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…
I’m afraid I missed out on this year’s ‘Portillo moment’. (In May 1997, Conservative MP Michael Portillo tried to hide his shock at losing his seat to Labour’s Stephen Twigg, and almost succeeded.) I would have loved to have seen the look on Jacob Rees-Mogg’s face but perhaps he decided to take a nap instead, as he famously did in the houses of parliament, and was snapped lounging on the seats, inspiring dozens of memes.
Will Labour’s success make much difference to the average person…
Look, I realise that recycling won’t save the world and all.
Personally, I usually (nearly always) put stuff that can be recycled in the recycling bins even though we have to go to the effort of taking them 100 metres or so to the communal bins on our estate (rather than the doorstep collection enjoyed by people not living on a social housing estate).
I add random plastic bags to the supermarket bags to be collected by the grocery delivery people.
I take dead batteries…
There are a few popular phrases which really set my teeth on edge. I covered ‘the nanny state’ last time. And ‘hard-working families’ results in my doing a Marge Simpson growl.
Here’s another: ‘mob rule’. Ah yes, mob rule. Let’s unpack that a bit. Let’s start with ‘rule’.
Who rules? The king? The prime minister? The government? A school headteacher or the boss? You could argue all of these rule to some extent in some circumstances. But they all have some authority, wouldn’t…
Recently, a politician moaned about something or other, calling it ‘the nanny state’. It got me wondering. When does a particular policy get to be called (some might say ‘dismissed as’) the nanny state? Who gets to decide? Is it a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? Does nanny actually know best?
‘The nanny state’ suggests that a government or its policies are overprotective, like a nanny towards their charges.
NB: by ‘nanny’, I mean a person employed to look after children, and not a…
Readers may have noticed that I am no longer PN administrator. So, how’s retirement? Thanks for asking! OK so far, not bored yet.
I now have plenty of spare time to indulge in a little art appreciation, organised by the Mary Ward Centre in London. A little group of us go round small art galleries; from tiny ones in posh places like Mayfair (which I would never have thought of visiting because, frankly, they do look a bit intimidating) to the community- or charity-run…
There’s one thing which really irritates me (what do you mean, just the one thing?). It’s when people say ‘that person/organisation is silent on the issue of….’
Often, that person/organisation isn’t silent on that issue and it doesn’t take long to find out just what they’d said on the issue, particularly if it’s an organisation with a website.
For example, some years ago, when there was a terror attack by a Muslim fundamentalist, someone said: ‘UK Muslims are silent on this…
A couple of months ago, the prime minister claimed that ‘we’d moved beyond judging people for being rich’.
I’ve thought about that a bit since then. I’ve thought about my auntie saying how she resented footballers’ and pop stars’ massive salaries (when compared with for example, NHS workers). I didn’t say much at that time but I did wonder why footballers? They surely have a career of limited length even if they then go into management or training.
And why pop stars, given that…
Two wheels good, four wheels bad. Or is it the other way around?
Depends on where you hear comments reflecting the belief that one is inherently better than the other.
‘Four wheels’ implies a motor vehicle which, even if it is electric, is not completely pollution-free (and certainly the production of electricity is not carbon-neutral). Evidence shows that electric cars still emit harmful PM2.5 particles. Yes, EVs are better, but not as good as reducing the volume of motor…
You can’t really know a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. So they say.
There was this TV show (called Backstrom) where a detective would try to imagine what a perpetrator or a victim might be thinking, in order to get to the solution. He’d say: ‘I’m a 16-year-old drop-out and have just been to see the local drug-dealer.…’
So. You’re a 15-year-old living in Albania. Your parents are not well-off, dad drives a taxi and mum takes in washing. Grandma needs meds so…
Nostalgia, as the old joke goes, ain’t what it used to be.
I was reminded of this a while back when I read a Guardian ‘Long Read’ on nostalgia, or as they called it ‘binmenism’. I’ll explain that in due course.
There are a few nostalgia Facebook pages with posts urging people to ‘share if you remember this’. ‘This’ being random things such as wicker shopping baskets on wheels (my Yorkshire Nana had one), four fruit salads or black jacks for a penny (an old penny), and…
One of the ‘pleasures’ of the Peace News office location is Caledonian Road. Right at the junction with Pentonville Road at Kings Cross. So, busy. We’re right by the lights. Among the regularly-heard sounds is ‘this vehicle is turning left’ (to warn cyclists who might think it a good idea to undertake – overttake on the left at the lights).
On 10 November there was a Tube strike, so everybody who has a car decided to get in it and drive into central London. And, just to make…
I am not and never have been, a supporter of the monarchy. I don’t come from a republican-inclined family – my mother, a firm socialist, nevertheless believed the queen to be a stabilising force, and a figurehead that the military are loyal to, making a military coup much less likely.
Oh, she would have preferred a Scandinavian or Dutch model of monarchy, with far less pomp and ceremony. She also would say two words against having a president: ‘President Thatcher’.
This is more…
‘Guns don’t kill people – people do.’ ‘The only thing that will stop a Bad Guy with a gun is a Good Guy with a gun.’ ‘If only all those teachers had been armed, no children would have died.’
No doubt you’ve recently heard these and similar statements. Oh, and not forgetting ‘Thoughts and Prayers’.
I think some people, well, let’s be honest, we’re talking about Americans here, have unrealistic expectations of what their guns can do.
I do wonder if some people believe that…
I’ve been a member of the International Conscientious Objectors’ Day organising group for a few years now.
The idea of having a stone dedicated to conscientious objectors to war (COs) began in 1976. After considerable efforts by Edna Mathieson, eventually the stone was unveiled at 2pm on 15 May 1994 in Tavistock Square, Central London. It was unveiled by the composer sir Michael Tippett, the president of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), who had been imprisoned during the Second World War…
