Missing Britain

Hay and I went to Crickhowell the other day to scout for an hotel for Hay's dad and partner to stay in when on holiday in spring. We're already familiar with the place, having spent a week some years ago on a narrowboat on the Brecon & Monmouth Canal and mooring near Crickhowell.

We visited a couple of local shops and, in one, I spotted this rather nice globe made of wood. The land masses are metal and screwed on.

At first I thought it was a metaphor for Brexit Britain, as the UK was entirely absent, as you can see in the photo; however, there's rather a large large and unaccountable gap between Africa and Saudi Arabia with the Eastern Mediterranean being connected to the Indian Ocean by a stretch of water several thousand miles wide. 

Could it be a map of the earth in a few million years?

A Balanced Dog

Spotted this van on the motorway the other day and was rather intrigued with the advert on the back - Dani's Balanced Dogs (Hay was driving).

I had images of dogs being trained to walk tightropes but, on looking the phrase up, it's a lady in Somerset who trains dogs with behavioural problems.

Reindeer Specs

Someone in our household bought some novelty specs - they make any point of light, such as Christmas tree lights, look like reindeer.

Intrigued, and never having seen them before, I tried to find out how they work and it would seem they are diffraction gratings, which was my first thought.

It's a phenomenon in physics where light waves bend when passing through a series of narrow slits or lines, causing them to spread out and overlap. This creates interference patterns that can be perceived as colors and shapes depending on the arrangement of the slits and the wavelength of the light. 

In the case of the reindeer and Christmas tree spectacles, the lenses are made of plastic with a specific pattern of micro-grooves etched onto them. These grooves act as tiny diffraction gratings, splitting the light from each point source (like a Christmas light) into different colours and spreading them out. The specific pattern of the grooves is designed to focus these diffracted colors into recognizable shapes like reindeer or trees on the wearer's retina. 

Pint of Whine, Anyone?

The government, in its infinite wisdom, has brought us yet another Brexit Benefit - allowing wine to be sold in restaurants and pubs in pints.

Several Champagne houses produced pint bottles throughout history, but the most notable was Pol Roger. Their connection to "Churchill-sized" bottles is legendary, as Sir Winston Churchill famously preferred his champagne in pints. He even called it "the right quantity for one person of a reasonable disposition." 

While Pol Roger stopped producing pints after the UK joined the EEC in 1973, they had produced them for nearly a century, dating back to around 1874. Other houses known to have produced pint bottles include Bollinger, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.

However, given no foreign wine maker is going to take a blind bit of notice of this new legislation, as it means a higher cost of production, the only vineyards to which it could even feasibly be applicable would be British vineyards who don't export (as exporters wouldn't want to increase costs by having dual bottling lines), and then it's doubtful whether they would take advantage of it, as it would mean lower volumes of sales.

In the 13th Century, English kings attempted to impose uniformity with the Assize of Bread and Ale, establishing a "wine pint" and an "ale pint" with different volumes. More attempts at standardization followed, but regional variations persisted. Finally, in 1698, an Act of Parliament defined the pint as one-eighth of a Winchester gallon, bringing some consistency to beer sales.

In a recent survey, only 1.3%, out of 100,000 people surveyed, favoured a return to Imperial weights and volumes. They, presumably, are fully encompassed by the circle of people deluded enough to want Boris Johnson back as PM.

Perfect Christmas Present

 Hay got me the perfect Christmas present.

A stainless steel rear wing finishing strip - p/n 715693SS. Hopefully I'll get the other side on my birthday.

Can't put them on permanently till the tub has been sprayed.

The King's Speech

I'm an avowed republican, but more in regard of the institution itself rather than the personalities, who are mostly decent coves.

I don't usually watch the Monarch's Christmas Message, but I watched Charles' Christmas Message and loved it - he hit all the relevant issues with the right tone. Doubtless the Culture Warriors will be riled on Twitter today.

Yet Another Project

Merry Christmas to all!

Spotted this on Instagram and want to have a go at making it.

It's self supporting and quite ingenious, depending entirely on the tensions in opposing cables (or pieces of string, as we experts call them).

