tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2575771533954642024-02-28T23:43:20.997+00:00Bespoke TaylorNews, views and morejoeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-41128870564082586012022-11-14T20:10:00.008+00:002022-11-15T09:24:32.167+00:00Contrasting dreams<p style="text-align: center;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7hTEkQkvHUp981HJwYC1EbjjsHHz8Xy7Aa3QYBNjXl1eX1xSMRlWg5gomsPfVKLC43il8rDC1nRJfgrmGf_jRO3o8ppUuZX8S6uXQI94ZC4BewCWJJSzcfAh7l4ozejHmgHuhfo_Q2FrVvM4JsdyfEqALnoUXTOUe1Agf_MJ8XwUPDNYcoBL1A/s1050/Martin%20Luther%20King.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1050" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7hTEkQkvHUp981HJwYC1EbjjsHHz8Xy7Aa3QYBNjXl1eX1xSMRlWg5gomsPfVKLC43il8rDC1nRJfgrmGf_jRO3o8ppUuZX8S6uXQI94ZC4BewCWJJSzcfAh7l4ozejHmgHuhfo_Q2FrVvM4JsdyfEqALnoUXTOUe1Agf_MJ8XwUPDNYcoBL1A/s320/Martin%20Luther%20King.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i> </i><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i> 'The Church should go forward along the path of progress and be no longer satisfied only to represent the Conservative Party at prayer'</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p>It was hard not to immediately think of this remark - made by the preacher and suffragist Maude Royden at Queen's Hall in London, on July 16 1917 - after listening to the sermon at a church my family and I have recently started attending. <br /></p><p>The frisson of nervous tension that shivered throughout the congregation that Sunday in October was audible as it became clear the preacher was contrasting two different versions of a dream; one belonging to Martin Luther King, the other Suella Braverman. <br /></p><p>He began: </p><p><i>'That's my dream. I'll say it again. That's my dream. Now when you hear a quote mentioning a dream you can be forgiven for thinking I'm referring to Martin Luther King's famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.</i></p><p><i>'Dr King's dream was one in which his four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.</i></p><p><i>'Unfortunately, however, my quote isn't from Dr King's famous speech, instead my quote comes from the home secretary.'</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajLtixFGgVLTp3mTEh3Rpj-xxea95M2rT8WTUVIIqL3q7a7cVl_MDE_ReuFl_SUkyAZGQAT45eUvICb_MsvJFEwondCotNPJX-SaFxmHYmBAxi9qXyII9MAOGGvH7pqRsjhAXXuA0t_4Ei1iYHSjvTJq1YTAQTo0lCL4mdcC20saoQ8h7hKDS-Q/s465/Braverman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="465" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajLtixFGgVLTp3mTEh3Rpj-xxea95M2rT8WTUVIIqL3q7a7cVl_MDE_ReuFl_SUkyAZGQAT45eUvICb_MsvJFEwondCotNPJX-SaFxmHYmBAxi9qXyII9MAOGGvH7pqRsjhAXXuA0t_4Ei1iYHSjvTJq1YTAQTo0lCL4mdcC20saoQ8h7hKDS-Q/s320/Braverman.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div>It was at this moment of explicit elucidation that it was clear that the sermon was focusing on what the home secretary had said days earlier at the Conservative Party conference; and at this moment a murmur of nervousness swept up and down the pews. It was followed by rapt silence and anticipation of what was to follow. <br /><p></p><p>The Sermon continued: </p><p><i>'In her dream, which was reported in the news this week and which she pubicly described in her own words "there is a photograph, a photograph of a plane on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. That plane is taking off to forcibly deport asylum seekers overseas".'</i></p><p><i>'So then we have two very contrasting dreams. The first dream from Martin Luther King, is a beautiful one, it simultaneously celebrates human diversity and also emphasises our universal and equal dignity as children of a loving God. At once it is both a vision of the Kingdom of Heaven and also a determined hope that this Kingdom will be realised here on earth.</i></p><p><i>'In contrast the second dream, the dream of manhandling asylum seekers on to planes and shipping them overseas, that dream rides roughshod over the dignity of the divine image intrinstic to each of us. In this second dream, there are only two responses to difference; hostility and inhumanity.'</i></p><p>The last line deserves repetition:</p><p>'In this second dream, there are only two responses to difference; hostility and inhumanity.'</p><p>The address has revolved around my mind in the weeks since it was delivered. Suella Braverman has been sacked and reinstated in that time. Yet, it still seems pertinent, as the government try and persist with their deportation strategy. <br /></p><p>It's certainly true that Church of England leaders frequently clash with politicians of all sides but I don't recall such explicit condemnation of a political policy from the Sermon of a parish church during the main Sunday service.</p><p>I also don't recall a congregation following each word and sentence of a Sermon with such tenacity.<br /></p><p>The Sermon continued for a few more minutes, delving into the parable of the ten lepers from the Gospel of Luke. All healed by Jesus, the one who returned to thank him was the Samaritan, ostracised by society but all treated equal regardless of a status or belief.</p><p>And he finished with a few lines from the poem Paul Robeson, by Gwenydolyn Brooks:</p><p>'We are each other's harvest. We are each other's business. We are each other's magnitude and bond.'</p><p>The home secretary may not have been in the congregation, but for those who were there, the message was pretty clear.<br /></p><p><br /></p>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-39536122724129529892021-11-26T15:00:00.004+00:002021-11-26T21:32:26.912+00:00A day trip to Berney Arms<p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jOxkPVEZ242-uBPjB1u7j4MdoSOavqs5d5MJElH8GlmBXL3X2OGF6xqodL6QE8HaRBy28igb4vsrUngcc0yB-TNTifx-AbgiLhso1FkRMhZBkCJ6Lovj07aevt6oHiwzrTWMHgZZ/s2048/IMG_9953.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" id="id_8fe0_3ec3_c4af_2321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jOxkPVEZ242-uBPjB1u7j4MdoSOavqs5d5MJElH8GlmBXL3X2OGF6xqodL6QE8HaRBy28igb4vsrUngcc0yB-TNTifx-AbgiLhso1FkRMhZBkCJ6Lovj07aevt6oHiwzrTWMHgZZ/w400-h266/IMG_9953.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div> <p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">It was quite a relief to close the gate behind me, a much-needed
physical barrier separating myself from the sizeable posse of cows that had
decided to follow me as I walked across the marshy Norfolk Broads towards the Berney Arms Pub. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Before being accosted, I’d enjoyed watching lapwings flit
and tumble through the air, hares bounding and rollicking among the wild
flowers, the vastness of the views, where the watery flatness indecipherably
merges with the huge sky.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><a href="https://poetryarchive.org/poem/dusk-burnham-overy-staithe/"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></i></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6j9awUqhOphLuHbPAB2O5dgeV2tMJ-tc9K4jT1U_QHcYvVN-rqgJUhXEh3qUaq3_4wAp4ahovTBQ4Rzh3I32CRkW9tVitzRndMoOpedplTHhXzksWxPStbX-GGTavbPKDJcV7HQEu/s2048/IMG_9968+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1411" data-original-width="2048" height="220" id="id_18c0_6574_f655_6dba" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6j9awUqhOphLuHbPAB2O5dgeV2tMJ-tc9K4jT1U_QHcYvVN-rqgJUhXEh3qUaq3_4wAp4ahovTBQ4Rzh3I32CRkW9tVitzRndMoOpedplTHhXzksWxPStbX-GGTavbPKDJcV7HQEu/s320/IMG_9968+%25282%2529.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 320px;" width="320"></a></div><br>Kevin Crossley-Holland perfectly captures the landscape in his poem Dusk, Burnham Over Staithe.<div><i><br></i></div><div><i>'I only guess where marsh </i><p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><a href="https://poetryarchive.org/poem/dusk-burnham-overy-staithe/"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">finishes and sky begins, </span></span></i></a></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://poetryarchive.org/poem/dusk-burnham-overy-staithe/"><i>each grows out of the other'</i></a><br></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">There’s a handsome, solitary windmill surveying the huge landscape. Norfolk's tallest, it is currently under restoration by English Heritage, it ground cement until 1948 before finding a fresh life pumping water from the Broads.<br></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">I made the journey in June 2011, inspired to make the effort
after reading about it in Michael Williams’ lovely book, <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/books/on-the-slow-train-twelve-great-british-railway-journeys/9781848092082">On The Slow Trai</a><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/books/on-the-slow-train-twelve-great-british-railway-journeys/9781848092082">n</a>, calling
it ‘Britain’s smallest mainline station’. And he writes: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">'Once the train has clattered off into the distance, there
is only the sound of a few rooks wheeling overhead and just a whisper of breeze
gently brushing the grass.’</span></span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFy-l_a0uT6B3xpB3vm3neAWy3GYNmFCgd8CuvfGUI3zpaiHwVrG6xBlOb8Z80ArIP1ubJJcv_-acFI_1vH42OWieM9sNfMahoAwU4S3XIZfNA2ec3YwNtBoNKm2Jp9T6cvO5NOo1/s2048/IMG_9935.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" id="id_943b_6158_9d27_70d9" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFy-l_a0uT6B3xpB3vm3neAWy3GYNmFCgd8CuvfGUI3zpaiHwVrG6xBlOb8Z80ArIP1ubJJcv_-acFI_1vH42OWieM9sNfMahoAwU4S3XIZfNA2ec3YwNtBoNKm2Jp9T6cvO5NOo1/w400-h266/IMG_9935.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div> <p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Normally, just a handful of services stop by request and for the few
people who do visit, its miniscule scale and remoteness is the major
attraction. That day I wasn't the only person to have alighted from the two coach Wherry Lines service from Norwich. Two bird watchers, identifiable by their outfits and binoculars clambered out with me. I waited on the platform until they drifted out of sight.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">The
platform itself is no longer than the length of one
train carriage. A ramshackle wooden box offers minimal protection from
the elements. It’s a strange island, floating in a sea of green,
entirely unconnected to its
surroundings, in a timeless landscape, almost as though it has been
dropped there
by accident.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">This jaunt
returned to my mind this week as the latest statistics on the passenger
numbers of individual stations was published. Berney Arms remains
firmly planted near the bottom but that year it was quite busy, with
more than 1,436 visitors
across the year. Last year, obviously at the height of the pandemic,
just 42
people made it there. In 2021, there has been something of a recovery
with 348
passengers, up 729 per cent.</span></span> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE052xXcGT9k5LEa7jfSmfDIc8QRas4SM9pOHnHRWczQoNQVUcE0R626P35NZtFH0EOnC_g11YHiUE0Tu2znofRVZI7Pr5JfuKTID9pEZUFGmLrBdqwIGLkkpksnlyZ3v-sC5URMR/s2048/IMG_9952.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" id="id_5b56_6ef8_7fa3_f77c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE052xXcGT9k5LEa7jfSmfDIc8QRas4SM9pOHnHRWczQoNQVUcE0R626P35NZtFH0EOnC_g11YHiUE0Tu2znofRVZI7Pr5JfuKTID9pEZUFGmLrBdqwIGLkkpksnlyZ3v-sC5URMR/s320/IMG_9952.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 213px;" width="213"></a></div><p></p><br><div class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Crossing the rail track, the Weaver's Way leads across the flats to the river and on to Acle. It's 61 miles long and goes from Great Yarmouth to Cromer.</span></span></div><div class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With a local population of zero, relying on twitchers, rail enthusiasts, and passing trade from boats on the River Yare, it's hardly a surprise the Berney Arms pub has been closed since 2015 and it's unlikely it will ever reopen - a painfully poignant film from the BBC capturing the ultimately</span> vain hopes of a new landlord in 2013 can be seen <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-22226021">here</a>.</span></span></div><div class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">It was something of a scruffy pub - it had a similiar air to the Old Neptune on the beach at Whitstable - but with an undeniable and friendly charm. The beer was good, food was off and pictures of wherrymen from decades before were on the walls.<br></span></span></div><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzBFpkzV3drygC3v7q0k2c-gvfaW7MWoJQQwFtMPxiMYy8hGAsJYoxUcBdM-xVFfT3237je7ww22OuMfPATPSeoUc2acuyetqPuIik5UAEzDYuiB8AQGblVaEkCmSSJlc1RVu_YuN/s2048/IMG_9947.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" id="id_ca99_dbce_2ab8_9ff1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzBFpkzV3drygC3v7q0k2c-gvfaW7MWoJQQwFtMPxiMYy8hGAsJYoxUcBdM-xVFfT3237je7ww22OuMfPATPSeoUc2acuyetqPuIik5UAEzDYuiB8AQGblVaEkCmSSJlc1RVu_YuN/w400-h266/IMG_9947.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div> <p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Its closure was a huge pity as it was quite delightful with fabulous views that only change with the seasons. There is a <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/berney-arms/updates#start">campaign </a>to reopen the pub but hope appears to be forlorn. An application to open a bistro on the site was refused in 2020 with councillors refusing it on the basis emergency vehicles couldn't easily reach its location. Considering it had previously been licenses for decades, the decision seems both historically ignorant and shortsighted. To make matters worse, some nearby moorings for boats have reportedly been removed, making its viability even more challenging.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br><span style="color: black;"><br></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtBYAJINjBP0qnL0h79jR4MZAMGFMZZ9eb_JX_G1lhsiOuR5frJwj6R6R4y-KJ1INek0lZ2SF_XUemLTUdn3Q3cj9DzE2Q31_ssAIsROZrxSb9L00Tu9BLPh-ZjmUeqgBPW4NksVc/s2048/IMG_9948.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" id="id_52f1_14af_f2d7_5cdc" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtBYAJINjBP0qnL0h79jR4MZAMGFMZZ9eb_JX_G1lhsiOuR5frJwj6R6R4y-KJ1INek0lZ2SF_XUemLTUdn3Q3cj9DzE2Q31_ssAIsROZrxSb9L00Tu9BLPh-ZjmUeqgBPW4NksVc/w400-h266/IMG_9948.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pOOuXQS0RBFsXCXEx3snsfR_mwe5un55qratkjxWc6VbGmyWG1MHRD5YuiJr7r3mQYXVOs4zEpQ_-M0DSh2DdZANLq4tXaYHV4tMO1o9cXLUqTfvEjkre8_fsiRVQfOmQxsMIrTD/s2048/IMG_9947.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br></a></div><p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">It was a flight of whimsy that took me there. And according to the latest passenger statistics, last year, there were six stations which had no visitors at all. Abererch, Gwynedd, Beasdale, Highland, Llanbedr, Gwynedd, Sampford Courtenay, Devon, Stanlow and Thornton, Cheshire and Sugar Load, Powys. </span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 105%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Somewhere, people are dusting down their virtual Bradshaw's and planning out how to get there.</span></span></p></div>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-60781890361540008392021-10-30T11:06:00.001+01:002021-10-30T11:06:49.321+01:00The statues now departed<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN_npH6TFtiF4xbavfb_e0bVe67DG_viLPEtwncb9BPT3juAlfVYcHLwVkx0EUEbi6p84wqlL622-JItqeD-7-nW54NXrHXIHLWdXF7grZ0hP3_cK1nXbNkJ7r7tchVR3WsXE8xos/s1793/platforms+piece+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1793" data-original-width="1215" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN_npH6TFtiF4xbavfb_e0bVe67DG_viLPEtwncb9BPT3juAlfVYcHLwVkx0EUEbi6p84wqlL622-JItqeD-7-nW54NXrHXIHLWdXF7grZ0hP3_cK1nXbNkJ7r7tchVR3WsXE8xos/w271-h400/platforms+piece+1+%25282%2529.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For some time now, the dishevelled, windblown promenades of Brixton station have been distinguished by items that are noticeable by their absence. On each of the three platforms, north, south and abandoned, familiar faces to regulars are no longer greeting travellers, despite having stoically braved whatever conditions have been thrown at them since they first appeared in 1986, after being selected by a panel including architect Sir Hugh Casson. </span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kevin Atherton's Platforms Piece - his three bronze statues of figures associated with Brixton, Peter Lloyd on platform one, mother Joy Battick on the unused platform three and a white German woman called Karin Heistermann on platform two - has been removed pending restoration. But the process has dragged on painfully slowly with no timetable, amended or otherwise, as to when they might return.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmYhazh0WWdhqbgKk4TW_0WNHDo3DIJdKqItS-bcshiW07QmqfxL-nxYm5LSX1RuLmeihtx24AguwEsSs70fywwqRklHRqqrDMQ1tMQTz4ApDKSKbz-kSHDWTnfFRRi_ViQCf7uOF/s2048/Platforms+piece+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmYhazh0WWdhqbgKk4TW_0WNHDo3DIJdKqItS-bcshiW07QmqfxL-nxYm5LSX1RuLmeihtx24AguwEsSs70fywwqRklHRqqrDMQ1tMQTz4ApDKSKbz-kSHDWTnfFRRi_ViQCf7uOF/s320/Platforms+piece+3.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">No plaque or explanation plate has ever accompanied the statues as they have waited in their spots. Anonymous, unmistakably urban characters, they have stood, like everyone, impassively, waiting, hoping, for their train finally to arrive. Their continual presence has been strangely reassuring, anchors of serenity, ignoring the hubhub that has swirled around them. Their removal from service, therefore, was something of a shock.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">They were only listed in 2016, with Historic England noting that the statues of Mr Lloyd and Ms Battick are:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'believed to be the first sculptural representation of British black people in England in a public art context, created for Brixton which is synonymous with the historical development of black British culture in the post-war period'.</i><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">First to leave - now for at least two years - was the statue of Karin, carrying a bag, taken from platform two. For a time, Southeastern put a sign up near her position saying she had been 'temporarily removed... for careful restoration'. The company added:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'We know how important these listed statues are to Brixton and to the community, and we'll replace the statue as soon as we can'.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I took a photograph of that sign on October 19, 2019. It has vanished leaving nothing in its stead, the statue hasn't reappeared and subsequently the other two figures have been removed too.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdxE0S6XhhWb84gZ4jUEe1pL3Hx3VEqDQo-volq7_3I5wd68BS84fIaS_fe-zG_QalN30LAQu44eeJ8l37mwbiD2AMxNth_pg7V_Iq8VISbO3pUclgi2nh2Cb7YTW1ex6nC7SWBKa/s2048/Platforms+piece+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1470" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdxE0S6XhhWb84gZ4jUEe1pL3Hx3VEqDQo-volq7_3I5wd68BS84fIaS_fe-zG_QalN30LAQu44eeJ8l37mwbiD2AMxNth_pg7V_Iq8VISbO3pUclgi2nh2Cb7YTW1ex6nC7SWBKa/s320/Platforms+piece+2.jpg" width="230" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Considering how anxious some have recently been about the preservation of statues and some of the frankly embarrassing stuff said about their potential removal, with politicians absurdly warning against the 'rewriting of history', eager to protect whatever they hope is a popular conception of what is Britain's heritage, the lack of concern of the whereabouts of these geninely significant pieces, is something of a mystery.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The need for conservation is, of course, appreciated, but the apparent lack of urgency to reinstall the works, the paucity of information over what it actually happening and lack of a timetable for what can be expected, is very concerning. It may, of course, simply be that the pandemic has thrown whatever schedule that did exist into chaos. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Southeastern have said this last week: 'They were removed last year, and we've since engaged a specialist contractor to scope and undertake any repairs, plus carry out a full restoration so they can be reinstated in their right place at the station'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adding: 'We'll have more to say on this very soon'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't wait. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But, in the way passengers fear a train might never arrive when their services are disrupted, the complete absence of the information on the future of these statues feeds fears they may never return.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: This excellent <a href="https://brixtonblog.com/2013/07/the-never-ending-commute-the-story-of-brixtons-station-statues/?cn-reloaded=1" target="_blank">piece </a>on Brixton Blog has more on Platforms Piece and the Historic England entry can be read <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1438640" target="_blank">here</a></span><br /></p><br />joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-76897546633405243612021-06-09T00:13:00.001+01:002021-06-09T00:13:42.613+01:00On writer's block<p class="MsoNormal">There is an obstacle in my mind around which I’m struggling
