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Modern life

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Hope is a feeling

January 24, 2026 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Hope is a feeling that life and work have meaning. You either have it or you don’t, regardless of the state of the world that surrounds you.

Vaclav Havel

I rarely write about politics these days on this blog. That was not always the case. I used to resort to so doing when either I felt the need to poke fun at the ridiculous antics of the political classes, or because I was yet again incensed by some of the malicious, criminal or just downright foolish actions perpetrated by those who we had (misguidedly) elected to serve as our representatives in parliaments and other official bodies.

The reason for ceasing so doing was because things have changed for the considerably worse on this blue/green planet – the political mechanisms of which appear nowadays to have been taken over by lunatics, maniacs and the criminally insane; who jointly and separately appear to be trying their best to destroy human civilization.

Once upon a time is was possible not only to mock the incompetent and the inept – along with calling out the wicked and misguided – but also on occasion to praise the words or actions of one of the few politicians who might possibly have deserved the title of ‘statesman’ (or ‘stateswoman’). It has been a considerably while now since this last was possible or indeed accurate.

Last week two very different national leaders – representing two very different nations – addressed the annual World Economic Forum at Davos. One was the Canadian prime minister – Mark Carney – and the other was… well – gentle readers will need no reminding of who the other was.

Have you not done so (and I would urge everyone to take a deep breath, hold your nose and make the effort) these two speeches really should be closely compared. I am not going to go into the details of either, but I will just say I thank whatever gods there may be that I am a citizen of at least one country that has as its leader a figure that can actually be respected. We do – thank goodness – have an adult in the room!

Here is a link to Carney’s speech in full. I urge you to watch it.

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Hard and fast

May 12, 2025 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

<a href="https://www.deviantart.com/momentscomic/art/Harder-Better-Faster-Stronger-94751669" target="_blank">"This work"</a> by <a>momentscomic</a> is licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank">CC BY 4.0</a>“Animals are happier than humans because they’re like furry little existentialists, all living in the moment. Their collective motto: live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking pelt”

Richard Jeni

Had you enquired but a year ago of The Girl and I as to whether or not we would be fully ‘retired’ by this point in our lives… I suspect that your query would have been met with some scepticism. Now that we do after all appear to have achieved that state (whether or not it holds) you might well ask what it is like so to be.

Good friends of ours – who retired quite a lot earlier than did we – were fond of opining that one of the best things about the condition was that every day felt like a Saturday. Mind you – they spend their days chasing the sun to various exotic parts of the globe – so their Saturdays were never going to be like ours anyway.

I am slowly forming the opinion that one’s experience of the different ages of man (or Girl) tends to come with expectations that we unknowingly extend to the world around us. Chaps like my father (who commuted for many decades into the heart of the metropolis) would – had they followed the dream (which he did not!) have retired to some bucolic country hamlet or picturesque fishing village – and found the horizons of their world contracting around them; softly enveloping them in a cosy duvet of daily duty and volunteered obligation. Mayhap they would nonchalantly follow the fortunes of the village cricket club – mayhap carelessly anticipate the summer fayre upon the green.

For The Girl and I our world feels very different. Not only are we constantly considerably busier than we might have expected, but the world around us appears to have exploded outwards rather than shrivelling like a deflating balloon. Further – the world outside our door seems to be full of craziness, mendacity and negligence.

If nothing else – it just seems to be full of things (like the times) that are a-changing!

Of the bouffanted autocrat and his brown-shirted barbarians in the White House I have little (of any politesse) to say. The self-professed master-dealer seems determined to wreck the global economy. ‘Nuff said!

To the unbearable and wicked conflicts in the Ukraine and in the middle east we now find added two nuclear powers dancing a lunatic two-step. At the time of writing an insubstantial cease-fire is in place. Tomorrow? Who can tell!

In Rome there is an unexpected new pontif – an American to boot! Back in the day the then Archbishop of Chicago, said that the only way the Catholic Church would elect an American pope was if the United States went into decline as a world power. Now the Church has not only an American pope, but one from Chicago.

