Monday 16-03-28 To Brexit or not to Brexit? - That is the question.

One of the most vexing questions we’ve been asked recently is whether or not we should leave the European Union. And to be completely frank, I don’t know whether we should or not.  

There are several factors to take into account, and I don’t think any of them are decisive as yet.  

Firstly there is the issue of sovereignty; I think this is quite a weighty issue and needs to be looked at seriously. Do we have control over our own destiny as part of the EU? Or do the majority of our laws come from “Brussels”? There are several conflicting data points on this: I saw something yesterday which advised that “just 13.2% of our laws have anything to do with Brussels, according to the House of Commons Library” (from here). However, here is another source of data advising that approximately 60% of UK legislation originates from the EU. And here is what seems to be a balanced piece which argues that any figure between 15% - 50% can reasonably be justified. So where does that leave us? I still don’t know.  

I heard Julian Fellowes on Question Time a couple of weeks ago (our TV planner is full to the gunnels of stuff I still have to get around to watching), and I thought his approach was an interesting one; he wants to leave the EU but negotiate a trade deal which would leave business in the same position as it is today; that is, we would have free trade with the EU, but not be compelled to implement its laws or join its associated bodies. He stated that even if we had to pay in as much as we do today, then it would be worth it, since we would have our sovereignty back, and this would be a much stronger formulation than “an end to ever-closer union”.  

On the other hand, there are those who argue that if we are not inside Europe and influencing the decision-makers, then we are paying in to a club where we have no say over its byelaws and regulations. And I can see that point of view too; however, we are one member out of 28 and so the question then arises - although we are part of the group, how influential are we?

Then there is the question of the general direction of travel of the EU. People have warned that the EU wants to create an EU army, and apparently “Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union provides for substantial military integration within the institutional framework of the union”, but would our exemption from “ever-closer union” excuse us from that? With UK military spending apparently on the wane, would we want to participate in and contribute to a European-wide standing force? Would that be in addition to or in place of our existing British army? I think I would have serious concerns about abolishing our national army and replacing it instead with a European army, but if we fund a European army in addition to our own national army, what would that accomplish? 

I also saw an article on the Guardian website advising that “European Central Bank policymaker Benoît Cœuré is urging eurozone politicians to create closer economic and monetary union, or risk seeing the European project unravel”; again, would our exemption excuse us from that?  

And if we are excused from military union, and financial union, is there much point in us being a “full” member of the EU at all? Again, I don’t know, but these are all serious considerations and need to be taken into account.  

Some pro-Europeans state that we are safer as part of Europe, whereas others assert that we would be safer outside of Europe. So which is the correct version? I don’t know; the BBC had a stab at explaining the situation here, and I’m not sure that they come to a definitive conclusion. There are other services like Channel 4’s fact checking service, and “Fullfact.org”, which I think we should all make more use of; I have just signed up to FullFact’s emailed newsletter, and I hope it will shed light on some of these questions.  

There are people who claim that by leaving the EU, we would save a lot of money, or free up that money to spend on our own national priorities. It is beyond doubt that we are a net contributor to the EU, but unless leaving the EU would directly lead to me giving less money to the government, i.e., pay less tax, this is an irrelevance to me. And even if a lower tax take was promised, I’m not sure that would sway me to leave *in and of itself*, as I can afford my current taxes, and I believe / assume that those funds go to deserving causes.  

There is the issue of continued trade with Europe; some people claim that we won’t be able to trade on the same terms as we do today. I’m not sure that this would be the case; I have seen it written that the WTO (World Trade Organisation) takes a dim view of trade barriers being erected where previously there were none. And since there are no barriers to trade currently between the UK and mainland EU, and since all EU members (as far as I know) are members of the WTO, they shouldn’t introduce barriers to trade now. And I don’t think that trade between the UK and the EU would cease completely two years to the day after we invoked Article 50 (the right to leave the EU); I think it would continue as per today’s trade until the new terms were agreed.  

We would still be members of global bodies – like NATO, WTO, Interpol, and I’m sure many others. So we wouldn’t retreat from international relations at all; we would still have our place at the table. We would still be part of the G7, the G20, the Security Council, etc. We would still have the Commonwealth. 

There is a question over human rights, and labour working conditions too. We were instrumental in setting up the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights, and now some people think that the judgements coming out of the ECHR are affecting our national legal system. There are criminals, for example, whom we would like to extradite, but they claim their inalienable right to a family life and the legal proceedings are delayed by years - one such high-profile case was that of Abu Qatada (if I've got that right?). It seems to be unclear whether we would have to leave the EU in order to leave the ECHR. The question has been asked in the European Parliament, and there is a paper by the UK civil service on the same topic. But I question whether we would want to leave the ECHR, or whether we would rewrite any of the judgements that we’ve implemented as part of our participation in the European Convention. I think the world is a different place than it was 40 years ago and the edicts of the ECHR are probably sensible for the most part.  

Regarding improved working conditions, yes it would seem that being part of the EU has improved  working conditions throughout the EU. They have legislated for minimum standards related to working and employment conditions as well as informing and consulting workers. One rule which I know that the EU introduced was the Working Time Directive, which states that workers can't work more than 48 hours in a week. That's a good thing, but the majority of the labour force work 35 – 40 hours a week, and so this shouldn't impact the majority of us; I do know that it had an impact on the NHS, as it limited the number of hours which doctors could be on call continuously for.  

If we seceded from these agreements, do I think that this would lead to an immediate abolition of everything which has been implemented relating to human rights and labour laws? No, I don't think that would happen. And if it did, say for instance that the Tories removed some protections for labour, they could be voted out at the next election and those protections could be re-implemented, if the voting public felt strongly enough about that. Those in power wouldn't be able to blame those faceless grey suits in Brussels for that, since we would have taken sovereignty back into our own hands.  

