Trident WOM (Waste of money)

On the 24th Feb there's going to be a demo against the war in Iraq and the replacement of Trident. I have to confess that the decision leaves me bemused. Once again, a Labour Govt has confounded its supporters expectations and has sought to push through a policy that saddles us with a huge wasteful debt.

Did you know we won't be buying Trident, its more like renting it from a dodgy hire shop. The missiles will still be owned by the US AND the guidance system is entirely in their hands, using as it does their satelites. So the arguement about an "independent nuclear deterent" is entirely spurious!

A Woody on the General Council recently urged all Woodcraft Folk members to support the demo. Butwhen I asked if GC were backing it, he said they hadn't discussed it. This is one of the things I find SO frustrating. As a movement we have lost the ability to think politically with a big P. IF we are going to support the demo, then we need to start building that support now. District contacts need to be rung, leaflets prepared, assembly points organised. In the 1980's the Folk grew on the back of CND and peace marches. I have long argued that visability among our "natural" constituency is part of the strategy required to raise our profile. If the Folk doesn't get its finger out then it will squander a golden opportunity.

I will take some of the teenagers along and try to get other groups in our District to take children along too.

Life on Mars

I am useless with xmas presents. Its not that I hate suprises...its just I hate suprises that I don't like! As a consequence I always write lists of the presents that will get the thumbs up from yours truly. That way I'm not disappointed and don't have to pretend I like gifts that are only good for returning to the shop. Is that ungrateful? Or just realistic?

Kaz hates my xmas lists and bought me a DVD not on the list...it was "Life on Mars" 1st series.

If you haven't seen it, then you've missed a real treat. Its based on a copper called Sam who gets run over and is in a coma, but at the same time he's been transported back to 1973. So you have a great drama scenario unfold. A 21st century "PC" detective, having to work with a Reganesque DCI Hunt whose character is right out of the Sweeney! This sets you up with great comedy and great interaction between the aparently brutal Hunt and the heroic Sam. Except sometimes Sam's "holier than thou", and "I know better" attitude gets up your nose and you see that Hunt has hidden depths. I love the play between the characterisation and the visual aspect of the series. For example there are various references to sheriffs and the wild west, while in one scent Hunt puts up a poster of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in his office. Sam asks Hunt which one is he. Hunt replies "All o' 'em". Classic

It also reminds me of growing up in the 70s and what a diverse decade it was. Oxford Bags at one end, drain pipes and safety pins at the other. Glam rock to punk rock. I was 8 when it started and 17 by the time it finished. Gola trainers, Ford Capri's, all the shops shut on Sunday...

Titanium cup

One of the presents I was bought for xmas was this titanium mug- from alpkit for £15, which for a TC is a pretty good price. Ty and Tina were over during the xmas break and we were talking about who got what etc- Ty was bemoaning the complexity of putting a free view box onto his tele (a present from Tina). I mentioned that I'd got this cup.

So Tina asked, could you open a can of soup, pour it in and put it on the fire. I assured her that you could use it in that way if you had a mind to. Tina was suitably impressed.

Until a few days latter she was telling someone about this amazing cup I'd got. Aparently, you could stick it in the fire and it would heat the soup, but be cold to the touch and could be removed from the fire with bare hands! I hastened to correct her ref the heat transferring properties of this metal. And despite my explaining that titanium was light and extremely hard wearing, she was inconsolable in her rejection of the usefulness of it to man/woman or beast.

The Turtle Head of Light

Its New Years' Eve and I'm sitting at home on the laptop in the front room with my MP3 player on, listening to Stone Roses "Waterfall"- brilliant track. Kaz is doing her family tree on the other PC in the dining room (god that sounds well posh doesn't it, for a family that eats food on their laps watching the TV!)

On the 29th Dec Paul and Georgia (a really great couple of people, Kaz and I got to know through Ty and Tina) invited us to celebrate Georgia's 40th birthday at their house in Ringmer- hence the picture above- which doesn't do justice to the village.

Its a small habitation outside Lewes in East Sussex. And although small has its own website:http://www.ringmer.info/ . The wierd thing was when we got to the Broyle, via the 22 and 28 buses (a mini adventure in its own right) there were no street lights! We stumbled on, a group of townees, muttering about how dark it was and where the f*** were we?

Finally we got to the house and were greeted by Georgia at the door. She had been cooking all day and had laid on a feast of curries, to be washed down with gin, wine or carva. The house was packed with adults, kids running up and down the stairs and a dog wanting to play catch... it reminded me of our house!!

I watched Paul getting the nearest to stressed I've ever seen him. Cooking can be a multi tasking exercise which (as Kaz keeps telling me) men can't get the hang of. ( Oh yeah? How come I can drink beer and sit at the same time then, eh?) Anyway, Paul is one of those people I've always envied. Quietly spoken, gentle, unflapable, intelligent,with a sense of humour as dry as the sahara. And although I don't fancy him myself... a good looking chap to boot. I suppose I should hate him in normal circumstances!

I got called into kitchen where Kaz showed me her drink. I thought I was seeing things. Her glass was glowing flouescent yellow. It was a plastic ice cube with a light in it!!? Well I got one in my drink- red, naturally! Anyway I joked that I couldn't crunch my ice cube, to which Paul replied if I was successful then if I woke in the morning with my arse in the air it would be "the turtlehead of light".

Latter we got to discussing science and whether it could solve the problems it had so far created. It reminded me of those debates that Victorians like HG Wells initiated. Is science the saviour or the Frankenstein's monster that will unleash unimaginable horror on the planet? I tend towards the latter view because science does not sit outside a human paradigm. Then we went onto talk about global warming. The consensus appeared to be that it was a major, the major, threat to humanity. Certainly I found Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" pretty convincing. But Richard, a reasearch scientist, was pretty skeptical about the whole thing. Latter, on the way home Ty and I told Margaret- Richard's partner, that he had also been denying the holocaust because he had read Irving's "history" on Hitler. Margaret took a few moments to realise we were taken the piss and being satirical.