In Canada there is an unexpected new government – not of the rebarbative tories but a fourth term for the ailing Liberals. The bright light at the end of this particular tunnel is that – in new ex-banker Prime Minister Carney we do – finally – have an adult in the room.

Thank goodness for small mercies…

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Elbows up

March 23, 2025 in Life as we know it | Permalink


https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/I have long thought that…

– no matter how bad things might seem during this particularly dark period in time

– no matter how crazed this crowded little world may of late have become

-no matter how dangerously misguided so many of its self-proclaimed leaders are determined to prove themselves to be

…that – even so – the zeitgeist could hardly compare with the sense of dislocation, chaos and loss that my parents’ generation endured during and subsequent to the Second World War. Could one ever truly imagine living through those portentous days?

Until now!…

Now, I am no longer so sure. Now it really does feel sometimes as though we are living through the end of days.

Let us pause for breath. I feel sure that the gentle reader would thank me not at all for enumerating once again the long list of woes of the world with which we are currently inflicted. A great deal has been – and is  (thankfully) still being written, day upon day – that gives us at the very least a chance of understanding the substance of some of these grim matters. But let us look instead for whatever fresh green shoots may be discovered peeping through the fallen snows.

As the post WW2 order that has done a better than expected job of keeping us all safe (and I do mean ALL) is rapidly being demolished by vandals for whom history is based not upon fact but is rather up for negotiation, fabrication and grievance… there are perhaps a few small glimmers of light.

The massive and incomprehensible act of self-harm that was (and is) Brexit may just slowly begin to be revised. Were the UK to build a new relationship with a re-invigorated Europe that would be no bad thing. We really should try to remember just why the countries of Europe – following two devastating global wars – thought that closer ties were a good idea in the first place (and – no! it was just not to disadvantage our cousins to the south).

If the ties between some of the Commonwealth partners (the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for example) were to be strengthened – that would also be a win.

If more of us throughout the world were to follow the example of my adopted nation in standing up to the bullies – that would also raise the spirits. Feel free to take inspiration from our grassroots “Elbows Up, Canada” campaign, the which is fast spreading across the nation. For those readers outwith Canada here is the CBC’s explanation for the origin of the slogan:

When Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers, clad in a “Canada is not for sale” T-shirt, twice mouthed the words “elbows up” and tapped his own left elbow on Saturday Night Live last weekend, he was sending a not-so-subtle signal to his compatriots north of the border: Get ready for a fight.

Facing punishing tariffs on Canadian exports and repeated jibes from U.S. President Donald Trump about their country becoming the 51st state, Canadians were understandably riled. “Elbows up” became the rallying cry they’d been looking for.

In hockey-loving Canada, the phrase automatically evokes memories of one of the game’s greatest players, Saskatchewan-born Gordie Howe, who before becoming Mr. Hockey had earned another nickname: Mr. Elbows.

Unfailingly humble, generous and gentlemanly off the ice, Howe would wield his elbows like weapons when battling for the puck.

“If a guy slashed me, I’d grab his stick, pull him up alongside me and elbow him in the head,” Howe once said, describing his favourite method of retribution.

To those who feel inclined to ridicule such an emotional response I would just add another quote – from the Dalai Lama XIV:

“Don’t ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness. Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.”

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Sod’s law

December 5, 2024 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

We have arrived at the time of year that most self-respecting Canadians are putting the finishing touches to their Christmas decorations (mostly public-facing… unlike us shy and retiring Brits) and settling in to await the feast itself. Mind you, some of our neighbours started constructing their displays the very moment that they had packed away the last of the Halloween decorations; I guess on the principle that the show must… you know… go on!

The Girl nobly puts up with my seasonal cavils and my demands that nothing Christmas related should be addressed before the first of December (with the honourable exception, for obvious reasons, of the purchase of the Advent calendar – for those who go in for such things).

Now, once December is here, the first Christmas related item on my agenda is usually the sending of Christmas cards, the which (given that a fair number of them are headed for Blighty) must needs be tackled as soon as possible after the turn of the month if they are to stand a chance of arriving in time for the big day.

…and that is, of course, where Mr Sod and his eponymous law – comes into play.