Then there is the question of the "reformed Europe" and what we would actually be voting for if we chose to stay in. I think that the concessions gained by Cameron fall a long way short of what he promised, and on that basis, I think voting for Brexit, just to spite him / give him a bloody nose, has a certain appeal. However, we then have to question who we would be lining up with... And George Galloway and Nigel Farage are not the sort of people I want to agree with politically. In fact, as a guide, if they are arguing for or against something, I would normally expect to take the opposite position. And that goes for most of the people voting for Brexit; they are not my normal political bedfellows.  

One concrete aspect it would be a shame to lose would be pan-European co-operation in the area of education. I had the chance to go on the Erasmus programme, although I didn't take it, while I was at university. I could have studied in Venice or Holland for a year, funded by the EU. The fact that I didn't take advantage of that opportunity is still something that I regret to this day, but the fact that it is there and available is brilliant. If we withdrew from the EU, that programme would disappear, but surely its benefits have been appreciated, so would twinning programmes spring up in Erasmus's place? Possibly... 

Another thing to consider is that it would take longer to go on holiday to Europe. We wouldn't be able to queue up in the blue flag lane, and countries could make us wait to enter, but since this is an infrequent, perhaps annual event (unless you happen to be a businessman working in mainland Europe), it shouldn't have much of an impact – in my view.  

And yet, and yet...  

We did manage to survive before joining the EU. We were actually quite successful, globally speaking. I'm not suggesting we aim for world domination again, but we could make our own way. And if we vote to stay in the EU, and we don't like the direction of travel, when would we sensibly review our membership again? In another forty years? We can't keep having referendums every five years or so, that would just be silly.

  

I did read that whether we leave or stay, there won't be much impact. At worst, we might have GDP 2.2% lower in 2030, and at best we may have GDP higher by 1.6%, depending on how the Brexit was handled. So maybe we're all worrying over nothing? I don't know, but I'm hoovering up facts and data points like nobody's business, trying to work out which is the right decision. And hopefully before 23rd of June that might become clear...?

Saturday 16-03-19 A Short Trip to Morrisons

Today is the finale of the Six Nations, and as a result we have three matched lined up this afternoon / evening. I'm hoping that Scotland will put on a good show against Ireland, and of course, England complete the Grand Slam against France in Paris tonight. That would be the icing on the cake.
So, in order to get some air, and some cereal, I took the girls to Morrisons for a bit of ad hoc shopping. We bought some chips and dips for this afternoon, as well as some olives for me. The eldest chose classic houmous as her dip, so I went for a soured cream and chive dip as a palate-clearing counterpoint. We also plumped for cool Doritos, since they were on offer. We also hunted down some pork products for breakfast in the morning: the classic trio of bacon, sausages and black pudding. We've got mushrooms and baked beans in the house to complement those delicacies. And of course, with a salty breakfast you need fruit juice, so we went for the classic orange juice "with bits". We did go slightly *off piste* and bought some clementine juice, which I'm looking forward to trying,
So that's it for this weekend, I reckon. Apart from revisiting the shops to maybe buy a beer, I think I'll probably be sitting in this chair for the best part of it.

Wednesday 16-02-17 Body Pump

Jesus. Why anyone would put themselves through that voluntarily is beyond me. And apparently they go back for more, as well.
Of course I am talking about Body Pump, the exercise class which is quite popular these days.  TW had booked in with a friend but then, inexplicably, the friend dropped out (I joke,  of course - having been to the class it was entirely explicable why she would drop out) and TW asked if I would join her.
Well,  I had heard a lot about this Body Pump phenomenon, mostly from her,  so I was keen to see what it entailed. I was a bit reluctant to go when the actual time came, because I was tired after work, but I was also aware that I hadn't exercised in months and it was "now or never". So I popped upstairs and slid into my running gear, which hadn't seen the light of day since the last open day at Worthing Leisure Centre, and we set off for Splashpoint.
As we walked in TW greeted all her friends and acquaintances and told them that this was my first Pump class, and the reaction was almost uniform - "oh, good luck, you'll feel it in the morning!" and we went in. We had to get mats and bars and weights, and Jo the instructor told me to take it easy.
We did the first section of the class, which I found quite difficult, and then TW told me that was the warm-up - which worried me somewhat. How was I supposed to endure another 50 minutes of that? To be honest though,  there wasn't much time to think after that. I was too busy trying to keep up with the moves and the "dead rows" and "dead lifts"  and "two-two" moves to worry about dying of exhaustion.
I did actually enjoy it, and I'm not feeling that bad today, although the day has only just started. If I get the chance, I will go again. I am aware that I don't exercise and I do need to get out there and run or push myself somehow. If we can get a babysitter maybe TW & I can become exercise buddies too, who knows?
TTFN

Tuesday 16-02-09 The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am Not Afraid To Die @ The Haunt

Just wanted to pen a few words, I went to see a new band tonight, the name is above, I am going to call them TWIABP for short. I got there in time to see the support band, Me Without You, who were quite good, and they had some good songs. I might buy some of their stuff in the future.

I must just say that The Haunt is a really bad place to see bands when the venue is sold out, especially for a 5'8" fella like myself.

Me Without You were able to harness the noisy bit of their songs, which allowed the crowd to go a bit mental;it did strike me at one point that these bands were a bit metal, and a fleeting thought was to compare these bands to those who might appear at Download, for instance; I wonder how they would compare? But I guess these bands, although they were noisy, would be too emotional for a rock festival...

By the end of Me Without You's set, I was at the toilet door, there was no way to get anywhere else. However, when they finished, everyone who was at the front streamed to the back, either to use the toilet or (possibly) to leave. Anyway, that gave me the opportunity to get down to the front and enjoy the band up close.

