Good Friday 2019

It has been great spending the last two days with the family. Yesterday we went to Brightlingsea and relaxed.  My wife and I also went out later on, but a dispute between the children resulted in the evening not going to plan.  But while that was a black mark on the day, overall, it was a great time.  The highlight was playing throw and catch with my daughter.  I had hoped to do the same with my son, this was not possible.

Today we went shopping. A trip to Lakeside where we bought some books as well as a trip to Costco for supplies.  And now we are all together watching a film as a family.

When is a moral protest immoral?

London has been brought to a standstill by protesters who are campaigning that more needs to be done to address climate change.

Some of the actions they have taken are interesting, such as encouraging the use of vehicles when they disrupted public transport.  And while I agree that the actions that are taking place to combat global warming and also the way we are polluting our planet are woefully inadequate, I disagree with the methods.

Others have different values and disruptive protests for different values which I disagree with have taken place, and will no doubt take place again.  And if the current protests are to be tolerated, then the same must apply to protests by organisations like the far right.

So while I agree with the aims of these protesters, I have to disagree with the methods.

Flying a Colonial Viper

It has been a while since my last post.  I really need to get into the habit of making a quick post every week.  Needless to say, lots has happened.  But today, my son, his friend Matthew and I went to Thorpe Park.  Being the Easter Holidays, I took the day off to take both children here.  They have wanted to come for a while, and I even looked at buying a season pass.  But it would have come too late, so I bought some tickets and booked a day off work.

But my daughter decided not to come.  So we took a friend of my son.  It probably was for the better as it meant that I did not have to deal with the two kids bickering.  I actually like roller coasters, though I tell the children that I do not.  But I was dreading this trip.  When younger, I had been on some amazing rides, that were terrifying and loved them all.  Now I am older, certain aspects of them turn me to jelly, notably drops, and as I found out today, going upside down.

We arrived early to find a large queue already and when the park opened, the kids went to a ride called Colossus. Yes, I found it scary, notably the corkscrew where you go upside down.  But I loved it.  Then we went on a ride called Saw.  That was even more scary and my son almost lost his glasses.  We went on a ride called Zodiac, then Nemesis Inferno, and then Stealth.  I was not sure if I would survive it.  I did.  But I got to feel like a viper pilot being launched from a Battlestar.

It was an amazing day. The two boys loved it, and while in some ways it was better without my daughter, it was not in others as she would have loved the rides.

Tortoise on a bike

On a personal note, my health is improving, but I will get to that soon.

Since I last posted, I have had a few days off work.  My daughter convinced my wife and I a while ago to let her watch Panic! at the Disco with a friend.  I agreed to take hem, but knowing that this would be a long day, I took the Thursday of the concert off, as well as the next day to recover.  I had planned to sleep, but did not get as much rest as I wanted.  But the trip down to the O2 Arena was relatively incident free, just a few issues with traffic once near the venue.  I had paid extra for parking but did not get what I had paid for. (Note to self, email the O2...). To say that the two teenage girls were excited would have been an understatement and we spent time before the concert getting a T-shirt as well as buying some overpriced but surprisingly tasty pizza in the venue.  

The concert was amazing though.  I knew some of the songs from my daughter listening to them over and over again.  The support act was MØ and I thought that she would be hard to beat, but Panic! at the Disco surpassed her with the experience which was to be expected, but also vocally, which I had not.  They played Bohemian Rhapsody, which I love.  My daughter and I both think that they could also sing I Believe in a Thing Called Love with ease and do it justice.  Leaving the car park was fun and due to stationary traffic, I dozed in the car for half an hour before we tried to move and did not suffer as none of the cars in front of me had moved!  The girls fell asleep once we got moving and once we were on the main roads, it was a quick and easy drive home.  I had to stop to rest more than normal, but it is better to rest for five minutes rather then drive when tired.  

And yesterday, having the day off work allowed me to help with the PSA quiz.  Last year, we won it, and the tradition is that the winners organise the quiz the following year.  So at lunch, my wife and I collected some beer from a brewery in Suffolk.  I thought we bought too much beer, especially as there was a large amount of lager from previous quizzes to sell.  But on the night, all the beer we bought sold out and we had to practically give the lager away after dropping its price (it was getting close to its best before date).  It was a tiring night, but it went well.  My best memory from it was when the quiz master (the father of a child in the foundation year) played She's Like the Wind in the music section and the entire hall sang it.

