The Balls of St Trinians ?

I see that the well-known educational institution of St Trinians has received a cinematic revamp. In the light of recent government announcements, perhaps a sequel called "The Balls of St Trinians" is called for. It's time these New Labour types were treated with the laughter and derision they merit. Do I feel another seasonal e-pantomime approaching ?

We Don't Need No Education Secretary.....

Just as the performance of Britain's school education system is looking rather shaky : ie no better, and on some indicators worse than it was pre-1997, the supposed Schools (Education) Secretary seems to have disappeared. Ed Balls is now, it seems, Secretary of State for Children and Families, with a portfolio majoring on "play" and especially ball games. Santa, please bring me some of Ed's new sparkling balls, so that I can stick them on my seasonal tree ! Oh yes, and if the BBC don't get more critical of all this bollocks, I'll start to think that the Panamanians are running British public media.

People who can't remember anything before 2000

The present case of a man who claims not to remember anything that happened to him before the year 2000 comes as no surprise to me whatsoever. It seems that many people involved in economic management, planning, and housing have this problem. Personally, I'm looking forward to the day Yvette Cooper buys a house in Panama, and husband Ed Balls disappears only to return with feigned memory loss of anything he did before 2000 (or more recently perhaps). I'm sure, however, that both will have some difficult questions to answer at some point in their lives.

Planning, Propaganda and the Politics of Meltdown

Back in 1999 I became aware that there was a certain Stalinist tendency within the "New Labour Project" with aspirations to demolish and re-construct the planning system. Since then, a large number of announcements to this effect have ensued, and, fortunately, rather less action. Yes, there is indeed a certain ineptitude about "The Project" which can usually be relied upon.
The question then arises as to whether the latest set of proposals for the planning system, new power generation and transport infrastructure etc will be subject to the same sort of systemic problems. My guess is yes, they will. Moreover, I suggest something of a meltdown may now be on the cards, and I'm not talking about nuclear power, but perhaps something more akin to the bathos of recent references to Mr Bean.

Carry on Darling, This is Ed's Balls Up !

I find myself in the rare position of offering my support to the Chancellor of the Exchequer today. There may be systemic failures in the way this Government manages the economy and their internal communications, but neither the Chancellor nor the former head of HM Revenues and Customs should have to fall on their swords over these. If any heads should roll, they should be those of "teflon types" like the awful Ed Balls. As former Chancellor Brown's "Representative on Earth" Balls was, after all, instrumental in paving the way for the present debacle.It is,therefore, ironic/appropriate (depending upon your point of view !) that the current crisis should involve child benefit payment records, when Balls like to style himself "The Children's Secretary" (and, yes, he does look like a big fat school boy !).

Some Personal Reflections on Long (& Short) Haul Travel

I've made 2 visits to the United States : the first to New York State in 1978; and the second to California in 1991. Both were of a short duration (ie a fortnight or so), and involved family business and visits to friends, rather than pure tourism. My visit to New York also extended to a further few weeks in the Caribbean, taking in short stays on Grand Bahama and Aruba. Between 1984-5, I took a rather longer "working holiday" to Australia, incorporating a "stop-over" in the Philippines on the way out, and an unintended (but nevertheless interesting and enjoyable) stay in Papua New Guinea. These, other than some back-backing in Israel and Egypt, are the sum total of my adolescent/adult long-haul travel. Although, it should be said that I also visited Australia and the Far East in the mid 1960s, as an infant, travelling mainly by ship. With regard to short-haul travel in Europe, I've done a fair amount of this, roughly half for "holidays" and the rest work-related. Quite a lot of this used, incidentally, rail, bus and ferry services. So I've done a fair amount of travelling in my time, but have made only 4 short-haul trips to Europe since the mid 1990s, and none since early 2001. It is now nearly 7 years since I visited another European country. So why have I become not only very grounded, but very little travelled at all in recent, and, indeed, not so recent, years.

The truthful answer is that I'm really not quite sure why I've become so grounded. Other activities and commitments have taken not only a time precedence to travel, but also a financial one. I've never been a big holiday person, although I've enjoyed work-related travel, and visiting people I know who live abroad. Environmental concerns have played their part, particularly after I visited California (the San Francisco/Berkeley/Santa Cruz and Yosemite areas), but these are by no means the exclusive reasons for my non-travelling, although a convenient excuse these days. I should also say that I now have an extremely low carbon footprint (by over-developed country standards), neither having a car nor, except very infrequently, travelling in other peoples : something I do naturally point out to other people from time to time. However, whilst there are undoubted environmental benefits to my lifestyle, and also personal health and fitness advantages as well, these may not be the main reason for my increasing groundedness. Indeed, I sometimes feel that some spiritual or more deep ecological force may be at work, for the interest and enjoyment I derive from my more local focus has been immense : at least commensurate with the pleasure and stimulation I used to derive from travel. Moreover, I meet lots of people from foreign lands these days in my everyday life, so feel less of a need to visit their countries.

