Hot thoughts

Well, it's been a warm one so I'm rather glad of having short skirts on this week as they really do help keep cool and avoid that sticky clammy feeling that's so so ikky.

We've not long before school breaks up which did help with Early Monday (UK Time) with England's World Cup match that put them through to the Quarter Finals facing Norway this weekend.

Some schools laid on either full or highlights coverage of the match and used it as a springboard for work in English and Art given much of the formal syllabus can't be touched with the imminent closure for Summer Hols. 

I did read some old comics while trying to stay cool and one cartoon strip I recall was Little Plum which was an attempt to make what today I'd call First Nations people specifically children look universal in a world where much we were fed, usually from American sources showed them as savages, justifying land confiscation and much ill treatment. 

It would be easy today to criticize the usage of language and the like and in more recent returns such things are put aright but at least you could feel more empathy with Little Plum and his chums than we had on Westerns.
 

Canada Day edition

 

Wednesday saw Canada Day but what is that?

Canada Day is a national holiday celebrating the country’s independence from Great Britain in 1867. The new nation, still loyal to Great Britain, was called the Dominion of Canada and consisted of only four provinces ((Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec).

Now, there are 10 provinces and 3 territories. At first, the holiday was called Dominion Day, but in 1982 Canada gained complete independence from Great Britain and it was renamed Canada Day. 

It is a day for Canadians everywhere to show pride in their country’s history and culture.

Memo for a well known American: It isn't for sale!

Past lives

This week has been trying on so many levels, physically with the heatwave that as someone that runs on the warm side has had me on the edge of a Heat Stroke, the loss of a person while loud and at times a little overbearing was nevertheless generous with their time in organizing get togethers and a influence for the good when it came keeping things in bounds.

In connexion with that some misunderstandings and actions by others that rather tainted affairs for days, leaving me well out of things that much of the political business from the Peace Deal with Iran that fell apart within hours to Keir Starmer's resignation announcement on Monday with the likely appointment in July of Andy Burnham as Labour Leader and appointment as Prime Minister in time for the September reopening of Parliament.

My thoughts have been more centred around past lives as we'd sooner of had them and the era immediately before my arrival on this planet.

Things back then for females were very different, few worked beyond the single woman with the notion of being married, having children and working being looked down upon, there were restrictions when it came to banking and getting loans being treated very much as a child requiring a man, even your father to underwrite it even if you were over 21 (the then age of becoming an Adult).

Annuals for older girls were different because you were a girl for long even if at the age of 15 you might of gone to work - you were a child labourer in effect - and so this one looked more at art, the interests of her and a good deal about fashion even if unlike in America wearing jeans wasn't a thing.

You aspired to look like a younger version of your mother and other adult females showing sophistication and traditional femininity.

This copy for 1960, so published in 1959 isn't in bad shape although the spine is a bit damaged superficially with the printed section torn.

I'll carefully restick it with Scotch "Magic" adhesive tape that holds things together without living permanent markings which restorers tend to use unless they were going to attempt to stick it to a paper based backing,

I find such topics and even some stories fascinating as much as during the 1970's many books like this was tossed out going for mere pence on jumble sales as utterly outmoded.

It was the sort of thing my mother had.

Engagement in the Democratic Process

Today we should know what's happening in the three bye-elections that took place yesterday one of which *may* trigger a leadership election for the Labour Party and given they are in power in the House of Commons by extension the Prime Minister.

Often people talk about and debate the widening of the Democratic Process, what's it really for and really what are peoples reasons for wishing to gain further engagement with it.

Do people really care about what's going on?

That's kind of relevant here in the UK with moves toward lowering age limits to vote to 16 although you'll note the difference between how adult they are to vote and smartphone content restrictions!

But is Calvin right? Are all some folk wishes to get more engagement just about getting more for them rather than what's just and fair apart from if the way the country is being run really is representative of the people?

Cut it out!

What a week as you sit, damp air around as it continues to rain and you feel you're reliving the dark days of the past and it all connects with what we referred to last week.

A Sudanese refugee undergoing a claim for asylum kneels around the neck of an individual and attempts to knife and behead  him.

Bravely individuals manage to get him off so that person, Steven,  severally injured is able to get to hospital and the attacker arrested.