TWIABP are a seven-piece band, there is a drummer, a bassist, a keyboardist, and then there must be three guitarists and a vocalist. They work very well together; the quiet bits are quiet, and the noisy bits are noisy. They kind of remind me of an early Mercury Rev, who I once saw at King Tut's in Glasgow. They would build up to a crescendo and then just go apocalytic - not as epically as MBV, perhaps, or as creatively, but it was still cathartic.

I do plan to buy an album, probably the current album, by TWIABP, and I look forward to playing it to the children - let's see what they make of it! :)

All in all, it was a good night, and I should gamble on unknown bands more often - I might be pleasantly surprised (again)...

TTFN

Thursday 16-01-28 A Weekend in Winchester

So last weekend I finally gave TW her 2014 Christmas present - a weekend away.

For both of us, that was. We left the kids at home with M&P on the Friday, well, they had them for a sleepover, and then the MiL picked them up on Saturday and looked after them until we got back on Sunday.

I had a day's leave left over from last year, so I took that on the Friday, and walked with TW and The Youngest to school. Then, when we got back to the house, we packed and headed off to Southampton. It was a weekend treat for both of us, but it was actually my present to her, so I couldn't really argue when she said she wanted to go to Ikea. I didn't like it, but I did get to sample the amazing Swedish meatballs that everyone keeps going on about - and quite nice they were too. Once she had had her Ikea fix, and casually spent £60 on napkins and other assorted tat (which was all "completely necessary", of course), we headed north to Winchester.

We've stayed in Winchester before, or rather I should say near to Winchester, at the Norton Park hotel. This time we stayed in town, at the Winchester Hotel & Spa, which was very nice. They were doing a deal, where they gave us £25 per person towards our dinner costs, which we happily took advantage of.

We had booked our evening meal in the brasserie on the first night, and the food was delicious. I had the sirloin steak, and TW had the seared tuna. Both were cooked to a tee, and we decided over dinner on Friday night to eat again there again on Saturday. It seemed a bit silly, when they were offering a discount on such delicious food, to spend real money eating elsewhere. So over the two nights I reckon we saved about £100, which I mentally offset against the £200 cost of the hotel stay - that made me feel better. On the Friday night after dinner we sat in the hotel bar and drank cocktails (TW) and whiskeys (me) - as a result, I felt a little jaded on the Saturday morning (some might say "no change there, then").

On the Saturday morning we walked into town and mooched around the shops. TW delighted in being able to shop at Joules, and Primark. We snuck into a lovely little coffee shop, where TW bumped into an old Uni friend - she was always bound to see someone she knew. We had a chat and then went our separate ways. By this time it was getting towards lunch, and so we looked for somewhere to eat. Luckily we chanced on Green's restaurant, which was a lovely little place. They did light bites and full lunches, and TW & I had some delicious snacks. TW had a spinach and salmon battenburg, which was an inventive and delicious meal, and I had scrambled egg, bacon and avacado on toast. It was a fine lunch.

After we got back to the hotel, we went for a swim and a sauna, and then prepared for dinner again. The second meal was just as good as the first, and we then went into town for more drinks back at Greens, before heading back to the hotel.

Sunday morning we got up and enjoyed the breakfast. They had everything - bacon, egg, tomatoes, hash browns, mushrooms, sausages, pancakes, fresh fruit salad, toast, tea, coffee, fruit juice... After breakfast I was so full I needed to go back to the room and have a lie down... :)

Unfortunately the weather was a bit grotty, so we checked out and headed home via Petworth and Midhurst. It was a nice drive, but we arrived home a bit earlier than expected. The girls were with the GiL in Brighton, so we had a nice quiet afternoon.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend, and well worth it. We agreed that we should spend time away together more often, and while it might not be a weekend away, an occasional evening here or there shouldn't be too difficult...

Tuesday 16-01-19 True Detective Season II (Spoiler Alert - probably)

I can't say much about True Detective Season II without giving spoilers, and what I'm going to say will probably constitute spoilers anyway. Just to get that out of the way.

The cast were fantastic. This wasn't a copy of the first series, it wasn't a rerun of the buddy story between Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. That was a slow, atmospheric thriller, with a load of sidelines to get lost in. This new series (which finished last summer but I have only just watched) was a real tureen of plots, which included the Russian mafia, the Mexicans, bent cops (of the U.S. variety), club owners trying to make a living, and high-end sex parties, not to mention land deals and government corruption. To summarise: there was a lot going on.

It was difficult to keep up with the plot in some instances, but I think this might have been due to the script being butchered during the making of the show. There are a couple of instances, such as the "who is Stan?" furore, and the sudden revelation in the penultimate episode that Ani Bezzerides was abducted as a young girl and held against her will for four days. It has no bearing on the show, and the plot, as far as I can see; she has already confronted her father and the permissive society he facilitated; this seemed like some kind of unnecessary afterthought.

Having said all of that, I enjoyed the series. The story showed the seedy underside of a (it seemed to me) West Coast city, which was quite different to the redneck, hicksville atmosphere of the first series. Vince Vaughn, even as an ultimately corrupt and morally absent club owner, was a likeable character with his own version of integrity. He seems like he would have done okay in an episode of "Hustle". His wife was the beautiful Kelly Reilly, who really came into her own towards the end of the series.

Ultimately, however, the series ended in disappointment. In the "real world" where these sort of things happen, good never triumphs, because the good actors (and by that, I mean the forces on the side of "good", who we are supposed to empathise with during the show) are never prepared to sink to the levels of the baddies.

The show is nihilistic in the extreme; mostly everybody dies, and nobody escapes unaffected. However, having said that, I would watch the show again. It is beautifully paced, the layers of humanity are slowly stripped away from the participants, and the end seems to approach inexorably and unavoidably. Despite the fact that some of the characters are trying to escape their situation, their failure to do so seems fated.

It is well worth watching and I would recommend it - if you haven't already. But be prepared for  a bit of a downer at the end.

TTFN.

