friday - 6th october

knives are sharpening this morning to oust the prime minister after her run of bad luck at her party speech on Tuesday.  Many people will feel sad for her after that terrible coughing fit and stupid prank played by a comedian (or not).  She should be allowed to get on with the job, I blame the media for looking for stories and scandal to fill the air waves each morning.  But enough of that, what else drifts across my foray into the internet.

Catalan and their break for freedom from Spain swings into view, as always there is a historical reason for this, but the people seemed determined to see it through.  Below is a video of tractors blocking the motorway, the Spanish police having driven one way could not get back into Spain much to every one's amusement.  It reminded me that 'Farmers against Fracking' had also happened here in Kirkby Misperton a few days ago, though not as many tractors!  Scotland has said it will not allow fracking in their country, but we are still to see whether it will be halted in this country.

Fracking;

The story is at Kirkby Misperton that preliminary work is being undertaken, the protesters are doing a 'slow walk' in front of the lorries and the police are hassling pretty strongly.  If you look at the photo of the people who stand against fracking and you can see the face of many near or at least senior citizen age.  The people who 'lock' themselves either to chain fences or various pieces of piping are in the age range of 40/50 years old.  There is I presume seasoned young protestors at the camp site, those young outcasts who need a good cause to fight (in lieu of a job?).  In many ways their presence is a force for good, though it allows the police to pick on them severely sadly.

When the law has to enforce the government's will, one asks what do these people, the police feel, in Catalan the fire brigade people came between the two opposing forces in an effort to protect the ordinary public.  It happened also in Kirkby Misperton, called to dismantle a 'tower' built by the protestors the Yorkshire fire brigade have said they want nothing to do with it, their union is anti-fracking.

A last video, it always brings tears to my eyes, The Wild Horses of Newbury, two opposing forces, the horses a distraction, but in this simple naive piece of filming, the power of the state shines through!

Do we need change? yes of course we do, but I have followed road protests these last 20 years, The Newbury Bypass, Tara in Ireland and Solsbury bypass  outside Bath, roads have fitted into our lives making driving easier but the loss of the 'old ways' is felt very strongly by the young.

Really I should be talking about social housing,  it is a disgrace as more and more homeless families arrive in miserable social housing, governments still chatter over the fact that more housing is needed without actually making it happen - the so called 'free market' is a joke....