Something Special

I protest....

[In Memoriam Terry Hall]

 

The lunatics have taken over the asylum....

Everybody knows.....   I am indebted to my elder bro, who sent me this cd as a birfdy pressie.  I had heard of the passing of young Terry Hall but could not really claim a pass to his fan club.  

My excuse might be that during the height of their fame I was immersed in Italian delights, but that is a flimsy weasel.

Terry Hall could sing the skin off a Cane Toad - whatever that means. And his choice of words was simple but subtle. Telegraph readers please look away..... Daily Mail readers, please curl up and die. Life is too harsh for complacency. Life is too short for those who think they believe politics is for the rich to get richer. 

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking

Everybody knows that the captain lied

Everybody got this broken feeling

Like their father or their dog just died

Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson

With his sharp suits, harsh buzzcut, brooding brow and hard stare, Terry Hall was one cool customer. The beloved frontman of The Specials and Fun Boy Three has died [from pancreatic cancer] aged 63, another leading light of the punk era gone but fondly remembered by his bandmates as “one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls”.

Fiona Shepherd

The Scotsman

I come to the party too late, as usual.  But there is still time to protest.  I am sick. And tired.  Is there no integrity?  

In his first comments outside Downing Street, new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. Trust is earned.  And I will earn yours.”

Well?  I am waiting.  

To pray or not to pray

To sway or not to sway

Jesus died for something, or nothing at all

Fuck all those perfect people

Sleepy eyes, waltzing through

I’m not talking ‘bout you

James Wesley Voight

Yes, we are all waiting.  Waiting for some integrity, professionalism and accountability.  Members of the Cabinet who have already been sacked but then reinstated with no change.  Members of the Cabinet under investigation for multiple accusations of bullying.  Members of the Cabinet under investigation for tax avoidance.  A Prime Minister who held a US Green Card whilst being in the Cabinet and whose wife not only held non-dom status and so avoided UK income tax but allegedly also still holds a share in a company that has offices in Moscow.

I don’t mind failing in this world

I don’t mind failing in this world

Don’t mind wearing the ragged britches

‘Cause those who succeed are the sons of bitches

I don’t mind failing in this world

Malvina Reynolds

What you gonna do?  We've all got our crosses to bear.  We all have our failings, our weaknesses.  And we should forgive, and forget.  

At least that's how it goes.  Mr Johnson would like us to.....  But I am sorry.  I cannot.  When he was drinking with his stooges in No 10 I was trying to shore up my wife's diminishing life on my own, not even supposed to go out more than once a day, let alone have anyone, not even our daughters, round to keep us company.
  

By the end of his life Mr. Hall had not entirely escaped his demons, but he had made a certain peace with himself, and with his role as half-willing pop star.

When asked by The Spectator if he derived any pleasure from performing, he responded: “Absolutely none. That’s why I do it.”

He quickly amended that. “I actually do enjoy that thing onstage where I turn round and I’ve got Horace and Lynval, who I’ve known most of my life, and we’re sharing something. That’s my night out. Don’t get out much.”

Alex Williams

The New York Times

I see the faces of starvation (Ah-oom)

But I just cannot see the point (Ah-oom)

'Cause there's so much food here today (Ah-oom)

That no one wants to take away

[Chorus]

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

Lynval Golding, Neville Staple 

and Terry Hall

RIP

[Dedicated to] the New Axis of Evil:  Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Simon Cowell - we're fucked.....

Terry Hall

Live at Coventry Cathedral, July 2019

Time Out of Mind

Not Dark Yet.....

Shadows are fallin' and I've been here all day

It's too hot to sleep and time is runnin' away

Feel like my soul has turned into steel

I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal

There's not even room enough to be anywhere

It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there

Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain

Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain

She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind

She put down in writin' what was in her mind

I just don't see why I should even care

It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there

Partygate: A timeline of the lockdown gatherings

BBC, April 19 2022

 

The government has faced intense pressure over gatherings held in and around Downing Street during Covid lockdowns. Senior civil servant Sue Gray has said that many of them “should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.” Here is what we know about them and the restrictions in place at the time:

 

15 May 2020

 

A photo from May 2020 showed the prime minister and his staff with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard in the Downing Street garden. When asked about it, Boris Johnson said, those people were at work talking about work.

The rules:

 

Legal restrictions at the time said you could not leave your house without a reasonable excuse and government guidance was that you could meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor setting while exercising.

 

This event is not being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Went over to Studham, parked by the church, walked across fields and then on Icknield Way skirting Whipsnade.  

 

20 May 2020

 

About 100 people were invited by email to socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Witnesses told the BBC the PM and his wife were among about 30 people who attended.