Friday 16-01-08 HTC Re Camera

I want one.



I know, it's irrational. It's completely unnecessary. Lots of reviews of these little things say that they are actually not as good as the camera which I already have in my phone. And I am not a photographer, or a picture buff. I don't know about composition or focus or exposure, or anything. But I really get excited by the fact that I can point and shoot with a thing like this and get some kind of history.
I've had my current phone for more than a year, and I have no real yearning to replace it. It cost me £280 or so outright, back in Aug / Sept 2014, and it still serves me well. I don't have "new phone envy", but now it seems to be all about the peripherals. And the fact that this little "re camera" has plunged in price from ~£199 to £70 is certainly driving my lust. Not only would I be getting a cutting edge bit of kit, which is compatible with my phone, but I would be getting it at a knock-down price. There are examples, though, of these cameras (ex-demo, granted) available on eBay for £49.99 and I am still reluctant to buy. I am conflicted. There are days on which I am an unreconstructed consumer, and I would not hesitate to surround myself with plastic tech manufactured in China, and on other days I eschew unnecessary worldly belongings, deciding that we should only buy secondhand books and furniture, since we are such a consumerist society. It is still a big deal to throw £50 away on a new concept, which I am not sure will fit in with my lifestyle. So even though these examples of new tech are massively reduced in price, it's still a question as to whether I should purchase one or not. And further, the white ones are not attractive enough and the orange or teal ones are more attractive to me...




I am stuffed, basically - I expect I will buy one or the other of these in the near future...

Thursday 15-12-31 It Goes By So Fast...

It seems to me that time is going by so quickly and notable things happen with such frequency that if I don't take time to record them, they'll get lost forever.

So in the past week or so, in addition to Christmas, we've had the Lanfranc Road Charity Christmas Carol Event, which raised over £400 for the Daisy Garland. I wasn't really involved, but TW was one of the main movers and shakers, and she arranged the road closure. The choir, made up of Lanfranc Road residents (and guests) sang two sets of carols and other festive songs such as "Last Christmas". The event was well-attended, and the guests enjoyed mulled wine, cookies, hot chocolate and mince pies. Although it did rain during the day, the rain stayed off while the carols were sung. Several other musicians played a song or two and there were a few requests to repeat the event next year - it may become an annual event. If it does, I shall have to drink less next time...

On Christmas Eve, we had our annual Open House, which started off slowly but built to a peak about 3pm. As described, that is an annual recurring event, and it seems that people do look forward to it. There were drinks, canapés, and lots of people for a small terraced Victorian house. I think people enjoyed it. I did my traditional Christmas Eve dance for the children before the guests arrived, which consists of me dancing like Dick van Dyke as a chimney sweep on the roofs of London in Mary Poppins; i.e., trying to get my knees up around my ears while appearing to operate a pneumatic drill with my hands. It's a high-impact dance that I can only keep up for about 20 seconds, but it seems to have become a family favourite. The things we do for our families, hey?
After the Open House, we went to Christingle, which is also an annual fixture. It brings the Open House to a close, and gives us the message of Christmas. No beakers of booze this year, which was a step forward, I suppose... When we got home we asked the girls not to wake us up before 05:30 on the day itself, and they were good for that; they woke us up at 05:30 pretty much on the nose. We'll have to make it 06:00 next year - that little sleep after a few drinks was not a good combination.

So Christmas Day itself dawned and we opened our stockings with a warming / waking cup of tea. The kids got a lot of stocking presents, as did I. TW got less, but I think I did okay with buying her stocking presents this year. We then had breakfast; the Youngest had a stomach cramp and thought she was going to be sick, which kind of interrupted my digestion - however, she just needed more sleep, so she went back to bed and got another couple of hours - I wish I could have done the same. We had all the vegetables peeled and prepared by 08:30 and we were good to go, just waiting for our guests. TW's brother and family were coming, and they were picking up the GiL on the way, and M&P were coming too. TW's family brought some pink champagne with them which set the day off properly, and some lovely Sancerre too, which was incredibly generous of them. We had some lovely prosecco we had ordered from Naked Wines which was an excellent follow-up to the pink champagne, and Dad and I stayed on the fizz all day. I knew he was tying one on when he refused a cup of tea after dinner - both M&P are right proper teabags, so strange things have to be afoot at the Circle K for tea to be refused. We weren't hideously drunk, either, we were just pleasantly sozzled. We had some special low alcohol wine for GiL which seemed to work; she didn't suspect that we had watered it down, or at least she didn't ask about it. We opened presents after lunch, and had a gay old time trying to keep the waste wrapping paper under control. Then, at about 7pm, our guests toddled off and things slowly calmed down.

Boxing Day was a chance to recuperate and get a head full of fresh air on Worthing Seafront with M&P, as well as some bacon sandwiches, which were much-needed. The day also gave Dad and I the chance to compare headaches. :)

Christmas Sunday we were entertaining again, as our friends H&I and their kids came over for lunch. TW had a slight panic about what she was going to feed them, but we had already agreed on a "picky" lunch, so I popped out to Lidl to get some baguettes and tomatoes, and job done. More booze was imbibed, but it was a lovely relaxing day and it was great to spend some unhurried time with some close friends. And the kids get on as well, which is a bonus, as we didn't have to spend all afternoon refereeing pointless grudges - excellent.

Monday was a bit of a non-day to start with, but we had tickets to the ice-skating booked in the afternoon, so although we mooched around the house for most of the day in our PJs, tidying up, we did have stuff to do. And it wasn't watching ice-skating, it was actually getting on the rink and doing it. And against my better judgement I had also agreed to get on the ice. I started off a bit like a new-born deer, with my legs and limbs squirting crazily in unexpected directions, but I did actually get some gliding in, and I put together a few moves before I retired. I had taken the advice to strap up the boots tightly to heart, and I think at once stage I was cutting off the bloodflow to my toes. I had to get back on to terra firma to readjust my strapping. I did go back on the ice, and I reckon that I probably used 15 or 20 minutes of the hour-long session before admitting defeat. The rink is going to be in effect until the end of February though, so I reckon we will go again before it is closed and taken down - possibly twice?