to negotiate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s quite hard to positively identify. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A combination of tiredness, a lack of patience
and discipline, an imagination that struggles to spark and a fear of inadequacy,
perhaps, all coagulating to clot my brain, severely hampering my ability to
write critically or for pleasure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s
becoming a matter of huge disappointment and frustration.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hilary Mantel recommends getting away from the desk to ‘take
a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie’ but not to ‘go to a party’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walks I can do, parties I already evade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kurt Vonnegut wondered about the fate of a writer
living in ‘perfect freedom who has nothing more to say’; it’s not a lack of a
things to say, it’s the ability to do so.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This piece, in itself, is a hopeful attempt to puncture the
embolism.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To an extent, it is to be expected. I have two young
children, six and eight, with all the inevitable demands that entails. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fitting a full-time job around their agendas
fills much of the day. For too long – especially in the early days of the
coronavirus pandemic – simply reading for pleasure was something of
challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with commuting being
something of a rarity – almost 50 minutes of guaranteed reading time a day –
that mountain has been conquered.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And there has been wilful detachment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For all the intensity of work, observing and
writing about what has been going on over the last few tumultuous years – referendums
on Scotland and the EU, political deadlock combined with rapidly changing
governments, staggering incompetence, habitual lying, cartoonishly vain politicians
– escaping to the family and quieter pursuits has proved something of a relief.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, how to extract the thoughts welling up in my head and
get them on to paper?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For me, the process of writing has always been about forming
the first sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crafting that is the
key to a whole piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weighing ideas up
in my mind, pacing back and forth, walking round the block, trying to construct
the right opening, from which other ideas can flow and spark, that has always
been my first step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now though, ideas flit through my head like swallows
skirting through a sunny sky, evasive, banking, fleeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even grasping those thoughts for long enough
to squeeze into 280 characters is frequently a step too far.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It also has become a self-fulfilled silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more I dwell on it, the harder it becomes.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just writing these few words seems absurdly self-indulgent
and ridiculous but hopefully there’s an element of catharsis, the lancing of a
troublesome intellectual boil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-33095178770581635852020-10-18T21:22:00.001+01:002020-10-18T21:56:02.469+01:00From where did I catch this infernal virus?<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06UoNeLK2XmqZ4Jrx6YVryIj-DvnRZ_A8lKt00NL85Kc9iJG3a6vAt9hlExSfYKhnYRxV5OAFahONXXn4s2_gTSZ6Q1Ik2YMSkcYxEaCWTLcsN6RopAqmgUBTxPbNUkjgENRFgbfm/s769/coronavirus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="769" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06UoNeLK2XmqZ4Jrx6YVryIj-DvnRZ_A8lKt00NL85Kc9iJG3a6vAt9hlExSfYKhnYRxV5OAFahONXXn4s2_gTSZ6Q1Ik2YMSkcYxEaCWTLcsN6RopAqmgUBTxPbNUkjgENRFgbfm/w400-h183/coronavirus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">After receiving some worrying and
potentially serious health news, it is inevitable one casts a tired eye back
over recent history and reviews what could have been done differently to avoid
such an outcome.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where on earth, for example, did I manage to pick up the blasted
coronavirus having barely being out of my house for the last couple of weeks?<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apart from fleeting visits to shops and an occasional and brief trip to
a pub – both with no or extremely fleeting social contact – trips out of the
house have been little more than strolls in nearby parks with the family.
For much of the rest of the time – like so many others – I have been camping in
my living room, working from home.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One can never be sure, of course, but after considering all the options,
the overwhelmingly likely source is the school which my two daughters, eight
and five, attend.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At first, I cast my curious eye upon the girls as the most likely
culprits; both have had mild colds, was that the nascent virus in our house?<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But, in a letter from Public Health England in September, distributed by
our school, parents were told:<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Your child <b>does not need a test</b> if they have a runny nose, are
sneezing or feeling unwell but do not have a temperature, cough or loss of, or
change in, sense of smell or taste because these are not normally symptoms of
coronavirus’<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The bold passage is PHE’s so, perhaps, after all, the girls are
innocent; though it must be said that the symptoms of this virus seem to be
multifarious and the list is augmented on a regular basis.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what about the daily routine of taking them to school and collecting
them afterwards, where scores of parents gather, most not wearing masks and
with social distancing almost impossible to maintain?<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have tried to avoid the queues, arriving late both morning and
afternoon to avoid the standing around in a line along the pavement; my wife
and I have always worn masks during these trips and we try and stay two metres
from other parents. But, with the nature of the buildings and busy roads and
the behaviour of some other parents, sometimes getting closer to other people
than one intends is unavoidable.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is this gathering of people, the majority of whom we do not know –
and we know even less about the risks to which they are exposed – that must be
the mostly likely root of my infection.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I received my positive result 51 hours after an in-person test was taken
on Friday 16<sup>th</sup>. I had been feeling really unwell the day
before – too unwell to walk uphill for ¾ of a mile – but was grateful that
there was a testing site not too far away. I was told that, if I received
no results after 48 hours, to ring and chase. And so I did. During
this phone call, I was informed that I need not try and pursue my result until
5 days had elapsed. I had to wonder just how many people I might infect –
and how many more might they infect – were I to get on with my life normally
for those five days. This certainly hammered home the uselessness of
large-scale testing if obtaining results and tracing contacts lags so very far
behind.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, I did not have to wait for five days. The next step,
after receiving the bad news, was that I had to complete the government’s test
and trace questionnaire. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There seemed no obvious place to record ‘gathering at the school gates’
as a ‘new activity outside your home’. There is an ‘add workplace or school’
section but again, the inevitable gathering of crowds of parents outside school
gates – visible close to so many primary schools in particular, whilst the
children are being slowly and carefully funnelled into their classroom bubbles
– is not mentioned.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is possible to work around these constrictions and, under ‘other’, I
submitted the queue as the most likely source of the virus. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But without a dedicated channel, it surely makes it much harder to
gather the statistics and monitor whether schools are the likely source
of infections? This couldn't be a policy decision by any chance? <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnheYHLO5vBgXRhTI7xIRBiFjkihhOA7n8LLCeN6hIYUF8bgLpupmQVM9vHAPawSu1Yxoh9ntf-LAanQ5E3KW1B690wnv4TJir_H1mKFNRR92ctnzXpXwBOE8Hx0AU4K-DzAFwx33/s1776/2020-10-18+%25283%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="1776" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnheYHLO5vBgXRhTI7xIRBiFjkihhOA7n8LLCeN6hIYUF8bgLpupmQVM9vHAPawSu1Yxoh9ntf-LAanQ5E3KW1B690wnv4TJir_H1mKFNRR92ctnzXpXwBOE8Hx0AU4K-DzAFwx33/w640-h548/2020-10-18+%25283%2529.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were thrilled when the children finally returned, full time, to
school in September after six months of being stuck at home, but the potential
risks of infection through school have been consistently downplayed by the
government.<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Test and trace boss, Baroness Dido Harding, told a Commons select
committee, that no modelling had predicted there might be a surge in cases as
schools went back in September. Blaming the government advisory group
SAGE for the modelling, Lady Harding told the science and technology committee:<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd">'I don’t think anybody was expecting to see
the really sizeable increase in demand that we’ve seen over the course of the
last few weeks. In none of the modelling was that expected.'</span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd">At which point, a weary nation guffawed in
unison. Whoever imagined that, with hundreds of thousands of children and
young people criss-crossing our roads and transport system, and flocking to new
towns and cities around the country, there might be – there would inevitably be
– an upsurge of infections? </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd">I am not suggesting that the great return to
education should not have happened. But, for many, it is hard to stomach that there
sometimes appears to have been so very little planning for this exceptionally important and predictable development.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd">Daily risks have to be taken; schools and
universities must stay open; but everything should be done to monitor the
movement of Covid-19 if we are going to learn to live with it. Unless
test-trace-isolate works as a triumvirate – the three in one in indivisible
union – then there will be no chance for us. And unless we recognise that
daily life – including the crowds gathering at the school gates – is, for many,
a very likely source of infection, then we may as well give up. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-eab47cfd">Surely we
are weary of boasts about numbers of tests and panic about pubs and must recognise other obvious threats? Otherwise, we are surely in danger of listing our possible
sources of infection according to whether or not they might be politically
awkward.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-EAB47CFD"><i>Note</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-EAB47CFD">I should say that it seems we have escaped with an exceedingly mild version of the virus as I suffered from unpleasant symptoms for just a day, have now only a slight cough and the rest of the family doing even better. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="paywall-EAB47CFD">Now we are planning lots of games, films and books for the next two weeks and thank you for all the lovely comments </span></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-74009543205040567182020-06-19T00:26:00.004+01:002021-11-26T20:57:57.457+00:00Is it last orders for Britain's pubs?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aI4_WaQOIVup2QbOUgRmPoSsb-TxB4jVW9gImoMk5MVT5rmxzjSvT_UcQbfye56kF3wtUgw4nhT9DnxLPhmZ6EU51nzScj1YEvmve_nFrE-Ku5Tq1DDpeJisGNUVshVekCJ7Q0L6/s1600/Coach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aI4_WaQOIVup2QbOUgRmPoSsb-TxB4jVW9gImoMk5MVT5rmxzjSvT_UcQbfye56kF3wtUgw4nhT9DnxLPhmZ6EU51nzScj1YEvmve_nFrE-Ku5Tq1DDpeJisGNUVshVekCJ7Q0L6/s640/Coach.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some may believe that the pattern of this government during
the wretched coronavirus pandemic has been to announce measures with impressive
vim and vigour only for their intentions to be let down by a failure of having
done the vital legwork and consultation beforehand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s not for me to make any judgement, but it is clear that
the pub industry urgently needs a statement providing clarity and direction
unless the entire sector is to be irredeemably damaged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">July 4 – the earliest date the government has said the
hospitality sector could reopen – is just 16 days away yet operators are
entirely in the dark as to whether they will be able to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxIxeKYZuj4nwqai4toSv3WH6n6epv1EZfGV4aaDG7Fv1aXLkkehQeSdhNsc8OosoCs3ABVCgJNvK6vCVSgDPwHOZy4ZVs3ibXBomRiqHAbK8kHD3BgT8OWcElKK_R3v3oAhNAQ6Z/s1600/Oakman.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="904" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxIxeKYZuj4nwqai4toSv3WH6n6epv1EZfGV4aaDG7Fv1aXLkkehQeSdhNsc8OosoCs3ABVCgJNvK6vCVSgDPwHOZy4ZVs3ibXBomRiqHAbK8kHD3BgT8OWcElKK_R3v3oAhNAQ6Z/s320/Oakman.PNG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pub operator Oakman Inns has today unilaterally decided it will reopen
on this date as owner Peter Borg-Neal has clearly been driven to distraction by the complete
failure of this administration to give him information.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If he is to open by this date, he knows he needs to make it
Covid secure and that requires time and work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
The British Beer and Pub Association, alongside several pub operators, has
pleaded with the government for a decision on reopening dates and the 2-metre
rule by today – Friday June 18.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We know a person is more likely to catch the virus when
closer than 2-metres yet most other countries have reduced this measure and are
opening up. The number of cases in this country remains stubbornly high but is
falling and deaths – especially in London and a couple of other areas – are
very slight. There is obviously a balance of risk – this is well known; the
lack of a decision, though, baffles many.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This evening, I’ve received a set of demands from the Campaign for Pubs - an organisation run by former Liberal Democrat MP, Greg Mulholland who has worked over many years fighting to keep pubs going.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are the demands - will the government help at all? One can only hope.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<b>The full list of the 10 Points to Save Pubs is: </b></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li>A <b>definite date for opening NOW</b>! (by Friday 19<sup>th</sup> June)</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="2"><b>Social distancing of 1 metre</b> - not 2 metres (or most pubs simply cannot open)</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="3"><b>Clear full guidance for pubs and insurance companies to be issued by Friday 26<sup>th</sup> June</b> – pubs need real clarity about any physical infrastructure requirements, and also about specific responsibilities and liability issues, so that they can be properly insured under fair policies which will be honoured </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="4"><b>Relaxation of licensing restrictions </b>where extra spaces would help smaller pubs operate more viably and safely </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="5">A <b>strong mandatory Covid-19 rent code of conduct</b> including a <b>statutory right to a rent review </b>for all pub tenants </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="6"><b>A rent-free period for all pubs,</b> and an<b> extended period of protection from landlords</b> if rent cannot be paid</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="7"><b>Continued financial support for staff</b> – extended fully-paid furlough where pubs are unable to viably/safely trade due to continued Government restrictions </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="8"><b>VAT to 5% for at least 12 months</b> - the only sensible way to help with reduced margins, as any price increases would reduce trade even further</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="9"><b>Business rates reform</b> - announced now and implemented in April 2021 – and rates relief for all pubs until a reformed system comes in</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">
