Brexpat and other abominations ...

Discerning readers will have noticed the style guide of this blog has resisted the insidious and ubiquitous introduction of a new word to denote a country leaving the European Union ...it started with Greece a couple of years ago, when they were tempted to decamp ... then the recent referendum in the UK brought the "British" version into the light of day .... an interview with a hero, Noam Chomsky, included the word, which was a surprise and mild disappointment (mild because imagining our heroes will never disappoint us is asking for trouble) ....

Of course, language evolves and it is up to us which new words we adopt ... Americanisms have always been a trigger here ... "awesome!" being a hyperbolic example ... the overuse of coarse words is another no no in the style guide, maybe because words have power of their own (spells) and whether written or spoken, it is well to remember it ....and this writer is fond of inventing new words too .., as well as playing with grammatical structures in order to disrupt traditional patterns of thought ...

So, in defiance of the style guide, the headline of this post includes a development of "Brexit" with "Brexpat" ( which throws a spanner in the works of discerning between Anglos and Celts) ...found in the Costa English language press and on the related Facebook pages and discussing the impact of leaving the EU on the lives of immigrants to Spain (and other EU countries) from the imminently departing UK (or whichever portions of it are still united after the fun and games settle down).

As an aside, a conversation with Russ yesterday elicited his view that dyslexia is unknown in Spain,since the language is written as spoken .... this is mostly confirmed on a brief check and anyone interested in the nuances can do their own research ... my interest currently lies in the way language and thought are related ... and how understanding the world may require both a multi-lingual approach and periods of silence, including not only social discourse but also mind chatter ... balance, balance, balance!

Brits, Celts and Euros ...

My friend and correspondent, James of Scotland, chastises me for the lazy use of the term Brits ... quite rightly, since most of the stereotypical characteristics accompanying the word are really associated with the English ... or Anglos ... meanwhile friend and correspondent Colin of England, asserts he recognises none of it, preferring to be a citizen of the world .... a sentiment entirely endorsed here ... however, these stereotypes are part of the human experience in 2016 and maybe in exploring them we can overcome them ... and going into the Anglo aspect, perhaps Colin, from the North East of England, might feel he has less in common with Southern Anglos than Scots ... while this Southern Anglo might point to London as the problem ... in truth the separation starts with inequality ... attitudes to others stemming from that ... the tendency to derive status from who we can look down on and blame for the problems ... or looking up, envy or criticise for their greed ...

Local friend and correspondent, Susie, meanwhile, asks about the missing blogs this week ... the smart response being that when there is nothing to say, say that. .. perhaps the smarter retort may be that a writer has responsibilities and needs to exercise some discipline ... but I have been reflecting on this assignment in San Enrique, planning autumn adventures, finding apposite reading material in the Casa .... All Quiet on the Western Front, as a new period of instability in Europe opens up ... The Great Gatsby, on the vacuous lifestyles of the super-rich ... Narziss and Goldmund, on being true to our deepest purpose ...  and confess to an inherent laziness, possibly a reaction to a very unlazy father ...

So, whilst thinking and talking about creating intentional communities (not to be confused with gated communities), based on co-operation, simple living and compassion, the Camino de Santiago call is stronger ... let's see where the energy goes when Agnieszka arrives in a few weeks time ... this community building needs younger folk ... and an EU passport may turn out to be an asset we Anglos regret losing if Iberia turns out to be the place ....

As for Euros, it may take a while for that word to adhere to people of Europe rather than a currency. .. which is currently pushing the pension pounds towards parity .... never mind, it's been there before and life is still bearable in the rent free Casa del Puente ... which is open to offers for caretakers in a month or two ...

Leadership ...

Observing the political shenanigans of recent times, the question arises: Is this really the best we can do?

