Things have been a bit quiet round here thanks to a nasty little virus. I'm working on borrowed laptops at present, and operating with a super-fussy filter system until it's all been traced and sorted.
It's uncannily like having a Victorian maiden aunt following me round everywhere so I'm having to be most circumspect in my surfing - she doesn't like some of you at all!
Meanwhile, something odd is happening with my Blogger account; I am well aware that should I invite all my regular and valued readers to a jolly reunion, we could comfortably fit into the waiting room of Colwyn Bay station and leave plenty of room for passing travellers.
Blogger insists otherwise, claiming hundreds of phantom visitors are calling in every day, despite the evidence of an independent counter. It looks as if there is a ghost in the machine - or rather a whole crowd of them - so I think the time may have come to switch identities, or at least blogs.
This may take some time but keep an eye out for me - I'll be back.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Quote of the day - did he really think this one through?
Matthew d'Ancona, writing in the Evening Standard on the career of Lord Taylor of Warwick:
'He has passed through the political system like a barium meal...'
'He has passed through the political system like a barium meal...'
A question of recycling
I don't normally recycle posts but, with a heatwave approaching and the matter still not resolved, together with repeated power cuts today as they are digging up the road outside, I hope you'll forgive a re-appearance of this one from last July as a reminder of what's in store.
Back in October 2008, Eric Pickles said a Conservative government would re-instate weekly refuse collections. Well, Eric, get a move on!
It was the blackbird that alerted me. Time after time, I found him sitting near the dustbins with his beak full, looking decidedly pleased with himself. And well he might be; in addition to a sheltered nest site and a bird-bath, it appears the Tavern garden now offers him a fast-food outlet.
Since those eco-minded types at the council delivered our kitchen waste caddy, we have dutifully put all our food scraps into bio-degradable bags and thence into the brown wheelie-bin, to be carted off for recycling - no bin-liners or chemicals allowed.
Trouble is, they empty the bin once a fortnight. And despite washing the bin out two weeks ago, I discovered today* that we have acquired livestock in the shape of several hundred extremely agile maggots busy re-enacting the Great Escape - hence the happy blackbird.
It's not beyond the wit of man (or woman) to see that bi-weekly food waste collections may be acceptable in winter but when the thermometer creeps up past 25C they leave much to be desired. So come on Cameron &Co - let's have some action before the plague of flies descends on us all.
Back in October 2008, Eric Pickles said a Conservative government would re-instate weekly refuse collections. Well, Eric, get a move on!
It was the blackbird that alerted me. Time after time, I found him sitting near the dustbins with his beak full, looking decidedly pleased with himself. And well he might be; in addition to a sheltered nest site and a bird-bath, it appears the Tavern garden now offers him a fast-food outlet.
Since those eco-minded types at the council delivered our kitchen waste caddy, we have dutifully put all our food scraps into bio-degradable bags and thence into the brown wheelie-bin, to be carted off for recycling - no bin-liners or chemicals allowed.
Trouble is, they empty the bin once a fortnight. And despite washing the bin out two weeks ago, I discovered today* that we have acquired livestock in the shape of several hundred extremely agile maggots busy re-enacting the Great Escape - hence the happy blackbird.
It's not beyond the wit of man (or woman) to see that bi-weekly food waste collections may be acceptable in winter but when the thermometer creeps up past 25C they leave much to be desired. So come on Cameron &Co - let's have some action before the plague of flies descends on us all.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Exit, pursued by a bear/lynx/wolf/moose/beaver
Mark Wadsworth has been musing on moose this week - more specifically, the pair that have arrived to repopulate the Scottish Highlands.
The male and female moose are part of ambitious and controversial proposals by a millionaire landowner to recreate an ancient mountain habitat, complete with wolves, lynx and brown bears roaming freely within a vast fenced-off wildlife reserve north of Inverness.
The wolf release plans suffered something of a setback earlier this year but the moose, being vegetarians and thus less likely to help themselves to the local indigenous wildlife/sheep/hill-walkers, have arrived ready to set about their mammoth task - no pressure there, then!
Should they succeed in creating a new generation, motorists will have to deal with the not inconsiderable risk of running into one on a secluded road; not for nothing do Canadian highways carry the iconic moose warnig signs at regular intervals. Still, should a moose despatch you, at least it will not add insult to injury by tucking into your mortal remains.