<li value="10"><b>A 12 month ban on all change of use for pubs</b> – pubs need protection in the planning system now even more than ever</li>
</ol>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-4909801622013102892020-04-21T20:50:00.000+01:002020-04-21T22:27:11.181+01:00Living and learning from lockdown<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
When the lockdown began, as the government instructed
people to stay indoors but for fleeting occasions, the prospect of dark empty
streets was somewhat unnerving.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It may have been a natural middle-class reaction,
thinking that while I’d carefully obey instructions only the reckless and
dangerous would flout such restrictions, given that the threat to our health comes in the shape of something as
intangible as an invisible virus.<br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoQDqBsAE98Ur3CK7LMRggX2VBBTWryLDzSwwom-1IYvD7y8kh4Btp1RSW34tZb5GbC02NHjbG9hxFjf3R6dZqgoy39TE7OaWVGKg6ElUJx97e5C_6wqmkTkKDs3NlDuKGXrj_yTn/s1600/empty+london.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="465" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoQDqBsAE98Ur3CK7LMRggX2VBBTWryLDzSwwom-1IYvD7y8kh4Btp1RSW34tZb5GbC02NHjbG9hxFjf3R6dZqgoy39TE7OaWVGKg6ElUJx97e5C_6wqmkTkKDs3NlDuKGXrj_yTn/s400/empty+london.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Fears of societal disintegration, as in Golding’s Lord of the Flies came to mind; or would the dystopian chaos of Cuaron’s
Children of Men or even Mad Max – with marauding gangs of eco-warriors, freedom
fighters and bounty hunters – be made flesh by the Covid-19 crisis?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Any such fears were not just misplaced, but wholly
nonsensical of course. But, perhaps something more remarkable has occurred. Far
from creaking and failing around us, social structures and the strengths of communities
– at least from this corner of south east London – appear remarkably
resilient.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The most obvious signal of this coherence is the week’s social
highlight when neighbours emerge from their houses to clap the NHS each
Thursday evening. It’s clearly not just our streets, the noise echoes all
around. Indeed, every week, someone is, hopefully safely, setting off fireworks
to celebrate the efforts of doctors and nurses. Despite my reticence towards
such publicly emotional displays, it’s impossible not to be moved and get
involved.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Support groups have spontaneously appeared in every community,
offering the elderly and vulnerable support. Within minutes of signing up for
one on behalf of some relatives who live elsewhere, we were inundated with messages offering to
help with shopping, deliveries and other assistance from complete strangers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This perspective, however, inevitably comes from
something of a position of privilege. Our two daughters are young enough for
their school absence not to be significantly detrimental. They have a garden in
which to run around and we have secured relatively safe and secure ways of
getting enough food. We are working from home and it is a tight squeeze; but we
are still working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> As far as the girls are concerned</span>, they
can still construe these weeks – in the sunshine, with Spring emerging, with
a smattering of school working continuing but not overwhelming and access to wider family and
friends available via social media – almost as a holiday. It’s a time that may
long linger in their memory with a fondness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
How one copes during the lockdown is a measure of
entitlement. Less than a stone’s throw from my house, there are flats where the
occupants have no garden at all, where venturing into the spring sunshine for
anything other than exercise or dog walking risks at least a reprimand from the
police. Unless one is living under such circumstances it is very hard to truly
imagine how hard such conditions are.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhJttbgMPu1vQj-SamU1uFKPUGaPNlmh5uDPu3uBCTEFyM7xEE_ZCsyIUc0_YxpUv3zBHpjx3eqlgNxCmN-djDVXfMl1sJK0mmPUlkoStqltOYohHP_oQB3rnZdLjhSyx_mtMcRpw/s1600/Karen+Buck+tweet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="536" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhJttbgMPu1vQj-SamU1uFKPUGaPNlmh5uDPu3uBCTEFyM7xEE_ZCsyIUc0_YxpUv3zBHpjx3eqlgNxCmN-djDVXfMl1sJK0mmPUlkoStqltOYohHP_oQB3rnZdLjhSyx_mtMcRpw/s400/Karen+Buck+tweet.PNG" width="400" /></a>Labour MP Karen Buck has regularly posted about the
domestic challenges some of her constituents are facing. Just today she wrote
about an appeal to her from an NHS hospital worker living in a one bad flat
with her husband and three children<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
‘She can’t self isolate, she’s terrified for her family
and it’s impacting on her mental health’.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_iRv4q0SBnhSm6OrPzz8zoN6GlsKq4kRSCps7AfmCtvy9hgj-k4olF5xWF3797ZGcxIkaEAAIhu5Cf0CDDKSRLxSOH2IUkS8639xGUgqVQiBr193f0z9fl3h6-XIKHWKRDsZ_pqq/s1600/buck+tweet+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="540" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_iRv4q0SBnhSm6OrPzz8zoN6GlsKq4kRSCps7AfmCtvy9hgj-k4olF5xWF3797ZGcxIkaEAAIhu5Cf0CDDKSRLxSOH2IUkS8639xGUgqVQiBr193f0z9fl3h6-XIKHWKRDsZ_pqq/s400/buck+tweet+2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It isn’t the fault of any cabinet minister that they may
have more than one comfortable home and garden but instructing people such as
those above, who are in such tight circumstances, to remain indoors, must be exasperating
and angering.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At times police have appeared heavy-handed in their
handling of the lockdown rules but they are learning how to operate in a
strange new world as are we all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we
haven’t seen great confrontations between the authorities and anti-lockdown
protesters, as has been seen in the United States and Paris. The country has
taken to the grim challenge with perhaps surprising success.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It’s all the more imperative, then, to make the effort to
recognise how exceptionally difficult life is for many at the moment; and to sympathise
– even if we cannot truly empathise – with those whose lives have been thrown
into chaos, confusion and desperation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We must really work hard to ensure that, when these exceptionally strange
times are over, we remember who kept our lives going, which roles are ‘key’,
which workers underpin our sense of community and who are the most vulnerable
people in our society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Where would we be without doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, carers, volunteers, transport workers, shop workers, rubbish collectors, delivery couriers? </span>Our democracy is
only as good as the lives of those who have not got sharp elbows, or a house
and garden, or a supportive family, and who may not always be able to look
after themselves.</div>
<br />joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-223782112585742582019-07-30T21:00:00.000+01:002019-07-31T16:57:20.811+01:00Poisoned Egnep<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Penge is a ‘local version of Chernobyl’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not, I’m relieved to say, the area of south London which has
been my home for about 12 years, but a description of a township in South
Africa which has been scarred by decades of asbestos mining.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What began as a bit of fun, discovering that London's Penge has a namesake more than 8,100 miles away – with its own makeshift
cable car across a river – became more tragic as it became clear generations of
families have suffered from poisoning in the filthy trade.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b7XsKB0Gvto/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b7XsKB0Gvto?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
I’ve tried to find out who named the place but have had no
success yet. The area was mapped by a geologist called Hall (again, I'm still struggling to establish his first name) in 1907 and it was he who located the brown asbestos which
became the area’s main industry.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Mining began in either 1910 or 1914 by two companies, one
called Asbestos Mines of South Africa (AMOSA), from which the word Amosite – the trade
name for brown asbestos – derives, and Egnep Limited – obviously Penge spelt
backwards. It seems reasonable to assume whoever set up Egnep Ltd had strong
links to our area.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By 1925, the companies were incorporated into the Cape
Asbestos Company Limited where they proved to be hugely profitable over
successive decades.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The chairman of Cape, an L Breitmeyer, visited in 1929 and
was clearly stirred by what he saw. At the AGM in Holborn, according to The Times, he said: <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCxID-96AZc4JxFYLHStnPFq0eFc4NVR-a0QZU92aBk_USygw8wB7ITF4WTavI6B0sIlVtzoIXuMk6D7KAm6A66GCdH2q1bMhL3bsU8OzvBsLYs9dibYK1ntLIGeIswCJ1NiDt9zX/s1600/Penge+asbestos+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="423" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCxID-96AZc4JxFYLHStnPFq0eFc4NVR-a0QZU92aBk_USygw8wB7ITF4WTavI6B0sIlVtzoIXuMk6D7KAm6A66GCdH2q1bMhL3bsU8OzvBsLYs9dibYK1ntLIGeIswCJ1NiDt9zX/s400/Penge+asbestos+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
£30,000 is the equivalent to about £1.8million in today's money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1959, its annual report found that ‘the successful
outcome of our exertions at Penge is clearly of great importance to the Group’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even in 1970, the Transvaal Consolidated Land company, to which Cape gradually sold off its asbestos mining interests, reported that its ‘main source of royalty income is the amosite asbestos
deposit at Penge in the northern Transvaal, which is expected to provide a
satisfactory income for many years’.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On September 30, 1981, The Times reported that South African
mining company Gencor had offered to buy the asbestos interests of Transvaal
Consolidated Land in a deal worth about £12million noting that TCL had earned
about £1.5m from the Penge mines and another site.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The mine finally closed in 1992, 24 years after Cape’s notorious Barking factory in London sealed its doors due to the levels of asbestos disease suffered
by its workers.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regulations on working with asbestos began in Britain in
1931 but workers Penge, South Africa, did not see any benefits and were sometimes were exposed to ‘up to thirty times the legal
limit’ of asbestos in Britain.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFFa2g9jb9VC5pVdVHmRsdRui2q1d0kXxcXRm4LbNEhqGhohfWNAR2XNaHrdrbcJ5-UwegXqI7yHYdFYrHak0-ng_cJjUYYQ1U51HeefnUw_VH3L9veBTMWHnH_24uaOZAsvQM_Lp/s1600/Penge+mine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1023" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFFa2g9jb9VC5pVdVHmRsdRui2q1d0kXxcXRm4LbNEhqGhohfWNAR2XNaHrdrbcJ5-UwegXqI7yHYdFYrHak0-ng_cJjUYYQ1U51HeefnUw_VH3L9veBTMWHnH_24uaOZAsvQM_Lp/s400/Penge+mine.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A site visit in 1949 by the Silicosis Medical
Bureau reported that:<br />
<br />
<i>‘Exposures were crude and unchecked. I found young
children... in large shipping bags, trampling down fluffy amosite asbestos
which all day long came cascading down over their heads. They were kept
stepping lively by a burly supervisor with a hefty whip’. </i><br />
<br />
Several of these
children later developed asbestosis before the age of 12.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jan/31/davidberesford.theobserver" target="_blank">1999 story in The Guardian</a> said that by 1960 South African
surveys ‘showed a link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, but
circulation was restricted, seemingly with the connivance of the industry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
In 2007, <a href="https://twitter.com/ibasecretariat" target="_blank">Laurie Kazan-Allen</a>, who has spent decades campaigning for those affected by asbestos poisoning noted:<br />
<br />
<i>'Before it was closed in 1992, the world's largest amosite asbestos mine had operated for over 90 years in Penge. When the mine was shut, thousands of local people occupied the mine's buildings and 250 houses previously inhabited by former workers'.</i><br />
<br />
And she went on to quote Steven Donohue, the acting head of the Department of Community Health:<br />
<br />
<i>'Gross asbestos contamination is clearly not confined to the mine dumps. Penge is an ongoing environmental health disaster and should be deemed permanently uninhabitable... Asbestos waste is widespread around the village and is still detectable in water from the Olifants River, which flows past the village.'</i><br />
<br />
But people still live there. Other forms of mining continue nearby and I'm very grateful to live in our lovely, friendly, neighbourhood, as, in comparison, its problems pale into insignificance.joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-6552034873960258062019-05-27T22:03:00.001+01:002019-06-02T23:11:32.429+01:00London faces losing a vital link to its history<div class="MsoNormal">The history of a great city can be charted in its
architecture and London is conspicuously fortunate to be awash with revered
sites, to which thousands of tourists flock every year and which we can cherish
as signs of the grand sweep and the incidental details of our history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It isn’t just monuments like St Paul’s Cathedral,
Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London – occupied and dominated across
centuries by monarchs, power and wealth – which are crucial to understanding
London’s long history; so too are smaller buildings and spaces, those of a
domestic scale which reveal how people lived and the layers of society and
which map the evolution of our social, economic and cultural lives. Market
squares, cottages built for manual workers, weavers, servants and the growing
population; alleyways, pubs, churches, chapels, hidden archways, riverside
staircases, canals, docks: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all offer the
corner of a veil which can be lifted, revealing how the common man and woman
existed. More often than not, we can see aspects of our own lives in theirs and
reflect how we might have struggled facing the every-day challenges in the
environment of a huge, growing, turbulent capital city.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it is these, perhaps less immediately appreciable,
sometimes more anonymous, features which are confronted with the greatest
threats to their existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As London
grows into an ever bigger global city, inviting investors with big ambitions
and bigger wallets from across the world, we sometimes fail to notice what we
are losing before it is too late. A cursory glimpse of the City of London and
one might still be able to delineate the pattern of alleyways that illuminates
something <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of an ancient past, but its
buildings increasingly do not; skyscrapers grow higher and in ever more bold,
unsympathetic, shapes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Spitalfields, despite a battle lasting years, the British
Land development of Norton Folgate is going ahead – a result of then mayor of
London, Boris Johnson, overturning a local planning decision – demolishing
‘more than 80% of the fabric’ of the site, despite being in a Conservation
Area. Moreover, Mr Johnson’s decision appears to have alerted other developers
that such a status offers little protection to the modest, but beautiful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, planners are seeking to demolish an 18<sup>th</sup>
century weavers’ cottage, No. 3 Club Row.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;" id="id_9052_3d13_b81f_8d4f"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dr5HJfOGBd-T3_7oB78C3HuJ_z5EhyigGv-wfImgCkM8VqUAzb9wJtC0wN68cnfu9nLS86dSg1M7HkY45fqZbWOJ4tepXX-BWPq3mCCQIwdqohLI561BCEuriTOmKVNCk0d47DMa/s1600/2019-05-27+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="836" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dr5HJfOGBd-T3_7oB78C3HuJ_z5EhyigGv-wfImgCkM8VqUAzb9wJtC0wN68cnfu9nLS86dSg1M7HkY45fqZbWOJ4tepXX-BWPq3mCCQIwdqohLI561BCEuriTOmKVNCk0d47DMa/s320/2019-05-27+%25282%2529.png" width="320" id="id_ef7d_653_b76f_7fba" style="width: 320px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No. 3 Club Row</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his magisterial ‘Spitalfields’, published in 2017, Dan
Cruickshank describes the legible history of the, ‘handful of streets that
constitute’ the area, the, ‘religious strife, civil conflict, waves of
immigration, the rise and fall of industry, great prosperity and grinding poverty.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In particular, Cruickshank highlights the survival
of a pair of houses, ‘3 and 5 Club Row, dating from 1764-5’, describing them as
‘remarkable’. He adds: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>‘They are three storeys high above a basement, each
presenting to the street one wide window per floor… they are little altered
examples of the humble houses in which Georgian journeymen silk weavers lived
and worked… The very few early buildings that survive on these small estates in
north Spitalfields – notably the pairs of houses in Club Row and in [nearby]
Redchurch Street – are the fragmentary remains of a lost Georgian
Spitalfields.’</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says that these buildings were once in their thousands
around Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch. And he adds: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>‘Their architecture was humble and unglamorous – so in
consequence unappreciated, undervalued and unprotected. Yet they were also
fascinating social documents …. Now there are barely two dozen such buildings
left in Spitalfields.’</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One would have thought that the purpose of a Conservation Area
designation would be to protect these rare insights into our past and into such
a crucial London trade, but faced with powerful investors resistance can be
difficult.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The backers of the redevelopment of 3 Club Row claim, in
their heritage statement, that the building is ‘innocuous’ (whatever that
means) and the ‘growing vacancy and derelict appearance of the building has
made the corner site detrimental to the quality and character of the area’.