Boris Johnson apologised to MPs for attending the event, saying he spent 25 minutes thanking staff, before returning to his office.

 

This event is being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Two short walks (total 3 miles) today - first at St Albans where Amanda tried all the cathedral doors again, and then Nomansland, where they have reopened the National Trust car park.  My right knee very painful today.  Home-made pizza  in evening; Amanda's hair wash, then final two episodes of The Sopranos.

 

18 June 2020

 

A gathering took place in the Cabinet Office to mark the departure of a No 10 private secretary.

This event is being investigated by the police.

 

We know at least one fine has been issued after the government's former head of ethics admitted receiving one and apologised for attending the event.

My diary:

A wet morning! But we drove to Wheathampstead and walked along the Lea to Water End and then back via the Ayot Greenway.  Not too bad! (4.8m).  Carer Sue came with Jen who may stand in for Sue next week.  I went to post and to allotment.  Amanda had gone back to bed but I got her up and she walked with Sue and Jen.

 

19 June 2020

 

On Boris Johnson’s birthday, up to 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room at No 10 to present the prime minister with a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday, according to a report by ITV News.

 

No 10 said staff had gathered briefly to wish the prime minister a happy birthday, adding that he had been there for less than 10 minutes.

 

The rules:

 

Restrictions at the time banned most indoor gatherings involving more than two people.

This event is being investigated by the police.

 

We know at least three attendees have received fines from the police, with the PM, his wife Carrie Symonds and Chancellor Rishi Sunak all confirming they have paid fixed penalty notices.

My diary:

Grey morning, spitting a bit.  Drove to Ayres End and walked round Heartwood (3.7m); very green and grey and quiet, apart from the dog walkers.  Sue came pm - A in bed but I got her up and she had a nice walk.  I went to allotment.

 

13 November 2020

 

Sue Gray’s report said two gatherings took place in Downing Street on this date: one to mark the departure of a special adviser and one in the Downing Street flat.

 

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the gathering in the flat where Mr Johnson and his wife live was to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings, the PM's former senior adviser. A spokesman for Mrs Johnson denies the party took place.

 

The rules:

 

Eight days earlier Boris Johnson had announced a new lockdown in England. Indoor gatherings with other households were banned, unless they were for work purposes.

 

These events are being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Drove to Nomansland and walked up to Wheathampstead, across to Coleman Green and back via Heartwood (4.2m).  Raining to start but cleared and good colours.  Jen came and took A out and I rode my bike to Nomansland and then up to Beech Hyde Lane and back via Nomansland (8m).

 

27 November 2020

 

A leaving event was held for No 10 aide, Cleo Watson, where people were drinking, and Mr Johnson made a speech, according to sources.

 

This event is not being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Drove to Nomansland and walked through Heartwood to Hammonds Farm and back.  Hard frost and thick mist - very beautiful (4.1m).  Jen came for the last time and walked Amanda, while I rode my bike to Childwickbury Goats and back.

 

10 December 2020

The Department for Education has confirmed it had an office gathering to thank staff for their work during the pandemic. It says drinks and snacks were brought by those who attended and no outside guests or support staff were invited.

 

The rules:

 

Eight days earlier, London had been placed in restrictions which banned two or more people from different households from meeting indoors, unless reasonably necessary for work purposes.

This event is not being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Drove to Wheathampstead Cricket ground; walked up and across to Beech Hyde and Cromer Hyde and back via Heartwood.  Grey but quiet and pleasant (3.8m).  Then to pick up Kinder Brioss etc from Buongiorno Italia (St Albans).  Sue came and I rode to Childwickbury Goats.  FaceTimed Ben.

 

14 December 2020

 

The Conservative Party has admitted that an unauthorised gathering took place at its HQ in Westminster. It was held by the team of the party's London-mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, who has since stepped down as chair of the London Assembly police and crime committee.

In December, police said they would be contacting two people who attended the party.

 

This event was not included in Sue Gray's report.

My diary:

Drove to Nomansland and walked through new Heartwood and then back over Heartwood to Nomansland.  Great sky but very wet underfoot (4m).  Eva here for Amanda.

 

16 December 2020

 

The Department for Transport has apologised after confirming reports of a party in its offices, calling it inappropriate and an error of judgment by staff.

 

This event was not included in Sue Gray's report.

My diary:

Drove to Redbourn and walked via Nicholls Farm to the path above Trowley Bottom.  Very muddy and quite windy but not rainy. (4.5m).  Very wet and dark - Sue came for A but didn't go out.