All this said, I do feel the occasional desire to spread my wings again, but then I remember my last budget flight to Ibiza in 1997, or even my business-class return trip from Geneva in 2001, and still seem stubbornly unmotivated to return to the air. Am I just sad ? I really don't know. All this recalls a conversation with London Mayor Ken Livingstone in 2000 (Purple Ken as he was then) who seemed really chuffed to have travelled by helicopter from Brighton to London, when there was some problem on the railways, whilst he criticised me for using a car in the Capital, although on that occasion I actually needed a vehicle for various reasons. So perhaps, unconsciously, in my groundedness I'm a victim of other people's piety, and have unwittingly internalised this somewhere a long the line, losing my will to travel to some voodoo-like force. Interesting thought. Could this be the long and and the short of it all ?

Crisis, What Crisis ? : The Economy, Stupid !

I very much hope that the relocation of Sybil the Cat from Edinburgh to Downing Street heralds a more robust approach to government policy. The fact is that much of the economy has been poorly regulated for too long. Indeed a decline in the standards of economic regulation probably co-incided with the departure of Humphrey the Cat from No 10 early on in the New Labour regime. Now that things have really hit a rocky patch - yes, I'm talking about the finances of Northern Rock - we need rather more substance in the work of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other government departments. After all, this is the first time a British financial institution has needed to be rescued by the Bank of England since the 1970s. As for those politicians and commentators who maintain "Crisis, What Crisis ?", the response must surely be : "The Economy, Stupid !".

On the Numinosity of "Stalin's Russia"

For once, I can sympathise with Jeremy Paxman, sometimes a rather bullying interviewer of recalcitrant politicians, as he likens the increasing "management" of British television media - Paxman works as a presenter for BBC television - to "life in Stalin's Russia".

The metaphor of "Stalinism", generally used humorously - Stalin may have appreciated this as he apparently had a sense of humour, albeit a rather dark one - has been used increasingly widely to highlight certain tendencies in British politics and the administration of the "public interest".

An article by Professor Robert Service, an Oxford academic and Russian specialist, in The New Statesman a couple of years ago, in which then Prime Minister Tony Blair was likened to Stalin, seems to have fired a wide range of imaginations, for instance that of a former Cabinet Secretary (this time with reference Gordon Brown) and now Jeremy Paxman.

Paxton notes certain Stalinist tendencies in British TV, notably the BBC, including an obsession with new technology, with the Media increasingly technology rather than content driven, and ultra-sensitivity to the opinion/reactions of Jo Public. However, what he really seems to be annoyed about is the heavy-handed administration of the BBC.

Now it seems to me that whilst the BBC, and British broadcast media generally, still has many great things going for it, there are certain issues which are now rarely covered, or acknowledged as having a important role in other social trends which have a very high profile coverage indeed.

One of these trends, for instance, is increasing gang-related violence amongst young people, which has recently led to a number of tragic deaths amongst teenagers, and even children, in the major urban areas of England.

This gang-related violence is typically ascribed to one major cause : the breakdown of the traditional family. This may be a important factor, but another issue - the fact that many young people have no expectation of ever securing work sufficiently rewarding to enable them to live a normal life - is another factor which receives virtually no media coverage at all.

For the "labour dimension" of the British economy is virtually a no-go area for the Media today, notwithstanding that we have, in name at least, a Labour Government in England (but no longer in Scotland, Wales - except in coalition - and Northern Ireland).

The increasing political "dis-integration" of the United Kingdom is also an issue which is under-reported in the broadcast media, which remains London, and to a lesser extent South East England, focussed in the extreme : something noted by the present government of Scotland.

This brings me to what Josef Stalin would have regarded as one of his greatest successes : the creation of a largely artificial reality in the former Soviet Union, which the public bought (and were coerced) in to, and which was administered by the professional classes, with frequent (Stalin-instigated) resort to largescale gang violence, and occasional foreign military escapades.

Stalin's Soviet Union was the ultimate shadow reality. He understood profoundly the darker side of human nature (perhaps even the human soul) and manipulated this masterfully for many years. He was, himself, the ultimate gang leader.

Perhaps it is the case that "gang culture" has infiltrated wider English society to such an extent that it is now running our country. All Hail, Gordon's Gang ! The professional classes do indeed seem to have rallyed to its ranks, at least until they are safely (or perhaps not so safely unless they work in the public sector) drawing their pensions.