Indeed, it argues that the building detracts from the Conservation Area itself
and the setting of a nearby listed building, thus apparently pandering to the specious
notion that ‘conservation’ should be concerned only with the great and showily
glorious. It is further claimed that, the current building is ‘not suited to
the uses of existing and forecast requirements of users/the community’ and the
replacement, 5-storey building, will see the ‘active regeneration of this
site’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The local community, however, appears not to agree. Already
the application has received 140 comments and a vigorous campaign against the
development has been launched. And their campaigning has been noticed locally,
at least, as the local council, Tower Hamlets, has issued a temporary Building
Preservation Notice for six months as Historic England decides whether or not
to list the building.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Historic England loudly proclaims ‘We protect, champion
and save places that define who we are’; one hopes that local feelings will be
heard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What can be done to save what little is left of Chaucer’s
London, huddled in the streets near Southwark Cathedral, Borough High Street
and London Bridge, is less clear. Once the only crossing point into the City,
the roads around Borough High Street became something of a wild border town;
rowdy hostelries, brothels, inns and theatres emerged, offering entertainments
and attractions forbidden on the other side of the Thames. <span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" id="id_f7e0_a448_a9f2_2281"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq6l5MW4YvTZDFovPdO6ngL4SLRhcGW6ivLSF-ExTv1I1zi6P2Co9A0N4U71dXTVndTPp06tCiu0bBm48EdeniM5Sv_mJh636kTQfNxXdpYBj9Fmn6jNJJv06uYkjQlDyVbhL0fPu/s1600/Spur+Inn+Yard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq6l5MW4YvTZDFovPdO6ngL4SLRhcGW6ivLSF-ExTv1I1zi6P2Co9A0N4U71dXTVndTPp06tCiu0bBm48EdeniM5Sv_mJh636kTQfNxXdpYBj9Fmn6jNJJv06uYkjQlDyVbhL0fPu/s320/Spur+Inn+Yard.JPG" width="320" id="id_196a_af48_a4ea_c0b0" style="width: 320px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spur Inn Yard today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just one of London’s great gallery inns survives In Borough
High Street, The George, now managed by the National Trust (Pete Brown’s
excellent <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeares-Pub-Barstool-History-Through/dp/1250049024" target="_blank">‘Shakespeare’s Pub: A BarstoolHistory of London’</a> offers a biography of the pub and a fascinating history of
the surrounding area), but the memory of others lingers on in the names of
alleyways. There’s Kings Head Yard, which weaves round into White Hart Yard,
Spur Inn Yard and Talbot Yard, once home to the Tabard Inn, where Chaucer’s
Pilgrims gathered on their way to Canterbury</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a recent article for ‘Country Life’, architect Ptolemy
Dean appealed for the protection of the area as developers erase its character.
He wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>‘Preserved by a mixture of decline and neglect, the
distinctive character of this area has not been extinguished by the Great
Southwark Fire of 1676, the imposition of Victorian railways and roads or later
bomb damage… As a consequence Borough High Street has been a designated
Conservation Area since 1968’.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it seems that we can, today, wreak damage that none of
our predecessors has managed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>King’s
College London recently, ‘destroyed the intimate character of the former Spur
Inn Yard’, despite its protective designation, with a development that included
a supermarket and a hotel, with ‘the total loss of the old covered arch
entrance to Spur Inn’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr. Dean notes that the destruction does not stop here: </div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now, KCL has further
applied for permission to create a four-block “student village”. The tallest
“village” building will rise 12 storeys. These will overshadow The George and
destroy the neighbouring Talbot Yard where two 19<sup>th</sup>-century hop
warehouses, much mutilated, but potentially recoverable, will be demolished in
the process.’</i></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Mr Dean fears worse is to come. He notes that the,
‘enclosed intimacy of Kings Head Yard is one of the best surviving alleyways
that also still contains an inn’. But, ambitious plans are being laid. </div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Great Portland Estates is planning <a href="http://www.newcitycourt.com/" target="_blank">‘New City Court’</a>, a
373,900 sq ft redevelopment that wants to ‘provide generous and accessible new
public spaces and routes’ and a 139m purpose-built office block, ‘equivalent
height to Guy’s Tower adjacent to our site’. It will be the latest high
rise building now dwarfing the low level heritage, The Shard being the most
conspicuous example.</div>
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While an environmental impact assessment was put to planning
last year, a full planning application has yet to be submitted though it is,
reportedly, hoped that building will start in 2022.</div>
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<br></div>
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To this development, Kings Head Yard is ‘little more than a
service route for the site and other buildings along it…. Our proposal for the
site includes reinstating the yard arrangement and to improve accessibility and
journeys through the site’.</div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But for Mr Dean – and surely, for so many of us – the
‘street pattern of Southwark is intrinsic to its particular character and it’s
sad to see it ignorantly, greedily and ineptly destroyed’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dean concludes, ruefully:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>‘With such forces raised against it, however, only a
miracle can save it now.’</i></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The richness of our collective history owes so much to
places and spaces such as 3 Club Row, The George and Kings Head Yard. It is
crucial that Conservation Areas are enforced and organisations like Historic
England must reflect and act upon their responsibilities and it remains up to
society to remember and treasure these artefacts while we still can. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst it might be much easier to recognise
and enjoy ever-more ambitious – and often coarse – skyscrapers and showy
developments, do we really want to efface, clean up, make more ‘useful’ – and
otherwise destroy – all the history of our multifarious, picturesque, highly
distinctive and complicated capital city?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are powerful stories embodied in its modest buildings, streets and
inconvenient corners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should relish
them.</div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-68356370571951565902019-04-24T22:09:00.000+01:002019-04-25T10:17:50.914+01:00 At least Trump won’t threaten the corgis <div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbQCg3GJD2gtC99PfgPgpg6rD2UiE_gqRRUAuGuhnacMKUQHx-wIPw_rnQIWZFY_bX_OyqEHT_ZhAV5BqT_1Lc37ZGqBsTaRAVtnJMf978MfJSnTjckwf7SoKZpuxaBjvOhcaqaMS/s1600/92DB061E-44A9-4183-B84D-DCFF4E0BD218.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="214" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbQCg3GJD2gtC99PfgPgpg6rD2UiE_gqRRUAuGuhnacMKUQHx-wIPw_rnQIWZFY_bX_OyqEHT_ZhAV5BqT_1Lc37ZGqBsTaRAVtnJMf978MfJSnTjckwf7SoKZpuxaBjvOhcaqaMS/s400/92DB061E-44A9-4183-B84D-DCFF4E0BD218.jpeg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen greets President Mobutu on platform 2<br />at London Victoria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A Yorkshire Terrier called Cara sparked a minor diplomatic panic in 1973 when it emerged the dog had been smuggled into Britain from abroad, bypassing the country's strict quarantine laws, and could potentially come within biting distance of the Queen's prized corgis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The dog had sneaked along with the party accompanying President Mobutu Sese Seko as he came to the UK that year, blessed with the honour of a state visit. Cara was first noticed at Gatwick Airport but was still allowed to reach Buckingham Palace.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There, according to a Times report at the time, the rules were explained to the Zairean ruler and he promptly ordered the dog to be dispatched to his country's embassy in Brussels until the visit was over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The story reassuringly, added: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>‘During its four-hour stay at Buckingham Palace Cara remained in the Zaire suite and did not, according to a Palace spokesman, come into contact with the Queen’s corgis or any other animal.’</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Phew!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As Mobutu's sojourn here shows, invariably, controversy accompanies state visits as reliably as night follows day.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the impending state visit of the president of the United States to this country has got an awful lot of people, on all sides of the argument, very angry incredibly quickly.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<div>
It is inevitable that Donald Trump's arrival will prompt enormous demonstrations in the capital and they will do their best to disrupt his visit wherever they can. And the visit’s announcement triggered protests from the Labour Party with shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry saying:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>‘This is a president who has systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries, and unless Theresa May is finally going to stand up to him and object to that behaviour, she has no business wasting taxpayers’ money on all the pomp, ceremony and policing costs that will come with this visit.’ </i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, on the opposing side many are lining up to accuse those planning to demonstrate of petty politics, when our alliance with the US, especially post-Brexit, is undoubtedly critical, and hypocrisy for failing to stage similar demonstrations against previous unsavoury visitors including President Xi Jinping in 2015 and the three-day non-state visit of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ross Clark in the Telegraph, pondering whether Mr Trump would be afforded the offer of addressing bother Houses of Parliament, wrote it ‘would be foolish and hypocritical for the Speaker to carry out his threat’ [to deny the US president such a privilege]. Adding:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>‘…not least because he would inevitably be reminded of the oleaginous speech he made to Chinese President Xi Jinping before that leader was invited to address members of the Commons and Lords in October 2015. I don’t criticise Bercow for his toe-curling performance on that occasion. He was simply doing his job in welcoming a foreign leader whom the government had invited to Britain. Bercow was paying homage not to the individual but to the office he holds – as leader of the world’s second largest economy and a country with whom it is vital that we do business if we are to avoid global conflict.’</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For the Queen, of course, the latest controversial welcome will hardly cause a ripple, she has seen it all before, and not just with Mobutu. Since succeeding to the throne in 1952 she has had to host a steady trickle of thoroughly unpleasant world leaders including Mobutu, Nicolae Ceausescu, Hasting Banda and Robert Mugabe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whether protests greeted Zaire's president, I haven't been able to establish but it's safe to say if they occurred, they were ignored. To be fair, at the time, the gross excesses to which Mobutu’s regime would later reach, the pillaging, the mind-boggling levels of courrption, the epic human rights abuses and his role in the Congo Wars of the 1990s, were scarcely imaginable, despite his ruthless role in the overthrow of Patrice Lumumba. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Colin Legum, writing in The Observer during the visit, noted: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>‘It is a hard thing to admit, but it is probably true that Zaire needed a leader like Mobutu to rescue it from its post-colonial fate.’</i></div>
<div>
<i></i><br /></div>
<div>
Historically, though, it’s hard to imagine a more awkward state visit than that of the Emperor Hirohito of Japan in 1971, who ruled from 1926 until the royalty became a constitutional monarchy in 1947 (though his reign lasted until his death in 1989).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
This trip came just 26 years after the end of the Second World War, with memories still bitter and fresh. His few days here were part of a goodwill tour through Europe and, as he rattled down The Mall in an open top carriage with the Queen, he was met with the largest crowds of the whole trip. But the New York Times noted there were ‘few cheers, and the crowds were curiously quiet, considering their size’. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" height="225" id="id_bf13_8c0e_46d0_6d43" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pmOra0CssFuTT7fJ6gL8Rl9AS4U1SumEdMJ9kdIrAvvQ_rSNEcOekXz_1i8" style="height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Queen Elizabeth II with Emperor Hirohito riding towards Buckingham</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Palace in 1971.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One unidentified 27-year-old man threw his coat towards the emperor as he passed along The Mall prompting two Life Guards riding along with the royal carriage to wave their swords towards him. The coat-thrower faced no charge.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lord Mountbatten of Burma, who accepted the surrender of Japanese forces, refused to attend the state banquet but a spokesman told The Times no snub was intended and he received invitations to attend 20 to 30 functions a week. It is hard, though, to imagine what invitation was so pressing that it topped a state banquet.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Times also reported that a man laid a wreath at Bristol Cenotaph with a card reading: </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>‘Our memories are not as short as government which today welcomes those who inspired your suffering and death.’</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And memories are short. There were demonstrations against the state visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2007 - it was so serious the Liberal Democrats boycotted the whole affair - and against President Xi Jinping of China in 2015. The latter, though, was perhaps more notable for the strange crowds supporting the president wearing t-shirts reading I Heart China and messages such as ‘Welcome Big Buddy Xi’, all seemingly shipped over in an operation <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/20/chinese-president-begins-uk-state-visit-show-strength-xi-jinping-speech-parliament-queen" target="_blank">orchestrated by the Chinese State</a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s fair to say, however, these protests will be dwarfed by the ones that will greet, and follow, President Trump. Politically, such a visit is a no brainer if a sign of desperation. Trade agreements with the US after Brexit will be vital though it’s currently hard to envisage how the UK government will be able to secure something of worth with such an unreliable and erratic President.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Equally, the protests are certain and perhaps, rather than bickering, the country should just accept and understand both inevitabilities. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It could, of course, be that the reaction against Donald Trump is likely to be so large and vigorous, in comparison to earlier protests, precisely because the United States is our closest ally. The values of this country and the US should be closely aligned and people might hold the view that the current occupant of the Oval Office denigrates the history and standing of his position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></div>
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joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-40654553887302048612019-02-13T22:31:00.001+00:002019-02-16T13:08:52.673+00:00Last orders for the Coach and Horses?<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" id="id_fdb0_8a37_ecfb_f319" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCWW1r_8U39pequaR9LSXJVBIMQZh06Heb99QoIgqkmirQvj21_WCWRyYyQv0zneFxPmqcEpDkuEBuJwfB2c-Y4LcjyrqfLvDgAj4EEFkBu3AeCFOKKD55hbkae8LYBsUz8JRllKj/s1600/Norman+Balon%2527s+last+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1600" height="196" id="id_afbd_2e78_fb72_e1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCWW1r_8U39pequaR9LSXJVBIMQZh06Heb99QoIgqkmirQvj21_WCWRyYyQv0zneFxPmqcEpDkuEBuJwfB2c-Y4LcjyrqfLvDgAj4EEFkBu3AeCFOKKD55hbkae8LYBsUz8JRllKj/s400/Norman+Balon%2527s+last+day.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norman Balon's final day at the Coach and Horses.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They were nervous days, the end of May in 2006, when Norman
Balon, the long-time landlord of Soho’s Coach and Horses, was retiring. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What would happen to the pub that had become so familiar to
many so many people? Regulars might not always have been on first name terms, but we all knew who we were. All of us had our preferred spots along the bar. Norman's departure meant a spot to which we had all escaped suddenly felt threatened. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These fears proved to be misplaced. Under the new (seems
almost daft to still think of him as ‘new’) landlord Alastair Choat the pub has
remained a treasure in the West End. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now, thirteen years later, lovers of the Greek Street
pub, which I sadly visit far less frequently than I once did, are fearful the
lovely old place will succumb to the whims of freeholder Fullers who are unwilling to renew Alastair’s lease and plan to
take it back in house. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in 2006, no one could blame Norman for wanting to move
on. He claimed he was retiring ‘because all my customers are my age and one by
one they’re dropping off their bar stools’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He had worked at the pub since February 1 1943 but, despite diligently
cultivating his persona as the ‘Rudest Landlord in London’, he was held in huge
affection by regulars. It wasn’t just
the cartoon-printed mugs handed out every December, mainly it was that inside Norman was, and no doubt still is, incredibly warm hearted, generous and caring for his regulars. (I say
this despite having a photograph of the pub at home, with the message ‘the
worst editor in London’ written by Norman in his barely legible scrawl. It is true his
rudeness could be<a href="https://joeltaylorwrites.blogspot.com/search/label/Coach%20and%20Horses" target="_blank"> fabulous and marvellously entertaining</a>.)<br />
<br />
At his leaving party, drink took the priority above speeches, but Norman did say:<br />
<br />
<i>'In all these years you think I have been entertaining you. Well, you're wrong, you have been entertaining me. I've had a fantastic life.'</i><br />
<i></i><br />
To which Private Eye's Richard Ingrams piped up 'the only man grumpier than me, I salute you'.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
For a time, Maison Bertaux was trying to purchase Greek
Street pub, and I was briefly involved in the scheme. Falling short by a couple of thousands
of pounds, my wife and I agreed to invest to secure a deal for the pub. One day
an agreement appeared to have been made. Yet, in the time it took for me to make
a journey on the 24 bus from my office in Camden Town to Soho – during which I
imagined myself insisting on retaining my stool on the basis that embodied the
sum of my financial contribution – the deal collapsed. Norman was leaning on
the bar as I entered and snapped that it wasn’t happening. Uncertainty resumed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Norman did leave though and along came Alastair and
