Sycophants

A person who acts obsequiously towards someone important in order to gain advantage is a sycophant. In simple terms a leech, parasite or a toady. Sycophants are obsequious. They are too eager to help or agree with someone more important than them. As in my favourite Hans Christian Anderson story - The Emperors New Clothes, where the emperor is exposed before his subjects as a vain idiot wearing nothing.

https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheEmperorsNewClothes_e.html

I imagine, by now, you can see where I'm going with this. Trump is surrounded by sycophants who will tell him what he wants to hear, however bizarre. 

The latest tariff debacle is a case in point. The evidence over decades since the Wall Street crash shows that tariffs do not work. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act sparked the crash & everything that followed. Yesterday global stock markets were reeling as the worse-than-expected levies were seen to damage US and global economic growth even as they pushed inflation higher. Tariffs cause recession.

Consumers, both individuals and businesses, are negatively impacted by higher prices. Tariffs reduce demand for foreign goods which negatively impacts relations with other countries. A consumption tax costs less than a tariff if the goal is to lessen consumption of imported goods.

Only 35% of Trump's Cabinet graduated from "elite" institutions, where previous administrations ranged between 52% and 60%. Out of 28 members only 8 have degrees from elite institutions like the Ivy League schools and MIT, Stanford and Oxford. It's a definite shift away from expertise. Scott Bessant the treasury secretary seems well educated & qualified, so it is hard to understand why he would go against the consensus about tariffs. The key qualification is loyalty, which brings me neatly back to sycophants.

Speaking truth to power has never been more important. The capacity for Trump to do real harm internationally on so many fronts is enormous. We really do need world leaders to unite & challenge his unfounded & protectionist policies. America will suffer from them too. 

 

 

 

 

Tariffs & the Free Market

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum supposedly responded brilliantly to Trumps tariff policy against Mexico. Fact checkers don't seem to be able to verify what is circulating on social media is true. But even if it isn't, it's a brilliant put down & she achieved a months pause in the imposition of tariffs.

A tariff is tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of import or export. The historical consensus is that tariffs raise the price of the goods in the destination country. Near unanimous consensus among economists says that tariffs are self-defeating and have a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare, while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth.  

I will probably never understand economics. But it seems self evident to me that if tariffs are imposed on a country they are going to retaliate. Then there is a self defeating spiral of increased prices. The worst case scenario is a trade war.

Sheinbaums point seems to be that Mexico has a huge population who buy things, many of which come from America. All these consumers have choices & can stop buying American goods because there are always alternatives. The same is true of any country America chooses to target with tariffs. Lets take cars for example. The most popular American cars in the UK are Chevrolet, Dodge, Jeep, & Ford. Instead of buying those we have a huge choice of non American cars. For example - Toyota, KIA, Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, Volvo, Subaru, Renault, or BMW. Many of which out perform American cars. 

Trump, Musk & their largely unqualified appointees don't seem to understand the "quid pro quo" of tariffs. Countries are already retaliating. If they coordinate their actions it will be a very powerful response. There is a groundswell of opinion against Trump policy. Ordinary people are not happy with the aggressive way American politicians are behaving & are boycotting not just American goods, but services too. The "Star Spangled Banner" has been booed. 

Personally I think that the UK is wrong to imagine that we or anyone has a "special relationship" with the Trump administration. Trump is very binary & transactional. He can't be accused of overthinking anything. He simply doesn't factor in cause & effect. So our response, which according to Starmers team is apparently to be “pragmatic” if need be, suggesting he may not retaliate immediately, in the hope of talking Trump round over time and with the aim of creating the conditions for signing a wider UK-US trade deal, doesn't seem emphatic enough to me.

The "Free Market" is an economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Tariffs are completely counter to that. My only caveat is that there does need to be real competition. Our water industry is privately owned & is a complete mess because there is no competition at all. I have no choice but to get my water from Thames Water. There is no other supplier. So I am forced to pay for their years of mismanagement & lack of maintenance of infrastructure. Their profits have gone to huge salaries & bonuses & shareholders.

The world is paying a price for American "democracy". But I do believe that Americans will eventually realise that the price they pay for electing Trump for a second term will be higher. Goods & services will cost more & huge numbers of American jobs will go. Musks DOGE policy will make thousands unemployed. 

Annoying Filler Words

 The UK’s most annoying filler words:

1. Innit, 47 per cent
2. Like, 32 per cent
3. Basically, 22 per cent
4. Err, 21 per cent
5. You know, 20 per cent
6. Uh, 17 per cent
7. Umm, 15 per cent
8. Yeah, 13 per cent
9. Literally, 12 per cent
10. Oooh, 10 per cent

The UK’s most used filler words:

1. OK, 30 per cent
2. Err, 26 per cent
3. Right, 22 per cent
4. Umm, 20 per cent
5. Actually, 18 per cent
6. Anyway, 16 per cent
7. Basically, 16 per cent
8. Yeah, 14 per cent
9. Like, 14 per cent
10. Really, 13 per cent

The highlighted ones are the ones I most dislike. I would also add My Bad, So & Awesome. I also realise that I use the word "Absolutely" far too much. The sad thing is that repeatedly using these filler words makes people appear less intelligent, less educated and lacking in people skills. Apparently 23% of people don't realise they are using them. I'm surprised that statistic isn't higher. I have at times been tempted to count the number of times I hear people use the word "like" pointlessly in sentences or phrases  - But I do realise that would be a bit anal & weird.

Why do we do it? Why don't we realise that we are doing it? Sometimes, apparently it's to give us time to formulate what we want to say. But I don't think that applies to "like". I also don't think hesitation or uncertainty explains the over use of "like". I just think it's possibly nervousness, lack of preparation, or an  unconscious habit. I just find it really irritating.

We have been given a brain & a wonderful language. Why don't we use them?

Watchers & Doers

Are you a watcher or a doer? Do you live your life vicariously through the lives of others & not actually live your life? Do you let others influence what you think & do? 