The charismatic leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Farage, resigns after achieving his stated aim ... the other clown and charismatic cheerleader for leaving the EU, Boris, declines his previously obvious ambition to be Prime Minister, having been Mayor of London and having achieved his stated aim of an Out vote, backs down, supposedly on the say so of ridiculous Gove, who then loses the Tory Party vote to two Thatcher clones, one of whom then stands down in favour of a hard line pro-EU minister without any obvious leadership qualities, who is thus anointed Prime Minister for the next four years .... while the smarmy git who did somehow get elected slopes off stage with a smirk ...

Meanwhile, the opposition party, led by a decent chap with socialist principles, albeit without much charisma, is defenestrated by his own MPs, and an establishment woman, without any notable leadership qualities, puts herself forward for the job ....

So, whilst the Age of Aquarius demands feminine qualities of compassion and co-operation, our two female supposed leaders, have the genital qualification without the more important ones, whilst the old chap, who never really wanted the job, has discovered balls to go with the compassion ... though still doesn't look like a leader!

Now, the population of the UK is around 65 million and quite a few of them are eligible to be Prime Minister, or could be in the event of General Election or Insurrection ... many of them have the compassion and intelligence to do it ... so where are they?

Perhaps politics is so tarnished that suitable game changers are focusing instead on social projects or enterprise. ... or enterprising social projects .... Juliet Davenport of Good Energy for example ...

It has been suggested that wanting to be a politician is so tarnished that such a desire should result in immediate disqualification ... that when such a role is required, folk should be drafted in for as long as that issue is alive, then returned to their previous places ... such things are tried in Austria with Wisdom Councils ...

How much longer will leaders be needed? This role is suspect too, since energetically the Dracula effect comes into play ... a leader gains power from followers and then we really have to pray their intentions are pure ... power, it is said, corrupts ... history shows us, herstory too sometimes ...

Is the question really transcending all the games of power ... are would-be leaders just needy people, seeking energy boosts? And as above so below applies, as always ... personal relationships are no different to political ones ... is psychology the answer?

Time for a lie down ... so many questions ... this writer, sometime leader, would be activist is addressing the observation made in the cards "Your relationships are a reflection of you" ... mostly in solitude for the theory, but the practice will have to follow soon ...

Routines ...

Since summer is here and rather hot, an early brisk walk before breakfast to greet the sun, up the track and back alongside the polo fields ... the season is picking up, horses arriving from around the world by road, sea and air ... grounds immaculately groomed ... villas opened for the season (and this one promoted as a bargain albeit with work required ) ...

A tin of mousse for toothless Poppy, toast and tea for me ... then down to the beach before the sunbathers emerge ... a barefoot plodge in the surf from surreal Sotogrande to Punta de Europa's  Corbusieresque twin towers and back ... conditioning the feet for future adventures ... nicely warmed up for a plunge into the sea ... some lazy breast stroking, then home for reading, writing, lunching in the shade ...

Days pass peacefully ...skin browns gradually ... friends arrive intermittently ... news filters through of troubled times ... change afoot ... things not always as they seem ... equanimity at the Casa for now ... this Beautiful New World that our hearts know is possible does require some energetic, synergistic input ...

The distance does assist in seeing through the devious divisive tricks of old power players, trying to push us into barmy binary choices ... smart, sophisticated, progressive pro- EU versus stupid, ignorant, xenophobic anti- EU ...  old thinking ... the Earth is tired of it ... the people smell a rat ... the rich themselves and all their hangers on, much in evidence around the polo fields and golf courses, sense this separation no longer serves ...  the time is not for tinkering with a system stinking as it falls apart ... or being drawn into redundant reductionism ...

So, if energy flows where attention goes (and it does ), keeping all the divisive dramas in peripheral vision, while focusing on the better world we want is worth a try ... eh?

Albania ...