On last year's trip to the Highlands, we were accompanied by a Canadian visitor who was most amused that the most dangerous animals we encountered were cattle (see Under Siege); her garden is invaded by bears on a regular basis and she found it quite a novelty to be in a wilderness where there is nothing that might want you for lunch (except the midges).
If these plans go ahead, things may eventually be rather different. The beavers released in Argyll - amid much protest from those who want to keep the Border salmon rivers as they are - have survived and are breeding, but the diffficult terrain means researchers are finding it impossible to track them down and their electric tags have dropped off.
Now consider the impact of dozens of top predators wandering at will in the northern glens - they are bound to break out of the planned reserve sooner or later. It's true that these animals already roam wild in populated countries but people there are accustomed to dealing with them - and even so, attacks happen.
A few years ago, on a visit to Canada, we arrived at the idyllic remote lakeside cabin we were renting to discover that there was a bear reservation next door - with no fences. 'No problem', said the owner; 'just make sure you don't sneak up on them. Make plenty of noise and they'll stay away.'
That is the reason that most Canadian hikers wear bear bells on their clothing or hiking poles, though it's advisable to carry pepper spray too. It helps if you keep an eye out for bear scat, so you can get an idea of their movements - and which kind you are dealing with.
As any rural Canadian will tell you, black bear scat contains berries and small pieces of fur, while grizzly scat smells of pepper and contains small bells.
The male and female moose are part of ambitious and controversial proposals by a millionaire landowner to recreate an ancient mountain habitat, complete with wolves, lynx and brown bears roaming freely within a vast fenced-off wildlife reserve north of Inverness.
The wolf release plans suffered something of a setback earlier this year but the moose, being vegetarians and thus less likely to help themselves to the local indigenous wildlife/sheep/hill-walkers, have arrived ready to set about their mammoth task - no pressure there, then!
Should they succeed in creating a new generation, motorists will have to deal with the not inconsiderable risk of running into one on a secluded road; not for nothing do Canadian highways carry the iconic moose warnig signs at regular intervals. Still, should a moose despatch you, at least it will not add insult to injury by tucking into your mortal remains.
On last year's trip to the Highlands, we were accompanied by a Canadian visitor who was most amused that the most dangerous animals we encountered were cattle (see Under Siege); her garden is invaded by bears on a regular basis and she found it quite a novelty to be in a wilderness where there is nothing that might want you for lunch (except the midges).
If these plans go ahead, things may eventually be rather different. The beavers released in Argyll - amid much protest from those who want to keep the Border salmon rivers as they are - have survived and are breeding, but the diffficult terrain means researchers are finding it impossible to track them down and their electric tags have dropped off.
Now consider the impact of dozens of top predators wandering at will in the northern glens - they are bound to break out of the planned reserve sooner or later. It's true that these animals already roam wild in populated countries but people there are accustomed to dealing with them - and even so, attacks happen.
A few years ago, on a visit to Canada, we arrived at the idyllic remote lakeside cabin we were renting to discover that there was a bear reservation next door - with no fences. 'No problem', said the owner; 'just make sure you don't sneak up on them. Make plenty of noise and they'll stay away.'
That is the reason that most Canadian hikers wear bear bells on their clothing or hiking poles, though it's advisable to carry pepper spray too. It helps if you keep an eye out for bear scat, so you can get an idea of their movements - and which kind you are dealing with.
As any rural Canadian will tell you, black bear scat contains berries and small pieces of fur, while grizzly scat smells of pepper and contains small bells.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Expenses - it's déjà-vu all over again
Once upon a time we had the feudal system. The king and court spent vast sums on elaborate clothing, castles and patronage, secure in the knowledge that the taxes and rents paid by their underlings would fund it all.
And the petty lords and officials aped their superiors, knowing that the labour of the peasantry would keep them in tapestries and wine.
A thousand years later, the same situation exists, though political upheaval has in part replaced hereditary overlords with MPs, and, as the expenses scandal shows, their taste for luxury at our expense is no different.
We still have the petty officials too. Encouraged by its success at breaking the Westminster expenses scandal, the Telegraph now has in its sights the councils of Britain and their taxpayer-funded credit cards, like that wielded by Lord Hanningfield.