I was watching a football match while changing after a swim today. Not much choice, the screen is always on in the pool changing room. It made me think of the fact that we now have wall to wall womens & mens football on TV & thousands of people actually go to matches. 

Then I thought of the plethora of people who watch cookery programmes on TV & buy millions of cookery books.

Its all relatively passive for a lot of people. Approximately 40.7% of male adults and roughly 31.7% of female adults participate in sports on a weekly basis in the UK. The % of physically active adults (19+ yrs) in the UK is 67.1%. Not dire statistics, but not good enough either. Watching doesn't get you fit.

Then there is cooking. Nearly one in five,19%, say they almost always prepare food using basic ingredients, while 23% cook from scratch most days. Another 21% do so a few times a week. A significant portion of the UK population regularly consumes takeaways or supermarket meals, with nearly half of Brits eating takeaway food up to four times a week, and a substantial amount of the population consuming takeaways at least once a week. So why do we buy so many cookbooks? Is it just food porn?

The psychological type of a doer is ESTP according to Myers - Briggs, which stands for Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving. Watchers probably tend to be supporters - they are loyal & have a team approach. There are loads of sites on the web about personality if you are interested.

My point is that although we all have our own distinctive personality, we humans are changing a lot. We no longer live in caves & have to hunt & forage or even farm ourselves. We are all much more sedentary & time poor. We have stopped getting enough exercise to remain healthy & mobile. We have stopped eating a healthy diet that is good for us. As a result we are becoming more & more unhealthy.

In 2022, an estimated 64% of adults in the UK were classified as overweight or obese, with 29% specifically living with obesity. The largest impairment groups in the UK are people with a mobility impairment (48%). Those statistics are ever increasing with the impact on both the NHS & peoples lives.

We are all responsible for ourselves & our families. No one can make us healthy however skilled. I'm sure almost everyone could do something to not only be healthier, but also enjoy actually living life more. Then possibly there wouldn't be such a huge upswing in mental illness. 

In 2023, about 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 years had a probable mental disorder. Life expectancy of people with a severe mental illness is about 15-20 years shorter than those without. My generation cannot understand why this is happening. Life has always been problematic - shit happens. Were we more resiliant? If so why? I heard a programme on radio 4 recently postulating that over diagnosis is part of the problem. Simply put, if a medic tells someone they have a medical problem they live their lives accordingly. 

Whatever the truth is - we are not a healthy society & we all need to do something about it.  Life expectancy of people with a severe mental illness is about 15-20 years shorter than those without. 

The largest impairment groups in the UK are people with a mobility impairment (48%)

Tax Should be Taxing

I truly don't mind paying tax. It is important that tax should be commensurate with income though. So I do think that the wealthiest should pay the same proportion of their income as the poor. Most income groups are taxed at 20% in the UK after a tax free allowance of £12,570. (Your allowance is zero if your income is £125,140 or above). If you are better off tax increases, but not proportionately. Over £125,141 you pay 45% 

Countries in Scandinavia pay quite a lot more basic tax & get better services. 

Netherlands – 49% ...

Sweden – 50% ...

Belgium – 53.7% ...

Austria – 55% ...

Denmark – 55.9% ...

Japan – 55.97% ...

Finland – 56.95% ...

Those in the lowest decile of income earners in the UK pay tax at around 44% on their  income and gains in financial wellbeing, whilst those in the top decile pay at 21.5%, less than half that rate. Why? What is the logic?

There isn't any that I can see, other than making the wealthy even more wealthy & the poor poorer. Wealth inequality is ever increasing in the UK. In 2021 the richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than the bottom 33.5 million people. The wealthiest 1% of households had wealth of at least £3,121,500, while the least wealthy 10% had £16,500 or less. 

That can't be acceptable surely. Nor can placing the biggest tax burden on the least wealthy.There are several arguments -

• Taxing the wealthy excessively could discourage investment, entrepreneurship, and economic growth, potentially leading to job losses and a decline in overall prosperity. 
• High taxes could cause wealthy individuals and businesses to relocate to countries with lower tax rates, leading to a loss of tax revenue and skilled labor. 
• Strong opposition from the wealthy themselves, although there is a group of 250 wealthy individuals, (Patriotic Millionaires), who are actually asking to be taxed.

I struggle to have much sympathy with any of that. The wealthy have advisors who utilise the loopholes in our ridiculously complex tax system to minimise what they pay. The big four accounting firms not only advise taxpayers, they also have their fingers in the pie of advising HMRC. Unbelievably they sit on tax advisory panels and also second staff to government to provide technical advice when tax legislation is amended or created. I simply cannot believe they are impartial & unbiased. Talk about letting foxes into the henhouse.

The whole thing is a mess & it's the majority of ordinary taxpayers who don't get a fair deal.

 

Free Speech & Thought Control

Trump said - “I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America.” Really? Actions mean more than words. He has cut $400m from Columbia University because he wants to stifle criticism of Israel. But the real target is dissent of any sort. Obviously in Trumps world "free speech" means speech he approves of.

In his dystopian novel "1984," Orwell explores the concept of Thought Control through the Party's manipulation of language (Newspeak) and omnipresent surveillance, aiming to eliminate independent thought and maintain absolute power. In Oceania, the Party views any thought that challenges its authority as "Thoughtcrime," punishable by the "Thought Police", who use telescreens, informers, and psychological techniques to monitor citizens. 

Is that ringing any bells? Isn't that what Trump & Musk are actively setting out to do in today's America? 

Voltaire supposedly said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" Actually it was paraphrased by Evelyn Beatrice Hall in her Voltaire biography.