And, yes, every now and then someone, like Jeremy Paxman, from The Establishment raises their head above the parapet. I wonder what Stalin would have made of that particular "Cloud-Dweller"* ! Of course, I'm just referring to Mr Paxman's physical stature.

* A term which Stalin might have used for media types whom he didn't regard as "dangerous" to his regime.

London : Avoiding Apocalypse through Timely Action

I've just caught the Internet trailer for a new British disaster movie called Flood, which opens on 24 August. This film appears to offer a fairly apocalyptic vision of the impact of major flooding on London. Let's hope that is doesn't herald some catastropic event in 2012 (no I'm not referring to the London Olympics !), which is widely predicted to be a year of profound global transformation or "The Great Change". This "Change" sounds fairly apocalyptic in some accounts, but forecasting the end of the world has proved unpredictable to date. Nevertheless, there would seem to be a real probability of a major tidal surge in the direction of London by 2030. So instead of faffing around with projects like the Thames Gateway Bridge (if the project still goes by this name), I would suggest that organisations with a key role in the future of London look to better flood risk management in the Thames Gateway.....and get a move on !

Planners and Politicians Please Read "Why New Orleans Still Isn't Safe" in Time

The cover story in this month's Time magazine revisits New Orleans 2 years after Hurricane Katrina where "...big money, inept engineering and environmental ignorance are...", according to article author Michael Grunwald, "...combining to to lay the groundwork for another catastrophe".

UK politicians and planners, particularly in areas like the Thames Gateway, please read this article !

On Gender and Other Re-Assignments

By chance, I found myself listening to an episode of BBC Radio 4's very good programme "Hecklers" the other evening. This programme seems to replace "The Moral Maze", about which I'm somewhat luke warm, during the off-peak summer season.

The subject of last week's programme was "Gender Re-Assignment" and a female journalist from The Guardian was advocating that this, when major surgery is increasingly involved, reflects an equally major social dysfunction around the rigid assignment of gender roles.

Some "Trans-People" who had received sex-change operations strongly disagreed with the journalist's argument, whilst others supported her contention and regretted having embarked upon surgery.

One issue which seemed to be absent from the discussion was the fact that some people welcome major surgery (which may or may not reflect wider social dysfunction), whether this is medical or cosmetic.

Speaking personally, I like to avoid any form of hospitalisation and when I was offered a hysterectomy several years ago, and having no symptoms to warrant such an operation, politely turned down the charming young doctor who made the offer.

Nevertheless, I can see a case for "gender-reassignment", whether or not this involves major surgery. I also acknowledge that there are very real social pressures around gender roles, and this may be one reason people choose to be single (even it they have children).

Now children's comprehension of gender tends to be conservative. So when I temporarily re-assigned the gender of the gentlemen's toilet at Cheltenham railway station the other day - the "Ladies" being "Out-of-Order" - one small boy looked most perplexed.

The subject of railway stations logically leads me on to the wider one of transport, where social dysfunction, amongst other reasons, encourages many people into excessive car dependence, both physical and psychological.

I'm still surprised by the simplistic way in which most people, including professional planners, perceive transport problems. Recommending major new road infrastructure comes all too easily, never mind that this will re-assign large amounts of traffic where it isn't wanted.

Much better that more of these people used the train more often. However, for people to re-assign their journeys to rail and other forms of public transport, some major surgery, and in some cases new infrastructure, will inevitably be required.

Finally, changes in social attitudes (to gender roles and transport) will be equally important.

Government Decision on Thames Gateway Bridge

or "No Woman should be judge of her own cause" !

Last Friday, I received a large brown package from DCLG (the Department for Communities and Local Government) : the Secretaries of State for Communities and Transport decision letters following the Thames Gateway Bridge Public Inquiry (June 2005 to May 2006) and the Conclusions of the Planning Inspectors's report. The Inspectors recommend outright that planning permission for this proposed Transport for London scheme be refused, on the grounds that it does not comply with sustainable planning and transport policy, and that the purported economic regeneration case for the project is inadequate, whilst its environmental impact would be unacceptable. Well done Planning Inspectorate ! However, the inquiry is now proposed to re-open because there has obviously been immense lobbying from scheme promoter TfL, and their supporters (which include DCLG and DfT).

This Blog is Resuming

As of 30 July 2007, and technology allowing, this blog is now resuming normal service...

This Blog is Relocating

Due to Gremlins (of a technical or censorship nature, possibly both !) this and my other blogs (see below) are relocating for a time to www.witchofworcester.wordpress.com.

The Old Economies, Stupid !

My thanks for the comments on transport from the gentleman in Sheffield, a city of which I have fond memories from the mid-1990s when I spent a rather uplifting time surveying small and medium-sized engineering companies on industrial estates in South Yorkshire.

