Roeing back on rights/wowing the crowds

 The usual highs and lows of life,  

In America millions of women have lost the right to a safe abortion.    Although the number of babies being aborted has gone down from over a million in the 90s, clearly the number of deaths is heart breaking.  Each of those deaths are a situation that for what ever reason could not be.  With real support, decent working conditions, housing perhaps many of those babies would have been saved but for the woman facing a desperate situation,  the access to a safe abortion was a vital solution and now that right has been taken away.    The republican justifying the decision,  literally said we are going back to the Constitution - written 300 odd years ago -  which and these are my words allows you to have a gun so you can kill that child when it reaches school age, but as a woman you have no rights as to whether that pregnancy proceeds or not.  Better support for all pregant women is what we should all be fighting for but the debate like so many things at present is so toxic, it is hard to have a reflective conversation on the topic.  

In the UK meanwhile the Conservatives are bidding to break the law again - all part of their oven ready Brexit deal, which has left us all with burned fingers.  

So thank goodness for the joy that is Glastonbury.    Having grown up with The Beatles, but in the guise of hearing my brother's choice, I had no idea that this music that has just always been there, would be so brilliant to listen to in the context of an 80 year old giving it some in a field in Somerset, but whilst the start seemed a bit hesitant - an elderly man pacing himself perhaps or just a musician who knows his craft,  it was a delight to hear such familiar songs suddenly bursting into life again and by the end when Dave Grohl and Springsteen joined in, it was just a brilliant, rock guitar fest.   Lovely stuff.  I still do not think I could cope with the crowds there, but really enjoyed having the weekend of non stop music party  back on TV/  

Cheering the soul.

Harmony Gardens Wyld Edges Picture. 

Litter pick followed by BGP walk. 

 

State sponsored trafficking and others examples of this Government breaking the law.

 The behaviour of the British Government is increasingly distressing.  They are behaving not unlike fascist regimes, when people have traipsed miles from say Afghanistan to England because they  worked for the English, but cannot get a visa to come here because we are so incompetent at sorting out visas,  they could finally get here only to be imprisoned on arrival and then sent to Rwanda.  

Monday came and the hope of many opponents of this law, was that the Law would step in but to my dismay for once the Law did not stand for the righteous.  It took the European Courts to stop this illegal act, and now rather than taking note and re thinking their behaviour the Government wants to get rid of the lawmakers. 

This Government has shown itself capable of breaking the law, lying about it and then breaking another law, now having signed the Brexit agreement, which was never oven ready,  they now want to unilaterally break the agreement.  How any Tory M.P justifies their actions is beyond me?  They grow closer and closer to the morals of Hitler and Stalin, whilst pretending to uphold moral values. This kind of double think is a British speciality but never in my lifetime did I think it would or could be this bad. 

Most of us just wish we had somewhere safe to live.  The UK has for a long time been hostile to people who have come here, mostly to the benefit of the country, but now that hostility has boiled over and the people in charge of some of these legal changes were from immigrant or refugee families. Rather than showing understanding and compassion based on the experience of their family, it is almost like they have to be more firm in their rejection of others, than the British.  This is one of the manifestations of history of racism and abuse   I do not know how the Tories will be stopped from terrorising refugees.  Labour are not better, they pandered and did not challenge anti immigrant sentiment enough or reform refugee policy.  So the Government is spending a fortune on rounding up people and imprisoning them. 

Meanwhile  apparently 32 billion pounds worth of soft fruit was ploughed up last year in the UK  because there were not enough people to pick the food.   People are going hungry in the UK because of the cost of living and draconian benefit system, people are going hungry in some parts of the world, often a result of climate change that Western countries have mostly caused, and food is ploughed up because we, who sent Europeans packing because they are "taking our jobs"  have no one to pick it. The Government has belated recruited a few thousand people from Nepal to fill in the gaps, but it is not enough, but if that Nepalese had entered the UK asking for refuge, he (and the policy here seems to be sexist) could have been sent to Rwanda.  The world is quite mad, it always has been, but it is getting worse by the minute.   It is very hard to hack it in such a world, but we older folk who are still standing are the lucky ones, so we have to work to try and make a better world, hand in hand, with those suffering these inequities.   We pray, we sign petitions, we try and rouse spirits,  and change hearts and minds - meanwhile the climate emergency rattles on untended.  More praying,  despite not really believing,  just praying things could be better. 