Councils up and down the land have been hitching a ride on the gravy train – and the gravy in question is rich, meaty and laced with truffle-oil. Luxury hotels, lavish meals and gifts from high-end retailers abound, along with tables at award ceremonies and champagne receptions.
Meanwhile details are coming out of similar expenditure on the part of civil servants on taxpayer-funded credit cards, most recently, with a certain irony, at the Department for Communities and Local Government. After all, if their masters were enjoying their perks to the full, why should civil servants not emulate them?
There’s a crucial difference here, though; this time, the culprits are effectively faceless – not high-profile Westminster MPs but local politicians and officials barely recognized in their own home territory. It's a fair bet that no colour supplements will be issued, no redacted documents circulated around the internet.
The Westminster expenses scandal provided a rich vein for satirists to mine – your humble host among them – but this fresh scandal, far more wide-reaching and worrying in its implications of a culture of entitlement – may be far harder to pin down because of its sheer extent.
And the petty lords and officials aped their superiors, knowing that the labour of the peasantry would keep them in tapestries and wine.
A thousand years later, the same situation exists, though political upheaval has in part replaced hereditary overlords with MPs, and, as the expenses scandal shows, their taste for luxury at our expense is no different.
We still have the petty officials too. Encouraged by its success at breaking the Westminster expenses scandal, the Telegraph now has in its sights the councils of Britain and their taxpayer-funded credit cards, like that wielded by Lord Hanningfield.
Councils up and down the land have been hitching a ride on the gravy train – and the gravy in question is rich, meaty and laced with truffle-oil. Luxury hotels, lavish meals and gifts from high-end retailers abound, along with tables at award ceremonies and champagne receptions.
Meanwhile details are coming out of similar expenditure on the part of civil servants on taxpayer-funded credit cards, most recently, with a certain irony, at the Department for Communities and Local Government. After all, if their masters were enjoying their perks to the full, why should civil servants not emulate them?
There’s a crucial difference here, though; this time, the culprits are effectively faceless – not high-profile Westminster MPs but local politicians and officials barely recognized in their own home territory. It's a fair bet that no colour supplements will be issued, no redacted documents circulated around the internet.
The Westminster expenses scandal provided a rich vein for satirists to mine – your humble host among them – but this fresh scandal, far more wide-reaching and worrying in its implications of a culture of entitlement – may be far harder to pin down because of its sheer extent.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
The Sunday songbook - Lord Hanningfield edition
Yet another number for Expenses - the musical. It's not the best song for a parody but sometimes, as with Elliot Morley and Baroness Uddin, there is really only one possibility:
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money,not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Living is easy with credit cards; taxpayers fund it all, you see.
You claim allowances all round and it all works out
Travel and dinners all for free.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Other peers, I think, did just like me; if sleeping in my bungalow
While claiming hotel bills is not a given right,
Surely, I think, it’s not too bad.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
With Essex council funding me, you know I had a clever scheme,
I netted fourteen grand but I’ve done nothing wrong,
Though the jury disagree.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money,not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Living is easy with credit cards; taxpayers fund it all, you see.
You claim allowances all round and it all works out
Travel and dinners all for free.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Other peers, I think, did just like me; if sleeping in my bungalow
While claiming hotel bills is not a given right,
Surely, I think, it’s not too bad.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
With Essex council funding me, you know I had a clever scheme,
I netted fourteen grand but I’ve done nothing wrong,
Though the jury disagree.
Will they take him down, are they going to, Lord Hanningfield?
Planning to steal the money, not to do without;
Lord Hanningfield’s not so clever.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Gilty, yr hnr
For the past fortnight, a valiant band of men and women have been struggling to separate teenagers from their mobile phones.
GCSE and A Level rules clearly state that pupils may not take phones into the exam room on penalty of disqualification, a rule which frequently prompts vociferous complaining; teenagers are so attached to their phones that being deprived of them feels like a punishment.
Remember Jamie's Dream School? One of the main complaints was that the pupils would not stop texting long enough to listen to a lesson. And when they leave school, little changes.
Geoffrey Robinson QC told the court in London that one woman in the jury had been in regular contact with her fiance, who sat in the public gallery and hung around the court during the trial.
