing beside a lake and it was very calm and suddenly a giant wave appeared on the horizon, I couldn’t move and it was coming towards me and I was stuck to the ground. I didn’t wake you did I? In my dream I was screaming really loudly, in my dream at least .”
” No Tom, I didn’t hear anything” She moved her wine glass slightly, and gazed at him. “What happened next then?”
“The Wave just kept coming, it got bigger and bigger and I couldn’t get away. Then it hit me and I was in the lake and….then I woke up ,and thankfully you were beside me in bed. It was really scary.”
Alice smiled at him, it was exactly what she had imagined. Tom had criticised her brother for being loud and obnoxious at some family function, she felt he had been unfair. So she sent him a scary dream. It had worked. Gradually , as she fell out of love with Tom, she could no longer “influence” his dreams, she had discovered the connection with ” being in love” and her Power. Shortly after the realisation that her Power no longer worked, Tom and Alice split up.
Some years later Alice fell in love with Jeremy. It was very much a whirlwind romance, they had met on an organised activity holiday in Southern Spain. The holiday had been a lot of fun and being both quite musical had taken part in Spanish Guitar lessons together which they both really enjoyed and Alice had learned some Spanish Dancing , while Jeremy headed off to Scuba Dive. Nothing had happened on the holiday as they both enjoyed meeting new people and trying out the activities that they were interested in. Neither of them had contemplated a Romance. They did however exchange phone numbers and it seemed perfectly natural to meet up on their return as friends. Except, that “casual drink” turned very quickly into dinner, then a closeness that surprised both of them. Within three weeks Jeremy had asked Alice to Marry him and she had said “Yes”.
So there they were Alice and Jeremy, together, a mortgage and a baby on the way. A lovely family wedding and doting parents in-law. They were both very happy and looking forward to their new arrival. The only dark cloud on their horizon was Jeremy’s job, it was very pressurised. He ran a department in a very large Company, he was an accountant by training , but had been pushed into management. Alice knew that he found managing people very difficult , Jeremy loved numbers, but didn’t like the constant bickering and endless appraisals and reviews that “management” entailed. Jeremy was fine with spreadsheets, targets and presentations, he could analyse a business case , but analysing people well that was impossible for him. He would rather just agree than contradict.
Alice saw that it affected him quite badly. She encouraged him to talk it through with her, to see if they could figure out an approach, but Jeremy would hesitate and say “no, I couldn’t say that “. She knew not to push him, he was already quite stressed. So she listened and realised that perhaps if she could create a dream where he handled the situation successfully ,it might enable him to do so in real life. It was worth a try.
Jeremy had an office at home which meant he kept some work files at home. One afternoon, Alice went into his office and read through some of his personnel files. Jeremy had never been specific about what was going on, but the files contained the names of those involved in various conflicts. One particular man stood out, he had felt he had been passed over for promotion despite attending all the necessary training courses. His name was George Cromer.
Jeremy’s hands were tied, George ,had passed all the necessary training courses, but was not actually performing very well and Jeremy had been receiving complaints from other areas within the business of a lack of detail and accuracy in George’s work. Jeremy had been asked by the personnel department to detail this to George in his appraisal, but instead Jeremy had sat down with George and George had insisted on being put forward for the next Promotion Board and Jeremy agreed .Personnel were not best pleased, as they knew George was not up to that and it would waste everybody’s time.
“Oh Jer, no you shouldn’t have done that !” She said out loud to herself while reading the documents.
This was exactly the kind of situation that Jeremy would rather not confront. That night in bed and feeling the baby kick inside; and with Jeremy fast asleep by her side, Alice began to place a dream scenario into Jeremy’s head that she felt would perhaps make him deal with the situation differently.
That morning at breakfast, Jeremy seemed more relaxed. They chatted about the baby and an up and coming pre-natal evening class that they would both attend. Alice was on maternity leave, and had a busy day planned. Jeremy headed off to work.
The following weekend after having Sunday dinner with the in-laws , they returned home and as it was a warm dusky evening they decided to sit in the garden and relax. They had a two seater pergola at the end of the garden and they sat together and looked at the sky as it gradually got darker and the stars and planets began to appear.