Tuesday we headed northwards to Oxfordshire to see TW's family, and we got there mid-afternoon. The family descended on Wednesday, and we had roast beef and glühwein - well, except me, because I was driving. I do like TW's family though, they are loud and enthusiastic and always happy to spend time together. It would be good to have family meet-ups more often, truth be told. After an afternoon of indulgence and jollity, we drove home at 6:30pm, in the dark and the rain. Since we have a Vauxhall Zafira with a dodgy heating unit, I had to drive through the rain with the window open and no heating. Occasionally I would have to use the soft edge of the ice scraper to demist the windscreen, but it mostly stayed clear. I was also looking out for water collecting on the roads, so it was a very strenuous three hours home. But we made it, and that brings us up to date, ending the year (as we should) on New Year's Eve.

That's quite a mammoth catch-up, at least for me, but it goes to show that a lot can happen in a short time. There's stuff that I've missed out too, that I might write about in 2016, but then, who knows what might happen next year? And next year starts tomorrow. It's good to have something to look forward to.

15-12-06 Birthday Boy

The arrival of December brings  many things; advent calendars, office Christmas parties, World Aids Day, and of course - my birthday.

Yup, I was 44 on Tuesday. I have to keep saying it, because it's hard to believe, or at least, I find it so. Still, time has passed, and it's easy to mark because I've got three daughters who keep getting taller and older. So I can't say I wasn't warned.

Tuesday started slowly because I was hungover from the night before; TW had organised an open house to sell her make-up (she now sells Younique make-up) as well as stuff her friends sell - chutney, Body Shop stuff, bunting, etc. Of course as the day turned into the evening the open house turned into a drinks party and wine was imbibed.

So I started Tuesday feeling a bit fragile. The girls gave me their card, and TW gave me her card and present. She / they had got me a wallet (I needed a new one) and a new pair of jeans, which I also needed. I had a few other cards to open, which was nice. I was given a cheque, and also some vouchers for the comic shop, which will come in handy. I had to get to work for a 9am call, so couldn't hang about and enjoy a relaxed birthday breakfast. I'm sure TW was planning to prepare a full fried breakfast, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. The day passed relatively uneventfully, the team got me a card and I bought doughnuts to share, but that was about it.

Then in the evening TW and I went to the local Thai restaurant, which was delicious. We also intended to spend a bit more time in the alehouse next door, but we were a bit late in getting there before the meal, and after filling up on Thai green curry and assorted nibbles, the last thing either of us needed was to drink more alcohol. But it's a lovely friendly little place, really knowledgeable about beers, and they serve ales I've not seen anywhere else. TW said that she wouldn't mind if I popped in for a pint after work - as long as it was only the one - and as I get off the train at Worthing station, it's nice and close, so I might take her up on that.
All in all, it was a good day, if a little low-key, but that's the way I like it.

TTFN.

Sunday 15-11-29 Wayward Pines

So, I finally got around to watching Wayward Pines. It was trailed heavily over the summer, and was a ten-part thriller, starring Matt Dillon. He's an actor I've been aware of for a long time, but I've not seen him in anything in a while. I would actually be hard-pressed to name a specific film he was in, but my reaction to the ads was one of curiosity. I thought he may have been doing a Kevin Bacon, coming back in a big-budget show like The Following. The show had promise, I thought, in that Wayward Pines was a weird picket fence type of town, where everyone knew they were being watched. I thought that some sinister shadowy organisation within the CIA was trying to brainwash or reprogram Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon's character), and I was interested to see how it turned out.

The supporting cast were all brilliant as well; I recognised some of them from other shows, again, I would be hard-pressed to identify which ones. Carla Gugino, who plays another CIA agent, was previously in Sin City and Night At The Museum. Shannyn Sossamon as his wife was pretty good too, and she looked familiar, but I can't say what I thought she was in.

There were some good scenes and some brilliant atmosphere-building twists. I thought that with the surveillance, and the disappearing people, and the rotting bodies, we were in for a brain-twisting psychological thriller. I had the suspicion that the series would end with Matt Dillon escaping from the town and getting back to reality, and possibly taking revenge on the people who incarcerated him in the weirdo town. He would be bowed but not broken, and would end up victorious.

But then the show took a weird turn, and all of a sudden the reason for the surveillance [SPOILER] became clear; we were actually in the 40th century and the entire world had been decimated by nuclear armageddon. The town was surrounded by a fence to keep mutants out, not to keep Matt Dillon in. And there was no way to return to reality and take vengeance on those people who imprisoned him in Wayward Pines.

It seemed like two stories jammed together, and maybe that is the case; I have bought the first Wayward Pines book so will be interested to see how that goes. But I was still hoping, right up to the end, that it would all turn out to be an elaborate hoax and reality would resume. There were some vicious bits in the story; finding the dead CIA agent was one, which was a striking scene, and one which will stay with me. Also when the reckoning took place, that again was memorable. The townsfolk were mostly placid well-behaved citizens, but they had a bloodlust which the reckonings met.

Overall, I would say that it was worth watching, but it was ultimately disappointing. There is going to be a second series by the look of things, and if that is a ten-parter I shall probably watch it, but I will still be hoping that the whole thing is an elaborate set-up, and the real world is still ongoing outside of the confines of Wayward Pines.

Saturday 15-11-21 The Paris Attacks

I suppose I should mention the terrorist attacks which happened in Paris last Friday (13th November). It was a pretty momentous event, where terrorists killed 129 French people who were just enjoying themselves in Paris on a Friday night.