They sent text messages to each other, even while the juror was in the jury box, with one of the man's messages reading "guilty".
This is the trial of the Mears brothers, whose £30-a-ticket 'Lapland' Winter theme park - complete with a broken ice-rink, dodgy fairy-lights and bedraggled, muddy reindeer - led to 13-month sentences for misleading the public.
I've long had doubts about the jury system; reading the confused ramblings of a year 11 class trying to explain the plot of Macbeth doesn't do much for one's faith in their future ability to make sense of a story, let alone evaluate the guilt or innocence of the protagonists.
And since today's youngsters live in a stream-of-consciousness world where every passing thought - however trivial - is instantly communicated to whoever happens to be listening, the idea of concentrating on the matter in hand is obviously obsolete - an ominous development for the jury system.
And as for rules, should someone, perhaps, have explained to this unimaginative young woman that, while texting during double maths is likely to bring about a detention and confiscation of the phone, the consequences of breaking the rules during a criminal trial are rather more wide-reaching?
A judge at the Court of Appeal appeal in London granted them permission to appeal against their convictions after hearing about alleged juror misconduct during the trial.
So thanks to one silly woman, a huge amount of taxpayers' money will be spent on the lengthy appeals process - cui bono? In this case, definitely the lawyers, who are on to a nice little earner. Surely there's a strong case for requiring jurors to leave their mobile phones at the door.
GCSE and A Level rules clearly state that pupils may not take phones into the exam room on penalty of disqualification, a rule which frequently prompts vociferous complaining; teenagers are so attached to their phones that being deprived of them feels like a punishment.
Remember Jamie's Dream School? One of the main complaints was that the pupils would not stop texting long enough to listen to a lesson. And when they leave school, little changes.
Geoffrey Robinson QC told the court in London that one woman in the jury had been in regular contact with her fiance, who sat in the public gallery and hung around the court during the trial.
They sent text messages to each other, even while the juror was in the jury box, with one of the man's messages reading "guilty".
This is the trial of the Mears brothers, whose £30-a-ticket 'Lapland' Winter theme park - complete with a broken ice-rink, dodgy fairy-lights and bedraggled, muddy reindeer - led to 13-month sentences for misleading the public.
I've long had doubts about the jury system; reading the confused ramblings of a year 11 class trying to explain the plot of Macbeth doesn't do much for one's faith in their future ability to make sense of a story, let alone evaluate the guilt or innocence of the protagonists.
And since today's youngsters live in a stream-of-consciousness world where every passing thought - however trivial - is instantly communicated to whoever happens to be listening, the idea of concentrating on the matter in hand is obviously obsolete - an ominous development for the jury system.
And as for rules, should someone, perhaps, have explained to this unimaginative young woman that, while texting during double maths is likely to bring about a detention and confiscation of the phone, the consequences of breaking the rules during a criminal trial are rather more wide-reaching?
A judge at the Court of Appeal appeal in London granted them permission to appeal against their convictions after hearing about alleged juror misconduct during the trial.
So thanks to one silly woman, a huge amount of taxpayers' money will be spent on the lengthy appeals process - cui bono? In this case, definitely the lawyers, who are on to a nice little earner. Surely there's a strong case for requiring jurors to leave their mobile phones at the door.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Picture Gallery
A busy day today, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite thereifixedit exhibits, chosen in honour of Christopher Lee's 89th birthday.
PO-TA-TOES
If Sam had his way, the trip to Mordor would have been very different.
see more There I Fixed It
This Is Why They Had To Walk To Mordor
see more There I Fixed It
You Shall Not Pass.
No Seriously.
I Mean It.
Stop Now.
see more There I Fixed It
PO-TA-TOES
If Sam had his way, the trip to Mordor would have been very different.
see more There I Fixed It
This Is Why They Had To Walk To Mordor
see more There I Fixed It
You Shall Not Pass.
No Seriously.
I Mean It.
Stop Now.
see more There I Fixed It
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Heroes of Fukushima
It's one of those stories that can restore your faith in human nature.
180 pensioners aged between 54 and 78 - many of them skilled engineers and construction workers - have volunteered to work on the clear-up at the Fukushima nuclear plant though a website set up by 72-year-old retired engineer Yasuteru Yamada.