Yup! The postal workers at Canada Post went on strike some  three weeks ago now and currently show no signs of backing down from their demands.

So – here’s the quandary. If we set about writing, addressing and posting our greetings there is a very good chance that (assuming we can actually post them at all) they will simply join the gazillions of already posted screeds – none of which is likely to make it through until Easter – or thereabouts.

Now, the strike could be resolved at any second, of course, but the worry is that it is already too late to make a difference as far as Christmas is concerned. Should we be wise virgins we should probably resort immediately to online cardage this year – whilst being cognisant of the fact that a number of folks whose addresses we have are an unknown quantity in the online arena.

I guess we just have to do the best we can.

Of course, this all takes no account of those operating in the opposite direction. Since many such will have no idea that Canada Post in on strike they will simply and happily post their festive greetings, unaware that they these will probably simply be tossed onto some huge card mountain – never to be seen again.

What to do? What to do? How will we make it through in the face of all these first-world problems?

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Misplaced optimism

November 14, 2024 in Life as we know it | Permalink

<a href="https://sketchplanations.com/optimism-bias" target="_blank">"Optimism bias"</a> is licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0" target="_blank">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>“Man’s fatal flaw is misplaced optimism.”

Allan Wolf, ‘The Watch That Ends the Night’

In November of 2016 I wrote a post to this forum in response to the seismic events of that year… the which, of course, included the decision by the United Kingdom to depart from the European Union – and the unexpected (by many) election to the US Presidency of the orange weirdo!

I closed that post with the following:

“What has transpired this year has been a massive wake-up call. In neither the UK nor the US can politics carry on being ‘business as usual’. That model is broken. What now needs urgently to happen is that the centre and the left of centre must start over and build themselves completely afresh – learning not only from what has happened, but also from how and why it happened. This represents a huge opportunity – such perhaps as has not been presented since the end of the second world war. And – concerning that prospect – I feel optimistic“.

You can be pretty certain that – when I scribbled (typed!) that screed I could not have imagined in my wildest fantasies that the madman across the water who was then about to enter the White House would again be poised so to do eight years hence. Or that what in 2016 looked to all the world to be a terrible and potentially calamitous error of judgment on the part of the US electorate now transpires to be an wilful expression of the darkest desires of the majority thereof.

Few of us could have dreamt of the frankly inconceivable sequence of events that has occurred over this late period, and that has led us to this point. I am shocked that we find ourselves in a position regarding which the paragraph that I wrote in 2016 could – and perhaps must – be written again entire…

…though perhaps without the concluding “I feel optimistic“…

Can we really not do better than this?

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Into the unknown

July 4, 2024 in Life as we know it | Permalink

“Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World,” said the Rat. “And that’s something that doesn’t matter, either to you or me. I’ve never been there, and I’m never going, nor you either, if you’ve got any sense at all.”

Kenneth Grahame – ‘The Wind in the Willows’

Today is the 4th July.

In the United Kingdom a General Election is taking place this very day which – should the pundits be anywhere near correct – will lead to a generational change in the governance of the country. Such changes by definition happen only rarely and there are those who believe that this one is long overdue.

I consider myself to be amongst that number.

Simultaneously (but without connection) in France President Macron has instigated a snap election which will this Sunday – unless an unlikely coalition contrives to prevent it – hand power for the first time to the hard right.

In the United States the presidential election has not yet begun, although it feels awfully much as though not only has it done so, but also that it may already be all over bar the shouting… and not in a positive direction.

The forth-coming election in Canada has not yet been called – and may not in fact happen until next year – but at the moment it looks as though Justin Trudeau’s Liberals will also lose out to the far right at whatever point the election takes place.

It would seem that we live in an age in which huge amounts of energy and (ill-gotten?) fortunes are being expended on dangerous political experiments and battles between cliques and cabals. Not since the end of the Second World War have we seen such re-alignments – or such struggles for domination between democracies and autocracies…

…and all of this at a time when – had we any sense at all – we would be pooling our resources to battle against the vastly greater threats to our continued existence on this planet!

It does make one wonder if we really deserve to have one…

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A good day!