 

17 December 2020

 

A leaving party was held at the Cabinet Office for the outgoing head of the civil service Covid taskforce - the team responsible for drawing up coronavirus restrictions.

 

Kate Josephs, now chief executive of Sheffield City Council, apologised for the event, saying she was truly sorry that I did this and for the anger that people will feel as a result.

 

A second gathering was held in the Cabinet Office to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office.

 

A third gathering was held in No 10 Downing Street to mark the departure of a No 10 official.

 

These events are being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Drove to Startops End and walked round the reservoir and along the canal.  Bright morning but still very wet underfoot (3.3m). Did not see much.  Sue took A out for a good walk pm while I rode to Childwickbury Goats. FaceTimed Ben.

 

18 December 2020

Downing Street originally denied a report by the Daily Mirror that a party took place in Downing Street. However, a video obtained by ITV News showed the prime minister's then-press secretary Allegra Stratton, joking about reports of an event, saying: This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.

 

This event is being investigated by the police.

My diary:

Very grisly morning - drove to the Bridgewater Arms and a had a pleasant but muddy walk round the Ashridge Golf Course (3.2m).  Very wet and grisly in the afternoon and not feeling great.

 

 

Well, I've been to London and I been to gay Paris

I've followed the river and I got to the sea

I've been down on the bottom of the world full of lies

I ain't lookin' for nothin' in anyone's eyes

Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear

It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there

I was born here and I'll die here against my will

I know it looks like I'm movin' but I'm standin' still

Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb

I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from

Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer

It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there

Not Dark Yet

Bob Dylan

Time Out of Mind

1997

Yeah, I bent the rules a little - I may have driven a mile or two more from my home than recommended;  I may have gone out twice a day when the rules prescribed only once.  

Whew!

Perhaps I will get a fine?

But, with the exception of our paid and licensed carers who visited to help look after Amanda, we saw NO ONE during the lock down periods.

Once a week I would stand on my doorstep, at 8.00pm on Thursdays, and clap the NHS, despite an awkward feeling that this wasn't really helpful and that it was somehow condoning the extraordinary wastefulness and probable cronyism of the ruling party.....

The above is a very simple list of dates when the Party Monster was having a happy time and we (Amanda and I) were eking out our miserable existences in a world where our only hope was that we could go somewhere for a three mile walk each day.  

Punto.  

Basta.

With thanks to the BBC

x

Nothing Beside Remains

 Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.....

The ruins of St James's Church, Bawsey

I'm not here to talk about current affairs, and I don't (usually) do politics..... It's almost precisely twelve months since we moved to Norfolk.  Tempus fxxxit, n'est-ce pas? And in that time how has the world crumbled? 

Castle Acre Priory

I mean, only the other day, I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said to me - 

Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . 

Really? I said,

Near them, on the sand, he said, 

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Yes.....?  It does remind me of someone.....

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

You know, I really don't wish to get involved in politics, if you don't mind.....

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Bozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. 

Are you somehow being ambiguous? I asked.  I certainly do despair, but perhaps for the wrong reasons?  Is this the sort of place you had in mind?

Castle Rising

Well....  He said: Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Bozymandias 

Percy (Pfeffel) Shelley

St Margaret's Church, West Raynham

Which somehow made me think of that old joke; What's the difference between Henry VIII and Boris Johnson?

And? I hear you squeal.  They were both born catholics, had six wives (some mistake? Ed.), and destroyed the health service (perhaps not quite what the dissolution of the monasteries was meant to do, but I take your point, Ed.)....  What is the difference?

St Margaret's Church, West Raynham

Henry VIII didn't think he was Winston Churchill.....

That's not a joke!

Too right it isn't.....  Boom, bloody Boom!

Anyway, as I was saying, Norfolk is full of ruins, and I have come to feel at home in them (and around them.....)

Steam Trawler Sheraton, St Edmund's Point, Old Hunstanton

It isn't just churches, and castles. There are traces of past industry, like this decaying jetty at Snettisham, from which shingle was loaded onto transports to be taken across the Wash to Lincolnshire for the WW2 airfields....

And then there is this flag that hangs in All Saints, Burnham Thorpe, a memento of the violent death of Admiral Lord Nelson, who was born there, son of the Rector....

But decaying ruins abound. This is Baconsthorpe Castle, for two hundred years until 1650 the home of the Heydon family, (well known for their contributions to the Tory Party).....

And this is an image of the remains of Castle Acre Castle, a Norman fortress on a significant mound....

Not to be confused with Castle Rising castle, which, although Norman, was probably not designed as a building with a military, defensive nature, but which became the residence of  Queen Isabella, widow (and alleged murderess) of Edward II......