You can actually place things on the top of it with the addition of a platform.

Another Project

While away in Anglesey last weekend, I spotted this in a craft market:

I should have taken a photo from the front, rather than the side, especially as the floor is wooden, but it's a wooden bench seat with the legs made of sections of a polished, steel girder. "Aha," thinks I; "I sense a project coming on."

I then spotted this RSJ on Facebook Market for £10. Well, it's not as large as a girder, but girders are not that easy to come by, so I snapped it up. As it transpired, it was being sold by the same bloke I bought a bunch of air tools from in the summer.

Unfortunately I've lost the 15cfm compressor I was borrowing, but I can borrow it back at weekends, as the RSJ requires a damned good sandblasting before being polished up.

Instead of a straight plank of wood, I'll think try to find a slice of tree to convert into a bench seat. It's a project, however, that's going to have to wait till spring to work on.

Meaningless Resolution

The Security Council resolution on Gaza is utterly meaningless. Instead of calling for a ceasefire it calls, under American pressure, to “create the conditions” for one, without defining what those conditions are.

For Israel this is likely to be eradicating Hamas, while simultaneously undertaking action that actually increases Hamas' numbers. The logical conclusion of this is the total ethnic cleansing of Gaza, ready for Netanyahu's far right mates in government to move settlers in.

We expect the Israeli government to behave like a western democracy, which it purports to be, but it's falling well short of that in many areas - not just Gaza. The expectations were so much higher and they've squandered any goodwill.

Perhaps the next time there's something like the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, the authorities should take a leaf from the Israeli government's book and carpet bomb everything in a 2 mile radius, just to ensure every terrorist is eliminated.

Rainbow Clouds

Yesterday we had a couple of those rainbow clouds that people have been spotting all over the country.

It doesn't show that well in photos, but the visual effect on the eyes is stunning.

Dangerous Sports Equipment

We visited a Joe Brown's mountaineering outlet in Llanberis has week as Hay was looking for some walking trousers.

I wasn't much impressed with the price of the stuff on offer - although I did like the coloured string these mountaineers use to help get themselves up mountains.

When I was young, you had rudimentary things that you hammered into rock fissures, but now there are all manner of brilliant accoutrements that make climbing a sheer, rock face as easy as pie.

I was, however, rather concerned by some really aggressive Trotsky killers (ice picks).

How is it possible that certain knives are banned and yet these vicious things are on open sale?

Leave & Remain Pathologies

I'm an ardent fan of Vlad Vexler on YouTube. Vlad is a UK domiciled political philosopher who primarily analyses the Ukraine War and what's going on in Putin's Russia, but he does have other strings to his bow.

Recently he analysed the pathologies prevalent in the Leave and Remain camps surrounding Brexit and came up with 3 pathologies on the Remain side and 2 on the Leave, leaving aside the pros and cons of Brexit itself. 

I've teased these out into 3 on each side, as I believe he condensed two of them into one. They're not ubiquitous, by any means, just prevalent, especially on Twitter.

For Remain:

Remainers have a teleological view of history - seeing progress in one direction only, rather than how it actually happens - in fits and starts with occasional setbacks and reverses. They see Brexit as a disaster, whereas it's a temporary situation that can and probably will be reversed.

Dealing with stereotyped and idealised caricatures of opponents, such as lumping them all into the Gammon camp. Reasons for voting Leave were nuanced and many were genuine, based on personal circumstances.

Remainers generally fail to recognise centrist politics contributed to, or did not address, feelings of marginalisation and de-prioritisation among Leave voters, particularly with regard to immigration and refugees. An open doors policy is not logical nor intellectually sustainable, yet Remainers generally fall into the trap of defending just such a policy, rather than arguing for sensible caps on numbers. They feel they have to oppose, diametrically, anything the Leave camp comes up with.

For Leave:

Magical thinking - a refusal to engage with cause and effect, involving a disregard for evidence, logic, and complex causal relationships, such as the Gravity Model of Trade. They believe that merely stating something will make it happen, not taking into account that a path has to be mapped out to get from A to B, and that path has to be feasible without breaking democratic institutions. So many have fallen for undeliverable promises.