A photo from a dear friend, on holiday in Albania, sets the memory banks buzzing. .. rewinding a few decades to the days of political delusion and exciting stories created in the drama of this naive young activist, seeking a practical expression of a truly socialist society, signs up to the austere and ideologically pure regime of Enver Hoxha ... promotes its merits in The Albanian Society, a home for anyone interested in the country, run by dedicated revolutionaries as an opaque vehicle with wider aims ... headed by a maverick intellectual dentist called Bill Bland, who had his own small Marxist-Leninist group, mirroring Hoxha's history of falling out with erstwhile allies ... whilst the naive young activist, having inveigled himself into the working class as a bus driver in London (sabotaging decades of effort in the other direction from aspirational parents), then as trade union rep, was a member of a slightly bigger group, a Party, which established formal relations with Albania after another, slightly bigger again, group fell out with Hoxha over the split with China ... phew, so many splits and we haven't started on the Communist Party of Great Britain or any of the many Trotskyite groups ...

Needless to say the Labour Party, was dismissed as a capitalist outfit, providing cover for the traditional ruling class and their Conservative Party. They even took turns as the government when democracy needed a polish. .. or industries vital to private industry,  like coal mining, steel, rail, gas, electric and water,  needed large capital investments the risk taking stock market gamblers didn't fancy ...  as Lenin said: The British bourgeoisie lets go of power with one hand, only to catch it with the other.

The two main strands of political activity, party and trade union, leavened by playing and watching football and by romantic liaisons, came together in a particularly intense few weeks back in 1979, when the Albanian Society organised the first group trip to Albania, which involved quite complicated effort ... a few weeks before departure, an issue arose at the bus depot, when a conductor was sacked for allegedly fiddling fares. He protested his innocence. The sacking was considered provocative, since in such cases where there was any doubt, then a warning would be issued. The district manager, aptly named Blacker "the Sacker", was flexing his muscles and the mood in the local union was to take him on. So, two weeks before the trip, a strike was called. Not a token hour or day, but an all out event until the conductor was reinstated. Official TU officers told us to go back to work while they sorted it out (they had a cosy agreement to keep a lid on wildcat strikes in return for privileges). Having little faith in the officials, we persevered. They persuaded other depots across London (more than 50 at the time) to hang us out to dry ... revenge for previous radicalism.

As time ticked on, the question of how the main trip organiser could possibly fly off to Socialist Albania in the middle of the strike he was leading became rather pressing ... impossible to resolve really. Now all out strikes do lose momentum when the first week's wages are missing, and transport strikes become tiresome for managers and politicians since transport trips once lost are never recovered (unlike commodity strikes where overtime swiftly follows settlement - unless the strike was provoked to cut unwanted production, which also happened sometimes ....) anyway a compromise was cobbled together, the conductor would have his job, but at another depot,the buses went back on the road and the naive young activist headed off to Tirana, to bring the greetings of the British Working Class to our government contacts. I mentioned this to a couple of members of the BWC, but of course it was difficult to consult all of them ...

After another four trips, Albania was finally going the way of the old Soviet Union and its satellites, and the naive young activist realised that all was not as it appeared, notably when a professor asked if a berth could be found in London for the son of his old friend the Minister of Defence ... previous alerts from a resident New Zealand communist had raised concerns and the ever sceptical Bill Bland was on to it early. 

In 1991 the old regime had fallen and elections were held to form a new government. Since there was some residual respect for the old guard, particularly for their wartime resistance and the economic achievments, the reformed PLA or communists won. Since the Americans were investing in the country, the US ambassador addressed the recalcitrant masses in Skanderbeg Square, telling them that they were getting another chance at this democracy thing and if they wanted the money they had better get it right this time.

Sali Berisha, the US favourite won and capitalism ripped through the country in the form of a series of pyramid schemes which just about destroyed the economy. After much turbulence the UN moved in the stabilise things and now a Social Democratic government has joined NATO and the list of countries applying for the place soon to be vacated by the UK (perhaps), or whatever is left of it when the dust settles, at the good old EU ... and Albania qualified for the Euro football tournament for the first time, much to the delight of the citizenry.

Nobody likes us and we don't care ...

