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MiSC: Politics & Media

This post arises out of my despair at being mugged every month by Virgin Media.

My loathing for Toryism grows and grows. Cursed with the Thatcherite style ‘choice’ of a shower of money-grabbing swindlers, aka broadband service providers, and currently being fleeced by Virgin Media, I can only marvel at how Boris, with his execrable ‘bus of lies’, had the bare-butt-faced-cheeks – the goddamn effrontery – to swindle, nay, to rape our nation so effectively.

Un-fucking-believable! Bohnson, you neo-fascist shitbag.

According to Bozo, Corbyn’s pledge to give all in the UK free internet was a ‘crazed communist’ plot. Instead of publicly owned assets that serve us all, we have shitty privately owned corporations intent on robbing us blind, the ongoing nightmare of Brexit, recession and rampant inflation. And still the billionaire press barons prop up the rotten Tory establishment, merrily scapegoating the weak and poor at the bottom of the collective heap, whilst they and their fat cat ilk wallow in the cream at the top.

A neo-liberalist wet-dream. AKA a nightmare.

Evil? Unquestionably. Beyond fucking disgusting? Indubitably. And these evil fuckers are currently embarked on a process of gutting the UK of any rights to protest. The real reason for Brexit. At a time when many scientists are saying humanity is teetering on the brink of self-annihilation, it’s business as usual for the robber barons.

Smiles and suits belie pure evil; a cabal of self serving right-wing hooligans.*

* I know there’s been a changing of the guard since these cyphers were photo-collaged together. But you can take pretty much any set of Tories, and the putrid essence of evil remains unchanged.

For the meat and potatoes, try this, in which some of the reasons for my anger are elucidated. For many years I’ve allowed my own personal issues and petty problems to contribute to almost total political apathy. But these self-serving bastards and their rapine policies are driving me back towards activism.

Abysmal (unelected) architects of the UK’s self-destruction.

So now we have Rishi Sunak, a product of The City, whose tax-dodging wife epitomises exactly what’s so rotten about Toryism. Another unelected (by the people of the UK) neo-liberal capitalist stooge. So he’s going to fix the appalling mess years of Tory misrule have brought about!?

Rishi to the rescue…

Pull the other one. Oh, wait… there is no other leg to pull. All the limbs of the rotten cadaver of British politics have already been torn off. The corpse of British Democracy has been sent to the Tower, hung, drawn and quartered.

The UK needs to see Toryism killed off. Banished. Fired into a black hole. Exorcised. Otherwise we are, er… royally fucked.

If only this were the end of such backwards ways.
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MiSC: Shocking Accident!

On my drive home from doing a spot of Amazon Flex deliveries I witnessed a car crash. I’ve often seen the aftermath of accidents. But actually seeing one happen is pretty shocking. It’s all over in a flash!

I’m guessing it was about 3.45/4pm, on the B1101 March Road. What I actually saw, of the accident itself, was a puff of smoke and a car spinning off the road.

A Van very close to the collision was unscathed, even though it had driven through the debris of the collision. I spoke to the driver of this van, and he said that the grey VW involved was the culprit, speeding past his van in an overtaking manoeuvre that went horrifically wrong.

The other car involved in the collision – a silver VW – had been spun off the road and into a field. The lady driver was in shock, and had a visible bleeding leg injury. Given the proximity of trees and deep ditches either side of the toad, it was miraculous that things weren’t far worse.

I was the closest car in the southbound lane, and dropped and approached the scene on foot. There were two men from the grey VW, both moaning and calling for help. An overweight middle-aged guy was behind the wheel, and a skinnier younger guy was laid out on the verge, having managed to exit the car.

Several factors – besides the shock of seeing injured/distressed people stuck in or near their vehicles – really struck me: first, the source of the smoke/steam, which was the engine of the VW. This had shot out of the car, and lay on the verge, about 50-100 yards from the vehicle. The impact must’ve been massive to cause that!?