I've just recently done some work on an industrial estate in the West Midlands and how times are changed ! In the mid-1990s, it looked like UK plc was creating a more balanced business portfolio wherein manufacturing still had a key role to play.

Now there are fewer people employed in manufacturing in the West Midlands than before the Industrial Revolution. The UK Land Economy has won the day once again for reasons linked to the global investment market in property.

Denied Access to Blogger : Conspiracy or Cock-up ?

I do not think of myself as a conspiracy theorist and seem to be one of the few people who believe that Diana Princess of Wales met her tragic death in a road accident : albeit that there were a cocktail of contributory factors to this, notably a drunk driver speeding, on the instruction of his employer, to escape a posse of paparazzi. For most of use, I'm afraid, the car is more dangerous than the gun, and "the cult of the car" more a threat to global civilisation than other forms of religious extremism, and even certain parts of the western media.

Nevertheless, I was surprised to be told in one of my local libraries this week that access to "Blogger" was going to be increasingly denied to me. The young woman in question, a librarian, with a confident, if rather prim, manner (a bit New Labour in fact), suggested that "Blogger" was effectively being censored, because of content issues, by an increasingly number of public access points such as libraries and Internet cafes. I must say that this warning came as rather a shock, and I suggested in response that Iranian-style censorship may have arrived in Britain.

I hope I'm wrong, but just in case this is what we should expect under the premiership of Gordon "I'm A Dinner Jacket"* Brown and the Ayatollahs of New Labour, here's a list of those of my blogs without a link to this one for any would be censors to scrutinise :

• www.regen-man.blogspot.com (A Manifesto for Regeneration)
• www.horse-work.blogspot.com (Horse Management through Appropriate Work)
• www.crookbarrow.blogspot.com ("The Modern Gothic" - Articles, Reviews, Stories)
• www.janetrocco.blogspot.com ("Satyrical Creations from Two Political Animals" etc)

Of the above, "regen-man" and "horse-work" have very little content at all, as they are in a "start-up" phase. "Crookbarrow" in a literary blog, and "Janet Rocco" is something - I dare say a little risque - that my cat channels through me from time to time.

* "I'm A Dinner Jacket" : A mnemonic provided by Ann Widdicombe in radio interview which might be used to remember the name of a certain middle eastern leader, much in the news.

Have Car, Can't Travel : Have Feet, Can

The "snow storms" which have hit the West Midlands, and Worcestershire in particular, in the last couple of days highlight one the core areas of the region's unsustainability : the fact that people's mean travel to work (and other destinations) distances by car are the highest (or amongst the highest) in the country. One reason - probably the main one - for this is that the West Midlands was the last region in the country to encourage a policy of population dispersal from the major urban areas, like Birmingham and its hinterland conurbation. The consequent dispersed pattern of settlement, and associated mobility (travel rather than social !) patterns leads to excessive car dependency. This problem needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency by planners involved in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy, which is currently subject to public consultation. So, please, let's "walk the talk" for a change, and also put some real investment into the railways.

Boris Johnson on William Hogarth

Interest in the work of the artist William Hogarth seems to have undergone something of a renaissance recently, and rightly so. The follies of our own time call for the skills of the satirist as much as those of Hogarth's age.

Conservative MP, Boris Johnson, talking about "The Rake's Progress" this morning on the radio, expressed disappointment that contemporary British art has not brought forth a satiric artist of Hogarthian proportions (even if Boris himself fulfils some of these in his own person !).

Gambling on Regeneration & The Casino Economy

People outside the regeneration community (and many on the inside !) may have found themselves, at the very least, bemused by recent announcements on the proposed siting of a "Super Casino" in Manchester. The overriding reason cited for this decision was the regeneration case put forward by local agencies in Manchester. However, the matter isn't over as Parliament has to have a say (for a change).

Outside Parliament, there has been an earnest debate on whether gambling constitutes a regeneration activity, representing as it does for some, particularly from religious communities, precisely the opposite : a sure route, for many, not to "regeneration" but to the "other place".

However, such sentiments hold little sway with Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Ms Tess "The Italian Job" Jowell. "The Italian Job" here being a reference to Ms Jowell's (?ex) husband's business dealings with folks in that country. Surely Ms Jowell should be wise to dubious financial undertaking by now, but not a bit of it, as the costs of London 2012 also show. With Gordon Brown as Chancellor, and probably the next prime minister, we have veritably entered the era of the "Casino Economy", but, perhaps, not many people know that, yet !

More on Riding & Road Safety

In my previous blog I reflected on whether a compulsory road safety test should be imposed upon horse riders. On further consideration, I think the following approach would be be preferable.

