So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye. This is the end. My only friend, the end.…
And all the other songs bidding adieu.
Yes, this is my last column for Peace News. Probably.
I started, I think, in 2017 with a column on air pollution and, somewhere along the way, the column got the header ‘Poynted Remarks’, probably because I was definitely pointing a finger at motorists polluting our air, or was it men who tolerated misogynist comments from other men?
There were reviews, too, books, and events including what I assumed was going to be an annual feminist conference but sadly turned out not to be.
There was also an obituary of a dear friend, Charlie Kiss. Rest in power, Charlie.
Topics have included: feminism and socialism, elections, Star Trek, vaccinations, nostalgia, racism and the royals, men, noise, whataboutery, refugees, men, multi-millionaires, charity, and feminism. Oh, and men, of course.
I’ve mostly enjoyed writing these columns, just occasionally I was stumped for a topic and winged it by walking round the neighbourhood of Kings Cross and musing on various subjects that came to me. It wasn’t my favourite column.
I was particularly pleased with the one on refugees. Put yourself in their shoes, basically. What would you do to protect your loved ones? If getting your child onto a leaky boat is less dangerous than staying at home, what does that say about home?
And sorry I upset a reader with my column which included a ‘rant’ (I thought I was being reasonable) on vaccines. I still stand by that, though. Get your kids vaccinated! 10 babies in the UK have died of pertussis (whooping cough) since December last year.
On occasions, I have had positive feedback. Someone empathising with my column on noise. Yes, grass cutters and strimmers are annoying but (to me) not as annoying as the small-brained man on the kids’ quad bike across the road who goes round and round and round and.…
My column on guns got some feedback from gun campaigners, though my positive response to their feedback and suggestion of collaboration came to nowt. Still, they did respond in the first place and are now aware of the existence of Peace News.
I’ve mentioned the idea of a Citizen’s Income in two separate columns. I still like the idea though there have been some criticism and not just from conservative types. Personally, I see it as the first step on the road to abolishing money. It certainly fits in to the concept ‘from each according to his (sic) ability, to each according to his (sic) needs’.
A common theme is me responding to a comment made in public by, usually, a politician. Comments using tiresome phrases such as ‘hard-working families’ (who gets to decide what ‘hard-working’ actually means?), ‘mob rule’ (rule what? how?) and ‘nanny state’, particularly in reference to mask-wearing during a pandemic.
‘I’m a left-wing libertarian’ said a work colleague. My response: ‘Me, too, but I am not going to ignore the suggestion that I look both ways before crossing the road, just because the government advises it.’ ‘Good point,’ he responded.
Some of the columns I have treated as an extension of my musings on Facebook and previously on ‘Twitter/X’. I abandoned ‘X/Twitter’ a year or so back, and even ‘Threads’ from Meta has been deleted from my phone. Still on Facebook though.
It’s nice to keep in touch with people, some of whom are peaceniks I have known for a couple of decades despite only meeting in person a couple of times (hi, Jill!), and a previous Peace News intern now a journalist in India. And some I have never met including peace activists in Ghana and Ethiopia.
It’s sometimes been a bit therapeutic to express myself in this way. Probably I will still write a ‘column’ for my own benefit. I’ve been meaning to set up a blog site for quite some time, maybe do a creative writing course?
Thank you for reading my column. If you didn’t and aren’t interested, c’est la vie. It’s not compulsory. If you missed a few and want to catch up with Poynted Remarks, they’re all still there on the website.