I apologise up front to those'real Welsh people'amongst my readership,of who i know of only ONE at present!So OZ don't be offended if you are Welsh and i'm pretty sure you're not judging by your accent,which is more Geordie i reccon or possibly Tyne Tees?and of course all this points to the fact that I have'nt got a clue about Geography,language or other peoples sensitivity to how they feel about where they are from, because i have'nt even asked them!What i do know is,is that i had a Welsh grandfather who was from Newport in Gwent and i have passed through their on numerous occasions en route to Shropshire and have always thought of him when doing so.I always also like being in Wales when i go their,most recently to Laugharne in South Wales where Dylan Thomas had lived and indeed is buried with wife Caitlin.
The Hills and mountains of wales have always resonated with me of the atmosphere of time,history,battles for boarders and general ambience,something about them.
Where am i going with this i ask myself?Well all these memories really,one's personal history and ancestory,ones own mortality and how this history brings bearing to sense of self.This is prudent, in so much as i have recently had another of my birthday celebrations and have reflected on where i am from and what this has meant to me as time has passed and on St david's Day i have thought. That i was born in Malvern from where you can see the Welsh mountains on a clear day and from where my welsh Grandad passed his day's and that these reflections are important to me and those of you who are concerned with their heritage and their history and indeed with where we are from?
Tuesday 1 March 2011
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Putting your own house in order
Since i last wrote i have been involved in one or two exhibitions,one entitled The Big Society.This was a window exhibition at Space Station Sixty-Five in South London.The theme of the show attracted a lot of comments and stimulated strong'visual reactions'to the subject.The reference for the show came originally from the earstwhile conservative Leader(now Alliance leader),who chose this phrase rather sanctimoniously i thought coming from his'rather privilaged position'.Perhaps rather than suggesting that the less well off of us should work on our community togetherness and help each other,at no cost financially.He would like to contribute to the cause from his considerable fortune,just to keep us sweet and show willing!What d'ya reccon mr cameron and whilst you're asking perhaps old Nicky C might like to chip in eh!It's all very worthy and dandy of the chaps to come up with superlatives to describe the stoicism of the British people in hard times but please'DON'T HUMOUR US'with your patronising anicdotes to our troubled communities,better still change the f...ing system and redistribute the wealth that your consecutive governments would rather witter away on your own Big Ideas without listening to the rest of us.For my part i do feel that i am available for consultation,consideration and reflection on the status Quo at anytime that Mr's campbell&clegg et al care to call.Lift up your eyes and Not your noses at us please dear boys and try and imagine what whipped boys and girls are feeling..i don't hold out much hope from the imagination point of view however..so i'll just have to try and put My own house in order!Later's..
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Big Brother Another Step Closer
Well, it has been awhile since i felt driven to write my thoughts but i have been prompted and now prodded hard by my conscience,nee my downright FEELINGS!
We all have our Best Instincts presumably,sorry i'll speak for myself.I am trying to Recognise My Best Instincts but it is difficult to maintain One's own Integrity in the matter of Instincts, when one is Constantly reminded that those in Political Power simply Abuse their own'best instincts' and use their power to exploit advantage over other's with less power.
You may be beginning to get the Gist of what i'm on about,i think i am and it is that i feel qestions need to be asked and that individually we all need to respond,'with insinct'hopefully, at the woeful way Our Latest Incarnation of Government are about to exploit the Workers again, in order to maintain their own tenuous authority.
When you look out across the Channel to other European Communities we can see the people out on the streets making their FEELINGS FELT,EXPRESSING their Democratic Rights and yes we have done it here too but by more passive means.It is fascinating to me how both Long Suffering we are and how ready we are, as a Community, to take our medicine lying down?. Either it is a Phallacy that we people are really suffering,or is it that we British have been so well brought up that we simply'Know our Place',(see Divide and Rule)and we have'nt got the motivation to make a stand against the Ruling Class, which is what we've got,innit,after all.
Perhaps our own'Individual conscience,enlightenment,call it what you will',is a question for us''Individually'.But my point is, if we really want to change the Status Quo in our Society then we have to change the System under which we are Governed and also change ourselves from within.