1. Equestrian "Movement" support for lower speed limits on rural roads as proposed by, amongst others, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
2. Better general road safety training in schools for children and young people.
3. More effective promotion of the British Horse Society Riding and Road Safety Test

I intend to put forward some suggestions for a campaign by the BHS and others in respect of the above in a future blog.

Riding & Road Safety

My intolerance to bureaucracy is on a par with some people's reaction to foods which strongly disagree with them. Nevertheless, I do wonder whether a "road safety" test should be made compulsory for unsupervised horse riders ie those unaccompanied by a qualified person, such as a riding instructor. I should point out that I have arrived at this point of view over several years, and from different perspectives. In addition to having been a qualified car driver for 27 years, although I do not use a motor vehicle just now, I am a pedestrian, cyclist and horse rider. I am also professionally involved in planning and transport related areas, and a sometime environmental activist, concerned with, amongst many other things, road safety issues. Some years ago I passed the British Horse Society's Riding and Road Safety Test (on my second attempt), and organised the test on behalf of other horse riders : an increasingly bureaucratic experience. In the meantime, there are more cars and other vehicles on the road, especially in semi-rural areas, and the standard of driving has probably declined, and this not exclusively, by any means, amongst young people. Like most horse-riders, I have had my share of near misses and have friends who have not been so lucky. Yet is has to be said that some of the same horse people who complain about conditions on the road - and in some cases will no longer ride out on it - are precisely the kind of driver you would not like to meet on a horse ie they drive too fast for the road conditions and sometimes inattentively. Equally, most horse riders have not undertaken any formal road safety training, let alone their BHS Test, and this is all too visible in an increasing amount of "bad" riding on the road. Indeed, in many cases, it is fortunate that horses have more sense than their riders. So, all in all, perhaps it is time for compulsory testing.

Conspiracies Against The Laity : The Real Power Inquiry

I have decided to call my "Real Power Inquiry" "Conspiracies Against the Laity" for the following reasons :

1. Something called "The Power Inquiry", chaired by Helena Kennedy QC, has recently reported to Government (its client).

2. I regard all "Establishments", and, in particular the Law, as being, in part at least, "a conspiracy against the laity", to use the well-known words of G B Shaw.

Some Advice for Fat Cats & General Practitioners

The truth of the saying "you are what you eat" has been brought home to me recently. My adoptive cat has just changed his dietary preference from a soft Tesco's ready-meal to an apparently more healthy (nine out of ten vets seem to recommend it) "active maturity" granule. Not only has he lost weight, but resumed life on the prowl, having become a bit of a couch potato of late. This goes to show that relatively modest changes to one's regime can achieve almost immediate beneficial effects. Extreme changes are often unnecessary, and maybe lethal.

From a business/management perspective, what I particularly dislike about the New Labour "Regime" is its preference for "constant revolution" in many areas of government. Spurious administrative changes in the name of "modernisation" have been very much in fashion, particularly where these involve the purchase of expensive and, arguably unnecessary, IT systems from which many a cat has grown fat. Nor, in the case of the Health Service, is it only management practitioners who have become excessively prosperous.

In my personal capacity as a patient, I can only think of one General Practitioner who would merit a salary of circa £100k per annum, apparently the going rate for GPs these days. This gentleman was an African doctor practising in this country who combined an excellent consultative manner (calm, caring gravitas) with the ability to offer clear diagnosis and appropriate treatment. The true value of this kind of medical practitioner is illustrated in the following case study from my personal experience, and, as it happens, that of my cat.

Some years ago, my then cat and I both developed lumps in our mouths. In my case, I had rather foolishly allowed the National Health Service to extract my wisdom teeth, something which seemed to lead not to cure but subsequent dental problems. When my lump appeared I was therefore anxious. However, the doctor mentioned above assured me that this was a harmless bony growth and I should not worry about it. Indeed, I have had the lump now for about 12 years, and it has caused me no problems at all.

Meanwhile, my old cat's veterinary care was rather less appropriate, and, in the end, perhaps fatal. The vet suggested that the growth in his mouth might be cancerous and advised a biopsy.
In removing tissue for this purpose, the vet blocked a salivary duct and my cat developed a cyst on the side of his neck, in size probably half way between a golf and tennis ball (ie big for a small animal). The biopsy revealed there was no cancer. However, the cyst caused serious subsequent health problems for the cat, although it was eventually treated effectively by another vet.

In the case of my cat and, and other animals in whose care I have been involved, my experience is that veterinary treatments can be overzealous. This may have something to do with the veterinary insurance industry which has boomed in recent years. Purchasers of private medical care please take note ! However, even within the NHS I would suggest that there is much unnecessary "treatment". Not only is this costly in money and "opportunity cost" (when people who really need treatment cannot obtain it), the cure, as they say, may be worse than the disease.