I don't have any particular insights, in fact I can't imagine how an individual can get to the point where they want to commit mass murder and then kill themselves.

Events like the Paris attacks happen frequently in the Middle East, and those events are what is driving a lot of the current refugee crisis. But they're not reported in the western press, because normally there are no British involved or harmed, so they are discarded as possible news events. There's enough going on at home which affects us all that we don't need to be filling our heads with events going on in other far-off lands. That's not to say that I'm not an internationalist, I think I'm fairly up to speed with foreign news, comparatively, but I am aware that those who decide what news items are important discount those events.

Anyway, it was a dreadful thing to happen, and right on our doorstep too - geographically speaking. I've been to Paris a couple of times, not recently, but it is somewhere that I know, and not a city that I've only ever seen on a TV screen. It is much more immediate and close than attacks which have been reported in the Middle East. I even went to the extent of changing my avatar on Facebook, so that it looked like the Tricolor. Then I saw a few posts asking why people were changing their avatars for the Paris Attacks but not, for example, attacks in Beirut. I decided a few days later to remove the updated avatar, and not post political stuff on Facebook. As someone pointed out, it is a social website, to be used to keep in touch with family and friends. I don't think I've posted any seriously political stuff on FB, but I shall make sure and keep it out of posts in the future. And if anyone posts overtly political stuff, I shall probably hide them from my timeline, so I don't see it in future. If I wanted to change the world it would take more than a pithy update on Facebook.

It does seem that these attacks have come at a welcome time for those in government who want to bomb IS (Islamic State) in Syria. I'm not quite sure why, but it seems that they are feeling left out because France and the U.S. and even the Russians are now raining down explosives on identified targets belonging to IS in Syria. After interventions in Iraq and Libya, I am surprised that anyone would want to try again, but maybe it's a case of third time lucky? I will not be surprised, but I will be dismayed, if David Cameron calls for a vote in the Commons on military action in Syria.

We don't have to be involved, and I don't see any reason why we should be. I don't see how the fact that British bombs are falling on Syria, as well as Russian and French bombs, will change anything. But then I am only a mere citizen. I don't have access to the information which the govt does, but I can't see what benefit would come from another military intervention. I'm sure we will see what happens.

TTFN.

Tuesday 15-10-27 George Osborne in "Listening Mode"

So, with all the kerfuffle over tax credits over the last couple of days, it has been an interesting time to watch BBC Parliament TV. Watching the Lords overturn the government's attempt to turn tax credits on their heads through the use of a Statutory Instrument was particularly pleasing. Osborne and the government should have realised that this was going to be a controversial measure, and they should have approached this properly, through a financial bill or an amendment to a bill. In that way, the Lords would not have been able to send it back to the Commons - as they are not, by law, allowed to veto a money or financial bill. As it was, the govt. wanted to curtail discussion in the House of Commons and so introduced this measure in a Statutory Instrument, which meant that MPs could only approve or veto the measure, but not adapt it. And of course, no Tory MP vetoed it, despite the fact that some of them argued against approving it.
After the House of Commons had approved the measure, and before the Lords kicked it back last night, Osborne faced questions from the Treasury committee. He declared that he was "comfortable" with the "judgement call" he had made. At that stage, despite the protestations of the members in the House of Commons, he was completely sure of his position and he was going to forge ahead with the cuts as proposed.

He was in "listening mode" before the Lords' vote, and apparently offered that if they kept their motion to a "motion of regret", i.e., they would let the SI (Statutory Instrument) pass, then he would look and see if there was anything he could do. That seems to me to be the wrong way round, and it seems the Lords thought so too. Good. In my opinion, in the same way that he pointed to the Commons majority as support for his plans, he would have taken the approval of the Lords as a sign that they agreed with his policies, and I expect that there would have been no changes to the cuts. This is just my opinion, but when you take how relaxed and "comfortable" he was in front of the Treasury Committee, I can only think that the passing of the motion would have been what he relied on in the future. After all, what people say, and the points raised during debates, fade into the mists of time eventually, and all that is left is the result of the vote.

The picture above is taken from the interview he gave after the defeat of the SI in the Lords. During that interview he claimed that he was in listening mode and had been in listening mode as previously advised. Listening isn't doing, though. Listening isn't changing policy to mitigate the impacts on the lowest paid. Listening isn't providing an alternative motion.

I don't believe that George Osborne would have made any changes to this legislation if he hadn't had it thrown back in his face. And that did need to happen. Taking money away from those on the lowest rung of the ladder is the cruellest and most vicious thing to do. People rely on tax credits to pay for their heating, or their rent, or food to put on the table. To take that away is to remove their reason to work, and I am sure that more people would end up out of work as a result.

I hope that George Osborne does really review and rethink his plans, so that the worst off in our society are not adversely and disproportionately impacted. But I have a sneaking suspicion that they will not escape unscathed. I hope that people are aware of what he was trying to do, and I hope that they can remember that in 2020, when it's time to vote again for who we want in charge. But fate is fickle, and if things start going well, and if the economy turns around, it may be that there is a feel-good factor; after all, a rising tide lifts all boats, or at least that's what they say. But at the moment, with inflation at zero, and growth slowing, things are not looking good. If there is one silver lining among the gathering clouds, it is that those on tax credits are not going to be more destitute than they already are - or at least, that's how it looks at the moment.

Sunday 15-10-25 Changing Bank Accounts

So on Friday I changed bank accounts. I took some time during my lunch break, fired up the old interwebs and arrived at Yorkshire Bank's homepage. About ten minutes later, I was all done, I had my new account number and sort code, and had agreed to switch from my current current account, with Tesco, using the CASS or Current Account Switching Service. And because of that, Yorkshire Bank are going to pay me £150.

I switched earlier in the year to the Tesco current account because they were giving away 10,000 clubcard points, which is the equivalent of £100. I will probably switch next year to the Co-Op, because they are giving away £125 to swap. I don't see why people stick with their current accounts, and I would recommend that you look at what the options are.