'Our generation, who has, consciously or unconsciously, approved the construction of the Fukushima nuclear power plants and enjoyed the benefits of the vast supply of energy ... should be the first to join the Skilled Veteran Corps.'
With impeccable logic, he explains that older people should have priority working in these dangerous conditions; 'Young people with a long future should not have to be placed in a position of having to undertake such a task. Radiation exposure of the generation that will reproduce the next generation should be avoided.'
Now ask yourself what the reaction to this situation would be in Britain. I have no doubt that there are many retired engineers out there who would be equally selfless - I know some who, I am certain, would volunteer immediately - but what of the system, and the country in general?
And after all, if your doctor has carte blanche to stop you smoking/drinking/eating yourself to death, how would the NHS react to a bunch of citizens willingly entering a life-threatening situation despite their retired status?
In the aftermath of the tsunami, Pavlov's Cat commented acerbically on foreign astonishment at the lack of looting in Japan, and gave his reason:
'Because it simply doesn’t occur to them to take stuff that does not belong to them. The sense of community and personal honour will not even contemplate such a thing.'
We have become so accustomed to petty crime that it has become the default setting; anything you don't lock up is fair game to predatory thieves. Ironically for a nominally Judao-Christian culture - Thou Shalt Not Steal - respect for property has become something exotic to be wondered at.
I suspect the honourable and selfless action of these men and women will, in some quarters at least, generate similar levels of astonishment and incomprehension - the Mail dubbing the volunteers 'the Saga suicide squad' isn't going to help - but I, and I hope most right-minded people, have nothing but admiration for them.
180 pensioners aged between 54 and 78 - many of them skilled engineers and construction workers - have volunteered to work on the clear-up at the Fukushima nuclear plant though a website set up by 72-year-old retired engineer Yasuteru Yamada.
'Our generation, who has, consciously or unconsciously, approved the construction of the Fukushima nuclear power plants and enjoyed the benefits of the vast supply of energy ... should be the first to join the Skilled Veteran Corps.'
With impeccable logic, he explains that older people should have priority working in these dangerous conditions; 'Young people with a long future should not have to be placed in a position of having to undertake such a task. Radiation exposure of the generation that will reproduce the next generation should be avoided.'
Now ask yourself what the reaction to this situation would be in Britain. I have no doubt that there are many retired engineers out there who would be equally selfless - I know some who, I am certain, would volunteer immediately - but what of the system, and the country in general?
And after all, if your doctor has carte blanche to stop you smoking/drinking/eating yourself to death, how would the NHS react to a bunch of citizens willingly entering a life-threatening situation despite their retired status?
In the aftermath of the tsunami, Pavlov's Cat commented acerbically on foreign astonishment at the lack of looting in Japan, and gave his reason:
'Because it simply doesn’t occur to them to take stuff that does not belong to them. The sense of community and personal honour will not even contemplate such a thing.'
We have become so accustomed to petty crime that it has become the default setting; anything you don't lock up is fair game to predatory thieves. Ironically for a nominally Judao-Christian culture - Thou Shalt Not Steal - respect for property has become something exotic to be wondered at.
I suspect the honourable and selfless action of these men and women will, in some quarters at least, generate similar levels of astonishment and incomprehension - the Mail dubbing the volunteers 'the Saga suicide squad' isn't going to help - but I, and I hope most right-minded people, have nothing but admiration for them.
Cashing in on the past
They were an earthy lot, our medieval ancestors. After a hard day's tilting, or hawking or oppressing the peasantry, there was nothing European nobilty liked more than a good sing-song or a story.
And one of the most popular subjects for these tales was misbehaviour among the clergy - cavorting nuns, fornicating friars and thieving priests provided hours of entertainment for the baron in his hall.
Seven hundred years later, his modern-day descendants can read in the papers a story that could have come straight from one of these medieval tales:
Pope Benedict XVI has shut down a famous monastery in Rome because of antics which included dances performed by a former lap-dancer turned nun and financial difficulties.
The “questionable behaviour and a lack of moral discipline” of the Cistercian monks in question has seen them dispersed to other monasteries throughout Italy, continuing a crackdown that began when the Pope dismissed the Abbott, formerly a flamboyant fashion designer.