In todays world we really need to understand what is at stake in the actions of people like Trump, Musk, Putin, Netanyahu.......They are deliberately undermining truth & freedom. They want us to be subserviant & compliant in order to gain as much power & wealth as they can. Their actions are entirely self serving. It is very dangerous. Over & over history shows us this type of pattern of behaviour by leaders, notably in the rise of the Third Reich. For milennia civilisations have come & gone. Toynbee said that cilvilisations  have a life cycle of four stages: genesis, growth, breakdown, and disintegration. (Read Jared Diamond "Collapse"). It seems to me that we are very close to the final stage if we do nothing.

There are many ways for countries to be governed. Each country has it's own distinct character & culture & within that people vary hugely. Despite all of that difference, every country & it's population must have freedom if they are to survive well for the benefit of everyone. 

We must all be able to think, speak & argue our point of view freely. We must all be open to the idea that we can be wrong & be able to change our opinion. We must all listen to varying points of view & challenge or support where necessary.

If we lose that ability we are lost. 

Funerals & the Big Issue

When you see a "Big Issue" seller on the street do you walk on by as though they don't exist? The chances are you do - Tides of humanity do.

I went to a funeral yesterday in Summertown, Oxford, for one of my local Big Issue sellers Dan Cordas - Cousins. I had known him & his partner Paul for 12 years. We chatted regularly in the street. As did quite a few other Summertown residents. Dan & Paul were, are, an institution. St Michaels church was full. Far more people than expected. Mostly seemingly my age or even older. They ran out of orders of service despite printing 70.

A third of Big issue sellers are homeless. They are not beggars. They are not allowed to beg. They are trying to earn money to live rather than be dependent. We should all respect that.  

The Big Issue used to only be sold on the streets by authorised vendors, but from 2020 it has been sold in some shops in order to raise money because of the effects of Covid. The Big Issue was founded by John Bird & Gordon Roddick in 1991 as a social enterprise. It is a self-sustaining business, generating income through magazine sales and advertising revenue. It gives sellers an income & dignity. Vendors buy the magazine for £2 each and sell it for £4, keeping the £2 profit. In effect vendors are running their own mini business.

For years Dan & Paul were on their pitch daily outside Tesco's in all weathers. Both of them had mobility & health issues. Both of them were mostly surprisingly cheerful. It was always interesting to talk to them. I knew a little of their back story & both had very difficult experiences in their lives, which shaped the lives they lived. The majority of people in North Oxford thankfully have not had to deal with such difficulties, but quite a few of us really valued Dan & Paul.

Dan had health issues for years, but had deteriorated massively over the last year. He died in January. He will be much missed by those of us who took the trouble to talk to him. Paul will find it very difficult to continue without his friend by his side. 

The real Big Issue is how we as a society treat the less fortunate in our country. We could all do better.

Digital Marketing, Data Centres & the Carbon Footprint

When we think about carbon footprints aviation tends to top the list, with energy, industry & fashion. The Ecologist has done a piece this week about Digital Marketing. When I see images of cities like Tokyo, New York & London for example, I wonder why we don't consider this a complete waste of energy. It is costly in both financial & energy terms. It also causes huge light pollution & could possibly over stimulate the brain. Personally I can't see anything to recommend it.

https://theecologist.org/2025/mar/05/digital-marketings-carbon-footprint    

Data centres, which power everything from websites to social media, digital ads & streaming, online gaming, cryptocurrency & blockchain services, account for 2.5 per cent of global CO2 emissions - more than the entire aviation industry at 2.1 per cent. As the internet grows, so does its footprint. Data centers have a significant environmental impact due to their high energy consumption for running servers and cooling systems, contributing to increased carbon emissions and climate change. They also generate e-waste and require substantial infrastructure, including materials for construction and cooling systems. Data centres use about 1-1.3% of global electricity, largely sourced from fossil fuel, releasing substantial amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 

As of March 2024, there were approximately 11,800 data centers worldwide, with the United States leading with 5,381, followed by Germany (521), and the United Kingdom (514). Data centers come in various sizes, ranging from small, micro data centers to massive hyperscale facilities, with the average full-scale data center typically occupying around 100,000 square feet. That's over two football fields.

If we are truly going to take action to stop our devastating CO2 emissions causing the Climate Emergency we really need to look at how much energy we are wasting on trivia. We do need to switch off our lights when no one is in the room, but frankly that is a drop in the ocean of CO2. We need to tackle the waste & pollution our digital world is creating.

Bystanders

Many years ago, when I was in my 20's, I felt unwell when I was in a pub with my husband & his friend. I went outside to get some air & ended up sitting on the pavement. No one stopped to ask if I was OK or helped me. I was wearing a new suede coat & looked smart. Obviously eventually my husband realised I'd been gone a while & came to find me. I thought it was strange that people just walked on past me.

Since then I have had other more positive experiences showing that people vary in their behaviour when it seems that someone is in trouble. 

There is a Bystander Effect - a theory describing when people are less likely to help someone in need when others are present. People may believe that a situation cannot be an emergency if no one else is helping. Being part of a large crowd can make it so no single person has to take responsibility. People may be concerned about getting involved or fear judgement, legal action or personal harm. It can occur during emergencies, assaults, or other crimes.  

In a macro way I think that we are suffering from the Bystander Effect now. We can all see what is happening in the world - the climate emergency, war in Ukraine & Palestine, Political instability & the rise of dictators acting with seeming impunity, famine & unfair wealth & resources distribution...The list seems endless & very serious. We live in an interlinked world of instantanious communication. We know.

I would argue that each & every one of us cannot afford to be a bystander. We are transitioning to a very different world. The future of that world depends hugely on what we each individually do now. We do have choice. We can stand aside & say that we have no power to influence or change. Or we can ensure that our voice is heard. 

If we have "Influencers" making money out of selling themselves, their ideas & products, then we can all be "Influencers". We have the power of communication today that has never existed before. We just need to use it for the right purposes.

It is vital that the liars, misinformers, power & wealth hungry "bad actors" who are in the ascendent today are stripped of "the Emperors New Clothes" that they wear. They believe they are invincible. They are, but only if we let them. If we do that we deserve what will follow.