Failure to acknowledge that the people who led Brexit are (or have donors who are) an entrepreneurial and exploitative cohort of populists who are actually in favour of globalism and immigration for personal gain, the latter as a means of reducing business costs, and they are therefore incapable of delivering Brexit in the manner those who voted Leave hoped. Essentially, they were lied to by the few who gambled that they would to gain massively from market shifts.

Failure to understand that if institutions have to be broken to gain an objective (breaking the law, rewriting the law in a foolhardy manner, or breaking sacred, democratic and constitutional conventions), it's impossible to rebuild those institutions once the objective has been realised - they will remain irreparably broken, to the overall detriment of democracy. What's good for the Tory goose is also good for the Labour gander.

Teatime

What was tea (as in what southerners call dinner) called before we had tea?

Droning Over Anglesey

Had a couple of days in Anglesey, where I went to school between the ages of 14 and 16 at a place called HMS Conway, which was in the grounds of Plas Newydd, the seat of the Marquis of Anglesey.

I took No.1 Son's drone to see if I could get some nice aerial shots. I would have liked to do more shots over water, but was too afraid of it ditching in the drink and it was a bit windy near the Menai Straits. Recovering it over land is hard, but feasible - it's not feasible in water.

The first shot was at Llanberis, which is not actually on Anglesey, but Hay wanted a swim - it's her favourite wild swimming site.

I then move on to the Menai Bridge, followed by Beaumaris Castle, the Marquis' house at Llanfair P.G. and then, finally, my old school, which was closed as a school in 1994 by the then Education Secretary - Margaret Thatcher.

Enjoy.

London-Centric House of Lords

The allowances for MPs and peers are different in a number of ways. 

• Amount: MPs receive a basic annual allowance of £81,930, while peers receive a basic allowance of £31,982. However, MPs can also receive additional allowances for things such as office costs, travel and subsistence, while peers cannot. 
• Purpose: The basic allowance for MPs is intended to cover the costs of their role as an MP, such as travel to and from Parliament, accommodation in London, and office costs. The basic allowance for peers is intended to cover the costs of their role as a peer, such as travel to and from Parliament, accommodation in London, and office costs. However, the additional allowances for MPs can also be used to cover the costs of running their constituency office, employing staff (invariably a family member), and attending meetings with constituents. 
• Indexation: The basic allowance for MPs is indexed to inflation, which means that it increases each year in line with the Consumer Price Index. The basic allowance for peers is not indexed to inflation, which means that it remains the same in real terms each year.

It is fair to say that the peers regularly attending the House of Lords mainly live permanently in London. A 2019 study by the House of Lords Library found that 65% of peers live in London, while only 12% live outside the South East of England. 

This means that the composition of the House of Lords is heavily skewed towards London, which can lead to concerns about the representation of the wider UK population.

Pottery Progress

The ceramic tea light houses are finished and ink applied to the crackle glaze. Mine are the two with the coloured roofs.

And lit up they look very quaint (twee)....

Also, my Mobius Strip is finished.

Not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a test piece for something a bit better at a later date. I wonder if I could make one with some sheet metal with the ends welded together....

Hay is going to try making some large conch shells and some small, spiral shells as earrings.

Invasive Species

I have become aware of a number of invasive species that farmers seem to be unaware of. These invasive species are actually on sale at most greengrocers and supermarkets, who seem intent on poisoning us all.

I speak of sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, which go under the generic term of brassicas. These invasive species taste hideous, with the flavour having to be masked with cheese, bacon or some other addition before becoming even vaguely palatable.

This is due to the presence of glucosinolates, which are compounds that are broken down into isothiocyanates and other compounds that give brassicas their characteristic and rather disgusting flavour.

Some people take part in testing challenges where they force themselves to eat these plants without any condiment or sauce whatsoever and don't take any precautions against the unbelievable stench these brassicas produce when being cooked, which is something akin to the odour experienced when walking into an old people's home. It's like a bush tucker trial and something I would not wish to participate in.

Secret Santa

It's Secret Santa time - the time when you spend ages agonising over getting someone something appropriate, chic and humorous, yet within the budget, only to get something in return into which no effort or thought has been contributed whatsoever.