Halifax as well gave me £100 a couple of years ago, and I stayed with them a while, because they gave me £5 every month for staying in credit. They didn't pay any interest though, but I currently don't get more than that in interest on my Tesco current account. I also liked the Halifax internet banking site, so I may go back to them eventually. I wouldn't expect to get another £100 out of them, but the chance is there and even if I don't, a monthly £5 always helps.

I probably won't stay with the Yorkshire Bank for more than three months because I've had a look at their internet banking site and it feels dreadful. It's like some stuffy grey-haired pinstripe wearing half-moon spectacles designed it. "What? What's the issue? It displays the facts and figures...?" Unfortunately in today's internet age, it doesn't strike me as being modern, and that will drive me away.

I was with the Co-Op for a while, a few years ago, and while they were ultra-modern in some ways, i.e. they sent me a little PIN generator so that my account was secure, the banking site was atrocious. So I changed, and that might have been when I went to the Halifax.

I've banked with First Direct before, they were good, and if you go with them they pay £150. Unfortunately because I am a previous customer, I don't qualify for that. I left them because they stopped paying interest on their current account, but at the moment if you pay into their regular savings account they are paying 6% interest - which is a fair whack in these zero-inflation times.

Most banks these days will give you a contactless card and they are pretty much all members of the Faster Payments scheme, so looking at the situation objectively, there is not much different between them. Hence my recommendation that you look around and see what the offers are. I've bagged a notional £250 so far this year (as long as this payment from the Yorkshire comes through) and that will mostly, probably, go towards a nice Christmas present for TW. Not a new tablet off of eBay. Oh no.

But once I've exhausted the offers, I shall be looking for a bank that pays acceptable interest, either on their current account or a linked savings account, and has a welcoming banking web site. Just because it's about cold hard filthy lucre, doesn't mean that design is not required. I want a website that I can appreciate, and feel at home on. I know that's an odd thing to say, but I'm not sure how to express it otherwise.

Tuesday 15-10-20 A Weekend of Good Rugby and Dashed Hopes

This weekend just gone was the weekend of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
First up Wales played South Africa, and although I find it difficult to recall what happened four games ago, Wales were doing well. South Africa scored an excellent try at the end though, there was no defence on the blindside to stop the winning try. So Wales fell. It was a shame, I thought Wales had a chance against RSA, but it wasn't to be.
Next up France played New Zealand and fit stuffed - that match was on Saturday night at 8pm. The odds were so against France, and France had played well against the All Blacks in past World Cup events, that I thought it was worth a small flutter. Well, there is a reason why the All Blacks are the tournament favourites, and that was £2 wasted. Every time France had the ball they seemed to be confronted by a wall of black shirts. On the other hand, when the Kiwis had the ball, they seemed to dance through the chinks in France's defence with ease. So it was goodbye to France, and my £2.
Sunday was a new day, this was much more straightforward. Ireland were favourites to beat Argentina and Australia were odds on to win against Scotland. I even put a little bet on, a double that both Ireland and Australia would go through. The talk before the Ireland game was of how dangerous Argentina were, but I poo-poohed that suggestion: surely Ireland were the more professional, organised side? Yes Argentina had passion and flair but they wouldn't be able to last eighty minutes against the men in green? Well, yes they could, actually. They blitzed Ireland and were 17-0 up after 15 minutes. Ireland then woke up and got back on terms, but Argentina then broke through their defence several times to score and take the game away from Ireland. So even before the final quarter-final of the day, my bet had already gone bad.
Actually, after the Ireland match, we went out for a walk in Arundel. I was planning on catching up with the highlights later, because surely it would be a walkover for the Aussies? Well no, as it turned out. We got back to the house at half-time, and before I could close my eyes and not see the score, it was 16-15. So we whizzed through the first half and sat down to watch the second half semi-live... It was a gripping match, and ended 35-34 to Australia. The final points were awarded dubiously, Australia were given a penalty instead of a scrum, and they took the three points as well as the lead.
Scotland are a much-improved side and I look forward to seeing how they do in the Six Nations next year.
I had already put a pound on Australia to win the whole thing, and after New Zealand's performance, I've also put £2 on them to win. It looks like it might be an Australia - New Zealand final, so I'll be happy either way, but given the upsets in this competition so far, it's not a given.
Bring on the semi-finals next weekend!

Tuesday 15-10-13 The Frailty of Power

I'd like to preface this by saying I don't have, or I don't believe that I have, particularly strong political beliefs. I think I've voted Tory before, because I thought John Major was actually a decent chap. I voted Labour in 1997, along with most other people. And I've voted Lib Dem as well, when I thought they were offering the best view of the future / there was no realistic alternative. So I don't think I have any strong preference for any particular political party.

I've heard the Tories justify their policies with the line that the nation have voted for these policies, that they won the election and they are only carrying out the wishes of the majority. I don't think that's quite true, and I think that the Conservatives have cause for concern.

In the General Election in May 2015, 30.7 million people voted out of a possible 46.4 million registered to vote, or deemed eligible to vote. That is a turnout of 66.1%, or two thirds of the voting public. Of those, 11.3 million people voted conservative, or 36.9%. So out of the voting public, 11.3 out of 46.4 million voted Tory. That's less than 25% of the voting population. And in addition to that, the Conservatives only have a twelve seat majority. 

Now, I am not saying that the other 75% would vote against the Tories. I think a large percentage of the UKIP voters would vote Tory, if UKIP disappeared, and they may vote Tory tactically next time around, seeing that even though 3.8 millions voted UKIP, they only got one MP. And the DUP and UUP would probably also vote Tory or support the Tories in a coalition if needed. 