Too many Books - Not Enough Time

 

I've always been a reader. When I was 11 my family moved to a house on the Wolverhampton Rd in Birmingham. A 5 minute walk away there was a public library on Bleakhouse Rd, so I had access to a lot of books. My parents did not have disposable income for luxuries like books. I thought a book for Christmas was a wonderful present. Books informed & transported me. According to Google maps the library is still there thank goodness. As is my family home, number 187, although it has been modernised & improved. 

I can't resist books. I never go to sleep without reading first. I like fiction & non fiction & often have both on the go at the same time. I've been a member of 2 book clubs which have broadened my interests & choices. I have shelves of books & also cupboards full in several rooms. I regularly go to charity shops to see what they have for sale. I would be bereft if I didn't have a book to move onto after I finished my current book.

My main problem is I probably won't be able to read all of the books I own, because I keep finding more to interest or entertain me.

Public libraries are in crisis.The BBC did an analysis in 2024 & found that more than 180 council-run libraries have either closed or been handed over to volunteer groups in the UK since 2016. That is one in 20 libraries since 2016, which has had more impact on deprived communities, who were four times more likely to have lost a publicly-funded library, not to mention the jobs associated with them. A third of those remaining, have had their hours reduced and at least three councils have at least halved their provision since 2016.

Council-run libraries offer more than just book-lending facilities - stay-and-play sessions for children, literacy clubs, access to computers & crucially, warm spaces for people who can't afford heating costs. Upper-tier local councils such as county councils and unitary authorities have a statutory duty to provide a “comprehensive library service". But funding is under attack.

We still need books in this tech age. In 2024, the number of independent bookstores in the UK fell from 1,063 to 1,052. However, this is still higher than the 2016 low of 867. Good book shops are thriving despite Amazon. There is nothing like having a book in your hand. Now my short term memory is declining I can write pencil notes or underline when a new character enters the story. 

Unlike mobile phones, the TV, or film, books don't rely on pictures to stimulate our intellect or imagination. Like radio, books enable us to actually use the brain we were given. 

One of the most joyous things you can do is read a story to a child, thus leading them towards being readers.

 

Confrontation & Bullying - Trump, Putin & Zelensky

Trump built up to yesterdays debacle by making totally unfounded & provocative comments about Ukraine, Zelensky & the war.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9814k2jlxko 

It seems entirely possible that the unedifying, bullying, shouting match was pre planned by Trump & Vance who were like attack dogs. 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-zelenskyy-meeting-transcript

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2019j0w9glo

I was listening in horror to PM on radio 4 as it unfolded & then watched on BBC TV news. T & V accused Zelensky of not being grateful or thankful enough for American aid. Yet Zelensky is on record as repeatedly acknowledging how grateful Ukraine is for everything both America & Europe has done for 3 years since Russias unprovoked  invasion of a sovereign state. I would argue that America & Europe should be grateful & thankful for the way Ukraine has endured the Russian onslaught & has fought back bravely at huge cost in death & destruction. Ukraine has been & is defending Europe from a dictator who according to the BBC has caused "Russian military deaths (that) could range from 146,194 to 211,169. If one adds estimated losses from DPR and LPR forces, the total number of Russian-aligned fatalities may range from 167,194 to 234,669". A man who can tolerate those numbers of deaths & the concomitant number of injuries of his own people is not to be trusted an inch.

 

T & V accused Zelensky of being disrespectful. The world has now seen that deliberately playing out this shocking scrum in the Oval Office is disrespectful to the remnants of American democracy. Zelensky has been President of Ukraine in extremely difficult circumstances. He has been exemplary & I'm not in the least surprised that T & V managed to goad him into a response that I'm sure he didn't want. Personally I would have wanted to punch T & V's lights out for their total lack of respect for what Ukraine & Zelensky have endured. Respect goes both ways. T & V owed respect to Zelensky as the democratically elected president of a sovereign country. Instead they wouldn't even let him speak & harangued him stereophonically.

Trump & Vance have never been to Ukraine. They don't appear to have had balanced intel & advice about the war. Basically neither man seems to want to listen to alternative views to their own populist, right wing, perspective. They were both bullish & arrogant.

This is serious. It is the end of diplomacy as we know it. Maybe it does need to change, but not like this. It is a sad day when extremist, power hungry, bullies who want to dominate & manipulate are in charge of one of the most powerful countries in the world. 

Politics & Politicking

Britain is not in the top 10 most democratic countries of the world. They are;- 

Rank	Country	Total Value Index
1	Denmark	0.958
2	Norway	0.956
3	Finland	0.946
4	Sweden	0.946
5	Germany	0.944
6	Switzerland	0.934
7	Netherlands	0.93
8	New Zealand	0.928
9	Belgium	0.925
10	Costa Rica	0.914

The UK actually comes 17th or 18th according to;-

https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/democracy-countries

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2025/uphill-battle-to-safeguard-rights 

"Violence and the repression of political opponents during elections, ongoing armed conflicts, and the spread of authoritarian practices contributed to the 19th year of declining freedom. In the year to come, all those who understand the value of political rights and civil liberties must work together in the defense of democracy".

Anyone who thinks that because they live in a democracy they are safe, should think again. We live in a complex, interconnected world. We rely on other countries for basic necessities. Our biggest imports are cars & oil, closely followed by medicinal & pharmaceutical products & gas. The UK's biggest food imports are fruit & vegetables. 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/281818/largest-import-commodities-of-the-united-kingdom-uk/

We are an island. We don't have a huge land mass & what we have is diminishing due to construction of one sort or another. There is a limit to how self sufficient we can be. Our skills & manufacturing capabilities have declined drastically. We depend on other countries for vital goods. We don't even have the capability to defend ourselves adequately any more. This has all been a result of political decisions, particularly over the 13 years of Conservative rule. 

Many people are disinterested in politics. Considerable numbers don't trust politicians to tell the truth or make decisions in the best interests of the country as a whole. When politicians are unwilling or unable to answer simple direct questions, but spout the PR they have been trained to say, is there any reason for people to think otherwise?