In fact, the monastery has had more than its fair shair of glittering associations - singers Gloria Estefan and Madonna have both made high-profile visits there - as well as the more dubious cachet of a thigh-flashing 'liturgical dance' performance* by stripper-turned-nun, Anna Nobili.
Vatican II ostensibly dragged the Roman Catholic Church kicking and screaming into the twentieth century, so it is bizarre to encounter in this story that staple of medieval religious satire, the Holy Relic - in fact, not one but four of the things:
two thorns purportedly taken from Christ's crown, fragments of the cross on which he was crucified, a nail used in the crucifixion and a bone from the finger of St Thomas, which the doubting apostle is said to have poked into Jesus's wounds.
Remind me again, what century are we in? The Catholic Church is in the position of someone who has inherited the bric-a-brac of past generations, some of which may be of distinctly dubious origin, but how to tell? And why bother, when the faithful - like Madonna - are happy to turn up and revere the objects in a blaze of media attention.
For every beaming Antiques Roadshow subject who discovers her tatty vase is worth half a million, I expect there are hundred who find that Great-Uncle Ralph was taken for a ride in a Shanghai bazaar. I can't see the Vatican ever taking the risk, to be honest; they'll just re-house the things and make sure the pilgrims keep on coming.
Seven hundred years and some things just don't change.
*Video at the Telegraph via link if you must; actually it's more modern ballet than Folies Bergeres - the girl has obviously trained at some point - but it's certainly not what you might call traditionally 'nun-like'.
And one of the most popular subjects for these tales was misbehaviour among the clergy - cavorting nuns, fornicating friars and thieving priests provided hours of entertainment for the baron in his hall.
Seven hundred years later, his modern-day descendants can read in the papers a story that could have come straight from one of these medieval tales:
Pope Benedict XVI has shut down a famous monastery in Rome because of antics which included dances performed by a former lap-dancer turned nun and financial difficulties.
The “questionable behaviour and a lack of moral discipline” of the Cistercian monks in question has seen them dispersed to other monasteries throughout Italy, continuing a crackdown that began when the Pope dismissed the Abbott, formerly a flamboyant fashion designer.
In fact, the monastery has had more than its fair shair of glittering associations - singers Gloria Estefan and Madonna have both made high-profile visits there - as well as the more dubious cachet of a thigh-flashing 'liturgical dance' performance* by stripper-turned-nun, Anna Nobili.
Vatican II ostensibly dragged the Roman Catholic Church kicking and screaming into the twentieth century, so it is bizarre to encounter in this story that staple of medieval religious satire, the Holy Relic - in fact, not one but four of the things:
two thorns purportedly taken from Christ's crown, fragments of the cross on which he was crucified, a nail used in the crucifixion and a bone from the finger of St Thomas, which the doubting apostle is said to have poked into Jesus's wounds.
Remind me again, what century are we in? The Catholic Church is in the position of someone who has inherited the bric-a-brac of past generations, some of which may be of distinctly dubious origin, but how to tell? And why bother, when the faithful - like Madonna - are happy to turn up and revere the objects in a blaze of media attention.
For every beaming Antiques Roadshow subject who discovers her tatty vase is worth half a million, I expect there are hundred who find that Great-Uncle Ralph was taken for a ride in a Shanghai bazaar. I can't see the Vatican ever taking the risk, to be honest; they'll just re-house the things and make sure the pilgrims keep on coming.
Seven hundred years and some things just don't change.
*Video at the Telegraph via link if you must; actually it's more modern ballet than Folies Bergeres - the girl has obviously trained at some point - but it's certainly not what you might call traditionally 'nun-like'.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Raising a Storm
More Life of Brian today; this time in response to the news (?) story about the parents who have chosen not to disclose the sex of their youngest child.
The couple believe they are releasing Storm from the constraints society imposes on males and females. They claim children can make meaningful decisions for themselves from a very young age.
Leaving aside the fact that they have offered this up to the media as a story, it is a laudable aim in many ways; our society is in the grip of insidious gender-stereotyping from birth that interferes at all levels with people's ability to fulfil their real potential and is positively harmful in some of its effects.