Brecon beacon -

 Brecon is famous for its mountains or beacons, but the beacon is question is a Platinum Jubilee one.  When I booked to come up to Wales, it was before all the parties back in Hertfordshire had been arranged, I did not realise it was the Jubilee Weekend at all, I was just coming to go to Hay - an event curtailed two years ago when it was cancelled because of the pandemic.      So me and H headed off to a sunny Hay, which I thoroughly enjoyed, whilst my brother's choir sang in the Jubilee celebrations.  

David Olusoga

I am not a particular fan of Jimmy Page, but having recently picked up a guitar, and having failed to set the world alight with it, I was happy to listen to his account of starting to play and how he developed Led Zeppelin. I was very impressed by how cogent he is.  At 67 I would be useless if someone tried interviewing me as I can never remember anyone's name, but JP, despite time with glandular fever and some drug use, neither of which got mentioned during the interview, recalled things as if it were yesterday.    Perhaps promoting a book has refreshed it all. Not a guitar in sight or any images from aforementioned book, which mostly consists of pictures, but definitely worth listening to. 

And then onto the main event of the day.  David Olusoga, who was very good.  I did not quibble with anything he said as he built the evidence for his argument that whilst almost everything he has covered historically has been uncontentious and evidenced based, only when he mentions the negatives of slavery and colonialism does he get targeted for his views.  So murder, child abuse, appalling work conditions are all fine to raise, but evidencing how many British people earned money through slavery that apparently is a no no.    He argued in favour of all of us knowing much more about our histories and about how often a statue is put up not to celebrate someone's great deeds, he cited Clive for example, but many years after their previously tarnished reputation has been forgotten and at a time it suits the attitudes of those putting up the state.    DO has the sexiest voice on TV so I was entirely shallow about seeing him, except that I find the histories he has presented on TV very good,  in person he is sexier still, and a very good historian and speaker. It was great to get my brain working listening to him.  

And then it was back to the lighting of the beacon.  The Queen impersonator was entertaining the fairly large crowd by the time we arrived, then things were hushed, but we could not hear what was said as we were some distance away with the dog and then a tiny flame that we could only just see yards away, burst up, and we went home.  So that was it the Platinum Jubilee.  Hertfordshire there was a party that night and again on Sunday so in some ways a little sad to have missed them but in other ways mightily relieved.  

The Queen in some ways is fascinating,  and the sketch with Paddington a delight.  I have known no other monarch so I do in some ways admire her, I do not feel the need to wave a flag to that effect for four days, in fact is there anything weirder than seeing Prince Charles waving a flag in a desultory fashion at a concert he seems to not be enjoying? Princess Anne seemed to be having much more fun throughout though everyone myself included got drawn in by the Pageant, must have been incredibly hard work and fun for those involved. Indeed very memorable but not very moving.    Rather bizarrely my nephew noticed Nazi iconography on one of the pageant floats, he has also informed me about the moves in Buck House to limit the ways black members of staff were employed and all this seems in very direct contrast to the wonderfully eclectic and diverse contributions to the pageant, which celebrated multi-cultural Britain.  

A simple ceremony down in the peace garden, with prayers and the Last Post,  ukuleles and choir, was more moving yesterday. 40 years since the Falklands War,  at the time it seemed a bit irreverent, but for those still living with it, it is haunting and so it was an honour to be at this little ceremony at a charity bike ride to remember the dead and injured.    The dogs ears twitched like mad, when the Last Post sounded, but she only barked at one bike, so despite the organisation being a bit off, it was a nice way to end the week in Wales. 

Adventures in Antwerp and a bit of a damp ending.