Labour came into power promising change. I don't see any reason to trust them any more than I did the Conservatives so far. We need & deserve better politics than this.   

Redistribution & Economic Justice

Redistribution - distribution of something in a different, fairer, way, typically to achieve greater social equality.

200 million migrants regularly send back money to support their families and communities. These cash transfers reach around 800 million people — about one in ten people globally.

I have given quite a bit of money to my family & to charities for years. I am fortunate, I can afford to do that. I don't come form a wealthy background. My parents owned their own house, but had no capital savings to speak of. But because both my husband & I had a grammar school education, we both also had well paid, secure, professional jobs with good pensions. In my own small way I have tried to put into practice Economic Justice - a set of principles that aims to create equal opportunities for all people.

Economic Justice sets out to eliminate glaring inequalities in wealth, income, and property. It's about fairness. That seems to be seriously lacking in our world today. I have been watching "Go back to where you came from" on channel 4. It is enlightening - https://www.channel4.com/programmes/go-back-to-where-you-came-from  None of the participants are "bad " people, but they have very different views on refugees & migrants, which possibly represent the polarity of view in the UK from the far right to the liberal socialist. 

The one fundamental thing I feel is at the root of so many problems facing the world today is inequality & unfair distribution of everything from the basic necessities of life to wealth, education, justice & health care. People who don't have those things don't need our sympathy. They need our empathy & following on from that our will to share more equitably.

I increasingly do not recognise the UK. I think we have become a populist travesty of ourselves. We want to reinforce our borders & keep migrants, whether refugees or economic, out. We seem to be getting more & more insular on our island. We are also becoming less & less tolerant, more & more frightened & angry.

I just wish every one of us could really put ourselves in the place of so many people in our world who do not have what we have - a safe home, enough food, access to basic services, freedom of speech & freedom to be ourselves whatever our sexual orientation. We are not living under dictators - yet. 

We cannot, as a country, take in every refugee & migrant who wants to come here. We only have a relatively small land mass & we are financially broke. But we can & should work with other free countries to help solve the root problems that are causing a huge mass movement of people around the world that is ever increasing.

The problem will not go away. We have to find a humane way to fix it in the countries of origin of the migrations.  We also have to have proper legal ways for people to claim asylum here in order to help stop boat crossings. Currently we are not generally considered to have a "good" asylum process for applicants. They are complex and strict, with many challenges for applicants, including long processing times, a high burden of proof, and recent legislation making it more difficult to claim asylum. 

 

 

 

Compromise - компромисс

Compromise is a basic negotiation process in which both parties give up something that they want in order to get something else they want more. There is a pie to be divided up, and whatever one side gets, the other side loses. Each side must be willing to make concessions in order to achieve a resolution. By definition both sides need to be involved. A negotiater or mediator might well help the process, but an agreement cannot be achieved if one of the parties is not present.

It seems self evident to me. So why isn't it self evident to Trump & his acolytes? 

I have to wonder why the USA are behaving in such a transactional & confrontational way, which is certain to offend Ukraine & Europe, who are directly affected by the war between Russia & Ukraine. Historically war always ends in negotiation & compromise. At some point the pointless death & destruction has to end. 

The Spanish Reconquista lasted 781 years & ended in 1492. The UK's longest is a hypothetical state of war between the Netherlands and the Scilly Isles which lasted 335 years without a single shot being fired. But these are unusual.  Currently Myanmar has been at war for almost 80 years. 

The senior US delegation headed by Marco Rubio sat at a table for almost 5 hours with the Russian delegation headed by Sergey Lavrov. No other interested parties were invited. The US has sanctions in place against Lavrov, (for his part in a "brutal war of choice") & Putin, their assets have been frozen during the Ukraine war.

 

Does Trump really see no reason why this seems odd to more rational people? The only reasons I can see for Trumps behaviour are twofold;-

• He wants the "glory" of supposedly ending the war & desires a Nobel Peace Prize. God forbid he gets it, but Obama got one in 2009...... 
• He know that reconstruction after wars generates huge profit for the countries & businesses that do the work. He wants a slice of that. He is one of the many, very wealthy, Americans for whom enough money is never enough.

Trump is the arch appeaser & capitulator. How dare he ask Ukraine for mineral rights for critical minerals including aluminum, gallium and titanium as "payment" for America's support in the war. The Ukrainians must win. If they don't there are repercussions that simply don't bear thinking about. Repercussions that will affect America too. But Trump only sees a deal, money & power. He isn't capable of rational thought about world consequences. 

If it weren't all so appalling it would be funny.

 

Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

I remember, when I was a young married woman with a small child, having morning coffee with women friends. It started off as just coffee & biscuits, but ended up as coffee & gateau as everyone tried to outdo everyone else. At that point I think I stopped going. Too much pressure & not relaxing at all. 

Coffee was supposedly discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder, Kaldi, after he noticed his goats became more energetic after eating the berries of certain trees. If you want to know more this is a link;-

https://stonestreetcoffee.com/blogs/brooklyn-coffee-academy/the-history-of-coffee

The first recorded coffee house in England was opened by a Turkish man Jacob in Oxfordshire in 1652. This was followed by the first in London in that same year, established by a Greek man Pasqua Rosee. 

https://oldspikeroastery.com/blogs/blog/history-of-london-coffee-houses

Coffeehouses were "penny universities" where politicians, artists, writers and other intellectuals  met, each frequenting their own establishments. They were places of discussion, knowledge sharing & a hub for creative ideas. Many influential historic individuals met there including Samuel Pepys, John Dryden, Samuel Alexander Pope and Isaac Newton. 

I really don't feel properly alive until I've had my morning cup of coffee & I look forward to it every day. Friends I meet for coffee carry on the tradition of interesting discussion.

