I am so ashamed. The dreadful murder of the French students makes me ashamed of how this country, this city is being reported as this hideous murder capital - and sadly we are. Every day this week someone has been stabbed in London. IT IS ENOUGH. Why are people carrying knives:
- they think that a knife will make them look good, will give them the respect they don’t get ANYWHERE else. We have let these kids down: as parents, as a society - I just don’t know. I have a 17 year old nephew and if there is an ‘incident’ in north London, I am scared.
- kids are scared - and I don’t fucking blame them. But we have to keep telling these kids that carrying a knife is NOT the answer. They are more likely to be killed, they are more likely to have a false sense of safety.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Boys have always carried knives. I remember my first year of college (or Lower VI as it was called back then), at least two boys were seriously stabbed. I didn’t go to the local school because of a stabbing when I was four (about the same time ABBA were winning the Eurovision - see previous post for details) so ‘knife crime’ isn’t new amongst kids but it does seem to have got totally out of control.
I’m not scared for myself. I am an old woman to these children. If they want my mobile they can have it. I am terrified about our city. This wonderful place where I live.
The reason I started writing this post was about an entirely different new related matter. But it is the issue closest to my heart at the moment.
The thing that sent me to a rage (see post below about my ranting about the news) was the fact that the politicians of this country have not got a clue about what is going on. Oh mercy me, they have voted themselves a non-inflation busting pay rise (wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all vote ourselves our own pay rise?), but they’re rather keen on that John Lewis list aren’t they? Wouldn’t we all be? Do you enter the House of Commons and leave your morals at the door? I don’t think people become MPs for any reason other than they want to do good but the rarefied atmosphere of Westminster obviously distorts the brain cells. For heaven’s sake I found myself agreeing with Anne Widdecombe today - either I’m an aberration or the government has really let us down.
As I final ‘news’ note: I love Kylie.
I’m very excited because I’m going to the launch party for the Real Food Festival this evening which promises a good deal of sampling of free food and drink plus I can learn how to skin a rabbit (okay I probably won’t take the opportunity to actually try it myself) and apparently there is ’sheep entertainment’, a concept which is highly exciting - although I would prefer pig entertainment as porkers are my favourite animals (sheep are slightly stupid).
Unfortunately I can’t get to the debate but I’m hoping that they will put it online or at least do something with the outcome because cheap food is costing the earth and there’s a lot of whingeing at the moment about the price of food going up. I’m not saying that people aren’t feeling the squeeze* but as a nation we are now spending less on food than 30 years ago, in fact just 10% of our disposable income which is also less than our neighbours in Europe (who spend on average 20%) - let alone the rest of the world.
I suspect ethical food is a very middle class preoccupation but it really distresses me that most consumers are so divorced from the reality of where their food comes from and have an expectation that they should eat meat every day and that they should be able to get apples (or tomatoes or asparagus or indeed anything else that is SEASONAL) 365 days a year and all for rock bottom prices.
I’ll stop before I really start ranting…
* I understand that a credit crunch is a specific economic phenomenon but I suspect the UK media are creating a self-fulfilling spiral of economic misery frightening people into feeling poorer than they actually are. Also - and I’m going to sound like a Tory here and I do apologise because I’m not - people taking responsibility for their own profligate spending/credit should not be bailed out by the government or the banks. Again financial responsibility (like social responsibility and where your food comes from) should be learnt as part of a holistic education from parents and in schools. Okay now where is that copy of Socialist Worker?
The RMT has to stop threatening to strike over the slightest provocation. I refer you to my previous post. I agree Metronet was a fiasco but the RMT seem keen to make political traction (and therefore strikes) out of everything. I probably don’t understand enough about it but it’s not fair that Londoners should suffer any more than the pain of the existing service which was - by the way - awful this morning for no apparent reason.
I had intended to blog about the mayoral elections in a witty and inciteful manner starting about 6 weeks ago. It didn’t happen.
But I am the horns of a dilemma. I have voted for Ken - once - when I thought “at least he has experience”. I now loathe the man and really want him out so I am tempted to give my second vote to Boris even though that means my “X” would be next to a Tory and - as a child of the 80s and a poll tax protester - I don’t know if I can do it. It’s a tricky one
In principle (and mostly in practice) I think unions are a good thing. There is however one very large, very notable and very active union which consistently gets me REALLY REALLY annoyed. It’s the RMT and their oh so delightful general secretary Bob Crow.
It’s not just that their planned strikes always seem to coincide with weekends and general holidays therefore giving their workers a nice bit of time off, it’s that they strike/threaten to strike with such alarming regularity you would think that they are the singularly most picked upon industry in the UK. The truth is they’re not, they get well-paid, have excellent pension provision, get goodness knows how many days holiday, generous sick pay allowances, other generous allowances but they still find it necessary to bleat on about every single change that ‘the management’ try to introduce.