May 30, 2024 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Those who have known me a long time – who have perhaps on occasion delved into this forum – may have noticed that I refrain (these days; wherever possible) from discussing (read: ranting about) politics.

This is undoubtedly a good thing…

It is a lot – however – to ask me to maintain this stance during this particular year in the course of which which there are to be national elections in (amongst other places) the United States of America, the United Kingdom and – indeed – Canada! This will be the first election here since we emigrated in which I can vote – and I will, of course, be eagerly exercising my democratic right.

There are, sadly, many troubles in the world and many good reasons to find everything a terrible struggle.

There are – however – also days on which celebrations are in order, even if the joy that one feels lasts only for a brief moment in time.

Today is one such day – and that is all I am going to say about it!

Hoorah!!

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Every glittering ounce

February 28, 2023 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

“Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond.”

Hunter S. Thompson

It is hardly feasible – no matter how hard our forefathers may have attempted so to do back in the bad old colonial days – to relocate to the far side of the world without making changes to the way one lives. Such modifications may turn out to be unexpectedly significant or even life-changing. Lesser amendments, on the other hand, might go virtually unnoticed in the moment – though perhaps acquiring greater import with the passage of time and with the benefit of hindsight.

I am writing this – for instance – on a Sunday. Back in the UK a key part of the Sunday ritual would have been the quick trip out in the morning to purchase coffees and a stack of Sunday newspapers. My personal and long standing favourite was The Observer – now part of the Guardian group.

When we came to Canada we looked around for a substitute; only to discover that there really isn’t one…  at least, not in a truly satisfying sense. There are some multi-part weekend papers to be sure, but they are very meagre fare by comparison to their British counterparts. They lack weight in all senses and are sadly not able – in my view – to  boast columnists or journalists of a comparable calibre to their UK equivalents.

It is, of course, quite possible to purchase British newspapers – including The Observer – in Canada… if one is prepared to wait for half a week and to pay a hefty premium for so doing. We are – needless to say – not!

It is further a fact of life these days that pretty much everything print-based has now been moved (or duplicated) online. It is certainly possible to read all of the titles with which we are familiar on the tiny screen, though some are protected by pay-walls to which I am not prepared to donate. Not all of these transitions online has been effected in an agreeable form. The Independent (my daily paper of choice in the UK when I had time to read such a thing) is now an online only journal that is sadly (but inevitably) beset by advertising. No big deal in itself were it not that the implementation in this case results in the screen constantly refreshing and jumping about as one tries to read – in the service of dandling fresh adverts before one’s weary eyes. The whole experience is so irritating that I was obliged to withdraw a routine contribution to their funds and to look elsewhere.

With the BBC website now a shadow of its former self – though still indispensable – I find myself now a subscriber to The Guardian – something that I had not anticipated. Though The Guardian‘s politics have always found favour in our household we have often thought them to be a little too po-faced to be likeable and their writers a little over-fond of the sanctimonious.

A year or so back I found myself searching furiously for a new source of cultural and current affairs analysis; a journal with its heart in the right place but still attractive to writers who knew how to turn a phrase and to frame a persuasive argument. I found just such in The Atlantic – that venerable literary magazine that has evolved into an influential platform for long-form storytelling and news-maker interviews. In addition to its monthly edition it produces a most useful daily digest of articles during the working week – and I would not now willingly be without it.

I recommend it – regardless of where in the world you reside.

 

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A momentous day

October 15, 2022 in Moving to Canada | Permalink

Yesterday was a momentous day – and not just because the tory government that has afflicted the UK for longer than I have been keeping this journal appears finally to have plunged itself into a death spiral… though that is indeed a very splendid thing!

Should – incidentally – you want chapter and verse on just how momentously this epochal event will undoubtedly go down in the annals of history once the dust settles, I commend to you Jonathan Freedland’s excellent piece in the Guardian, the which can be found here. Freedland draws the connection all the way from the Suez crisis in 1956, through the joining of the Common Market, the decline of Britain through the 70s, 80s and 90s, to Brexit and on to the current attempts by the free-market zealots from the right wing who have taken over the nasty party… to buck the very markets that they espouse!