Afternoon tea is a whole different thing to my mind. Drinking tea began in China & Charles II started the habit in England. But afternoon tea didn't begin until 1840, started again by the aristocracy. It became a fashionable social event for the upper classes.

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Afternoon-Tea/

My experience of afternoon tea is a mug of tea using a teabag & occasionally a biscuit. I drink it playing Solitaire on my iPad or reading. Sometimes friends & family come, but it isn't really an event, it's a pleasure. What I really don't understand is why a very upper class tradition continues today, mostly in the middle classes. 

According to the British Social Attitudes Survey we still define ourselves in terms of social divisions. We have a monarchy and an aristocracy still owning much of the land the Conqueror gave them, with privileges reinforced by public schools. We also have a working class, inheritors of serfdom, for whom trade union leaders such as Mick Lynch, who just like Watt Tyler, sees it as his role to fight. 

Is this really a good thing in the 21st century? Are we hidebound by "tradition" & the mores of the upper classes? I think we are if we continue to think that apeing the behaviour of a supposedly higher class is sensible or necessary. Shouldn't we want to be a meritocracy? Shouldn't we value people for who they are and what they do, rather than where or to whom they were born? 

Honours & Honour

Should Honours be automatic or assumed due to a job or position an individual holds? Is it appropriate to give honours to celebrities? Or should there be more variety in the types of work rewarded?

6% of higher awards went to people in the north of England and only 4% to people from working-class backgrounds. 60% of beneficiaries of "higher" awards, such as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and knighthoods and damehoods, lived in London and south-east England. Prestigious awards seem to be concentrated on affluent people from affluent areas. Chief executives, professors and senior civil servants were common recipients. It is not based on merit; it's based on the top-down nature of our UK society.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdx91g00g2o 

Some people feel so strongly about this issue that they turn down an honour like Benjamin Zephaniah.

Rarely an honour is handed back, like Paula Vennells. Sometimes an honour is removed, like Rolf Harris.

Do we know who nominated recipients? If not why not? How many are nominated by community groups or the public? Do we really want the British Empire anywhere near an honours system - MBE CBE OBE? Should a Prime Minister automatically have the right to bestow honours regardless of how long they have held office or how good they have been at the job? (I won't name names, but I'm sure you can guess). I can see that it might be appropriate for someone like the monarch to present the honours, but why do they have the right to nominate recipients? How in touch with people deserving of honours are the Aristocracy, the Mandarins of the Civil Service or the Politicians?

There was a Select Committee report on reforming the honours system in 2004 which recommended "an end to further appointments to the Order of the British Empire, the Order of the Bath and the Order of St Michael and St George; the foundation of a new Order of British Excellence; a phasing out of titles and name-changing honours; reforms to increase the independence of the selection process through the establishment of an Honours Commission and the end of the ‘Prime Minister’s List’ and other ministerial honours lists; and proposals for increasing public awareness of the system".

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmpubadm/212/212.pdf  

Not a lot seems to have happened as a result. In 2006 -7 there was the "Cash for Honours" scandal. We still have a class & wealth ridden society. Successive governments continue to nominate people to the Lords to bolster their party representation & create political imbalance. But that is another Blog Post.

 

 

Justification & Trump

Justification is showing something to be right or reasonable. Neurologically our brains create our thoughts, which may or may not be accurate. We all do our best to justify what we say or do. Or what we don't say or do, which can be equally wrong. We have to accept that there are always different ways of looking at things. What we ourselves believe may or may not be true.

The trick is to remain open in our thinking & accept that complexity exists & there are often different interpretations of reality. We might be right, but someone else may have a different perception & they may also be right. 

All of that said, it seems to me that we are living in an alternative universe. 

We are living in a world of "post truth", of lies & obfustification, of people in power not answering reasonable questions, of manipulation & indoctrination. We are at the mercy of "bad actors" who crave wealth & power at any cost. People who not only don't mind "collateral damage", but don't even have it on their radar because they are narcissists or worse. 

I doubt that people with these personality types even contemplate the need to justify their actions or what they say. The idea floated by Trump, (such an appropriate & accurate surname for the man), to make a holiday playground for the rich out of the devastation that is Gaza is obscene. It would contravene international law & amount to ethnic cleansing, never mind the absurdity of expecting nearby countries to accommodate all the Palestinians. 

When Gaza is eventually rebuilt it could be much better than it was with modern building techniques. But what happens to Gaza should be in the hands of the Palestinians with help from the international community. Not in the hands of a seemingly unhinged American president who sees everthing through a narrow transactional lens. The opportunity he sees is to make himself even more wealthy & to have yet another exclusive playground for a golf course.

I have no idea how Trumps mind works, or Musks for that matter. But I do wonder how on earth they justify what they say & do. I just do have to hope that at some point they have a Damascene Conversion & realise that they could be agents for so much good in this unstable & unfair world we live in.

Is Solar & Onshore Power our Easter Island Moment?

I watched last night's BBC Panorama programme - "Rewiring Britain - the race to go green". I thought it was interesting & balanced. I hope the Government was watching too.

We know we need to generate far more electricity in order to stop using unsustainable non renewables. At least I hope we do all agree on that. Developments in both onshore & offshore sustainable generation have moved forward at pace. The technology is amazing & is improving all the time. 

The problems are twofold - 

• We don't have appropriate infrastructure to transport the electricity to where it is needed efficiently e.g. Substations & Pylons.
• The current solutions are industrialising the landscape & using precious productive farm land e.g solar "farms", substations & pylons again

 

It seems to me that the decision making is based mainly on cost. It is cheaper & quicker to do it above ground on land. If we continue along this route, not only will the government alienate the public who have valid concerns, but we will lose land we desperately need for food security & wildlife habitats. 

Exactly what they think happened on Easter Island, where the population perished because they chopped down the last trees & they were too far away from land to be able to establish themselves elsewhere. This could be our Easter Island moment. Not me - I'm too old. This is the possible future we are bequeathing to our grandchildren.

