Another public holiday in the DUK and weather dry and cloudy ... and the third already this year, another to come in a few weeks and cruelly only one actually in the summer .... making Jeremy Corbyn's populist pledge for four extra holidays, on each of the national patron saints' days, look rather poorly thought out, since none of those fall in summer either ....
.... the soap opera plays on in media, mass and social, with short term memory loss much in evidence as the Tories are blamed, rightly, for crises in Health, Education, Welfare and standards of living of those outside of the top 10% of earners (or rich non-earners), missing the fact that the neo-liberal agenda has been followed seamlessly since Thatcher, through the three term Labour government ... one of my major indicators after the election of Tony Bliar in 1997 was the swift re-appointment of the sinister head of OFSTED and bane of the teaching profession, Chris Woodhead, now dead, though the organisation dedicated to destroying joy and creativity in schools continues its mission. Teacher unions have muttered and complained over the years, yet have lacked the integrity and backbone to refuse to accept the reign of terror.... whoops, displaying a personal passion there, having trained, and very briefly worked, as a teacher ... another personal passion, having marched in London in 2003 against the invasion of Iraq, along with over a million others, watched as a smirking British Labour Prime Minister ignored public opinion, legal opinion and scientific opinion, to support US policy which has brought such suffering to the Middle East ... looking like a re-run of the Crusades with Bliar converting to Catholicism after leaving office ... not a great advert for that particular brand of religion, though its credentials as a creed of compassion were compromised with the Inquisition and other horrors ... putting up a credible holy person as Pope is looking too little too late, though the conditioning is heavy and will doubtless linger a little longer ... meanwhile, the editor, erstwhile social activist, trade union officer and Labour stalwart, decamps to France ... where the public holidays are warmer and more frequent ...
.... whilst from Spain, an invitation to adventure arrives, as well as news that the unsellable Casa in San Enrique may soon be sold ... any readers keen on dogs and interested in taking care of eighty up in the hills near Ronda, get in touch ...
As for May Day, back in the times of red politics the day was always marked with demonstrations ... the soft left from Labour and the CPGB did theirs on the weekend nearest to the first of May (this was before the public holiday was introduced, though even this was watered down by taking the holiday on the nearest Monday) ... the purists in my tribe stuck with the proper day along with strict adherence to doctrine ... and following Enver Hoxha's Albania in its isolationism ...
Well, these old and redundant forms have decayed and successors are swiftly decaying too ... what comes next, in politics and spirituality, is unsure ... the Dalai Lama proposes a universal creed of Compassion for the spiritual journey ... politics, of course, serves economics, and where the post- capitalist world is headed, who knows? And whilst voting in soap operas is of questionable value, since taking part is to validate the show, co-creating the future is our opportunity .... and our mission, should we choose to accept it ... May the Fourth be with you (next week) ....
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