I did but a single unit in economics at college way back in the very early 70s – but even I could see that this was never going to work.

Anyway – exciting as this all undoubtedly is, for The Girl and I (yes – I know… ‘me’!) the day had a different import. Finally – at the end of a process that has taken nearly as long as the unraveling of the tory project in the UK – I have become a Citizen of Canada (as trailed in this previous posting)… the which I proudly add to my treasured British citizenship.

Hooray indeed!

The citizenship Oath Taking ceremony itself was carried out – as in the way in these frangible times – on Zoom. This naturally lent proceedings a slightly strange atmosphere though – as with most things Zoom related – it all seemed work out reasonably well without ever coming close to that which a proper face to face ceremony would have afforded. The slightly unreal symbolic cutting up of my Permanent Residency card (rendering me temporarily unable to return to Canada should I have to leave it for any reason) and the strange twist of having to swear allegiance to the monarch (something that as a Brit I have never been called upon to do – as is also the case for native Canadians) was followed by the somewhat forced singing by the massed Zoom ranks of ‘O Canada‘ in a mixture of English and French.

Somehow – in these strange and perplexing times – this ceremony felt not only appropriate but also unexpectedly touching. I am most happy now to add being a citizen of ‘here’ to my armoury.

The Girl is and has always been – of course – the entire reason and rationale for this long and unforeseeable journey. To her – as ever – my endless gratitude and thanks.

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Wonders will never cease

November 6, 2021 in Life in England | 2 comments

I made passing reference in my last post to an action taken very recently by the UK government that seemed to me – as it did to many others – to be fundamentally corrupt… and one which by its very nature would lead to a significant denigration of the UK’s much vaunted and centuries old democratic accountability.

As it turned out – however – the old saw about twenty four hours (other time measures available!) being a long time in politics proved most apt in this case.

It occurs to me that those outwith the UK might not be aware of this particular story. To that end I thought I might offer a quick catch up. Here we go:

  • Tory MP and ex-Northern Ireland secretary – Owen Paterson – was investigated by the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards after being accused of breaking the lobbying rules for MPs.
  • Paterson had been doing extremely well-remunerated consultancy work for several companies but had been accused of going further and actually lobbying government ministers on their behalf.
  • Following the investigation the commissioner found that Paterson had indeed been involved in a number of serious breaches of the code and recommended that parliament suspend the MP for 30 days – the which could have led to his being dropped by his constituency party, thus causing a by-election for his seat.
  • On the day that the case was to have been debated in the Commons the government did two highly contentious things: first – in an attack on the Commission for Parliamentary Standards – they proposed ditching that venerable body completely and replacing it with a new one that would actually be considerably less independent and would be chaired by a tory. Secondly – on the grounds that it would be unfair to judge Paterson before the new body had been instigated – the charges against him were to be set aside.
  • Prime Minister Johnson backed both motions heavily and spoke warmly in Paterson’s defence. A three-line whip was imposed on the vote which resulted in both measures being passed.
  • The opposition parties refused to have anything to do with the new body and even a good number of tories were horrified by this blatant attempt to change the rules retrospectively. One junior minister was sacked for abstaining rather than voting for the measures (though later re-instated).
  • That was the point at which I wrote my last post. What followed was much more encouraging – at least for those who are not supporters of the current regime in the UK.
  • The following morning there was a huge outcry and even the tory supporting press decided that things had gone too far. In the face of this wave of criticism it was announced in the house that the vote in favour of replacing the standards commission would be set aside after all.
  • Since there would now be no reason not to revert to the originally planned debate on Owen Paterson’s future Johnson did what he does best – betrayed his colleague and effectively threw Paterson under a bus – without even communicating the news of this abrupt U-turn to him. Paterson learned of the development through being asked a question by a reporter.
  • Having by this stage had enough Paterson finally did the decent thing and resigned

The entire episode spoke to sleaze and shoddy self-interest (Johnson himself is the subject of several inquiries by the commission) and I suspect this one will run for some time.

I cannot think of a more appropriate party to which this could happen.

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