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.

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!

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'.