Second, the VW’s plates had only been held in place by gaffer tape. The rear one wasn’t on the vehicle any more. Nor was the front one; the whole front was totally trashed, and mostly missing. A sole reg plate, with some gaffer on it, lay near the van. Was this the front or back plate? I’m guessing it was the rear one, as the front end was in hundreds of pieces all over the road.

After calling 999 – which the van driver on the scene had also already done – I talked to all the injured parties. I couldn’t offer any aid, as I’m totally unqualified to do so. Bit of a shock that; makes me feel I ought to know more.

The copper on the 999 call got me to take certain info – registrations, etc. (difficult re the grey Golf, for reasons alluded to above!) – and wanted to use my iPhone camera remotely. But that didn’t work.

As already mentioned, I talked to the van driver. He told me that another car had sped past, overtaking him, and then the grey VW attempted to do the same, but lost control, and collided with the silver VW in the oncoming lane.

The gaffer taped number plates, the race or chase scenario, and just a general vibe off the VW occupants – trackies and super-bling jewellery – lead me to suspect they may be criminals, perhaps in a stolen car.

Whether this proves to be the case, or not, I just hope their reckless driving hasn’t harmed the lady in the other vehicle too badly.

The emergency services arrived pretty promptly. The police first, then the fire brigade, and I’m assuming an ambulance, although I don’t actually recall seeing the latter.

The van driver who so nearly got caught up in the accident, myself, and several other people got involved, talking to the car occupants, calling 999, etc. It was pretty horrible. Esp’ when the two guys in the grey car were moaning, the driver semi-screaming, calling out for help. I think he said something along the lines of ‘I’m dying’!

A salutory reminder to always drive carefully. And – however carefully one drives oneself – to be as aware as poss’ of other road users.

UPDATE: In the aftermath of this accident I was constantly googling for info, and I even posted about it on a local FB discussion group type page.

The latter lead to the lady in the accident posting, to say she was injured but had survived. It was good to hear she was, in a way (see below), ok.

But nothing official appeared in the media about it for over a week. Eventually a slew of identical ‘features’ appeared in the local press, from where I take the following:

Police are appealing for witnesses after a collision left a woman with life-changing injuries and two others seriously injured.

At about 3.45pm on 8 December, a silver Volkswagen Golf and a dark grey Volkswagen R32 Golf were involved in collision on the B1101 March Road, between Coldham and March.

The driver of the silver Golf, a woman aged 50, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the Gold [sic*] R32, a man aged 49, received potentially life-changing injuries and a passenger, a man aged 30, was left with serious injuries.

All involved were from the Wisbech area.

PC Joe Woolf said: “I am particularly keen to speak to the driver of a sports-type silver Audi who I believe witnessed the crash. I would also urge anyone else who saw what happened or believes they saw the vehicles in the build up to it, or has relevant dashcam footage, to get in touch.”

Anyone with information is advised to contact Cambridgeshire Police on 101. They can also report it via the force’s web chat, quoting incident 346 of December 8.

* Having already said it’s dark grey, I’m assuming this typo should read Golf!?

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MUSiC: Casiopea, ‘77

Wow! I love the interweb for stuff like this. I’m trying to learn more about Casiopea’s original drummer, Takashi Sasaki, I found several YouTube videos, listed on the Discogs website. I’m sharing them here.

These recordings appear to be from a Yamaha music corporation even, which, by the looks of things, was recorded. These live performances show Casiopea already performing several tracks that would appear in the eponymous debut, in ‘79.

Sasaki joins the ranks of my favourite drummers. His playing is tight, crisp, nuanced, with a perfect dynamic range. His drumming is always imaginative, and can frequently be quite busy, but it always fits the music perfectly. A real inspiration.

So, he was playing a Rogers kit.

Several pictures and videos confirm that Sasaki was playing a Rogers kit at this point. I’m very keen to learn exactly what cymbals he plays on the Casiopea debut, as I adore their sound.