Alternatively, you spend ages trying to discover the hidden meaning of the tawdry piece of shit you received.

Urgent Change

What with the COP climate conference, it would seen that there are times when democracy, and politicians pandering to the electorate for votes, means things can't be changed fast enough.

However, that's not to say dictatorships are better, as they still have to compete with other countries, even if those other countries are also dictatorships.

I can see every government leaving action to the next one and letting that replacement government take the hit - especially if it's likely that the opposition party will take the reins. They'll all leave it so long that the hit, when it does finally come, will be much harder to bear.

What's the solution?

A quick update on our budding rose I mentioned yesterday (I took the former photo on Monday).

It rotted....

A Rose by Any Other Name

I wonder whether it will flower before Christmas?

We used to have a yellow rose bush that regularly flowered until New Year, but it died in the 2022 heatwave.

Groundhog Day

As I understand it, there is nothing constitutionally standing in the way of Boris Johnson being elected as the next Conservative leader and PM, should Rishi Sunak be sent packing.

• There are no constitutional rules stipulating the leader of a party or any cabinet member has to be a sitting MP, as evidenced by David Cameron being Foreign Secretary.
• There are, however, Tory Party rules which stipulate the leader must be a sitting MP. Such rules, however, can be changed.
• He would need to be elevated to the Lords though, as a PM (or cabinet member) must be a member of either the HoC or HoL, which would require the cooperation of Rishi Sunak to elevate him, which is not a given. Countless peers were PM in the 19th Century.
• Holding him to account would be difficult, but not impossible. Select Committees would hold him to account and a proxy could be appointed in the HoC. He would also be held to account in the HoL.

However, given his track record in power and the enemies he's made, it's unlikely the MPs would select him as one of the two candidates to put to the membership and even less likely Rishi Sunak would elevate him. They're not all lunatics.

The Tories would have to hope and pray there wasn't another Pandemic.

Covid Comparisons with Sweden

Lockdown skeptics on Twitter are obsessed with comparing the UK's lockdown with Sweden's experience, but they won't take into account the huge differences between the UK and Sweden.

Factors that may have contributed to Sweden's relatively favorable COVID-19 experience include: 

• Early and widespread testing: Sweden implemented widespread testing and contact tracing measures from the start of the pandemic, which helped to identify and isolate infected individuals. 
• High levels of social trust: Sweden has a strong culture of social responsibility and public health consciousness, which may have encouraged individuals to voluntarily adhere to recommended guidelines. 
• Strong healthcare system: Sweden's healthcare system is well-funded and has a high capacity to handle surges in demand, which helped to ensure adequate care for COVID-19 patients. 
• Delayed peak of the pandemic: Sweden's peak of the pandemic came later than in many other countries, which may have given the healthcare system more time to prepare and adapt. 
• Effective use of mask-wearing: Sweden emphasized mask-wearing as a personal responsibility rather than a mandatory measure, and research suggests that this approach may have contributed to slower transmission rates. However, more recent studies show masks were ineffective due to aerosol transmission.
• Migration: Swedes head to their remote cabins in the hills for much of the summer. It's almost impossible to do business in Stockholm for a couple of months in the summer.
• Population density: Sweden is much less densely populated than Britain. Sweden has 23 people per square km compared to the UK's 275. Even adjusting for uninhabited areas, it's still 29 in Sweden vs 307 in the UK.

A better comparison would be closer to home - the Isle of Man, where the deaths per 100,000 were half that of mainland UK and the excess deaths far lower.

While the  Isle of Man has a lower population density than mainland Britain, if the uninhabited areas of both are taken out of the equation, the population densities are much closer than the case of the UK and Sweden.

Click to enlarge the table above (source: Google Bard), which shows how much better the Isle of Man fared by early action.

Rwanda

 Let's analyse this Rwanda policy:

It's touted as a deterrent; however, it's an empirical rule of thumb in psychology that any deterrent must carry a risk factor of above 10% to have any chance of being effective. Based on last year's asylum applications and the 200 people that the Rwanda policy will ship off, that represents a risk of 0.25% - no deterrent at all and the same risk as being in a car accident in the USA, which doesn't stop Americans driving cars. 