What I am saying, though, is that with a majority of only 12, and only having support of less than 25% of the population, I think the Tories are following a high-risk strategy in cutting tax credits two years before the new "living wage" (which isn't the same as the living wage promoted by the Living Wage Foundation) comes into effect. And I think it is a little rich for people the likes of Osborne and Cameron to keep banging on about "living within one's means". That's easy enough for them, when one is likely to become a Baronet, and the other is a well-paid leader of nations. I can live within my means, and I am actually managing to pay down some of my debts, albeit slowly. But even for me, payday can't come quickly enough. For those people who earn less, who qualify for working tax credits, life in 2016 is going to get a lot more bleak. They are going to be in work, but not earn enough to live on. 

A constant stream of MPs have lined up to stress that with all the other changes, actually people won't be any worse off. But I don't believe them. In order to get the sums to add up, you have to add in extra childcare allowance, when there is no guarantee that they have kids, higher tax thresholds  - which we all benefit from - and other benefits available to everyone - not just those on working tax credits. I will benefit from higher tax thresholds. So will George and David. But they, and I, don't need their wages bumped up with tax credits. Nor do they rely on that income to buy necessities like food or gas or electricity or travel, so that they can live. They don't need to worry about how they are going to replace that income stream for the two years before the minimum wage rises to £9.50. And even then, that won't be the "living wage", because the living wage (as recommended by the LWF) takes into account tax credits.

I started writing this article before last week's Question Time, and it seems that the same has occurred to other people. I heard on the news this morning that this could be another poll tax moment, and now it is being reported that up to 71 tory MPs in marginal seats could lose their majority at the next election.

The Tories came to power promising that they would balance the books, and pay down the deficit, but I don't think anyone was expecting them just to stop paying benefits to the poorest among us. Now that people have seen the plans and assessed the impact, they're not happy. I am not saying I know what the answer is, but to be so brazen about this is not the way forward. 

Saturday 15-10-10 Indie Daze at Kentish Town Forum

And so on the 3rd October I headed off to Kentish Town for Indie Daze, to see a few bands from the old days. I was meeting up with an old friend from Uni and we were planning to have one of our semi-annual meet-ups and a bit of a bop. Pop Will Eat Itself, Primitives, Wedding Present and Wonder Stuff were all appearing. The train journey was fairly uneventful, except that at Burgess Hill an eighties throwback got on the train and I did wonder for a second whether he was also heading to the Forum. But then I quickly dismissed that, he would have been from a different "tribe" - he had a wet-look permed mullet, which I have to admit is fairly distinctive in this day and age. I seem to recollect he was wearing denim as well, but I may be misremembering... Anyway, he got off after a bit, and went on his merry way. I was sitting next to a couple of, or perhaps just one pilot and his friend, they were heading off to "Twickers, yah?" to meet up with some friends and watch the rugby - England were playing Australia later. In their pressed tops and colourful slacks they cut quite the dash. So, earphones in and a bit of Happy Mondays was the perfect antidote to that.
I met up with E outside the venue, and we went in without any delay. I suppose that as it was  an all-dayer, and people would have their favourite bands, not everyone was planning to arrive at 12:45. So, we beat the rush. The first band on was the Popinjays, who struck me as a more poppy female Carter USM, in that there were only two of them, one singer, one guitarist, and a drum machine. They were both quite cheery and self-deprecating, and they seemed to be happy to be there despite the fact that there were only 30 or so guys there to see them. I'd not heard the Popinjays before, but they sounded pretty good. It was a bit weird to be inside, in the dark, at quarter past one in the afternoon, watching a band perform under lights as if it was 9pm. But they did okay and started the day off well.
The next band on were Back To The Planet, and I had no interest in seeing them. Neither did E, luckily, so we headed out to get some lunch. We disregarded a number of places before ending up at the Rustique Cafe, where I had a really nice English breakfast (but no sausages, unfortunately!) and a coffee, before we headed back to the venue for the third band - Eat.
Eat are one of my favourite bands that no-one has ever heard of. I have a couple of bands which fit into that category - New FADs come to mind, but Eat are right up there. Apparently I did see them in 1992 at a one-day festival in Slough, with Jesus Jones and the Fall, but I can't remember watching them. They are proper rockers, they didn't look like aging indie kids, and they were excellent. The lead singer Ange  Dolittle was obviously the main focus of the stage, coming on as he did with dreads down to his arse and his mad stare. It was an impressive show.  They played their greatest hits, so Fatman, Skin, and they finished with Electric City. They were memorable, and probably, for me, worth the cost of entry by themselves.
Next up were Primitives, who didn't do it for me, I have to say. They played Crash and Through The Flowers, but I didn't recognise a lot of the songs and my interest wasn't piqued in finding out any more.
We started on the beers when Primitives were on, and so by the time Pop Will Eat Itself came on, we were ready to revitalise the day. PWEI always put on a good live show, and last Saturday was no exception. I found myself bopping away to the tunes and really enjoyed it. Despite the fact that Graham Crabb is the only original member, they have a big back catalogue to plunder, and they played a big range of hits, from Def Con One to Ich Bin Ein Auslander, to Get The Girl, Kill The Baddies. The mosh pit was heaving as per usual, and everyone seemed to have a good time.
I was a bit worried at how Wedding Present would maintain the atmosphere, but my fears were groundless - Gedge and the team were brilliant. They played a couple of hits and then launched into Bizarro. I think the influence of Steve Albini is still felt on them, as the tracks and the sound certainly seemed to have more muscle and power than I expected. And of course everyone went crazy to Kennedy and Brassneck, so having them on after PWEI paid off.
After Wedding Present the Wonder Stuff were headlining, and I've seen them before so I chose to head for home. It was a great day and I really enjoyed seeing the bands and catching up with E., as well as having a few beers. The journey home was fairly uneventful and I was in bed and asleep by 00:30. I may go again next year, depending on the line-up.