And, rather joyously and groovily, it seems that, whilst video of the entire ‘79 Pit Inn gig – from which performance of Midnight Rendezvous I discovered the groop – is not to be had, the complete audio is:

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SPORT: Football, World Cup ‘22 – Morocco beat Spain

Bono, formerly of U2, now taking Morocco further…

Well, whilst working on the shed roof, I watched the Morocco vs Spain game. It wasn’t the most exciting. For 90 minutes, then 30 more, the teams seemed pretty evenly matched.

I was rooting for Morocco. They played better.*

But when it went to the dreaded penalty shoot out? Then things got very interesting.

Morocco just beat Spain on penalties. And I have to say, they deserved the win. As I said above, it was not the greatest match I’ve ever seen. But Morocco dug in their heels, kept Spain under the cosh, and had the better opportunities.

This guy was a hero.

And when it came to the penalties, they were just better. They took them better, and their goalkeeper saved them better.

Achraf Hakimi’s penalty, and the celebration afterwards, were fabulous.

You could actually see it all in the player’s eyes. The Moroccans clearly wanted it, and believed they could do it. The Spanish, by contrast, were weak; you could see the doubt and fear in their faces. Astonishing!

* Oh, and I liked their kit better! I know this is silly, but sometimes I go with aesthetics.

On a separate but related note. I’m really digging this current England team. Just saw Grealish talking about facing France. The guy is as solid as his Giant Redwood tree-trunk legs. And he’s right. We have an excellent team.

With Sterling gone home, it’s interesting that the England team still have loads of firepower. France have Mbappe (ok, they also have Dembele, Griesman, etc.). But we have Kane, Saka, Foden, Henderson, Bellingham, and Pickford in goal (oh, and Grealish, lest we forget!).

That’s the spirit!

It’s unusual for me to say this, but I have faith in our team.

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Misc: Bullshit!

I was reading about the several ‘Sokal’ hoaxes recently, wherein folk (or squally scientists) have submitted fake articles to ‘critical theory’, aka Postmodernist journals, to see if these alleged organs of intellectual inquiry could be easily duped.

They’re named Sokal hoaxes because the first notable example was perpetrated by the physicist Alan Sokal…

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HOME/DiY: Shed Roof, Getting Felt On

Not an exciting pic. But a pleasing outcome.

After what seems an aeon, I’ve finally had a coincidence of time and suitable weather, and been able to get the roofing felt on.

As usual, nothing in the line of DIY is totally straightforward. I had one old roll of felt, and one new one. The old one was in a poor state, along one edge, kind of adhering to itself as I unrolled it. This caused the sheet to have a very tattered and ragged edge; fortunately along the outer side. But I was able to cover a whole strip nonetheless.

Getting the felt sheets in place.

The other roll did another two strips, with the three sufficing to cover the whole roof. I had to pop out for more roofing tacks, as I my old supply finally ran out. In the end I didn’t use the plastic sheeting. That helped keep the OSB board dry.I

had kind of wanted to have a plastic membrane under the felt. But it was too wet and dirty. So I opted not to use it. I’ll keep it, for possible future usage.

Hammer and tacks…

We also have the corrugated roofing sheets that came with the shed. The original roof! I didn’t want to just use that, as the shed was, in its previous incarnation, very damp, cold and drafty. It’s now much more hermetically enclosed.

There’s still a broken window and bit of open wall panelling to sort out. The biggest remaining jobs are putting in a floor and running electricity down the length of the garden, to supply this new workspace.

The current view from ‘up on the roof’.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the roof of this shed lately. I had to add the strips along the longer sides. I also added home made wood filling paste to all the joints where there was any air between boards.

Staying safe up there meant not walking in the middle of the boards, but instead sticking to the supported wall areas. I’ve had to sweep a lot of leaves, twigs, and – eugh! – guano, off the roof. I guess I’ll have to do so occasionally. If I don’t it’ll really build up.

Still clamped, even after tacking down.

I’m not 100% sure how I’ll finish the undersides of the felt, and attach it to the OSB boards. Plus I need to add a bit more cladding around the area where my new roof meets the walls. So there’s still plenty to do!