That is as it should be and we all acknowledge concerns about migration, similar instances elsewhere in the UK of attacks by such persons and even the extent to which areas change culture, something as a West Midlander I, like most, are well aware off.

What happens is this incident is shared on Social Media and a mob comes, attempts to block roads before burning people out of their homes.

Below is day one - and I'm chosing the least distressing images - streets like those my family are from with burnt out property, cars set on fire, families some going back to twenty years losing their homes.

It is frankly not just disgusting but evil, corralling people and attempt to burn them out regardless of status or race.

This kind of action at the start of the troubles was why then Prime Minister Harold Wilson had to bring the army in cos back then the authorities did next to nothing and today the same attitude is on display by young men who weren't around over 50 years ago when that happened.

Yes concerns need to listened to, co-operation with Southern Ireland given there is a criss-crossing of the internal borders plays a part in the refugee issue which itself is facing similar protests but above all this evil must not prevail.

mm

The things that happen

 

There are big news stories about that concern me, the continuing damage in the War in Ukraine and the sickening story around Henry Nowak, a student accused of a racial attack died in handcuffs when in reality he was the victim of a stabbing thanks to actions of bumbling inhumane actions of Hampshire police.

I may write something about that when the situation is much clearer.

No, this week I'm reflecting a bit about those times when in a group you sit in a huddle when one person suggests a topic and you all chip in with an observation or a personal story.

The start is always a bit awkward but someone comes forward, filling that gap saying "I'll start this off" revealing something about them, an event that had happened few of you never knew and you'd ordinarily never talk about.

They're the more confident one in the group, often the one with the suggestion about a place to visit together and that leads to another doing so tossing in a story that nobody new and maybe that person was uncomfortable sharing but they know you're all behind her.

Then another adds a detail and so it goes on for a while as the coffee is drunk and everybody hugs before leaving.

You all feel you've been privileged to know more about each others pasts and feel freer for opening up on your interests and life events.

It wasn't just coffee you had. You took part in a confessional, learning from each other. 

Cancelling

It's been a hot hot week here with temperatures over 30 degrees so it's been a struggle to stay comfortable and well hydrated in that beyond difficulties with the legendary grump.

I was reading something at one site regarding how one person know to another well was trated but I didn't respond as that person had made it plain, which is their right, to discuss the overarching theme in their opinion wasn't helpful or needed.

Perhaps so, but it is in there.

What is called Cancel Culture really is that theme which isn't helped by binary differences over how it is seen but the essence of what happens is person X makes a remark, was noted to had done something now or in the past that falls foul of modern sensibilities and so a huge multimedia campaign is started to remove all references to that person or to refer to them as either sexist, racist, pedo, colonialist etc so they are dropped from anything, art is removed, books are pulped, records no longer played so the person is treated as if they didn't exist and aren't a part of society if they are alive.

Most of us accept the idea a persons actions can be at least shameful and may even argue shaming may have a place in society reinforcing those values it holds dear but unlike anything that has been through a process such as court trial or inquiry where facts are exampled much tends to be driven by activists who just attempt to find the evidence to back the assertion, doesn't allow for proper evaluation of that as a modern day internet savvy mob push on with the cancellation.

The problem I have with that is a lack of real accountability for the consequences of the actions taken not that anything you found was handed over to an appropriate authority which makes sense,  so people can lose work, become debtors, lose homes with no comeback if there was any mistakes made just because all involved were convinced they'd done something wrong and without "due process" HAD to be punished.

It's not unknown for people involved not to check thoroughly what they are asserting, people and organizations become more concerned about being linked to someone criticized than if it is true or not so they "get tossed under a bus" anyway.

Some areas of life and beliefs are just where attitudes have changed over the years which may be a good thing but what that individual was not seen as wrong at the time so while an apology has a place today for what they did or supported, we are effectively trying people today but standards that might be centuries old.

And how would you feel if as a major figure in a hundred years time that would happen to you?

That's why I don't join 'pile ons' on social media.

It's not because I don't believe wrong doing should go unpunished, It's I believe matters should be properly dealt with and while the past may be be what we feel is right today having every right to say so, we need to understand the times to.