In the rough end of South London is a football club called Millwall, many of whose supporters were gangster types, revelling in violence ... they used to sing: Nobody likes us and we don't care ... research suggests that they just needed a big cuddle, but since that was lacking the bravado covered over their weeping souls and they shared their pain as far and wide as they could.

As an amusing aside ... many years ago, I persuaded my then girlfriend's simple minded Arsenal supporting brother (these two things are not necessarily related) to join me on trip to watch my team, Southampton, play Millwall at their aptly named ground, The Den ... the strategy was to go into the home end (aptly named The Coldblow Lane End), and pretend to be Millwall supporters, since roaming bands of home thugs were known to attend the other end stabbing the visitors ... what could possibly go wrong? Peter picked up the chilly vibe from nearby gangsters and asked, in a loudish voice: 'Ere Steve, what if they found out you were Southampton ... having quietly suggested he shut up, it was a great relief when Millwall scored a couple of goals and I could put on my pretend happy face ... actually not pretend at all ...

Back to the jump from Millwall to the same strand now more widely exhibited, much to the dismay of the many peace loving Brits , in Britland and abroad ....

Since Poppy, the ancient Casa cat, had to visit the vet, there was an opportunity for some political discourse ... Joaquin speaks good English and doesn't hold back in his assessment of certain aspects of British behaviour ... Gibraltarians, who qualify as particularly obnoxious Brit expats in this narrative ... and despite the impact on La Linea Spaniards, Joaquin gleefully anticipates the closure of the border if the UK leaves the EU. His experience here has been of wealthy people, not interested in the local language or culture .... glad of their money, not for their company ... tales of misbehaving holidaying youngsters are legion ... whilst during a working stint as a locum in England, colleagues decided to call him Jose, since his real name was too difficult for them ... one of his children works in London, one on Birmingham, both multi-cultural cities and both found them unwelcoming ... a third child abandoned England and moved to Sweden instead ... colder climate, warmer welcome ...

Chillingly, as we explored the narrative of World Wars being re-run with financial weapons, Joaquin warned: If you are not careful, you may find yourself with the Nazi role ....

Work to do there then, not to promote any new wars, but to address the group psychology, much of it economically driven, of xenophobia ... and if it is true that nobody likes us, this writer for one, actually does care ...

the plots thicken ...

A previous blog suggested life, the universe and everything could be seen as a series of interconnected dramas, drawn from the field of all possibilities, performed by us for our education and entertainment ... a view criticised by a correspondent (along with the non-traditional style of writing) ... well the critic (and friend) has been answered and invited to contribute to the blog, through comments or with a guest post .... meanwhile current events conspire to inspire further investigation of this theory.

The image playing in the imagination is of scriptwriters tossing pantomime characters about to test the gullibility of their audiences: from left to right (a spectrum itself open to question) ... ex-Tory, public school buffoon bluffs his way to an unexpected referendum victory, playing on the fear of foreigners ... quits as leader of his small and nasty party (maybe to be available for a return to action in a Tory party in need of demagogues to balance the establishment pro-EU wing?) ... Tory public school buffoon, previously mayor of London, dodging the poison chalice offered by his nemesis and resigning slick willy PR man, public school boy, having set up the referendum and lost ... returning rightward, sinister and unlikeable public school boy sets himself up for lead role, whilst Miss Whiplash lookalike, Thatcher soundalike and all round Cruella de Ville caricature poses as the female option, albeit without the feminine virtues of compassion ....

Over on the other party (there used to be three) plausible, statesmanlike old bloke (mirrored in the USA drama by Bernie Sanders) resists onslaught from within ... organised treachery to increase his popularity amongst the masses ... waiting in the wings, changeling and warmonger awaits official report on war crimes without apparent remorse ...

This one could run and run ... meanwhile the world moves on and capitalism is no nearer solving its fundamental problems ... and more seriously Britain is cast as an intolerant nation as well as intrinsically arrogant  .... something to be examined in the next post ...