Even halving the number doesn't take it above half a percent - and that's just for one year; once the 200 slots are filled, the risk becomes zero. On that basis, I can see enterprising smugglers (or Tories) offering profitable insurance policies to the boat people.

The government insists Rwanda is not only safe, but provides refugees with countless opportunities. Again, is that meant to be a deterrent? They're a victim of their own warped PR.

The government says the boat crossings are dangerous and they're concerned about the lives lost. However, the small boats themselves are a direct result of Tory policy that eliminated safe routes, so their own policy has necessitated people risking their lives coming in small boats. Rank hypocrisy.

The cost of the Rwanda policy thus far is the same as the cost of one month's hotel bills for asylum applicants, with not a cat's chance in hell, even if flights take off, of denting that hotel bill.

As for the EGR, leaving the ECHR will render the policy dead in the water, as Rwanda won't play ball in respect of flouting international law - they are desperately trying to rehabilitate their international  image after the Hutus massacred the Tutsis.

It's ironic that the only planes that have been taking off for Rwanda have been those with Immigration Ministers in them; however, it is being mooted to send Rwanda some lawyers - presumably lefty, illegal immigrant lawyers.

Why can't the government be honest? The policy is designed - badly and expensively - to stop people claiming asylum in the UK at all. They couldn't give a damn about saving lives - they dehumanise them. To claim otherwise is to insult the electorate's intelligence. The government is frantically putting a wig and lipstick on a pig, hoping we can't see the trotters and curly tail that give the game away.

That said, many of low cognitive ability support it, just like they continue to support Brexit and Boris Johnson, denying all reality and the evidence of their own eyes. Such people are a glaring advert for the necessity of a basic IQ test before being allowed to vote.

If the government wants to reduce the cost of housing asylum applicants, simply allow them to work and pay for their own accommodation, filling jobs where we have a vast number of vacancies and possibly paying tax, thereby adding to the UK economy.

Then we have to take into account that the people arriving on small boats are a small percentage of overall immigration, where the government insists it needs the immigrants to fill vacancies and get the UK moving economically.

Why on God's green earth are they prepared to spend a fortune on a policy which doesn't do what it says on the tin? Why are they prepared to wreck the Tory party while chasing a chimera? To mix metaphors, it's a glaring white elephant in the room.

It can't be to fulfil one of Sunak's 5 promises, because it patently won't stop the boats. Surely is't not simply a totem for control of the Party and its leadership?

Analyse and discuss.

Christmas Card Anxiety

Managed to get the usual crop of Christmas cards off this week, a task which I never relish as I'm always looking at the calendar and wondering whether I'll be too late for the Christmas post.

I keep a list of names and addresses that I print out and work through in a production line method. This year I decided to tackle the task earlier than usual - it meant I could use 2nd Class stamps too. Now it's a case of waiting for cards from people I forgot to add to the list and getting anxiety over not having sent them one.

You can easily spend a fortune on stamps these days; in fact the stamps invariably cost more than the cards. 2nd Class stamps are now £0.76, meaning we spend nearly a whopping £3 on sending cards to all our friends. It's becoming unaffordable.

I blame Henry Cole, who started the whole thing in 1843, having produced 1,000 commercially available cards, giving the proceeds to charity. We always get charity Christmas cards, buying them from charity shops just after Christmas, when they're desperate to get rid of them and sell them at a huge discount.

Bah, humbug!

Fork Handles

Apropos of yesterday's post on candles, I went to IKEA this week to replenish the tealight and pillar candle stock and noticed we're being ripped off in a Swedish manner.

On the left is one of the tealights I bought in IKEA last winter. On the right is this year's offering.

Instead of a 4 or 5 hour burn, I'll now be lucky to get 2.5 hours from a tealight. Why can't they just be honest and increase the price to reflect increases in cost, rather than increasing the price AND reducing the size. 

With a candle, I'm more concerned with the burn time than the price - a bit like a cremation....

Four Candles

My Dutch Christmas chime is driven by candlepower, but the specific candles are hard to find and are hideously expensive.