Their, i feel better now and it did'nt cost you me or anyone else a penny!
The Big Society is Working after all!
We all have our Best Instincts presumably,sorry i'll speak for myself.I am trying to Recognise My Best Instincts but it is difficult to maintain One's own Integrity in the matter of Instincts, when one is Constantly reminded that those in Political Power simply Abuse their own'best instincts' and use their power to exploit advantage over other's with less power.
You may be beginning to get the Gist of what i'm on about,i think i am and it is that i feel qestions need to be asked and that individually we all need to respond,'with insinct'hopefully, at the woeful way Our Latest Incarnation of Government are about to exploit the Workers again, in order to maintain their own tenuous authority.
When you look out across the Channel to other European Communities we can see the people out on the streets making their FEELINGS FELT,EXPRESSING their Democratic Rights and yes we have done it here too but by more passive means.It is fascinating to me how both Long Suffering we are and how ready we are, as a Community, to take our medicine lying down?. Either it is a Phallacy that we people are really suffering,or is it that we British have been so well brought up that we simply'Know our Place',(see Divide and Rule)and we have'nt got the motivation to make a stand against the Ruling Class, which is what we've got,innit,after all.
Perhaps our own'Individual conscience,enlightenment,call it what you will',is a question for us''Individually'.But my point is, if we really want to change the Status Quo in our Society then we have to change the System under which we are Governed and also change ourselves from within.
Their, i feel better now and it did'nt cost you me or anyone else a penny!
The Big Society is Working after all!
Thursday 13 May 2010
Flashman and co
And so another chapter begins,or should it be continue's.After all, this has always been an Establishment led country,a who you know not what you know sort of regime.The old school tie brigade are well and truly back in force now at least. So what we are now supposed to swallow is the culture of the impersonal,the rather faceless and cut-out character's of the well scrubbed up(nee pinkish)ex public schoolboys who inevitably stuck together when ganging up on the chubby boy in the playground.
So when the dust has settled on the cutting room floor,a cut here,a plaster their,a bit of fudge and a lot of despair.
For me i am mourning the passing of personality,carved out of real life. The Cult of the Personal as it may become known.The Extinction of the distinction or definition. Style over substance,rhetoric above feeling,meaning not believing.
The new number two can morph into number one at a moments notice. The loyal fag to his superior flashman.
We will see how it plays out when Nick is challenged in the house to defend his principles,will David the gallant knight ride to his defence or laugh at him like all the rest? Perhaps we will see the re-making of old Labour values? but i don't see that somehow.The conveyer belt of new politics is irreversable now.The new model just tripping off of the production line.No more daring models,an Aston Martin or an E-Type Jag to sneekily covert.But rather something more mid-range more predictable more dull and certainly comotosed.
So nothing left to write home about or get the kids up late for a treat to watch pass by. But now a faceless model,instantly forgotten and disturbingly bland.Oh no what have we done.Are we really now in safe hands with our economy?Is this what it comes down too,i guess so for many. The cult of no personality,the politics of blandness and conformity and a lack of inspiration..i am already whistling a sad lament.
So when the dust has settled on the cutting room floor,a cut here,a plaster their,a bit of fudge and a lot of despair.
For me i am mourning the passing of personality,carved out of real life. The Cult of the Personal as it may become known.The Extinction of the distinction or definition. Style over substance,rhetoric above feeling,meaning not believing.
The new number two can morph into number one at a moments notice. The loyal fag to his superior flashman.
We will see how it plays out when Nick is challenged in the house to defend his principles,will David the gallant knight ride to his defence or laugh at him like all the rest? Perhaps we will see the re-making of old Labour values? but i don't see that somehow.The conveyer belt of new politics is irreversable now.The new model just tripping off of the production line.No more daring models,an Aston Martin or an E-Type Jag to sneekily covert.But rather something more mid-range more predictable more dull and certainly comotosed.
So nothing left to write home about or get the kids up late for a treat to watch pass by. But now a faceless model,instantly forgotten and disturbingly bland.Oh no what have we done.Are we really now in safe hands with our economy?Is this what it comes down too,i guess so for many. The cult of no personality,the politics of blandness and conformity and a lack of inspiration..i am already whistling a sad lament.