despite the pub getting a spruce up – the woodwork behind the bar was suddenly polished and lights behind the Ind Coope sign appeared – little at first
seemed to change. The toilets remained terrible. The pub stubbornly refused to
play music. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Crucially, though, the pub retained its down-at-heel charm and
his tenure has been one of great success.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were a few changes. On the first floor the room where
Private Eye still hosted their lunches – and where I once held a raucous
leaving party – was knocked through and became an attractive dining room,
engulfed with delightful light streaming through the high windows on both Greek
Street and Romilly Street. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Under the influence of Alastair’s daughter Hollie,
the pub turned its back on meat stuffed pies and became London’s first vegan
and vegetarian pub. The quality of the food remained excellent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A pair of cats arrived, Earl and Grey. Slinky and jet black,
they could be found on the bar, sleeping on chairs, in empty crisp boxes, jumping on laps or
typically elusive. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there was a piano. Norman Balon didn’t approve, as Alastair told
Robert Elms on Radio London earlier today (February 13); ‘he hates music in
pubs’, but with it came hugely popular singalongs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do Fullers want to do with the site? No one is quite
clear though it would remain as a pub. Alastair would certainly be gone,
replaced by a manager whose loyalty would be to the freeholders rather than the pub. As
Alastair says: ‘t<span style="background: white;">he great British pub landlord dedicates all their life to
the pub. The pub is our front room’. It's worth noting, not only are landlords more loyal to pubs
than managers, regulars are loyal to landlords as well as pubs; something not
often appreciated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How much time would a manager have given Pamela Jennings,
the shaven-headed homeless lady who used to try and get donations from
regulars? Affectionate and sweet, she would often hug familiar faces and utter
the cry ‘love you’ before darting off. She died in 2012 and was buried in East
Finchley but it was the Coach and Horses which hosted her wake.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnOqkMvKvWltg7AMyW6buS9mBm0OXd20FK83Lr8u52VcU7dkyAJNoavVuZEK0P-2VBEGP1GlHxaJyVCA_2_45CrEE6ZBU-pmbg3PFxO8vK-4M4qqttOM20yQ4wi47hGgSN6KNQHoQ/s1600/Coach+Harry+Patch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1024" height="244" id="id_4347_49bd_a2df_ce02" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnOqkMvKvWltg7AMyW6buS9mBm0OXd20FK83Lr8u52VcU7dkyAJNoavVuZEK0P-2VBEGP1GlHxaJyVCA_2_45CrEE6ZBU-pmbg3PFxO8vK-4M4qqttOM20yQ4wi47hGgSN6KNQHoQ/s320/Coach+Harry+Patch.JPG" style="height: auto; width: 320px;" width="320" /></a>And how many pub managers broadcast images of World War One
veterans to mark on Remembrance Sunday, making 100 years since the end of the
war? I’d wager not many.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fullers claim they want to make it ‘one of the gems’ of
their estate, without realising it is ‘an incredible jewel exactly as it is’,
as Alastair said on the radio.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is little doubt Fullers would spend a fortune the
site. After acquiring the Half Moon Pub in Herne Hill, a reported £2.5million
was spent smartening it up. In all fairness, this was done quite
sympathetically, cleverly blending the old and the new. But, the Half Moon lost
much of its identity as its live music space was lost, replaced with hotel rooms. It
isn’t hard to imagine something similar, a Soho bijou hotel, dining out on its
links to journalism, could be planned for the Coach and Horses. Who knows? Maybe
it’ll be reborn with the Jeffrey Bernard Suite, the Tom Baker lounge and the
Norman Balon Barred Bar.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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In the meantime, Alastair and his daughter Hollie have launched a campaign to try and persuade Fullers to change their mind. There is no legal route to stopping the changes, just sheer pressure from the pub's fans can save this institution. It needs to be saved.<br />
<br />
<b>Sign <a href="https://www.change.org/p/save-coach-soho" target="_blank">here </a>to help.</b></div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-23040580988486844452019-01-10T21:39:00.001+00:002019-01-14T22:11:25.667+00:00Morning might break over Brexit on Tuesday<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Wasn’t the Christmas break invigorating? </span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">With Theresa May pulling the meaningful vote on her Brexit deal in December, every MP was able to scuttle back to their constituencies and have a well deserved rest. And, so the plan went, with a fresher mind, they would be able to consider calmly the merits of the Prime Minister's withdrawal deal safely away from the <i>sturm und drang</i> swirling through the corridors of Westminster.</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Peace.</span></span><br>
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<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And thus, as the dawn of 2019 broke, we find... any such hopes have come to a shuddering halt; MPs are as
firmly entrenched as they were before the festive season if not more so. The sherry, port and turkey have stiffened the sinews, ready for fresh battle.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
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<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we look now, the Prime Minister could be defeated on a huge
scale when the vote takes place on Tuesday night. According to BBC analysis she is as many as 114 MPs short
from securing a deal. Translated, that would give her opponents a victory by
more than 200 votes; it is scarcely possible to imagine a political humiliation of greater magnitude.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEpizAzp_9N1FqCvYHLZAaFbh4MCjoapiY7pkmVgGEiSl8rK1hSxOOrc_Vha0bv1y3ORxdc6PMJWvQKbjWGL-OZxcIeT6WJJNN7xlxLvzosj_0p31wjK9xQPefa0f8Qx2WETyZNq9/s1600/2019-01-10+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1153" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEpizAzp_9N1FqCvYHLZAaFbh4MCjoapiY7pkmVgGEiSl8rK1hSxOOrc_Vha0bv1y3ORxdc6PMJWvQKbjWGL-OZxcIeT6WJJNN7xlxLvzosj_0p31wjK9xQPefa0f8Qx2WETyZNq9/s400/2019-01-10+%25283%2529.png" width="400" id="id_e637_f255_61ea_4bfa" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today (Thursday) we hear that the Prime Minister held calls
with a couple of union leaders trying to get them to put pressure on likely
Labour MPs to switch their support to her. Having not even contacted Labour’s
eminently reasonable shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer during the entire
Brexit process to ask for his assistance, a last minute call to Sir Len
McCluskey - to whom she has never spoken before - seems to be an act of
desperation and unlikely to be the thing to turn the tide.</span></span><br>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></span>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having seen off a leadership challenge at the end of last year, and possessing the ability and determination to cling to power with a tenacity that would make a barnacle jealous, however huge the defeat, it is unlikely to spell the end of Mrs May's premiership.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It could finally, however, provide a moment of clarity in the whole Brexit drama.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #009000;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After protesting loudly against Speaker John Bercow’s sleight of
hand when he allowed an amendment to what everyone had hitherto understood to
be a non-amendable motion, Brexiteer and Remainer MPs alike now know the Prime
Minister must return to the House of Commons within three sitting days and
present what she plans to do next.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bercow’s ruling may well have been unprecedented, hasty and done
without fully considering what the consequences may prove to be, but, he has
consistently, since ascending to the office, said he would stand up for the voice of parliament. That is
what he has done. </span></span><br>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></span>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a time when the government has no-majority and both of the
major parties have self-evidently failed to convince a sufficient number of MPs
to coalesce around their own particular Brexit vision, that parliament can
still drive the agenda forward in the hope a solution might be found is
something of a relief.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After all, had Bercow not taken such a stance the government
theoretically could have waited 21 days before indicating to Parliament its next intentions. With fewer than 80 days left before Article 50 comes into
force and the U.K. leaves the EU, that would surely have been intolerable.</span></span><br>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br></span></span>
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Theresa May, who is no stranger to twisting parliamentary procedure when it suits her government (see the FT's legal and Brexit blogger <a href="https://twitter.com/davidallengreen" target="_blank">@davidallengreen</a>'s excellent thread <a href="https://twitter.com/davidallengreen/status/1083290033082249217" target="_blank">here</a>), she was, admittedly, always unlikely to wait so long before outlining her next strategy. Mrs May must know time is too precious. Heaven's above! Would the government stoop to playing low politics on such a crucial issue?</span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #b00000;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems likely, therefore, that after the defeat on Tuesday the
prime minister will rise to the despatch box, or stand before a lectern in Downing Street later that
night or on Wednesday morning, and tell the nation what’s going to
happen next. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if another referendum was her
answer with her deal and no Deal, later to be joined by Remain - following another bitterly contested amendment - appearing on the ballot paper. An extension of Article 50 to make time for fresh negotiations also seems to be gaining in likelihood.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There will be no easy resolution next week but fog may finally lift and some much-needed clarity should be visible. After the shadow boxing
in of the last two years, that can only be a good thing.</span></span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-34729139227365851992018-12-19T20:43:00.001+00:002018-12-19T20:44:51.064+00:00Long grass helps hide government's immigration problems<a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/static.anygator.com/static-anygator2/thumbs/uk/97/97e1c7336915e8877de41427e40dc147555e68fc/big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/static.anygator.com/static-anygator2/thumbs/uk/97/97e1c7336915e8877de41427e40dc147555e68fc/big.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;">There’s a crucial line in the government’s immigration white
paper which admits its preferred options – a minimum salary threshold and high
skill demands – would hit the economy.</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On page 111, in a rare passage that exposes the benefits of
freedom of movement, the document says that by imposing a ‘salary threshold and
skills threshold…. that GDP is likely to be lower than it would have been under
free movement’. The government is pursuing a policy which it knows is likely to
make all UK inhabitants financially worse off.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apparently, despite this cost and the criticism coming from all
sides, freedom of movement is still worth dumping.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The government sees immigration as one of its trump cards. It believes
that taking a tough stance on the matter wins it votes. They have made the
judgement that it is worth all the negative headlines, the repeated and very
vocal concerns from business especially over the salary threshold just to
appear robust.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout her time in government Theresa May has stubbornly
resisted any attempt to soften the policy. That it has failed year after year
is of no consequence to her.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But, what actually has been promised?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The current cap on the number of skilled workers such as doctors
or engineers will be scrapped. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Low skilled workers will continue to be allowed in for a year
until 2025, in an attempt to soften the blow for industries that rely on cheap
labour.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The government says it wants its new system phased in from 2021.
Surely this is highly improbable; I cannot remember the last time a major and
complicated logistical project, which will undoubtedly require new IT and data
provisions was delivered either on time or on budget.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bizarrely, the government also cannot decide whether or not Mrs
May’s never achieved target of reducing net migration annually to the tens of
thousands is still in place. The Prime Minister insists it is but the Home
Secretary has repeatedly refused to endorse it preferring instead to say net
migration will come down to sustainable levels. It may well prove that
sustainable levels are not too dissimilar from current levels.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The key aspect here is the government is clearly severely
divided over a minimum salary threshold of £30,000. Several ministers,
reportedly led by chancellor Philip Hammond, are opposed to the cap, thinking
it far too high and they have the backing of business. The home secretary likes to frame the policy around being skill based, but an awful lot of people with skills earn under £30,000.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rather than resolve the matter, it has been punted into the long
grass, by promising a consultation. Doesn’t the long grass hide a lot of things
these days? </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is this division that has delayed the White Paper so drastically;
it was supposed to be published in the summer of 2017. Clearly, ministers were
keen to get it published as soon as possible, partly to come before the
meaningful vote takes place on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, but with the Brexit
clock ticking, demands for it were deafening. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even as late as yesterday, it was unclear if it would emerge
today. It was only confirmed by an email from the Home Office at 7.33pm last
night and the trail, with embargoed comments from Sajid Javid didn’t arrive
until in my inbox until 7.51pm. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;">When I interviewed the home secretary a few months ago, Mr Javid
described leaving the European Union as a ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="margin: 0px;">unique, once in a generation opportunity, to
completely redesign our immigration system’. He added: ‘I’m in a privileged
position to be able to do that.’</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #454545; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What has been produced so far, however, is little more than a
wish list. With the fate of Brexit, and all its variables and implications, still
unknown, this has the benefit of inbuilt pragmatism and flexibility – ‘sustainable
levels’ can mean almost anything after all. The promise of stricter – and lower
– immigration remains a political ploy to please Conservative voters; in
reality, it may prove to be a mirage<span style="color: #b00000;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Details of the government's white paper on immigration can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-announces-new-skills-based-immigration-system" target="_blank">here</a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-15606585534058520702018-12-18T21:09:00.003+00:002019-06-02T23:11:49.995+01:00Jurassic Park's bridge<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbQhRLoC9ZqRyZuVOzC1Is6y_kuQGz1ECAunlcPtWBt2-z-q_NP1VGItRyoWrzOw5iocy-DJjEGjoV_QoyGxzA4v8FvutJlP7wGsGTcOZ9rOt8yeNcpumeMGjil8whIS9xhwFY4B_/s1600/Crystal+Palace+dinos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbQhRLoC9ZqRyZuVOzC1Is6y_kuQGz1ECAunlcPtWBt2-z-q_NP1VGItRyoWrzOw5iocy-DJjEGjoV_QoyGxzA4v8FvutJlP7wGsGTcOZ9rOt8yeNcpumeMGjil8whIS9xhwFY4B_/s400/Crystal+Palace+dinos.jpg" width="400" id="id_45e1_c110_c6b3_6e29" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At times, as
this long, tumultuous, year finally winds down, it can appear as though the Brexit
debacle is engulfing everything. When one emerges briefly from behind the sofa,
barely anything seems to have escaped its touch.</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is
pleasing, therefore, to see a piece of news emerge that is not only entirely
different but also a rare positive. After months of campaigning, the Friends of
Crystal Palace Dinosaurs have secured the funds needed to proceed with trying to
install a bridge in Crystal Palace Park to enable them to maintain and
celebrate the Victorian masterpieces.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyTCAnl120SJp3S2jSyLe-4sWGVmTeJWvLm3nmyHTK8nTttDjq0IRhXgNlzIroFXdGy-V-PKN79zTde2q3RCz9sMpe3dXX5AwsbrhDwtvH-c_NZjAoRK4BU4qgFQr0H1X4cTy2cA0/s1600/2018-12-18+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyTCAnl120SJp3S2jSyLe-4sWGVmTeJWvLm3nmyHTK8nTttDjq0IRhXgNlzIroFXdGy-V-PKN79zTde2q3RCz9sMpe3dXX5AwsbrhDwtvH-c_NZjAoRK4BU4qgFQr0H1X4cTy2cA0/s320/2018-12-18+%25283%2529.png" width="208" id="id_521c_3d48_3e7c_77d2" style="width: 208px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slash, with top hat</td></tr>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More than 600
people – many just local supporters – backed the plan, contributing to the more
than £70,000 required to make the plan a reality. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
gave it a kick start with £30,000, Arup another £9,000 and the architects
behind the bridge, Tonkin Liu, at least £2,500. It was assisted by an extra sprinkling
of stardust from Guns N Roses guitarist Slash, who fondly remembers visiting
them as a child. Taking a break from his world tour with Axl, Slash donated one
of his trade mark top hats to an online auction as well as making a donation,
attracting much needed wider attention to the scheme in its final few weeks. I'm sad, and a bit happy, to report that, even for a Guns N Roses nut, the hat proved to be beyond my price range.</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, it
was a close-run thing, only hitting its target in the last few hours of the appeal.
And now, those behind the project have a job to do persuading some critics that
its construction is for the best, amid fears it could damage wild life or
attract vandalism.</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dinosaurs
are of global significance. Designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, the 30-odd
statues were the first attempt in the world to create full-scale models of what
dinosaurs would have looked like when they ruled the planet. While mainly sited
on an island in a lake in Crystal Palace Park, proud locals are not hesitant to
boast they’re also in Penge.</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite some of
the models being almost comically inaccurate – demonstrating how our knowledge
of the creatures’ physical appearance was at such a formative stage
160-years-ago – the dinosaurs are Grade I listed, the highest status available.
But, exposed to the elements, the dinosaurs do need constant maintenance and
the last cold winter had, according to the Friends, ‘a disastrous effect upon
the sculptures’.</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is
understandable that some might worry the creation of a bridge might prove invasive
and upset the wildlife. The lakes are well laid out, providing a lovely spot
around which to walk and it is teeming with birds. But it isn’t a site of special
scientific interest or a rare bird reserve. Pedaloes and rowing boats can be
hired, people gather and feed the perennially aggressive Canada geese; it’s worth
asking whether the wildlife would be there at all if it were not for the dinosaurs.