This morning, I went for an early morning cycle ride with my son which stared well, but ended badly.  We had talked about cycling to his new school, and when we got near to home, he did not want to do so, claiming that he was too tired.  Now, he has cycled faster and further before, but has a tendency to not like exercise.  So once we were cycling there, he did his best to cycle as slowly as possible.  Which meant that he actually put more effort and energy into cycling slowly compared to if he had cycled at a faster speed!  When he forgot to cycle slowly, I would congratulate him on speeding up (which he has done because it was easier to cycle faster than the speed he was doing) but he would instantly slow down.  For those who do not know, cycling slowly is harder, especially at the speed he insisted on going.  Which meant that when he cycled through an obstacle, he clipped it and fell over.  But while the bike ride was not what he wanted, it has shown me that my fitness has improved and that I should be able to cycle to my work on Wednesday with no problems.

Anyway, the kids are prepared for Mother’s Day and we have been out to a nice (or fancy according to my children) restaurant to eat and they are all resting.

The Plague

I have been ill.  Since I last posted, I got what I thought was the flu, had to take some days off work but have taken a long time to get better.  During this time, I have had a bad cough and fatigue which has meant that I have not been able to cycle on the days that I cycle to work normally.

Over this time I have continued to see patients many of whom have told me to see my doctor.  So I have.  And I have been told that I need antibiotics and while I have been on them, I have improved.  I am not back to the level of fitness that I had before, but I am getting there now.

Kinder, Gentler Politics

In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected by Labour with a promise for kinder gentler politics.

I have no doubt that he meant that, however not all those who support him have followed this mantra.  Many have decided to be civil, but sadly there has been a lot of abuse and hatred on social media over issues such as Israel as well as those who are termed Blairites.  Many MP’s have also been slated for the same loyalty that Jeremy Corbyn showed when he was a backbencher.

Now debate and disagreements are important to any political party, after all, not everyone is going to agree on everything.  But the important thing is to debate issues in a civil manner.  The electorate does not vote for divided parties that cannot discuss matters calmly.  And why should the electorate do so.  If members of a party cannot try in a reasonable manner, to convince others with the party of differences, or accept that the party is going to include a broad church of view, now are those members going to convince voters who have not voted Labour before to do so.

















Additionally, the formation of the Independent Group of MP’S this month demonstrates that.  Those who were in Labour feel that they have been bullied and one faced deselection. While the stance of Labour on Brexit as well as the issue of how too many supporters have engaged in antisemitic abuse have also been factors, too many members and supporters of Labour have responded to this with yet more abuse and others have in effect been complicit by not challenging that abuse.  Labour members and supporters need to remember the call of Jeremy Corbyn for Kinder Gentler Politics and work together without hatred and acrimony.  And if any members think that others have started to be abusive, just remember the quote from Mrs Obama so that the party can agree to disagree and work for the nation which so desperately needs a government For The Many.

Do footballers deserve the money they earn?

First of all, my answer to this, is yes and no.

As an Arsenal fan, I am sad to see that one of our most gifted players is leaving, and also that this will be on a free transfer.  And of course, this had led to the accusation that footballers are overpaid.  While I do agree in fair pay for all, I do think that the use of the money that footballers earn is a convenient way of distracting people from the divide in earnings when it comes to others.  Footballers, are entertainers, most do not earn the riches seen in the higher leagues, and considering that premiership rights are sold across the world, is it wrong to just focus on the money that they earn, and not look at the money paid to Hollywood stars for the money that they earn?  



Even this distracts from how much money others earn.  We live in a world where the rise in income for those who earn the least is less in percentage terms compared to those who earn the most.  In the UK, CEO's earn as much in three days than those who work for them earn in a year.  That is not right and by focusing on the amount an elite footballer will earn, it distracts voters from who is really earning the most in our dysfunctional world.

So I will be wishing Aaron Ramsey good luck when he plays in Italy, and I will be sorry to see him leave.  I do wish that we lived in a world were fair pay for all existed, but under the current 'rules' of earning money, I think that it is wrong to demonise footballers for the money they earn while ignoring those who earn money through other means.