I’m also unsure as to exactly how I’ll do the floor. But that’s a job for the new year! I’d like to get the broken window and the gap in the cladding sorted. But I’m very happy to have got the roofing felt on… at last!

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HEALTH & WELLBEiNG: Taxed For Being Ill.

I have chronic conditions – psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis – that require ongoing medication. And to pay for this – in addition to the taxes we all pay* – I pay a monthly direct-debit towards a prescription pre-payment scheme.

*Or ought to, and by and large do. I my view it’s those wealthy enough to dodge such joint responsibilities that are our biggest problem.

On my last visit to the chemist, to pick up my regular prescription meds, after 5 or 6 years of never being asked for any proof, I was asked. I told them I had none, as I’d never been asked before. They told me I’d have to bring some proof next time.

I’m not sure what constitutes proof? There’s no physical document or card anymore. There used to be a card. But that’s been scrapped. Toryism shaving off another small fraction from the public purse, to give the fat cats further scope to skim off more cream. So I guess I’ll just have to print out an appropriate email, if I can find one.

The Tories have always disliked the NHS, and for decades they have been systematically butchering it. Tragically the Blair/Brown Labour govt. colluded in the expansion of rapine capitalism within the NHS, making an already dodgy situation even worse. In many ways New Labour was Tory Lite. Tragic!

There are so many layers and levels to all the ramifications of the Tory ‘only money matters’ attitude (I won’t dignify it with the term philosophy!). One of these is to make parking at NHS facilities another opportunity for parasites to drain money from NHS workers and patients.

So not only am I taxed ‘at source’, to fund all our public services, including the wonderful institution that is the NHS. But, as an ill person – something that at its rotten core (I can’t say heart, Toryism has no heart) the right equates with ‘sin’* – I have to pay two more times: once more for my prescriptions, and again, to park.

Healthcare Tory style.

* There’s a barely disguised eugenicist Spencerian thread at the base of such ideologies, itself heir to the far older superstitions of religions, and dark pre-scientific (mis)understanding, which equates illness (and even ‘ugliness’) with sin and evil; outward manifestations of inner un-Godliness. Conditions that – rather than being understood and treated with due sympathy and care – are to be denigrated and punished.

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SPORT: Football, World Cup ‘22 – That’s More Like It!

What a great picture. What a great moment.

England 3, Senegal 0

I used to actively dislike football. Or at least I tried to, for a spell. What I really disliked (and still do) are: yobbism, the tribalism of some supporters, and the grotesque capitalism that has colonised and dominates the sport.

Anyway, mini-rant over, back to the footy. And tonight it was, mercifully, enjoyable. Well, at least it was if you’re rooting for England. And (I’ll forego my rant about patriotism and jingoism!) And I was/am rooting for England.

Bellingham and Henderson celebrate goal #1.

I won’t pretend I know much about the beautiful game. But I do know that I like Gareth Southgate’s managerial style, and the crop of players he has at his disposal. One of the ITV pundits – Gary Neville? – put it well, saying Southgate was ‘compassionate’, and that his team believed in him as a leader.

I also liked the sound of the cultivation of a team spirit by watching matches together, as opposed to players disappearing into solipsistic isolation in social media and gaming consoles, etc.

Kane hoofs in goal #2.

But to the match: Senegal started strongly, getting the first two best chances. But then England gradually warmed up. And in the last ten minutes of the first half, first Henderson and then Kane (finally!) scored superbly emphatic goals.

I have to admit my attention wandered in the second half. But then I’m not the worlds most ardent footy fan. And I often tend to be doing other stuff whilst watching matches. But when Saka scored goal number three – another real peach – it brought my attention back with a bang.

Saka enjoys the glory of goal #3.

I rarely bother with the pre or post match punditry. And tonight was, in that respect, business as usual, for me; hopped into a piping hot bath, and then off to bed! But it’s nice to have been able to enjoy watching England compete internationally and acquit themselves so admirably.

Great work, lads!