</span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those behind
the project also insist the bridge will be secure from vandals and that the
only visits allowed will be for works and particular tours. Overall, the local community
is very supportive of the plan but hopefully those who have concerns will be assured
about its benefits. It would be such a shame if it was derailed through
misunderstandings, especially as I know that it has been tremendously difficult to get anything done to improve and restore Crystal Palace Park. </span></span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h4bczX9oISD9HYdm1cxQKpIZOp8I46F8JDlxrXuz2PDNXXex8XNjhIU1S5kAt9AMHiQM0Hy5Y5zLEZKQSRNud0pF78AwThiF2mG_c8gqhu6Uaf8kLjJE5Le2HAYcNAjP7weJZaQW/s1600/2018-12-18+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1247" data-original-width="1258" height="633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h4bczX9oISD9HYdm1cxQKpIZOp8I46F8JDlxrXuz2PDNXXex8XNjhIU1S5kAt9AMHiQM0Hy5Y5zLEZKQSRNud0pF78AwThiF2mG_c8gqhu6Uaf8kLjJE5Le2HAYcNAjP7weJZaQW/s640/2018-12-18+%25282%2529.png" width="640" id="id_b75f_d0bc_8b8c_cfe2" style="width: 640px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
This is the ambition and plan of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, apart
from anything else, if the bridge opens on time next summer it will hopefully provide
a delightful spot to escape from the daily nonsense that dominates the news
these days.</span></span><br>
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span>
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span>
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>Postscript</u></i></span></span><br>
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ezbzxv5YgJCU4zNchR9Iiw0O42ZUW66GwWWmOIN5X34_RHtN0kytMxJvQbvTXg33_BP5FzwvvYEC_yietQPcwYt34Wrss5gCjl7FpoV4Zlp9iT-kjeDe9-BMuqfUYbeYWecHxMC/s1600/2018-12-18+%25288%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br></a></span></span><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br></a></span></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8aTuv31z8e-vbKtNI-Tcn5Er95H4y7_OH1msjZKy5_8CiK1g60Aud2MbV95INolONPLpw5Z8jwSY6ognazyPabRKOg8PipoKLEh24ZsrubVWM0Tr6hmGMgwQwxxuR2sg8M8o8OyN/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="794" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8aTuv31z8e-vbKtNI-Tcn5Er95H4y7_OH1msjZKy5_8CiK1g60Aud2MbV95INolONPLpw5Z8jwSY6ognazyPabRKOg8PipoKLEh24ZsrubVWM0Tr6hmGMgwQwxxuR2sg8M8o8OyN/s320/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" width="243" id="id_c2be_d39_c8ce_1917" style="width: 243px; height: auto;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ezbzxv5YgJCU4zNchR9Iiw0O42ZUW66GwWWmOIN5X34_RHtN0kytMxJvQbvTXg33_BP5FzwvvYEC_yietQPcwYt34Wrss5gCjl7FpoV4Zlp9iT-kjeDe9-BMuqfUYbeYWecHxMC/s1600/2018-12-18+%25288%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="979" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ezbzxv5YgJCU4zNchR9Iiw0O42ZUW66GwWWmOIN5X34_RHtN0kytMxJvQbvTXg33_BP5FzwvvYEC_yietQPcwYt34Wrss5gCjl7FpoV4Zlp9iT-kjeDe9-BMuqfUYbeYWecHxMC/s320/2018-12-18+%25288%2529.png" style="cursor: move; width: 297px; height: auto;" width="297" id="id_28b0_7cee_a849_cec2"></a>I would love to track down a copy of this book; Dinosaurs Don't Die, by Ann Coates. First published in 1970, the cheapest copy I have managed to find costs Aus$95. It appears to feature the Crystal Palace dinosaurs coming alive. Sadly, I doubt I'll source a copy for my two daughters this Christmas.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ezbzxv5YgJCU4zNchR9Iiw0O42ZUW66GwWWmOIN5X34_RHtN0kytMxJvQbvTXg33_BP5FzwvvYEC_yietQPcwYt34Wrss5gCjl7FpoV4Zlp9iT-kjeDe9-BMuqfUYbeYWecHxMC/s1600/2018-12-18+%25288%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><br>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQTcbxwN0nahOfi_NlWGM3JTxc-QyfAjbAg_kFQ13o2MSaTfBY3Wux8xCtv1AGHh7Uha1PGhGOzpgxKGlJ6PKl2WjkXHOjGFGXBhYjX4115inZsxF0E98mEXXQWZq2QsouLwga__7/s1600/2018-12-18+%25287%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7ezbzxv5YgJCU4zNchR9Iiw0O42ZUW66GwWWmOIN5X34_RHtN0kytMxJvQbvTXg33_BP5FzwvvYEC_yietQPcwYt34Wrss5gCjl7FpoV4Zlp9iT-kjeDe9-BMuqfUYbeYWecHxMC/s1600/2018-12-18+%25288%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
</span></span></div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-21770363673227821522018-10-26T00:06:00.000+01:002018-10-26T14:38:00.252+01:00Universal Credit: When will the government listen to the evidence?<br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAqPU7ocJvZB_773Eimv4UaiWg3bmw92GntVHVr7wicUdhSQ6xR6bWcAWqMiOEkh4M-mXBIOr7V0WjEpTgAjeedR9EHZHQmLrG1K-8FndWzI_2hHdxmlmukM5lf1gOnP6sM6t2y-9/s1600/universal-credit-2-638x445.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="638" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAqPU7ocJvZB_773Eimv4UaiWg3bmw92GntVHVr7wicUdhSQ6xR6bWcAWqMiOEkh4M-mXBIOr7V0WjEpTgAjeedR9EHZHQmLrG1K-8FndWzI_2hHdxmlmukM5lf1gOnP6sM6t2y-9/s400/universal-credit-2-638x445.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.newweather.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/universal-credit-2-638x445.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">The stench of smoke, pockmarked cushioned chairs decaying against
the walls, grimy windows and an overwhelming sense of despair, were the things
that put me off spending any time trying to claim benefit when I was an
unemployed teenager.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">It was
a post-school, pre university time and going to the dole office to get a bit of
extra cash seemed like a sensible thing to do. But, in that wretched, gloomy,
room, on an upper floor of an anonymous building in Nottingham, it was hard to
bear. Whether my circumstances allowed me even to claim, I have no idea but,
fortunately for me, I had a home and family to go back to and I didn’t need to
wait to find out.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">This
brief episode – it probably lasted under a minute – was illuminated in my mind
as I listened to witnesses before the Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday
discussing their experiences with Universal Credit. None had the security to
walk away from the system and all were trapped within the labyrinthine chaos of
the government’s flagship benefits programme. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">On the
face of it, the justification for the UC system is hard to question. Replacing
six benefit systems for one payment appears to be a logical simplification of a
bureaucratic, perplexing, minefield.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">When
unveiled by the then Work and Pensions Secretary in 2010, Iain Duncan Smith
proclaimed it would restore ‘fairness and simplicity’ to the welfare system.
Recipients would receive a monthly payment and they would be encouraged back
into work through coaching. As they started to earn, the regular payments would
taper off as salaries increased.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/24222/width668/h2ss636f-1369155256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="668" height="208" src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/24222/width668/h2ss636f-1369155256.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Addressing
that year’s Conservative Party conference, Mr Duncan Smith said: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">‘We
will break down the barriers to work and ensure work pays but in return, we
have the right to insist that when work is available you take that work and
work hard to keep that job. For those who want to choose not to work, under
this government this will no longer be an option.’ </span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">And
yet, on Wednesday, the Work and Pensions Select Committee heard witness after
witness recount horror stories when dealing with the system. One mother told
the committee that, although offered a well-paying job, she felt she had to
refuse it and was still locked out of work as she faced losing all her benefits, at the same time as dealing with all her bills, including very high childcare bills, which would have left her with just with just £60 a month to live on. On the face of it, this story suggests even the core purpose of UC - to get people back into work - was not fulfilled.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Administrator Vikki Waterman, a mother of two girls, told the
committee she was presented with a £1,300 upfront nursery bill before returning
to work from maternity leave. And once she was fined £50 by the nursery because
her Universal Credit came through late and she had been unable to pay her bill
on time. All the MPs and experts in the committee were at a loss as whether she
would be entitled to compensation for this bureaucratic mess-up.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">The
most glaring aspect of the whole hearing was the sheer scale of bureaucracy
people on UC were expected to shoulder. Throughout the process, the lists of
what is required to prove eligibility, and that applicants are fulfilling their
many obligations, are frequent and long.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">And, while nothing particularly unexpected appears amongst the numerous demands for information, the lists are dotted with officious reminders that any mistakes 'might affect
when you get paid or how much you get paid’.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Once claimants have safely navigated through that process,
assuming they are not looking after babies, they will be expected to look for
work and prove that they are doing so. A CV must be written and if jobs are not
immediately available applicants must go on training courses. And they will
have to inform the authorities of any change in circumstances 'straight away'
via the online portal via their personal ‘journals’. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yet another trip to the library for those
without reliable internet access at home.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">All this may sound perfectly reasonable, but, the online system
itself is riddled with flaws and leaves people struggling to cope. Dalia Ben-Galim, the
director of policy at Gingerbread, the charity for single parents, told MPs:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'Journals
are not working for every claimant on Universal Credit. There's a lack of
information a lack of alerts. There are too many teething problems to allow
them to work well.</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'No
one is going to check every day in case there's a message asking them
something. Not all the information is accessible and viewable. It requires
quite big amounts of data to access all of the documents, and not everyone has
wifi at home.</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'The
system of journals is potentially great, but it's still got teething problems.'</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">This IT
failure is further compounded by reports from staff that they are often not
alerted to messages from claimants. Every missed message could lead to a
suspension of benefits payments and yet more hardship. It’s impossible to count
the number of stories which have appeared where someone on UC has been
penalised because of a computer glitch.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">It
isn't just those seeking benefits who are struggling to cope; those tasked with
'coaching' them find the process confusing and exhausting. One employment coach
contacted me and said:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'Too
much of my limited time with clients is spent helping them complete/maintain
Universal Credit claims. I have an MA and often struggle - a lot of my clients
have learning difficulties.'</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">This is
not, of course, a new issue. The failures of the system have been very well
documented since Iain Duncan Smith's scheme first materialised. Yet the government
still persists, seemingly wilfully ignoring the huge flaws in the system and
the terrible hardships it is causing. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And today (26/10/18) sees the publication of another
scathing report from MPs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">This
time, it's from the Public Accounts Committee which specifically accuses the
Department for Work and Pensions of turning a 'deaf ear' to concerns and
adopting a 'fortress mentality'.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'The
introduction of Universal Credit is causing unacceptable hardship and
difficulties for many of the claimants it was designed to help.</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'The
department's systemic culture of denial and defensiveness in the face of any
adverse evidence presented by others is a significant risk to the programme.'</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Chair
of the committee Meg Hillier added:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'A
department in denial cannot learn from its mistakes and take the action
necessary to address the desperate hardship suffered by many Universal Credit
claimants.'</span></i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Of
course, there could be another reason for this refusal to recognise the huge
problems with the system.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Ms
Ben-Galim made the interesting suggestion that it was a deliberate ideological
decision to make it so onerous, citing, as evidence, how parents not receiving
benefit only needed to provide proof their child is registered with a care
provider to receive tax-free childcare support while someone on Universal
Credit must provide a receipt for every single payment.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">'I think that is ideological, that is an active
decision that has been made about how people depending on where they are on the
income scale are treated. I would argue it's a real inequity and real
difference in how you prove what childcare you're using.'</span></i></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/L4dKl7Aq.jpg/1200px-L4dKl7Aq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/L4dKl7Aq.jpg/1200px-L4dKl7Aq.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">And
chairman of the committee, Frank Field, made the point the system 'would work
really well if it was for the middle class' as its structure was built around
regular monthly salaries and didn’t have the flexibility to work for those
surviving on weekly or daily wage packets.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My inclination is that it is a step too far to claim that it is an ideological decision to create such an unwieldy, difficult system. It is instead, surely, <span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">a staggering failure of empathy towards those who may lead less easily
structured lives and face greater challenges in everyday life.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">Just as I cannot claim to understand or appreciate the
multifarious hurdles and obstacles those needing benefit face, it would be
unreasonable to expect all MPs to have the personal life experiences that can equip
them to face every terrible case that came before them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px;">But there is no excuse to consciously ignore the vast quantities
of evidence showing thousands of people are being severely punished, through no
fault of their own, by a failing system on a daily basis. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">MPs do have a responsibility to listen to evidence, which has been drawn from the whole gamut of problems: human failures; software inadequacies; endless delays; the loss of homes; the lack of food; and a host of other challenging consequences of this deficient system too numerous to list here. But, as is so often the case, the loss of empathy may underlie the principal failures of policy.</span></span></span></div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-91596186650649167002018-10-09T00:55:00.001+01:002018-10-10T19:29:04.574+01:00Hundreds dead and counting...<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF9ncaFCMCFbhPz0YocGsJczChXyIlMr1EVkw_0G35BAEYgnx4Zk9cLiRXoqWU0vAepBFDxtwr8ScmnqcW5GsKWQrVu0RvPp5qN0g_qO3C6PBqz_NCsN9ORi0wdvWFeLO8a-D50hd/s1600/2018-10-09+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1600" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF9ncaFCMCFbhPz0YocGsJczChXyIlMr1EVkw_0G35BAEYgnx4Zk9cLiRXoqWU0vAepBFDxtwr8ScmnqcW5GsKWQrVu0RvPp5qN0g_qO3C6PBqz_NCsN9ORi0wdvWFeLO8a-D50hd/s400/2018-10-09+%25282%2529.png" width="400" id="id_343f_1e5b_b3f4_e33e" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘He was 34, that’s no age at all,’ Nick tells me as we
chat outside a shop. ‘He had a perforated ulcer. He just went.’</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Bearded and always tired, Nick is talking about his friend, a fellow homeless man who
had died a few days previously. Nick himself has been homeless for several
years after his marriage broke down, he lost his job and couldn’t keep up with home
payments. He suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and has
recently emerged from hospital. Despite his recent loss, he is looking healthier
than the last time I saw him, less red-faced and clearly finding it easier to
breathe. He’s still wrapped up warmly, though, despite glowing September
sunshine and is understandably disconsolate.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is just one death, but according to figures compiled
by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, more than 440 homeless people have died
either on the streets or in temporary accommodation in the last year. In total,
449 bodies have been found slumped in shop doorways, in tents in woodlands in
the deep of last year’s harsh winter or died in hostels after being sent there
while terminally ill. In one case, a man was tipped into a bin lorry while he
slept. Another man’s corpse appeared to show signs of prolonged starvation. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Many, of course, will have died as a consequence of
addiction, to drugs or alcohol, but such fates are hardly exclusive to the homeless
community. And, if we were to put ourselves in their holey shoes, can we honestly
be sure we wouldn’t be consumed by our current idle indulgences?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The average age of death for homeless men was just 49-years-old,
for homeless women, 53. One of those who died was 94, the youngest only 18. Not
only have they all been denied any dignity in death, but such a concept appears
entirely alien to their existence at the moment.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Almost unbelievably, this appears to be the first time such
a count has taken place. A Big Issue editorial notes, with palpable disgust:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘Their lives are often
surrounded in mystery, and no one in officialdom even bothers to count these
deaths’.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And the analysis could well have underplayed the true
horror of the situation. According to official government figures based on
local government estimates, the numbers of people classed as homeless has risen
from 1,768 in 2010 to 4,751 in 2017. This seems a vast underestimation of the
true situation too; homeless charity Shelter using different methodology,
estimated the true figure was in excess of 300,000 in November 2017.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Has there been a time in recent memory when central
London had so many people lining the streets pleading for money? Earlier today,
by Kensington High Street tube station, a body – whether man or woman it was
impossible to tell – lay curled up beneath a blanket. Nearby, a woman was
prostrate on the ground, nose close to the pavement, clutching a sign reading ‘Homeless
and sick. Please help. God Bless’. The streets around London Victoria station are
full of people asking for money, tents erected behind shops and in patches of
green space. Those begging range from young, probably drug ravaged people, to a
woman in at least her late 60s, pleading for help.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The government wants to eradicate homelessness by 2027
and half it by 2022. Heather Wheeler MP is the minister responsible for
homelessness. In March, Ms Wheeler refused to accept welfare reforms and
council cuts had contributed to the big rise in official figures of homeless
people. It isn’t hard to conclude that while the government may have the best
of intentions, it is beset by so many other issues, ideological and practical,
that anticipating a solution to the current situation is hopelessly optimistic.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And one cannot simply lay the blame at the government. Every day we walk by these people with barely a glance, almost as though they are exhibits who once sparked interest but now simply provoke sighs. A decade of flat wages, in-work poverty and general disaffection cannot help their cause.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One positive from the publication of these figures,
though, is that it has prompted the Office for National Statistics to say they
will try and monitor and publish the deaths of homeless people going forward.