However, this year I've managed to solve the problem by using the thermoelectric fan we have on the log burner to drive the chime.

Hay's checking all the Christmas decorations and lights before we put them up later this month. Last year she managed to decorate all of the garden in white.

It took her simply ages to get that effect.

I wonder when Christmas will have its name commercialised, more in keeping with what it actually is, a commercial holiday celebrating excess and conspicuous consumption. How about Amazonmas or, following on from Black Friday, Black Mass? ......

Non-Orientable Surfaces

 I wanted to make a ceramic Mobius Strip in Hay's sister's pottery class. Here's an example.

Now a Mobius Strip (and a Klein Bottle) are what are called non-orientable surfaces and, while they can exist at the chemical or molecular level, they have never been observed at the macro level in nature and simply aren't viable. Think about it for a while and it will become obvious why.

Here is my first attempt (plus another tea light house).

Took me two hours. The Mobius is difficult, as you need to clay to dry somewhat so it's self-supporting, but not too much that you can no longer smooth it. It's made from raku clay, which has some grit in it.

Not sure whether to raku glaze the Mobius or do it in a crackle cream.

Both require drying, firing, glazing and then re-firing.  God alone knows when they'll be ready.

Carbon & Ash

When I clean the inside of the glass on our wood burner every morning I wet a piece of kitchen towel, dip it in the wood ash and use the resulting paste to easily remove the carbon and tar deposits. Works a treat.

When wood is burned it splits into 2 parts - the ash, which is alkali, and carbon, which is acidic. The former neutralises the molecular bonds of the latter, making it easy to remove.

Now, as wood ash is alkali, I thought I'd try household bleach, as it's a powerful alkali, but it was a very poor substitute. A modicum of asking Google Bard (which is my new ChatGPT - much better and more up-to-date) told me that this is because wood ash contains potassium carbonate, which reacts with carbon, whereas bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, which doesn't.

When I was a kid my mother would give me charcoal tablets for an upset stomach. The theory was that carbon attracts organic molecules and the carbon would mop up any bad bacteria. The problem is that carbon mops up any organic molecule, including the beneficial ones - a bit like broad spectrum antibiotics.

The consensus now is that chomping on charcoal for an upset stomach simply turns your boo black and gives you the shits.

Cutting GP Appointment Waits

Following hard on from yesterday's stunning solution to EV charging points, here's an idea to cut down on the GP waiting times - GP practices swap patients with the next town, making it much more difficult to get to an appointment. The time wasters would disappear overnight.

Even better, locate all GP surgeries at the nearest hospital. Far fewer coming for their appointments because of distance, combined with the inability to park, could be referred immediately to a consultant for further tests, once the procedure backlog had been sorted. So, much smaller numbers being comprehensively treated in a fraction of the time. I should be a Secretary of State for something....

Am I serious? No, but I wouldn't put it past someone to come up with the policy.

Electric Car Solution

I've come up with a solution to the charging issue with electric vehicles - use fairground bumper cars.

An arterial network of electrified roads could be created, with the current entering the cars from a long pole that attaches to a 'ceiling' and exiting through the metal road. No need to worry about charging, as the current is always on.

Accidents would become enjoyable as cars bump into each other, but you might need a neck brace. Even kids could drive them, meaning they can get to school themselves.

The power could be DC too, resulting in additional safety and cheaper, long distance transmission. As for price, bumper cars for fairgrounds certainly don't cost anywhere near as much as standard EVs.

Getting from the arterial roads to small, residential roads could be achieved by incorporating a small lawnmower engine to create a hybrid. Bit noisey, but what the hell - it would be fun.

Tealight Houses

Apparently, small ceramic houses for tealights are all the rage in the middle classes this Christmas and, not to miss out, Hay and I decided to attend one of Hay's sister's ceramic art classes in her studio in the garden and make some.

Here are the ones available in the shops.

Now Hay has been attending the classes for several months on a Saturday morning, but I never availed myself of the facility, despite having received a free session as a birthday present.

I made one quickly, whereas Hay took more time for a somewhat refined house. She even went on to make a 2nd. 