It was a good night and in the morning Kaz told me that Tina and Margaret had complemented her upon her breasts. I was a bit bemused about that. Is that what women do? "Oh you hair looks really good like that. Is that a new top? Is it from Monsson? Nice breasts by the way."???

Sometimes life is just too strange!

Billy Bragg

I went to see the Bard of Barking last weekend with my friend Ruth, who used to run my Woodcraft Folk group with me years ago. She was a teacher.

I was relieved that Billy was back on form after the last time I saw him. This tour was sponsored by Unison, GMB, TGWU and Amicus. I think we missed a trick not getting PCS to sponsor the tour too. There were loads of stalls giving out anti racist/BNP literature and anti privatisation material. Given the strike ballot PCS is currently preparing for, it would have been good.

The gig was cracking value with Billy playing two sets, so there was no support band. The sets were:

1) To Have and to Have Not 2) The Price I Pay 3) Farm Boy 4) Like Soldiers Do (slow version)5) John Barleycorn / England, Half English 6) Must I Paint You a Picture 7) A brief snatch of Pinball Wizard - “Johnny Cash” version 8) Old Clash Fan Fight Song 9) Saturday Boy
10) Everywhere 11) Greetings to the New Brunette.

Second set: 12) Sexuality 13) NPWA 14) Jarama Valley 15) Way Over Yonder 16) Ingrid Bergman 17) Superstar / That’s Entertainment 18) If You Ever Leave 19) Milkman
20) World Turned Upside Down 21) St Swithin’s Day 22) I Keep Faith 23) Levi Stubbs’ Tears 24) Power in a Union

Encore: 25) Great Leap Forwards 26) A New England

Those of you BB fans will recognise some new songs there. Farm Boy for example. I didn't care for it myself and I ain't a lover of Billy's Woody G stuff either. I would have thought given the "Stop the BNP" message that he'd have played "All you fascists"...but no. I was suprised to hear him sing Jarama Valley- its a Spanish Civil war song. But I was not suprised by that, but rather by the fact its sung to the tune of Red River Valley! (in the WF songbook)

there's a valley in Spain called Jarama
its a place that we all know so well
it was there that we fought against the fascists
we saw a peacful valley turn to hell

from this valley they say we are going
but dont hasten to bid us adue
even though we lost the battle at jarama
we'll set this valley free before we're through

we were men of a laken battelion
we're proud of the fight that we made
we know that you people love the valley
we're remember a laken brigade

from this valley they say we are going
but dont hasten to bid us adue
even though we lost the battle at jarama
we'll set this valley free before we're through

you will never find peace with these fascists
you'll never find friends such as we
so remember the valleyof jarama
and the people that'll set that valley free

from this valley they say we are going
but dont hasten to bid us adue
even though we lost the battle at jarama
we'll set this valley free before we're through

all this world is like this valley called jarama
so green and so bright and so fair
no fascists can dwell in our valley
nor breathe in our new freedoms air

from this valley they say we are going
but dont hasten to bid us adue
even though we lost the battle at jarama
we'll set this valley free before we're through

I was quite taken with that and thought I should teach this to our Pioneers and kids at camp.

Sins of our fathers

Its been a bit of an emotional xmas this year. There's always an interesting dynamic in play at this time of year within Kaz's family that has brought to ruin many an expected great holiday. And we always say "never again" and we'll know better next year. But of course a year latter we are a little removed from the pain and angst and ready to make the same mistakes the following year. I guess its not entirely about amnesia, because whatever my feeling (which tend to be linear and pretty unforgiving) one has a responsibility to family. So you "do the right thing" even though you know its a train wreck waiting to happen.

This xmas was different from recent years. My mum and dad weren't here over xmas or Boxing day. They came on the day before xmas eve and returned home on xmas eve. It was fine, but I must confess I missed them being here. Still. They spent time with Chris my older brother which I was glad about, because I know he feels a bit left out at this time of year. The expected nightmare within Kaz's family failed to materialise and instead my eldest daughter's boyfriend finished with her. He was supposed to come to xmas dinner, but didn't turn up all day and evening. On Boxing day still no sign. He finally texted Jo and she rang him and he finished with her because he "wants his freedom".

FUCK! How many times do blokes use that line? Did Henry the 8th use it on Catherine of Aragon? What's worse is that I've used it myself in my younger days. I remember finishing with a girlfriend of four/five years standing about 18 or 19 years ago. I remember telling her to her face, but her not accepting it and my having to confirm it on the phone the following day. I remember the hollow voice, the desolate tone, the overwhelming guilty, the relief, the free fall of emotions and sickness and grief. Knowing someone who was so special to you will never be a part of your life again. Just a photo in a box in the cupboard.

I recall my ex girlfriend driving over to my house and leaving presents on the porch. I remember the knot in my stomuch and the totally disconnected feeling I had from my family. A couple of years latter a woman broke up with me around the same time of year. Its a shit time to break up with people.

And now my daughter is going through the same thing. I wish I could reach out and make it ok. Take the pain away. In some ways I'm glad its over, because what future did they have? He was one of those blokes, uncommunicative, racist, homophobic. A young man with absolutely no insight at all. I know Jo knew deep down there was no future in it, but 5 years is a big investment in a relationship. So she is alternating between anger and grief. I hate to see her this way. Not my little girl. I know its the dad in me talking. I would do anything to take the pain away.