Well what to write today, there is some sad news. Yesterday one bantam disappeared, no sign of feathers in the garden telling of a predator. But a few days ago I found the bloodied remains of pigeon up the side of the garage, the little cat was going up there and feeding as well. No I am not putting her name to poultry killing but maybe the buzzard overhead?
Well you will all be pleased to hear that the Telegraph is free for reading on the net this weekend, owing to those wicked protesters - Extinction Rebellion. When did it become the norm to make all protesters illegal for the sake of the Rupert Murdoch's papers? Watch this space the walls of dictatorship draw in., there are always two sides to every story.
Also listened to a profile of Simon Case this morning, Johnson nominee for top civil service head. He seems very well educated, something Cummings would applaud, but hopefully Case is his own man. This centralising of government to a handful of men will in the end fail, and the Tories will face defeat at the next election. Their wishy-washy, don't know where we are going attitude, will give lie to central government and people will want regional government.
Then what about the Sussex's making money through Netflix about the story of Harry's mother, Diane... 150 million dollars for selling one's family down the drain? Yes I know everyone does it but not so blatantly. Spite is never a good emotion to run by, and though it may be different in America, the couple should perhaps encompass their families more in their decision making. But then, cynical thought here, maybe by making their personal story the news they make loads of money!
To a more positive mood, I have taken up listening to archaeology programmes and find this new interest takes my mind off what is happening in the rest of the world. Allowing the mind to forage through facts has a calming affect, as will my coffee soon.
And in answer to Pat/Weaver on language. How words turn on a wheel of understanding but what they actually mean......... taken from this article Everything in life is ambiguous!
Like “politically correct” before it, the word “woke” has come to connote the opposite of what it means. Technically, going by the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition, woke means “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”, but today we are more likely to see it being used as a stick with which to beat people who aspire to such values, often wielded by those who don’t recognise how un-woke they are, or are proud of the fact.
Cummings wants everything centralised except local government spending. They call it 'handing back power to the provinces'. One suggestion is that councils pay for the upkeep of the stretch of railway line which runs through their counties, as used by private companies such as Richard Branson's.
ReplyDeleteEveryone pays for HS2 until it's finished, then everyone pays for the upkeep, including the farmers etc. who have had their businesses destroyed by it.
DeleteI saw a funny cartoon, there are 12 commmuters left to take the HS2. It is called a 'vanity affair', and we know how Johnson wants something big in his name to be left on the planet. Given that many workers are voting to stay at home and work, its validity seems somewhat lacking, especially as everyone can 'zoom', though the internet infrastructure needs updating for it to work.
DeleteI expect most people up North would opt for better transportation between the big cities and not for a few extra minutes to London.
Boris won't rest until he has a monolithic legacy project- no matter what the cost.
DeleteThank you for your reply here Thelma. How right you are about language and I am sure it has been ever thus. As far as HS2 is concerned - I doubt I shall be here when it is finally finished - if it ever is but when I look at the marvellous rail networks in European countries and places like Japan I can't help feeling we have fallen way behind. We are not still in the steam age but sometimes it does look as though we haven't moved far,
ReplyDeleteI suspect we haven't moved far because of mistakes in the past Pat, but is HS2 really needed? It is true that trains in Europe and Japan are far better, but even the 'bullet' trains get overcrowded.
ReplyDeleteRemember 'Received Pronunciation' that sort of fell off the cliff, and we get more people with regional accents on the BBC. Having to talk like southerner twats (listen to her;) or at least the Oxford class was once seen as the high form of speech, so language returning to the vernacular is not a bad thing.
I'm with you in thinking HS2 might turn out to be a white elephant, and that if the country has to recoup money lost through covid then cancelling it is an obvious significant saving. Alternatively, spend the money on the existing infrastructure or give everyone up to date broadband.
ReplyDeleteI think I would opt for up to date internet for everyone. But then there are still people who do not use the net. My family use the trains, to think I bought up two children not to drive and now my grandchildren just use trains and buses as well.
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