20/06/2009 by admin.

The readings for this Sunday include the famous story of Jesus calming the storm and rebuking His disciples for not relying on their faith to allay their fears. A human failing of course - to believe that when times are bad, for whatever reason, they will never get better. And yet they always do, not necessarily in the way we would want - but they do. This is the basis of all consolation.

I thought about this yesterday when a good friend of mine was buried, over two weeks after he had died, with a moving ceremony which included lots of his favourite jazz and ballad music as well as hymns and readings and most heartfelt and honest tributes from his brother and his widow’s cousin. Now the process of  healing begins as it always does and, as they say, life goes on in its Wordsworthian diurnal course, without him but with his memory still alive, whatever you may believe, or not believe, about his immortal soul.

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14/06/2009 by admin.

Satire is still alive, perhaps nowhere exhibited better than by Bird and Fortune but the Rory Bremner show now seems to have been pulled by the cash-strapped C4. There are of course other examples of TV satire - Have I Got News For You being the best example from the BBC. I try to write some on my on political blog but the trouble is that quite a lot of people take it seriously especially disaffected Tories! Are the times too bad for effective satire? I hope not though the popular old line often occurs to us as we read our newspapers these days :

 ”You wouldn’t believe it if you read it in a book !”

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12/06/2009 by admin.

Have you seen the size of Mandy’s… :: Benedict Brogan

This is not only politics (for which I apologise) but also contains the wonderfully funny speech by William Hague in response to the Government’s latest initiative. If he wasn’t earning hundreds of thousands elsewhere he would be the next best stand-up comic I know!

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10/06/2009 by admin.

I’ve been spending some time trying to select music for the thanksgiving service for the life of a dear friend or rather to work with his widow in doing this. Of course in a way this has been a sad task but, on the other hand, I am so pleased that I can do something for him that would give him ( and me) pleasure. Like me, he loved jazz so there will be some jazz. And we both liked show music so we’ll have a song from Camelot. He didn’t much like what he thought of as “heavy” classical music and I never presumed to try to persuade him that the most intimidating thing about classical music is that it’s called classical music. Still we shall have some 20th century classical music - William Walton - because I’m sure he would have liked it had he known it. I knew him so well and I’m sure he’ll tell me later if he didn’t like it.

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04/06/2009 by admin.

I have recently discovered the value of meditation, admittedly through learning about religious meditation but “irreligious” meditation is, I believe, equally beneficial. It’s hard at first because it involves trying to clear your mind of all thoughts and fears which is a difficult process. It can be done but learning how to do it involves being in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed which, in  itself, can be difficult. Mantras (or repetitive prayers) are useful. I wish I could do it better and find a quiet place more easily and more often!

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02/06/2009 by admin.

Whatever one thinks of the monarchy one must admire HM the Queen for her diplomatic silence on the present Parliamentary troubles. Of course she has very few residual powers left but she must be involved to some extent in any talk of constitutional change. I don’t think politicians of any party, at the moment, have any real sense of history. The Crown still gives assents to new statutes (though the present monarch has never refused to sign, -yet!), the PM asks her permission to dissolve Parliament and - this could be important - it is she who sends for the person she thinks can best form a new administration after a General Election. Usually this is straightforward because she will  send for the elected leader of the Party with most seats. The difficulty comes with a “hung” Parliament when she does have the power to question party leaders beforehand on who might best be able to form a coalition government and , subsequently, to appoint the person she thinks stands the best chance.

At the very least the Queen and her advisers must have some say in any changes though it is, of course, up to politicians in the end to reject her opinion or any  private or legal  advice she receives but this should not be done lightly. We are still subjects, not citizens. This is not ultra monarchism - just a statement of fact.

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30/05/2009 by admin.

Wolfram|Alpha

Have you discovered this new search engine? One thing is fun. Type in the birthdays (in full) of your friends and relations and see how many were born on the same day of the week. It may not prove anything but it is fun. My own family and circle of friends has a predominance of people  born on Wednesday. Are we supposed to be “full of woe”? That’s a lot of rubbish for a start.  You can also ask this engine, on a more serious and practical note, mathematical and statistical questions if you can’t cope with them via Excel. Try it!

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28/05/2009 by admin.

I am sure that it would be valuable to bring forward the next Census to the autumn of 2010. Many disputes currently being befuddled by the absence of good statistics, for instance on the ethnic make-up and country of origin of the population, the dispersal of those recently granted British citizenship, the presence of non-British EU citizens in the working population , and so on are the subject of much argument but little light. Particularly if we really are going to have constitutional change very soon and a reorganisation of Parliamentary seat boundaries why do we wait for 2011?

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24/05/2009 by admin.

Just returned from a sunbathing spell in the garden because I got too hot! Only the second time this year that I returned from outdoors to cool down. We are promised long hot summer  days, presumably to begin about Thursday next week. We don’t possess a barbecue; we can eat outdoors but cook in the kitchen quite comfortably. And get in easily if it rains.We sometimes enjoy a barbecue at our daughter’s house. She has a rather larger garden and patio not to say a state-of-the-art barbecue, so we have just what we want.

But… maybe if the summer is as promised we should change our minds but then I’ll have to cook I suppose. a task which my wife jealously guards to herself at present.

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22/05/2009 by admin.

Thias is not political! I rather like the handsome duck island that one MP charged to expenses and, though he is branded as a heinous criminal now, I think it was probably a rather better buy than sixteen pairs of bedsheets, curing the dry rot in someone else’s house or a dozen cheap champagne flutes.

I wasn’t familiar with duck islands until our local park acquired one (I hope it cost rather less than £1760 though knowing local authorities maybe not but who cares). Our own duck island is a thing of beauty and I don’t blame anyone for buying one if they can afford it or if their expenses will stand it. I didn’t notice, however, any MPs claiming for opera tickets, watercolours or anything else of  beauty though I think there was one claim for a piano. One hopes that those claiming for sound systems or DVD players used them well - to play rather good jazz or classical music or to watch things other than The Sound of Music.

Pehaps a new category ought to be introduced into a new allowance system; a modest sum for cultural recreation. I’m sure a new generation of MPs would be all the better for it. Duck Islands would be allowed as well as Miles Davis  and Chet Baker  Beethoven and Britten CDs or early 20th century watercolours (provided I could sell them mine).

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