If the government are determined not to listen to valid concerns & won't learn from what Holland, Belgium & Germany et al are doing we are sounding our own death knell. It just seems so obvious & short termist to me. Yet again we are going down the route of not thinking of the inevitable outcomes of bad choices.

Surely the point of government is to look widely at evidence & select the best, least harmful option? Or am I too idealistic? Is Britain incapable of that because of our adversarial, power at all costs, (sorry about the pun), system of government? 

We need to wake up & see the light.

Personality Clashes & Argument

Friends drift in & out of ones life for numerous reasons. Some stay the course for years & are a continual source of joy & support. Our interactions with new people we meet vary hugely. Sometimes we know, seemingly instantly, whether we like them & have things in common, or we don't particularly want to spend much time with them. Sometimes the reaction to a person or a situation is much more difficult.

If we really disagree with something someone has said, done, not said or not done & we feel strongly that it isn't something we agree with, what do we do? Do we confront it head on & possibly try to understand why it has happened? Do we argue our case, but listen to the other perspective? Do we do nothing because we don't like to rock the boat? Confronting difficult issues isn't easy. There is a risk it will get out of hand & a friendship is lost. 

I had one friend for decades. It was always a slightly difficult relationship, but we had a lot in common & I really admired her for her intellect & knowledge. It started because my husband & her boyfriend worked together & were friends. Over the years I felt she was quite abraisive & also that she backed out of arrangements quite often. But I wasn't perfect - I'm sure I had failings too. After my husband died I became more my own person. I was less prepared to tolerate things I didn't agree with to keep the peace. So there was a big personality clash & now we are estranged.

I have had friends who decided their marriages were not working. They were not getting what they wanted from the relationship. The clash between needs & expectations broke the relationship.

We humans are complex social beings. Being isolated or alone a lot does not suit most of us. So we have to learn to navigate the ups & downs of any interaction with other people. We have to find a way to articulate what we feel without agression & blame. We have to learn to listen & try to understand a different point of view. 

I don't feel arguing is wrong or bad. What matters is how you do it. Sometimes you do need to stand up for your point of view & clear the air. People generally are not bad, but sometimes they make mistakes & their actions or omissions may not be acceptable. 

Our world today is full of argument & clashes, personality clashes seem to lead to something far worse. We must not de-humanise people who have a different culture & belief system. On Holocaust Day I found myself thinking how could the Israeli Palestinian war be happening? Have we learned nothing from the tragedy of war & Genocide? 

The evidence seems to be that the answer is no.

Public Inquiries - Costly Long Grass?

Statutory or Non Statutory Public Inquiries today can last for years & cost millions. On 16 September 2024 the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee published its report looking into the efficacy of the law and practice relating to statutory public inquiries. It said that "18 inquiries ha(d) been taking place in the UK (that) year and the Grenfell Inquiry alone cost £173 million. Inquiries are frequently too long and expensive, leading to a loss of public confidence and protracted trauma for victims and survivors".

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/ldstatinq/9/9.pdf   

An earlier report was published in 2014 which made 33 recommendations. 19 were accepted and 14 were rejected. Of the recommendations accepted by the Government, none was subsequently implemented.

It isn't that we don't know that our system doesn't work. It isn't that the Government doesn't know that it doesn't work. No one, least of all the victims, are well served by this. Everyone who really thinks about it knows that it's death knell has been ringing loud & clear for decades. 

So why does the public clamour for it? Why do Governments set them up only to completely ignore the findings?

The public seem to have blind faith, without any evidence, that something will change as a result. Public inquiries are supposedly investigations set up by Government ministers to respond to events of major public concern or to consider controversial public policy issues. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the public seem to believe that is true. Also, there simply doesn't appear to be any viable alternative to address valid public concerns.

I think Govenments use them to procrastinate & delay making change. Public Inquiries are not legally binding. The Chair can only make recommendations. "Government has spent £639m on public inquiries over the last 30 years and increasingly relies on them to examine major incidents and tragedies. Of the 68 public inquiries that took place since 1990, only six have been fully followed-up by select committees to see what government did as a result of the inquiry" according to;-

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/report/how-public-inquiries-can-lead-change 

We are supposed to be a beacon of democracy. Really? I can't see much evidence of democracy being served here. All I can see is a complete waste of time & shedloads of public money.

Something has to change.

Trumps Second Term

I didn't watch the inauguration - couldn't bear to watch Trumps face & see all the entitled & wealthy people cheering his every utterance. A few people had to be there & some were brave enough to not stand & clap. I did listen with growing horror to his speech, which he has followed with immediate devastating action, some of which is already being challenged in the Courts.

https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-inauguration-speech-in-full-13293142

The hubris & self delusion of the man knows no bounds - "the golden age of America begins right now". The promises made are simply not possible to fulfil. "Sunlight is (not) pouring over the entire world". 

While the American government has made mistakes & certainly needs root & branch change, Trumps charges against the State are populist & full of conspiracy half truths & lies. His jingoistic rhetoric may delight his followers, but intelligent, thinking, people know that there is a deep humanitarian population migration issue that is affecting peoples everywhere. It won't be solved by repatriation & walls, as we in the UK know only too well. 

Trump believes that he has "a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy". 63.7% of eligible voters turned out. Trump won 77,284,118 votes, or 49.8 percent of the votes cast for president. That's less than half. He undoubtedly won according to the complicated American system, which depends on vast amounts of money spent. But is that really a mandate to throw a wrecking ball at everything? Including pardoning rioters & demeaning the Law & law enforcement?

I am so impressed with the Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, who dared to speak truth to power with Trump sitting in the front row. 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/22/what-did-the-bishop-say-to-trump-during-prayer-service-heres-the-full-transcript/

Someone needs to stand up to the cadre of self obsessed, money & power grabbing, leaders we see in the world today. They are wreaking havoc on everything & everyone. We are living in very dangerous times. We all need to stand up to this "Emperors New Clothes" world we are living in.