Friday 7 May 2010
Letting off steam
So much for tactical voting then.
It seems that the Great British Electorate has lost it's collective nerve again at the polling booth door! Forgive me if i am mistaken but was'nt there a lot of talk about 'time for change' . Mr Clegg seemed to all too briefly capture the imagination of a New Generation and Old disillusioned Labour Voters alike. But alas this has'nt translated into a radical change in voting. I know i am just a little naive. When push comes to conscience it seems that 'most people 'stick to the old ways, the ways 'they know best'. I guess a lot of this is to do with history, tradition and all those other tried and rather tedious habits that 'most people' usually fall back on, at the end of their day's.
It is true i am not entirely Anglo-Saxon by bloodline (and probably my quarter French blood has affected that line anyway!)but i do think more idealistically and possibly 'outside the box' of politics. It seems like an altogether one-dimensional view of our world to me.
My idealism would demand more Ideology in politics and sadly this seems to have passed by long ago since.
Current generations are offered 'No particular vision for life' and No particular vision for Society. My local Candidate for the Liberal Democrats did speak to me in a human voice and with human principles which i was encouraged by. He spoke of 'listening to the local community' and creating more localised governance which makes sense where i live. But sadly as the system is Locally, so it is Nationally as well. My town is only one of three towns in an area served by one Single MP .
And so even if we all wanted this man as MP in our town it requires those in the other two Towns to want the same! How can this work for everyone? It cannot obviously. So our democracy is'nt really representing the desires of almost two-thirds of those who voted, again! Maybe Nick will still compromise and fall in with Labour and help change this Dickensian voting system of our's, but he is apparently a man of his word and so he'll play it safe and give Cameron his head instead.
Their are moments in life when one feels like taking up arms against this human malaise and just shout from the rooftops and take over the pavements...but that's me, looking for enlightenement,looking for a meaning or collective purpose in this life. But i guess that's all just down to me in this type of democracy..facing those questions alone, letting off steam and then carrying on looking!
It seems that the Great British Electorate has lost it's collective nerve again at the polling booth door! Forgive me if i am mistaken but was'nt there a lot of talk about 'time for change' . Mr Clegg seemed to all too briefly capture the imagination of a New Generation and Old disillusioned Labour Voters alike. But alas this has'nt translated into a radical change in voting. I know i am just a little naive. When push comes to conscience it seems that 'most people 'stick to the old ways, the ways 'they know best'. I guess a lot of this is to do with history, tradition and all those other tried and rather tedious habits that 'most people' usually fall back on, at the end of their day's.
It is true i am not entirely Anglo-Saxon by bloodline (and probably my quarter French blood has affected that line anyway!)but i do think more idealistically and possibly 'outside the box' of politics. It seems like an altogether one-dimensional view of our world to me.
My idealism would demand more Ideology in politics and sadly this seems to have passed by long ago since.
Current generations are offered 'No particular vision for life' and No particular vision for Society. My local Candidate for the Liberal Democrats did speak to me in a human voice and with human principles which i was encouraged by. He spoke of 'listening to the local community' and creating more localised governance which makes sense where i live. But sadly as the system is Locally, so it is Nationally as well. My town is only one of three towns in an area served by one Single MP .
And so even if we all wanted this man as MP in our town it requires those in the other two Towns to want the same! How can this work for everyone? It cannot obviously. So our democracy is'nt really representing the desires of almost two-thirds of those who voted, again! Maybe Nick will still compromise and fall in with Labour and help change this Dickensian voting system of our's, but he is apparently a man of his word and so he'll play it safe and give Cameron his head instead.
Their are moments in life when one feels like taking up arms against this human malaise and just shout from the rooftops and take over the pavements...but that's me, looking for enlightenement,looking for a meaning or collective purpose in this life. But i guess that's all just down to me in this type of democracy..facing those questions alone, letting off steam and then carrying on looking!