Here are our attempts thus far.

The smaller one with the Roman tiled effect roof is mine and the other two are Hay's. She's leaving the roof off her 2nd one but, to me, it looks like a WWII Coventry, Stalingrad or Dresden model or, to be more contemporary, a Gaza model. 

I want to make a 2nd, but first want to make a paper template that minimises the use of clay - a bit like a fold-out. I may even transfer the paper template to mild steel to create a bit of a production line.

Above is a rough sketch of a template, complete with bowed walls and a bowed roof; however, if you search on t'internet you can find loads of them. Here's one, although it doesn't eliminate wastage by concatenating the sides that match.

The template above requires the joints to be cut at a 45 degree angle, which makes sense for a clean, mitred corner. It has a font and back, two roof panels and one side panel. The missing side panel is where you insert the tea light, although I would have done that at the back - better for the light too.

We still need to fire the ones we made, glaze them and then re-fire them, but they should be ready for Christmas.

Mine will be crackle glaze cream, with a terracotta roof and a trace of white snow on the roof. Very twee. I think, but can't be certain, that Hay will do the Coventry model in smoke and blackened brick.

Culture & Consequences

Trawling thought Twitter, I keep being presented with posts from far right nutters. It's obviously the algorithm at work, feeding me more of what I interact with when in Nexus 6 Nutter Combat Mode.

There is an inherent contradiction between the anti-immigration stance of the far right and the unintended consequences of their support for Brexit. 

Their opposition to Freedom of Movement for people from similar cultural backgrounds has led to a labour shortage, necessitating the recruitment of workers from different cultures - in many cases, very different cultures. This influx of diverse cultures, which they oppose, is a direct result of their own actions. 

The far right's proposed solution of employing more native Brits in these predominantly healthcare sector jobs is impractical due to the low wages offered and the limited availability of British workers in these fields. The low unemployment rate further underscores the challenge of filling these positions. 

To attract native Brits to these jobs, substantial wage increases would be necessary. However, this would require tax hikes, a measure that the far right also opposes. This creates a paradoxical situation where their desired solution to the labour shortage and mass immigration contradicts their economic beliefs. 

This effectively demonstrates the far right's inability to grasp the complex interdependencies of their actions and their desired outcomes. Their anti-immigration stance, coupled with their resistance to tax increases, has created a self-inflicted dilemma, leaving them with no viable solutions to the labour shortage they lament.

The government seems to want to import foreign labour on even lower wages than the current wages, or force disabled people into low paid jobs for which they're entirely unsuited. If genuinely disabled they can't physically do the jobs and, if swinging the lead, they're not the type of people who the job requires.

When a Brexiteer next tells you that if you love the EU so much, you should go and live in the EU, simply remind them that you can't, because they robbed you of Freedom of Movement. The numpties are stuck with you until such time as there's another referendum, which there will be, and it's entirely their fault, which they didn't foresee.

We live in interesting times of mass self-delusion, cognitive dissonance and the inability to see consequences of actions.

Lord Elgin and His Marbles

The acquisition (some would say looting) of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century remains a contentious issue, with Greece consistently calling for their return. 

Drawing parallels with the repatriation of Nazi art treasures offers a cogent and compelling argument for the restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. 

Firstly, the acquisition of the Elgin Marbles bears similarities to the plundering of art by the Nazis during World War II. Both instances involved the removal of cultural artifacts from their rightful owners without their consent. While the circumstances surrounding Elgin's acquisition may not be as blatantly exploitative as Nazi looting, the underlying principle of taking cultural treasures from their country of origin remains questionable. 

Secondly, the return of Nazi art treasures has set a precedent for the repatriation of cultural artifacts. The international community has recognized the importance of restoring these looted treasures to their rightful owners, acknowledging the deep cultural and historical significance they hold for the original communities. This precedent reinforces the call for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, where they can be reunited with the Parthenon and serve as a tangible connection to the nation's heritage. 

Thirdly, the continued retention of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum raises concerns about the institution's role in preserving and representing global cultural heritage. The museum's refusal to return the marbles despite Greece's persistent requests can be perceived as perpetuating a colonial mentality and disregarding the cultural ownership of these artifacts. Repatriation would demonstrate the museum's commitment to responsible stewardship and cultural sensitivity. 