 Arriving in Antwerp's splendid train station and initially as per usual setting off in the wrong direction I encountered two things associated with Antwerp - diamond shops, one after another, and a charming Hasidic family enjoying the Friday evening sun.    Following the kids, I found myself heading in the right direction, but when I looked at the map and saw where to I was to pass by the zoo,  I thought don't be preposterous there can't be a zoo, next to the train station,  except of course there was, it was where the children were heading.   It has a charming, what looks like 30s entrance, and whilst you cannot get into the actual zoo without paying,  you can see a few very orange looking flamingos from a distance.     Antwerp I decided there and then was a delight.  Given that the next thing I saw was a welcome to Chinatown arch,  that only reconfirmed my view.  The hostel was not far away and met all my positive expectations, very clean, well equipped and to my relief also dealt with my concern that I might be the oldest thing in it.     I probably still was by a mile, but at least I was not the only person there above 25.   

The walk into Antwerp is through the modern town, bustling with shoppers anxious for a last minute purchase before the shops shut at a surprisingly early 7 pm.  But then you get into the old streets and the diners enjoying the evening.  I wondered through and down to the river and back very happily.  Even stopping outside the Irish pub to listen to some good music, only to be distracted by some young Belgians on a treasure hunt and needing a foreigner and an old person to be photographed with.  I gained them two points.  Back in the hostel I was greeted by three glasses of champagne, but no sign of the people who had consumed them. I reasoned that they would probably not get back to the very early hours so made the most of the dorm and rested well.  They tiptoed in about 4.  I tiptoed out about 9 the next morning and by the time I returned later in the day the mysterious group I had shared the room with had already left. 

I am not a particular fan of Rubens, but having now visited his rather lovely house, at least I have a better sense of the man. Although his house is full of interiors reminiscent of a Vermeer painting,  the overarching motif seems to be his love of Italy,  this is especially apparent out in the garden, but even inside he has an Italianate collection, which befits his artistic style.    He seems to have been a very correct man, yet on the side was spying for some of his patrons.    When he lived in the house a canal ran by it and Antwerp was fabulously rich, but then it fell into decline and the river route was drained and became a road with a wonderful and unexpected market beyond. Wherever I went in Belgium people were out relaxing, it was very nice. Of course the weather helped - at times - but in the market, people were consuming champers or something bubbly and seafood and everything was of a very nice quality.   Despite the sun, it had been nippier than Brussels - river side - so I felt obliged to buy some warmer clothing in Primart, which turned out to be useful as it was so warm when I left Antwerp that I sadly left behind my lovely turquoise scarf.  In its place I got a rather ugly ring of mosquito bites, so big I wondered if I had Monkey Pox.  So the downside of wandering down to the river at dusk.    That aside, Antwerp turned out to be a good distraction before returning to Brussels and a stay in a nice hotel:  Made in Louise. 

Back in 2018 I attended a short course at Schumacher college and one of the participants told us about his family hotel where they were trying to incorporate green and community thinking. Staying there cost much more than the usual hotel but I promised myself a visit there one day.  So on Sunday night after a great visit to the Horta museum and the joy of the street market in the area, I found myself in a nice comfortable bedroom just luxuriating in watching the BBC whilst in Brussels.  Next morning I indulged in another shower to enjoy the nice bathroom  but forgot to use the slip mat provided.  I am still recovering from the bruising and still have a light graze and my glasses are not quite right still.  Having flipped out of the bath, I had the really lovely breakfast despite feeling very sorry for myself, and then with the hotels permission went back to bed for a bit, then sat cossetting myself with a coffee and croissant till about two before finally feeling I could face Brussels again.   Outside the torrential rain had returned and after a visit to the EU exhibition I returned to my rather sad hotel near the train station for the night it really felt like time to come home.  I hope to return to Brussels and the nice luxury of the hotel when I can,  it is really wonderful to step into a train and be back home almost before one has left - because of the time difference  and there are lots of other places near to Brussels it would be good to visit but next time I will definitely remember to use the slip mat.   P.S on train on the way home sat next to a musician, who will be performing at Cambridge Folk Festival but sadly not on the day I will be there.