Womans Hour.

I listen to quite a lot of Radio 4 and the recent bad weather and a touch of man flu have resulted in me listening to it even more than usual. Just so there is no misunderstanding I want affirm at this point that I am dead hard and very manly but I also want to admit to being a big fan of Womans Hour, one of the best progs on radio in my view. For starters Jenni Murrey's voice has the ability to make you feel like you are being given a really good cuddle and she seems happy to discuss anything from politics to music, taking in cooking and thrush on the way. Today we had piece on retro furniture followed by the wonderful Camila Batmanhelidjh discussing the "Selfish Generation" and the Chair of the Health and Safety Executive Judith Hackitt who talked more good sense about the much maligned subject of H&S than I have heard in some time. Top women. Top program

Is Reichian Therapy the only hope for Stormont?

Anyone who has explored the wilder shores of Wilhelm Reich will know that it's, well, pretty wild. In many respects however Reich was more than a bit perceptive and nowhere more so than on the subject of sexual energy. Powerful old stuff the sex drive and it will not be suppressed. The more that individuals or societies try to keep a lid on it the more it seeps out from around the edges, frequently manifesting itself in ways that are unexpected and sometimes far from pleasant. Nowhere has continued to suffer the results of sexual repression more than Ireland - North and South. Catholic and Protestant.
Iris Robinson, formerly voted "Bigot of the Year" by Stonewall, is but the latest in a long line of sexual hypocrites who have failed to live up to their own sad credos. Personally I think that getting into a legover situation with a nineteen year old could be the least worst thing about Ms Robinson and certainly her constituents might be more interested in her financial shortcomings rather than her sexual failings.
I very much doubt if my old skipper had heard of Wilhelm Reich but the wise old bird was on the money when he told me with regard to sex, "that ull draw you further than gunpowder ull blow yer boy". How right he was.

Snow rant 2010

During last winter's snow event I mentioned on this blog the disappearance of the practise of clearing the snow outside your home. Blamed it all on Thatcher, demise of collectivism, no such thing as society, all the usual stuff. This year I have once again been clearing the pavement in front of our drum but now people are telling me that I will be "responsible" if someone slips on the area I have cleared and could end up the victim of crippling litigation. Give me strength!
I saw a car sticker the other day - MAKING GUILDFORD A SAFER PLACE. Guildford? Safer? It's not exactly Southern Sudan now is it? Fucks sake! What's wrong with us all?

At last, a positive suggestion from this blog.

Regardless of any watering down by Sir Ian Kennedy's Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, one simple proposal for making MP's living expenses both transparent and more acceptable is just not getting sufficient attention. Do away with the second home allowance altogether and provide a MP's hostel within walking distance of Westminster. Accommodation could be simple but comfortable. An old fashioned Hall Porter could be installed downstairs. " 'evening Sir Peter, bit parky out innit". I see it all. Slight smell of boiled fish wafting up from somewhere in the bowels of the building. Garish patterned worn carpet. Constable prints, even a Green Lady. We need to get this sorted now. Further suggestions for the MP's Hostel welcome.

Political Compass.

I am obliged to Barnsdale over at the excellent My Arse blog for drawing my attention to the Political Compass site. Not only do they reproduce the kind of diagram that I mentioned in regard to Floodgates of Anarchy but there is even a questionnaire so you can locate your own position in the political kaleidoscope. According to my own test results I'm very close politically to the Dalai Lama! Well, it keeps me off the streets I suppose and makes a change from poring over seed catalogues and watching the twenty four hour news coverage and in depth analysis of a few inches of snow.

Open those floodgates.

It's tempting to view politics in a linear manner, as an extreme left to extreme right progression of ideology. This is the usual way of discussing politics but it has serious shortcomings. The problem is that so many political ideas don't seem to fit into or are hard to locate in this left-right view of the world. Why are those of us who claim to be "anti-state" frequently among the most vociferous supporters of the NHS and state education? Does the authoritarian left actually belong on the right and does being a liberal place you in the middle of the spectrum - or nearer one of the extremes?
Sticking to the left/right model can make it difficult to explain anarchism and can also tempt us into a knee jerk reaction to events rather than working things through and arriving at conclusions that have no regard for left or right but simply feel "right".
I seem to remember that all this was explained, complete with a brilliant diagram, in Stuart Christie and Albert Meltzer's The Floodgates of Anarchy. I lost my copy of this little gem from the 1970's years ago so was pleased to hear that it is soon to be reprinted.

Terry Lawless dies.

Sometimes it is difficult to justify my love of professional boxing. The courage, nobility and skill displayed in the ring allows the sport to rise above being merely brutal but the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing are frequently less than charming. The image of the heartless manager with no thought of anything but his percentage is one well known in fight game fiction, and sadly in pugilistic fact as well. Terry Lawless who died over Christmas was one of the honourable exceptions. No doubt that as a businessman he was as sharp as the rest but Lawless had a love of boxing and a genuine affection for the fighters that he looked after. As a coach he was sometimes accused of producing one dimensional fighters but not only did he instill a simple step and jab approach but also the need for the highest level of physical fitness and no Lawless boxer ever entered the ring at less than the peak of fitness. Operating out of his gym in Canning Town, the list of fighters that Terry Lawless brought to championship honours reads like a who's who of 80's British boxing. With a genuine concern for his charges he was a calm and reassuring cornerman who must have been wonderful to go back to after a dodgy round. If there is any merit in professional boxing it's due to the likes of Terry Lawless - a credit to the game.