On Serious Matters and Lite Entertainment

My last blog concluded on the subject of S&M, and more particularly, "Domination Services", and, whilst I could probably put together a good business plan for a commercial/social enterprise in this sector - and may yet do so - I actually want to look at dominant power structures and ideologies in our society first. So, next week my "Real Power Inquiry" starts.
This will be structured as follows :

Janet Mackinnon Blog

Introduction to The Real Power Inquiry on the true meaning of "power politics etc".

The Market for Domination Services will cover things like : "The Tyranny of Fashion", including spurious lingerie marketing; and the domination of health services by the drugs industry ie licenced pharmaceutical companies, rather than illegal drugs dealers (although I might tackle them as well)

The Edge of Town Blog

What Future for Feminism ? will deal with the domination of feminist politics in this country by New Labour Neo-Conservative "feminists" like Ruth Kelly (Minister for Women), Harriet Harman, and, yes, Cherie Booth-Blair QC. The exclusion of other feminist agendas from mainstream politics and policies will also be considered.

Janet Stone Blog

Troubles with Trolls will look at the negative and positive aspects of what might be construed (especially by men) as "the dark feminine".

The Green Man Project Blog

(Over) Population and Sustainability will be the focus here.

If the above sounds somewhat "heavy", it may be, but might just make interesting reading.


However, in the meantime - and it being a Saturday - I want to strike a "liter" note, and say something about Simon Cowell, "The King of Light Entertainment" whom my previous blog also touched upon. Now some people may feel that my blogs have been rather hard on New Labour (something for which I make absolutely no apology !), and it may now come as a surprise that I'm now going to say something positive about the "Tony Blair Years". Simon Cowell, although I have no idea what his politics are, is in my view one positive manifestation of New Labour. Why ? Let me list the reasons. Mr Cowell :

1. Beat Gordon Brown to 97th place in the "Worlds Sexiest Men" Poll. Mr Cowell came in at 96th.

2. Has made alot of money (Very important in New Labour circles, as Peter Mandelson would no doubt assure us)

3. Has a positive view of equality/diversity issues (I'm being genuine here !)

Shame that Tony Blair didn't pursue the same course in life as Mr Cowell, but maybe there's still time. ("Cherie, we're joining the other LaLas later this year !").

All this said, I actually like Mr Cowell (although I suspect that he's not at all green...but I'm no puritan either), but its the "dark side" of New Labour that really gets me going.

"Chilled, but Still Dangerous"
On the Subjects M&S...& S&M

They say that success is all about the right personal (and professional) branding right now, so I was delighted by a fashion "find" yesterday. Walking through the lingerie department of Marks and Spencer (M&S), I spotted a pair of trousers on the sale rack that looked just the job for me. I should point out that I'm always on the lookout for a robust pair of trousers, as cycling almost everywhere these days brings considerable pressure in the pants (as distinct from lingerie) department. A quick glance at the trousers in question, therefore, brought considerable satisfaction as they were constructed of strong black denim, quite up to wear, in fact, on a building site, with the added advantage of a high elasticated waist, so no bottom cleavage problem. There are few things worse, in my experience, than a cold wind up your backside, speaking metaphorically as well as physically, of course. Like Simon Cowell (whose appearance on "Desert Island Discs" revealed him to be a man of exceptionally good musical taste), I also quite like a "high waist" for sartorial, as well as practical, reasons.

However, my M&S trousers - of which I am now the proud owner - have other advantages : price, as they are for teenagers; and, branding. For a pedestian and cyclist like myself, who is regulary "hustled" by motorists, these trousers have a brand which is truly talismanic : "Back Off" (with a skull and cross bones symbol for added punch). Moreover, they carry a red logo containing the words "Chilled, but Still Dangerous", which I would like to think still holds in it something of my attitude to life, even in middle age. In fact, I now feel truly empowered by my new pants, especially as I put them to the test this morning, tackling a spot of professional bother in what I felt was a very cool fashion indeed.

Now all this brings me to another subject, not concerning M&S but S&M, or "Domination Services" to be precise. An advertisement in my local free paper invited applications from people interested in providing these (something I understand can be very lucrative), and, I must confess, it did cross my mind to apply : but this is a subject more suited to "The Edge of Town"blog.

Equestrian Craft Skills

Following my earlier post on "Horse Welfare and the Household Cavalry", which some may find hard on "equestrian professionals", I thought something positive on this subject might be in order. Some of the most important contributions to horse welfare come from what are often referred to as the equestrian "trades", including good saddlers and farriers. In my experience, the Household Cavalry has produced some very good people here, and it may well be argued that their role is just as significant as the equestrian pageantry for which this institution rightly renowned.