 

Being 80

I will be 80 next week. Every day I think about the increasing odds that I won’t be here tomorrow. That fact isn’t difficult to deal with. The uncertainty of “how” is. This is the 16^th year of living alone & learning to cope with life. I value my independence. I value my own routine. I don’t want to have to rely on someone else unless absolutely necessary.

My daughter & her family live a few minutes away, but they all have busy lives. Currently its been 9 days since I have seen or spoken to any of them. I understand that. I experienced it all myself – a profession, a family, & a social life takes time & effort. But it is hard to feel that you are “out of sight & out of mind” of those closest to you.

Living to this age makes me realise that I could have done better myself with my parents & in laws. But that self knowledge only comes with age & experience. My husband & I had a difficult relationship with both my parents & his. The generation gap between us was huge. The generation gap now between me & my family is equally huge. “T’was ever thus” – (Dickens “Old Curiosity Shop”).

I don’t believe, as my mother did, & I suspect my mother in law did, that a child owes their parent a debt of gratitude & has responsibility for them in their old age or infirmity. Parents choose to have children & do owe them care & protection that does last a lifetime. Separation of children from their parents as they enter adulthood is normal & important. That is hard for parents to cope with. Some never let go.

I don’t believe that you can force your children & grandchildren to love & respect you. They have to want to love you & care for you. They have to want to know what you have been doing & how you are. They have to want to visit you or phone & chat. A WhatsApp or text isn't the same.

In my view when we are young adults we are self absorbed. We are time poor. We have to balance a job, running a home, a life & relationships. We compartmentalise & often prioritise ourselves & what we want or our immediate family & friends demand. We might sympathise with other peoples lives & problems but we are unable to fully empathise with situations we have not experienced.

When you are old your perspectives change. If you are thoughtful & introspective you gain insight with a lifetime of experience.

The reality of being alone at 80 is that I could have an accident, a stroke or a heart attack at any time. I could die peacefully in my sleep or I could be in pain. When that happens I could be alone in the house & no one would know. Possibly for days or even weeks. It happened to my mother in law.

Hopefully the probability is small. But I have no way of knowing & there is nothing else I can do to be safer. But I am lucky. I designed, renovated and adapted a home & I wear a tele-alarm. I have good friends who I hope might notice I’m not doing the things I normally do.

But the reality is that its all a gamble. My life could end at any time, (as could yours). So I think it’s important to try to achieve something every day & make living purposeful. We all need to feel it’s worth getting up in the morning.

Shame & Responsibility

I may be wrong, but I don't think I have anything that I need to be hugely ashamed of. That's not to say I'm perfect, far from it. I make mistakes & when I was younger I was far more volatile & emotional about things. But I do tend to think about what I do & say. I also have quite a noisy conscience & inner voice. 

Shame - "a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety"

              "a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute"

              "something that brings censure or reproach - something to be regretted " 

Occasionally eyebrows are raised because I do sometimes swear. For some reason people don't expect an 80 year old to swear. I also probably hold views considered by the "woke" to be politically incorrect. But actually I'm not ashamed of either of those. I don't aspire to perfection. I'm happy with my flaws. 

I am ashamed about some elements of our world today. I'm ashamed of how we have polluted our wonderful planet from the air we breath to the oceans & continents. I'm ashamed of how lacking in any moral compass politics & some international organisations & companies are. It's all very destructive. I am ashamed of how we have allowed inexcusable polarity in wealth & access to basic rights in the peoples of every country. I am ashamed of the current death & destruction perpetrated by countries on innocent victims casually referred to as "collateral damage". 

I do feel resonsible for some of this. I have watched climate change for decades & have contributed to it by my choices. Sometimes unknowingly, but not always. I have been responsible for some of the pollution, again sometimes unknowingly, sometimes not. As I aged & was wealthy enough to travel more worldwide & work in countries like Malawi & Nepal I realised just how fortunate I was. Seeing poverty in places like Yemen, Ethiopia & India makes you realise clearly how much we in the Northern hemisphere take for granted.

Although I was politically active when I was younger, family & work took up most of my life. I didn't do enough. Now I do have time, I'm only physically capable of supporting carefully chosen charities & politically lobbying a lot. The main thing I try to do is act as a primary source & commentator, through this blog. I will never be an influencer, but I do know I am read on Europe, Asia, America & Canada.

I believe the existential threat humanity is facing means that everyone has a responsibility to be well informed & to take action. We should all be ashamed of some of the things that are happening in our world & our lifetime. 

We all need to be brave enough to speak out & say "Not in my name".

  

Choices & Opportunity

I don't make New Year resolutions. I know I will fall by the wayside of good intention.

I do believe that I always have the opportunity to be a better person by making better choices. This can be anything from the food I eat & the amount of exercise I do, to how I behave to other people. It also includes what I spend my time doing, whether it's self based action or action on behalf of others.

There is always a choice. The problem is how difficult that choice might be. For instance I doubt that I am particularly brave. So if I saw someone in danger would I help if it put me in danger too? I don't know until it happens, but I hope I would try. The quid pro quo is that I hope someone would choose to help me in the same situation.

I think we are all self centred in some ways. We choose to do or not do things according to the benefit or loss to ourselves. The important thing is to be aware of that & try to be more empathetic & sympathetic to other people. 

People allow themselves to become motivated by gain in money, prestige, power, & posessions. All of those things cease when we die, except for a small number of people who leave a genuine legacy. Not money or things in their will. A legacy of good choices & opportunity for others.

As I've aged I am more & more aware of what my life legacy might be. Not because I'm religious & believe that St Peter will tot it all up at the pearly gates in order to let me in or lock me out. But because, although I am just a grain of sand in history, I think that everyone's life should mean something. There should be a good outcome from being here.

But I also do believe in Karma. There will be some payment extracted, at some time, for those people who have not made good choices or who have not taken opportunities to be kind or benefit others.