Saturday 30 April 2016

A long week for everyone, and how I ended up on telly.

The new pier in Hastings finally opened this week, and it’s magnificent - I was one of the first 20 or so people to walk on it at the ‘soft’ opening - a huge open space out to sea - with amazing views (Hastings looks wonderful) and a very accomplished design and build. No unnecessary details, quality workmanship and the best of both the old and the new. Really delighted with it all. As a result, I briefly ended up on the TV, as the BBC were there.

Here we go - some pictures.













I have been going into work at 7am this week - getting a lot done, but making myself tired and going to bed before 9 every night. I’ve pretty much finished everything on my plate - next week I have to rescue a job that someone else has totally fucked up - probably for no money. It’s called being professional, apparently.

It’s the long weekend - all my bills are due and I’ll probably get to the other side totally broke. Not happy about that - I shall be doing some sums over the next day or so.

Scott of the Antarctic is on the TV - it’s my favourite film, and the musical score is wonderful. It’s about 7.30am and everything is on hold until it’s finished.

I had a pub lunch with friends on Friday - it was almost like being a normal person, I wish I could afford to do that every day - I’ll have to try harder.

It’s ‘Jack In The Green’ weekend in Hastings - so that’s 3 days of drinking, processions, parades, Wicker Man style nonsense and more drinking. 30,000 motorcycles and all sorts of associated events. I usually give it a miss, but might catch the odd bit of silliness if I have time. Among other things, I need to service my bike and clean the house properly. I have no food at home and I’m a bit behind on other stuff. I need about 5 days of solid slog to get back on top of things.

Politics (feel free to sign off now)

I’m sick of the whole mess of British Politics now - I’m seriously thinking of just signing off. The older I get the more important it is to me and the more hopeless it seems. The ‘anti-semite’ row is the final straw. The Tories are literally stripping the country to the bone and creating decades of ongoing grief with their short sighted greed - the Socialists of all hues are either wooly headed incompetent fantasists or vicious, self loathing and angry maniacs who are ruining everything for everyone. I never liked Corbyn - I’ve met so many people like him - I have nothing against him personally, I just believe he’s the wrong man for the job and has created - intentionally or otherwise - so much grief and division at a time when it’s just not needed. The people around him are just as bad. I never really liked Ken Livingstone (I think he’s a bit of a knob) and his time had well and truly gone - he should never have come back. The local Labour Party landscape here is a mess - people tearing into each other and trying to rout non-believers - it’s quite pathetic. One person referred to Naz Shah as ‘a nazi peasant’ - totally oblivious that she was herself being bigoted and racist. I’m sick of people living in the past.

To be clear - I’m 49, I’ve worked with, worked for, and am friends with many Jewish people - and have been all my life. I have met racists, homophobes, men that hate women and women that hate men - I’ve come across all sorts of bigotry - from religious sectarianism to families divided over support for rival football teams (I lived in Liverpool - remember…) and I’ve also suffered the animosity between classes and the ‘have V have not divide) but I can honestly say I’ve never met an anti-semite. That’s not to say they don’t exist - and obviously - there can be no excuse for me ever allowing anyone like that into my social circle so they are bound to be thin on the ground - I just don’t think I’ve ever knowingly had to deal with it. I don’t understand anti-semitism, it just seems pointless and stupid. However - criticism of the state and politics of modern Israel is something else. All states and all governments should be open to criticism - and I clearly recall the Facebook post that kicked this whole mess off, it was shared widely at the time by many people who I absolutely know are not anti semitic, but appalled at what was happening in Palestine and angry and frustrated by the international response - it was the same week that the BBC showed a film of a man carrying the torn remains of his children from the beach they had been playing after being shelled by an Israeli gunship - it was a gesture of frustration, and not an actual attempt to move the state of Israel to America - that’s just silly. If there is anti-semitic feeling in the labour party - or anywhere else, it has to go - I don’t know if it’s a generational thing but I honestly don’t see it in the young in the way it’s being portrayed in the media - especially by the BBC, who are being very silly and gutter press at the moment. (just to clarify - I’m not saying that anti-semitism doesn’t exist - of course it does, and it’s abhorrent as well as inexplicable, I can only talk about my own experience - this whole mess has been handled so badly and exploited so gleefully that the whole farce is just repulsive)

I’ve had to unfriend quite a few people on Facebook, I’m sick of all the ranting, posturing and bloody minded self importance - short sighted, selfish and deluded. This country works really well when it’s balanced - when neither the left or the right get carried away with themselves and haver to listen to what the electorate want them to hear in order to stay afloat - but being ‘moderate’ is a very dirty word right now.

Rant over.


Here’s a picture of me on the telly (wearing a hat) to ruin your breakfast.


3 comments:

Steerforth said...

Thanks to you, I had a very involved dream last night about being on an Antarctic expedition. I agree about the film score. Apparently, Vaughan Williams was quite put out that the actors talked over most of his music, which is probably why he turned it into a symphony. I bought a modern Chandos recording of the original score last year and I must have played it dozens of times. Beautiful music.

robble said...

Beautiful pictures of the pier. Its a welcome change to see a modern build done well. Here in Sydney, Australia, we constantly see old constructions pulled down with modern ugly lazy cheap architecture as a replacement.

Grey Area said...

I also have a full recording of the Sinfonietta Antarctica - it's brilliant and great for journeys and just general enjoyment. I love the film, probably because of the music.

The pier is a triumph - and such a relief that they restored with a gentle hand and didn't ruin it with something new - a huge relief for all!

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