However, the very fact of this pervasive bias means that these parents are taking a very big risk. Storm's older sibling Jazz prefers to dress in pink and has long hair and this has already led to problems:
Jazz, fortunately, was out of earshot on a recent trip to a park when a family friend overheard two little girls saying they did not want to play with a 'girl-boy'. And once Mrs Witterick was forced to rush him out of a store when a saleswoman refused to sell him a pink feather boa because 'he's a boy'.
Canada is, in general, a liberal country as far as gender choices are concerned but even there, hostility is apparent - literal xenophobia, a fear of what is different. However positive the intentions of this liberal couple, they are up against something ingrained.
I once saw a manifestation of this in a neighbour's family. The three-year-old son had been taken to a toyshop to choose his birthday present and had chosen a tea-set, which his mother bought for him; the resulting reaction from his father's family would not have been out of place in a Greek tragedy.
If Storm's parents think that society is ripe for change, they would do well to look at the comments the story has elicited at the Mail - and the level of approval for those condemning not only the parents' actions but their motives and principles. Even those professing a level of support have clearly bought into the stereotyped norm:
'I have two girls. I like to dress them girly (not too girly) as I want them to grow up to be ladies.'
Storm's parents are trying to do too much too soon. Yes, there is much wrong with our society's perception of gender and it would be wrong for those who see it to be complacent or defeatist, but to court media attention is a dangerous and ultimately counter-productive tactic, reinforcing the knee-jerk prejudiced response.
Better to keep the gender-neutral parenting quiet and low-key with the aim of producing increasing numbers of sensible well-adjusted adults - parents and teachers - who can see beyond the stereotypes and change things in their turn; technology advances by leaps and bounds but social reform is a gradual process.
To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life. ~Confucius
Gender issues have surfaced at Orphans of Liberty too, where JuliaM tackles teachers' calls for simpler reading matter for boys (and I have an embarrassingly vehement rant in the comments).
The couple believe they are releasing Storm from the constraints society imposes on males and females. They claim children can make meaningful decisions for themselves from a very young age.
Leaving aside the fact that they have offered this up to the media as a story, it is a laudable aim in many ways; our society is in the grip of insidious gender-stereotyping from birth that interferes at all levels with people's ability to fulfil their real potential and is positively harmful in some of its effects.
However, the very fact of this pervasive bias means that these parents are taking a very big risk. Storm's older sibling Jazz prefers to dress in pink and has long hair and this has already led to problems:
Jazz, fortunately, was out of earshot on a recent trip to a park when a family friend overheard two little girls saying they did not want to play with a 'girl-boy'. And once Mrs Witterick was forced to rush him out of a store when a saleswoman refused to sell him a pink feather boa because 'he's a boy'.
Canada is, in general, a liberal country as far as gender choices are concerned but even there, hostility is apparent - literal xenophobia, a fear of what is different. However positive the intentions of this liberal couple, they are up against something ingrained.
I once saw a manifestation of this in a neighbour's family. The three-year-old son had been taken to a toyshop to choose his birthday present and had chosen a tea-set, which his mother bought for him; the resulting reaction from his father's family would not have been out of place in a Greek tragedy.
If Storm's parents think that society is ripe for change, they would do well to look at the comments the story has elicited at the Mail - and the level of approval for those condemning not only the parents' actions but their motives and principles. Even those professing a level of support have clearly bought into the stereotyped norm:
'I have two girls. I like to dress them girly (not too girly) as I want them to grow up to be ladies.'
Storm's parents are trying to do too much too soon. Yes, there is much wrong with our society's perception of gender and it would be wrong for those who see it to be complacent or defeatist, but to court media attention is a dangerous and ultimately counter-productive tactic, reinforcing the knee-jerk prejudiced response.
Better to keep the gender-neutral parenting quiet and low-key with the aim of producing increasing numbers of sensible well-adjusted adults - parents and teachers - who can see beyond the stereotypes and change things in their turn; technology advances by leaps and bounds but social reform is a gradual process.
To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life. ~Confucius
Gender issues have surfaced at Orphans of Liberty too, where JuliaM tackles teachers' calls for simpler reading matter for boys (and I have an embarrassingly vehement rant in the comments).
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
On injunctions, privilege and Britain's worst-kept secret....
Did today's news headlines make anyone else think of this?
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