I have no ideas on how this problem can be fixed, I just want to rant that the tube drivers in particular hold this city of ours to ransom every time they can’t face living in the real world and is it any coincidence that this strike is timed to coincide with the Olympic Torch being taken through London (don’t get me started on that) - ie when the eyes of the world/IOC are on our fair city? I think not.
So I spent yesterday getting in touch with my ‘inner self’. Went to the Global Retreat Centre of the Brahma Kumaris which possibly sounds a lot weirder than it actually was.
The centre is the most amazing 18th century Palladian villa which - given that the organisation is funded entirely by donations - is an incredible feat. The ethos is that volunteers will take better care of a property than ‘paid’ workers and from seeing the theory in action, it’s hard to disagree.
To stick to the physical, our lunch was amazing. At the beginning of the day, we were given a little speech about the ethos of the house and the facts that waste is not tolerated and our lunch would be cooked with love. Well love is very tasty (as was the chickpea soup, super proper chapattis and apple pie).
The meditation was very relaxing and the content was extremely interesting. I think I may have to assimilate it all a little more to really understand and/or decide whether I can really believe it all. Certainly the second session on spirituality freaked me out somewhat but that possibly has something to do with my rather unformed views of life, the universe and everything.
Came away feeling positive and determined to meditate (every day), hmmm…haven’t managed it today which is fairly poor. Need to reschedule and make that extra time in my day which is - in theory - easier because at least it gets light earlier (on dark mornings you have the scenario of 15 extra minutes in bed or dragging your carcass out of the duvet and trying to concentrate on your inner being - guess which one wins?). Well the spirit is willing, I just have to get the flesh co-operating.
So to the material…
Stayed in a really nice hotel last night. No matter what the star rating, it’s the little things in a hotel which make me feel warm and cosy, for example Molton Brown toiletries (always a winner), saying you have forgotten your toothpaste (therefore asking where is the nearest supermarket/chemist?) and being given a little dental kit; cotton wool balls and cotton buds in the bathroom (much under-rated and always appreciated); a free bottle of water (because you know you can’t really drink the water out of the bathroom taps). Just those little things that make you smile (or - if you’re me - make you squeal entirely unnecessarily but quite joyfully). However, on the down side, the room was far too hot which made it stuffy and has not entirely helped ye olde cold.
And then to the realms of ridiculous in the material world. A house two doors down and exactly the same (in terms of layout) to ours has just been put up for sale for the most ridiculous amount of cash. I am actually quite scared about it. In theory it’s a good thing but in practise I am concerned that this house turns into £ signs rather than what I consider its primary focus: my home. I swore when we moved here three and a half years ago that I never wanted to move again and that still holds true. I wonder if that has contributed/is contributing to some rather inappropriate behaviour on my part.
Spent a very pleasant few moments wandering around the food fair at Spitalfields market at lunchtime and picking up a rather delicious roll which made a change from pondering Eat or Soup + Salad for inspiration. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
However, I am constantly baffled at the average UK consumer’s relationship with food and, in particular, a singular lack of understanding about where food comes from. One of the stall - in an admittedly bold move - had some of its produce (rabbits and pigeons) displayed in a somewhat unprepared format ie with fur/feathers attached. It didn’t seem that out of context as nearby there was a butchery demonstration and raw meat was available in abundance but it was obviously far too much for one woman who was stood near me. With hyper-ventilation rising, she started squeaking about how there were dead animals on the stall, how it was disgusting and people should be warned. Considering she had already walked past the butchery demonstration and at least one butcher’s stall, not to mention various stalls selling sausages and other meat products, I am guessing she thinks meat comes from some sort of meat growing plant where small seeds are lovingly watered and from them springs forth a lamb chop or two.
I love meeting up with friends but I particularly love meeting up with friends you don’t see very often because you learn the most interesting things. First off: location. Freud’s is a fantastic bar and no I’m not giving a link because it’s crowded enough as it is. However, they make a mean mojito.Secondly, one of my friends who is - self admitted - somewhat neurotic will not take the tube because she’s afraid of terrorists. I find this depressing on many levels. If anyone doesn’t want to take the tube because of some nebulous terrorist threat then they have won. Albeit a tiny victory but still a victory and that pisses me off (I went on the tube on 8th July 2005 because I had to: I had to get to work, I had to prove to myself I wasn’t scared and I had to prove to the world - by increasing the number by one - that ‘we’ weren’t scared).Thirdly, it gives you a chance to say all those things you know are true about mutual ‘friends’ or colleagues that are actually true. Fuck knows what they say about me. Fourthly, you are confirmed by shared foibles and neuroses, and that means you are not mad!