Horse Welfare & The Household Cavalry

On yesterday's BBC1 "Midlands Today" there was an interesting story about equine welfare. The item concerned the horses of the Household Cavalry, which, as the presenter noted in his introduction, form part of what many people regard to be amongst the best of British heritage. However, on this occasion the presence of some Household Cavalry horses in a muddy field in South Worcestershire had met not with public applause, but with disapproval. In short, several people had called the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and one local horsewoman was considering writing to the Queen.

A Household Cavalry vet was duly interviewed and maintained that the health and welfare of their horses was not at all compromised, although they would shortly be moving back to London. No action on the matter is being taken by the RSPCA.

I have to say that this story evoked very mixed feelings in me. Having had some horse dealings with serving and former Household Cavalry people, including their vets, a part of me was delighted that someone had put them on the spot, and not a particularly comfortable one at that.
For the fault of these people, in my view, is their own over-preoccupation with how things appear, and propensity to "tell tales" themselves if things don't "look right". Perhaps a bit more attention to substance rather than show is required here ! Incidentally, this applies to the horse world as a whole, and particularly perhaps in Middle England.

For this story - like all stories - has another side to it. As someone was has been based in Worcestershire for five years, I have noticed a propensity amongst local horseowners to contact the RSPCA when they feel the horses of other people are being neglected, even when the animals in question are quite healthy, which appeared to be the case with the Household Cavalry horses. These callers to the RSPCA tend to be people either relatively new to horses, and/or those with strong views about how how horses should be managed, such as a preference for maximum clipping, rugging and stabling in (ie up to 24 hours a day) during the "winter".

The fact is that a genuine cavalry horse, as distinct from a show or sports horse, should be capable of dealing with "harsh" conditions, including bad weather and muddy ground. The big problem for horse welfare in Worcestershire, from my perspective, is animals who are "not fit for purpose". This lack of "fitness" typically has several attributes. Firstly, it is difficult to obtain a good hardy middle weight horse (as distinct from pony) of the "cavalry type" these days. Secondly, animals are often insufficiently "fittened" by their owners and become chronically unsound. Thirdly, there is tendency to mollycoddle, and "vet", to the point of cruelty.

This brings me back to the subject of "vetting". For, in my opinion, some of the major contributors to poor horse "fitness", as I have described it, and consequently welfare, are to be found amongst the vetinary community, as well as other "equestrian professionals".

REGENERATION MANIFESTO(S)

Now it is mid-January and with the prospect of more seasonal temperatures, not to say stormy weather, in the next few days, I feel 2007 has really begun. I've decided that the focus of my blog during this Winter/Spring season, as Nature once again regenerates herself, will be "Regeneration", and, in particular, "Regeneration Manifestos". Indeed, I intend to publish my own "Manifesto for Regeneration", which will deal not only with earthly and material considerations, but intellectual, cultural and spiritual matters as well : these, in my view, being equally important at the present time. Moreover, although my "Regeneration Manifesto" will focus on Britain, and in particular, Middle England, I will draw upon the experience of other nations, both in the over/developed and less-developed world. Whilst this inquiry will be of a serious nature, I hope that it will also be humorous and entertaining, and widen understanding of what is meant by "regeneration" in both its practical and more philosophical manifestations.

A quick Internet word-search of "Regeneration Manifesto" offers a useful starting point for exploring the theme of regeneration. The first entry to come up is the 2005 British Property Federation (BPF) Regeneration Manifesto. This is actually rather a useful document because BPF have come up with some of the most coherent thinking, not only only property-based regeneration but also on sustainable development, transport planning, energy conservation etc, which is not to say that I always agree with them. Following on from the BPF entry, are a number of references to manifestos for community-based regeneration, including one from SURF (Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum); and, others concerned with improving the quality of the built environment and local enterprise. I will explore these and other "Regeneration Manifestos" in coming blogs. I will also consider the religious significance of "regeneration", something particularly significant in the Christian faith in the context of the Easter celebrations; and, perhaps closest to my own heart, the meaning of "sustainable regeneration" for Planet Earth and her people, animal and plant life, both globally and locally.

Gordon's Gang and Labour's New Politics of the Playground

"Worse than a crime, it was a mistake". This saying might sum up many of the government's ill-advised policy ventures, not least the war in Iraq. However, these are collective misadventures, and not just the mistake of Tony and his cronies.

Until yesterday, I had quite a lot of respect for The Fabian Society, but after they hosted last weekend's love-in (as the BBC put it) for Gordon's Gang (ie Gordon Brown and his cronies), my respect is somewhat diminished.