In conclusion, the repatriation of Nazi art treasures serves as a powerful precedent for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. The parallels between the two cases highlight the importance of respecting cultural ownership and addressing the legacy of colonial practices. Restoring the Elgin Marbles to their rightful place would not only reunite them with their cultural context but also contribute to a more equitable and inclusive approach to the management of global cultural heritage.

Imagine, for a minute, that the Nazis had invaded Britain for a period during WWII and sold a few stones from Stonehenge, along with the Magna Carta, to the Italians or Greeks. What would be the reaction of the British once the Nazis had been defeated?

Something that's not widely known is that Lord Elgin's descendents retain some of the lesser Marbles that the British Museum thought were not of sufficiently high quality to be displayed. The current Lord Elgin does not wish to relinquish his rubble.

Rishi Sunak has said the UK will not return the Marbles. On the basis of his success on NHS waiting lists, stopping small boats and the tax burden, it would appear they will be returned shortly.

On a personal level, I have visited the Acropolis more times than I have visited the British Museum, and I lived in London for a number of years.

Tabloid Politics

I've coined a term, or I think I have, as I can't find a reference to it anywhere.

Similar to tabloid journalists who condense multifaceted stories to fit limited column space, populist politicians streamline nuanced issues, presenting facile answers that appeal to specific audiences. This approach, marked by its ability to capture attention and resonate with certain segments of the population through the use of emotion rather than logic, raises legitimate concerns about the depth and feasibility of the proposed solutions. I call this Tabloid Politics.

While these simplified messages may gain traction and generate popular support, they often lack the depth necessary to address the intricacies of the problems at hand. This oversimplification can lead to policy decisions that, while appealing on the surface, may prove facile, impractical or even detrimental when applied to the complex, multifaceted realities of governing. 

A more nuanced and thoughtful approach is crucial in navigating the intricate web of contemporary issues. Politicians should strive to engage with the complexities of challenges and acknowledging that real-world problems rarely have one-size-fits-all solutions. Emphasizing a more nuanced discourse is essential for fostering informed public debate and promoting policies that stand up to the complexities of our ever-evolving societal landscape.

I also think that those who engage in Tabloid Politics would like to get everyone in uniforms, preferably designed by Hugo Boss, and looking as if they're prepared to invade Czechoslovakia.

Difficult Choice

It strikes me that, given the Gaza ceasefire is temporary and, given the number of women and children being killed in Gaza by the bombing and missile attacks, the women and children in Israeli prisons would be better off staying exactly where they are and refusing to go back to Gaza.

They may be in jail, but they have food, medication and are not being bombed. They're even getting paid by the PLO while inside and one male prisoner did actually refuse for this reason - he'd be going back to Gaza destitute.

What's Netanyahu's end game? It can only be to remain in power to avoid the 3 corruption tials he's facing. It's the only thing that explains his actions to date. He's said Israel is in it till the end. without defining what that end is.

Assuming 1,500 Hamas operatives killed (Israel estimate 1,000 - 2,000) out of a 14,800  total, that's 8.9 civilians per Hamas operative. Given it's estimated that there are between 40-50,000 Hamas fighters, that means between 350k and 440k civilians will die if Netanyahu delivers on his promise to eliminate Hamas.

That civilian death toll, of course, will increase as Hamas attracts more fighters from among the relatives of those killed. Assuming that for every 5 civilians killed one addition is made to the Hamas number, it will not end. The end game of Netanyahu means the only people left in Gaza will be Hamas fighters.

Netanyahu will not negotiate with the PLO, as they have not condemned Hamas, so who will run Gaza when there are no people left there? The only conclusion is that it will become an extension of Israel.

Netanyahu is not really interested in Hamas' hostages, else he wouldn't be bombing the hell out of Gaza while not knowing where they're being kept and the released hostages have said as much. He has obviously been leant on by Joe Biden, who he has to keep sweet, to engage in the ceasefire. Once the hostage releases dry up, he will resume his campaign.