Sunday 2 May 2010
Keep it Real
We were out in Margate last night.To witness the beginning of a new chapter for the rundown seaside town. So the publicity went. Tracey was in town to present her Neon artwork and to help promote the imminent opening of the Turner Contemporary gallery. Tracey made a moving statement about her love for her Margate and how it moved her to see so many happy faces before her and against the beautiful herring bone sky. Her artwork, title, ”I never stopped loving you", expressed her fondness for her home time, quite wistfully i thought and this seemed to be reciprocated by her local fan's who had replicated the sign in town by responding, ”we never stopped loving you too Tracey”. Tracey’s Neon shone out in pink across the harbour bay and one hopes that the sentiment is grasped by locals and visitor’s alike,in helping to make Margate feel loved again. We are all culpable and a bit responsible for the development in our towns. What they are and what we hope they may become. Margate is no exception. What i like about Margate though is it's own particular culture, which is grounded in it's predicaments and personalities .What happens when economic disenchantment arises and that indigenous community feel disenfranchised though? You cannot simply'airbrush them out'. This community may have no concern for artiness and the promotion of cultural activities. The domain of the middle classes perhaps. But these people do have reason to be in this place.
Can importing alien values really change the established culture of Margate then? Only by inclusivity ,diplomacy and engaging local residents in communal dialogues is this a way forward. Maybe Tracey being engaged in this process will help,after all she is a local girl and seems to have a genuine concern for the development of the town for all and not just the chosen few. Dream on for Dreamland was her moto and resuscitate the Margate sea front. Revisit the old seaside themes of childhood and family holiday's. Not such a bad thing. They worked the first time around so why not again?
The past has it's good points so embellishing the past ain’t such a bad thing..
Whatever happens in Margate though...let's 'keep it real'.
Can importing alien values really change the established culture of Margate then? Only by inclusivity ,diplomacy and engaging local residents in communal dialogues is this a way forward. Maybe Tracey being engaged in this process will help,after all she is a local girl and seems to have a genuine concern for the development of the town for all and not just the chosen few. Dream on for Dreamland was her moto and resuscitate the Margate sea front. Revisit the old seaside themes of childhood and family holiday's. Not such a bad thing. They worked the first time around so why not again?
The past has it's good points so embellishing the past ain’t such a bad thing..
Whatever happens in Margate though...let's 'keep it real'.
Friday 30 April 2010
Ah The Sea!
When feeling displaced it is good to return to the Source..not to be mistaken for the Sauce!Like i often do..to forget you understand.
New patterns are emerging and it is easy to forget one's sense of place in the world.A groundedness in earthly things that is..nature and all that.
So to the sea!I get this terrible sense of guilt sometimes,knowing that i have this natural spectacle before me at any time i choose to remember it!Like that place within us which we never have time to'get back too'.Always something else to do.Must get busy,at least,'feel we are doing something'with our time.And so it is with me.Not easy to relax knowing i have this powerful force just a stones throw away.I think the force of nature is what raises the fear of insignificant ramblings in me..for what is the point of our human existance? It serves me best to feel that i am as an extension of this natural force,to be inspired by and reconciled with.
Perhaps in relation to the natural elements we humans have to be more assertive.When relating to each other we create meaning to hold onto?So what about our relationship to nature and the natural world?
Lots of question marks today..and so the tide goes..in and out,ebb and flow,stormy and calm,shallow and deep.So when you are feeling 'all at sea'remember your proximity to the source..ah the sea!
New patterns are emerging and it is easy to forget one's sense of place in the world.A groundedness in earthly things that is..nature and all that.
So to the sea!I get this terrible sense of guilt sometimes,knowing that i have this natural spectacle before me at any time i choose to remember it!Like that place within us which we never have time to'get back too'.Always something else to do.Must get busy,at least,'feel we are doing something'with our time.And so it is with me.Not easy to relax knowing i have this powerful force just a stones throw away.I think the force of nature is what raises the fear of insignificant ramblings in me..for what is the point of our human existance? It serves me best to feel that i am as an extension of this natural force,to be inspired by and reconciled with.
Perhaps in relation to the natural elements we humans have to be more assertive.When relating to each other we create meaning to hold onto?So what about our relationship to nature and the natural world?
Lots of question marks today..and so the tide goes..in and out,ebb and flow,stormy and calm,shallow and deep.So when you are feeling 'all at sea'remember your proximity to the source..ah the sea!
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