One of Gordon's journalist cronies suggested that the Chancellor didn't identify himself strongly with the war in Iraq because foreign policy had been largely left to Tony Blair, whilst Mr Brown attended to economic and, increasingly, broader domestic policy.

Sorry, but this doesn't wash, and if the media buy into this nonsense, they're an even dafter lot than I'd reckoned on. The only good thing about Britain's involvement in Iraq, that I can think of, is that it brought about the dismissal/resignation of Mr Lifestyle TV himself, Greg Dyke.

Now, however, the "Blair Lifestyle Years", during which Cherie was advised by lifestyle guru Carol Caplin and her conman Aussie boyfriend, have been replaced by the prospect of, the equally ghastly and potentially lethal, Gordon's Gang and their politics of the playground.

The wonder is that much of the media seem to buying into this nonsense, just as they did during Blair's "Lifestyle TV" years. Get real ! The prospect of the Chancellor's "representative on earth", Ed "fatboy" Balls, sorting out the problems of the Palestinians is a non-starter.

As the rather good government minister, Kim Howells, recently pointed out, the Palestinian people have been been amongst the most subsidised on the planet. One consequence of this is the country's burgeoning population bomb, alongside its other explosive problems.

Indeed, it could be argued that the population problem of the Middle East (ie too many people, economic and environmental unsustainability) lies at the very heart of instability there. Massive - ie $billions - United States "re-construction investment" in Iraq has achieved very little.

Alot of this, by all accounts, has been syphoned off to places like the more exclusive parts of London. If Gordon's Gang want to do something sensible, let them start by tackling money-laundering at home, but let's have no more daft playground adventures please.

Main Event or Side Show ?

Whilst I prefer not to know about the domestic lives of politicians - how they choose to educate their children, where they go on holiday etc - such insights sometimes throw light on wider and more important matters.

Although, "friends" of the Prime Minister maintain that he is much better appreciated abroad than at home (by which I mean in Britain), this may not be the case. Apparently, he is known in the Italian media as "The Scrounger" as a consequence of his (? former) policy of holidaying at the expence of wealthy political friends.

When questioned about his penchant for transatlantic holidays and air travel, the Prime Minister was yesterday robust in the defence of he and his family's regular right to this (although he is now to "offset" both governmental/business and personal air travel).

Whilst Mr Blair's policy on air travel caused much indignation amongst the environmental and green community, it should certainly have come as no surprise. For both the Prime Minister and the New Labour "Community" have clearly regarded the issues of environmental conservation and sustainability as a side show from the outset of office.

For those of us that regard environmental issues as the main event for the global community just now, the personal and political preferences of Mr Blair and his New Labour colleagues may be a disappointment. However, we should take consolation in the fact that he and his administration (and I include Gordon Brown in this) are fast becoming a side show themselves.

British General Election in 2007 ?

The possibility of a snap general election this year has been raised in an interview with Conservative Party Leader, David Cameron. This is something which bears thinking about, I feel.

"If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It"

In 1987 I read a rather good book by Ken Livingstone - Red Ken as he was then - called "If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It". This account of the abolition of the Greater London Council by the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher - who appeared to harbour a particular dislike for Mr Livingstone (I wonder why ?) - was quite engrossing.

The expression "If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It" seems, like Mr Livingstone, to have received something of a comeback in recent years : I wonder why ?

Perhaps yesterday's outcome of BBC Radio 4's poll of unpopular legislation throws some light on this. The following extract is taken from today's Independent :

"Row as 'Today' programme's poll is won by fox-hunting alliance
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent
Published: 02 January 2007

"It should have been a bit of festive fun with a slightly serious political edge. But the Radio 4 Today programme's annual Christmas survey instead led to a row after listeners voted to repeal the ban on fox-hunting.

The poll, which has a long history of producing questionable results, caused more controversy this year, with claims that the Countryside Alliance had orchestrated calls to abolish the 2004 Hunting Act.

The Alliance dismissed the claims as "sour grapes".

A total of 52.8 per cent of the telephone and internet votes went to repealing the hunting ban. It was well ahead of the 29.7 per cent of the voters who wanted to scrap the 1972 European Communities Act, which took Britain into what is now the European Union."

The fact is that many people regard fox-hunting, whether or not they participate in it, as an important part of our cultural heritage. It could be argued that "The Old Fox" Mr Livingstone - by then Purple Ken as the Labour Party had expelled him - was voted in as Mayor of London in 2000 with sentiments not totally dissimilar.

If such sentiments - including legitimate concerns about European Union - upset certain elements of the political classes, then the more fool they ! If voting changed anything, they may abolish it (or want to), but, it should be remembered, that everyday dog, fox and hound, will, ultimately have his or her day.