” You know , I had a really strange dream a few nights ago. It was really cathartic though.” Jeremy said.
” Really, a dream, but you’re not a dreamer really , you seem to sleep so soundly.”
” Yes, but I suppose something was bothering me , but I dreamt about it and it was really funny but it gave me a solution. I managed a win, win negotiation, you know the nonsense they talk about on those silly management courses.”
” Really, how?”
” Well, there was this guy in work, very pushy, very full of himself. Very confident, too confident. I had to tell him some bad news, that I changed my mind about putting him forward for a promotion.”
” Wowser, was he upset?”
” Initially yes, but I couldn’t tell him the real reason, that I was getting it in the neck from Personnel, that they simply didn’t want him, that his work wasn’t good enough.”
” Oh my , you were caught between a rock and a hard place then?”
” Yes, but it suddenly came to me in a dream , that George, that’s his name, just wasn’t happy at all where he was and in my heart of hearts I knew he never would be . I rang Personnel and said that perhaps we were trying to put a round peg in a square hole and they agreed. Funny enough, they suggested a transfer, a transfer with more money. I mean it was a dream scenario. I mean in reality , Personnel wouldn’t ever be that helpful, but it did give me an idea.”
“Hhhmmnn what?” Alice asked sleeply.
” The transfer, I rang my old mate Marcus in the Bahamas and told him about George.”
” The Bahamas?”
” Yes, they needed someone! , and it was right up George’s street. I told George it would be a good move for him and he was delighted. A Win, Win. Everyone’s happy.”
” Wow that’s good!” She smiled. ” It’s getting cold , shall we go indoors. I think I’m just about ready for bed.” Alice was secretly very pleased with herself as she wrapped her arm around Jeremy as they walked back to the house.
Alice and Jeremy had three children whom they raised to be happy well rounded adults. Alice was able to use her Power on them and she watched as they used their “dreams” to approach the many trials and tribulations of school, friendships, losses and basically growing up. Jeremy’s career had gone from strength to strength and they both looked forward to his forthcoming retirement and a chance to do some of the things that they both had dreamed about once the Children and grown up and moved on.
At least that had been the plan.It was Jeremy’s fifty fifth Birthday and the whole family had gone out in the family car to celebrate.Alice remembered thinking it was probably the last time that they would do this as a family,but she didn’t mind ,as Jeremy and her had plans for him to retire early and for both of them to travel around the World.
It was indeed the last time they would all be together.On the way back from the pub they had celebrated in with a delicious meal.A drunk driver,named Edward Smith had collided head on with them.Alice survived along with her daughter who had serious head injuries.Alice recovered and was in hospital for a few weeks,but she had “lost”her family ,her life would never be the same. The pain of dealing with the aftermath of the accident was insurmountable.
Turning off her daughters’ life support was the tipping point for Alice. Nothing could console her ,she was set on getting revenge against the man who had done this to her.
She didn’t attend when the case came to Court,she excused herself by saying that it was too harrowing.Edward Smith was sentenced to eight years in jail.He was out of prison in four. His life had been ruined,he had no job, his wife had divorced him , he was living in a house for people who were leaving the prison system.
However ,coincidently ,he met a wonderful woman called Alice, whom he began dating.His life seemed to be getting better,Alice was quite well off and was devoted to him and it wasn’t long before she suggested they move away to the Coast and make a fresh start together and put the past behind them.
Edward was so happy he could not believe his luck.Shortly after Alice and him set up home together,the dreams began….the dreams turned to nightmares and for Edward there was no escape from them.
The End
Filed under Short Stories
July 23, 2023 · 9:12 am
My Go To Comfort Food
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Well “Comfort Food” so called is just not comfortable .Let’s face it what most of us know as quick and easy is a con. Over Processed Food ,off a quick serve shelf and served up so we don’t even notice it moving from serving bowl to our mouths.
It’s a comfort to me to have time to cook,consider the ingredients, or even better grow them.There is no such thing as Fast Food only good Food.Take your time ,research…for comfort cook in advance or use fresh easily stored ingredients.
That is a comfort!
thenotsomightyom 