One can only hope that becoming a value in death, they might become more valued
in life.</span></div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-90912995049660985402018-09-20T22:12:00.000+01:002018-09-20T22:15:10.972+01:00The mood music of Salzburg<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKuvhwj8e96jsunq54k8fMvTv1IaPNxKedlpMuvtKAneVSC0cPnIe7uYf9XJBu6jxUId2dLGH-e7m7P76Jd1PmBttxYK06LGTQzLByXzVnr5pynFPwcMNt0gKzLUqusFWy14ZgNcU/s1600/2018-09-20+%252818%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKuvhwj8e96jsunq54k8fMvTv1IaPNxKedlpMuvtKAneVSC0cPnIe7uYf9XJBu6jxUId2dLGH-e7m7P76Jd1PmBttxYK06LGTQzLByXzVnr5pynFPwcMNt0gKzLUqusFWy14ZgNcU/s400/2018-09-20+%252818%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The make-up, under the lights of the press conference in
Salzburg, didn’t do Theresa May any favours. Her face ghostly pale, the
foundation seemed to have been heavily caked-on in a vain attempt to hide
layers of tiredness, frustration and anger.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But her disappointment and exasperation towards the leaders
of the EU and the other 27 member states was vivid and unmistakable.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Chequers deal, unveiled earlier this summer with the
fanfares of apparent cabinet unity, was a considered attempt to bounce not only
her government but backbenchers into what the prime minister considered a
compromise plan. It was hoped that, while the EU might not approve of every
aspect of the package, they would see it as a template to work with and, eager
not to see Britain fall out of the European Union without a deal, would find a
way to make it work. That there had been encouraging signals from the likes of
EU negotiator Michel Barnier and European Council president Donald Tusk, makes
the humiliation of the Salzburg summit – where the package has been dismissed
as ‘unworkable’ – so painful.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The prime minister and her allies would not have expected Jacob
Rees-Mogg’s European Research Group (ERG) to swing behind the deal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They remain sizeable in number and the group
has considered dethroning Theresa May.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>But fractures are clearly visible in that movement, widening as they
find themselves unable to forge an alternative plan that could be supported
even amongst themselves, let alone by parliament. And, while it is undoubtedly
true a no-deal would not, in fact, be ‘the end of the world’, the brighter
members realise it could inflict chaos upon the country for which they may
never be forgiven. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Downing Street did hope more pragmatic remainers would have
reinforced her position. Instead, Mrs May has been under fire.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Justine Greening, for example, called the
Chequers plan an ‘unpopular, undeliverable mess’, ‘less popular with the public
than the poll tax’ and a ‘dead horse’. The prime minster, however, has
continued to flog it. Even May loyalist Sir Mike Penning, who helped run Ms
May’s leadership campaign, has performed the last rites on Chequers, calling it
‘dead as a dodo’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Meanwhile, the Labour Party seem unhealthily obsessed with
internal party democracy and functions and their position on Brexit remains
vague, though Emily Thornberry did helpfully say the party would vote against
any plan presented by the government.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Poor Theresa May, who has clung to her job with the tenacity
of a limpet on a wave-lashed rock, looks as though she has been taken hostage
by several intransigent gangs simultaneously, yet each cannot decide what
ransom demands to issue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Where does the prime minister go now? It’s hard to see a
passage through which Brexit can be navigated with any semblance of control. In
her Salzburg press conference, Ms May has a deadline of October to present a
new solution to the Irish border question, a date, she confided to Irish
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, which appeared impossible to hit. According to Donald
Tusk, this remains ‘the moment of truth’, with the threat Brexit talks could
collapse completely.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Theresa May is sticking with the Chequers deal for now,
despite Rees-Mogg, David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith, urging her to dump it,
repeating her line – which is true – that it remains the ‘only deal on the
table’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is worth noting the actions of EU leaders in Salzburg
would not have done them any favours among the British public. Despite the suggestion
that warm words would be ushered forth as part of a ‘Save Theresa’ campaign,
and regardless of the few scattered comments of comfort from those who declared
that they remained ‘hopeful of a deal’, the likes of Donald Tusk and Emmanuel
Macron publicly humiliated the British prime minister today. Many die-hard
remainers have made clear their disapproval of these methods. And leavers will
point to today as evidence the EU cannot be negotiated with and we’re better
off escaping the whole structure, regardless of the consequences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In Peter Shaffer’s play ‘Amadeus’, the writer imagines
Salzburg’s most famous son Mozart working himself to death, trying to finish
his Requiem. With her authority draining away, it could prove that Theresa May
is forced from office and the responsibility of delivering Brexit is handed on.
But, May’s singular determination has been unappreciated before; it would be a
bold prediction to write her off again.</span></div>
joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-36389472316053067412018-09-19T19:47:00.001+01:002018-09-20T07:22:44.480+01:00Whose policy is it anyway?<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The mayor of London has unveiled a new strategy to tackle knife crime in London, the creation of a Violence Reduction Unit, and everyone seems to want to take credit for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sadiq Khan says the decision to form the unit, announced on Wednesday, will adopt a ‘public health’ approach towards the problem, and comes after researching and investigating ‘the public health approaches in Glasgow where their own long-term approach over more than a decade has delivered large reductions in violence’.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to City Hall, the new unit will ‘improve co-ordination between the Metropolitan Police, local authorities, youth services, health services, criminal justice agencies and City Hall’ and an initial £500,000 has been put aside to establish the new unit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The unveiling of the new tactic was on the front page of today’s Evening Standard, edited, of course, by former chancellor George Osborne, with the headline ‘Sadiq Khan’s Crime U-turn’. The paper claims it is a policy it ‘demanded’ two months ago and the editorial jibes that the mayor ‘didn’t find time to credit us’.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Curiously, the paper itself didn’t manage to find space to mention the role of a certain former Chancellor of the Exchequer who oversaw an 18% fall in police funding between 2010/11 and 2015/16, after taking inflation into account. It also didn’t mention the fall in police officer numbers of more than 21,000 since 2010. Or even that the Metropolitan Police has had to make £1billion of savings since 2010. It’s a pain when a story has to be cut for space. And I wonder what happened to that ex-chancellor; he must feel terrible about his legacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Meanwhile, London Assembly member Andrew Boff, who hopes to be selected as the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate to challenge Sadiq Khan at the next election in 2020, claims the current mayor has lifted the policy from his manifesto.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In a release sent out today, Mr Boff claims he has been advocating the policy ‘for some months now’ and far from being the mayor’s own idea, Sadiq Khan is ‘just playing catch up with the Conservatives’. He then, teasingly, suggests the mayor reads more of his manifesto for some other good policies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And now this evening, the Liberal Democrats have pitched in and said it’s their idea and the mayor has picked it up after years of ‘tireless campaigning’ by the assembly member Caroline Pidgeon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Clearly, then, this is a popular idea. But after more than 100 murders in the capital this year, Londoners will be more interested in whether it proves effective.</span></p> joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-10669814101603102432018-09-13T21:27:00.002+01:002018-09-19T19:48:30.540+01:00Soho days<br>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" id="id_2bc9_5c19_2ab9_da7f"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFMDYFitjKAQfRZbzFE6kNbEcPKECIBr3ZrNXESkk8dIu0JsqxSRPlPgzXfuxCMmNb-x1lYPFQGPPo3Ut5ioYECNdVgE4Sk_bm15zfSwJFTeh6KJgNoe1Ly0qcfz-lRM1iceVugOI/s1600/IMG_1087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFMDYFitjKAQfRZbzFE6kNbEcPKECIBr3ZrNXESkk8dIu0JsqxSRPlPgzXfuxCMmNb-x1lYPFQGPPo3Ut5ioYECNdVgE4Sk_bm15zfSwJFTeh6KJgNoe1Ly0qcfz-lRM1iceVugOI/s400/IMG_1087.JPG" width="400" id="id_266b_f5cd_e9cf_a591" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The cartoon drawn for Norman Balon's 90th, by Michael Heath</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My mind has drifted back to Soho in recent days. There
was a time, a dozen years or so ago, when I was a regular in the Coach and
Horses in Greek Street, or Norman’s as landlord Norman Balon hoped it would be
called but rarely was. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A new book ‘Soho in the Eighties’, by the excellent Daily
Telegraph journalist Christopher Howse, has triggered this wave of nostalgia; not
that I was present for the escapades he recounts, with the tragicomedic figures likes of
Jeffrey Bernard, Daniel Farson, and Francis Bacon dominating his work. Many of
the stories, though, are familiar and a few of the characters were known to me. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A central figure in Mr Howse’s enjoyable book is the aforementioned
Norman Balon. Now approaching 91, Norman styled himself as the ‘rudest landlord
in London’. Every Christmas, regulars would be handed a mug bearing the slogan
alongside a cartoon of Norman bellowing ‘You’re barred!’. I had four or five of
these once but they have all gone but for one which is hidden from view and all
are forbidden from using.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" id="id_fd82_f551_7c7d_afbc"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZu0lFLSiqB5fb1OR2P7v8vfArTlIY9ofY67_-eJmDWkzIyYnwfZ-hpjYb-KnhAcZX55WGyDN6UWgWBZsynY02TEx7EVzJcVBdwcLbFpJotq_Nm7Vw2PCRMiYSLAeFiawTslQFcy-/s1600/IMG_1089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZu0lFLSiqB5fb1OR2P7v8vfArTlIY9ofY67_-eJmDWkzIyYnwfZ-hpjYb-KnhAcZX55WGyDN6UWgWBZsynY02TEx7EVzJcVBdwcLbFpJotq_Nm7Vw2PCRMiYSLAeFiawTslQFcy-/s320/IMG_1089.JPG" width="240" id="id_7fdf_590c_86eb_8f23" style="width: 240px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The surviving mug</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Norman could certainly be very rude. One quiet afternoon
in the early 2000s I was there with a drink, a couple of others were elsewhere
in the pub and Norman was leaning over the bar reading a newspaper. A family of
American tourists entered and a very-mannered lady possessing a grating, nails-on-blackboard
accent, asked ‘could we see the hot menu please?’</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Without looking up from his paper, Norman growled: ‘We
don’t have a hot menu and we don’t serve fucking tourists, now fuck off’.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Clearly shocked, the American lady replied: ‘Well, that
wasn’t the reply we expected’, before swiftly scuttling from the bar.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The few people there simply swallowed their laughter in
their drinks and Norman looked up smiling, ‘I enjoyed that’.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Another time, I found Norman with his arm in a sling. I asked
what had happened and it emerged he’d been pushed to the ground after leaning
on the car of a fellow who had foolishly parked outside the pub in Greek
Street.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘He told me to get off his car and I told him to “fuck
off cunt” and he pushed me and I fell to the ground,’ he cheerily recounted.
The police had turned up and asked Norman if he wanted to press charges.</span> <span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘No,’ he’d replied, ‘it was my own fucking fault.’</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Despite his best efforts, however, Norman was not only a
good pub landlord but evidently was and remains a decent man with a warm heart.