When all is said, and done, however, the majority of ruins around here had some religious significance.  One of the grandest was Castle Acre Priory.....

Though Walsingham, whose remains are slender, would have been a fine second best....

Perhaps especially as there was also a Priory in the neighbourhood (not to mention the Slipper Chapel and the pilgrimage centres).....

And, not surprisingly, there are lesser establishments, like St Mary's Friary at Burnham Norton.....

And the burnt out site of Creake Abbey.....

But perhaps my favourite is Binham Priory.....

Not only perhaps because of its fine, gently folding, rural setting, nor because the church is still maintained and active, the nave lit by high lancet windows, but perhaps because there is an automated cheese shop next door where one can acquire Mrs Catherine Temple's Binham Blue cheese (Norfolk's only cow's milk blue cheese) or  Norfolk Dapple (from Ferndale Farm), or Baron Bigod cheese (made by Fen Farm Dairy).....

Very very hard to better, whatever the season.....

So....  Henry VIII might have aspired to go down in history as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne, but, and I hope you won't mind a brief quote from Wikipedia?  Domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings. He also greatly expanded royal power during his reign. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial..... He achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour.....

Henry was an extravagant spender, using the proceeds from the dissolution of the monasteries and acts of the Reformation Parliament. He also converted the money that was formerly paid Rome into royal revenue. Despite the money from these sources, he was continually on the verge of financial ruin due to his personal extravagance, especially in relation to refurbishment of his flat in Downing Street.....

Now I think there may have been a typo in that last sentence, but it is easy for the naive (aka me) to get confused between H8 and ABPJ (aka Bozymandias?)

Both seem to have had (and I deliberately use the past for the two of them) egos which suffocated reason. Both wished to consolidate power and to stifle opposition, eliminating rivals when necessary.  And both drew financial leverage from crafty schemes and dubious connections but still profligately overspent.....    

Both had Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, Both, at least in my imagination, had shattered visages, frowns, wrinkled lips, and sneers of cold command...... 

And, as if that wasn't enough, they presided over the destruction of institutions which (even if they might have needed reformation) contributed much good to society.....

(So here's one for that colossal wreck, Party Alex...)

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,

If the women don't get you, the liquor must......

Jelly Roll Morton

Oh, Didn't He Ramble?

Nothing beside remains

When this bloody plague is over.....

What a fiend we have in Boris.....

No one needs me to cite the infidelities, the lies, the illegalities, the egocentricities, the toe-curling attempts at popularism, the shameful evidence of nepotism, the blatant protection of toadies or the grand attempts at self-promotion  that cling to the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom like plastic bags of dog shit to a gatepost.....  

So I won't.....

The innocent are innocent as long as they have money or power.  Or until they are eaten by buzzards.....

When this bloody plague is over

Oh, how happy we will be;

When I get my open face back

No more social-distancing for me.

 

No more lonely Sunday vigils,

No more clapping in the dark;

I hope the creepy Cabinet Monsters

Will wear some other tragic masks.

With luck, perhaps, the jet stream will blow all ills away, soon, and the world will recover its equilibrium, despite all.  And funerals will be conducted in churchyards across the face of the earth, with no restriction, no let, no hindrance.....

And the poor will be catered for by public subscription (and political goodwill.....)

And we shall all live 'til we stretch out in comfort (and our hair falls out.....)

Flock immunity shall be the watchword.....

Though it is to be expected that some will be beyond reproach.....

And that some may not dare to take the plunge....

And of course there will be those who just want to stand and stare....

 No more putting in for furlough

     No more Tory lies for me....

     Full employment and proper services

Oh, how happy we shall be.

When this bloody plague is over

No more shielding for you or me

We may mix wherever, whenever,

Oh, how happy we will be!

 

(With credit to Anni Tracy for the penultimate stanza)

 
A dog's dinner

Though the plague will still be with us, of course, quietly rotting our well-being and blinding us to reality.

The dire reality of a mismanaged world.

What a fiend we have in Boris

All our care and griefs to raise

What a privilege to carry

Everything to him in praise

Oh, what peace we often forfeit

Oh, what needless pain we have

All because we do not carry

Everything to him in love

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged

Take it to Boris in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Boris knows our every weakness

Take it to himself in prayer

“About aaah about aah you know your sort of league table question I I I you know I think I mean I er respectfully er go back to the answer you would have heard from the podium many times which is that the er the er the the pandemic is er alas tragically is not over yet er across the world and we will continue to er protect everyone is er to the to the er to the best of to the best of our abilities. This this this is not over and I think the international comparisons are are are premature at this stage.”

The Prime Minister has left the room.....