It wouldn’t have looked so good on a mug though.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
</div>
<b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i>Soho in the Eighties, by Christopher Howse, is published by Bloomsbury. </i>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-84946215042840810352018-06-05T21:55:00.001+01:002018-06-05T21:55:35.242+01:00 Untouchable Javid set for the top<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How many members of Theresa May’s cabinet are unsackable?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In normal times Boris Johnson, for all of his breaches of cabinet collective responsibility, freewheeling policy-making and gaffes, would have done enough to warrant dismissal several times over.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">By refusing to take another cabinet position, indeed enhancing his current role, in the midst of a reshuffle, Jeremy Hunt also showed the power of his position and, conversely, the weakness of the Prime Minister.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Now Sajid Javid is showing he is untouchable as he brings a fresh approach to the Home Office; he may not make it ‘fit for purpose’ but he is examining things from a new perspective and appears set to try and sweep away much of the stagnant thinking that has dominated it for so long, dating long before Cameron and the coalition cane to power.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is possible Theresa May thought she was appointing someone of a similar mould when she was forced to replace Amber Rudd following the exposure of the Windrush scandal but, cautious though she is, even the Prime Minister must have realised the home office needed a drastic intervention, giving it distance and distinctiveness from her time in the job. After all, the blame for the Windrush mess could largely be placed at the door of Number 10; there were loud calls for the Prime Minister herself to resign. Demonstrating that she had listened was crucial. Javid, therefore, cannot be moved. Regardless of how much he might rile his boss in the months, and perhaps years, to come, May knows that she cannot afford to get rid of him. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Regardless of the May's intentions, in the short space of time Javid has held the position he has signalled a policy break from May, simultaneously creating for himself an identifiable powerful platform in common with liberal Toryism from which he could be perfectly placed to launch a leadership bid.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Apart from his repudiation of the phrase ‘hostile environment’, Javid has, in recent days signalled students from abroad will be removed from net migration figures - an act that has long had broad cabinet support - and seems set to reform the Tier 2 visa cap which has prevented much needed medical, and other, professionals getting jobs here. Even the longstanding, unachieved and likely to be unachievable, pledge to cut net migration to the tens of thousands could be on the way out.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">These have all been shibboleths of Theresa May’s time in government, as Home Secretary and as Prime Minister but no longer. Even though all Javid has so far offered is words, it seems that these already are able to strip some of the totemic power from May's catchphrases.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jacob Rees-Mogg remains favourite to succeed May as Tory leader, but for all the Victorian pizzazz he might bring to the position, wiser heads in the party will know he lacks the broad appeal that could win a general election, especially against the Jeremy Corbyn who has shown himself to be a consummate campaigner.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;">Possessing the ability to attract a wider voting base, while draining much of the bile from within the Home Office, in coming months, Sajid Javid is likely to assume the slot as May's natural successor. The son of a Pakistani bus driver - like Sadiq Khan - and rising, through hard work, from a penurious background to great success and wealth, Javid possesses a rich hinterland that fits perfectly with the Conservative Party's self-image. He would be wise, though, not to blithely dismiss allegations of Islamophobia within the Tory Party by relying on his own success as proof and dismissing the organisations like the Muslim Council of Britain, not least because he, as Home Secretary, is very likely to need their support and assistance in the future. And he certainly doesn't want to challenge the Labour Party in the 'who can handle allegations of racism worse' competition.</p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;">Nevertheless, for all those who claim few Home Secretaries rise to the highest office of state, Sajid Javid is putting himself in the possible position of proving them wrong, for the second time in a row.</p> joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-79279981289444781892018-05-21T22:46:00.001+01:002018-05-22T23:01:33.316+01:00A penny whistle<div id="wrapperid_502b_6322_60ec_d2fa" class="___smartHandler" style="position: absolute; width: 310px; height: 312px; z-index: 100; top: 4px; left: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(67, 135, 223);">I </div><img id="id_f051_b705_6070_19d2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVx6Us4wChkN9te-PFyhWStT1c-7vi1wMnajoFo45Vh37TODZI4NG32C4iS16jSQdG2WYRVs0cvg48jmYZA0d2N3lpFxhwN-ZEEC2QECFOld-Szoc_XktO39NXE3pjftX7ZMCEKbS/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 312px; height: auto;"><br><br><div>She’s hard to miss. Short haired, angular, sitting in a scruffy wheelchair not a stone’s throw from Victoria Station in London. She often shouts at commuters as they flow by, like a stream disregarding a bleating sheep as it gushes down a slope.</div><div><br></div><div>On her lap is a piece of cardboard, sometimes used as a sign describing her desperate state monosyllabically; at other times it is a display table, used for bits of tat, urban driftwood, she waves at the ignoring stream.</div><div><br></div><div>The other day a whistle echoed down Victoria Street. It was the day after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I half wondered if it was the sound of police outriders heralding the return of the happy couple to the capital. But it was this lady, offering a blow of her whistle to anyone who gave her a donation. If the donor preferred, they could have a kiss from a grubby soft toy she clutched in her other hand. </div><div><br></div><div>The day after, she was slumped – asleep or passed out – a filthy, crumpled cardboard cup clasped in her right hand. Around the wheels beneath her, there had gathered piles of rubbish, plastic drink bottles, screwed up pieces of paper. </div><div><br></div><div>How had this person ended up here? Surely a failure of multiple agencies. With no knowledge of her circumstances I would venture she suffered from mental health issues but I clearly can’t be sure. She is clearly vulnerable and obviously lacking any useful level of support. But, she isn’t alone.</div><div><br></div><div>In the few hundred yards of Victoria Street I walk almost daily, I count those sitting on the street begging, or squatting on rolled sleeping bags. Rarely does the total sink beneath a dozen. Behind a café, for weeks, a tent was pitched. The legs of its inhabitant were often visible. The walls of Buckingham Palace garden were some 500 yards away.</div><div><br></div><div>Outside Pret A Manger, another woman with a cardboard sign, scratched with pleading, often sits. Painfully thin, hollowed out, she sometimes just sits there weeping. Closer to Victoria station, the numbers dwindle. A few regulars sit in familiar places, clutching their signs, draped in a sleeping bag, but they are often moved on by police or security guards who grandly traipse around the station and its environs.</div><div><br></div><div>Two regular, smiley, helpful, sellers of The Big Issue stand resolutely on their pitch, helping tourists with directions and chatting with their regulars.</div><div><br></div><div>These are stories from just a few hundred yards of one, admittedly busy, street in central London. It horrifies me every day.</div> joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-66567868911028554402017-11-02T07:31:00.000+00:002017-11-03T18:57:25.911+00:00Fallon's fall is not part of a war on men<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">It has only ever been a minority of men, in my experience, who think that the sort of locker room talk boasted about by the likes of Donald Trump is acceptable. And there is no one I regard as a friend who would think it's normal to touch, grope or molest a colleague. Sadly, those who would act in such an unpleasant fashion tend to be men, and sometimes women, in positions of power and influence. They can assume that their elevated status gives them extra privileges and makes them as irresistible to others as they are to themselves when they look in the mirror.</span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">It is no surprise to see rumours of sexual impropriety and bullying swirl around Westminster, as well as Hollywood. How long will it be before the media is similarly engulfed? By its very nature, politics can attract the sort of person who revels amid misplaced notions of power and privilege. Characters such as Nicholas Fairbairn and Alan Clark are indulged when in any other walk of life they would have been seen for what they were; angry, unpleasant, drunk lechers. Fairbairn, according to Matthew Parris, once remarked 'what is a skirt but an open gateway'. As is often the way, these characters create their own cliques - traditional party boundaries are irrelevant - in which such behaviour becomes normalised and encouraged.</span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">With Michael Fallon's resignation it appears as though he thinks he has been a victim of changing times rather than his own misdeeds. We are almost being asked to feel sorry for him rather than the people with whom he now realises he has behaved inappropriately towards over the years. When Fallon claims that behaviour that would have been acceptable 10 or 15 years ago isn't now, he is wrong. Any behaviour that has forced his resignation would have been unacceptable at the turn of the millennium and years before. We must assume he has not resigned for merely touching the knee of a political journalist. What has changed is the atmosphere; enough people no longer think it reasonable for people in positions of power to get away with its abuse in the pursuit of sexual gratification.</span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Many of those who have come forward to recount the times they have been attacked or preyed upon have been met with comments such 'why haven't they said something before or gone to the police'. That many were targets when they were vulnerable, at the start of their careers and fearful that coming forward could jeopardise their futures is ignored. That so many of the victims remain anonymous and have chosen not to name their attackers shows these concerns still exist.</span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">A female Conservative commentator yesterday said on Sky News that the campaign to flush out sexual predators in politics was a 'war on men'. It is not. Workplace romance has not suddenly been outlawed. For most, it is easy to tell the difference between harmless flirting and persistent unwanted sexual advances.</span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">The problem with the apparent ‘dirty dossier’ that has been circulating is that it includes people who happen to be working together and are having ordinary relationships with each other, as well as people who appear to be suffering from great personal crises alongside possible sex pests. </span><br style="background-color: white;"><br style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">If beleaguered Theresa May (has any prime minister been dealt out such a wretched hand?) can start a process that begins to weed out offenders and encourage a change in the culture then she will being doing politics and the wider country a valuable service. </span></span>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-43331392954659834712017-09-08T10:12:00.002+01:002017-09-08T10:24:21.158+01:00 Ignoring student fees isn't an option<div>
Whenever the government feels senior figures from other sectors are earning too much money to be publicly acceptable, it resorts to the spurious comparison with the ‘Prime Minister’s salary’. As Theresa May struggles to make ends meet on a basic wage of around £150,000, this is used as example of what others should consider to be satisfactory remuneration for a year’s labour, regardless of market forces and the status of employment.</div><div><br></div>
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That it conveniently ignores the other benefits a prime minister receives, such as a flat in a desirable central London location and a lavish country pile, oddly hasn’t prevented it from being a tool for public embarrassment and blackmail.</div><div><br></div>
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And thus, it is now the turn of university vice-chancellors to be subject to this method of public opprobrium, though in this case perhaps with more justification. It follows the campaign by former Labour cabinet minister Lord Andrew Adonis – the architect of student fees in the Blair government – who has been railing against what he perceives as the excessive pay of vice-chancellors as part of a wider mission to see the current students fee system scrapped.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lord Adonis</td></tr>
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As students see their annual fees rise to more than £9,000, with the government promising it will rise with inflation in subsequent years, figures such as Dame Glynis Breakwell, the vice-chancellor of the University of Bath, has seen her annual pay package rise to £451,000. Sir Andrew Likierman, at the London Business School is on £445,000 and Alice Gast at Imperial College is on £430,000. Such figures do appear somewhat eye watering.</div>
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According to a study published by the Times Higher Education magazine earlier this year, the average take home package of a vice-chancellor was £257,904 in 2015/16, 2.5 per cent up on the previous year.</div>
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Lord Adonis has accused vice chancellors of increasing ‘their own pay and perks as fast as they increased tuition fees’.</div>
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In July he wrote:</div>
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<i>‘Debt levels for new graduates are now so high that the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that three-quarters of graduates will never pay it all back. The Treasury will soon realise it is sitting on a Ponzi scheme.’</i></div>
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And speaking to me yesterday, Lord Adonis predicted that unless universities voluntarily cut their student fees they will be abolished by the next government, regardless of which party is in power. He said:<br>
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<b><i>‘The vice-chancellor pay controversy is directly linked to the tuition fees crisis. The universities have got to start cutting their fees, and they can fund this in part by slashing their bloated senior management salaries and budgets.</i></b></div>
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<b><i>'Unless the universities cut their fees, I predict they will be abolished entirely by whichever party is in government after the next election, if not before. The student vote will see to that.’</i></b></div>
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Perhaps there is an argument that the government has to start somewhere but it currently seems determined to retain the current fees system, dismissing any claims of a crisis, despite students from almost every university now facing the prospect of being lumbered with £50,000 debt after graduating, regardless of the quality of the course. During Jo Johnson’s appearance on the Today programme on Thursday morning is was noticeable the universities minister didn’t raise the matter and was only forced to defend it when it was raised by interviewer Justin Webb.</div>
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Universities will face fines unless they are able to justify salaries over £150,000 to the new Office for Students. It’s chief, Nicola Dandridge, was, somewhat hilariously, hired on a salary of £200,000 and has now remarkably ‘volunteered’ to take an 18 per cent pay cut to show the way, reducing her pay to £165,000. (This worthy act of volunteering rather puts me in mind of that old Beyond the Fringe sketch where Peter Cook, playing the role of a senior officer, tells a private: ‘I want you to lay down your life, Perkins. We need a futile gesture at this stage.’)<br>
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Universities, meanwhile, angrily deny any relation between the rocketing of student fees and their own soaring pay packets. They say the pay rates reflect the going rates of the international market and to get the best candidates they must offer the best packages they can.<br>
<br>Pay packets and student fees are hard to separate especially as the standard of courses is so variable and students will increasingly demand a return for the bills many are likely too be paying for the much of rest of their lives. There is a danger the government will be seen to be tinkering around the edges if it only focuses on the salaries of university senior management and doggedly continues to dismiss the problems swirling around tuition fees.<br>
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Jeremy Corbyn's intention to scrap the system entirely, mooted before the last general election, may not have been fully thought through and costed but without offering students an alternative, the Conservatives may well, as Lord Adonis predicts, be punished more severely at the ballot box next time.</div>
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joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-26542166453880661442017-09-06T21:15:00.000+01:002017-09-06T21:50:21.066+01:00Shoulder to shoulder while hiding behind the sofa<div class="MsoNormal">
Michael Fallon is one of the few senior ministers to regularly appear on the Today programme, happy to roam from his day job of the defence
brief to speak for the government on any matter which happens to emerge.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, however, he was on solid home ground trying to
explain the government’s position towards North Korea in the wake of their
hydrogen bomb test. Fallon told the programme that Jim Mattis – President Trump’s
US Defense Secretary, somewhat unnervingly nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ – will ‘absolutely
exhaust every possible avenue’ to find a non-military solution to the North
Korean crisis.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This should be something of a reassurance considering the
gung-ho bombast that has emanated from President Trump – who tweets like a man
whose only cultural reference points are superhero movies and westerns – though
it doesn’t appear as though he is listening. In his phone call with Theresa May on Tuesday he made it
clear that ‘now is not the time to talk to North Korea’, rather firmly sealing
a potential avenue towards a peaceful solution.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
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Relations between the United States and North Korea have been
frosty and on the verge of explosion for several years, but at least during
President George W Bush’s time in office he tried to open corridors of
communication. Bush deployed Douglas Dong-Moon Joo, the chairman of the
Washington Times newspaper and born in North Korea, as a negotiator. According
to a Daily Beast <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-bush-administrations-secret-link-to-north-korea" target="_blank">report</a> <span style="color: black;">in 2012, between 2003 and 2008 Joo visited North Korea several times as an emissary.</span></div>
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<br><o:p></o:p><div>Clearly, in comparison to Trump, Dubya was something of a wise statesman. Maybe I'm wrong, but I find it hard to imagine Trump is pursuing any similar subtly during this current impasse. After all, despite being in office since January and North Korea inevitably going to be an area of concern, President Trump is yet to appoint an ambassador to South Korea., one of the many positions in his administration bizarrely left empty.</div><div><br></div><div>Understandably, this is viewed with concern by the Seoul government. Speaking to Buzzfeed in August, Bonnie Glaser, an Asia scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: 'T<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">he South Koreans are wondering why Japan, China, Singapore and other Asian countries have an ambassador in place, but they do not.... There is no representative of the president in country to ensure smooth communications.'</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As with everything else, Trump is dealing with the North Korea situation with the steady hand of a child overdosing on tartrazine which makes it a bit concerning when Britain's ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, says Britain 'stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States' in tackling North Korea's nuclear threat.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Of course, in principle, we do ally ourself with the US. But while Trump blusters blinkeredly away, with our military options predictably limited, perhaps 'shoulder to shoulder' should mean standing well behind the US, hiding in a corner and hoping it all blows away quickly.</span></div>joeltaylorhackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11985080887660420551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257577153395464.post-77559275119286218152017-01-17T20:03:00.001+00:002017-01-17T20:03:40.578+00:00 The only road to Brexit<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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Brexit still means Brexit. Or possibly harder Brexit.
This is the message from the government after Theresa May finally outlined the
framework on which it intends to negotiate the country’s withdrawal from the European
Union. While the government is clearly still searching for the details of its
plan, at least it has the twelve chapter headings now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Briefly, when the Prime Minister said both houses of
Parliament would get a vote on the final deal, there were gasps of relief,
particularly from Remainers, that it might be subject to proper scrutiny, be
open to amendment and a settlement which satisfies the vast majority might be found.
But, the government has been swift to knock such notions on the head. If MPs
feel that the deal on offer isn't adequate, the only alternative would be no
deal; better than a bad deal, as the Prime Minister said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It renders any vote somewhat superfluous. A debate on the
terms of exit is not what the government wants; instead, as David Davis told
parliament after the Prime Minister had stopped speaking:<o:p></o:p></div>
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‘What we want to have is a vote so the House can be
behind and support the policy, which we are quite sure they will approve of
when we get there.’</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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A united parliament, a united country, pulling the same
way. No longer little Britain, shackled by Europe, but a Britain looking outward
to the world, trading freely with whomever it chooses. This is the vision of
the government. With so much rhetorical bombast on display, one half expects
Sir Francis Drake to set sail on the high seas once more and plunder the
Spanish Main just to show we can.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Parliament, though, isn’t of one mind and neither is the
country. No matter how much Theresa May and others might implore ‘Remoaners’ to
join this national independence crusade, many are equally determined to hold
their position, much like Brexiters would have done had the EU referendum
result gone the opposite way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 48% then - those who opposed Britain leaving the EU - can they rely upon the official Opposition to champion their cause? Er, no. As
far as the two major parties are concerned, their cause is lost and is
best ignored. Only Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, makes any
effort in this respect and argues that any final deal should be put in a
referendum.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead, Jeremy Corbyn came out with this:<o:p></o:p></div>
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‘She [Theresa May] has said “leave the single market”
then at the same time “we want access to the single market”. I’m not quite sure
how that’s going to go down in Europe.... she seems to be wanting to have her cake and eat it.'</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Before adding: ‘I think we need to have a deal that
ensures we have access to the single market.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Please excuse me for failing to see the enormous gulf in
these two positions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is this type of leadership that has frustrated so many
long time Labour supporters with Jeremy Corbyn. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jeremy Corbyn is currently the
subject of a ‘populist’ relaunch. 'Let Jeremy be Jeremy' is, apparently, the
plan. Aware that he and the Labour Party are somewhat lagging behind Theresa
May and her government, it is
understandable why Mr Corbyn’s team thought the New Year provided an
opportunity to repackage the Labour leader in the hope he might appear to lead
a more dynamic opposition.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">As part of this relaunch, just a week ago, Jeremy
Corbyn delivered his own speech on Brexit which was supposed to provide clarity
on Labour’s position. By the end of the day, Corbyn was insisting immigration
from the EU wasn’t too high but Labour wasn’t wedded to freedom of movement.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></div>
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Labour has a huge opportunity
to tackle the government on a host of major issues, not just Brexit; the NHS lurches
from one crisis to another, delayed decisions on Heathrow, complete inactivity
on the Southern rail shambles. But, it seems that for many, on too many
occasions, Labour has gone missing from the battlefield, its major figures just
not up to the task, save for a few notable exceptions such as Clive Lewis,
Angela Rayner and Sir Keir Starmer, the last of whom cannot be expected competently to tackle the government over its Brexit spasms while Labour lacks a
coherent policy itself.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Of huge concern should be the Fabian Society report, published earlier in the month, which said it was
virtually impossible for a ‘too weak’ Labour Party to win a general election.
Support could shrink to as low as 20 per cent and at the next election it could
be left with fewer seats than since the 1930s. Its only viable return to power
would be to seek alliances with the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National
Party. They show no inclination to forge such a partnership with Mr Corbyn's Labour Party.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></div>
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This underlines a continual agonising, gnawing fear felt by those Labour supporters who aren’t convinced by the Jeremy
Corbyn project and by many who believe it is a vital for all governments to
have a decent opposition; the fear that not only is this Labour opposition
failing to challenge the government sufficiently, but also that for many years
to come no viable opposition is likely to emerge. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The government, for many understandable reasons, is struggling to make sense of a vote to leave the European Union; a vote that was never meant to be lost and was intended, by David Cameron, to salve the running sores within the Conservative Party. But, as it tries to formulate the most important policy package this country will face in many generations, there is hardly a time in recent history when a government needed a robust opposition more.</span></div>
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